''Ruina montium'' (Latin, "wrecking of mountains") was allegedly an ancient Roman

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

technique that draws on the principle of Pascal's barrel. Miners would excavate narrow cavities down into a mountain, whereby filling the cavities with water would cause

pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and e ...

s large enough to fragment thick rock walls. It was described by

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

(''Natural History'' 33.21), who served as

procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * ''Procurator'' (Ancient Rome), the title o ...

in Spain.Pliny the Elder (1857) with John Bostock and H.T. Riley, trans., ''The Natural History of Pliny'' (London, England: Henry G. Bohn), vol. 6, Book 33, Ch. 21
pp. 101–104.
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References

Hydrostatics Industry in ancient Rome Mining techniques {{Fluiddynamics-stub

See also

References