IDRIJA, ANTHONY`S SHAFT; KNOCKING ON A WOODEN RAIL

KLUKANJE NA ŠINO-UDARJANJE PO LESU(KLIC NA DELO)/KNOCKING ON A WOODEN RAIL (CALLING FOR A WORK SHIFT)

The shift in the pit started at 4 am. The night watchman called miners to work by knocking on a wooden rail with a hammer.
The rail was made of maple wood. It was 87 cm long, 20 cm wide, 6.5 cm thick and on both ends drilled twice. The holes with 2 cm diameter were 15 cm long.

Delo v jami se je pričelo ob štirih zjutraj. Čuvaj, ki je imel nočno službo, je z vrha Šelštve klical rudarje k »berilu« tako, da je »kljukal na šino« oziroma je nanjo tolkel v taktu s kladivom.
Šina je bila narejena iz javorovega lesa. Dolga 87 cm, široka 20 cm, debela 6,5 cm in na obeh koncih dvakrat navrtana. Luknji sta bili dolgi 15 cm in imeli premer 2 cm.

IDRIJA MERCURY MINE
According to legend, the origin of Idrija Mine dates back to 1490, while the oldest thus far known written source is from 1493. The oldest surviving entrance to the mine is Anthony's Tunnel from 1500. In the 16th century, Idrija Mine was one of the deepest mines in the world. After 1600 and up to the end of the First World War it was among technically best equipped mines in Europe.
The city of Idrija with the longest mining tradition in Slovenia was built above one of the largest mercury ore deposits in the planet.
Producing more than 13% of the world's output, the Idrija Mine was, by its quantity of extracted mercury, the second largest mercury mine in the world. Over five hundred years, 145,000 tons of precious metal were extracted.
The Idrija pit was comprised of 15 horizons (levels), the deepest reaching a depth of 380 m. The total length of galleries and shafts was about 700 km.

Sound recordist: Boštjan Troha
Photography: HgCenter`s archive
Video: Irena Marušič, Katarina Batagelj