Tool for collecting alluvial gold
Date
12 December 1678
Creator
Robert Hooke (1635 - 1703, British) , Natural philosopher
Object type
Archive reference number
Manuscript page number
p262
Material
Dimensions
height (page): 310mm
width (page): 195mm
width (page): 195mm
Subject
Content object
Description
Image of a notched, sloped board for collecting gold from the Danube. John van Bemde reported to the meeting of the Royal Society on 12 December 1678 that by this method, people earned six or seven shillings a day. The figures appear in the minutes of the meeting taken by Robert Hooke, now constituting part of the 'Hooke folio'.
Object history
At the meeting of the Royal Society on 12 December 1678, ‘Mr. Bemde related the way of collecting the golden sands of the river Danube, which was by throwing the sand with water upon a board laid a little aslope, and cut with many notches like the teeth of a saw, with the teeth turned upwards, and against the slope: by which means all the particles of gold would lodge themselves in these teeth or notches, whereas the lighter sand, gravel, and dirt will all wash away’ (Birch 3:447).
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Associated place