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81-677: During the late 19th century, with the population growth seen in former rural communities, many industrialised areas saw workers contributing to funds to build institutes. This was typified in the southern coalfield of Wales , which by 1910 saw institutes built in most towns and villages. The first to be built in Wales was 'The Working Men's Club' on Alexandra Road in Swansea in 1874. The institutes were of socialist and altruistic nature and would include small libraries and reading rooms, whose books would lean towards history and politics, in an attempt to allow

162-577: A coal spoil tip collapsed onto them. On 15 September 2011, seven miners were working a narrow seam at the Gleision Colliery drift mine in the Tawe Valley , near Swansea , when a sudden ingress of water filled the passage in which they were working. Three miners were immediately able to escape to the surface. Despite extensive efforts to rescue the remaining miners, on 16 September South Wales Police confirmed that all four had died. Coal mining in

243-539: A company previously formed by Claridge. Claridge's Patent Asphalte Company  – formed in 1838 for the purpose of introducing to Britain "Asphalte in its natural state from the mine at Pyrimont Seysell in France",  – "laid one of the first asphalt pavements in Whitehall". Trials were made of the pavement in 1838 on the footway in Whitehall, the stable at Knightsbridge Barracks, "and subsequently on

324-499: A liquid over very large time scales. In American English , the material is commonly referred to as asphalt . Whether found in natural deposits or refined from petroleum, the substance is classed as a pitch . Prior to the 20th century, the term asphaltum was in general use. The word derives from the Ancient Greek word ἄσφαλτος ( ásphaltos ), which referred to natural bitumen or pitch. The largest natural deposit of bitumen in

405-508: A mixture of pitch and bitumen, was used in the Republic of Ragusa (now Dubrovnik , Croatia ) for tarring of ships. An 1838 edition of Mechanics Magazine cites an early use of asphalt in France. A pamphlet dated 1621, by "a certain Monsieur d'Eyrinys, states that he had discovered the existence (of asphaltum) in large quantities in the vicinity of Neufchatel", and that he proposed to use it in

486-651: A moldable putty that hardened into handles. Earlier, less-careful excavations at Le Moustier prevent conclusive identification of the archaeological culture and age, but the European Mousterian style of these tools suggests they are associated with Neanderthals during the late Middle Paleolithic into the early Upper Paleolithic between 60,000 and 35,000 years before present. It is the earliest evidence of multicomponent adhesive in Europe. The use of natural bitumen for waterproofing and as an adhesive dates at least to

567-522: A temperature of 50 to 150 °C (120 to 300 °F). Due to pressure from the rising of the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Alberta, 80 to 55 million years ago, the oil was driven northeast hundreds of kilometres and trapped into underground sand deposits left behind by ancient river beds and ocean beaches, thus forming the oil sands. Bitumen use goes back to the Middle Paleolithic , where it

648-424: A variety of ways – "principally in the construction of air-proof granaries, and in protecting, by means of the arches, the water-courses in the city of Paris from the intrusion of dirt and filth", which at that time made the water unusable. "He expatiates also on the excellence of this material for forming level and durable terraces" in palaces, "the notion of forming such terraces in the streets not one likely to cross

729-424: Is a form of sandstone impregnated with bitumen. The oil sands of Alberta, Canada are a similar material. Neither of the terms "asphalt" or "bitumen" should be confused with tar or coal tars . Tar is the thick liquid product of the dry distillation and pyrolysis of organic hydrocarbons primarily sourced from vegetation masses, whether fossilized as with coal, or freshly harvested. The majority of bitumen, on

810-432: Is a visually similar black, thermoplastic material produced by the destructive distillation of coal . During the early and mid-20th century, when town gas was produced, coal tar was a readily available byproduct and extensively used as the binder for road aggregates. The addition of coal tar to macadam roads led to the word " tarmac ", which is now used in common parlance to refer to road-making materials. However, since

891-764: Is related to the English word mummy . The Egyptians' primary source of bitumen was the Dead Sea , which the Romans knew as Palus Asphaltites (Asphalt Lake). In approximately 40 AD, Dioscorides described the Dead Sea material as Judaicum bitumen , and noted other places in the region where it could be found. The Sidon bitumen is thought to refer to material found at Hasbeya in Lebanon. Pliny also refers to bitumen being found in Epirus . Bitumen

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972-467: Is rich in coal deposits, especially in the South Wales Valleys . The area comprises a fully exposed synclinorium which gave rise to dramatic upland areas ( Welsh : mynydd ) rising to 300–600 metres above sea level, and intersected by steep-sided valleys in which most of the area's deep mines were developed. The coal measures ( Upper Carboniferous /Pennsylvanian) are thick, workable seams in

1053-461: Is sometimes sold combined with other materials, often without being labeled as anything other than simply "bitumen". Of particular note is the use of re-refined engine oil bottoms – "REOB" or "REOBs"  – the residue of recycled automotive engine oil collected from the bottoms of re-refining vacuum distillation towers, in the manufacture of asphalt. REOB contains various elements and compounds found in recycled engine oil: additives to

1134-558: Is sometimes specified by the term crude bitumen . Its viscosity is similar to that of cold molasses while the material obtained from the fractional distillation of crude oil boiling at 525 °C (977 °F) is sometimes referred to as "refined bitumen". The Canadian province of Alberta has most of the world's reserves of natural bitumen in the Athabasca oil sands , which cover 142,000 square kilometres (55,000 sq mi), an area larger than England . The Latin word traces to

1215-527: Is the prevalent term in much of the world; however, in American English , asphalt is more commonly used. To help avoid confusion, the terms "liquid asphalt", "asphalt binder", or "asphalt cement" are used in the U.S. to distinguish it from asphalt concrete. Colloquially, various forms of bitumen are sometimes referred to as " tar ", as in the name of the La Brea Tar Pits . Naturally occurring bitumen

1296-429: Is typical of some petroleum. The substance is soluble in carbon disulfide . It is commonly modelled as a colloid , with asphaltenes as the dispersed phase and maltenes as the continuous phase. "It is almost impossible to separate and identify all the different molecules of bitumen, because the number of molecules with different chemical structure is extremely large". Asphalt may be confused with coal tar , which

1377-496: Is used for the oil refinery product. Diluted bitumen (diluted with naphtha to make it flow in pipelines) is known as " dilbit " in the Canadian petroleum industry, while bitumen " upgraded " to synthetic crude oil is known as "syncrude", and syncrude blended with bitumen is called "synbit". "Bitumen" is still the preferred geological term for naturally occurring deposits of the solid or semi-solid form of petroleum. "Bituminous rock"

1458-553: The Abercynon Miners' Institute. Most of the institutes survived into the 1970s but with the decline of coal many of the buildings were left to ruin. Slowly returning prosperity to former mining communities has witnessed a revival of some of the institutes, such as those at Blackwood , Llanhilleth and Newbridge , which have rebranded themselves as entertainment or arts centres. The South Wales Miners' Library in Swansea keeps many of

1539-567: The British Columbia and West Virginia coalfields), Energybuild plc, worked a drift mine near the old Tower Colliery, the Aberpergwm Colliery, until production was suspended in July 2015. The mine produced high quality anthracite , and was sold primarily to Aberthaw power station and Port Talbot Steelworks and into the wholesale and retail sized coal markets. Energybuild also operates

1620-579: The Nant y Mynydd opencast coal site nearby. As the mines and other industries rapidly expanded throughout the coalfield, nearby towns also expanded to meet the demand for labour. In the first half of the nineteenth century, the development of ironworks saw the population of Merthyr Tydfil , in the northern part of the coalfield, increase from 7,700 in 1801 to 49,794 in 1861, making it the largest town in Wales. As Cardiff and other ports in South Wales grew to meet

1701-527: The Proto-Indo-European root *gʷet- "pitch". The expression "bitumen" originated in the Sanskrit , where we find the words "jatu", meaning "pitch", and "jatu-krit", meaning "pitch creating", "pitch producing" (referring to coniferous or resinous trees). The Latin equivalent is claimed by some to be originally "gwitu-men" (pertaining to pitch), and by others, "pixtumens" (exuding or bubbling pitch), which

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1782-779: The Revenge-class battleships were partly oil-fired: oil was used mainly for both quick-start steaming, and sprayed on burning coal to extend their range. A number of cruiser and destroyer classes produced since 1904 also used oil. However, by the time of the Battle of Jutland in May/June 1916 still only a sixth of the Grand Fleet was oil-fired. Further, that summer the British suffered a number of losses of oil tankers, and had to instruct oil-fired ships to restrict their fuel consumption and hence speed. When

1863-579: The Uinta Basin in Utah, US. The Tar Sand Triangle deposit, for example, is roughly 6% bitumen. Bitumen may occur in hydrothermal veins . An example of this is within the Uinta Basin of Utah , in the US, where there is a swarm of laterally and vertically extensive veins composed of a solid hydrocarbon termed Gilsonite . These veins formed by the polymerization and solidification of hydrocarbons that were mobilized from

1944-1002: The United States entered the war in April 1917, the British instructed the United States Navy to send only coal-fired ships to assist them. To assist the Royal Navy, from the outset of the war the Government and railway companies ran what were termed "Jellicoe Specials", high-speed coal carrying freight trains that ran from South Wales to north-east Scotland, and then by ship to Scapa Flow . Initially running to Dingwall , they then were also shipped to Scrabster through Thurso . However, inadequate capacity in port and rail facilities at these locations meant that from January 1915, all naval ordnance (other than ammunition) and medical supplies were sent by rail to Aberdeen , and from mid-1915 Grangemouth . By

2025-425: The alpha privative , and σφάλλειν ( sphallein ), "to cause to fall, baffle, (in passive) err, (in passive) be balked of". The first use of asphalt by the ancients was as a cement to secure or join various objects, and it thus seems likely that the name itself was expressive of this application. Specifically, Herodotus mentioned that bitumen was brought to Babylon to build its gigantic fortification wall. From

2106-514: The working class man to better himself. Aneurin Bevan attributed his intellectual training to the Tredegar miners' library. While the library and reading room took care of the intellectual needs of the population the larger institutes often catered for the social side by providing a billiards hall, a refreshment room, and a large hall which could be used for meetings or entertainment. The 'Stute, as it

2187-928: The " death pit ". The two biggest accidents at the Black Vein pit were in 1860, when 146 died, and in 1880 when 119 people died. The Prince of Wales colliery in Abercarn exploded in 1878 causing 268 deaths. The Llanerch Colliery in Abersychan exploded in 1890 causing 176 deaths. The Albion Colliery in Cilfynydd exploded in 1894 causing 276 deaths. In the 20th century there were numerous further fatal accidents. The Universal Colliery in Senghenydd had Britain's worst mining accident when it exploded in 1913 killing 431. In 1966, 116 children and 28 adults were killed in Aberfan when

2268-471: The 1970s, when natural gas succeeded town gas, bitumen has completely overtaken the use of coal tar in these applications. Other examples of this confusion include La Brea Tar Pits and the Canadian tar sands , both of which actually contain natural bitumen rather than tar. "Pitch" is another term sometimes informally used at times to refer to asphalt, as in Pitch Lake . For economic and other reasons, bitumen

2349-449: The 1980s, with factors such as exhaustion of reserves and geological complexity adding to their problems. The last deep mine, at Tower Colliery on the north crop, ceased mining in January 2008. However, a few small licensed mines continue to work seams, mostly from outcrop, on the hillsides. Although some areas of the coalfield are effectively worked out, considerable reserves remain. However,

2430-577: The 19th century. One of the earliest surviving examples of its use can be seen at Highgate Cemetery where it was used in 1839 to seal the roof of the terrace catacombs. On the London stockmarket, there were various claims as to the exclusivity of bitumen quality from France, Germany and England. And numerous patents were granted in France, with similar numbers of patent applications being denied in England due to their similarity to each other. In England, "Claridge's

2511-861: The Bastenne company, were in production", with asphalt being laid as paving at Brighton, Herne Bay, Canterbury, Kensington, the Strand, and a large floor area in Bunhill-row, while meantime Claridge's Whitehall paving "continue(d) in good order". The Bonnington Chemical Works manufactured asphalt using coal tar and by 1839 had installed it in Bonnington . In 1838, there was a flurry of entrepreneurial activity involving bitumen, which had uses beyond paving. For example, bitumen could also be used for flooring, damp proofing in buildings, and for waterproofing of various types of pools and baths, both of which were also proliferating in

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2592-464: The Greek, the word passed into late Latin, and thence into French ( asphalte ) and English ("asphaltum" and "asphalt"). In French, the term asphalte is used for naturally occurring asphalt-soaked limestone deposits, and for specialised manufactured products with fewer voids or greater bitumen content than the "asphaltic concrete" used to pave roads. Bitumen mixed with clay was usually called "asphaltum", but

2673-708: The Parc ( Ain ) and the Puy-de-la-Poix ( Puy-de-Dôme )", although it could also be made artificially. One of the earliest uses in France was the laying of about 24,000 square yards of Seyssel asphalt at the Place de la Concorde in 1835. Among the earlier uses of bitumen in the United Kingdom was for etching. William Salmon's Polygraphice (1673) provides a recipe for varnish used in etching, consisting of three ounces of virgin wax, two ounces of mastic , and one ounce of asphaltum. By

2754-564: The South Wales Coalfield was a dangerous occupation with lifelong health implications. Between 1849 and 1853, miners over the age of 25 in the Merthyr Tydfil district were found to have a life expectancy of around 20 years lower than in other mining areas of England and Wales. In the 1930s, mine owners became concerned about the adverse health effects of coal dust and the amount it was costing them to compensate miners working at

2835-451: The brain of a Parisian of that generation". But the substance was generally neglected in France until the revolution of 1830 . In the 1830s there was a surge of interest, and asphalt became widely used "for pavements, flat roofs, and the lining of cisterns, and in England, some use of it had been made of it for similar purposes". Its rise in Europe was "a sudden phenomenon", after natural deposits were found "in France at Osbann ( Bas-Rhin ),

2916-608: The coalface. Pneumoconiosis proved to be a particular problem for miners in South Wales, accounting for almost 90% of the total cases for the whole of the UK in both 1939 and 1945, and with more than 25% of the South Wales mining labour force affected between 1959 and 1963. Women in South Wales were often not economically active in the second half of the nineteenth century due to the Mines and Collieries Act 1842 which restricted women from underground working. It has been suggested that this explains

2997-547: The collections from the institutes intact, and the Oakdale Institute has been reconstructed at St Fagans National History Museum . Some miners' welfare clubs in England overlaps with working men's clubs . South Wales coalfield The South Wales Coalfield ( Welsh : Maes glo De Cymru ) extends across Pembrokeshire , Carmarthenshire , Swansea , Neath Port Talbot , Bridgend , Rhondda Cynon Taf , Merthyr Tydfil , Caerphilly , Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen . It

3078-600: The deeper oil shales of the Green River Formation during burial and diagenesis . Bitumen is similar to the organic matter in carbonaceous meteorites . However, detailed studies have shown these materials to be distinct. The vast Alberta bitumen resources are considered to have started out as living material from marine plants and animals, mainly algae , that died millions of years ago when an ancient ocean covered Alberta. They were covered by mud, buried deeply over time, and gently cooked into oil by geothermal heat at

3159-549: The demands for exporting iron, steel and coal in the later part of the nineteenth century, valleys that had previously been sparsely inhabited suddenly increased in population. The Rhondda valley grew from less than a thousand people in 1851 to more than 150,000 in 1911. Between 1881 and 1911, Glamorgan became the most industrialised part of Wales and saw inward migration of more than 330,000 people from elsewhere in Wales, neighbouring parts of England and further afield. The coal mines were employing 250,000 men by 1921, but this

3240-510: The end of WWI, the Royal Navy had 33 dreadnoughts and 9 battle cruisers, with 10 and 2 respectively entirely oil fuelled. However, after WWI, the move to oil-firing was quickly extended to other areas, including the railways, which was a key strategic factor in the economic hardship which struck the coalfield after the war. Coal workings were over-expanded in the late nineteenth century, and the Welsh coal owners had failed to invest in mechanisation. By

3321-794: The fifth millennium BC, with a crop storage basket discovered in Mehrgarh , of the Indus Valley civilization , lined with it. By the 3rd millennium BC refined rock asphalt was in use in the region, and was used to waterproof the Great Bath in Mohenjo-daro. In the ancient Near East , the Sumerians used natural bitumen deposits for mortar between bricks and stones, to cement parts of carvings, such as eyes, into place, for ship caulking , and for waterproofing. The Greek historian Herodotus said hot bitumen

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3402-490: The fifth edition in 1685, he had included more asphaltum recipes from other sources. The first British patent for the use of asphalt was "Cassell's patent asphalte or bitumen" in 1834. Then on 25 November 1837, Richard Tappin Claridge patented the use of Seyssel asphalt (patent #7849), for use in asphalte pavement, having seen it employed in France and Belgium when visiting with Frederick Walter Simms , who worked with him on

3483-538: The form of the adjective ἄσφαλἤς, ἐς signifying "firm", "stable", "secure", and the corresponding verb ἄσφαλίξω, ίσω meaning "to make firm or stable", "to secure". The word "asphalt" is derived from the late Middle English , in turn from French asphalte , based on Late Latin asphalton , asphaltum , which is the latinisation of the Greek ἄσφαλτος ( ásphaltos , ásphalton ), a word meaning "asphalt/bitumen/ pitch ", which perhaps derives from ἀ- , "not, without", i.e.

3564-436: The geological difficulties, which resulted in the closure of (for instance) Nantgarw colliery, make the cost of significant further extraction high. The coalfield experienced a late-stage development when opencast mining was commenced on a large scale, mostly on the gently-dipping north crop. In addition, old tips were reclaimed for their small coal content, which could be burned in power stations such as nearby Aberthaw. Most of

3645-523: The horse-drawn era, US streets were mostly unpaved and covered with dirt or gravel. Especially where mud or trenching often made streets difficult to pass, pavements were sometimes made of diverse materials including wooden planks, cobble stones or other stone blocks, or bricks. Unpaved roads produced uneven wear and hazards for pedestrians. In the late 19th century with the rise of the popular bicycle , bicycle clubs were important in pushing for more general pavement of streets. Advocacy for pavement increased in

3726-463: The inter-war period the South Wales Coalfield had the lowest productivity, highest costs and smallest profits in Britain. Hardship continued through the 1926 general strike , the great depression of the 1930s, World War II and thereafter. The 1937 novel The Citadel and the 1939 novel How Green Was My Valley (later filmed, with a wildly inaccurate "colliery village") describe such hardship, as do

3807-510: The introduction of asphalt to Britain. Dr T. Lamb Phipson writes that his father, Samuel Ryland Phipson, a friend of Claridge, was also "instrumental in introducing the asphalte pavement (in 1836)". Claridge obtained a patent in Scotland on 27 March 1838, and obtained a patent in Ireland on 23 April 1838. In 1851, extensions for the 1837 patent and for both 1838 patents were sought by the trustees of

3888-418: The lower marriage age and higher fertility of women in the coalfield. Bituminous Bitumen ( UK : / ˈ b ɪ tʃ ʊ m ɪ n / BIH -chuum-in , US : / b ɪ ˈ tj uː m ɪ n , b aɪ -/ bih- TEW -min, by- ) is an immensely viscous constituent of petroleum . Depending on its exact composition it can be a sticky, black liquid or an apparently solid mass that behaves as

3969-412: The lower parts and generally thinner and sparser seams in the upper parts, with a development of sandstones ( Pennant Sandstone ) much used in local construction, (including the characteristic terraced houses ). The coal generally increases in grade or "rank" from east to west, with bituminous coals in the east, and anthracite in the west, mostly to the north and west of Neath . The Rhondda Valley

4050-669: The miners, such as communal baths, scholarships and welfare halls. This in turn led to the construction of welfare halls in the areas which to this date had no miners' institutes. By the eve of the Second World War there were more than a hundred miners' institutes, those of note include 'Y Stiwt' in Rhosllannerchrugog , the Oakdale Miners' Institute, the Parc and Dare in the Rhondda and

4131-742: The oil deposits to be about 110 million years old. Two smaller but still very large formations occur in the Peace River oil sands and the Cold Lake oil sands , to the west and southeast of the Athabasca oil sands, respectively. Of the Alberta deposits, only parts of the Athabasca oil sands are shallow enough to be suitable for surface mining. The other 80% has to be produced by oil wells using enhanced oil recovery techniques like steam-assisted gravity drainage . Much smaller heavy oil or bitumen deposits also occur in

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4212-476: The old sites have been filled and landscaped, but new operations continue. Following the Aberfan disaster of 1966, when a coal-tip slurry flow buried a school, mine-waste tips, which had been piled precariously on hilltops in many cases, were extensively regraded and reclaimed. This work continues. Landslipping of the steep valley slopes, and subsidence caused by the coal extraction, have also posed problems. A subsidiary of Western Coal (which mainly operates in

4293-424: The original oil and materials accumulating from its circulation in the engine (typically iron and copper). Some research has indicated a correlation between this adulteration of bitumen and poorer-performing pavement. The majority of bitumen used commercially is obtained from petroleum. Nonetheless, large amounts of bitumen occur in concentrated form in nature. Naturally occurring deposits of bitumen are formed from

4374-551: The other hand, was formed naturally when vast quantities of organic animal materials were deposited by water and buried hundreds of metres deep at the diagenetic point, where the disorganized fatty hydrocarbon molecules joined in long chains in the absence of oxygen. Bitumen occurs as a solid or highly viscous liquid. It may even be mixed in with coal deposits. Bitumen, and coal using the Bergius process , can be refined into petrols such as gasoline, and bitumen may be distilled into tar, not

4455-411: The other way around. The components of bitumen include four main classes of compounds: Bitumen typically contains, elementally 80% by weight of carbon; 10% hydrogen; up to 6% sulfur; and molecularly, between 5 and 25% by weight of asphaltenes dispersed in 90% to 65% maltenes. Most natural bitumens also contain organosulfur compounds , Nickel and vanadium are found at <10 parts per million, as

4536-466: The poems of Idris Davies the miner, teacher and poet of Rhymney . New collieries, particularly in the western part of the coalfield where anthracite is found, were developed into the 1960s by the National Coal Board (for instance, Cynheidre Colliery No 1 shaft, at 798 yards (730 m) deep was sunk in 1954/6). Following the general collapse of the UK coal industry, most pits closed during

4617-500: The previously entirely rural Rhondda Valley. Coal was moved from mines on tramways to canals such as the Swansea Canal and Glamorganshire Canal . These were supplemented, and then superseded, by numerous competing railways which fed the docks at Swansea , Cardiff , Newport , Llanelli and Barry . Later colliery shafts were sunk as deep as 800 yards (730 metres) in order to reach the thicker, better quality seams. Iron ore

4698-505: The remains of ancient, microscopic algae ( diatoms ) and other once-living things. These natural deposits of bitumen have been formed during the Carboniferous period, when giant swamp forests dominated many parts of the Earth. They were deposited in the mud on the bottom of the ocean or lake where the organisms lived. Under the heat (above 50 °C) and pressure of burial deep in the earth,

4779-700: The remains were transformed into materials such as bitumen, kerogen , or petroleum. Natural deposits of bitumen include lakes such as the Pitch Lake in Trinidad and Tobago and Lake Bermudez in Venezuela . Natural seeps occur in the La Brea Tar Pits and the McKittrick Tar Pits in California , as well as in the Dead Sea . Bitumen also occurs in unconsolidated sandstones known as "oil sands" in Alberta , Canada, and

4860-413: The similar "tar sands" in Utah , US. The Canadian province of Alberta has most of the world's reserves, in three huge deposits covering 142,000 square kilometres (55,000 sq mi), an area larger than England or New York state . These bituminous sands contain 166 billion barrels (26.4 × 10 ^  m ) of commercially established oil reserves, giving Canada the third largest oil reserves in

4941-428: The space at the bottom of the steps leading from Waterloo Place to St. James Park". "The formation in 1838 of Claridge's Patent Asphalte Company (with a distinguished list of aristocratic patrons, and Marc and Isambard Brunel as, respectively, a trustee and consulting engineer), gave an enormous impetus to the development of a British asphalt industry". "By the end of 1838, at least two other companies, Robinson's and

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5022-624: The stone artefacts, suggesting that bitumen was an important and frequently-used component of tool making for people in that region at that time. Geochemical analyses of the asphaltic residues places its source to localized natural bitumen outcroppings in the Bichri Massif, about 40 km northeast of the Umm el Tlel archeological site. A re-examination of artifacts uncovered in 1908 at Le Moustier rock shelters in France has identified Mousterian stone tools that were attached to grips made of ochre and bitumen. The grips were formulated with 55% ground goethite ochre and 45% cooked liquid bitumen to create

5103-486: The surface above underlying petroleum deposits. All three groups used the substance as an adhesive. It is found on many different artifacts of tools and ceremonial items. For example, it was used on rattles to adhere gourds or turtle shells to rattle handles. It was also used in decorations. Small round shell beads were often set in asphaltum to provide decorations. It was used as a sealant on baskets to make them watertight for carrying water, possibly poisoning those who drank

5184-399: The term is less commonly used today. In American English , "asphalt" is equivalent to the British "bitumen". However, "asphalt" is also commonly used as a shortened form of " asphalt concrete " (therefore equivalent to the British "asphalt" or "tarmac"). In Canadian English , the word "bitumen" is used to refer to the vast Canadian deposits of extremely heavy crude oil , while "asphalt"

5265-417: The terms asphalt and bitumen are often used interchangeably and refer both to natural and manufactured forms of the substance, although there is regional variation as to which term is most common. Worldwide, geologists tend to favor the term bitumen for the naturally occurring material. For the manufactured material, which is a refined residue from the distillation process of selected crude oils, bitumen

5346-426: The water. Asphalt was used also to seal the planks on ocean-going canoes. Asphalt was first used to pave streets in the 1870s. At first naturally occurring "bituminous rock" was used, such as at Ritchie Mines in Macfarlan in Ritchie County, West Virginia from 1852 to 1873. In 1876, asphalt-based paving was used to pave Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC, in time for the celebration of the national centennial. In

5427-525: The world is the Pitch Lake of southwest Trinidad , which is estimated to contain 10 million tons. About 70% of annual bitumen production is destined for road construction , its primary use. In this application, bitumen is used to bind aggregate particles like gravel and forms a substance referred to as asphalt concrete , which is colloquially termed asphalt . Its other main uses lie in bituminous waterproofing products, such as roofing felt and roof sealant. In material sciences and engineering ,

5508-479: The world. Although historically it was used without refining to pave roads, nearly all of the output is now used as raw material for oil refineries in Canada and the United States. The world's largest deposit of natural bitumen, known as the Athabasca oil sands , is located in the McMurray Formation of Northern Alberta. This formation is from the early Cretaceous , and is composed of numerous lenses of oil-bearing sand with up to 20% oil. Isotopic studies show

5589-666: Was a valuable strategic resource. It was the object of the first known battle for a hydrocarbon deposit – between the Seleucids and the Nabateans in 312 BC. In the ancient Far East, natural bitumen was slowly boiled to get rid of the higher fractions , leaving a thermoplastic material of higher molecular weight that, when layered on objects, became hard upon cooling. This was used to cover objects that needed waterproofing, such as scabbards and other items. Statuettes of household deities were also cast with this type of material in Japan, and probably also in China. In North America , archaeological recovery has indicated that bitumen

5670-452: Was also extracted from the coal measures, principally from the north crop area (including Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenavon ). The availability of coal and nearby limestone (as a flux) gave rise to a substantial local iron and steel industry which was perpetuated in the 20th century by the location of modern steelworks at Ebbw Vale , Newport and Cardiff and Port Talbot . These used imported iron ore . Coal fuelling of Royal Navy ships

5751-406: Was increasingly challenged from 1904 when strategists including Admiral "Jacky" Fisher and, later, Winston Churchill successfully argued for oil-firing of the steam engines in new ships. Oil, having higher energy density than coal, allowed larger and faster warships, and being easily piped, was easier to supply to ships at sea. By the start of World War I , both the Queen Elizabeth-class and

5832-543: Was more widely used. However, the First World War ruined the Clarmac Company, which entered into liquidation in 1915. The failure of Clarmac Roads Ltd had a flow-on effect to Claridge's Company, which was itself compulsorily wound up, ceasing operations in 1917, having invested a substantial amount of funds into the new venture, both at the outset and in a subsequent attempt to save the Clarmac Company. Bitumen

5913-490: Was particularly known for steam coals which fuelled steamships of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Ways along the valley floors provided the main routes for exporting coal south to ports and docks such as Newport Docks , Cardiff Docks and Barry Docks . Early mining activity was mainly by levels or adits driven into coal seams from outcrops in the valley sides. Development of the coalfield proceeded very actively from about 1850, when deep mining became significant in

5994-463: Was popularly known, soon became the heart of the community. The institutes were normally run by committee chosen by the workers, and a nominal fee was required from members to pay for the running costs, though some philanthropic coalowners would financially support the local institute. Following the Royal Commission for Coal in 1919, a Miners' Welfare Fund was established to provide amenities for

6075-598: Was shaped into tool handles or used as an adhesive for attaching stone tools to hafts . The earliest evidence of bitumen use was discovered when archeologists identified bitumen material on Levallois flint artefacts that date to about 71,000 years BP at the Umm el Tlel open-air site, located on the northern slope of the Qdeir Plateau in el Kowm Basin in Central Syria. Microscopic analyses found bituminous residue on two-thirds of

6156-487: Was sometimes used to adhere stone projectile points to wooden shafts. In Canada, aboriginal people used bitumen seeping out of the banks of the Athabasca and other rivers to waterproof birch bark canoes , and also heated it in smudge pots to ward off mosquitoes in the summer. Bitumen was also used to waterproof plank canoes used by indigenous peoples in pre-colonial southern California. In 1553, Pierre Belon described in his work Observations that pissasphalto ,

6237-608: Was subsequently shortened to "bitumen", thence passing via French into English. From the same root is derived the Anglo Saxon word "cwidu" (Mastix), the German word "Kitt" (cement or mastic) and the old Norse word "kvada". The word "ašphalt" is claimed to have been derived from the Accadian term "asphaltu" or "sphallo", meaning "to split". It was later adopted by the Homeric Greeks in

6318-418: Was the peak and in subsequent decades the overseas market began to shrink. By 1930, employment in the mines was half of that in 1920 as mechanisation increased leading to a net loss of 314,000 people between 1921 and 1935. The South Wales Coalfield was notorious for the number of fatal accidents in the 19th century. The Risca Black Vein colliery had many fatal accidents to the extent that it became known as

6399-401: Was the type most used in the 1840s and 50s". In 1914, Claridge's Company entered into a joint venture to produce tar-bound macadam , with materials manufactured through a subsidiary company called Clarmac Roads Ltd. Two products resulted, namely Clarmac , and Clarphalte , with the former being manufactured by Clarmac Roads and the latter by Claridge's Patent Asphalte Co., although Clarmac

6480-543: Was thought in 19th century Britain to contain chemicals with medicinal properties. Extracts from bitumen were used to treat catarrh and some forms of asthma and as a remedy against worms, especially the tapeworm . The first use of bitumen in the New World was by aboriginal peoples. On the west coast, as early as the 13th century, the Tongva , Luiseño and Chumash peoples collected the naturally occurring bitumen that seeped to

6561-407: Was used as mortar in the walls of Babylon . The 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) long Euphrates Tunnel beneath the river Euphrates at Babylon in the time of Queen Semiramis ( c.  800 BC ) was reportedly constructed of burnt bricks covered with bitumen as a waterproofing agent. Bitumen was used by ancient Egyptians to embalm mummies. The Persian word for asphalt is moom , which

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