Exhibition label text 1: Pit props, 19th century. Found in an opencast site. Wooden pit props were used to support the coalface while miners dug out the coal.
Exhibition label text 2: Keeping up the roof. Roof falls were a common hazard for early miners. Timber pit props were used to support the great weight of the coal and stone over the miners’ heads.
In some early mines, miners had to provide their own wood for props. A small tree trunk complete with bark was used. Any protruding branches were broken off. Later, props were fed through stripping machines to provide smooth cylinders of wood.
When putting a prop into place, a miner would ‘stamp’ a depression into the dirt floor before placing the foot of the prop into it. The prop was then forced into position against the roof, first by hand and then using a hammer.
Wooden pit props began to be replaced by metla ones at the beginning of the 20th century and are no longer used.
l: 66 x diameter: 9 cms.