“A miner without light is a poor wretch.”

So goes an old German proverb. It gets straight to the point: mining without lighting would be simply impossible. Since the beginnings of mining, technical developments over many centuries have continuously improved the way light was generated and used underground.

The first artificial light source in the Stone and Bronze Ages was the pine torch—a resin-rich piece of wood that burns brightly. In antiquity, oil lamps were made of clay and usually filled with animal fat, primarily beef tallow.

In the Middle Ages, lamps like those used in the Jeremias Glück mine were developed. These open or closed miners’ lamps were made of clay, brass, or iron. Tallow or oil extracted from the seeds of turnip rape—a plant related to rapeseed—served as fuel.

The miners’ lamps were equipped with a sturdy hook. This allowed the miners to attach their lamps to the mine supports or to their clothing. This way, both hands remained free to work safely in the tunnels and shafts.