Object 3 – Coal, and its true price
These pieces of coal were taken from Cadeby pit by Stephen Hamilton, a miner who worked there. Coal is a mineral, composed mainly of carbon, formed when dead plant matter is crushed and heated by the earth over hundreds of millions of years. Over time, the plant matter transforms into a black sedimentary rock. Miners would travel long distances deep underground to extract the coal, either with machines or just with an axe, and then bring it back to the surface. Coal is highly flammable and therefore useful, as it can be burned to generate heat and light. It is also used as fuel in power stations that produce electricity.
Stephen collected these pieces of coal in the months before he resigned. Sadly, his friend and colleague was crushed to death down the pit following a roof collapse; Stephen witnessed his friend’s body being recovered from the shaft on a stretcher, covered in a sheet. He felt increasingly uneasy at work, and decided that he had to leave. Unfortunately, many miners died in the mines – 234 in Cadeby alone. Coal may have been cheap to buy, but many miners paid a heavy price for it.