Kunstgraben

The water available in the vicinity of the pits was insufficient for that purpose and springs frequently dried up as a result of be diverted for use in the mines.

To achieve this the Kunstgräben were laid with only a very slight gradient, so that they resembled contours in the terrain and followed all the twists and turns of the valleys.

In order to overcome natural obstacles Kunstgräben were frequently led along the bottom of tunnels in so-called Röschen or, more rarely, over aqueducts; the best-known Kunstgraben aqueducts being the Altväter Bridge near Halsbrücke and the Sperberhai Dyke in the Harz Mountains.

Typically a Kunstgraben started at a weir or divert (Wasserteiler) and ran along Röschen and via water storage ponds or Kunstteiche to the pit.

A footpath was laid parallel to the Kunstgraben that acted as an access route for the ditch overseer (Grabensteiger), whenever he went to the weir to adjust the paddles.