Rock crystal vase Rock crystal vase A rock crystal vase is a vase made of rock crystal, a type of hardstone carving. Such vases were rare, expensive, and decorated with gold and jewels, used by royalty in Europe. A rock crystal vase that probably originated in the seventh century was given to William IX of Aquitaine (the Troubadour) by a Muslim ally (probably 'Abd al-Malik Imad ad-Dawla). When Eleanor of Aquitaine, William IX's granddaughter, married King Louis VII of France in 1137, she gave him the rock crystal vase as a wedding present. The inscription on it says he, in turn, gave it
Dartmoor tin-mining documentary evidence also relates: that there was a boom in tin production in the 13th century. The earliest written record of tin streaming comes from the 12th century. By the 15th century, the sources of stream tin were becoming scarce and since the demand for tin was as strong as ever, the direct working of lodes was considered viable despite the greater effort needed in both extraction and refining. "Beamworks" was the name given by the tinners to workings where the lode was followed by digging down from the surface, and the massive gullies that resulted remain prominent features of