When I finished at the ironworks, I went about a mile down the road to another museum called "The Big Pit". In actuality, it is an old coal mine which ran out in 1980. A few years later, it was turned into a museum. Coal has been mined here for centuries. Obviously, the coal from this location supplied the furnaces at the ironworks down the road.

At one time, there were over 620 mines like this one all over South Wales. These mining communities were not just the subsistance of the community.

The actually provided a unique culture where ever aspect of Welsh life was centered around these firms.

The unique thing about this museum is that you can actually go INTO the mine. There is an elevator which takes you 300 feet below the ground and into the depths with the veins of coal. This is an amazing thing and something I wasn't too sure about. Still, I had to do it while I was here.

The guides are mostly retired, Welsh miners. Their sense of humor is typically Welsh and very endearing. These were the first people I've met in Wales who knew where Pennsylvania was. They asked me all kinds of things about

the anthracite fields and told me a lot more. This impressed me.

Before anyone goes into the shaft, they have to be fitted with a hardhat and a light. The logic of this become self-evident once you go down. The guide asked us to turn all our lights off for a second to see what total darkness felt like. It is incredibly disconcerting.

The next thing you have to do before entering the elevator is to dispose of all contraband. Basically, this means anything that is battery operated. Cell phones, cameras, electric watches, anything that could spark and cause an explosion.