Historical landmark · Rioseco

Minas prehistóricas de Texeo

AT A GLANCE

Why go?

On the high eastern flank of the Sierra del Aramo, above the concejo of Riosa in central Asturias, the Texeo Prehistoric Mines are one of the oldest mining sites in Europe. Long before the Romans chased gold across the Iberian north-west, Chalcolithic and Bronze-Age miners were tunnelling into this limestone mountainside for copper, working the seams between roughly 2,500 and 1,400 BC. The name itself, Texeo, comes from the yews (texos / tejos) that once thickened the slopes of the Aramo.↗↗↗

Today the place is reached on foot through a layered landscape: a beautifully preserved 19th-century British mining village at Rioseco, a sculptural modern viewpoint over the old processing plant, and a steep cobbled path that climbs past abandoned galleries and water works up to the prehistoric workings themselves. It is a rare kind of hike where you pass through four and a half millennia of human labour in a single afternoon, ending among stone pillars and blue-tinged mineral seams that the very first Asturian miners left standing.↗↗

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Historical landmark · Rioseco

Minas prehistóricas de Texeo

Rioseco, ES 4.7 (13 Google reviews)

Photo: Google Maps

AT A GLANCE

Why go?

On the high eastern flank of the Sierra del Aramo, above the concejo of Riosa in central Asturias, the Texeo Prehistoric Mines are one of the oldest mining sites in Europe. Long before the Romans chased gold across the Iberian north-west, Chalcolithic and Bronze-Age miners were tunnelling into this limestone mountainside for copper, working the seams between roughly 2,500 and 1,400 BC. The name itself, Texeo, comes from the yews (texos / tejos) that once thickened the slopes of the Aramo.↗↗↗

Today the place is reached on foot through a layered landscape: a beautifully preserved 19th-century British mining village at Rioseco, a sculptural modern viewpoint over the old processing plant, and a steep cobbled path that climbs past abandoned galleries and water works up to the prehistoric workings themselves. It is a rare kind of hike where you pass through four and a half millennia of human labour in a single afternoon, ending among stone pillars and blue-tinged mineral seams that the very first Asturian miners left standing.↗↗

Where Europe first dug for copper

The Texeo site is celebrated precisely because of its extreme age. Excavations have dated prehistoric extraction to the period between about 2,500 and 1,400 BC, placing it among the earliest known metal mines on the continent. Those first miners, armed with antler picks, wooden shafts and stone-tipped tools, were after copper — the prized ore of a primitive metallurgy, used some 4,500 years ago to make beads and other objects.↗↗

What makes Texeo more than just an old hole in the hill is the evidence of belief. Repeated excavations have recovered 26 human skeletons, interpreted as signs of sacred rituals and offerings made to the mountain by the people who worked here. The most recent skeleton was found in 2006 by archaeologist Miguel Ángel de Blas and is now displayed in the Archaeological Museum of Oviedo, a tangible link between the prehistoric diggers and the modern visitor.↗↗

The tunnels are an endless, branching maze; those who know them speak of a full circuit taking more than two and a half hours underground. Inside, the walls still show the blue seams of cobalt and azurite, and the carved stone pillars the ancient miners left in place to hold up the roofs — quite literally architecture with 4,500 years of history behind it. On a higher level above the main workings lies El Arrebolléu, a smaller but even older site.↗↗↗

Rediscovery and the British mining village

After the prehistoric era the mountain fell silent for centuries, until the workings were rediscovered in 1888 by the Belgian mining engineer Alejandro Van Straalen. The most popular account says he was walking the forest and noticed a tree swaying for no reason — moved by a current of air rising from one of the old vertical shafts dug by prehistoric hands. (Some more recent studies, however, credit the find to Adrien Paillette back in 1846.)↗↗

The discovery revived a forgotten lode. With English capital and foreign technicians alongside local labour, the company The Aramo Copper Mines Ltd took over and built a proper mining settlement below the workings: the Poblado de Rioseco. Begun around 1892, it is a textbook example of industrial paternalism — three blocks of miners' housing, a building combining the bar, offices and company store, a forge, stables, and the director's and engineers' house set apart on higher ground as a marker of social rank.↗↗↗

Operations continued in phases through the early 20th century, mining copper and cobalt — the blue mineral once exported across Europe to decorate porcelain. In 1954, Rioseco installed the first ammonia-leaching plant in Europe, a technical milestone still used in mines worldwide. But when copper prices collapsed, the Asturian company Metastur shut the mine for good in 1960, leaving the village and the galleries to the mountain.↗↗↗

What to notice on the walk

The visit is essentially a long, rewarding ascent that stitches the site's two eras together. From the high path down toward the settlement, you first reach Rioseco, where several restored buildings and the remains of the processing plant — hoppers, concentration tables, vats and the entrance to the haulage gallery — make the old industrial operation easy to read. A short distance away, the Socavón de Rioseco, the gallery that once carried ore straight to the plant, has had some 150 metres cleared for visitors, with a rest area of tables and benches nearby.↗↗

The signature vantage point is the Mirador de Texeo, built in 2015 on a cantilevered structure above the plant's old hoppers. Reached by a timber-and-concrete walkway from the rail tracks and a decorative mine wagon, it frames sweeping views over the Riosa valley and the Aramo slopes; the design was shortlisted by ArchDaily as a candidate for its "Building of the Year" award.↗↗

From the viewpoint the original cobbled road the British company laid in 1892 climbs some three kilometres, gaining about 500 metres to the different levels of the site. On the way you pass traces of the inclined-plane transport at El Seltu, a second level with an old electricity transformer tower and the Fuente Sayán water tank that fed the washing plant, a mine entrance at the Campa les Mines, and finally, at the fourth level, the prehistoric workings of Texeo themselves.↗↗

Getting there and walking it safely

The standard route is a round trip of roughly 9 kilometres, climbing and descending about 864 metres and topping out around 1,223 metres, with the official guidance estimating three to five hours. It can be started from the Collada Arganosa side or, as many walkers do, by parking at the entrance to the village of Ḷḷamo near its fountain, where the first trail signs appear, and walking up to Rioseco (about 1.5 km of steady climb) before continuing to the mines.↗↗

Be aware that this is a serious mountain walk rather than a park visit. The route is graded difficult, is not signposted, and the area immediately around the prehistoric site has no safety barriers — the openings and galleries demand real caution, and the constant ascent makes it a moderately demanding outing suited to experienced hikers and children who already walk well. The descent follows the same path, faster on the way down.↗↗

The Texeo mines sit close to the famous Angliru climb and form part of a wider Asturian industrial-heritage circuit: the miners' settlement of Bustiello, the underwater mine of Arnao, the Mining Museum and Samuño mining ecomuseum, and the Pozu Espinos and Pozo Sotón sites are all natural companions for a heritage-themed trip through the mountains of central Asturias.↗↗

What makes it special

01

Among the oldest known metal mines in Europe, worked for copper between roughly 2,500 and 1,400 BC.↗

02

The name Texeo comes from the yews (texos) that once covered the Sierra del Aramo.↗

03

26 human skeletons have been recovered, pointing to prehistoric rituals and offerings made to the mountain.↗

04

The Rioseco mining village is a remarkably intact example of British industrial paternalism, founded around 1892.↗↗

05

Rioseco hosted Europe's first ammonia-leaching plant, installed in 1954.↗↗

A little planning goes a long way

Best on a clear, dry day: the upper path and cobbled road zigzag across open hillside and become far less pleasant in rain or fog.↗
Carry water, a proper map or downloaded route track, and warm layers — the shaded ravines stay damp and cool even in summer, and the high Aramo weather turns quickly.↗↗
Stop for the views at the Mirador de Texeo and, if walking with a dog, keep it leashed; guard livestock and mastiffs work these slopes and should not be approached or fed.↗

About this guide

Compiled with AI assistance from the sources below; this is not a first-hand visit. Place details collected October 5, 2026. Hours, access and ratings can change; confirm with the venue before visiting.

Finding your next place…

Minas prehistóricas de Texeo

Why go?

More of Spain: Santiago de Compostela

Finding your next place…

Minas prehistóricas de Texeo

Why go?

More of Spain: Santiago de Compostela

Where Europe first dug for copper

Rediscovery and the British mining village

What to notice on the walk

Getting there and walking it safely

What makes it special

A little planning goes a long way

About this guide