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Leicestershire is rich in useful mineral deposits and has a long history of coal mining and quarrying.

This gallery tells the fascinating stories of such everyday materials as slate, granite, gypsum and coal, how they have been taken from the ground and their use in daily life today.

A star exhibit is the reconstruction of a medieval mineshaft rescued from the Lounge opencast site. Its timbers and the tools found inside it were being used to extract coal when the Battle of Bosworth was fought in 1485!