Use of coal for heat has been around ever since the bronze age, 3,000 to 4,000 years ago, by the early inhabitants of Southern Wales for their funeral pyres. When the Romans invaded Britain, they discovered this “stone” and used it for the making of jewelry before they discovered that it could be burned to produce a level of heat higher than that of wood. The soldiers used it in their camps and it became prized for the smelting of metals. The isle of Britain lacked abundant forest, but was rich in minerals, and surface coal was easy to find …