Ilba
or
Ilva. The modern Elba. An island of the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the
coast of Etruria, and about ten miles from the promontory of Populonium. It was early
celebrated for its rich iron mines; but by whom they were first discovered and worked is
uncertain, as they are said to exhibit the marks of labour carried on for an incalculable time
(Pliny ,
Pliny H. N. xxxiv. 14).