This period, which can be conveniently dated from about 1500, laid the foundations for the Industrial Revolution which started in Western Europe, with the use of coal for metallurgical processes, in about 1700. Its beginnings are well documented by a number of books, of which the most important are those by Biringuccio and Agricola. These contain a wealth of detail on metallurgical techniques following the tradition of Theophilus. This is the period of the Renaissance in Europe when an increasing number of people were taking an interest in technology and the arts, and many had the ability to write about it. Before this period, with one important exception, the artisans had not been literate and historians were neither familiar with, nor interested in, technological processes.