List of ancient watermills explained

This list of ancient watermills presents an overview of water-powered grain-mills and industrial mills in classical antiquity, including the Hellenistic period through the Roman period up until circa 500 AD.

The water wheel and watermill are the earliest instances of machines harnessing natural forces to replace human muscular labour (apart from the sail). As such, it holds a special place in the history of technology and also in economic studies where it is associated with growth.

The invention of the watermill is a question open to scholarly discussion, but is generally agreed to have occurred in the ancient Near East,[1] either before or during the Hellenistic period. In the subsequent Roman period, the use of water-power was diversified and different types of watermills were introduced. These include all three variants of the vertical water wheel as well as the horizontal water wheel. Apart from its main use in grinding flour, water-power was also applied to pounding grain,[2] crushing ore, sawing stones and possibly fulling and bellows for iron furnaces.

An increased research interest has greatly improved our knowledge of Roman watermill sites in recent years. Numerous archaeological finds in the western half of the empire now complement the surviving documentary material from the eastern provinces; they demonstrate that the breakthrough of watermill technology occurred as early as the 1st century AD and was not delayed until the onset of the Middle Ages as previously thought.[3] The data shows a wide spread of grain-mills over most parts of the empire, with industrial mills also being in evidence in both halves. Although the prevalence of grain-mills naturally meant that watermilling remained primarily a rural phenomenon, it began gaining importance in urban environments during late antiquity.

The data below spans the period until circa 500 AD. The vast majority are dated to Roman times.

Earliest evidence

Below the earliest ancient evidence for different types of watermills and the use of water-power for various industrial processes. This list is continued for the early Middle Ages here.

DateWater-powered mill typesReference (or find spot)Modern country
Possibly before c. 350 BCPersian Empire (hypothesized place of invention)Iran, Iraq, Turkey
Possibly first half of 3rd century BCHorizontal-wheeled mill [4] Byzantium (hypothesized place of invention)Turkey
Possibly c. 240 BCVertical-wheeled mill Alexandria (hypothesized place of invention)Egypt
Before 71 BC?Grain-mill ("watermill") Strabon, XII, 3, 30 C 556 Turkey
40/10 BCUndershot wheel mill Vitruvius, X, 5.2 Unspecified
40/10 BCPossible kneading machine Vitruvius, X, 5.2 Unspecified
20 BC/10 ADOvershot wheel mill Antipater of Thessalonica, IX, 418.4–6 Unspecified
c. 20 ADTrip hammer [5] Huan Tan, Xin LunChina
73/4 ADPossible fulling millSyria
2nd century ADMultiple mill complex France
Late 2nd century ADBreastshot wheel mill
Second half of 3rd century ADSawmill
crank and connecting rod system with gear train
Turkey
Late 3rd or early 4th century ADTurbine mill [6]
Late 3rd or early 4th century ADPossible tanning mill SaepinumItaly
?Possible furnaceFrance

Written sources

In the following, literary, epigraphical and documentary sources referring to watermills and other water-driven machines are listed.

ReferenceLocationDateType of evidenceComments on
Ammianus Marcellinus, 18.8.11 Amida359 AD HistoryMultiple mill complex
Antipater of Thessalonica, IX, 418.4–6 Unspecified 20 BC/10 ADPoemEarliest reference to overshot wheel mill
Ausonius, Mosella, 362–364 c. 370 AD PoemWater-powered marble saws and grain-mills
Beroea2nd century AD Decree Tax revenue from watermills
Cedrenus, Historiarum compendium, p. 295 [516] Indiac. 325 AD History
CG-CI, pp. 86–90, no. 41 Corinth6th century AD
CIL, III, 5866 1st/3rd century AD EpigraphyMiller’s guild
CIL, III, 14969, 2 Promona1st/4th century AD Epigraphy
CIL, VI, 1711 c. 480 AD Epigraphy
Codex Justinianus, XI, 43, 10, 3 Constantinople474/491 AD Legal code
Codex Theodosianus, XIV, 15.4 398 AD Legal code
Diocletian, XV, 54 301 AD Price edict
Euchromius, VII, pp. 138–9, no. 169 Sardis4th to 5th/6th century AD EpigraphyWatermill engineer
Gregory of Nyssa, In Ecclesiasten, III, 656A Migne c. 370/390 AD TheologyWater-powered marble saws?
Huan Tan, Xin Lun Chinac. 20 ADTreatiseTrip hammer
John Cassian, Conlationes Patrum, I, 18 426 AD? Theology
Letter Egypt5th century ADPossible watermill
Libanius, Or. 4.29 Antioch380s AD Rhetoric Tax on watermills
MAMA, VII, p. 70, no. 305, lines 29–32 Orcistusc. 329 AD EpigraphyTown privilege
Mar. Aur. Apollodotos Kalliklianos HierapolisSecond half of 3rd century AD EpigraphyMember of guild of water-millers
Molitor Châteauneuf1st century AD Epigraphy
Palladius, Opus agriculturae, I, 41, (42) 4th/5th century ADTreatiseUse of waste water to drive watermills
Pliny, Naturalis Historia, XVIII, 23.97 Italyc. 70 AD EncyclopediaWater-powered pestles
Sabinianus I, 18 c. 450 AD Hagiography
Strabon, XII, 3, 30 C 556 CabiraBefore 71 BC? Geography
Talmud, Shabbat, I, 5 Before 70 AD?
Two inscriptions Antioch73/4 AD EpigraphyPossibly fulling mills
Visigothic Code, VII, 2, 12 and VIII, 4, 29–30 Late 5th century AD Legal code
Vita S. Romani abbatis, 17–18 c. 450 AD Hagiography Water-powered pestles
Vitruvius, X, 5.2 40/10 BC EngineeringEarliest description of undershot wheel mill
Vitruvius, X, 5.2 40/10 BC EngineeringPossible kneading machine

Graphical representations

This section deals with depictions of watermills which are preserved in ancient paintings, reliefs, mosaics, etc.

Place (or object)CountryDateType of evidenceIdentification/Remains
ItalyLate 3rd century AD? Wall painting
Utica4th century AD Mosaic [7]
Great Palace of ConstantinopleTurkeyc. 450/500 AD Mosaic One probable and one possible representation
Hierapolis sarcophagusTurkeySecond half of 3rd century AD ReliefWater-powered stone sawmill; earliest known crank and connecting rod system

Archaeological finds

Watermill sites

Below are listed excavated or surveyed watermill sites dated to the ancient period.

SiteCountryDateIdentification/Remains
Mouzaïa des Mines, near Unspecified Unspecified remains
Oued Bou Ardoun Possibly 2nd to 3rd century AD Unspecified remains
Oued Bou Ya'koub Unspecified Drop-tower mill
Oued Mellah Possibly 4th century AD Drop-tower mill
Ardleigh, Spring Valley Mill Unspecified Possible Roman watermill site including millstones
ChestersPossibly 3rd century AD Mill-race, mill-chamber, tail-race, millstones
FullertonEnglandUnspecified Two watermills
Haltwhistle Burn Head225–70 AD Entire establishment
Ickham I 150–280 AD Mill-race, mill-building, fragments of millstones
Ickham II 3rd and 4th centuries AD Mill-race, sluice-gate, mill-building, fragments of millstones
Nettleton230 AD Mill-race, sluice-gate, wheel-pit, tail-race
WherwellLate 3rd or early 4th century AD Mill-channel, mill-building (?), fragments of millstones
Willowford Late 2nd or 3rd century AD? Water-channels, sluices (?), fragments of millstones
Barbegal mill2nd century AD Multiple mill complex with sixteen overshot wheels on two mill-races, fed by aqueduct
Fontvieille, Calade du Castellet France5th/6th century AD Horizontal-wheeled mill
Gannes Presumably 4th or 5th century AD Horizontal (?) water-wheel
La BourseLate 5th century AD Remains of waterwheel and curved trough.
La CrauFrance2nd century ADVertical-wheeled mill
La Garde (Var)FranceUnspecifiedVertical-wheeled mill
LattesFranceUnspecifiedUnspecified
Le Cannet-des-MauresFrance5th century ADTwo horizontal-wheeled mills
Les Arcs (Var)France2nd/3rd century ADVertical-wheeled mill
Les Martres-de-Veyre I 1st century ADUnspecified remains
Les Martres-de-Veyre II Late 2nd century AD Entire establishment; breastshot wheel
Lyon-VaiseLate 1st century AD abandonedMillstones, mill-chamber timbers
Paulhan I–III France40/50–early 3rd century ADThree consecutive mills
PézenasFrance2nd century ADHorizontal-wheeled mill
Saint-Doulchard1st century AD Wooden paddles.
TaradeauFranceLate 2nd–4th century ADHorizontal-wheeled mill
BobingenGermany117/138 ADPosts, boards, mill-race
DasingMerovingian Timber posts and mill race, remains of wheel and paddles, millstones.
Inden[8] GermanyEnd of 1st century BCMillstones, wheel-shaft bearings, paddle fragments
Lösnich I 2nd/4th century AD? Mill-race, wheel-pit, fragment of a millstone
Lösnich II 2nd/4th century AD? Mill-race
Munich-Perlach End of 2nd century ADMill-chamber, mill-race, millstone fragments; possibly duplex drive
Athens, Agora I 5th and 6th centuries AD Aqueduct, wheel-pit, mill-chamber, tail-race
Athens, Agora II 460/75 to c.580 AD Entire establishment
Athens, Agora III Unspecified Unspecified remains
Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System [9] Iran3rd century ADAbout 40 watermills
El-Qabu Possibly Roman Unspecified remains
En Shoqeq 2nd century AD Masonry dam with mills
Farod I–III 5th or 6th century AD Three drop-tower mills
Farod IV–V Unspecified Two mills
Ma'agan Michael3rd century AD? Masonry dam, with eleven mills
Nahal TanninimIsraelEarly 4th/mid-7th century ADSix vertical-wheeled mills with duplex drives and underdriven Pompeian millstones
Wadi Fejjas I–III Probably Roman Three drop-tower mills
Wadi Serrar Probably Roman Unspecified remains
Yarkon2nd century AD Unspecified remains
OderzoItaly2nd century AD Mill-race
Rome, Baths of Caracalla I Between 212/235 to mid-3rd century ADTwo vertical-wheeled mills
Rome, Baths of Caracalla II ItalyMid-3rd century to 5th century ADTwo vertical-wheeled mills
Rome, JaniculumEarly 3rd century AD Aqueducts, reservoirs, sluices, millstones
SaepinumLate 3rd or early 4th century AD Aqueduct, sluice-gates, wheel-pit, tail-race. Recently identified as tanning mill.
San Giovanni di Ruoti Early 1st century AD Unspecified remains
VenafroPossibly early Empire Undershot water wheel, millstones
Gerasa6th century AD Water-powered stone sawmill with two four-bladed saws; crank and connecting rod system without gear train
Jarash527-65 ADWheel-pit walls, bearing emplacements, supply cistern, partly sawn stone drums.
Wadi al-HasaProbably late Roman At least nineteen possible drop-tower mills
Oued es Soueïr Unspecified Unspecified remains
Switzerland57/58–80 AD Mill-race timbers
Rodersdorf, Klein Büel Switzerland1st century ADMillstone, mill-race
PalmyraPossibly Roman Unspecified remains
ChemtouLate 3rd or early 4th century AD Triple helix turbine mill with horizontal wheels
Late 3rd or early 4th century AD Triple helix turbine mill with horizontal wheels
Unspecified Possible multiple-mill complex
Kurşunlu Waterfall, near PergeTurkeyUnspecifiedUnspecified remains
Apparently late antique Seven horizontal-wheeled mills

Millstones

The following list comprises stray finds of ancient millstones. Note that there is no way to distinguish millstones driven by water-power from those powered by animals turning a capstan. Most, however, are assumed to derive from watermills.

SiteCountryDate (or find context)Remains
4th century AD well Fragments of four millstones
ChedworthRoman villa One lower stone, fragment of another
Chew Park Late 3rd or early 4th century AD One complete upper stone, part of another
Dicket MeadRoman building Fragments of millstones
LeedsRoman pottery dated to 1st and 2nd centuries AD Fragment of millstone
Littlecote Roman Villa2nd century AD timber building Fragment of millstone
London1st-2nd century AD Several millstones
LondonLate 2nd century AD Roman ship One unfinished millstone
SelseyUnspecified Fragment of millstone
VindolandaPossibly Roman Four millstones
WantageOn display in museum Two millstones
Woolastonc. 320 AD Two upper millstones
La Chapelle-TaillefertPottery and coins from 2nd century AD Pair of millstones
LyonOn display in museum Many unpublished millstones
ParisOn display in museum Six millstones
AalenOn display in museum Five millstones
CologneOn display in museumThree millstones
DasingUnspecified Fragments of millstones
KoblenzSeveral millstones
MayenQuarry Unfinished Roman millstones
BudapestOn display in museumSix millstones
IranIranc. 350 BCFragments of millstones
Beit She'anLate 4th or early 5th century AD Upper millstone
Buqueiah Allegedly from ancient watermill Upper millstone
BolognaOn display in museum Six millstones
NaplesProbably Roman Several millstones
Palatine, RomeItaly4th or 5th century AD47 millstones from at least five watermills
2nd or 3rd century AD Pair of millstones
Cluj-Napoca2nd or 3rd century AD Upper millstone
Micia2nd or 3rd century AD Pair of millstones
Upper TigrisTurkeyc. 350 BCFragments of millstones
CaerwentSmithy Millstones
Whitton Unspecified Fragment of millstone

Water wheels and other components

Although more rare than the massive millstones, finds of wooden and iron parts of the mill machinery can also point to the existence of ancient watermills. Large stone mortars have been found at many mines; their deformations suggest automated crushing mills worked by water wheels.

SiteCountryDate (or find context)Remains
Great ChesterfordEarly 5th century AD hoard Iron spindle with three winged rynds
SilchesterMid-4th century AD hoard Iron spindle
Saint-DoulchardFrance1/10 to c.50 ADPaddles, mill-chamber posts
ConimbrigaOn display in museum, allegedly 1st century AD Mill-wheel
HagendornLate 2nd century AD Three undershot wheels
Dolaucothi1st and 2nd centuries AD Stone anvil (Carreg Pumsaint) nearby

Sources

Watermill lists which summarize the rapidly developing state of research are provided by Wikander 1985 and Brun 2006, with additions by Wilson 1995 and 2002. Spain 2008 undertakes a technical analysis of around thirty known ancient mill sites.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Selin . Helaine . Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Westen Cultures . 2013 . . 9789401714167 . 282.
  2. ;
  3. ; ;
  4. ;
  5. Book: Needham, Joseph . Joseph Needham . Science and Civilisation in China, Volume 4: Physics and Physical Technology (Part II: Mechanical Technology) . . 1965 . 978-0-521-05803-2 . 390-2.
  6. ;
  7. Character as watermill disputed
  8. ; Images: 1 and 2
  9. Saatsaz . Masoud . Rezaei . Abolfazl . 2023-04-04 . The technology, management, and culture of water in ancient Iran from prehistoric times to the Islamic Golden Age . Humanities and Social Sciences Communications . en . 10 . 1 . 1–22 . 10.1057/s41599-023-01617-x . 2662-9992.