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.
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.
| Date | Water-powered mill types | Reference (or find spot) | Modern country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Possibly before c. 350 BC | Persian Empire (hypothesized place of invention) | Iran, Iraq, Turkey | |
| Possibly first half of 3rd century BC | Horizontal-wheeled mill [4] | Byzantium (hypothesized place of invention) | Turkey |
| Possibly c. 240 BC | Vertical-wheeled mill | Alexandria (hypothesized place of invention) | Egypt |
| Before 71 BC? | Grain-mill ("watermill") | Strabon, XII, 3, 30 C 556 | Turkey |
| 40/10 BC | Undershot wheel mill | Vitruvius, X, 5.2 | Unspecified |
| 40/10 BC | Possible kneading machine | Vitruvius, X, 5.2 | Unspecified |
| 20 BC/10 AD | Overshot wheel mill | Antipater of Thessalonica, IX, 418.4–6 | Unspecified |
| c. 20 AD | Trip hammer [5] | Huan Tan, Xin Lun | China |
| 73/4 AD | Possible fulling mill | Syria | |
| 2nd century AD | Multiple mill complex | France | |
| Late 2nd century AD | Breastshot wheel mill | ||
| Second half of 3rd century AD | Sawmill
| Turkey | |
| Late 3rd or early 4th century AD | Turbine mill [6] | ||
| Late 3rd or early 4th century AD | Possible tanning mill | Saepinum | Italy |
| ? | Possible furnace | France | |
In the following, literary, epigraphical and documentary sources referring to watermills and other water-driven machines are listed.
| Reference | Location | Date | Type of evidence | Comments on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammianus Marcellinus, 18.8.11 | Amida | 359 AD | History | Multiple mill complex |
| Antipater of Thessalonica, IX, 418.4–6 | Unspecified | 20 BC/10 AD | Poem | Earliest reference to overshot wheel mill |
| Ausonius, Mosella, 362–364 | c. 370 AD | Poem | Water-powered marble saws and grain-mills | |
| Beroea | 2nd century AD | Decree | Tax revenue from watermills | |
| Cedrenus, Historiarum compendium, p. 295 [516] | India | c. 325 AD | History | |
| CG-CI, pp. 86–90, no. 41 | Corinth | 6th century AD | ||
| CIL, III, 5866 | 1st/3rd century AD | Epigraphy | Miller’s guild | |
| CIL, III, 14969, 2 | Promona | 1st/4th century AD | Epigraphy | |
| CIL, VI, 1711 | c. 480 AD | Epigraphy | ||
| Codex Justinianus, XI, 43, 10, 3 | Constantinople | 474/491 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 | Sardis | 4th to 5th/6th century AD | Epigraphy | Watermill engineer |
| Gregory of Nyssa, In Ecclesiasten, III, 656A Migne | c. 370/390 AD | Theology | Water-powered marble saws? | |
| Huan Tan, Xin Lun | China | c. 20 AD | Treatise | Trip hammer |
| John Cassian, Conlationes Patrum, I, 18 | 426 AD? | Theology | ||
| Letter | Egypt | 5th century AD | Possible watermill | |
| Libanius, Or. 4.29 | Antioch | 380s AD | Rhetoric | Tax on watermills |
| MAMA, VII, p. 70, no. 305, lines 29–32 | Orcistus | c. 329 AD | Epigraphy | Town privilege |
| Mar. Aur. Apollodotos Kalliklianos | Hierapolis | Second half of 3rd century AD | Epigraphy | Member of guild of water-millers |
| Molitor | Châteauneuf | 1st century AD | Epigraphy | |
| Palladius, Opus agriculturae, I, 41, (42) | 4th/5th century AD | Treatise | Use of waste water to drive watermills | |
| Pliny, Naturalis Historia, XVIII, 23.97 | Italy | c. 70 AD | Encyclopedia | Water-powered pestles |
| Sabinianus I, 18 | c. 450 AD | Hagiography | ||
| Strabon, XII, 3, 30 C 556 | Cabira | Before 71 BC? | Geography | |
| Talmud, Shabbat, I, 5 | Before 70 AD? | |||
| Two inscriptions | Antioch | 73/4 AD | Epigraphy | Possibly 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 | Engineering | Earliest description of undershot wheel mill | |
| Vitruvius, X, 5.2 | 40/10 BC | Engineering | Possible kneading machine | |
This section deals with depictions of watermills which are preserved in ancient paintings, reliefs, mosaics, etc.
| Place (or object) | Country | Date | Type of evidence | Identification/Remains |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | Late 3rd century AD? | Wall painting | ||
| Utica | 4th century AD | Mosaic [7] | ||
| Great Palace of Constantinople | Turkey | c. 450/500 AD | Mosaic | One probable and one possible representation |
| Hierapolis sarcophagus | Turkey | Second half of 3rd century AD | Relief | Water-powered stone sawmill; earliest known crank and connecting rod system |
Below are listed excavated or surveyed watermill sites dated to the ancient period.
| Site | Country | Date | Identification/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 | |
| Chesters | Possibly 3rd century AD | Mill-race, mill-chamber, tail-race, millstones | |
| Fullerton | England | Unspecified | Two watermills |
| Haltwhistle Burn Head | 225–70 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 | |
| Nettleton | 230 AD | Mill-race, sluice-gate, wheel-pit, tail-race | |
| Wherwell | Late 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 mill | 2nd century AD | Multiple mill complex with sixteen overshot wheels on two mill-races, fed by aqueduct | |
| Fontvieille, Calade du Castellet | France | 5th/6th century AD | Horizontal-wheeled mill |
| Gannes | Presumably 4th or 5th century AD | Horizontal (?) water-wheel | |
| La Bourse | Late 5th century AD | Remains of waterwheel and curved trough. | |
| La Crau | France | 2nd century AD | Vertical-wheeled mill |
| La Garde (Var) | France | Unspecified | Vertical-wheeled mill |
| Lattes | France | Unspecified | Unspecified |
| Le Cannet-des-Maures | France | 5th century AD | Two horizontal-wheeled mills |
| Les Arcs (Var) | France | 2nd/3rd century AD | Vertical-wheeled mill |
| Les Martres-de-Veyre I | 1st century AD | Unspecified remains | |
| Les Martres-de-Veyre II | Late 2nd century AD | Entire establishment; breastshot wheel | |
| Lyon-Vaise | Late 1st century AD abandoned | Millstones, mill-chamber timbers | |
| Paulhan I–III | France | 40/50–early 3rd century AD | Three consecutive mills |
| Pézenas | France | 2nd century AD | Horizontal-wheeled mill |
| Saint-Doulchard | 1st century AD | Wooden paddles. | |
| Taradeau | France | Late 2nd–4th century AD | Horizontal-wheeled mill |
| Bobingen | Germany | 117/138 AD | Posts, boards, mill-race |
| Dasing | Merovingian | Timber posts and mill race, remains of wheel and paddles, millstones. | |
| Inden[8] | Germany | End of 1st century BC | Millstones, 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 AD | Mill-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] | Iran | 3rd century AD | About 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 Michael | 3rd century AD? | Masonry dam, with eleven mills | |
| Nahal Tanninim | Israel | Early 4th/mid-7th century AD | Six 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 | |
| Yarkon | 2nd century AD | Unspecified remains | |
| Oderzo | Italy | 2nd century AD | Mill-race |
| Rome, Baths of Caracalla I | Between 212/235 to mid-3rd century AD | Two vertical-wheeled mills | |
| Rome, Baths of Caracalla II | Italy | Mid-3rd century to 5th century AD | Two vertical-wheeled mills |
| Rome, Janiculum | Early 3rd century AD | Aqueducts, reservoirs, sluices, millstones | |
| Saepinum | Late 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 | |
| Venafro | Possibly early Empire | Undershot water wheel, millstones | |
| Gerasa | 6th century AD | Water-powered stone sawmill with two four-bladed saws; crank and connecting rod system without gear train | |
| Jarash | 527-65 AD | Wheel-pit walls, bearing emplacements, supply cistern, partly sawn stone drums. | |
| Wadi al-Hasa | Probably late Roman | At least nineteen possible drop-tower mills | |
| Oued es Soueïr | Unspecified | Unspecified remains | |
| Switzerland | 57/58–80 AD | Mill-race timbers | |
| Rodersdorf, Klein Büel | Switzerland | 1st century AD | Millstone, mill-race |
| Palmyra | Possibly Roman | Unspecified remains | |
| Chemtou | Late 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 Perge | Turkey | Unspecified | Unspecified remains |
| Apparently late antique | Seven horizontal-wheeled mills | ||
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.
| Site | Country | Date (or find context) | Remains |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4th century AD well | Fragments of four millstones | ||
| Chedworth | Roman villa | One lower stone, fragment of another | |
| Chew Park | Late 3rd or early 4th century AD | One complete upper stone, part of another | |
| Dicket Mead | Roman building | Fragments of millstones | |
| Leeds | Roman pottery dated to 1st and 2nd centuries AD | Fragment of millstone | |
| Littlecote Roman Villa | 2nd century AD timber building | Fragment of millstone | |
| London | 1st-2nd century AD | Several millstones | |
| London | Late 2nd century AD Roman ship | One unfinished millstone | |
| Selsey | Unspecified | Fragment of millstone | |
| Vindolanda | Possibly Roman | Four millstones | |
| Wantage | On display in museum | Two millstones | |
| Woolaston | c. 320 AD | Two upper millstones | |
| La Chapelle-Taillefert | Pottery and coins from 2nd century AD | Pair of millstones | |
| Lyon | On display in museum | Many unpublished millstones | |
| Paris | On display in museum | Six millstones | |
| Aalen | On display in museum | Five millstones | |
| Cologne | On display in museum | Three millstones | |
| Dasing | Unspecified | Fragments of millstones | |
| Koblenz | Several millstones | ||
| Mayen | Quarry | Unfinished Roman millstones | |
| Budapest | On display in museum | Six millstones | |
| Iran | Iran | c. 350 BC | Fragments of millstones |
| Beit She'an | Late 4th or early 5th century AD | Upper millstone | |
| Buqueiah | Allegedly from ancient watermill | Upper millstone | |
| Bologna | On display in museum | Six millstones | |
| Naples | Probably Roman | Several millstones | |
| Palatine, Rome | Italy | 4th or 5th century AD | 47 millstones from at least five watermills |
| 2nd or 3rd century AD | Pair of millstones | ||
| Cluj-Napoca | 2nd or 3rd century AD | Upper millstone | |
| Micia | 2nd or 3rd century AD | Pair of millstones | |
| Upper Tigris | Turkey | c. 350 BC | Fragments of millstones |
| Caerwent | Smithy | Millstones | |
| Whitton | Unspecified | Fragment of millstone | |
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.
| Site | Country | Date (or find context) | Remains |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Chesterford | Early 5th century AD hoard | Iron spindle with three winged rynds | |
| Silchester | Mid-4th century AD hoard | Iron spindle | |
| Saint-Doulchard | France | 1/10 to c.50 AD | Paddles, mill-chamber posts |
| Conimbriga | On display in museum, allegedly 1st century AD | Mill-wheel | |
| Hagendorn | Late 2nd century AD | Three undershot wheels | |
| Dolaucothi | 1st and 2nd centuries AD | Stone anvil (Carreg Pumsaint) nearby | |
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.
