A 13th-century hydraulic ore mill at the mining site of Brandes (Isère), France

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2019
Author
Minvielle-Larousse, Nicolas
Suggested citation
Minvielle-Larousse, Nicolas; . (2019) . A 13th-century hydraulic ore mill at the mining site of Brandes (Isère), France. Revista d'arqueologia de Ponent, 2019, extra 4, p. 59-78. https://doi.org/10.21001/rap.2019.extra-4.4.
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Abstract
This paper presents the results of the excavation of an ore grinding watermill brought to light in Sector B 121 of the industrial quarter of the mining town of Brandes (Isère, France). The mill, dated by dendrochronology the 13th century AD, was driven with water channelled from the Font-Morelle
spring. The head-race and spillway are examples of the opportunistic reuse of earlier anthropic (canal and mining trench) or natural (faults and karsts) features. The tail-race was not totally excavated. The mill-house (drywall and timber construction) is poorly conserved and the millstone driving mechanisms are difficult to interpret. A series of features suggest the use of a horizontal water wheel driven counterclockwise by a jet of water guided through a flume. A large number of millstone fragments and flakes were studied in a previous article.
Note
Anderson, T.J., Alonso, N. (eds), Tilting at Mills: The Archaeology and Geology of Mills and Milling. Revista d’Arqueologia de Ponent. Número Extra 4, 2019. ISBN: 9788491440291
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/69517
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21001/rap.2019.extra-4.4
Is part of
Revista d'arqueologia de Ponent, 2019, extra 4, p. 59-78
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cc-by-nc (c) Nicolas Minvielle Larousse, 2019
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as cc-by-nc (c) Nicolas Minvielle Larousse, 2019