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

View/ Open
Issue date
2019Author
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.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
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: 9788491440291Is part of
Revista d'arqueologia de Ponent, 2019, extra 4, p. 59-78European research projects
Collections
The following license files are associated with this item:
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as cc-by-nc (c) Nicolas Minvielle Larousse, 2019
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
American millstones similar to the French burr: 19th century attempts to find substitutes
Hockensmith, Charles D. (Universitat de Lleida. Departament d'Història. Secció d'Arqueologia, Prehistòria i Història Antiga, 2019)During the early to mid 19th century, attempts were made in the United States to locate local sources of stone that were comparable in texture or appearance to that of the well known French burr millstone. These searches ... -
The quern and millstone quarries of Bibracte and Autun: The case of Saint-Andeux (CÙte-díOr, Burgondy, France)
Jaccottey, Luc; Farget, Virginie; Fronteau, Gilles; Beuchot, Sylvain; Boyer, François; Cherot, Coralie (Universitat de Lleida. Departament d'Història. Secció d'Arqueologia, Prehistòria i Història Antiga, 2019)The millstone research carried out at the oppidum of Bibracte has recently been bolstered by finds deriving from preventive archaeology carried out at the Roman city of Autun. A new phase of this research has focused on ... -
Norwegian millstone quarries in the face of European competition and cooperation 18th - 19 centuries
Belmont, Alain (Universitat de Lleida. Departament d'Història. Secció d'Arqueologia, Prehistòria i Història Antiga, 2019)Although geographically outside the heart of Europe, Norwegian millstone production was far from isolated from the rest of the continent. This article is based on research undertaken in French historical archives, a ...