A brief overview of archaeological research on ancient mills and miling in Spain
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2019
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Abstract
This article presents a brief review of the history of research on archaeological mills
and milling in the Iberian Peninsula. As elsewhere in Europe, molinological research began
discretely in the 18th century. Early work was carried out by prestigious researchers including
the Siret brothers, P. Bosch Gimpera and V. G. Childe. The seminal article by this last scholar,
based on the research of Bosch Gimpera, introduced the notion which still stands today of a
Western Mediterranean origin for the rotary mill. Another molinological milestone in Iberia was
this research carried out by F . de Avilés, then director of the National Museum of Archaeology
at Madrid. The findings of his vast data base in the form of a questionnaire sent out different
archaeological institutions throughout the Peninsula, alas, remained incomplete and unpublished
until it was presented by L. Berrocal more than a half century later. The turn of the millennium
has seen a renewed interest on the subject as evidenced by six doctoral dissertations exploring
different molinological aspects.
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
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Revista d'arqueologia de Ponent, 2019, extra 4, p. 13-31