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, 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,; ; 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.; ; ; 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.
Date Water-powered mill types Reference (or find spot) Modern countryPossibly before c. 350 BCPossible horizontal-wheeled corn millPersian Empire (hypothesized place of invention)Iran, Iraq, TurkeyPossibly first half of 3rd century BCHorizontal-wheeled mill ; ; Byzantium (hypothesized place of invention)TurkeyPossibly c. 240 BCVertical-wheeled mill Alexandria (hypothesized place of invention)EgyptBefore 71 BC?Grain-mill ("watermill") ; Strabon, XII, 3, 30 C 556 Turkey40/10 BCUndershot wheel mill ; Vitruvius, X, 5.2 Unspecified40/10 BCPossible kneading machine Vitruvius, X, 5.2 Unspecified20 BC/10 ADOvershot wheel mill ; Antipater of Thessalonica, IX, 418.4–6 Unspecifiedc. 20 ADTrip hammerHuan Tan, Xin LunChina73/4 ADPossible fulling millAntioch Syria2nd century ADMultiple mill complex ; Barbegal mill FranceLate 2nd century ADBreastshot wheel mill Les Martres-de-Veyre France Second half of 3rd century ADSawmill; crank and connecting rod system with gear train Hierapolis sarcophagus TurkeyLate 3rd or early 4th century ADTurbine mill ; ; Chemtou and Testour Tunisia Late 3rd or early 4th century ADPossible tanning mill ; SaepinumItaly?Possible furnaceMarseille France
Written sources 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 onAmmianus Marcellinus, 18.8.11 Amida359 AD HistoryMultiple mill complexAntipater of Thessalonica, IX, 418.4–6 Unspecified 20 BC/10 ADPoemEarliest reference to overshot wheel mill Ausonius, Mosella, 362–364 Ruwer river c. 370 AD PoemWater-powered marble saws and grain-millsBeroeaMacedonia 2nd century AD Decree Tax revenue from watermillsCedrenus, Historiarum compendium, p. 295 ; Indiac. 325 AD History CG-CI, pp. 86–90, no. 41 Corinth6th century AD CIL, III, 5866 Günzburg 1st/3rd century AD EpigraphyMiller’s guild CIL, III, 14969, 2 ; Promona1st/4th century AD EpigraphyCIL, 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 engineerGregory 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 watermillLibanius, Or. 4.29 Antioch380s AD Rhetoric Tax on watermillsMAMA, VII, p. 70, no. 305, lines 29–32 Orcistusc. 329 AD EpigraphyTown privilegeMar. Aur. Apollodotos Kalliklianos HierapolisSecond half of 3rd century AD EpigraphyMember of guild of water-millers Molitor Châteauneuf1st century AD EpigraphyPalladius, Opus agriculturae, I, 41, (42) 4th/5th century ADTreatiseUse of waste water to drive watermillsPliny, 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 millsVisigothic Code, VII, 2, 12 and VIII, 4, 29–30 Late 5th century AD Legal codeVita 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) Country Date Type of evidence Identification/RemainsCoemeterium Maius at Rome; ItalyLate 3rd century AD? Wall painting UticaTunisia 4th century AD Mosaic Character as watermill disputed () Great Palace of Constantinople; Turkeyc. 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.
Site Country Date Identification/RemainsMouzaïa des Mines, near Algeria Unspecified Unspecified remainsOued Bou Ardoun Algeria Possibly 2nd to 3rd century AD Unspecified remainsOued Bou Ya'koub Algeria Unspecified Drop-tower millOued Mellah Algeria Possibly 4th century AD Drop-tower millArdleigh, Spring Valley Mill England Unspecified Possible Roman watermill site including millstonesChestersEngland Possibly 3rd century AD Mill-race, mill-chamber, tail-race, millstonesFullertonEnglandUnspecified Two watermillsHaltwhistle Burn HeadEngland 225–70 AD Entire establishmentIckham I England 150–280 AD Mill-race, mill-building, fragments of millstones Ickham II England 3rd and 4th centuries AD Mill-race, sluice-gate, mill-building, fragments of millstonesNettletonEngland 230 AD Mill-race, sluice-gate, wheel-pit, tail-raceWherwellEngland Late 3rd or early 4th century AD Mill-channel, mill-building (?), fragments of millstones Willowford England Late 2nd or 3rd century AD? Water-channels, sluices (?), fragments of millstonesBarbegal millFrance 2nd century AD Multiple mill complex with sixteen overshot wheels on two mill-races, fed by aqueductFontvieille, Calade du Castellet France5th/6th century AD Horizontal-wheeled millGannes France Presumably 4th or 5th century AD Horizontal (?) water-wheelLa BourseFrance Late 5th century AD Remains of waterwheel and curved trough.La CrauFrance2nd century ADVertical-wheeled millLa Garde (Var)FranceUnspecifiedVertical-wheeled millLattesFranceUnspecifiedUnspecifiedLe Cannet-des-MauresFrance5th century ADTwo horizontal-wheeled mills Les Arcs (Var)France2nd/3rd century ADVertical-wheeled millLes Martres-de-Veyre I France 1st century ADUnspecified remainsLes Martres-de-Veyre II France Late 2nd century AD Entire establishment; breastshot wheel Lyon-Vaise; France Late 1st century AD abandonedMillstones, mill-chamber timbersPaulhan I–III France40/50–early 3rd century ADThree consecutive millsPézenasFrance2nd century ADHorizontal-wheeled millSaint-DoulchardFrance 1st century AD Wooden paddles.TaradeauFranceLate 2nd–4th century ADHorizontal-wheeled millBobingenGermany117/138 ADPosts, boards, mill-raceDasingGermany Merovingian Timber posts and mill race, remains of wheel and paddles, millstones.Inden; ; Images: 1 and 2GermanyEnd of 1st century BCMillstones, wheel-shaft bearings, paddle fragmentsLösnich I Germany 2nd/4th century AD? Mill-race, wheel-pit, fragment of a millstone Lösnich II Germany 2nd/4th century AD? Mill-raceMunich-Perlach ; Germany End of 2nd century ADMill-chamber, mill-race, millstone fragments; possibly duplex driveAthens, Agora I Greece 5th and 6th centuries AD Aqueduct, wheel-pit, mill-chamber, tail-race Athens, Agora II Greece 460/75 to c.580 AD Entire establishment Athens, Agora III Greece Unspecified Unspecified remainsShushtar Historical Hydraulic SystemIran3rd century ADAbout 40 watermillsEl-Qabu Israel Possibly Roman Unspecified remains En Shoqeq Israel 2nd century AD Masonry dam with millsFarod I–III Israel 5th or 6th century AD Three drop-tower millsFarod IV–V Israel Unspecified Two millsMa'agan MichaelIsrael 3rd century AD? Masonry dam, with eleven millsNahal Tanninim; IsraelEarly 4th/mid-7th century ADSix vertical-wheeled mills with duplex drives and underdriven Pompeian millstonesWadi Fejjas I–III Israel Probably Roman Three drop-tower millsWadi Serrar Israel Probably Roman Unspecified remainsYarkonIsrael 2nd century AD Unspecified remainsOderzoItaly2nd century AD Mill-raceRome, Baths of Caracalla I Italy Between 212/235 to mid-3rd century ADTwo vertical-wheeled millsRome, Baths of Caracalla II ItalyMid-3rd century to 5th century ADTwo vertical-wheeled millsRome, JaniculumItaly Early 3rd century AD Aqueducts, reservoirs, sluices, millstonesSaepinumItaly Late 3rd or early 4th century AD Aqueduct, sluice-gates, wheel-pit, tail-race. Recently identified as tanning mill.San Giovanni di Ruoti Italy Early 1st century AD Unspecified remainsVenafroItaly Possibly early Empire Undershot water wheel, millstonesGerasa; Jordan 6th century AD Water-powered stone sawmill with two four-bladed saws; crank and connecting rod system without gear train JarashJordan 527-65 ADWheel-pit walls, bearing emplacements, supply cistern, partly sawn stone drums.Wadi al-HasaJordan Probably late Roman At least nineteen possible drop-tower mills Oued es Soueïr Morocco Unspecified Unspecified remainsAvenches Switzerland57/58–80 AD Mill-race timbersRodersdorf, Klein Büel Switzerland1st century ADMillstone, mill-racePalmyraSyria Possibly Roman Unspecified remainsChemtouTunisia Late 3rd or early 4th century AD Triple helix turbine mill with horizontal wheels Testour Tunisia Late 3rd or early 4th century AD Triple helix turbine mill with horizontal wheelsColossae Turkey Unspecified Possible multiple-mill complex Kurşunlu Waterfall, near PergeTurkeyUnspecifiedUnspecified remainsLamus river Turkey 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.