Editing Watermill (section)

== History ==
{{See also|Water wheel}}
There are two basic types of watermills, one powered by a vertical-waterwheel via a [[gear]] mechanism, and the other equipped with a horizontal-waterwheel without such a mechanism. The former type can be further divided, depending on where the water hits the wheel paddles, into undershot, overshot, breastshot and reverse shot waterwheel mills.

=== Western world ===
==== Classical antiquity ====
{{Further|List of ancient watermills}}
[[File:Roda de Vitruvi.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Model of a [[Roman Empire|Roman]] water-powered grain mill described by [[Vitruvius]]. The millstone (upper floor) is powered by an [[Water wheel#Types|undershot waterwheel]] by the way of a gear mechanism (lower floor)]]

The [[Hellenistic civilization|Greeks]] invented the two main components of watermills, the waterwheel and toothed gearing, and used, along with the [[Roman Empire|Romans]], undershot, overshot and breastshot waterwheel mills.<ref>{{harvnb|Oleson|1984|pp=325ff.}}; {{harvnb|Oleson|2000|pp=217–302}}; {{harvnb|Donners|Waelkens|Deckers|2002|pp=10−15}}; {{harvnb|Wikander|2000|pp=371−400}}</ref>

The earliest evidence of a water-driven wheel appears in the technical treatises ''Pneumatica'' and ''Parasceuastica'' of the Greek engineer [[Philo of Byzantium]] (ca. 280−220 BC).<ref>{{harvnb|Oleson|2000|p=233}}</ref> The British historian of technology M.J.T. Lewis has shown that those portions of Philo of Byzantium's mechanical treatise which describe water wheels and which have been previously regarded as later [[Arabic language|Arabic]] interpolations, actually date back to the Greek [[3rd century BC]] original.<ref>M. J. T. Lewis, Millstone and Hammer: the origins of water power (University of Hull Press 1997)</ref> The [[sakia|sakia gear]] is, already fully developed, for the first time attested in a 2nd-century BC [[Hellenistic]] wall painting in [[Ptolemaic Egypt]].<ref>{{harvnb|Oleson|2000|pp=234, 270}}</ref>

Lewis assigns the date of the invention of the [[Water wheel#Types|horizontal-wheeled]] mill to the Greek colony of [[Byzantium]] in the first half of the 3rd century BC, and that of the [[Water wheel#Types|vertical-wheeled]] mill to [[History of Ptolemaic Egypt|Ptolemaic]] [[Alexandria]] around 240 BC.<ref name="invention">{{harvnb|Wikander|2000|pp=396f.}}; {{harvnb|Donners|Waelkens|Deckers|2002|p=11}}; {{harvnb|Wilson|2002|pp=7f.}}</ref>

The Greek geographer [[Strabo]] reports in his ''Geography'' a water-powered [[grain-mill]] to have existed near the palace of king [[Mithradates VI Eupator]] at [[Cabira]], [[Asia Minor]], before 71 BC.<ref>{{harvnb|Wikander|1985|p=160}}; {{harvnb|Wikander|2000|p=396}}</ref>

The Roman engineer [[Vitruvius]] has the first technical description of a watermill, dated to 40/10 BC; the device is fitted with an [[Water wheel#Types|undershot wheel]] and power is transmitted via a [[sakia|gearing mechanism]].<ref name="Undershot wheel mill">{{harvnb|Wikander|2000|pp=373f.}}; {{harvnb|Donners|Waelkens|Deckers|2002|p=12}}</ref> He also seems to indicate the existence of water-powered [[kneading]] machines.<ref name="Wikander 2000, 402">{{harvnb|Wikander|2000|p=402}}</ref>

The Greek epigrammatist [[Antipater of Thessalonica]] tells of an advanced [[Water wheel#Types|overshot wheel]] mill around 20 BC/10 AD.<ref name="Overshot wheel mill">{{harvnb|Wikander|2000|p=375}}; {{harvnb|Donners|Waelkens|Deckers|2002|p=13}}</ref> He praised for its use in grinding grain and the reduction of human labour:<ref>Lewis, p. vii.</ref>

{{blockquote|Hold back your hand from the mill, you grinding girls; even if the cockcrow heralds the dawn, sleep on.  For [[Demeter]] has imposed the labours of your hands on the [[nymph]]s, who leaping down upon the topmost part of the wheel, rotate its axle; with encircling cogs,''<ref>The translation of this word is crucial to the interpretation of the passage.  Traditionally, it has been translated as 'spoke' (e.g. Reynolds, p. 17), but Lewis (p. 66) points out that, while its primary meaning is 'ray' (as a sunbeam), its only concrete meaning is 'cog'. Since a horizontal-wheeled corn mill does not need gearing (and hence has no cogs), the mill must have been vertical-wheeled.</ref>'' it turns the hollow weight of the [[Nisyros|Nisyrian]] [[millstone]]s.  If we learn to feast toil-free on the fruits of the earth, we taste again the [[golden age]].}}

The Roman encyclopedist [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] mentions in his ''[[Naturalis Historia]]'' of around 70 AD water-powered [[trip hammer]]s operating in the greater part of Italy.<ref name="Trip hammer">{{harvnb|Wikander|1985|p=158}}; {{harvnb|Wikander|2000|p=403}}; {{harvnb|Wilson|2002|p=16}}</ref> There is evidence of a [[fulling mill]] in 73/74 AD in [[Antioch]], [[Roman Syria]].<ref name="Wikander 2000, 406">{{harvnb|Wikander|2000|p=406}}</ref>

The 2nd century AD [[Barbegal aqueduct and mill|multiple mill complex of Barbegal]] in southern [[France]] has been described as "the greatest known concentration of mechanical power in the [[ancient world]]".<ref>Kevin Greene, "Technological Innovation and Economic Progress in the Ancient World: M.I. Finley Re-Considered", ''The Economic History Review'', New Series, Vol. 53, No. 1. (Feb., 2000), pp. 29-59 (39)</ref> It featured 16 overshot waterwheels to power an equal number of [[flour]] mills. The capacity of the mills has been estimated at 4.5 tons of [[flour]] per day, sufficient to supply enough bread for the 12,500 inhabitants occupying the town of [[Arles|Arelate]] at that time.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.etab.ac-caen.fr/lescourtils/provence/barbegal.htm |title=La meunerie de Barbegal<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2008-04-11 |archive-date=2007-01-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070117123744/http://www.etab.ac-caen.fr/lescourtils/provence/barbegal.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> A similar mill complex existed on the [[Janiculum]] hill, whose supply of flour for [[Rome]]'s population was judged by emperor [[Aurelian]] important enough to be included in the [[Aurelian walls]] in the late 3rd century.

A [[Water wheel#Types|breastshot wheel]] mill dating to the late 2nd century AD was excavated at [[Les Martres-de-Veyre]], France.<ref name="Wikander 2000, 375">{{harvnb|Wikander|2000|p=375}}</ref>

[[File:Römische Sägemühle.svg|thumb|left|Scheme of the Roman [[Hierapolis sawmill]], the earliest known machine to incorporate the mechanism of a [[crank (mechanism)|crank]] and [[connecting rod]]<ref name="Ritti, Grewe, Kessener 2007, 161"/>]]

The 3rd century AD [[Hierapolis water-powered stone sawmill]] is the earliest known machine to incorporate the mechanism of a [[crank (mechanism)|crank]] and [[connecting rod]].<ref name="Ritti, Grewe, Kessener 2007, 161">{{harvnb|Ritti|Grewe|Kessener|2007|p=161}}</ref> Further sawmills, also powered by crank and connecting rod mechanisms, are archaeologically attested for the 6th century AD water-powered stone sawmills at [[Gerasa]] and [[Ephesus]].<ref>{{harvnb|Ritti|Grewe|Kessener|2007|pp=149–153}}</ref> Literary references to water-powered [[marble]] saws in what is now [[Germany]] can be found in [[Ausonius]] 4th century AD poem [[Mosella]]. They also seem to be indicated about the same time by the [[Christian saint]] [[Gregory of Nyssa]] from [[Anatolia]], demonstrating a diversified use of water-power in many parts of the [[Roman Empire]].<ref>{{harvnb|Wilson|2002|p=16}}</ref>

[[File:Roman mill at Chemtou.jpg|thumb|Roman [[turbine]] mill at [[Chemtou]], [[Tunisia]]. The tangential water inflow of the millrace made the horizontal wheel in the shaft turn like a true turbine, the earliest known.<ref name="Wilson 1995 507f">{{harvnb|Wilson|1995|pp=507f.}}; {{harvnb|Wikander|2000|p=377}}; {{harvnb|Donners|Waelkens|Deckers|2002|p=13}}</ref>]]

The earliest [[Water turbine|turbine]] mill was found in [[Chemtou]] and [[Testour]], [[Roman North Africa]], dating to the late 3rd or early 4th century AD.<ref name="Wilson 1995 507f"/> A possible water-powered [[Blast furnace|furnace]] has been identified at [[Marseille]], France.<ref name="Wikander 2000, 407">{{harvnb|Wikander|2000|p=407}}</ref>

Mills were commonly used for grinding grain into flour (attested by [[Pliny the Elder]]), but industrial uses as [[fulling]] and sawing [[marble]] were also applied.<ref>Lewis, ''passim''.</ref>

The Romans used both fixed and floating water wheels and introduced water power to other provinces of the [[Roman Empire]].  So-called 'Greek Mills' used water wheels with a horizontal wheel (and vertical shaft).  A "Roman Mill" features a vertical wheel (on a horizontal shaft).  Greek style mills are the older and simpler of the two designs, but only operate well with high water velocities and with small diameter millstones. Roman style mills are more complicated as they require gears to transmit the power from a shaft with a horizontal axis to one with a vertical axis.

Although to date only a few dozen Roman mills are archaeologically traced, the widespread use of aqueducts in the period suggests that many remain to be discovered. Recent excavations in Roman London, for example, have uncovered what appears to be a [[tide mill]] together with a possible sequence of mills worked by an aqueduct running along the side of the [[River Fleet]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.kentarchaeology.ac/authors/005.pdf |title=Rob Spain: A possible Roman Tide Mill |access-date=2008-03-08 |archive-date=2011-05-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517013738/http://www.kentarchaeology.ac/authors/005.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 537 AD, [[ship mill]]s were ingeniously used by the [[East Rome|East Roman]] general [[Belisarius]], when the besieging [[Ostrogoths|Goths]] cut off the water supply for those mills.<ref name="Wikander 2000, 383">{{harvnb|Wikander|2000|p=383}}</ref> These floating mills had a wheel that was attached to a boat moored in a fast flowing river.

<gallery class="center">
File:Undershot water wheel schematic.svg|Undershot water wheel, applied for watermilling since the 1st century BC<ref name="Undershot wheel mill"/>
Image:Overshot water wheel schematic.svg|Overshot water wheel, applied for watermilling since the 1st century BC<ref name="Overshot wheel mill"/>
Image:Breastshot water wheel schematic.png|Breastshot water wheel, applied for watermilling since the 3rd century AD<ref name="Wikander 2000, 375"/> 
</gallery>

==== Middle Ages ====
{{Further|List of early medieval watermills}}
[[Image:Medieval mill with undershot wheel.png|thumb|right|Medieval watermill]]
[[File:Shipmills, Martyrdom of St Ursula at Cologne (detail).jpg|thumb|250px|German [[ship mill]]s on the [[Rhine]], around 1411]]

The surviving evidence for watermills sharply increases with the emergence of documentary genres such as [[Monastery|monastic]] [[charter]]s, Christian [[hagiography]] and Germanic [[legal code]]s. These were more inclined to address watermilling, a mostly rural work process, than the [[Classical antiquity|ancient]] urban-centered literary class had been.<ref>{{harvnb|Wikander|2000|pp=372f.}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Wilson|2002|p=3}}</ref> By [[Carolingian dynasty|Carolingian]] times, references to watermills had become "innumerable" in Frankish records.<ref name="Wikander 1985, 170, 45">{{harvnb|Wikander|1985|p=170, fn. 45}}</ref> The [[Domesday Book]], compiled in 1086, records 5,624 watermills in [[Norman England|England]] alone.<ref>{{harvnb|Gimpel|1977|pp=11–12}}</ref> Later research estimates a less conservative number of 6,082 that should be considered a minimum as the northern reaches of England were never properly recorded.<ref>{{harvnb|Langdon|2004|pp=9–10}}</ref> In 1300, this number had risen to between 10,000 and 15,000.<ref>{{harvnb|Langdon|2004|pp=11}}</ref> By the early 7th century, watermills were also well established in [[Ireland]]. A century later they began to spread across the former Roman Rhine and Danube frontier into the other parts of [[Germany]].<ref>{{harvnb|Wikander|2000|p=400}}</ref> [[Ship mill]]s and [[tide mill]]s, both of which yet unattested for the ancient period,<ref>{{harvnb|Wikander|2000|pp=379 & 383f.}}</ref> were introduced in the 6th century.

; Tide mills

In recent years, a number of new archaeological finds has consecutively pushed back the date of the earliest tide mills, all of which were discovered on the [[Ireland|Irish]] coast: A 6th century [[Water wheel#Types|vertical-wheeled]] tide mill was located at Killoteran near [[Waterford]].<ref name="Murphy 2005">{{harvnb|Murphy|2005}}</ref> A twin flume [[Water wheel#Types|horizontal-wheeled]] tide mill dating to c. 630 was excavated on [[Little Island, Cork|Little Island]].<ref name="Wikander 1985, 155–157">{{harvnb|Wikander|1985|pp=155–157}}</ref><ref name="Rynne 2000, 10, fig. 1.2; 17; 49">{{harnvb|Rynne|2000|pp=10, fig. 1.2; 17; 49}}</ref> Alongside it, another tide mill was found which was powered by a vertical undershot wheel.<ref name="Wikander 1985, 155–157"/><ref name="Rynne 2000, 10, fig. 1.2; 17; 49"/> The [[Nendrum Monastery mill]] from 787 was situated on an island in [[Strangford Lough]] in [[Northern Ireland]]. Its millstones are 830&nbsp;mm in diameter and the horizontal wheel is estimated to have developed {{convert|7/8|HP|W}} at its peak. Remains of an earlier mill dated at 619 were also found at the site.<ref>{{harvnb|McErlean|Crothers|2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nendrum.utvinternet.com/tmill/ |title=Recently discovered Tide Mill from 787 AD at Nendrum Monastic Site |access-date=2008-04-10 |archive-date=2007-09-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927225336/http://www.nendrum.utvinternet.com/tmill/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

; Survey of industrial mills

In a 2005 survey the scholar Adam Lucas identified the following first appearances of various industrial mill types in Western Europe. Noticeable is the preeminent role of France in the introduction of new innovative uses of waterpower.  However, he has drawn attention to the dearth of studies of the subject in several other countries.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" cellpadding="2"
|- style="background: #ececec;"
!colspan="12" | '''First Appearance of Various Industrial Mills in Medieval Europe, AD 770-1443''' <ref>Adam Robert Lucas, 'Industrial Milling in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds. A Survey of the Evidence for an Industrial Revolution in Medieval Europe', ''Technology and Culture'', Vol. 46, (Jan. 2005), pp. 1-30 (17).</ref>
|-
!'''Type of mill'''
! '''Date'''
! '''Country'''
|-
|Malt mill
|770
|France
|-
|[[Fulling mill]]
|1080
|France
|-
|Tanning mill
|c. 1134
|France
|-
|Forge mill
|ca. 1200
|England, France
|-
|Tool-sharpening mill
|1203
|France
|-
|Hemp mill
|1209
|France
|-
|Bellows
|1269, 1283
|Slovakia, France
|-
|[[Paper mill]]<ref name="Burns 1996, 417f.">{{harvnb|Burns|1996|pp=417f.}}</ref>
|1282
|Spain
|-
|[[Sawmill]]
|c. 1300
|France
|-
|Ore-crushing mill
|1317
|Germany
|-
|[[Blast furnace]]
|1384
|France
|-
|Cutting and [[slitting mill]]
|1443
|France
|-
|}

===Ancient East Asia===
[[Image:Song Dynasty Hydraulic Mill for Grain.JPG|thumb|right|A [[Song dynasty|Northern Song era]] (960&ndash;1127) water-powered mill for dehusking grain with a horizontal wheel]]

The waterwheel was found in China from 30 AD onwards, when it was used to power [[trip hammer]]s,<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, pp.&nbsp;390&ndash;392</ref> the [[bellows]] in [[History of ferrous metallurgy|smelting iron]],<ref>{{harvnb|de Crespigny|2007|p=184}}</ref><ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 370.</ref> and in one case, to mechanically rotate an [[armillary sphere]] for [[Chinese astronomy|astronomical observation]] (see [[Zhang Heng]]).<ref>{{harvnb|de Crespigny|2007|p=1050}}</ref><ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 88&ndash;89.</ref> Although the British chemist and sinologist [[Joseph Needham]] speculates that the water-powered millstone could have existed in Han China by the 1st century AD, there is no sufficient literary evidence for it until the 5th century AD.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 396&ndash;400.</ref> In 488 AD, the mathematician and engineer [[Zu Chongzhi]] had a watermill erected which was inspected by [[Emperor Wu of Southern Qi]] (r. 482&ndash;493 AD).<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 2 400" >Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 400.</ref> The engineer Yang Su of the [[Sui dynasty]] (581&ndash;618 AD) was said to operate hundreds of them by the beginning of the 6th century.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 2 400" /> A source written in 612 AD mentions [[Bhikkhu|Buddhist monks]] arguing over the revenues gained from watermills.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 400&ndash;401.</ref> The [[Tang dynasty]] (618&ndash;907 AD) 'Ordinances of the Department of Waterways' written in 737 AD stated that watermills should not interrupt riverine transport and in some cases were restricted to use in certain seasons of the year.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 2 400"/> From other Tang-era sources of the 8th century, it is known that these ordinances were taken very seriously, as the government demolished many watermills owned by great families, merchants, and [[Chinese Buddhism|Buddhist abbeys]] that failed to acknowledge ordinances or meet government regulations.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 2 400"/> A [[Eunuch (court official)|eunuch]] serving [[Emperor Xuanzong of Tang]] (r. 712&ndash;756 AD) owned a watermill by 748 AD which employed five waterwheels that ground 300 [[bushel]]s of wheat a day.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 2 400" /> By 610 or 670 AD, the watermill was introduced to [[Japan]] via [[Korean Peninsula]].<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 2 401" >Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 401.</ref> It also became known in [[Tibet]] by at least 641 AD.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 2 401"/>

===Ancient India===
According to Greek historical tradition, India received water-mills from the Roman Empire in the early 4th century AD when a certain Metrodoros introduced "water-mills and baths, unknown among them [the Brahmans] till then".<ref>{{harvnb|Wikander|2000|p=400}}: {{blockquote|This is also the period when water-mills started to spread outside the former Empire. According to [[Cedrenus]] (Historiarum compendium), a certain Metrodoros who went to India in c. AD 325 "constructed water-mills and baths, unknown among them [the Brahmans] till then".}}</ref>

===Arabic world===
[[File:An Afghan Water Mill in Afghanistan WDL11490.png|thumb|An Afghan water mill photographed during the [[Second Anglo-Afghan War]] (1878–1880). The rectangular water mill has a thatched roof and traditional design with a small horizontal mill-house built of stone or perhaps mud bricks.]]

Engineers under the [[Caliphates]] adopted watermill technology from former provinces of the [[Byzantine Empire]], having been applied for centuries in those provinces prior to the [[Early Muslim conquests|Muslim conquests]], including modern-day [[Syria]], [[Jordan]], [[Israel]], [[Algeria]], [[Tunisia]], [[Morocco]], and [[Spain]] (see [[List of ancient watermills]]).<ref>{{harvnb|Wikander|1985|pp=158−162}}</ref>

The industrial uses of watermills in the Islamic world date back to the 7th century, while horizontal-wheeled and vertical-wheeled watermills were both in widespread use by the 9th century.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} A variety of industrial watermills were used in the Islamic world, including [[gristmill]]s, [[huller]]s, [[sawmill]]s, ship mills, [[stamp mill]]s, [[steel mill]]s, [[Sugar refinery|sugar mills]], and [[tide mill]]s. By the 11th century, every province throughout the Islamic world had these industrial watermills in operation, from [[al-Andalus]] and [[North Africa]] to the [[Middle East]] and [[Central Asia]].<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Adam Robert | first1 = Lucas  | year = 2005 | title = Industrial Milling in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds: A Survey of the Evidence for an Industrial Revolution in Medieval Europe | journal = Technology and Culture | volume = 46 | issue = 1| pages = 1–30 [10] | doi=10.1353/tech.2005.0026| s2cid = 109564224 }}</ref> Muslim and Middle Eastern Christian engineers also used [[crankshaft]]s and [[water turbine]]s, [[gear]]s in watermills and water-raising [[machine]]s, and  [[dam]]s as a source of water, used to provide additional power to watermills and water-raising machines.<ref>[[Ahmad Y Hassan]], [http://www.history-science-technology.com/Articles/articles%2071.htm Transfer Of Islamic Technology To The West, Part II: Transmission Of Islamic Engineering]</ref> Fulling mills, and steel mills may have spread from [[Al-Andalus]] to Christian Spain in the 12th century. Industrial watermills were also employed in large [[factory]] complexes built in al-Andalus between the 11th and 13th centuries.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Adam Robert | first1 = Lucas  | year = 2005 | title = Industrial Milling in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds: A Survey of the Evidence for an Industrial Revolution in Medieval Europe | journal = Technology and Culture | volume = 46 | issue = 1| pages = 1–30 [11] | doi=10.1353/tech.2005.0026| s2cid = 109564224 }}</ref>

The engineers of the Islamic world used several solutions to achieve the maximum output from a watermill. One solution was to mount them to [[pier]]s of [[bridge]]s to take advantage of the increased flow. Another solution was the ship mill, a type of watermill powered by water wheels mounted on the sides of [[ship]]s [[Mooring (watercraft)|moored]] in [[midstream]]. This technique was employed along the [[Tigris]] and [[Euphrates]] rivers in 10th-century [[Iraq]], where large ship mills made of [[teak]] and [[iron]] could produce 10 [[ton]]s of [[Gristmill|flour from corn]] every day for the [[granary]] in [[Baghdad]].<ref name=Hill2 >Hill; see also [http://home.swipnet.se/islam/articles/HistoryofSciences.htm Mechanical Engineering] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071225091836/http://home.swipnet.se/islam/articles/HistoryofSciences.htm |date=2007-12-25 }})</ref>

===Persia===
More than 300 watermills were at work in Iran till 1960.<ref name=Qanat>[http://www.aftabir.com/articles/view/science_education/technical/c3c1183387267p1.php/%D9%82%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%85%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AB-%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%87%D9%86%DA%AF%DB%8C-%D9%88-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%85%DB%8C-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%86 Conference of Qanat in Iran - water clock in Persia 1383], in Persian</ref> Now only a few are still working. One of the famous ones is the water mill of Askzar and the water mill of the [[Yazd]] city, still producing flour.