KNOW YOUR MONUMENTS

Dam

Feeder

Millpond

In this article in our 'Know

Bypass
Your Monuments' series, Cuan A' Mhuilin
Muiris O'Sullivan and Liam
Downey present an overview
of watermills.

Millrace

Mill

WATERMILLS

ater-powered mills and their associated water-supply Horizontal- and vertical-wheeled mills
mill-dams, races and were As shown in Rynne's reconstructions two
systems, comprising ponds, (1998) conjectural (Fig. 2),
among the most advanced of types of watermills were used, those with horizontal
w technological developments widely namely

early medieval agriculture. While they greatly improved the grinding millwheels and those with vertical millwheels. The vast majority,
of a of the meal and flour for domestic the one on Island, were horizontal-wheeled mills,
grain, large proportion including High
consumption continued to be produced by means of hand-operated with a single water-delivery chute or flume. Some had two
operated
rotary querns. This overview of watermills, combined with those on chutes, however?for instance, the medieval mills
delivery early
corn-drying kilns and quernstones published in Archaeology Ireland in found at Little Island in Cork Harbour (Rynne 1992). The milling
2005 (19 (2)) and 2006 (22 (2)), helps to provide an archaeological complex at Little Island used tidal power to drive a large double
on arable and in ancient horizontal-wheeled mill and a small vertical-wheeled mill.
perspective farming grain-processing
Ireland.

Number and location

Construction The number of mill sites now known amounts to 97, of which the
Watermills consisted of two main structural entities, the mill bulk are horizontal-wheeled mills 2006). Just nine vertical
namely (Brady
and the system. Considerable expertise, wheeled watermills are known, but appear to have become
building water-supply they
including surveying skills, was required in the construction of the more numerous in the later Middle Ages. The early mills generally
water-supply system, so as to ensure a flow from the millpond were not built on main river channels. While there are
steady exceptions,
through the mill-race to the millwheel. most sites are located on or adjacent to lesser streams that flow into
The watermill on High Island (Fig. 1), off the coast of Galway, is a larger river. Some mills, such as the milling complexes at Nendrum

the best-preserved early medieval mill site (Rynne et al. 1996). As (Co. Down) and Little Island (Co. Cork), were driven tidal power.
by
illustrated in Fig. 1, its operation involved (i) an upper dam, which Since such watermills were often situated in exposed locations, they
was the reservoir for the mill, (ii) a feeder stream downhill and constant maintenance.
leading required sturdy buildings
from the upper dam to (iii) the millpond, (iv) the mill-race or head As further detailed by Brady (2006), the highest geographical
race, which directed the water to the mill, (v) a bypass channel to concentrations of early medieval watermills are in the south and east
divert excess water of heavy and (vi) the mill of the are sites
during periods rainfall, country (Fig. 3). There twenty-seven in County Cork

building. alone, where they tend to be situated along the main river valleys,

36 Archaeology Ireland Autumn 2006

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 east-west, and also the coast. There are more
aligned along

scientifically dated mill sites of the first millennium in the province

of Munster than in the rest of Europe (Rynne 1998). The second
concentration of early medieval watermills (Fig. 3) is in Leinster,

the River Nore?there are twelve sites in County

along Kilkenny.
Most of the mill sites are in the midland counties and in
remaining
the north-east. Few mill sites have been found in the western half of

the country in those areas with poor soil and

especially high
rainfall. Brady (2006) notes that the concentration of watermills in

the south and east of Ireland highlights the areas where arable

farming and were most intensive in the

grain-processing early
medieval Cereal was not limited to the south and
period. production
east of the country however, as evidenced by the wide geographical
distribution of quernstones found on early medieval sites.

Nonetheless, it may be noted that because of the drier and sunnier

climate and more suitable soils, cereal production in Ireland is today

confined to the south and east, including those areas with

largely
the highest concentration of early medieval watermills.

A high concentration of mills (135, mainly watermills) from the

latermedieval period (c. 1100-1650) has been identified within the
Dublin region (Brady 2006). Their distribution follows centres of
and are concentrated on the coastal areas,
population they

particularly to the north of the city, within the city itself, and along
the Liffey and other main river valleys.

Dating profile
The Irish law-tracts to watermills and watercourses are
early relating
concerned with horizontal-wheeled mills. As already indicated, the

bulk of the 97 sites are horizontal-wheeled watermills. As

surviving
Rynne has shown, however, both horizontal- and vertical-wheeled

watermills were used in Ireland in the early medieval period.

Forty-three mill sites have been closely dated (Brady 2006) and,
to Rynne (1989), watermills are now the most accurately
according
dated structures of early medieval Ireland. The chronological spread
of dates ranges from the earliest site at Nendrum, Co. Down (AD

340-600), to the latest dated site at Patrick Street, Dublin (1243 ? 9).
A noteworthy feature of the dating profile is the predominance of
construction dates between 700 and 1000. Indeed, almost half (19)
of the 43 dated mills were constructed in the hundred-year period
between 750 and 850, corresponding to the so-called 'Golden Age'
of early Ireland. The twelfth- and thirteenth-century construction of

watermills is attributed to the coming to Ireland of the Continental

monastic orders, followed by the Anglo-Norman colonisation

2006). While there are references in the late

(Brady frequent
medieval period to specific mills, relatively few sites dating from this

time have been located. Both horizontal- and vertical-wheeled

watermills continued to be used, however. The horizontal mill

excavated by Rynne (1997) at Patrick Street in Dublin was

rebuilt in the later fourteenth century and continued in
extensively
use until the early seventeenth century.
The range of medieval watermills found in Ireland, and
early 1 (across in the terrain of the Island watermill
Fig. left)?Workings High
particularly the complex milling sites at Nendrum and Little Island,
site, Co. Galway (courtesy of Dr Colin Rynne).
point to a well-developed arable base in Ireland by the tenth
farming
This is further underlined the recent excavation reconstructions of
century. by Fig. 2?(above) Conjectural (a) the horizontal
conducted by Matthew Seaver at Raystown, Co. Meath, of what wheeled watermill and (b) the vertical-wheeled watermill at Little
could be described as an industrial-scale agricultural Island, Co. Cork (courtesy of Dr Colin Rynne).
perhaps

Archaeology Ireland Autumn 2006 37

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 KNOW YOUR MONUMENTS

development 4), comprising the remains of six horizontal

(Fig.
watermills, with finely engineered mill-races, and five corn-drying
kilns, with bowl furnaces, hearths and multiple ditches, as well
along
as burials.

Check-list of diagnostic features

the basal of watermills survive, such as
Usually only workings
timberwork associated with troughs, sluices, dams, penstocks and

occasionally the wheel-house. Sometimes the remains of water

are found, such as dams, feeder streams and
supply systems

millponds.
The remains of watermills are mostly found at a remove from

main river channels and are located on or adjacent to

usually
feeder streams or along intertidal foreshores. Early medieval mills
are mainly concentrated in the south and east of the country.

Further information
This article draws extensively on the publications, listed below, by Dr
Colin Rynne of the Department of Archaeology, UCC, and Dr Niall
Brady of the Discovery Programme. Their permission, and also that

of Mr Matthew Seaver of CRDS Ltd, to use the illustrations in this

article ismuch appreciated. Dr Niall Brady kindly made available to
us a copy of his paper, which will be published later this year.

Brady, N. 2006 Mills inmedieval Ireland: looking beyond design. In

Mill Type
S. Walton (ed.), Wind and water, the medieval mill, 39-68.
Mill
Horizontal
Pennsylvania State University Press. andVertical
Horizontal Mill
1989 The of the vertical watermill into ? Mill,post 1100
Horizontal
Rynne, C. introduction Milltypeunknown
Ireland: some recent evidence. Medieval Archaeology Mill
Vertical
archaeological
Mill,post 1100
Vertical
33, 21-31.

Rynne, C. 1992 Milling in the seventh century?Europe's earliest tide

mills. Archaeology Ireland 6 (2), 22-4.

Fig. 3 (above)?The distribution of early medieval and dated mills
Rynne, C. 1997 The Patrick Street watermills. In C. Walsh (ed.),
in Ireland (courtesy of Dr Niall Brady).
Archaeological excavations at Patrick, Nicholas and Winetavern Streets,

Dublin, 81-9. Dingle. Brandon.

Rynne, C. 1998 The craft of the millwright in early medieval Munster.

In M. A. Monk and J. Sheehan (eds), Early medieval Munster:

archaeology, history and society, 87-101. Cork ^^^^^^^^^^^

Press.
University ^^^^^^^^^^H
Rynne,C, Rourke,G. andWhite-Marshall,J. f^^^^^^^^^H
1996An earlymedievalmonasticwatermillon
^^^^^^^^^^^|
Ireland10 (3),24-7.
High Island.Archaeology ^^^^^^^^^|

Fig. 4 (right)?Excavation at Raystown, Co.

Meath, showing the remains of a series of six

horizontal watermills and associated mill-races,
five corn-drying kilns, furnaces, hearths and

multiple ditches, as well as burials (courtesy of

Matthew Seaver).

38 Archaeology Ireland Autumn 2006

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions