Early watermills – an archaeological indication of taxation?

Jessen, Mads Dengsø

doi:10.1080/21662282.2017.1377958

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…One of the most fundamental ways the relationship between water and man changed in Scandinavia in the middle ages was through the spread of watermills. While the technology behind watermills was known in the classical period, the oldest mill in Scandinavia is from the early 10th century (Dengsø Jessen, , p. 141). However, it was only from around 1100 onwards that watermills began to seriously spread throughout the countryside, predominantly in Denmark (Hybel & Poulsen, , pp.…”

Section: Water and Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The introduction of watermills in the Scandinavian landscape had social and economic, not to speak of environmental effects (Hansen et al, 2014). Watermills could change the flow of the rivers, especially downstream, so authorities were keen to establish who had the rights to certain streams and rivers, as the construction of watermills should not be detrimental to other parties (Dengsø Jessen, , p. 138; Fischer, ). The mills required investments in building materials as well as technological insight and some upkeep, but were not particularly labor intensive after the initial phase, meaning that profits—if one could make people take their corn to be grinded at the mill—could be high (Lucas, , p. 79).…”

Section: Water and Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The earliest watermills in Denmark seem to have been small and with a vertical wheel (Figure ), and although the chronological relationship between horizontally and vertically wheeled mills is unclear, Dengsø Jessen has argued convincingly that the first watermills in southern Scandinavia were of the vertical type (Dengsø Jessen, , pp. 136–137; Fischer, , pp.…”

Section: Water and Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Between sea and river: Water in medieval Scandinavian towns

Poulsen

Gundersen

2019

WIREs Water

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The general climate and topography of medieval Scandinavia, with high levels of rainfall and snow on a yearly basis, combined with an abundance of lakes, rivers, and smaller streams, meant that freshwater was easily available for most people. In this paper, we present an overview of how people interacted with water-both freshwater and salt water-in medieval (ca. 1050-ca. 1500) Scandinavia's towns. By describing how the supply of freshwater was organized and what it was used for, how shipping and fishing was regulated, and the use and impact of watermills, we are able to identify some actors and attempt to discern their motivation when they engaged in a wide range of activities involving both fresh and salt water in medieval Scandinavia. We argue that understanding water and water management in medieval Scandinavia necessitates a different approach compared to more arid regions, an approach which considers water as simply one resource among many, deeply embedded in a wider economic web.

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Section: Water and Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Water and Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Water and Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Between sea and river: Water in medieval Scandinavian towns

Poulsen

Gundersen

2019

WIREs Water

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“…The two watermills in the JWP doctoral study (WED-01, WJ-02), a watermill at Ein Gedi beside the Dead Sea (Hadas 2001) and a watermill in Iraq (Usta and Tonghini 2023) are the only published examples known to the author of 14 C dating of organic materials ( OM ) in horizontal watermills in the Middle East. Several European watermill studies have obtained 14 C dates from wooden mill components, especially mill-wheels (Rynne 2015; Jessen 2017); however, these components are rarely preserved in the southern Levant. There have been no published 14 C dates of OM from watermill carbonate deposits.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

HORIZONTAL WATERMILL CHRONOLOGIES BASED ON ¹⁴C DATING OF ORGANICS IN MORTARS: A CASE STUDY FROM JARASH, JORDAN

Boyer

2024

Radiocarbon

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Horizontal watermills in the southern Levant have proved difficult to date. This study investigates the use of radiocarbon (14C) dating of various organic carbon fractions in structural mortars and carbonate deposits to identify terminus post quem (TPQ) construction dates for seven arubah watermills and two chute watermills in northern Jordan. Dating results from the various organic fractions are discussed in the contexts of carbon fraction integrity and mortar type. The arubah watermill construction dates fall into two chronological groups. Four arubah watermills have Middle Islamic (late 12th to early 14th century AD) construction dates based on macrocharcoal and bulk organic fraction ages, whereas the bulk organic fraction ages of two earlier arubah watermills straddle the Byzantine-Early Islamic transition. Their possible fifth to seventh-century construction dates are among the earliest in the southern Levant. Limited 14C data from the chute water mills suggests that the earliest may date to the sixth–seventh century period, concurrent with the older arubah watermills. The study supports the viability of the AMS 14C method to provide estimated TPQ construction dates for watermills, providing caution is exercised. Short-lived macrocharcoals have the highest integrity but are subject to severe sample loss during pretreatment. 14C ages from humic and humin fractions in earthen mortars are influenced by “old carbon” contamination, possibly a soil reservoir effect, and are centuries older than the probable construction date. Attention is drawn to the potential use of arubah carbonate deposits as proxy records of water flow, watermill use, and hydroclimate.

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Early watermills – an archaeological indication of taxation?

Cited by 2 publications

References 13 publications

Between sea and river: Water in medieval Scandinavian towns

Between sea and river: Water in medieval Scandinavian towns

HORIZONTAL WATERMILL CHRONOLOGIES BASED ON ¹⁴C DATING OF ORGANICS IN MORTARS: A CASE STUDY FROM JARASH, JORDAN

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Early watermills – an archaeological indication of taxation?

Cited by 2 publications

References 13 publications

Between sea and river: Water in medieval Scandinavian towns

Between sea and river: Water in medieval Scandinavian towns

HORIZONTAL WATERMILL CHRONOLOGIES BASED ON 14C DATING OF ORGANICS IN MORTARS: A CASE STUDY FROM JARASH, JORDAN

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HORIZONTAL WATERMILL CHRONOLOGIES BASED ON ¹⁴C DATING OF ORGANICS IN MORTARS: A CASE STUDY FROM JARASH, JORDAN