 The aqueduct | |
 Interactive map of Barbegal aqueduct and mills | |
| Location | Fontvieille,Bouches-du-Rhône, France |
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| Coordinates | 43°42′09″N4°43′17″E / 43.70250°N 4.72139°E /43.70250; 4.72139 |
TheBarbegal aqueduct and mills was aRoman watermill complex in the commune ofFontvieille, Bouches-du-Rhône, near the town ofArles, in southern France. The complex has been referred to as "the greatest known concentration of mechanical power in theancient world" and the 16overshot wheels are considered to be the largest ancient mill complex.[1]
Another similar mill complex existed on theJaniculum inRome, and there are suggestions that further such complexes existed at other major Roman sites, such asAmida (Mesopotamia).
The Barbegal site is located 12 kilometres east northeast of Arles nearFontvieille, where the Arles aqueduct passed near a steep escarpment. The mills consisted of 16water wheels in two parallel sets of eight descending a steep hillside. There are substantial masonry remains of the water channels and foundations of the individual mills, together with a staircase rising up the hill upon which the mills were built. The mills operated from the beginning of the 2nd century until about the end of the 3rd century.[2] The capacity of the mills has been estimated at 4.5 tonnes of flour per day, with some estimates stating up to 25 tonnes of capacity, enough to supply bread for as many as 10,000[3][4] or perhaps even 30,000–40,000 inhabitants of Arelate at that time.[5] It is thought that the wheels were overshot water wheels with the outflows driving successive wheels to the base of the hill.
TheRoman aqueducts that fed the mills were also built to supply water to the town ofArles (then calledArelate). The two aqueducts joined just north of the mill complex and asluice controlled the water supply to the complex.
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Vertical water mills were well known to the Romans, being described byVitruvius in hisDe architectura of 25 BC,[6] and mentioned byPliny the Elder in hisNaturalis Historiæ of 77 AD. There are also later references to floating water mills fromByzantium and tosawmills on the riverMoselle by the poetAusonius. The use of multiple stacked sequences ofreverse overshot water wheels was widespread in Roman mines, especially in Spain and Wales. It is possible that the mills at Barbegal may also have been used for sawing timber and stone when not grinding wheat. TheHierapolis sawmill from the 3rd century AD shows a crank-activated frame saw being used in this way, and another has been excavated atEphesus.
Visitors to Barbegal may park where a minor road (Route de L'Aqueduc) crosses the massive remains of the original aqueduct, and, with olive orchards on either side, walk south about 250 meters along the partially erect remains of the aqueduct and through the three meter deep rock-hewn cleft emerging at the top of the mill complex. Extensive farmland comes into view and spans 180° of the horizon to the south. The site is signposted as "Roman aqueduct" rather than as a mill. TheArles Museum of Antiquity has an informative reconstructed model of the mill. The site was slightly overgrown in spring 2022; care should be taken approaching and exploring the ruins.
The English science historianJames Burke examines Roman watermill technology such as that of the Barbegal aqueduct and mill, concluding that it influenced theCistercians and their waterpower, which in turn influenced theIndustrial Revolution, in the fourth of his ten-partConnections, called "Faith in Numbers".
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