Archaeology of Mills and Milling

This account of mills and milling, from prehistory through Roman, Anglo-Saxon and later medieval times, to the post-medieval and modern centuries, is not just another book about windmills and watermills.The few mills that do survive, sometimes restored, need to be set in a broader context. Watermills, which have always played the more dominant role, developed over a period of 2000 years and windmills first appeared in Britain 800 years ago: Domesday Book records 6000 watermills and by AD 1400 there were about 4000 windmills.By interpreting the archaeological evidence and, for the later period, the documentary sources and above-ground remains, Martin Watts has pieced together a history of British molinology. Throughout he emphasises the development and use of artefacts and machines for grinding grain, their place in the historic landscape, and in the production of an essential food.