Gutenberg Open Science: Reconstructing the hydraulics of the world’s first industrial complex, the second century CE Barbegal watermills, France

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://doi.org/10.25358/openscience-5834

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DC Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Passchier, Cees W.	-
dc.contributor.author	Bourgeois, Marcel	-
dc.contributor.author	Viollet, Pierre-Louis	-
dc.contributor.author	Sürmelihindi, Gül	-
dc.contributor.author	Bernard, Vincent	-
dc.contributor.author	Leveau, Philippe	-
dc.contributor.author	Spötl, Christoph	-
dc.date.accessioned	2021-04-26T08:58:17Z	-
dc.date.available	2021-04-26T08:58:17Z	-
dc.date.issued	2020	-
dc.identifier.uri	https://openscience.ub.uni-mainz.de/handle/20.500.12030/5843	-
dc.description.abstract	The Barbegal watermill complex, a unique cluster of 16 waterwheels in southern France, was the first known attempt in Europe to set up an industrial-scale complex of machines during the culmination of Roman Civilization in the second century CE. Little is known about the state of technological advance in this period, especially in hydraulics and the contemporary diffusion of knowledge. Since the upper part of the Barbegal mill complex has been destroyed and no traces of the wooden machinery survived, the mode of operation of these mills has long remained elusive. Carbonate incrustations that formed on the woodwork of the mills were used to reconstruct its structure and function, revealing a sophisticated hydraulic setup unique in the history of water mills. The lower mills used an elbow shaped flume to bring water onto overshot millwheels. This flume was specially adapted to the small water basins and serial arrangement of the mills on the slope. Carbonate deposits from ancient water systems are therefore a powerful tool in archaeological reconstructions and provide tantalizing insights into the skills of Roman engineers during a period of history that is the direct predecessor of our modern civilization.	en_GB
dc.language.iso	eng	de
dc.rights	CC BY	*
dc.rights.uri	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/	*
dc.subject.ddc	550 Geowissenschaften	de_DE
dc.subject.ddc	550 Earth sciences	en_GB
dc.title	Reconstructing the hydraulics of the world’s first industrial complex, the second century CE Barbegal watermills, France	en_GB
dc.type	Zeitschriftenaufsatz	de
dc.identifier.doi	http://doi.org/10.25358/openscience-5834	-
jgu.type.dinitype	article	en_GB
jgu.type.version	Published version	de
jgu.type.resource	Text	de
jgu.organisation.department	FB 09 Chemie, Pharmazie u. Geowissensch.	de
jgu.organisation.number	7950	-
jgu.organisation.name	Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz	-
jgu.rights.accessrights	openAccess	-
jgu.journal.title	Scientific reports	de
jgu.journal.volume	10	de
jgu.pages.alternative	17917	de
jgu.publisher.year	2020	-
jgu.publisher.name	Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature	de
jgu.publisher.place	London	de
jgu.publisher.uri	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-74900-5	de
jgu.publisher.issn	2045-2322	de
jgu.organisation.place	Mainz	-
jgu.subject.ddccode	550	de
jgu.publisher.doi	10.1038/s41598-020-74900-5
jgu.organisation.ror	https://ror.org/023b0x485
Appears in collections:	JGU-Publikationen

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