Janiculum Mills Excavations
Roman water-mills on the Janiculum Hill, Rome
Excavations are continuing from 27th June to 30th July, 1999, in collaboration with the Soprintendenza di Roma. The 1999 season has been funded by the American Academy, the Packard Foundation, the Oppenheim Foundation, and the Craven Committee of Oxford University.
The aim of this season is to investigate the north-east corner of the car park, by the old entrance, to gain information on the interior layout of the mills, and to refine questions of dating, particularly the dates of construction and abandonment of the complex.
As a first step, a 3-D model of the substructure of the mills was created by Tyler Bell (Queen’s College, Oxford), based on information from previous excavations in 1990-1991 and in 1998. At this stage the model is primarily a tool intended to help the excavators understand the structure, and is subject to change and modification in the light of new discoveries; it should not be taken to be an accurate representation of the mills in all details.
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Reconstruction view of the mill substructures (aqueduct, mill-races and wheels) from the north-west. Some of the details are hypothetical: five wheels have been reconstructed in the north mill race, but if this mill race departed from the aqueduct at a more oblique angle there would only have been room for four wheels, and the nearest wheel would have to go. The number of wheels on the south (right-hand) mill race is uncertain. The gear-wheels and millstones have not been included. (Model created by Tyler Bell in Autocad 14.)
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Reconstruction view of the mill substructures (aqueduct, mill-races and wheels) from the south-east. Again, some of the details are hypothetical. (Model created by Tyler Bell in Autocad 14.)
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Reconstruction detail of the north-west corner of the mill. The angle at which the mill races departed from the aqueduct is a guess; if it were in fact more oblique, there would be no room for the nearest wheel shown. It is hoped that the ongoing excavations in this area will resolve the question of whether this wheel existed. The gear-pits and marble bearking blocks for the ends of the axles are based on the gear-pit excavated by Prof. Malcolm Bell; the carpentry of the wheels is hypothetical. (Model created by Tyler Bell in Autocad 14.)
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Click here for photos of the 1999 season in progress
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Andrew Wilson
The American Academy in Rome
Dr Andrew Wilson
Prize Fellow in Classical Archaeology
Magdalen College
Oxford,
OX1 4AU
U.K.
- Last updated: 05/07/1999
By: Andrew Wilson ( andrew.wilson@archaeology.ox.ac.uk )