The report of the weird discover of a medieval windmill surrounded by a moat has simply come from Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA). So what have they discovered from the location, and why would a windmill have a moat?

Right here’s the MOLA report…

All alongside the Nationwide Highways A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet enchancment scheme, we’ve uncovered historic methods of life, work, and even play. One excellent latest discovery with an unimaginable wealth of finds is the stays of a medieval (AD 1066-1485) windmill.  

To have fun National Mills Weekend 2024 on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th May, we wished to share what makes this a one-in-a-mill-ion discover!

Location, Location, Location… 

Our windmill as soon as sat on excessive floor surrounded by farmland. Think about how this may have regarded within the medieval interval, with the mill’s big sails swooping over fields of wheat, barley, and oats. The local people would have grown their grain in giant open fields, which belonged to the lord of the manor.

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Windmill (middle) in a medieval illustrated manuscript, (Courtesy of the British Library, Royal 10 E. IV, f.89/MOLA)

Who’s who on the Medieval Mill? 

Proudly owning this mill would have been an amazing place of energy for the native lord of the manor. He obtained cash for the flour offered, in addition to hire from his tenants (the villagers), who did all of the farming for him. 10 % of every thing they made was paid to the opposite middle of medieval society – the church. 

This place would have wanted a talented miller. Working in a medieval mill was laborious, with numerous hazard, in addition to lengthy hours! Windmills would possibly look fairly from a distance, however there was a threat of damage from the heavy equipment, collapse throughout a storm, and fires… 

That’s proper – flour is flammable and even explosive! Millers needed to be cautious, as grinding for too lengthy might warmth up the flour and trigger a hearth within the picket mill.

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A drained miller leaving their mill. (courtesy of the British Library, Yates Thompson 13, f.176v/MOLA)

The Medieval Windmill 

Our mill constructing had giant central submit, which may very well be turned so the sails at all times confronted the wind. The submit of the mill was partly buried in an enormous mound of earth to help it, making it a sunken kind of Submit Mill. These had been first type of windmill in Europe, courting again to the 1100s-1200s.

The miller poured heavy sacks of grain into the  hopper, which fed the grain between the 2 millstones. The highest stone, known as the  runner stone was moved by gears. These had been hooked up to the central submit of the windmill, and turned because the sails span spherical within the wind. The underside  bedstone didn’t transfer. Each had grooves that trapped and minimize the grain, slowly grinding it into flour.

Supervisor Charlie holds two giant items of millstone from the dig. (MOLA)

Do you know the 2 millstones by no means truly touched? The miller adjusted the hole between them – the smaller the hole, the finer the flour.  

The Excavation 

None of our mill survives above floor, and the mound it stood on was levelled for farming. After we eliminated the topsoil to start out our dig, all you may see of the windmill was the define of the moat ditch that after surrounded it.

Aerial photograph of the mill excavations. (MOLA)

We started by excavating small post-holes on the land contained in the moat. These would have held posts that had been a part of the primary mill constructing.  

Then we began work on the large moat ditch. After we excavated ditches like this, we normally minimize trenches known as ‘slots’ into it, somewhat than excavate the entire ditch in a single go. Our largest slot was over 11m lengthy, 3m vast and 1.5m deep! It took many hours and archaeologists working as a group to dig and document this immense ditch.  

Why did a windmill have a moat? 

This was commonplace within the medieval interval, particularly with this ‘sunken’ kind of mill. The soil from the ditch was an important a part of the mill’s development. It was piled excessive right into a mound so the mill sails may very well be raised larger into the wind.  

As a result of this space is of course very moist, the deep ditch would have collected water and change into a moat. We might see proof for this throughout our excavations as a result of it was stuffed with shells from water snails!

What did we discover? 

We discovered plenty of various things that had made their means into the moat, which stuffed up with silt through the years. The erosion and flattening of the mill mound added extra materials to the ditch. 

Our finds included: 

• A number of pottery sherds, together with stunning medieval inexperienced glazed ware 
• Animal bone 
• Over 100 iron nails, doubtless from the picket windmill constructing 
• Metallic farming instruments, a horseshoe, a scythe, and a doable coulter (blade) from a plough 
• Private gadgets together with shoe or belt buckles 
• Clay tobacco pipe stems, from the post-medieval interval 

Archaeologist Fiona with an iron blade, probably a ‘coulter’ from a plough. (MOLA)

La pièce de résistance – 17 items that’s! 

Additionally within the ditch, we discovered 17 items of millstone. On the backside of the moat was a darkish ‘lava’ millstone. This kind of stone was imported from Mayen in Germany and was highly regarded for milling as a result of it has a really tough floor – brought on by bubbles forming within the cooling lava. 

You may see our stones have been ‘dressed’ (carved) with groves to catch and minimize the grain. 

Dressed ‘lava’ millstone. (MOLA)

In the identical ditch, we discovered one other kind of millstone with a a lot finer, tougher floor. This in all probability changed the ‘lava’ millstone.  

Left: the piece of later millstone. Proper: the sooner lava millstone. (MOLA)

What’s subsequent? 

Our excavation of the medieval mill has completed however work to course of and examine all our finds is ongoing, so watch this house! 

Within the meantime, why not go to the oldest surviving windmill in England and get an thought of how our medieval mill might need regarded! Simply south of the fashionable A428 close to Caxton is Bourn Windmill which was in-built c.1513-1549AD. 

High picture: The footprint of the medieval windmill present in England. Supply: MOLA

This text is a report by Calypso Finch, initially titled, ‘A one-in-a-mill-ion find – uncovering a medieval mill on the A428’ and was first printed by MOLA.