| Abstract: |
The volume presents a detailed account of the sequence of tide mills discovered and excavated between 1999 and 2001 at Nendrum, County Down, on the foreshore of Strangford Lough near the remains of Nendrum Monastery, which was at its height as a monastic establishment during the seventh and eighth centuries AD. It was established by dendrochronology that the first mill was constructed in the years AD 619--621, and was replaced by a second mill in about AD 789. No date was established for the demise of the second mill. Both mills are of the horizontal-wheel type, powered by tides, and their remains provide evidence of early medieval hydraulic engineering, mill technology, and the social and ecological environment as well as the organisation of an early Irish monastery. Following an introduction which describes the excavation, Nendrum monastery, and the context of early medieval Irish mills, horizontal-wheeled and tide mills, a series of chapters describes the mills and associated structures, their technology and context, and the history of the monastery. Separately authored contributions include |
