View of water mill with archaeologist hosing wooden timbers, during excavations by Brian Hope-Taylor.

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SC 768392

Description View of water mill with archaeologist hosing wooden timbers, during excavations by Brian Hope-Taylor.

Date 1953 to 1958

Collection Papers of Brian Hope-Taylor, archaeologist, Cambridge, England

Catalogue Number SC 768392

Category On-line Digital Images

Scope and Content Archaeologist spraying water on watermill timbers, Old Windsor, Berkshire Here we see an archaeologist spraying water on to the timbers of the Saxon watermill, in order to keep them damp. The timbers survived in the earth for 1,500 years due to the waterlogged conditions. If they were allowed to dry out quickly, they would have warped, changed shape and would generally deteriorate before they could be recorded. The mill had three large vertical waterwheels working in parallel. These would be turned by the force of the current from the water in the canal and each of the wheels drove, through wooden gearing, a pair of millstones which would have ground corn. Old Windsor may have been home to King Egbert of Wessex, who was born c.784AD, reigned between 802 and 839, and was known as the first king of all England. Old Windsor was an Anglo-Saxon royal palace and the predecessor of Windsor Castle. Excavations carried out by Brian Hope-Taylor in the 1950s revealed the remains of a settlement dating from 600AD. This settlement expanded during the 7th and 8th centuries. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

External Reference HT/80/5 (Neg 18)

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/768392

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap