Mill

Argaric Society

One of the most common resource used by the argaric community is the stone. Besides serving as a construction material, is used to make different types of tools, such as mills, as well as tombstones.

The majority of the lithic resources were are extracted from the bottom of the rivers and watercourses. Here, boulders, up to 40 kilos of weight, are selected and trasnported in large quantities to the central villages located between 3 and 6 kilometers away. The tombstones are obtained from the outcrops of sandstone and slate, located in the village surroundings.

But these materials barely make it beyond their local frontiers. Each centre limits itself to exploit its own territory resources, eliminating the possibility of obtaining other resources and work tools of better quality.

In the period of El Argar, a technological novelty was introduced, which consisted in using long and narrow mills above which they worked with wooden hands. Nevertheless, the milling continued being a hard that needed several working hours per day.

The finding of series of mills stored reveals that the demand of flour changed depending on the available stock and the crops.

Mill made ​​of stone , curled so that the upper surface has eroded , the work of grinding the grain.

Material: Stone
Provenance: Fuente Álamo, Cuevas de Almanzora (Almería)