Mill, an Achievement of Technology and Water Resources Management: The Jovein and Joghatay Plains

Abstract
The mill is an example of one of the first human endeavors to harness natural forces to perform mechanical work and the ancestor of a long line of machines. Water has been the driving force of the mill.  In arid and semi-arid lands such as Iran, it made people think about the provision and use of water resources to meet the needs of the society, and the result was the construction of innovative structures. This would not have been possible except with sufficient knowledge of the geographical context and environmental capabilities. The main economic activity of ancient Iran was based on agriculture and mills are one of the structures related to this economy. The need to pay attention to traditional mills is important because we know that there are few remnants of them left and a major part of this technical and management history that was associated with local experiences and diverse architecture are now being destroyed and forgotten. The basis of this research was provided by identifying eight mills in Jovein and Jughatay plains in the northwestern part of Khorasan Razavi province, during archaeological studies in 1399.Studying the evidence left by these mills, which belonged to the Qajar period, could answer questions about how these structures are located, water management and guidance, as well as how the mills function. Therefore, in addition to field surveys and on-site documentation, an attempt was made to extract and analyze the physical evidence left over from these engineering structures using remote sensing methods. In this regard, in addition to field research, other studies with a similar subject were reviewed and finally the findings were processed and analyzed by comparative study. The result of this research was the existence of a common approach in the construction of mills that supplied their driving force from river and surface runoff. 
Keywords: Mill, Water Resources Management, Jovein and Joghatay, Khorasan.
 
Introduction
Watermill ranks among the primeval attempts by human to harness natural forces to exploit them in mechanical applications, and stand as the forefather of a long series of machinery. This apparatus boosted productivity per capita compared to primitive querns or hand mills, resulting in fostered specialization. Mills have direct bearings on such notions as economic development and capital, because investment in technology would encourage economic growth. Yet expanded use of mills was contingent on procuring the required propelling force, i.e. water. As a national capital, water has effectively informed the establishment of human settlements, economy, and, consequently, origination of political powers since the remote past. In arid and semi-arid regions like Iran, the provision and use of water resources to satisfy the society’s needs prompted local people to take this in consideration, the ultimate consequence of which was the advent of pertinent structures, which are innovative and unique of their kind (Fisher 2005:274, Saeedi 2002:381). This attainment would be impossible without sufficient knowledge of geographic settings and environmental capabilities of the involved region (Karimi 1995, Karmi and Talebian 2014, Asadi 2018).  Agriculture underpinned ancient Iran’s prevailing subsistence system. Mills were at the core of this economy and obtained their propulsion from running waters. The importance of studying mills becomes more apparent if we consider the scarcity of the preserved ancient mills, and the fact that a major part of this engineering legacy, which was typified by diverse, local architectural experiences in different regions, has already been lost and collapsed into oblivion. The primary basis for this paper came from the discovery of 7 mills in the plains of Jovein and Joghatãy in northwestern Khorasan Razavi Province, during archaeological surveys in 2020(Mirzaye 2020). The ruins of these mills, dating from the Qajar period, might provide answers to questions about locating and management of related structures as well as water conveyance and how the mills functioned in dry and droughty landscapes. Therefore, along with fieldwalking and on-site documentation, attempts were made to extract, describe and analyze the surviving evidence from these engineering structures through remote sensing approaches. In a comparative study aimed at a better understanding of the process of water engineering and management, we analyzed 15 additional mills in the central part of the Kope Dagh-Aladagh corridor (Shirvan and Fãruj Counties) (Mirzaye 2009) and 2 others in the northern flank of the Kuh-e Rahmat (Arsanjãn County, Fars). 
 
Discussion
The physical structure of these mills consists of the parts involved in supplying, conveyance and management of water, the main structure of the mill, and ancillary structures. Remains from 7 mills were identified in the course of the surveys in the Jovein-Joghatãy plain. Of these, those at Kamayestan and Azadvar each belong to a complex consisting of a row of 3 aligned mills, while the Yousefabad mill represents a freestanding building. All the mills were erected close to streams originating from the northern slopes of the Joghatãy Mountain. The building materials consisted of cobblestone, brick, and saruj mortar. Physically, they display the outlined typical tripartite structure, viz. the parts responsible for the supply, transfer and management of water, the main structure, and the ancillary sections. 
In terms of technique and technology, the first component was integral to these installations, as it was connected with procuring the millrace for rotating the wheel (turbine). Fully acquainted with the regional climate and natural capabilities, Iranian engineers would initially evaluate water resources and the feasibility of its transfer to the nearest rural settlement. The infrastructure involved a weir consisting of a series of diversions, and a surface or underground millrace (leat). Indeed, environmental conditions triggered slight differences in the construction of the weir in individual cases. For example, if water was to be obtained from a permanent river, it was diverted to the mill via a diversion channel as at Azadvar, and if a seasonal river served as the source, the stream was dammed by a weir so as to enable storing water and using it throughout the year as at Kamayestan.
The second constituent part was the main structure. Extreme care had to be taken when deciding on the placement of this section, as its repositioning was rather difficult and, in cases, even impossible given its dependence upon the first section. For this very reason, the main building would undergo constant in situ reconstructions and refurbishments, and this was the best possible approach to its preservation. Therefore, it is possible now to isolate repairs of different periods following the original construction by dint of dissimilar materials or changes in the form of the arches in the related buildings. From a technical perspective, the pressure platform (millrace), fluim (chute) and turbine represent the pivotal components of the mill’s structure when it comes to the provision of propelling power, because given the hot and dry climate of the Jovein and Joghatãy region, local water resources lacked enough discharge and flow intensity required to circulate the millstone. Therefore, a sloping platform with a maximal length of 50 m and a height of 3 m was constructed to transfer water to the fluim’s opening where it swiftly fell down to drive the horizontal turbine. As already stated, at each of the villages of Kamayestan and Azadvar, 3 aligned mills were operating based on the needs of the local community. The third section includes the physical structure of the mill and its auxiliary structures, which actually together represented a service area for millers and customers. The elements of this section varied according to the involved distance to the nearby population center. In the study area, only the mills at Kamayestan contain architectural remains, though they are of indeterminable nature and, therefore, fail to reflect their original functions. At a later stage of the study, the question arose as to whether the same constructional technique was applied to the mills of other regions of Iran given the country’s hot and dry climate. In this context, comparisons were drawn with 15 mills recorded in Shirvan and Fãruj (North Khorasan) and 2 mills from Arsanjãn (Fars). The comparisons focused on the type of the source employed for producing the driving force, and the similarities or dissimilarities in the physical structure of the mills. The result proved that a common constructional method was at work in the concerned regions.
 
Conclusion
 With the replacement of traditional propulsions with electricity since about 50 years ago, now it is possible to build a mill at any desired place. Also, the direct involvement of the central government in the grain supply chain, from the purchase management to the milling, has caused the traditional mills to gradually decline and become deserted over time. In this context, the lack of written documentation of the technology of these buildings and knowledge of their historical evolution and of the milling profession as well as the low chance of the relevant structures to occur in archaeological record have been combined to give rise to scattered studies in this regard. Implementation of such studies and synthesizing the available scattered publications might provide a general picture about the typology and the technological evolution of the mills, the social status of the milling profession, and how millers interacted with the society. At a higher level, such information will considerably contribute to specifying the social, economic and historical structures that were in operation in Iran during different periods.