04-12-2012, 04:36 PM
Stefan.
I have just been looking at the drawing showing the Hierapolis sawmill and the toothed gear wheel reminded me of a similar type of object that is displayed at Chesters museum on Hadrian's Wall.
The piece at Chesters is indeed made of stone and has holes set all around its diameter (similar to a ships capstain) that would have taken wooden posts, or maybe Paddles to drive it however it was found on the eastern bridge abutment but in the book "Bridges of the Tyne" by Bidwell and Holbrook it is refered I think to being a counter weight for a crane used to build the abutment which I found to be rediculous.
This piece of stone is displayed in a small gallery at the museum however in the main gallery there is a large stone cup over 60cm diameter that this particular stone would fit into as a corn grinder, and it should be pointed out that there was a water mill that operated in the tower of the east bridge abutment.
The late Raymond Selkirk like myself always considered this to be part of a more massive water engineering situation at Chesters, indeed where the supposed crane for building the abutment was situated would have made a better off loading point for Roman river barges that did in fact sail up the river Tyne to supply the wall forts and elsewhere.
I have just been looking at the drawing showing the Hierapolis sawmill and the toothed gear wheel reminded me of a similar type of object that is displayed at Chesters museum on Hadrian's Wall.
The piece at Chesters is indeed made of stone and has holes set all around its diameter (similar to a ships capstain) that would have taken wooden posts, or maybe Paddles to drive it however it was found on the eastern bridge abutment but in the book "Bridges of the Tyne" by Bidwell and Holbrook it is refered I think to being a counter weight for a crane used to build the abutment which I found to be rediculous.
This piece of stone is displayed in a small gallery at the museum however in the main gallery there is a large stone cup over 60cm diameter that this particular stone would fit into as a corn grinder, and it should be pointed out that there was a water mill that operated in the tower of the east bridge abutment.
The late Raymond Selkirk like myself always considered this to be part of a more massive water engineering situation at Chesters, indeed where the supposed crane for building the abutment was situated would have made a better off loading point for Roman river barges that did in fact sail up the river Tyne to supply the wall forts and elsewhere.
Brian Stobbs
