Rare medieval water mill discovered in Greenwich Wharf

EXCAVATIONS at Greenwich Wharf have uncovered the foundations of London’s earliest found medieval water mill.

Archaeologists from the Museum of London discovered the mill, which was powered by the tide from the River Thames, while excavating the building site of a new residential development on Greenwich Peninsula.

The huge structure, measuring ten metres by twelve metres at its base, would have had a wheel diameter of more than 5 metres and has been dated to the twelfth century.

According to the museum, the mill is an unprecedented and rare find and was preserved in riverside peat deposits.

Contract manager for the museum Simon Davis said: “Tide mills may have been numerous along the Thames foreshore in the early medieval period.

“However, little evidence of mills in use in the early medieval period has been found on archaeological sites, so the discovery of a 12th century tide mill at Greenwich is very significant and exciting.

“Detailed recording of the find following its excavation and dismantling by the Museum of London archaeology field team will enhance our understanding of milling technologies and early medieval economies.”