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

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.