مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - An Example of Disappearing Rural Material Culture: Water Mills (Example of Ağlasun)

Abstract :

One of the most important tangible cultural records of our rural heritage is “water mills” which are the examples of folk architecture. In addition to milling the corn and the wheat cultivated in rural areas as the basic nutritional resources for the rural people, water mills are used to mill other types of grains that are the foodstuff for animal stocks. The need for water mills for providing food for both human beings themselves and their stocks has turned water mills into indispensible tools of rural life. Water mills are closely connected with the geographical conditions of the areas in which they were built in terms of their positions and the building materials used in their construction. Written records and archeological studies have shown that various types of water mills found in and around Ağlasun are the most appropriate types for the local conditions encountered in the area.Our country s although there are regions in which water mills continue their existence by keeping up with the geographical conditions, they also succumb to transportation systems and technological advances in addition to economic conditions that change in rural life by time and the number of the mills are decreasing day by day. The fact that mills working with electrical energy are extensively used today has led water mills to lose their functions. As can be seen in the Ağlasun case, only one water mill out of ten is being used today. The other mill structures are mostly used today as barns or stables which are outside the realm of their general functions.This paper investigates the geographical characteristics of water mills, important samples of folk architecture of our rural cultural heritage in Ağlasun, explains their architectural and geographical attributes and discusses what can be done in order to protect them and convey their identities to future generations.