Mills in Alto Aragón - harinero, aceitero

Mondot - Viliellas

Mondot and certainly this mill is not that easily found. From the main road between L'Ainsa and Barbastro turn to Lamata in Mesón de Ligüerre de Cinca. Follow the long narrow road and turn right just before Olsón where Mondot is signposted. Once there turn right into the village and park the car. From the church follow the main dirt road to the graveyard. A trifle further on there is a lesser branch to the left leading slowly down which will bring you to the brink of the canyon more or less at the spot of pict. 1. Find your way down, cross the farmland and walk then against the stream until you'll reach the molino which, I think, is known as Molino Viliellas.

Pictures: 31.iii.2010

(10) Canal enters the pond
(11) Wall of the embalse

The mill is on the Río Susía. Though I looked for the dam and the intake point, I couldn't locate the beginning of the canal. That is probably because the construction of a small pumping station has de­stroy­ed the site. The rest of the canal is still there — not very clear, but still traceable to where it falls into the reservoir (10).
The lake is impressive in every aspect: huge size, awful depth, good masonry — pictures 10 and 11 are taken from the same spot but in opposite directions. The pond at its end is 5 m deep (12) and counts two broad mouths (13) towards the wheels. With such a massive body of water no extra pres­sure building device like a cubo was needed.

(12) Lake at deepest point
(13) Inlet to cárcavo (15)

(14) Cárcavo left
(15) Cárcavo right (cp6)
(16) Axle inside cárcavo right

Only the left outlet (saetín, 13) is open; the drain at the right has been sealed. This corresponds with the situation at the other end of the wall. One cárcavo (14) is empty and in the other —below the olive crusher— a solid botana and arbol (16) can be seen. The silt probably hides a wooden wheel.
Both cárcavos open into a depression from where the water is drained away through a long tunnel (17) below the terraces which are contained by huge walls (18, 19). Somewhere in these walls the tunnel opens and gives the water back to the river.

(17) Drain back to the river
(18) Walls contain the river

(19) Río Susía — mill in the back
(20) same point seen from the embalse

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