Pera Oreinis (1st mill, tis Ekklisias)

Mill Description

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The mill is located on the southern outskirts of the village. It is built on sloping ground on the eastern side of the Pediaios river and is surrounded by crops. The surviving parts of the mill include the aqueduct, the watertower and the dilapidated building that housed the grinding mechanism. The aqueduct is preserved in a length of about 50m. It has a sigmoidal shape in plan and at its end it becomes wider and has a triangular shape to facilitate the collection of water. Externally, it is reinforced with buttresses and is made almost entirely of small and large river stones. In some places, clay bricks (upper parts) and dressed limestone (channel’s capping) are used. The watertower is a massive structure of about 7.50m high. It is rectangular in plan. Its sides are vertical and externally it forms a rectangular prism. Its masonry consists exclusively of river stones. The upper part of the watertower along with its elevated walls form a rectangular reservoir around the opening of the shaft. The shaft has the shape of a truncated cone with a maximum diameter of 2.40m at the top and about 0.80m at the bottom. There is extensive loss of the internal and external coating material of the shaft, as well as loss of stones in particular places. At a lower level, to the west (front side) of the watertower is the room that housed the grinding mechanism. It is a rectangular room 2,70 x 5,70 m which is adjacent to the main bigger room with dimensions 7,20 x 9,70 m. An arched pointed opening gives access between the two rooms. The building is constructed with rubble walls with big river stones and limestone gallets, as a base, where the upper part is adobe, forming the characteristic for the region, building method. Inside this room there was a pair of French millstones (Grande Société Meuliére, La Ferté-Sous-Jouarre). Today, the millstones are exhibited in the village’s main square. The building is in a ruinous state. At the lowest level, to the west of the watertower, is the room that housed the waterwheel. It is covered by a low arch vault built with dressed limestones. The nozzle is still visible. Also the remnants of the metal waterwheel along with its metal axis are still preserved. During the 18th century, the mill was the property of the Machairas Monastery (Panagia tou Machaira) as mentioned in the Cadastral Codes of the Archbishopric of the year 1773. The mill was confiscated by the Ottomans in 1821 and later, under Abbot Ezekiel (1848-57), it was regained by the Machaira’s Monastery. Later, unknown when, it became the property of the church of Pera and today it belongs to the community of Pera. Oral testimonies mention that the mill was functioning until the 1940s. D. Myrianthefs

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