300-year-old mill unearthed on underground garage site

Locals kept building off maps, say archaeologists.

(Source: TASR)

Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of a town mill dating back more than 300 years in Trnava at a site which will soon be turned into garages for a multi-functional building.

Huge logs, which more than 300 years ago were part of the town's mill, were found three metres down during a dig on land near the Anton Malatinský Stadium.

Experts believe that the mill was eventually abandoned after the Trnávka river was redirected in the 18th century.

"We know from written information that there was a city mill here, although it is not included on any depiction of the city. It was a strategic building. The mill ground flour for the local inhabitants, and therefore they probably did not want to draw attention to it, as it stood unprotected only behind the [town] walls," Róbert Ölvecký, who is heading the research team, said, as quoted by TASR.

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The find comes after the foundations of a 13th century tower were discovered at the same site in 2019.

A culvert where the water of Trnávka flowed through the city wall out of the city has also been found, as have wheels, horizontally placed logs and whole, partially processed tree trunks, which probably formed part of the mill equipment.

"Only those parts that used to be under water have been preserved, as over time, they got covered with mud," Ölvecký told TASR.

Archaeologists have identified four mill shafts, but it remains unclear whether they were part of just one mill or several that worked at the same time.

The Trnávka's flow was redirected after 1700 and completely disappeared at the site at the beginning of the 20th century. Its course now runs outside the town's historical centre.

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The dig comes amid plans for construction of underground garages for a future multi-functional building on the site, the TASR newswire reported.

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