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Today in the Photos of the Readers of La Vanguardia we discover the Mill of Ausiò (or Les Baumes) in Sant Julià de Vilatorta, in the region of Osona. We could ask: what is this stone wheel for?
A grinder is a type of quarry from which pieces are extracted that allow the production of mill wheels or these molas directly, like the one in the photographs.
The currently known quarry front extends for about 200 meters in the shape of a trench, with a wall on the south side and the remains of the worked stones on the north. In several points, the base of the wall appears cut with clearly visible notch strokes, giving rise to rounded molds, as detailed in Mapes de Patrimoni Cultural de la Diputació de Barcelona.
Towards the western end is the most visible area, outdoors. The sizes of the molas suggest, due to their shape and dimensions, that they date back to medieval times. There is also plenty of evidence of a type of underground quarry exploitation.
Sant Julià de Vilatorta was surely an important place in the production of millstones during the Middle Ages. This is demonstrated by the document of 1337 from the Municipal Archives of Moià in which a miller of Sant Julià is mentioned for promising to deliver a stone extracted from the molar of Encio to the parish of Marfà.
The Ausiò or Enció molar had been documented by Carles Puigferrat starting in 1362 and thanks to this author we know that it belonged undividedly to the lords of Altariba and Centelles.
Everything indicates that the mill would have been abandoned in the 15th century, while others were exploited nearby, and the place has been preserved quite intact since then.
