Fosado

Fosado's mill is found along the Río Lanata and is easily reached. Take the road from L'Ainsa to Campo and after 12km park your car at the branch were Fosado is signposted. The mill is just a few steps away.

Pictures: 21.XII.1998, 01.I.2011, 02.III.2012

(1) Molino de Fosado with Río Nata — 2012

The mill of Fosado is a rather big construction consisting of a grain mill, a powerstation, storage room and living quarters for the miller.

The situation didn't improve in the time between our visits. In 1998 some parts of the grain mill could have been saved (5, 7, 8), but are now definitely lost (6). Today the mill is an empty shell with only the outer walls upright.

The central and highest part (1, 2) of the building houses the flour mill and the miller's quarters on the top floors. The entrance is in the low and protruding section (2) of the construction and was flanked by stonehalves (3, 4).

The section at the right side (1) is the power station having a separate door. There is no way to enter this section which is empty all the same.

(2) The entrance

Once inside the first thing You will notice are the stairs (9) leading to the living quarters. Take care and know that the safest approach is to assess the situation from outside at the back of the building through the roof. The floors collapsed during the time between our visits (10, 11) and crushed the installations on the ground level (6).

The workfloor is at the right side and situated a couple of steps higher than the entrance, but like I told you before, there is nothing much to see (6).

(3) Stone halves flank the entrance of the storage

(4) Retired running stone

(5) Stone casing and hopper — 1998

(6) Stone casing — 2011

(7) Casing and meal outlet

(8)

(9) Stairs to living quarters

(10) Living quarters in 1998

(11) Living quarters in 2011

The powerstation is muy ruinoso and we couldn't possibly enter by the normal way. But this part of the mill has a separate outlet (1) and we succesfully crawled our way through to the inner parts (12, 13).

The installations are entirely dismantled and removed. This mill was equipped with a turbine: the tubes and some supports are telling. There are also some insulators dispersed on the walls outside.

(12) — 1998

(13) — 1998

(14) Mouth of the cárcavo — 1998

Maps of the Instituto Geográfico Nacional (series MTN50, sheet 212) reveal an extensive network.

The map of 1936 shows lines to Arro, Fosado, Fuendecampo, Atiart, Samper, San Juan de Toledo and a cluster of houses without a name, but at the site of what is today's Lacabezonada.
On the map of 1952 the lines are extended towards Charo, Luján, La Lueza (today's Alueza) and Tierrantona!

(15) Weird passageway

If you look carefully at pict. 1 you'll notice that both main functional sections do not lean against each other.

But at the highest level — difficult to reach — between the buildings there is a weird piece of masonry. It's like an oven or kind of a container and next to it a passageway (15) leads to the electricity room. The slope is so steep it can't be meant for people. But then, what is it?

(16) Embalse

The situation with the waterworks of Fosado's mill are not entirely clear. I didn't find a connection with the Lanata river, but it's tempting to think there must have been a channel between the mill and the dam found upstream from the mill (18). Currently the embalse is only fed by a small rivulet behind the mill. But that could never have been enough to drive a generator feeding such a large network, even in former times when one house stood for one bulb.

The balsa (about 15m long) has earthen walls. The brick walls leading to the saetín (inlet) are set with care and 4 to 5 m high (16).

The cárcavo (17) is very deep and roomy. The roof is solid and from fine masonry close to the outlet (14). There are two rodetes next to each other and naturally also two botanas with tajadera (inlet pipes with valve). Often each wheel has a cárcavo of its own (e.g. Sarvisé), or when there is room for two, only one is mounted. (e.g. Javierre de Olsón, Mondot).

Notice that the wheels made their revolutions in opposite directions (just like human revolutions).