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Mills in Alto Aragón – aceitero

Grustán

Grustán is a small uninhabited nucleus situated North of Graus (Ribagorza). When you arrive at Graus coming from the North on the A139 then you will notice a gravel road leaving the main road precisely at the spot where Graus announces its amenities and touristical highlights. If you miss it, then look for the camping (swimming pool, bar, restaurant, parking space) a little further on and then walk back. Follow the signs of the GR-1 which will bring you to Grustán. The path runs below the remains of the village, but a short detour for the church with its sundial is certainly worth the effort. The mill can be found North of the nucleus at the Coll del Tormo. That is near the first sharp curve to the left and a little bit lower than the path.

Pictures: 18.viii.2015

(1) The construction seen from the South Larger image.

The mill —built in 1804, according to the Sistema de Información del Patrimonio Cultural Aragonés— is entirely in ruins. The largest part of its walls have collapsed. Only the section most to the west stands still upright and that is where the remains of some its equipment can be found between the rubble and the vegetation.
The roof is gone but the shape of the perimeter wall shows that it was a gable roof (cubierta a dos aguas). Many oil mills equipped with a large canti­lever press have a mono-pitch roof (cubierta a un agua, e.g. Troncedo, Mipanas). One —there must haven been two— of the central pillars supporting the roof remains upright.

(2) Between the walls of the oil mill.
The crushing area (3) was situated left, the cantilever press (4) right, of the pillar.

(3) The zone where the olives were crushed to pulp — ∅ 320 cm.

(4) Pit for the main vertical beams, the virgenes, of the press.

(5) Pit for the virgenes (l) with the baseplate, the regaifa with gutter, of the press.

(6) A couple of steps leading down
into the sunken area around the press.
(7) Water vessel
in the North-West corner, next to the press.

Between the vegetation some decanter vessels dug out of stone can be found.

(8) First roller stone; ∅ 100 cm.
(9) First roller stone; ∅ 100 cm.

(10) Second roller stone; ∅ 100 cm.

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