Mills in Alto Aragón - harinero

Liri

Liri is a small village in the Valle de Benasque which is in the Ribargorza county of Huesca province. The site of the mill is easily reached from Castejón de Sos. Take the road for Laspaúles and Pont de Suert. Very soon you will find a branch to the left where Liri is signposted —Camino del Solano. Follow this road until the first hairpin turn —with parking space at the left side and a ruin at the right side of the road. This spot, the Cascadas de Liri, is very popular among canyonists.

(1) The situation of the former mill in Liri.
white dot: ruin of picture 2; yellow dot: construction of picture 3 – 5.

Understanding this site is not a straightforward matter. The construction which is told to be the remains of an old mill (2), doesn't show any feature typical for a mill —no pond, no drain or restitution gutter, no cárcavo— and that is rather unusual, even for sites which were shut down a long time ago.
There are traces of more old construction work situated on the top of the hill (yellow dot in 1, 3) at the other side of the road. This may have been a mill also, but if we take it that the mill is below then this artefact (3 – 5) must have served as pond and pres­sure pit —very similar to the situation in Abella, as the crow flies only 10 km away.

(2) Remains of a building without any trace of equipment related to a milling business.

(3) Construction on the hill top opposite of the construction down at the road.

Huge boulders (3, 4) mark the highest point of the hill and it is only from close up that the construction work that has been done becomes visible. Between and around the rocks low walls (4, 5) have been erected that define a more or less square area. The walls are constructed of carefully stacked natural stones (5). In accordance with a function as storage for water, most of the stone perimeter is plastered with cement.
On the slope facing the road a shallow depres­sion (3) can be seen. This could be the path of the pressure pipe running down to the mill.

From the opposite side of what must have been the mill pond it is possible to follow the former canal allong the ridge (6 – 8) until it arrives at the river (9). We can't be sure, however, where exactly the water was taken in, or if there was a dam or not.

(4) Mill pond

(5) Mill pond

(6) Canal arrives at the construction on the hill top.

(7) The canal rounds the hill on its way from the Barranco de Liri.

(8) The canal close to, but still higher than, the river.

(9) Stretch of the río Liri where the intake for the canal must have been.

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