The Barbegal aqueduct and mill is a Roman watermill complex located on the territory of the commune of Fontvieille, 10km from the town of Arles. The complex has been referred to as "the greatest known concentration of mechanical power in the ancient world".

Today, the Barbegal aqueduct and mills are situated on a Roman aqueduct that was built to supply drinking water from the mountain chain of the Alpilles to the town of Arles.
Twelve kilometers north of Arles, at Barbegal, near Fontvieille, where the aqueduct arrived at a steep hill, the aqueduct fed a series of parallel water wheels to power a flourmill. There are two aqueducts which join just north of the mill complex, and a sluice which enabled the operators to control the water supply to the complex. The mill consisted of 16 waterwheels in two separate rows built into a steep hillside. There are substantial masonry remains of the water channels and foundations of the individual mills, together with a staircase rising up the hill upon which the mills are built. The mills apparently operated from the end of the 1st century until about the end of the 3rd century. The capacity of the mills has been estimated at 4.5 tons of flour per day, sufficient to supply enough bread for the 12,500 inhabitants occupying the town of Arelate (Arles) at that time.
Visitors to Barbegal may park nearby, and walk south along the remains of the aqueduct through the cleft in the ridge to the top of the mill complex. The Arles Museum of Antiquity has informative models of the mill.

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The Barbegal aqueduct and mill - Arles

The Barbegal aqueduct and mill - Arles

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