 The mills at Barbegal in southern France are famous for their application of water power to grinding grain to make flour and were built in the 1st century AD.They consisted of 16 mills in a parallel sequence on a hill near Arles.The construction of a saw mill is even simpler than a flour or grinding mill, since no gearing is needed, and the rotary saw blade can be driven direct from the water wheel axle, as the example of Sutter's Mill in California shows.