<p>The main aim of this project was to document as many existing structures as possible due to the rapid development of rural areas, and a fear that these important historical features of the landscape would soon disappear. The book contains a detailed and illustrated catalogue of the water mills of Jordan, Cyprus and parts of Syria, and a concise one of those in Palestine. It also provides a useful summary of the historical and contemporary documentary evidence about the use of water technology for many socially and economically important functions, such as grain, water and sugar milling. What has emerged from a study of architecture, history, landscape and society is an intriguing picture of socio-economic interdependencies in both rural and urban societies, where the water mill had a defined and often vital role.</p>