Mazonovo Ethnographic Complex

The ironworks building was organised around two areas housing the hydraulic machinery: the hammer mill and the ‘barquines’, or large bellows, where the furnace was also situated, within the same area as the hammer mill. The complex was complemented by the hydraulic system comprising the weir across the river, the canal and the water storage basin or ‘banzao’.

The most notable features of this ironworks are: the diversion of the river using stones; the canal dug into the ground; the ‘banzao’ made of stone slabs set vertically, except for its final section which is made of wood; and the ‘tromba’ (air duct), which is also made of wood.

As for the ironworks building itself, it is worth noting that it is one of the most interesting examples, as it has remained largely unchanged over time. The building features irregular stone masonry on its exterior walls, with a roof of slate slabs nailed to battens resting on wooden sleepers and beams. There are three elements located outside the building:

• The dam or ‘tirula’, built from cross-laid stone slabs.
• The channel, approximately 350 metres long, excavated into the ground itself.
• The banzao, consisting of slate slabs driven lengthways into the ground, with its final section constructed of timber.

As for the mechanisms of the waterwheel, the following are noteworthy: the waterwheel, made of oak and with an external diameter of 2.30 metres. The shaft, made of oak, is 5.13 metres long and fitted with iron ‘seals’ and ‘xemelas’, etc. The air horn is one of the most intriguing features of the whole structure, made of wood, as are the pipes connecting it to the furnace. There are two fireboxes: the main one, supplied with air from the ‘air pipe’ and situated next to the ‘hammer’, and a secondary one supplied by a hand-operated bellows, which served as a ‘forge’.