  We present {\em direct} and {\em linear} measurements of the normal stiffness
and damping of a confined, few molecule thick water layer. The measurements
were obtained by use of a small amplitude (0.36 $\textrm{\AA}$), off-resonance
Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) technique. We measured stiffness and damping
oscillations revealing up to 7 layers separated by 2.56 $\pm$ 0.20
$\textrm{\AA}$. Relaxation times could also be calculated and were found to
indicate a significant slow-down of the dynamics of the system as the confining
separation was reduced. We found that the dynamics of the system is determined
not only by the interfacial pressure, but more significantly by solvation
effects which depend on the exact separation of tip and surface. Thus `
solidification\rq seems to not be merely a result of pressure and confinement,
but depends strongly on how commensurate the confining cavity is with the
molecule size. We were able to model the results by starting from the simple
assumption that the relaxation time depends linearly on the film stiffness.
