Descriptions

This is a large piece of local stone, used in prehistory as a quern for making flour. Grains of wheat were placed on this stone and then a top stone was rocked backward and forwards to grind them into flour. Over years of use, the rhythmical grinding motion wore the stone into a characteristic saddle shape.
The archaeologists working at this site found evidence of Bronze Age ditches but the shape of this quern is characteristic of the earlier Neolithic period.
Ruth Shaffrey, a national specialist on quernstones, has described this piece as the largest and most impressive example to have been found in the UK.

This object is on display at RAMM in Gallery 22.