Colchester Archaeological Report 2: The Roman small finds

2066 SF BKC 1940, El 181 (F158). Collapse. Periods 2-4. Lava,
two joining lower-stone fragments, maximum thickness
60.0mm. Grinding surface has bi-directional grooving, not
very worn.
2067 SF BKC 5815, J151 L1. Site clearance. Lava, upper-stone
fragment, -/35.0 mm. Faint traces of bi-directional grooving
on the upper surface and radial grooving on the grinding
surface.
2068 SF BKC 5820, K73 L4. Modern. Lava, upper-stone fragment.
Sub-radial grooving on the grinding surface, top surface flat.
2069 SF BKC 5814, N277 F87. Pit. Period 6+. Lava, fragment. One
pecked surface.
2070 SF BKC 5819, T496. Period 1 (and 2a). Lava, two joining and
one other upper-stone fragments, -/50.0 mm. Traces of bidirectional
grooving on the grinding surface and a very
eroded raised lip on the upper edge, tapering towards the
middle.
2071 Fig 78 SF BKC 5813, V71. Unstratified. Puddingstone,
upper-stone fragment. Diameter 354.0mm, centre
thickness 105.0mm. Grinding surface slightly concave,
band (probably for an iron hoop) above the rim, and possible
trace of a handle hole.
2072 SF BKC 6063, V71. Unstratified. Lava, ?upper-stone
fragment, 400.0/80.0mm. Traces of grooving on one
surface and vertical grooving on the edge.
2073 SF BKC 5816, V701. Unstratified. Lava, three fragments.
Two joining pieces are probably reworked, maximum
thickness 90.0mm. The third piece is very eroded with a
trace of a kerb, maximum thickness 45.0mm.
2074 Fig 78 SF BKC 5823, V701. Unstratified. Lava, lower-stone,
-/104.0 mm/-. Very thick. No trace of grooving, rough
undersurface and an hour-glass-shaped hole.
2075 Fig 78 SF BKC 6055, V772 L93. Charcoal and daub. Period 2.
Puddingstone upper-stone fragment. Diameter about
350.0mm, centre thickness 110.0mm. Band above the rim
(see 2071).
2076 Fig 78 SF BKC 6038, V1029 L94. Sand floor. Period 4 or
earlier. Lava, upper-stone fragment, -/110.0mm. Grinding
surface smooth, sub-radial grooving on the top surface,
vertical grooving on the edge, and raised lip on the upper
edge.
2077 SF BKC 5822, V1262. Unstratified. Periods 2 to 6? Lava, two
fragments: a) ?lower-stone, maximum thickness 100.0mm.
Appears to have been squared off for re-use; b) ?upperstone,
maximum thickness 100.0mm.
2078 SF BKC 6037, V1290 L163. Make-up. Period 2 or 3. Lava,
upper-stone fragment, -/70.0mm. Remains of a hopper
hole of about 80.0mm diameter, smooth grinding surface,
bi-directional tooling on the top surface.
2079 SF BUC 1 592, H456 L8. Period 2. Lava, possibly a fragment
of reused quernstone.
2080 SF BUC 1617, H617 L20. Period 2. Lava, upper-stone
fragment, maximum thickness 32.0mm. Grooved on both
faces.
2081 SF BUC 1715, H714 L30. Period 2. Lava, two non-joining
quern fragments: a) maximum thickness 23.0mm, grinding
surface smooth; b) maximum thickness 25.0mm, grinding
surface has traces of grooving.
The typology, distribution, and economic and social
implications of British querns have attracted little
detailed study since the pioneer articles of Curwen
(1937; 1941). This arises in part from a lack of
adequate information. Although museums contain
large numbers of querns the majority are
unprovenanced, excavated examples rarely come
from well stratified contexts, while poor recording
and publication hampers interpretation. The querns
from three Colchester sites reported here afford little
opportunity for testing the validity of accepted
theories about querns but they are a useful addition to
the corpus of published information.
75
With the exception of two puddingstone querns all
the stones are lava rotary querns. The majority of lava
mills in Britain is generally believed to be from the
Mayen quarries of the Eifel Hills of Germany (for the
background to these quarries see Hörter et al 1951;
Crawford and Röder 1955; Röder 1972) although the
possibility of a trade in querns of Volvic lava from the
Auvergne region of France has also been discussed
(Röder 1953; Peacock 1980). The Mayen quarries
have a long history beginning with the production and
trading of saddle-querns during the Neolithic period,
changing to circular rotary querns during the late La
Tène period. During the Roman period there was a
considerable trade with Britain and other provinces.
This trade apparently ceased with the early Anglo-
Saxon period, but was well established again by the
middle to late Anglo-Saxon period (Parkhouse 1977)
and continued throughout the Middle Ages.
The majority of fragments of lava querns are too small
to provide sufficient data for a meaningful discussion
of size and type. Collectively the querns from early
and later Roman contexts conform to Roman forms as
illustrated by Röder (Crawford and Röder 1955, fig 1,
4, 5, 6). Lower stones are concave below and convex
and smoother above; upper stones are concave below
and flat above with a raised rim around the edge to
hold back the grains of corn. Apart from the
underneath of the lower stone, surfaces are usually
grooved, although a number have smooth grinding
surfaces. These may never have been grooved or
have lost the grooves through wear. The striations on
the grinding surface were functional, but decorative
grooving also occurs on the top of the upper stone and
vertically around the edges of both upper and lower
stones. Few upper fragments retain any trace of the
hopper or handle socket with the exception of 2057
(Fig 78) which has a handle hole through the kerb
comparable to Röder's Type 4 (ibid, fig 1). Röder
claimed this as a feature of an oscillating rather than
totally rotating form, but following experiments this
has been disputed (Brown and Chapman
forthcoming).
A case has been made (ibid) for a regular trade,
perhaps centred on London, of two basic models of
lava quern, identifiable by diameter and method of
fixing the rynd, which were imported in an unfinished
state to be dressed and finished in workshops in this
country. It has also been suggested (Mcllwain 1980,
132) that the presence of lava querns on many
military sites raises the possibility that they were
brought to this country specifically for, or by, the
army. The predominance of lava querns from Roman
Colchester, particularly over Hertfordshire
puddingstone querns which have come from so many
Roman sites throughout East Anglia, can be
interpreted as a reflection of the extent to which
Colchester must have shared in this continental
trade. That this trade started early, possibly as a result
of Colchester's military connections, is indicated by a
number of quern fragments from Period 1 and 2
contexts including 2062 from a military context and
2070 from a pre-Boudican layer. Research being