The millstone industry: a summary of research on quarries and producers in the united states, europe and elsewhere
Date: 10 Aug 2010, 07:48
The Millstone Industry: A Summary of Research on Quarries and Producers in the United States, Europe and Elsewhere Publisher: McFarland | 2009 | PDF | 283 pages | ISBN: 0786438606 | 9.5Mb Since prehistoric times, the process of cutting rock to make millstones has been one of the most important industries in the world. The earliest rotary millstones, known as querns, were turned by human power. Later, larger millstones were manufactured that required animal, water, or wind power to turn them. These larger millstones required less human effort and ground greater quantities of grain, but also required regular maintenance and replacement. As a result, millstone quarries increased greatly in number and size in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the largest quarry sites extending as far as nearly a half-mile square to about 12 square miles.
