Rotary querns from Tell Barri (Syria): chronology, use and function

Abstract

The rotary quern is one of the most advanced lever mill in use in the ancient world. Every mill of this type is composed of two discoidal querns, the upper one movable and the lower one stationary, usually made of basalt and functioning by friction. Over the last few decades, the research on this field has been especially focused on the western Mediterranean where the two querns are apparently always separated by a system of supports (rynd and spindle) to adjust the gap between them and produce fine or course flour. The site of Tell Barri, in the Khabur Valley (Syria), has revealed 21 rotary mills that suggest a new field of studies. They come from different contexts dating between the second and thirteenth c. AD. This paper analyses the different types and operational processes to argue for their use and determine a possible connection with the ones found in the Western Mediterranean.The rotary quern is one of the most advanced lever mill in use in the ancient world. Every mill of this type is composed of two discoidal querns, the upper one movable and the lower one stationary, usually made of basalt and functioning by friction. Over the last few decades, the research on this field has been especially focused on the western Mediterranean where the two querns are apparently always separated by a system of supports (rynd and spindle) to adjust the gap between them and produce fine or course flour. The site of Tell Barri, in the Khabur Valley (Syria), has revealed 21 rotary mills that suggest a new field of studies. They come from different contexts dating between the second and thirteenth c. AD. This paper analyses the different types and operational processes to argue for their use and determine a possible connection with the ones found in the Western Mediterranean.