Whetstones from Roman Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum), North Hampshire: Character, manufacture, provenance and use. ‘Putting an edge on it’.

Allen, J. R. L.

doi:10.30861/9781407312804

Cited by 6 publications

(20 citation statements)

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“…The Pennant sandstone was collected from the Great Berry Quarry, Brierley, Gloucestershire, and is part of the Coal Measures found in the Forest of Dean, near the southern borders of Wales. This sandstone has been used as building stone since the Roman period (Welch and Trotter ; Williams ; Price ) and was used for a variety of other stone tools including honestones, whetstones, querns and millstones (Moore ; Fowler ; Roe , ; Allen ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contribution of strontium to the human diet from querns and millstones: an experiment in digestive strontium isotope uptake

et al. 2019

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The question of whether rock grit ingested unintentionally from querns, metates or millstones, or deliberately through pica or geophagy, is bioaccessible in the human gut has not been addressed in archaeological strontium (Sr) isotope studies. This study employed the unified bioaccessibility method and determined that ingested rock grit can provide bioaccessible 87 Sr/ 86 Sr, but that unintentional consumption is unlikely to constitute > 1% of the diet (by mass) and will not significantly change, that is, by > 0.001, human skeletal 87 Sr/ 86 Sr. The use of locally or non-locally sourced querns or millstones will not affect the interpretation of archaeological human 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values in Britain.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contribution of strontium to the human diet from querns and millstones: an experiment in digestive strontium isotope uptake

et al. 2019

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“…The Newstead whetstone has all of the handspecimen characteristics reported from widely distributed whetstones ascribed to sandstones present in the early Cretaceous Weald Clay Formation of the north-west Weald in southeast England (Allen 2014;Allen & Scott 2014). Bar an examination in thin-section under the petrographic microscope, it can be confidently attributed to this source.…”

Section: Character and Provenance Of The Whetstonementioning

confidence: 96%

A whetstone from south-east England at Newstead, Melrose (Trimontium): the reach of a major Roman stone industry

Allen¹

2017

PSAS

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James Curle found at Newstead near Melrose an unusual whetstone of bar-shaped design, with rebates on the long edges, that is now on public display at the National Museum of Scotland (Edinburgh). It is made from a greenish-grey, calcareous, very fine-grained sandstone, attributable to sandstones in the Weald Clay Formation (Lower Cretaceous) outcropping in the Weald of southeast England. Carefully manufactured whetstones produced by a large business in this area occur throughout most of Roman Britain and are also found on the coastal mainland of northwest Europe. The Newstead example is the northernmost of its products known on a spatially exponential distribution of sites.

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“…Although whetstones are commonly encountered on archaeological sites, the study of Roman whetstones has been given little attention in the study area. There is a comparable situation in the United Kingdom (Allen , 1–2; see further below). Building on some earlier work (e.g.…”

Section: Current Knowledgementioning

confidence: 97%

“…For a history of whetstone research in Britain one must refer to the concise review by Allen (, 1–2). During the 1950s and 60s comparative studies and petrographical analysis were carried out by geologists of the Geological Survey and Museum of London, the University of Durham and the British Museum (Natural History and Department of Mineralogy) (Morey and Dunham ; Ellis ; D. Moore ).…”

Section: Current Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Cross‐channel Connectivity: Wealden Whetstone Imports From Roman Britain to the Continent

Reniere

Thiebaux

Dreesen

et al. 2018

Oxford J Archaeology

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Summary The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate cross‐Channel exchange of calcareous sandstone‐type whetstones derived from the Weald (Sussex, UK) in the Roman period. The presence of this particular type of whetstone at several Roman sites on the Continent – more specifically, in Belgium, France and the Netherlands – is reported for the first time. The morphology, geological provenance, petrographic characteristics and distribution patterns are discussed, based on a comparative analysis with archaeological and geological reference material. The geological analysis identifies a common geological source for the Continental finds: the very fine‐grained, thin‐bedded, flagstone‐like calcareous sandstone beds of the Lower Cretaceous Wealden Clay Formation. These sandstones were, most probably, extracted in the north‐western part of the Weald area. The distribution pattern of the archaeological material implies the importance of personal mobility, with potential military affinities.

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Whetstones from Roman Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum), North Hampshire: Character, manufacture, provenance and use. ‘Putting an edge on it’.

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Contribution of strontium to the human diet from querns and millstones: an experiment in digestive strontium isotope uptake

Contribution of strontium to the human diet from querns and millstones: an experiment in digestive strontium isotope uptake

A whetstone from south-east England at Newstead, Melrose (Trimontium): the reach of a major Roman stone industry

Cross‐channel Connectivity: Wealden Whetstone Imports From Roman Britain to the Continent

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