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GRINDSTONE
Unique ID: PUBLIC-FC3D1E
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
A natural, unmodified beach cobble of uncertain date which has been used as a grinding stone or pestle. An elongated oval in plan and in profile, oval in section. Made from a greywacke sandstone beach cobble from the Crackington Formation dating from of the Upper Carboniferous age (332 to 290 million years BP). An oval patch, 46 mm long and 24 mm wide, has been worn near the distal end of the left hand side, when viewing the ventral surface. The surface of this patch is worn through percussion and smoothed by rubbing, apparently when held at an angle in one hand.
The ventral surface of the stone is mottled reddish-brown and pale grey: the dorsal surface is grey-brown with striations of red-brown iron carbonate, with a narrow band of hard, cream-coloured inclusion forming a crusty protrusion from the surface.
Pestles with bevelled utilised edges, found at Scarcewater, Cornwall in Bronze Age contexts, are illustrated in Jones and Taylor (2010) on pages 122 & 129, figs.60 & 66, nos.236 & 622.
Notes:
The Crackington Formation is composed of interbeddded sandstone, shale and siltstone.
However, more specifically they can be referred to as Greywacke. These sandstones are characterised by a content (10%) of sand grains composed of earlier rocks and a high content (20%) of clayey matrix cementing the dominant quartz sand content (66%). There is also about 4% of iron carbonate which might account for the rusty spots as it breaks down quite easily on weathering. Greywackes are characteristically tough rocks and quite suited for mace heads and hammerstones (Roger Taylor pers comm).
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: NEOLITHIC
Period from: NEOLITHIC
Period to: BRONZE AGE
Date from: Circa 4000 BC
Date to: Circa 800 BC
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 138 mm
Width: 67 mm
Thickness: 45 mm
Weight: 656 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Wednesday 1st January 2003 - Wednesday 31st December 2003
Personal details
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Other reference numbers
Other reference: SM.GS2
Materials and construction
Primary material: Stone
Manufacture method: Ground/polished
Completeness: Complete
Spatial metadata
Region: South West (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Cornwall (Unitary Authority)
District: Cornwall (Unitary Authority)
Parish or ward: Kilkhampton (Civil Parish)
Spatial coordinates
4 Figure: SS2010
Four figure Latitude: 50.86141959
Four figure longitude: -4.55906907
1:25K map: SS2010
1:10K map: SS21SW
Grid reference source: From a paper map
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jones, A.M. and Taylor, S.R. | 2010 | Scarcewater, Pennance, Cornwall: Archaeological excavation of a Bronze Age and Roman Landscape | Oxford | Archaeopress | 122 & 129, figs.60 & 66 | nos.236 & 622 |
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Timeline of associated dates
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