Imported Grain Mills at Cyrene

Abstract

There are, in the gardens of the Department of Antiquities at Cyrene, two well preserved grain mills which probably date to the early Imperial Roman period. The context and location of their discovery within Cyrene is not known and their dating must rely on parallels from elsewhere. Moreover, it cannot be certain that each catillus (upper millstone) originally belonged with the meta (lower millstone) with which it is now associated, although it seems likely in view of their compatible sizes. Both grain mills are of hard, grey, vesicular volcanic lava and were certainly imported into Cyrenaica, which has a purely sedimentary geology and no rock suitable for intensive grinding. A study of millstones in Cyrenaica would for this reason provide important information about the trade in millstones in the eastern Mediterranean region. This subject has received little attention to date, but has considerable potential, particularly in the light of Peacock's recent study (1980) of the complex and wide ranging Roman millstone trade in the central Mediterranean region. It was in this context that a sample was taken from the catillus of each grain mill and examined in thin section using a petrological microscope.

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