New aspects of rotary querns in Scotland

Abstract

This paper discusses aspects of Scottish rotary quern use which have received little attention in the
past, such as handling systems (particularly horizontal slot-handled querns), decoration and an
unrecognised class of miniature examples. The growing corpus of rotary querns is starting to reveal
regional patternings and concentrations of particular decorative styles. This ongoing investigation
suggests that the picture is more complex than previously understood.