Grooved Upper Grinding Stones of Saddle Querns in Israel

Abstract

Grooved upper grinding stones of saddle mills are rare in the southern Levant. The grooves are either hand-grips or are meant to hold a rod used to move the stone back and forth. Two stones with grooves from Tel Tannim are very similar to one from Tell Qasile dated to the Iron Age and to those from Tell Halaf in Mesopotamia where they are the main type, suggesting that this type originated in the north. An unusual stone from Horvat 'Ein Koveshim is identical to one from Sarepta in southern Lebanon, suggesting that these are of a Phoenician type.