Millstone Park

MILLSTONE PARK 1 QUERNSTONES AND MILLSTONES p. 4 1/ SPOIL HEAPS p. 6 2/ TRACES BELOW THE BRIDGE p. 8 3/ CUTTING STONES FROM BEDROCK p. 10 4/ ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES p. 12 5/ UNFINISHED MILLSTONE p. 14 MAP OF MILLSTONE PARK p. 16 6/ EXPORT p. 18 WHO WERE THEY? p. 20 7/ EXPERIMENTAL QUARRY p. 22 8/ THE CROSS QUARRY p. 24 9/ QUERNSTONE CARGOES p. 26 MAP OF THE QUARRIES p. 28 2 Quernstones and mill- passed on their craft from stone and the ground As you walk through stones were produced generation to generation. flour was channelled to Millstone Park, you will QUERNSTONES at Hyllestad from the the outer edge between see traces of the produc- Viking Age (c. AD 800- Quernstones and mill- the stones. tion of both quernstones AND MILLSTONES 1000) until the begin- stones were essential and millstones. ning of the 20th century. tools in people’s daily life. Small quernstones (35- As many as 367 quarries They consisted of rotating 60 cm in diameter) were have been recorded! upper stones and fixed operated by hand. lower stones. During the The Hyllestad quarries grinding process, grain Larger millstones were the workplace of was poured into the (60-120 cm in diameter) skilled stonemasons who central hole of the upper were used in water mills. 1/SPOIL HEAPS The mounds you can see On your walk through towards the river contain the park, you will find waste from the production several examples of of quernstones and mill- discarded stones. They stones. We call this waste are silent witnesses to the spoil. It consists of small challenges a stonemason and large chips left over would meet in his daily from cutting the stone. work. Many quernstones and millstones were damaged during the cutting process. AUTOMATICALLY PROTECTED ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE In Norway all archaeological sites and monuments from before 1537 are automatically protected by the Cultural Heritage Act. Even the tiniest fragment of a worked and discarded stone is protected by this Act. WHAT WOULD THE LANDSCAPE HAVE LOOKED LIKE BEFORE STONE CUTTING BEGAN? 7 2/TRACES BELOW THE BRIDGE Just below the bridge damaged and unfinished and along the river down- quernstones. stream you can see traces of stone extraction. Here you can see traces On the right-hand side of the production of there are marks of several quernstones. Further on quernstones that have in the park you will also been cut from bedrock. see evidence of the production of millstones. Spoil was deposited in the river. Along the river banks there are many 8 9 3/CUTTING STONES FROM BEDROCK The circular traces show The cutting of stone The cutting of stone from that quernstones were from bedrock is the blocks is a much later cut directly from the oldest method, and most method, used for making bedrock using a pickaxe, of the quernstones and millstones in more modern almost like cutting ginger millstones from Hyllestad times. The blocks were snaps from rolled-out were extracted in this blasted from the bedrock, dough. manner. sometimes also wedged out. TWO WAYS OF EXTRACTING QUERNSTONES AND MILLSTONES IT COULD TAKE UP TO THREE DAYS TO MAKE A QUERNSTONE. AT LEAST IF IT DIDN’T BREAK! Cutting directly from bedrock Cutting from a block of stone 11 4/ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES Archaeologist Irene They excavate layer by trench indicates quern- Baug has carried out layer and record all the stone production in the several excavations in finds that can tell us 11th century. Dating the Hyllestad quarries. something about the from other quarries at In 2001 she undertook past. Finding charcoal is Hyllestad shows that investigations where you a stroke of luck. Charcoal production took place as are standing now. When can be dated by scientific early as in the 8th and archaeologists investi- analyses and hence tells 9th centuries. gate an area, they often us when activity took dig a trench. place. The dating of this HERE YOU ARE STANDING ON A THICK LAYER OF SPOIL THAT ALSO CONTAINS DAMAGED QUERNSTONES AND MILLSTONES. 12 13 5/UNFINISHED MILLSTONE Here you can see a mill- The rock face at the continued towards the stone halfway through back of the quarry is a floor of the quarry, the the extraction process. result of the extraction of rock face became higher The stone was formed by millstones and quern- and higher. the cutting of a circular stones layerwise. You can channel with a pickaxe. compare it to removing a If you look closely, you layer of coins from seve- will find a number of ral adjoining stacks at a holes cut into the rock time. When production around the bottom of the stone. These were needed for loosening the stone, which was done by repeated blows using a chisel and a hammer (or a pickaxe). The stone we see here is ready to be loosened. WHY WAS THIS STONE NOT LOOSENED FROM THE PARENT ROCK? 15 1/ SPOIL HEAPS 2/ TRACES BELOW THE BRIDGE 3/ CUTTING STONES FROM BEDROCK 4/ ARCHAELOGICAL DISCOVERIES 5/ UNFINISHED MILLSTONE 6/ EXPORT 7/ EXPERIMENTAL QUARRY 7 8/ THE CROSS QUARRY 3 9/ QUERNSTONE CARGO 2 1 6 9 5 4 8 6/EXPORT The high wall is a testi- Quernstones and mill- mony to the scale of stones from Hyllestad production. Hundreds are found in Sweden, of quernstones and Denmark, Northern millstones have been Germany, Iceland and the made in this quarry. The Faroe Islands. In Sweden finished stones were and Denmark the large transported down to number of quernstones the fjord and shipped to discovered indicates that destinations in Norway organised trade existed and other countries. The as far back as in the transport to the fjord may Viking Age. The stones have been undertaken were shipped to other using a sledge or kvenna- countries by trading kvist (a Y-shaped wooden vessels such as the branch to which the Viking “knarr” or the quernstone was fixed). “jekt”, which came into If the stone was very big, use later on. a horse would probably have been used to pull it. 19 WHO WERE THEY? In the Viking Age local experience in the park. chieftains probably There are few traces of owned the quarries and the powerful elite. controlled production. Later on, in the Middle How would it be to Ages, different church “meet” one of the stone institutions assumed masons right now? WHAT WAS EVERYDAY LIFE LIKE FOR control as owners, while THE STONEMASON AND HIS FAMILY? tenant farmers worked What would he tell us? the land. In the Viking Age people who worked here DID HE EAT HIS FOOD HERE? as stone masons may have been slaves. WHERE WAS THE SMITHY, WHICH HE NEEDED FOR SHARPENING HIS TOOLS? Yet they were outstanding craftsmen. It is the imprint of their work that we HOW DID WIND AND WEATHER AFFECT THE WORK? 21 7/EXPERIMENTAL QUARRY This quarry is used to cutting quernstone in the of stone. This quarry is acquire new knowledge excavated area. an important arena for about the oldest quern- experiments and trials, stone production. The We know quite a but it is also an area Directorate for Cultural lot about the craft of where people can see Heritage has given per- cutting quernstones and and experience how the mission for experiments millstones from both work may have been and demonstrations of bedrock and loose blocks done in the old days. THE ROCK IS CALLED GARNET MICA SCHIST The rock consists mainly of mica and red garnets. Other minerals are also present. The large amount of mica makes this type of rock relatively soft so it is easy to cut it with a sharp pickaxe. The hard garnets give good grinding properties and make the stone durable when the upper and lower stones grind against each other. 23 8/THE CROSS QUARRY Both stone crosses from the bedrock. There them were produced at and quernstones were is a clear layering in the Hyllestad. produced in this quarry. rock that makes it easy to Following surveys in 2008, extract slabs, as we can Many smoke vent stones dating shows activity here see illustrated at the top and grave slabs were also between the 11th and 13th of the drawing. produced at Hyllestad. centuries. The remains of seven different crosses There are about 40 stone have been found. crosses in Western Norway. They were erected as a The crosses were probably symbol of Christianity in hewn from thick slabs that the late Viking Age and had first been loosened Middle Ages. Over 20 of SEVERAL OF THE CROSSES IN WESTERN NORWAY WERE ERECTED IN THE 11TH CENTURY. 25 9/QUERNSTONE CARGOES Several shipwreck It contained about 50 Before the quernstone cargoes of quernstone quernstones and several could be used, the upper from Hyllestad have been half-finished whetstones and lower stones had found along the Norwegian from Eidsborg in Telemark. to be dressed and then coast. Two of them assembled to make a have been lifted and are These shipwreck cargoes working quernstone. exhibited here. represented the loss of This was probably done large sums of money for by the person who The larger is the find from those who owned the bought the quernstone. Alverstraumen north of boats and the cargo. Bergen, which consisted of 505 quernstones and The quernstones in the weighed about 13.5 tonnes. cargoes are typical of the products as they appeared The other cargo was found when the stonemason at at Bukken in Sund munici- Hyllestad had finished his pality, south of Bergen. part of the job. WERE THESE QUERNSTONES ONCE ON THEIR WAY TO DENMARK OR SWEDEN OR...? 27 QUERNSTONE AND MILLSTONE QUARRY DEPOSITS OF GARNET MICA SCHIST RØNSET SÆSOL MYKLEBUST KVERNSTEINSPARKEN CONTACT: NORSK KVERNSTEINSENTER 6957 HYLLESTAD E-MAIL: [email protected] TEL: +47 458 71 940 WWW.KVERNSTEIN.NO WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/NORSKKVERNSTEINSENTER WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/KVERNSTEINSPARKEN PUBLISHER: MUSEA I SOGN OG FJORDANE DEPARTMENT NORSK KVERNSTEINSENTER TEXTS: TORBJØRN LØLAND, IRENE BAUG, ASTRID WAAGE DESIGN: FRODE HOLST PHOTOGRAPHS: KIM SØDERSTRØM ILLUSTRATIONS: KIM SØDERSTRØM, FRODE HOLST TRANSLATION: JENNIFER FOLLESTAD, PER STOREMYR WWW.KVERNSTEIN.NO.

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