What Else Can You Find In The Gmr?

[Frank Menser]

Everybody knows the Green Mill Run is a good place to find shark teeth. It is also common to find Native American pottery shards. I while back I was hunting the shallows and saw this. At first I thought it was a fosil bone polished by the river, then I noticed the square cross section. I took it to a local museum where it was identified as a grinding stone. What I thought might be predation (tooth) marks were actually measuring marks carved into the stone by some cook who wished to get her ingredients just right.

[Auspex]

I understand how to use a stone for grinding (a technology that even I could successfully apply), but how was it used for measuring, what with the marks being diagonal and all?

[jeepinthemud]

When you mix something in a bowl, is the spoon always straight up? Try mixing with the bowl slightly tilted in your hands, and hold the spoon at an angle, and VIOLA! angled measurements! possibly. And hopefully Im not the only one making hand motions as Im writing this...

But really, if you are mixing something, you could pile it on the side of the bowl for a basic measurement...

[tracer]

I understand how to use a stone for grinding (a technology that even I could successfully apply), but how was it used for measuring, what with the marks being diagonal and all?

look, somebody give this man a fluorescent puce t-shirt. it's like a miter box thing, man. there's math involved. you go sit down over there <pointing to the corner>

no, just kidding, aspex sir! those are actually hash marks, denoting three years of service each for the stone, so it apparently was used to grind stuff for at least six years, but up to almost nine before it got tossed into the gmr in a fit of inaccurate pique by ms. native a. when mr. native a. came home late from a "hunt" with his buddies.

sorry, frank, that's a cool artifact man, i just have to mess with auspex now and then...especially when tj's not around, and he's never around here, because he's always with his girlfriend nowadays, rotten, i mean, loving son that he is...

[Tracer Jr.]

look, somebody give this man a fluorescent puce t-shirt. it's like a miter box thing, man. there's math involved. you go sit down over there <pointing to the corner>

no, just kidding, aspex sir! those are actually hash marks, denoting three years of service each for the stone, so it apparently was used to grind stuff for at least six years, but up to almost nine before it got tossed into the gmr in a fit of inaccurate pique by ms. native a. when mr. native a. came home late from a "hunt" with his buddies.

sorry, frank, that's a cool artifact man, i just have to mess with auspex now and then...especially when tj's not around, and he's never around here, because he's always with his girlfriend nowadays, rotten, i mean, loving son that he is...

you all may think i'm never around, but you never know where i may be lurking...

cool artifact! always nice to find something that isn't really expected as much.