Dr Ruth Shaffrey is an archaeologist.

Biography

Shaffrey was awarded her PhD in Archaeology and Geology from the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

in 1998. She specialises in the study of

quern-stone Quern-stones are stone tools for hand- grinding a wide variety of materials. They are used in pairs. The lower stationary stone of early examples is called a saddle quern, while the upper mobile stone is called a muller, rubber or handstone. The ...

s and millstones and is a worked stone specialist for

Oxford Archaeology Oxford Archaeology (OA, trading name of Oxford Archaeology Limited) is one of the largest and longest-established independent archaeology and heritage practices in Europe, operating from three permanent offices in Oxford, Lancaster and Cambridge, ...

. Her thesis formed the basis of her 2006

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volume on Romano-British quern-stones. In February 2021 she reported on the discovery of a quern-stone decorated with a phallus from excavations on the

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in Cambridgeshire. Shaffrey was elected as a Fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...

on 2 February 2019.

Select publications

*Shaffrey, R. 2003. "The rotary querns from the Society of Antiquaries' excavations at Silchester, 1890--1909", ''Britannia'' 34, 143-174. * Mithen, S. J., Finlayson, B. and Shaffrey, R. 2005. "Sexual symbolism in the Early Neolithic of the southern Levant: pestles and mortars from WF16", ''Documenta Prahistorica'', 32, 103-110. *Shaffrey, R. 2006. ''Grinding and milling : a study of Romano-British rotary querns and millstones made from Old Red Sandstone'' (BAR British Series 409). British Archaeological Reports. *Shaffrey, R. and Roe, F. 2011. The Widening use of Lodsworth Stone: Neolithic to Romano-British Quern Distribution. In D.F. Williams and D.P.S. Peacock, (eds.) ''Bread for the People: The Archaeology of Mills and Milling'', Archaeopress, Oxford, 309–324. *Ford, B. Poore, D. Shaffrey, R. and Wilkinson D.R.P. 2013. ''Excavations at the Oracle site, Reading, Berkshire'', Thames Valley Landscapes monograph series. *Shaffrey, R. 2015. "Intensive milling practices in the Romano-British landscape of southern England. Using newly established criteria for distinguishing millstones from rotary querns", ''Britannia'' 46, 55–92. *Shaffrey, R. (ed) 2017. ''Written in Stone. Papers on the function, form and provenancing of prehistoric stone objects in memory of Fiona Roe''. *Shaffrey, R. 2017. "Roman Ewell: a review of the querns and millstones and implications for understanding the organisation of grain processing". ''Surrey Archaeological Collections'' 100, 259-269. *Shaffrey, R. 2018. "Grain processing in and around Roman Cirencester. What can the querns and millstones tell us about supply to the Roman town?", ''Trans Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeol Soc'' 136, 161-70. *Shaffrey, R. 2019. "The movement of ideas in Late Iron Age and Early Roman Britain: an imported rotary quern design in south-western England, ''Britannia'' 50, 73-82. *Shaffrey, R. 2019. "A complete lower rotary quern from Chilworth, and how it assists in understanding the morphology of Lodsworth stone querns". ''Surrey Archaeological Collections'' 102, 265-272. *Shaffrey, R. 2021. "The rotary querns and millstones of Roman Exeter: supplying and feeding the Fortress and Town", in S. Rippon and N. Holbrook (eds.) ''Studies in the Roman and Medieval Archaeology of Exeter, Exeter: A Place in Time, volume 2'', Oxbow Books, 415-426.

References

Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Year of birth uncertain 20th-century archaeologists 21st-century archaeologists Geoarchaeologists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people {{UK-archaeologist-stub