WITH the addition of a medieval rotary quern stone to Portland Museum, the links between artefacts from the Jurassic Age and the 20th century Portland Bomb are growing stronger.

The stone was found in the region of Tout Quarry by Andy Dowler, 49, of Southwell, who saw it while walking his dog.

In a recent appeal in Portland Diary Mrs Susann Palmer, director of the Association for Portland Archaeology, had asked people to contact her if they had any unusual objects or features in their gardens or had spotted any elsewhere.

This is for inclusion in an inventory of unusual island finds and sites which she is currently compiling and because of this, Mr Dowler contacted her.

He said: "When I spotted this circular stone, the shape made me think of the old stone mills at Weston as I thought it might be a grinding stone of some sort and I decided that Mrs Palmer was the best person to ask.

"I was amazed when she told me how old it could be as I thought it was probably 18th century."

Mrs Palmer said: "This is a type of hand mill, probably used in a community mill to grind corn into flour a very long time ago.

"I consider that this type was first introduced during the Iron Age, but variations of it continued in use in some places throughout medieval times or even later."

The quern consists of two circular stones about two foot in diameter, placed on top of each other.

The upper stone has a hole into which the corn would have been poured and an additional hole for a handle which was used to rotate it on the lower stone, thus grinding the corn between the two stones. "It is likely," added Mrs Palmer, "that the specimen from the quarry dates from early to late medieval times and it is a very exciting find."

She intends to carry out further research around the area of the find to discover where the quern stone came from originally.

As soon as possible it will be on view to the public in the garden of Portland Museum in Wakeham.

Mrs Palmer said: "I wish to express my gratitude to the members of the public who have already responded to my appeal and I would like to hear from anyone else who might be able, through discoveries like that made by Mr Dowler, to add to Portland's fascinating past."

She added that it is thanks to Hanson Bath and Portland Stone and Weymouth and Portland Borough Council that the quern stone has been retrieved and moved to the museum.