Bread is the quintessential food. In the gospel, even Jesus himself uses the bread as a symbol: "I am the bread of life" (Jn. 6:35), or when He teaches His disciples to pray with the phrase "Give us this day our daily bread" (Mt. 6:11, Lc. 11:3).

But how was bread made in ancient times? Although the process seems simple, it can actually be quite elaborate, and those who have baked bread know what I mean. However, in the ancient world, there is an additional step: grinding the grain.

The grinding process consisted of placing the grains on a stone, crushing them by exerting pressure and force with another stone until a fine powder was obtained: flour. In large-scale processes, a mill was generally used. These facilities had the "technology" that allowed the grinding process to be accelerated on a larger scale, which could be either rotatory hand driven mills or animal driven mills. Probably, the most well-known example of hand driven mills is the bakery in Pompeii. Very similar grinding stones have been found in Galilee and Magdala

On a smaller scale, like in domestic production, the grain was ground with "grinding stones," like contemporary artisanal processes. Several of these types have been found in Galilee. Here, I will describe just three:

The first is an elongated stone placed on the ground, on which pressure was applied with a "hand" or "mole," that is, a smaller stone held in the hand to exert friction. The movement consisted of pushing the grains forward and backward until flour was obtained. The second type consists of stone bowls, in which, with a longer handstone, the grains were crushed using up-and-down or circular motions. The last type is a hybrid of the two previous ones: elevated bowls, generally with three carved supports and a flat surface with a slight edge that allowed for grinding the grain without the product spilling over.

Culinary activities, especially bread production, were generally reserved for women. Throughout history and in the history of art, we have seen this female figure working with grain, as reflected in Egyptian figurines. The biblical world is no exception; the gospel also describes this feminine activity in a more eschatological context: "There will be two women grinding together; one will be taken and the other left" (Lk. 17:35, Mt. 24:41).

Another mention of these stones is: "If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea" (Mark 9:42). A popular tradition among pilgrims to Galilee is to visualize this passage with the animal driven stone (which are bigger); however, we do not know exactly what image the author of the gospel intended to evoke in their readers.

These passages invite us to reflect on the connection between the tangible reality of the gospel and the daily experiences of the inhabitants of ancient Galilee and Magdala.

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