Chinese Monumental Grinding Wheel

Over five feet of stone with a hole in the middle. Nobody lifts this alone.

This monumental grinding wheel comes from Shandong Province, China, and dates to the 17th century. It is cut from stone. Farmers and millers across rural China used large stone mills like this, turned by animals or people, to grind grain into flour. Chisel marks run around a broad outer rim, which steps down to a smoother, shallow center bored with a round hole. A single notch cuts into the edge. Eight inches deep and sixty-four in diameter.

As appliances go, it is low on moving parts.