I am researching the Scottish origins of the sport of curling which arose in the 16th century. There is some evidence that it was pursued for entertainment by the weavers of East Ayrshire and that they used stones from their looms(perhaps old stones which had been replaced?). The earliest known curling stone weighed in at 26 pounds, which I notice is just slightly off the weight of 'two stone', or 28 pds.
Questions:
Was there any standardization of stone weights for the looms by this time?(Might this be connected to the origin of the weight unit of the 'stone' at 28 pds.?). Would the stones needed for the looms of this era bear any relation to these values? Would the stones be subject to wearing down to the point of needing to be replaced? (My current pet theory is that the early curling stones had started out as '2 stone'(28 pd.) weights for the looms and either by wear or by drilling a center hole had been reduced to 26 pds. which subsequently is reflected in the weight of early curling stones. Then again I may be fishing...)
