Rights Holder: The Portable Antiquities Scheme
CC License:
Our images can be used under a CC BY attribution licence (unless stated otherwise).
Unique ID: PUBLIC-25C301
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation
A cast lead alloy shot / ball for use in a Small musket (Arquebus and Caliver) of post medieval date (AD1600-1800). The shot is spherical with a relatively well formed surface patina. The shot is relatively round and smooth - suggesting that it has not been fired. There is a sprue scar with two facets where the casting sprue was probably cut with nippers, and there is evidence of a seam. The colour of the ball is a pale grey / white. It shows some signs of damage, probably caused by agricultural machinery. there is no delamination on the surface of the shot.
Similar shot have been dated to the later post medieval period however the date range should extend into the early modern period as similar projectiles were used in firearms throughout this period. The context of this find / assemblage would indicate a date in the English civil war. Musket balls are discussed in Courtney's "Small Arms Accessories of the Mid-Seventeenth Century" (1988) and on page 202 of "Material Culture in London in an Age of Transition" by Geoff Egan (2005).
Diameter: 16.2mm Weight: 24.6g
The weight suggests it was for use in a Small musket (Arquebus and Caliver) (Harding 2012, Lead Shot of the English Civil War)
Notes:
This ball / shot was one of over 100 mixed sized shot found on 2 acres of flat and slightly elevated ground, in a field that is around 15 acres.
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
Period from: POST MEDIEVAL
Period to: MODERN
Date from: Circa AD 1600
Date to: Circa AD 1800
Quantity: 1
Weight: 24.6 g
Diameter: 16.2 mm
Date(s) of discovery: Thursday 7th July 2016
This information is restricted for your access level.
Primary material: Lead Alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Complete
Grid reference source: GPS (from the finder)
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 1 metre square.
Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Harding, D.F. | 2012 | Lead Shot of the English Civil War: A Radical Study | London | Foresight Books | 9780953085361 |