UK METAL DETECTING

shaun7 · Joined: 27 Apr 2008 Posts: 39

is there any possible way of dating musket balls?
ive got a big`un Laughing

rayredditch · Joined: 03 Jul 2007 Posts: 222

shaun7 · Joined: 27 Apr 2008 Posts: 39

sorry about that!
but really is there?

john · Joined: 07 Jan 2008 Posts: 74 Location: york

i found some smaller ones 8mm to 10mm which are quite modern so the flo tells me but the larger ones are older and worth recording.

shaun7 · Joined: 27 Apr 2008 Posts: 39

this one is about 18mm(the musket ball that is) and is still perfectly round so i dont think it has been fired, or could it just have missed?
thanks shaun

john · Joined: 07 Jan 2008 Posts: 74 Location: york

if you look on the portable antiquities scheme website you will find other examples of musket balls which should help you to date yours hope this helps

shaun7 · Joined: 27 Apr 2008 Posts: 39

thanks for your help john! i looked on that site and theres some nice pictures of finds!

rsix · Joined: 30 Mar 2008 Posts: 24

i found 2 this weekend, both similar size, small, also found a huge slug, shaped like a bullet ,about 1/2" diamiter with a hollow part at the base, for the charge to hit i expect, and that is heavy,

jacobiteken · Joined: 26 May 2008 Posts: 6 Location: Scotland

Hi shaun, it could be grape shot ...some are just bigger than a musket ball

shaun7 · Joined: 27 Apr 2008 Posts: 39

excuse my ignorance but what is grape shot?

thanks shaun

jacobiteken · Joined: 26 May 2008 Posts: 6 Location: Scotland

Hi shaun. lots of iron, lead balls fired from a connon and they would spray the poor buggers in front of them Shocked

smalleygardens · Joined: 16 Sep 2007 Posts: 36

Grapeshot was also fired at ship rigging
to knock down the sails .... another bit of useless information
if your finding this stuff in a field......

shaun7 · Joined: 27 Apr 2008 Posts: 39

thanks all, but im confused! i found it in a field on the borders of a coppiced wood(if thats right).
i also find an unbelievable amount of shrapnell and ww1\ww2 2.2 bullet cases.
approx 6 years ago i found an unexploaded bomb in an adjascent field which i was told by the bomb squad was ww1.
there is an airfield which is on google earth about 2 fields along. this was an old RAF base.

could this grape shot be connected?

or didnt ww1 aeroplanes have sails?? Laughing

jacobiteken · Joined: 26 May 2008 Posts: 6 Location: Scotland

Hi shaun the navy did use it{iron ones}but it was used in lots of battles on land..the last one here would have been Culloden and the damage done would have been horrific, even more so than a connon ball..so used long before WW1 and WW2

shaun7 · Joined: 27 Apr 2008 Posts: 39

thanks for the help but still confused as i looked at battle sites and the nearest to me is either in london 15-20 miles away or maldon in essex 40 miles away.
could they have been making them in this wood? i have found molten in there , and the ball is still round shaped( like new)!

its definately lead so i dont think it can be a ballbearing!