Awl????

[RelicMedic]

Hey guys. I found this piece in the bank of a river that has a history of native occupancy. It is made of copper, is about 4" long and 3/8" at its widest point. I know the pictures really dont show the green patina and I apologize for that. I've been told it is a Woodland period awl, but I'll wait to see what you guys say. Thank you.

 

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[georgia flatlander]

Pretty awesome! Be sure and get it treated as soon as possible. Oxygen is a corrrosive gas and will corrode the copper. Nice find!
As far as age goes, it could be Copper Culture period, which could be 4000-6000 years old. You can get the copper sourced in order to find out the origin of the metal, which just gives it a little more history.

 

[RelicMedic]

Pretty awesome! Be sure and get it treated as soon as possible. Oxygen is a corrrosive gas and will corrode the copper. Nice find!
As far as age goes, it could be Copper Culture period, which could be 4000-6000 years old. You can get the copper sourced in order to find out the origin of the metal, which just gives it a little more history.

Thank you! There is a large deposit of copper about 5 miles from where it was found. I treated it right away, once I figured out what it was, hence the darker patina. I sealed it with paraffin wax. I hope that is ok.

 

[arrow86]

How thick is it ? Is it flat towards the point or does it look like there’s a slight groove or channel in the middle ? Wonder if there’s any way to safely clean it up maybe ask some of the metal detector folks

 

[RelicMedic]

How thick is it ? Is it flat towards the point or does it look like there’s a slight groove or channel in the middle ? Wonder if there’s any way to safely clean it up maybe ask some of the metal detector folks

It's about 3/8" Thick and bevels to a flat point, like a flat head screwdriver, but only on one side. If you blow the pics up, you'll see what I mean. I dont see any groove or channel. I sealed it with wax so it wouldn't flake or chip, which is completely reversible if I wanted to remove the wax. I do the same thing with rev war buttons and it works great.

 

[georgia flatlander]

Renaissance wax works well for metal objects. Also limiting exposure to air will help. Some of the old copper I have was treated with anodes to remove the patina and then sealed with a type of acrylic, but the Renaissance wax is the easiest way to go.

 

[joshuaream]

Looks like a little chisel to me, rarer than an awl in my experience. I’d agree it’s likely older than woodland.

I have some copper artifacts that haven’t been treated, and they haven’t noticiably degraded over time. Once they have that green patina, heavier artifacts like that are relatively stable. Thin, hammered ear flares and embossed copper do need preservation. If they are found with light patina (buried in heavy clay or muck), they will continue to corrode. Wax won’t hurt it. If you remove the old corroded surface down to shiney metal, you’ll need to mantain it going forward.

 

[RelicMedic]

I agree that it does look like a chisel. I really dont know anything about it, but I want to learn. Do you know what it was used for?