Bill D. (VA)
Silver Member
My buddy Dan and I finally made it back out again yesterday for only our 2nd hunt together since the end of January. Our first choice of sites was a very promising one that Dan had researched, but it continued to be unavailable after we found out the owner had passed away. So we decided to head back to a site we've hit hard earlier this season, but one that seems to keep producing with each return visit. And it did not disappoint again as we both dug a number of buttons and other colonial artifacts. My best find was another Virginia halfpenny with a nice green patina, my 4th from this site this season. I also found part of a 1600s spectacle buckle, plus this very cool and brightly colored stone that I eyeballed in the corn stalks. It's quite large, and might have been from a pendant. Or maybe it's a recent drop as it kind of looks like one of those mood stones. Anyway, after a few hours there we decided to end the day at another site that has also been good to me with the recovery of the rattlesnake and stars button along with the 17th century sword hilt that was found nearby. We hit the logged area again where we had earlier confirmed the existence of a 1600s site, but the finds there had been few. Hunting it was difficult due to the leftover logging debris, but we did get a few signals. Dan dug a couple keepers before he made the find of the day, but I'll save that story for him to tell. Right after he made that recovery I dug a cool looking, ornate, and cylindrical shaped item that I did not immediately recognize. Dan's first impression was that it might be from an early bandolier, and that seemed to be as good an explanation as any. After further study, I do believe this may indeed be a powder cylinder that was part of a 17th century bandolier. Hopefully someone can confirm. For those of you not familiar with a bandolier, they were worn over the shoulder and across the chest by 17th century musketeers, and 12 metal cylinders (or chargers) dangled from the bandolier. Each contained a powder charge, and they were dubbed "The 12 Apostles". One of the pics below shows several of these powder cylinders that have been recovered at Jamestown. Mine is slightly different and is a little more ornate. There were a number of disadvantages to wearing a bandolier. Safety was a big issue as a lighted match could ignite an open powder cylinder. And the dangling metal cylinders could clang together and alert the enemy of their approach. Hopefully we've correctly ID'd this mystery item, but if not, then at least everyone got a little colonial artifact lesson.
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