Musket Ball?

[AndrewD]

I found this at a depth of about 8-9" at my father's in Little Compton, RI. The town was a member of Plymouth Colony, and was incorporated by the Plymouth Colony in 1682. Fort Barton, in Tiverton, RI, (7 miles away from Little Compton) was a Revolutionary War redoubt. It was the troop staging area for the invasion of Aquidneck Island and Newport and the eventual Battle of Rhode Island.
Is this a musket ball from time of the Revolutionary War? Or before? I cleaned it with a wet sponge to reveal a white patina. It must be lead. -Andrew

 

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[Swartzie]

Lead balls are hard to date if not impossible. If you can find stuff on the site that can be dated then you may be comfortable dating the ball to the period of other artifacts found on site. Keep hunting. Balls are usually the first thing that pop up when you're near a site. Here's a link you may find interesting: How to Identify Revolutionary War Musket Balls | eHow.co.uk

-Swartzie

 

[AndrewD]

Thanks!

I measured the ball with calipers 4x.
0.638
0.634
0.635
0.640

/4

= 0.63675

So, who knows if it is pre-revolutionary, or 1800's - 1900's? Maybe a man in 1976 shot a musket on the property to commemorate the Bicentennial?
Will keep detecting the lawn where it was found and the fields next to the house. Detect along the stone walls too.