17th Century Iron Adze From the Ball Pouch Site

Silver Tree Chaser · Mar 29, 2020

I made two trips back to the ball pouch site, one in the evening and one in the morning, since my last post four days ago — trying to do my best with quarantine alone out in the woods. I continue to find a considerable number of musket balls at the site, 13 on the last trip, and nearly as many on the preceding visit. I found some very small pieces of brass, but these were all very thin and fragmented. The only other identifiable find produced a loud substantial signal for iron. I’m digging just about every solid, repeatable signal that my coil comes across. It was quite deep. It appears to be a 17th century iron adze, which is something that I’ve never found before. I can’t rule out a hoe for a possible identification.

The blade appears too thick to be a hoe, which would have a lighter construction for agriculture use. The adze was used for smoothing and shaping wood. I should have a better idea of its shape and condition soon enough — it’s already cooking with an electrolysis set-up. I just hope the patient survives. $:-\$ :icon_pale:

$:-\$

I’m hopeful of more discoveries owing to the fighting that took place on the site during King Philip’s War. A dozen of the musket balls found on the last trip were all recovered within 35’ of the apparent adze, and most were clustered in a tight area. More importantly, a total of four round balls (all drops) came out of a single hole!