Chewed Musketball.

[scrapmagnet]

Had a questionable hit after a day of nails and dug this at about 9 inches. I was puzzled with the damage until I did some research. It is apparently a "chewed" musket ball and they are tooth marks. The site was occupied by both colonial and British troops, much longer by colonial forces. Dia of .66

 

[ncsuwolf]

I’d agree it’s chewed….but by what you may never know. Whatever it was had canines, and I don’t see rodent style marks…..at least in the side in the pic.

 

[Almy]

It's the right size to be for a smoothbore musket of the era of the troop occupation. Good find!

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

Very interesting !

 

[scrapmagnet]

@ncsuwolf
Nothing that looks like rodent marks. I was reading where soldiers would roll them around in their mouth and chomp on them like a gumball, but who knows..

@Almy
Yes, possibly a Charleville .69
Only the third ball (same) found on the site. There were large encampments on both sides of the current property in farm fields. Unfortunately, both are now covered with Mcmansions.

 

[Digger RJ]

Had a questionable hit after a day of nails and dug this at about 9 inches. I was puzzled with the damage until I did some research. It is apparently a "chewed" musket ball and they are tooth marks. The site was occupied by both colonial and British troops, much longer by colonial forces. Dia of .66

View attachment 2205316

Nice!!! Congrats!!!

 

[ncsuwolf]

@ncsuwolf
Nothing that looks like rodent marks. I was reading where soldiers would roll them around in their mouth and chomp on them like a gumball, but who knows..

@Almy
Yes, possibly a Charleville .69
Only the third ball (same) found on the site. There were large encampments on both sides of the current property in farm fields. Unfortunately, both are now covered with Mcmansions.

Go ask the McMansion owners…likely a “no” but you never know until you ask

 

[Mud Hut]

https://meridian.allenpress.com/tmas/article/48/2020/11/464446/Biting-the-Bullet-Analyzing-the-Authenticity-of?fbclid=IwY2xjawKBButleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFCM1RoWUVlTnVtbzhtRGplAR4pbvkXXQHlkORBhTU6lj8OW8unt5ZrXtsqc7tlCgMNMdx-8riUTWydU6kOmQ_aem_JPGEvtPZcqu1Vx5WS3cniA

The link above will take you to the entire study shown below. It is a very informative read.

 

[UnderMiner]

I read somewhere that the chewing bullet theory was just a myth, turns out people didn't actually do that (they would have poisioned themselves, even unintentionally someone would have made the connection when their buddy went mad with lead poisoning from chewing his bullets). I heard it was animals who chewed them, mostly feral pigs who mistook them for acorns while foraging, and then either spit them out or swallowed them and deposited them later.

 

[Mud Hut]

I read somewhere that the chewing bullet theory was just a myth, turns out people didn't actually do that (they would have poisioned themselves, even unintentionally someone would have made the connection when their buddy went mad with lead poisoning from chewing his bullets). I heard it was animals who chewed them, mostly feral pigs who mistook them for acorns while foraging, and then either spit them out or swallowed them and deposited them later.

Yup..That is what the link I posted is all about.

 

[Gare]

Maybe someone or something chewed it while it was being shot

 

[cannonball]

Had a questionable hit after a day of nails and dug this at about 9 inches. I was puzzled with the damage until I did some research. It is apparently a "chewed" musket ball and they are tooth marks. The site was occupied by both colonial and British troops, much longer by colonial forces. Dia of .66

View attachment 2205316

BITE THE BULLET!

 

[ncsuwolf]

There’s only a pic of one side, but is there any repetition or reasoning for the marks on the ball? Could also be carving if there is any kind of reasoning behind the pattern