Found this today about 5 inches down. The middle part is lead and the clips are iron or steel. I have no clue as to what this is or what it does. Any guesses?
it may well be a jar closure.There were many ingenioue lever types to add down pressure.this is a similar configuration.I will try to locate yours......
although it is certainly possible that is a type of lightening closure for beer,soda water etc....