Ring my Bell?

[Digger54]

Had a fun day today in the SC Lowcountry. The attached is 4 hours of poking around on one of the sea islands. I assume the large object is the base portion of a bell? It rang a 91 on my F75 and when I reached in the hole and felt the smooth slick surface first thought I had hit a jar of coins, oh well.

There is one other item at the bottom that is made of lead and has one hole in the center with four additional holes in the sides. Anyone have a clue?

 

[Monty]

I saw the bottom first and thought I was going to see a ship's bell, but where'd the top go? I have never see a bell cast in two or more sections. The buttons and buckles may tell you something about the site, but I am not that familiar with that stuff. Monty

 

[BuckleBoy]

I have found several pieces of similar bells, all made of shiny material similar to tombac but heavier. They had iron pieces that went through wooden handles. Not sure what kind of clapper they had. I have one whole one, dug in January of 2010. If you go to honorable mention and look for my post, then click on the link to the hunt where I first dug the class ring that I returned, you'll see a photo of the complete bell. Yours appears to have been cut or recycled into some other use. They appear to date to the late 1800s. I figure they were rung to get kids in for dinner.

Regards,


Buckles