🔎 UNIDENTIFIED I found this metal detecting in Atlanta GA near a civil war battle site is this a shell fragment?

[savinghistoryalway.s]

I found this metal detecting in Atlanta GA near a civil war battle site is this a shell fragment?

 

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[TheCannonballGuy]

savinghistoryalway wrote:
> I found this metal detecting in Atlanta GA near a civil war battle site is this a shell fragment?

Sorry to have to disappoint your hopes, but that is 100%-definitely not a civil war artillery shell fragment. Most were at LEAST 1/2-inch thick, or more, like 3/4" and 1-inch thick, though a few types were 3/8th-inch.

Remember, with excavated (dug) iron frags, you've got to account for some rust/dirt-encrustation adding to the "apparent" thickness of the iron when you look at it..

I've seen a few frags from the extra-thin front tip end of a 3" or 2.6"-caliber Hotchkiss shell which were only 1/4-inch thick... but your find doesn't have the right shape/curvature to be one of those.

The thin-ness and the shape/curvature of your find indicate it is a piece of a broken cast-iron pot or frying-pan. There's no way to accurately tell its age.

 

[savinghistoryalway.s]

savinghistoryalway wrote:
> I found this metal detecting in Atlanta GA near a civil war battle site is this a shell fragment?

Sorry to have to disappoint your hopes, but that is 100%-definitely not a civil war artillery shell fragment. Most were at least 1/2-inch thick, with a few being 3/8th-inch.

Remember, with excavated (dug) iron frags, you've got to account for some rust/dirt-encrustation adding to the "apparent" thickness of the iron when you look at it..

I've seen a few frags from the extra-thin front tip end of a 3" or 2.6"-caliber Hotchkiss shell which were only 1/4-inch thick... but your find doesn't have the right shape/curvature to be one of those.

The thin-ness and the shape/curvature of your find indicate it is a piece of a broken cast-iron pot or frying-pan. There's no way to accurately tell its age.

Thank you