Lead Bar with bitemarks

[gmu4me]

Here is anther mystery. Lead bar found around an old log cabin along Rt 522 between Front Royal, Va and Winchester, Va. It measures just over 4 inches long. As you can see, one end looks like it has bitemarks on it. Found a sqished Gardner bullet around 6 feet from it.

My thought is that it is a Lead source bar that was used to create bullets.. segments carved off and melted down to make bullets.

Thoughts

 

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[Jason in TN]

Would say that it was lead to make into bullets. I find chewed lead and chewed civil war bullets all the time. Could have been chewed on for a # of reasons. Thirsty, Bored, Tooth ache, other pain nervous. We will never know.

 

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[DJ_Quinn]

I've read all the comments and I respect the knowledge of the members here but it surprises me that a lead bar would be used to bite down on during the primitive surgery of the Civil War era. I would think they'd find something; a) smaller, so it would fit easier in the mouth, b) less toxic, c) non-metalic, like wood or leather.
Anyway, if those are real bite-marks, that's a pretty interesting relic. I hate to even think about those poor lads undergoing those proceedures. Oh yeah, no penicillin either, so almost 1/2 of them died from infections afterwards.