🔎 UNIDENTIFIED Musket balls age help

May 23, 2024
286
245
Atlanta GA
Detector(s) used
AT Pro
54E70483-6825-484F-8271-2D8FD16CC002.jpeg
CD123EDF-E6F0-4BA5-A9E0-873DBC9422CB.jpeg
389525D3-71B1-495A-8939-174708CF1136.jpeg
A8B3D0F6-5535-4644-B8BD-77AECDF321C3.jpeg
2ABCDB0D-F4FE-4635-B019-577C7752D318.jpeg
8960CD85-33AD-4F23-98AF-9F5A75821B6E.jpeg
B2406F88-4F61-4A86-AA35-B7B6E6E65FC7.jpeg
4EAB7240-5176-477B-A018-6F1D4AA2C46F.jpeg
5386B252-5184-48F6-A62B-1AEC60B89E33.jpeg
B096BE3F-23C8-4CE8-A27E-06FFCC2A9D89.jpeg
1974A7F2-48FB-4EED-BD12-2EDF8CDB3541.jpeg
2D9936FC-38D2-4B23-AB08-821D748ACE47.jpeg
5F4F4AC3-56F9-4352-99F1-59A3EECFE5C6.jpeg
61F66E2C-BC10-404A-807F-611458CC8267.jpeg

I dug all of these in the country Türkiye 🇹🇷 and there was a 1915 war in the area between the Armenian and the Turks the area is very historical and old
 

Attachments

  • F7B9D6EF-DE41-4C37-BA6D-123577749898.jpeg
    F7B9D6EF-DE41-4C37-BA6D-123577749898.jpeg
    285.6 KB · Views: 1
  • CF82D4A3-F784-4FA0-B263-CCE792F1DBEC.jpeg
    CF82D4A3-F784-4FA0-B263-CCE792F1DBEC.jpeg
    292.2 KB · Views: 0
Is hunting allowed there?
Are residents allowed arms there?
Did practice occur there?
What history is there of military camps? Civilian camps or residents? Homesteads , businesses ect?

You have a mix of age and calibers.
The early picture with the sprue showing was a discard , or destined for remelt ,or oiled/greased and put in the mold it was made in for the molds off duty storage/carry.
Or it could have been used for a variety of things....

Early run balls in a metal mold that isn't up to temp or has been allowed to cool too much have defects/imperfections.
During war and high alert ammo quality of a roundball isn't a big a deal as in times when the luxury of being picky exists.

So there are a variety of reasons you find roundballs.

Who had/has arms? Of what caliber?
Who molded bullets? With what kind of molds?

You likely have a couple from your mention of a particular wars era. Are they directly related? I don't know.
What if any alloys exist in the lead of a given era. The effect on patina the soil of an area imparts.

Look close for fiber marks. I didn't see any.
Nor holes from bullets being pulled after being loaded.
They appear unfired.
So are likely drops. Or recycle destined back when.
You did not give the context of recoveries. A few together? Scattered over three miles?
Along the same trail? On a campsite? In a hearth?
 

Upvote 0
Is hunting allowed there?
Are residents allowed arms there?
Did practice occur there?
What history is there of military camps? Civilian camps or residents? Homesteads , businesses ect?

You have a mix of age and calibers.
The early picture with the sprue showing was a discard , or destined for remelt ,or oiled/greased and put in the mold it was made in for the molds off duty storage/carry.
Or it could have been used for a variety of things....

Early run balls in a metal mold that isn't up to temp or has been allowed to cool too much have defects/imperfections.
During war and high alert ammo quality of a roundball isn't a big a deal as in times when the luxury of being picky exists.

So there are a variety of reasons you find roundballs.

Who had/has arms? Of what caliber?
Who molded bullets? With what kind of molds?

You likely have a couple from your mention of a particular wars era. Are they directly related? I don't know.
What if any alloys exist in the lead of a given era. The effect on patina the soil of an area imparts.

Look close for fiber marks. I didn't see any.
Nor holes from bullets being pulled after being loaded.
They appear unfired.
So are likely drops. Or recycle destined back when.
You did not give the context of recoveries. A few together? Scattered over three miles?
Along the same trail? On a campsite? In a hearth?
They were all recovers on top of a steep hill which is a mountain some close to a 300+ year old tree and some others on top of another mountain next to a huge rock and one on top of the hill of the 300 year old tree and there was a 100+ year old house
 

Last edited:
Upvote 1
They were all recovers on top of a steep hill which is a mountain some close to a 300+ year old tree and some others on top of another mountain next to a huge rock and one on top of the hill of the 300 year old tree and there was a 100+ year old house
All good places to be! And spend time.

The hilltop would be a good vantage/observation point.
Partway down on the "military crest" to avoid being silhouetted.

History might find blackpowder 50 caliber/.490 rifle bores common at one time. (?).
A study of a given wars arms could help if government issued vs whatever civilians showed up with.

Turkey has a history of firearms making. Still does.
Also a history of blades. Beware the blades.
A war battle site I'd expect a blade or two to show up.
 

Upvote 0
Those are too small to be musketballs, they would be round balls for a rifle rather than a musket. As far as age, that's tough, roundballs have been in use for centuries and are still in use today. Yours have the patina of older ones, but your best bet to date them would be to research the history of human activity in the area and other artifacts found in context with them.
 

Upvote 1
Those are too small to be musketballs, they would be round balls for a rifle rather than a musket. As far as age, that's tough, roundballs have been in use for centuries and are still in use today. Yours have the patina of older ones, but your best bet to date them would be to research the history of human activity in the area and other artifacts found in context with them.
I dug this thimble in the same area to 1 3 4 but how old is the thimble I guess it’s brass or copper
 

Attachments

  • 34C2F04C-53C7-4DE5-AC9C-ED0655F4B72E.jpeg
    34C2F04C-53C7-4DE5-AC9C-ED0655F4B72E.jpeg
    200.1 KB · Views: 1
  • 5689BA2C-FED7-45D1-AC2B-EE3F65E3A916.jpeg
    5689BA2C-FED7-45D1-AC2B-EE3F65E3A916.jpeg
    227.3 KB · Views: 1
  • 439AF948-0EFB-448E-BA02-0EDE151C7E31.jpeg
    439AF948-0EFB-448E-BA02-0EDE151C7E31.jpeg
    187.6 KB · Views: 1
Upvote 0
All good places to be! And spend time.

The hilltop would be a good vantage/observation point.
Partway down on the "military crest" to avoid being silhouetted.

History might find blackpowder 50 caliber/.490 rifle bores common at one time. (?).
A study of a given wars arms could help if government issued vs whatever civilians showed up with.

Turkey has a history of firearms making. Still does.
Also a history of blades. Beware the blades.
A war battle site I'd expect a blade or two to show up.
All this makes so much sense thank you
 

Upvote 0

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top