🔎 UNIDENTIFIED Musket balls age help

May 23, 2024
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Atlanta GA
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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
 

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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?
 

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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
 

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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.
 

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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
 

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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
 

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Looks like someone was casting some .52 cal ??? Round Balls at that site . IMO
 

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