✅ SOLVED stone cannon ball?

[Michigandirtdigger]

Hey, This round stone was dug up along with some indian artifacts but I am having trouble identifying it. Just wondering if it could be a stone cannon ball. I am posting pics that I posted on artifacts thread for your veiwing pleasure. Thanks

 

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[HutSiteDigger]

We have a cannonball expert here named CannonBallGuy who is been collecting/researching cannon balls for over 40 years and is mentioned in many artifact books! He should be on in a short-time too help way in on this! Good luck.

 

[Michigandirtdigger]

Thanks HutsiteDigger!

 

[Ruchman]

Looks like a round grinding stone?

 

[cheese]

Nice celts! I have never known of a stone cannonball. I won't say it's impossible, but very unlikely that anyone could or would grind a stone to the thousandth of an inch required to fit a cannon or even the hundredth. That would take probably months if you worked at it hard every day. If they needed something to shoot that badly, they would have stuffed some packing/wadding in the barrel and then loaded some rocks of whatever shape and size in it. I think it's a game piece.

 

[Michigandirtdigger]

I think you may be right. I would imagine it would have to be very very round to be a cannon ball. It has a small flat spot on it and I read that some of them had flat spots from sitting stacked together. You never know. thanks

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Cheese is on the right track in his comments. The very first cannonballs ever made, back in approximately the 1200s, were stones wrapped in cloth. But as he indicated, people soon realized it is MUCH less laborious to make an ironcasting mold and produce hundreds of just-the-right-size cannonballs pretty quickly that way, instead of trying to chisel each one down to exactly the right size (and shape) out of a piece of stone.

Therefore, ever since then, NOBODY made cannonballs out of stone. Claims to the contrary are incorrect. (For example... no, the Europeans did not use stone cannonballs in their conquests of the Americas.) Trust me, if people are capable of casting an iron cannon, they are also capable of casting iron cannonballs. Those people are NOT going to do the grueling labor of chiseling each ball (which MUST be the exact same diameter as the others, and perfectly-round) out of stone.

Because you found your stone ball near some Indian ("Native-American") artifacts, it may be an Indian game-ball. You'll need to take it to a college's Archeology Department for examination by a pro, in real-life. (As a former Archeologist, I have to tell you that photos are often not adequate for certainty in identifying stone artifacts.)

 

[Michigandirtdigger]

Thank you CannonballGuy

 

[Gryzly]

I have found a ball almost exactly the same as yours. It was found in Washington Boro, PA in a field near to the river. Known Susquehannoc Indian territory. Any further information on your ball?

 

[huntsman53]

The round stone may be what is sometimes referred to as a Chunkee stone and was used in Native American Indian games! The stone ball or Chunkee stone was rolled across the field of play and players would attempt to hit the stone with spears. I have to admit that I found this information online long ago but I had to look it up again as I was unsure as to what game they (the Native American Indians) played with it! It seems that many tribes across North America played this or a similar game as these round stones or Chunkee stones have been found in many of the areas where Native American Indians lived.


Frank

 

[JimR]

is this a cannonball ?

 

[Spats]

Based on this new evidence, I wouldn't rule out stone cannon ball.

 

[huntsman53]

Based on this new evidence, I wouldn't rule out stone cannon ball.

Yep, both made at Stonehenge by someone with a stone head!


Frank

 

[stefen]

When you hear hoof beats, think horses and not zebras...

Namely when you find a grouping of Native American stone tools, a round stone is likely to fit into that category.