Who can guess what this is?

[Bayou Joe]

I was down right next to a mid 1800's to early 1900's mill site when I seen part of the road dug up. Of course I had to swing on it. Managed to coins, a stinkin Lincoln and a wheat 1944. And sticking out of the pile was this object that caught my eye. My machine never made a sound as I passed over it. Its a metal object for sure and to my kinda resembles a horse head fence post decoration with years of wear. A friend says its a drill bit. I have no idea and hoping some one will know if its trash or treasure.
The area to the left of dirt pile was the old mill site. And in second picture you can see what appears to be an eye sticking out.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Minelab PRO-FIND 35 Waterproof Pinpointer Metal Detector for Experts with Tone ID & Adjustable Sensitivity - Grab it through Amazon!

[JunkDetector]

I think it might be a faucet.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Cry Of The Eagle: History And Legends Of The Cherokee Indians And Their Buried Treasure - Grab it through Amazon!

[Cycluran]

It's not metal and that's not rust. It's heavy because you're basically holding a rock, but, I feel ya. It looks interesting.

 

[creskol]

It's not metal and that's not rust. It's heavy because you're basically holding a rock, but, I feel ya. It looks interesting.

Exactly!

 

[Nickleanddime]

It's a nozzle or tap. You gotta look at where it was at. In a pile of dirt at a old mill that was dug up from under a road. The location screams tap, under a road any kind of conglomerate would have been crushed from the 100 years of people driving over it. Also how many times has this road been worked on or paved over the years. A barrel or trough spicket would be in that area for the horses and to draw water for the house. Also a mill back in the day made beer with its left over grain so they would have been tapping barrels with it. Like I said in previous posts I've seen items like this before near old springs and on old farms. It's a barrel tap.

As far as finding them on the Mississippi River, that wouldn't mean a conglomerate. Think of how many barrels have floated on that river. During prohibition imagine how many barrels were dumped into that river. Also the flooding that occurred along it would have washed tons of items into it over the years. But when figuring out what something is you have to look at location. Even if it had a tree root in it then "conglomerates" around it, the root most likely would have petrified from the minerals taking it over. Then over the years the hollow would have filled in with this conglomerates also. Also a tree root don't grow straight the curve in a spout, nor start 3 in at one end and within 4 inches drop to 1/2 inch. Sorry guy but its a tap.

 

[creskol]

I sure wish I were at my ranch in Texas where I have a whole field full of these "barrel taps."

Still would like to know if a magnet would stick to this "tap" .. a question that has not been answered.

 

[Cycluran]

...hard-headed...

 

[pippinwhitepaws]

ok...rocks sure are weird in tejas

 

[unclemac]

clean it up and show it again....I too have found many objects that look like it but they crumble pretty easy if you pinch off pieces...

 

[creskol]

I showed your photos to a geologist in Colorado ~ This was their reply:

"I believe it is a concretion within a sandstone--they have a heavy iron component, hence the color."