Musket Balls, Musket Balls, and more Musket Balls

[Zeus (Joel)]

Never dug so before in my life. All these musket balls and no hammies  

[handyman [Alan}]

seems like you need to do the research  Joel, you could have stumbled upon the edge of a site of a small civilwar skirmish. In which case, persevere and the other finds will come along

[gijan]

Hi partner in grime....i would be so happy 2 have found all those musket balls,one of my favorite finds,,,, like handyman said persevere and the rest will come....

[rookypair]

Wow Joel  What a great day's 'tecting.  How long were you out for?
Well done
Rookypair
 

[Zeus (Joel)]

i made it a long day today. I was out for 8 hours and didn't even stop for lunch

[dances with badgers]

mist be a dardiff scan club site nr wick

[Val Beechey]

Hi Joel
You've got some interesting finds there. Well done.
ProConsul Geoff posted a message from a fella called Gordon Hill who is researching Battle sites in Wales and if you could spare the time to contact him about the Musket balls I'm sure he'd be very interested. His E.Mail address is     gordon@gordontheguide.co.uk

Val

[Zeus (Joel)]

Thanks guys and Badge your way off fella 

There is already a known battle that took place so no need to report to anyone 

Can wait to go back when it's all plowed so see what other goodies comes up

[dances with badgers]

i saw yaaa lol.watchin yaa on google earth 

[Chef Geoff]

No Joel you couldn't be more wrong if you tried. Battlefields are the most delicate archaeological sites you can work on, as they operate in space and not in time, there is no time stratification of finds only position relative to each other and it's by this means that a picture of the events and strategies of a battle can be mapped out.
Removing things without GPS positioning means they are then useless and in the case of musket balls become just lumps of lead.

"IMPO"
People died in that battle (and all battles) and some for causes that they believed worth the sacrifice. Nearly 400 years ago men fired those muskets to kill but mainly, to not be killed themselves and win a battle for a cause in the most part they believed in. The adrenalin of fear at that time is something that most will luckily never experience but I believe that we are honour bound to tell their story and by recording (even in your own personal way) means that regardless how low born or insignificant their part, the musketeers and dragoons who fired those shots and the men they  fired at, will in some way have been remembered.

[dances with badgers]

hows there so many musket balls on swansea bay then at low tide by council building where theres a lovely sewage outlet?

[handyman [Alan}]

In support of Geoffs comments, the plotting of the musket shot is essential. I give you the link to the naseby battlefield musket shot findspots, and from it one can gain a better understanding of the battle itself and the rout afterwards.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/attract_marketing_tourism_and_attraction_consultancy/2796204870/#

If you are detecting on a known site Joel, then i would strongly suggest tha tyou record the position of the musket shot and feed that back into your HER team, or FLO for them to forward onto interested parties.

[Chef Geoff]

hows there so many musket balls on swansea bay then at low tide by council building where theres a lovely sewage outlet?

Probably the same reason you get so many on Brean beach, they aren't actually musket balls but canister shot.

[Mike]

what is/was cannister shot

[Chef Geoff]

Basically it's a tin can full of musket (type) balls, that you fire from a cannon which turns it in to a very big shot gun
Generally an anti-personnel weapon which is still used today in tanks when fighting infantry. A very nasty piece of kit