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Description: | One half of a copper-alloy mould for a musket ball. It is rectangular, measuring 19 x 21 mm, and in the centre of one face is a 13 mm diameter hemispherical hollow. In the centre of one of the longer sides is a V-shaped notch with a semi-circular top; into this gate the lead would have been poured. To either side of the notch are diagonal grooves. At the top of the gate, the mould-half is 8 mm thick, but it tapers to 6.5 mm thick at the opposite edge. There are two pins which project in two of the corners of the hollowed face. These pins appear to be separate, and would have served to hold the other half of the mould in place. On the other face is a rectangular projection, 13 mm long and 5 mm thick, with a circular hole 2 mm in diameter through its thickness. This mould was found together with a lead musket ball with uncleaned casting flashes, which fits it exactly. It is surprising to find a mould such as this used for making shot; the usual mould is either an iron 'scissor' mould or a multiple block mould made of brass or soapstone. The block moulds were very similar to this one, but were longer and could make up to a dozen balls at a time. There was a channel along the top which allowed the molten lead to run into each of the moulds; the absence of a channel on this mould shows that it was not intended for use as part of a multiple mould. A soapstone mould has been found on the Tudor warship the Mary Rose; they were still in use well into the nineteenth century.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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