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Description: | Chert gun flint, square in plan, triangular in profile and trapezoidal in section, worked on all four margins of the dorsal face, and derived from local Greensand chert (Rosemary Stewart pers comm).The colour of the chert is an orangey-brown with one linear red mark from iron staining on the ventral face. The length to breadth ratio is about 1:1.There is no documentary evidence for when or where sparks from flint were first used to fire gunpowder, but flintlock guns were being used in France from about 1600. There is a written record of an order received by London gunsmiths in 1661 to provide 15,000 'flintstones cutt' for the garrisons in Tangier and Ireland. This gunflint may have been associated with the local activity in Cornwall during the Civil War, but they continued being used throughout the 18th century, especially during the Napoleonic Wars.Bailey (2000) illustrates similar examples on pages 69 & 71, Figs.3,4 & 9, which likely date from the 17th 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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