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Description: | Lead, or lead alloy, waste 'header' from casting shot. The length of the header is sub-rectangular in plan with a rounded terminal one and a broken edge the other. The break does not appear to be recent. The upper face of the header is undecorated and almost flat. The underside has three runners, two of which has shot still attached. The shot is 11.5mm diameter. And has a visible casting seam on each. The surface of the lead or lead alloy has a shiny mid mottled grey. The header and shot measure 41.31mm long, 18.13mm wide and 14.96mm thick from the top of the header to the base of the shot. It weighs 28.4g.In the 17th century pistol and musket shot were usually centrally produced and supplied to troops; however, shortages often led to the production of local shot and a bullet mould was often supplied with a gun as a standard piece of equipment (Courtney, P. 1988 'Small Arms Accessories of the Mid Seventeenth Century' Finds Research Group 700-1700 Datasheet 11, p.3). Shot was manufactured in two-part moulds, usually hinged and made of iron (Courtney, P. 1993 'The Medieval and Post Medieval Objects' in Ellis, P. (ed.) Beeston Castle, Cheshire: Excavations by Lawrence Keen and Peter Hough, 1968-85 English Heritage, p. 159). The shot would have been separated from the runner by pincers when the casting had cooled. Excavations at Beeston Castle, Cheshire have uncovered several waste 'headers' comparable to this example (Courtney ibid, 159, nos.32-33, fig.108). The size of the shot suggests it was pistol shot (Courtney ibid, 159).
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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