Yeah, lead oxides are white (and were historically used in cosmetics, among other things) and generally a white patina on lead items is an indicator that it's been exposed to the elements for a while. I don't know how much that can be used to reliably gauge time in ground, for instance, as I would think that the acidity of the soil and a bunch of other factors might affect the speed at which lead oxidizes. But in the case of your musket balls I would think that it is reasonable to assume that the lighter one is older than the darker one. Incidentally, when freshly cast, lead balls are shiny but will turn a dark grey with exposure to the elements, or the right conditions. Tannins from leather seem to encourage slight oxidation, so those same balls that get placed into a leather pouch will turn dark grey fairly quickly but I've also got some lead musket balls that were cast several years ago, placed in a thick plastic bag and remain quite bright. I have also noticed that exposure to harder water-- that which has a lot of mineral content-- also tends to speed along oxidation. And yes, a roundball is nothing to joke about; the reason why we see so many amputations in the aftermath of linear warfare has to do with the nature of the damage they caused. It's often assumed that surgeons just cut off limbs because it was quicker than extracting balls or bullets that that's not really the case (though undoubtedly they did get very efficient). When a heavy mass like a .69 cal roundball or .58 cal bullet strikes bone, it doesn't break it but instead completely and utterly shatters it, and the fact that now a three or four inch section of someone's humerus is now in razor sharp fragments that cannot be set to promote healing means that amputation really is the only way to save the patient's life. Your little bit of lead bar that you lobbed out of the trebuchet looks like it could be some kind of wadcutter bullet but the oxidation seems to hint at it being quite a bit older than anything that would fire such a projectile. However, the soil at this site does seem to be quite acidic so it could be the case that the level of oxidation is higher as a result.
Great info once again, I can't imagine just how much those things could destroy bone, very brave men standing in lines 100 yards apart knowing those things were coming at you!!
listening to the level of historical 'expertise' at work here one can clearly understand why real archaeologists are horrified by rank (and I use the word in all of it's senses) amateurs digging up and destroying the context of finds.
Hey, Appreciate your concern, I don't claim to be an expert just a hobbyist hence I record any historically significant finds along with locations and report them to Flo. If it were not for us 'rank amateurs' these things would never be discovered in random fields and would eventually be completely destroyed by the plough. Real archeologists unfortunately do not have the funding to dig up random farm fields in the hope of finding something. Thank you for the watch time though, All the best.
Nice finds.. cool ! Just keep enjoying what you do..
Cheers from south European collegues!
Hey guys, hope You're good, thanks again!! 🖖
@LostandFoundRelicCollecting all great man! Happy new hunting!
Coin is george 3rd gaming token
Best wishes and happy hunting out there.
Thank you, you too! 👍
Yeah, lead oxides are white (and were historically used in cosmetics, among other things) and generally a white patina on lead items is an indicator that it's been exposed to the elements for a while. I don't know how much that can be used to reliably gauge time in ground, for instance, as I would think that the acidity of the soil and a bunch of other factors might affect the speed at which lead oxidizes. But in the case of your musket balls I would think that it is reasonable to assume that the lighter one is older than the darker one. Incidentally, when freshly cast, lead balls are shiny but will turn a dark grey with exposure to the elements, or the right conditions. Tannins from leather seem to encourage slight oxidation, so those same balls that get placed into a leather pouch will turn dark grey fairly quickly but I've also got some lead musket balls that were cast several years ago, placed in a thick plastic bag and remain quite bright. I have also noticed that exposure to harder water-- that which has a lot of mineral content-- also tends to speed along oxidation.
And yes, a roundball is nothing to joke about; the reason why we see so many amputations in the aftermath of linear warfare has to do with the nature of the damage they caused. It's often assumed that surgeons just cut off limbs because it was quicker than extracting balls or bullets that that's not really the case (though undoubtedly they did get very efficient). When a heavy mass like a .69 cal roundball or .58 cal bullet strikes bone, it doesn't break it but instead completely and utterly shatters it, and the fact that now a three or four inch section of someone's humerus is now in razor sharp fragments that cannot be set to promote healing means that amputation really is the only way to save the patient's life.
Your little bit of lead bar that you lobbed out of the trebuchet looks like it could be some kind of wadcutter bullet but the oxidation seems to hint at it being quite a bit older than anything that would fire such a projectile. However, the soil at this site does seem to be quite acidic so it could be the case that the level of oxidation is higher as a result.
Great info once again, I can't imagine just how much those things could destroy bone, very brave men standing in lines 100 yards apart knowing those things were coming at you!!
listening to the level of historical 'expertise' at work here one can clearly understand why real archaeologists are horrified by rank (and I use the word in all of it's senses) amateurs digging up and destroying the context of finds.
Hey, Appreciate your concern, I don't claim to be an expert just a hobbyist hence I record any historically significant finds along with locations and report them to Flo.
If it were not for us 'rank amateurs' these things would never be discovered in random fields and would eventually be completely destroyed by the plough. Real archeologists unfortunately do not have the funding to dig up random farm fields in the hope of finding something. Thank you for the watch time though, All the best.
don't listen to people like this, who clearly have nothing better going on in there lives. keep up the good work