A Small Round Ball Of Rock

[Alfred]

I found this many years ago, problem is what is it how did it form?

In my early years i drove from coast to coast in th UK - as many did in the 90s, not a care in the world.

This i have had for at least 28 years now.

Possible pickup was either North Wales, Cornwall or Yorkshire coast.

I'm sorry no more information @Sharon Hill

This is what i was trying to send.

 

[Mythopoeika]

View attachment 73544

I found this many years ago, problem is what is it how did it form?

In my early years i drove from coast to coast in th UK - as many did in the 90s, not a care in the world.

This i have had for at least 28 years now.

Possible pickup was either North Wales, Cornwall or Yorkshire coast.

I'm sorry no more information @Sharon Hill

This is what i was trying to send.

It looks like a granite cannon ball.
Granite was used before lead became widely available.

Or... it could have formed that way naturally.

 

[Aydee_Aitchdee]

It looks like a granite cannon ball.
Granite was used before lead became widely available.

Or... it could have formed that way naturally.

I was thinking musket ball...they were made out of stones as well

Before lead musket balls caught on people actually used stones. Yep, round stones. Which is as dumb as you might expect.

The stone as a projectile when fired from a barrel by gunpowder does not react rather well. It is not as dense as lead, which means it can not pierce armor as well as lead can. Lower the weight, lower the kinetic energy, which means lower the piercing power.

It often just shattered on impact. Which hurts yes, but piercing the opponent is the desired action. Hence why lead became a predominant material to make musket balls. It was cheap, easy to mold, and highly durable.

 

[Fluttermoth]

It looks like a granite cannon ball.
Granite was used before lead became widely available.

Or... it could have formed that way naturally.

Yes; you sometimes find these in rock pools, where the tides have been rolling them around, rare to see one this round though

 

[SimonBurchell]

Indeed, I have two lead musketballs that I picked up from Shanklin beach, smaller than in the photo above, and they're the first thing that sprung to mind. It looks like a cannonball or ammunition for a bombard.

 

[Aydee_Aitchdee]

Indeed, I have two lead musketballs that I picked up from Shanklin beach, smaller than the in photo above, and they're the first thing that sprung to mind. It looks like a cannonball or ammunition for a bombard.

I wonder if it was some kind of medieval or ancient birdshot?

 

[SimonBurchell]

I wonder if it was some kind of medieval or ancient birdshot?

More likely for shooting people, I think (sadly). It's way too big.

 

[SummerLightning]

It could also be something less deadly. Compare it with these 19th century stone marbles, found by a Thames mudlark and now in the V&A.
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1263667/stone-marbles-unknown/

 

[Mr. Banooka]

View attachment 73544

I found this many years ago, problem is what is it how did it form?

In my early years i drove from coast to coast in th UK - as many did in the 90s, not a care in the world.

This i have had for at least 28 years now.

Possible pickup was either North Wales, Cornwall or Yorkshire coast.

I'm sorry no more information @Sharon Hill

This is what i was trying to send.

Looks like one of the small ships railing canon balls like they have found on Oak Island.

 

[Mythopoeika]

Looks like one of the small ships railing canon balls like they have found on Oak Island.

Like this?

That is the kind of cannon I had in my mind.

 

[Stormkhan]

Might it be a 'marble' to go into the top of a 'fizzy pop' bottle?

 

[Stormkhan]

Like this?
View attachment 73571
That is the kind of cannon I had in my mind.

A swivel gun - mainly used as anti-boarding actions. They were used to sink enemy rowboats. The Puckle gun had been proposed as a swivel gun and it's shot was about the size of a tennis ball.

 

[Mythopoeika]

Might it be a 'marble' to go into the top of a 'fizzy pop' bottle?

Too big for that.
I own a Codd bottle, and the marble is smaller. It's also a greenish coloured translucent glass.

 

[Aydee_Aitchdee]

Looks like one of the small ships railing canon balls like they have found on Oak Island.

HA! That's where I recognized it from too

 

[Steven]

To me, it looks like it has one or possibly two (now faint) lines circling the right-hand side.

 

[Floyd]

Concretion often produces perfectly round rocks, some very large.

 

[Fluttermoth]

Might it be a 'marble' to go into the top of a 'fizzy pop' bottle?

I'm not an expert, but I am interested in that kind of thing, and I've never seen one of those bottles that anything other than a glass marble.

 

[Min Bannister]

This is very interesting. I have one very like this and assumed it came from a bottle, but now I come to think of it, it would have to be a very large bottle.

 

[Alfred]

Many thanks to your replys here. I appeciate it.
In the bad times (recenltly of my Cats passing 12 months) His ashes and this ball will beside me in bed, just for a finer day after if you know what i mean ?

 

[Frideswide]

Many thanks to your replys here. I appeciate it.
In the bad times (recenltly of my Cats passing 12 months) His ashes and this ball will beside me in bed, just for a finer day after if you know what i mean ?

I know precisely what you mean!

 

[Kondoru]

Id say a well used stone marble.