Until recently battlefield archaeologists could learn little from the musket balls and other lead shot discovered on the fields of conflict. New equipment and research techniques have changed all that. Musket balls were the projectiles of choice from the fourteenth century origins of the firearm until it was replaced by the rifled weapon in the first half of the nineteenth century. Musket balls were usually spherical and made of lead, but not always.
Revolutionary War, French and Indian War, and War of 1812 battlefields are littered with musket balls. Using metal detectors, archaeologists plot their location to get a more thorough understanding of course and nature of the battle. This volume will help scholars identify how and where they were made and used.
Lavishly illustrated, Musket Balls and Lead Shot Identification explores the many types of balls found on the battlefields and their condition. Author Daniel Sivilich has studied these projectiles for some thirty years, and this volume is an essential reference guide for the study of eighteenth-century battlefields. As the author readily admits, it is just the beginning of an important new line of evidence for understanding these battlefields.
