Can anyone identify these rusty old things?

[Onetap]

Errrmmm - they look a little like bullets to me, do be careful....

You can't tell without measuring them, so I'm prepared to be totally wrong, but they look like early 1900s military ammunition. Someone seems to have used your hill as a bullet stop. The most numerous ones may be early .303 rifle bullets; the later ones, from the Mk7 on had a more pointed nose.There's an article on .303 ammunition on Wikipedia. You may be able to tell where the firing point was and then find some matching cartridge cases.

The lead bullet below the egg may be a .455 revolver (Officers, for the use of). The rimmed brass cartridge case below that will have numbers on its base that will identify it. It looks like a revolver cartridge, but might be a broken .303 rifle cartridge.

They all look like fired small-arms ammunition and so shouldn't be dangerous. If you find any old live rounds, I think they can be hazardous; the propellant contained about 10% nitroglycerine (I think) which can separate and is sensitive to shock. I've never heard of one going off.

 

[DaveBrigg]

On the pictures of stonework, the fourth up from the bottom seems to have a rather phallic carving. We have a few similar odds and ends which must have come from the church across the road when it was rebuilt in the 1860's. We also have a flagsone with 'VIII' carved in one corner. Presumaby from when King Henry got bored on a visit to our back garden.

The bullet cartridge cases can probably be dated by looking at their base.

 

[Penners]

Joce - I've just been perusing your photos on this thread, again, and I've just twigged something.

Some time ago I seem to remember your posting a question about a niche or cubby hole in your undercroft (was that you?). I think you were wondering what it might have been. I believe I speculated that it could have been an old wash-stand, that once might have housed a wash-copper.

Well, that "rusty tub" that contains primulas and daffs, might well have been the copper itself. Most coppers weren't copper, they were iron. And that's definitely a wash-copper - so it could have come from that old wash-stand.

Or I could be talking a load of old tosh, and the original question didn't come from you at all!

signed

Hercule Marple

 

[JoceAndChris]

A* Monsieur Hercule Marple. Vous avez speculee absolument correctment comme d'habitude. Vous avez les yeux d'un hawk, les cerveaux d'Einstein et le memoire d'un elephant. Tres bien!

(the only teeny thing is that I've talked about all this before, and how Jaqi and discussed how nice it would be to put the copper back in the hole, but maybe you missed that post, and I adore you anyway.)

And how rude of me not to thank you to Dave and Onetap for their informative posts too, I was busy at the time and then it slipped my mind. I'm afraid the 70s Sindy and Pippa dolls went to doll heaven Onetap. I would have been embarassed to photograph their mutilated bodies for Ebay - it wasn't me, it was my bruv, honest gov.

 

[JoceAndChris]

And , not only did I bin Sindy dolls, burn love letters and first communion dresses and projects on Lady Di, but also I found a huge hole in the garden and I tipped all the fossils and some of the rusty junk and all the cartridges into it. 8)

 

[Penners]

the only teeny thing is that I've talked about all this before

Donc je n'approche pas du tout le cervaux d'Einstein. Desole que je ne me souviens pas du conversation dont tu parles.

Le cervaux d'Asterix, peut-etre?

Les yeux d'un hawk?

 

[JoceAndChris]

Ne t'inquiets pas, cher Hercule. Tu es un lion de ce forum et je suis heureuse parce que tu penses de mes rusty choses. xx