Cannonball?

[sweetandsour]

Any US Civil War buffs on here? If so, could this be a cannonball? If my suspicions are correct and it is a cannonball, then it's already been shot, and has done it's damage. It's roughly 5" diameter, and weighs ~18 lbs. It has a small indentation, and also a small raised area, circular in shape.

IMG_20221017_110607645.jpg (5.7 MiB) Viewed 600 times

IMG_20221017_101532178.jpg (5.76 MiB) Viewed 600 times

[joegoat]

I'm no buff, but the patina looks right. Did you find it in the ground or elsewhere?

[Hovannes]

That flat spot makes me suspect it's a milling ball
Cannonballs would be near perfect spheres as they came from the factory.
Where'd you find it? An industrial town or on a battlefield?

[sweetandsour]

I picked it up In a small barn, behind a relative's house. All that lived there have now passed, and the house and grounds are being emptied, and readied to be sold. I have reason to believe that it's a spent cannonball, but the small hump on it puzzles me. I thought mill ball also, but those are supposed to be perfectly round as well. I can't think of what else it could be.

[FredS]

At first glance I thought it was a kettlebell with the handle broken off (the raised area), but google shows it should have two raised areas where the handle would have joined the body if that were the case. Seems to me that a protrusion like that might cause a jammed barrel. Not good. So, I say it's an ore crushing mill ball and the raised area is where the casting sprue was broken off. If it was never used or used sparingly, that raised are won't be worn off. I think the indent is from it dropping from the mold while still hot. Google shows plenty of pictures.

https://www.google.com/search?q=ore+cru ... =899&dpr=1

[Jocose]

Shot put

[sweetandsour]

At first glance I thought it was a kettlebell with the handle broken off (the raised area), but google shows it should have two raised areas where the handle would have joined the body if that were the case. Seems to me that a protrusion like that might cause a jammed barrel. Not good. So, I say it's an ore crushing mill ball and the raised area is where the casting sprue was broken off. If it was never used or used sparingly, that raised are won't be worn off. I think the indent is from it dropping from the mold while still hot. Google shows plenty of pictures.

https://www.google.com/search?q=ore+cru ... =899&dpr=1

This is the best explanation I've seen so far. In my short 4-yr experience working at a cement manufacturing plant (Alpha Portland Cement Co.), I don't recall seeing a crushing/grinding ball that large (5" dia.), but of course my experience is limited, and it was many years ago. I read somewhere about mortar rounds with indentations so that they could easily be picked up with tongs, as well as to facilitate stacking. But I agree with you, and like I said earlier, it's the round protrusion that's a mystery to me. It's likely a discarded crushing ball that didn't get used. Why and how my cousin came by it, I'll never know.

[Hugo Drax]

At first glance I thought it was a kettlebell with the handle broken off (the raised area), but google shows it should have two raised areas where the handle would have joined the body if that were the case. Seems to me that a protrusion like that might cause a jammed barrel. Not good. So, I say it's an ore crushing mill ball and the raised area is where the casting sprue was broken off. If it was never used or used sparingly, that raised are won't be worn off. I think the indent is from it dropping from the mold while still hot. Google shows plenty of pictures.

https://www.google.com/search?q=ore+cru ... =899&dpr=1

This is the best explanation I've seen so far. In my short 4-yr experience working at a cement manufacturing plant (Alpha Portland Cement Co.), I don't recall seeing a crushing/grinding ball that large (5" dia.), but of course my experience is limited, and it was many years ago. I read somewhere about mortar rounds with indentations so that they could easily be picked up with tongs, as well as to facilitate stacking. But I agree with you, and like I said earlier, it's the round protrusion that's a mystery to me. It's likely a discarded crushing ball that didn't get used. Why and how my cousin came by it, I'll never know.

I think Fred hit the nail on the head. It's not hollow, is it?

[Del]

Industrial paperweight.

That dent on the bottom keeps it from rolling off the workbench.

[sweetandsour]

At first glance I thought it was a kettlebell with the handle broken off (the raised area), but google shows it should have two raised areas where the handle would have joined the body if that were the case. Seems to me that a protrusion like that might cause a jammed barrel. Not good. So, I say it's an ore crushing mill ball and the raised area is where the casting sprue was broken off. If it was never used or used sparingly, that raised are won't be worn off. I think the indent is from it dropping from the mold while still hot. Google shows plenty of pictures.

https://www.google.com/search?q=ore+cru ... =899&dpr=1

This is the best explanation I've seen so far. In my short 4-yr experience working at a cement manufacturing plant (Alpha Portland Cement Co.), I don't recall seeing a crushing/grinding ball that large (5" dia.), but of course my experience is limited, and it was many years ago. I read somewhere about mortar rounds with indentations so that they could easily be picked up with tongs, as well as to facilitate stacking. But I agree with you, and like I said earlier, it's the round protrusion that's a mystery to me. It's likely a discarded crushing ball that didn't get used. Why and how my cousin came by it, I'll never know.

I think Fred hit the nail on the head. It's not hollow, is it?

No, it's not hollow. It weighs 16 lbs, per our bathroom scales.