Welcome to Finds
March 18th 2012
Part of a lead spoon handle found on the Battlefield . Dating late medieval, with the initials, " J B "
The question is? Could this spoon belong to Col John Butler ?
Butler was a " Parliamentarian " betrayed the army of Essex at Castle Dore 1644. Ended in the Tower of London. JA
The question is? Could this spoon belong to Col John Butler ?
Butler was a " Parliamentarian " betrayed the army of Essex at Castle Dore 1644. Ended in the Tower of London. JA
February 27th 2012
This traditional sounding weight or " lead line weight ," is a fantastic find and very rare. ( Found this year not far from the River Fowey). The history of the lead line weight date back before the Romans period and was in use until the introduction of the sounding machines late nineteenth century. Even then, the old type of lead sounding weight continued to survive because of its importance to navigation.
On the base you will see a depression. This would be full of wax, supplying information not just on depth but also on the contours and texture of the seabed by means of the samples in the wax retrieved form the sea bottom. This could not be achieved by a sounding machine.
The sounding weight is round circular in shape, made of lead, weight, three and a half pounds.
Recorded by the " Tywardreath Battlefield Project ". JA
On the base you will see a depression. This would be full of wax, supplying information not just on depth but also on the contours and texture of the seabed by means of the samples in the wax retrieved form the sea bottom. This could not be achieved by a sounding machine.
The sounding weight is round circular in shape, made of lead, weight, three and a half pounds.
Recorded by the " Tywardreath Battlefield Project ". JA
January 20th 2012.
This short article is about the research I did on a Seal Matrix found on the Tywardreath Battlefield," Cornwall " 2009.
I must confess I am not well read on medieval seals but it is the practice of the Tywardreath Battlefield Project to record and analyse all artifacts found on the battlefield.
This information not only covers the Tywardreath Battlefield but the history surrounding Tywardreath throughout the ages.
So what is a Medieval Seal Matrix ?
After all, it’s not an everyday find and when we do discover one, the inscription is usually in Latin, French or some other seemingly unintelligible language. Not good for an old Cornishman I can tell thee!
So what can be learnt from a typical "Seal?" Well, the inscription usually starts at twelve o'clock and the start is often marked by a cross, rose or star (called a mullet). From what I am given to understand, the first word is often SIGILLVM or constructions of it – SIGIL, SIG or simply S. This is Latin for "the seal of " and its use is standard on personal seals. What usually follows is the Latin form of the Christian name and occasionally surname of the owner which can be the place name relating to his place of origin.
The seal I found had the following inscription: S : FRI : LAVREON DE LAnAN. My first thoughts was that the abbreviation could be the "Seal of Frances," but deep down I was hoping it actually meant "Friar," because St Andrew’s Priory wasn’t far from where I found the artefact. Could the two be related? I needed positive identification!
My first port of call was that powerhouse of knowledge, detectorists.co.uk, and it wasn’t not long before I had a response from Pete Morris ( Archaeologist )verifying my thoughts that the seal had once belonged to Friar Lavreon. It was time to contact the present vicar of Tywardreath church, so I made a ‘phone call.
Next morning ,from the moment I showed Father Malcolm the photo of the wax seal, he was very excited, going from room to room to find the best light to see detail, with questions like where did I find it and when?
We both agreed that a more in-depth research was needed. Farther Malcolm suggested that I contact the historian Janet Hewer, show her the seal and ask for her advice. Janet has written books on the Priory and Tywardreath Church and was keen to help, subsequently making search of the National Archives to try and find the names "Friar Lavreon" and "Friar Lawrence ".
In the meantime, and again at the vicar’s prompt, I contacted Professor Nicholas Orme, who specialists in studying the middle ages and Tudor period with particular interest in the history of the South west. I sent him a couple of pictures, sat back, and waited. Within the hour, he got back to me saying that the lettering was ‘typical Lombardic’, and he would ‘get back to me’. I didn’t understand about Lombardic lettering, but a simple search on the net told me it was used in Italian manuscripts from the sixth and seventh century.
Three days went by before I received a phone call from Janet Hewer, saying she could not find the name Friar Lavreon and his association with Tywardreath Priory. Disappointing news!
But not all was lost, The following evening I received a phone call from Prof Orme asking me to get in touch with James Robinson, Curator of Medieval Collections at the British Museum, and to ask for a verification of his findings to date, which was,
S' : FR. T? : LAVRECII. D : LAHAYE. In the meantime Prof Orme was going to consult another specialist who ‘knows about monks and Priors’. The Bishop of Exeter.
'
It must have been well over a month before pieces of the research started to come together, the first good news was, " We had a Date,". James Robinson could not verify the Lombardic lettering but said the seal was thirtieth early fourth century. In the meantime Prof Orme deciphered the lettering, " Lavere de La Hayes,"
Janet Hewer, " Historian," with the up to date research now started researching the National archives, it was not long before she found a Prior with the same surname, a William de La Hayes,
So what's the connection between William de La Hayes and Lavere de La Hayes ?.
Lavere de La Hayes was ordained in St Serge in the year 1310 and became Prior at Tywardreath priory in 1324 to 1333. William de La Hayes was ordained in the same place, ( St Serge ) in 1369, and was prior at Tywardreath from 1371 to 1399, we think that the both was related.
With all this researching, what have we learnt about Friar Lavere de La Hayes ?.
Tywardreath Priory existed for 448 years, 1088-1536. It was a small priory of the Benedictine order with about six monks. Its mother abbey was the Abbey of St Serge France.
Before the battle of Hastings, 1066, William the Conqueror is reputed to have spent the night in prayer, promising to establish the Augustinian church in England if he was successful.
At that time Tywardreath village was in the hands of a Saxon call," Colo," and after the conquest. King William brought over a second invasion of Norman barons and churchmen, to administer law and order. He gave 277 Cornish manors to his half brother Robert, "Count of Morton," and the village of Tywardreath, it was in this time frame ,"1088 " the mother abbey of St Serge sent over six monks to build Tywardreath priory
We all know that metal detecting is a fascinating hobby, even after forty years it still surprises me at times. At the start of this research and unknowing to me; between the years 1324 to 1333 the name of the Prior for Tywardreath prior was not known. I am now pleased to say, the National archives can be updated and another piece of Cornish and English History have been found and recorded.
I now know about the Friar that lost his seal back in 1333 and I have also learnt a little about his life, his believes and the everyday running of a Priory ; I have also met new friends because of Friar Lavere and I feel it's only right, with the landowner permission, that the seal should be donated to the Tywardreath Church.
Seal Matrix.
Stone Canon Ball.
Stone Canon Ball. Found in the back garden at Lostwithiel.
Going by the size I would say it was fired from a canon the Falcon. Great find.
Going by the size I would say it was fired from a canon the Falcon. Great find.
Musket Balls
What can we learn from a musket ball ? From the look of it when first seen or detected, you would be right in saying " not much " but you would be wrong. First of all a 12 bore shot will not only rip flesh from your body, but will also shatter bones. It has been well documented that a 12 bore musket ball will go right though breast and back plates of amour at about 100 yards.
If you was unlucky and were not killed outright by the musket ball, you would suffer from ' shock ' from which 50 per cent were killed.
Today, if a soldier is shot, the first thing the medic does is administer a sedative to stop the soldier going into shock. But this is 1644. If the soldier survived the impact of the musket ball and the shock, he was still not out of the woods, because of the possibility of gangrene. If the ball was allowed to stay in the body it would cause a lingering death from the decomposition of body tissues.
And finally, remember, musket balls are made of lead and lead is toxic.
Musket Ball
This musket ball shows flaking, this indicates at the moment of firing, the ball was nearly melting, and on the right side of the ball you can see " flatting " this is caused by rodding the ball home.
I have learned from Natasha that as well as location being vital, you can tell if the musket ball has been fired by looking for mottling or slight melting of the surface, although sometimes there is little sign of impact. Size is also important. Musket balls are weighed and the bore size calculated. ( Let me explain),
In medieval times when firearms was first used, one pound of lead would equal one bore, twelve musket balls that equal one pound of lead would be calculated as a twelve bore. Size can very considerably, but can indicate what weapons were used at the time.
Ballistics.
Reading the ballistics on musket balls, I was very surprised to read of the speed a 12 bore musket Ball. Depending on the quality of black powder they travel at 1000 feet per second; they're killing range well within 300 feet, but the accuracy is only good within 90 to 150 feet, depending on the skill of the musketeer. The weapon of preference taken up by the cavalry and officers was the 30 to 40 bore, this is the size mostly found by detectorists on Tywardreath / Castle Dore battlefield. However, for the lowlier musketeers it was not uncommon for them to be using musket guns dating back 20 years before the Civil War. It was a case of what was at hand, be it new or old. Maybe this is why detectorists find so many different size shot. What with new metal analyzing equipment and new technology you will be surprised what can be learned about musket balls. We have found in some of the balls, ( found at Tywardreath Battlefield), a percentage of the balls contain a small amount of tin. The question is. Was tin added ? If so why ? The only advantage would be to make the musket ball harder, this would help to make the ball penetrate armour at a longer distance. We have also found some of the balls cut deep by a knife, this would make the musket ball shatter violently into pieces on impact. The good news is, musket balls were made obsolete at the end of the 19th century
I have learned from Natasha that as well as location being vital, you can tell if the musket ball has been fired by looking for mottling or slight melting of the surface, although sometimes there is little sign of impact. Size is also important. Musket balls are weighed and the bore size calculated. ( Let me explain),
In medieval times when firearms was first used, one pound of lead would equal one bore, twelve musket balls that equal one pound of lead would be calculated as a twelve bore. Size can very considerably, but can indicate what weapons were used at the time.
Ballistics.
Reading the ballistics on musket balls, I was very surprised to read of the speed a 12 bore musket Ball. Depending on the quality of black powder they travel at 1000 feet per second; they're killing range well within 300 feet, but the accuracy is only good within 90 to 150 feet, depending on the skill of the musketeer. The weapon of preference taken up by the cavalry and officers was the 30 to 40 bore, this is the size mostly found by detectorists on Tywardreath / Castle Dore battlefield. However, for the lowlier musketeers it was not uncommon for them to be using musket guns dating back 20 years before the Civil War. It was a case of what was at hand, be it new or old. Maybe this is why detectorists find so many different size shot. What with new metal analyzing equipment and new technology you will be surprised what can be learned about musket balls. We have found in some of the balls, ( found at Tywardreath Battlefield), a percentage of the balls contain a small amount of tin. The question is. Was tin added ? If so why ? The only advantage would be to make the musket ball harder, this would help to make the ball penetrate armour at a longer distance. We have also found some of the balls cut deep by a knife, this would make the musket ball shatter violently into pieces on impact. The good news is, musket balls were made obsolete at the end of the 19th century
Cannon Balls.
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Research indicates that cannons of the fifteenth century and those used in the English Civil War were mainly the " Falconet " and the " Falcon ". Both known by the Cornish as " The widow makers ". The Falconet ( bird of prey ) fired a one and quarter pound shot 850 yards, ( photo 3 ) that's at point blank range with the barrel level. Calibre (in) 2.25. Length of cannon. 9 (ft) Weight 500 (lbs).
The Falcon ( sparrowhawk ) Fired a two and a quarter pound shot at 1,920 yards. Calibre 2.75 (in) Length of cannon 9.6 (ft) Weight 700 (lbs) ( photo 2 )
And not forgetting the three feet " Robinet ) with a calibre of 1.5. Weight 120 (lbs).
Photo (1) show cannon balls from the Falconet and the Falcon.
Cannon balls can be deadly when the cannon is purposely aimed at the ground yards in front of advancing musketeers and pikemen, one account said, " A musketeer was shot not only in the chin but in the shoulder and the hand by one cannon ball," ( Officer. 1644 )
It is not uncommon for detectorists to find pieces of lead belonging to cannon balls that have hit the ground and shattered.
The reason I have only mention the above three cannons is because to date the only shots found at Tywardreath battlefield and Castle Dore by metal detecting, are from the Falconet and Falcon and the Robinet. I am sure other cannons were used like the nine pounder " Demi Culverin " weighing in at 1500 pounds with a range of 2.400 yards.
All cannons were capable of firing grapeshot, sometimes called Canister shot or case shot, which is a type of anti personnel ammunition. The main purpose for using grapeshot was for close range firing, to be fired into oncoming ranks of musketeers and pikemen with devastating loss of life. Grapeshot also played a key role in dispersing the troops. When fired, the lead balls spread from the barrel of the cannon at great velocity, giving the effect similar to a shotgun. Grapeshot found at Tywardreath and Castle Dore are all made from lead. Saying that, I would not be surprised if stones or any thing that came to hand was used. Lead shot etc would be loaded into a canvas or cloth bag, weighing about the same as a cannon ball so would use the same weight of black power and loaded in the same way as a cannon ball is loaded.
Miscellaneous Finds.
Moving away from Civil War artefacts we have the miscellaneous finds that date back thousand of years, like mesolithic/neolithic flints, pottery dating from roman up to medieval times and hammer coins that cover all centuries, all items are recored what ever their date or item found as part of the Tywardreath Battlefield Project. This project will give an insight into the history of Tywardreath from the beginning of time to the present day. All these miscellaneous finds have been achieved by field-walking. Unfortunately because of modern farming techniques, the Project members are unable to arrange field-walks, the reason being it is usual now, for the farmer to harvest on a Monday, plough and seed the same field by the Saturday. Unfortunately this does not give the team enough time to plan a field-walk.
Mesolithic / Neolithic Flints.
I must confess I am not well read on flints or flint-napping be it Mesolithic or Neolithic. The more research I do to date stone tools the more the dates vary depending what web-site you search. The design of stone tools did not change throughout the Mesolithic/ Neolithic which lasted up to the beginning of the Bronze Age( 3000 BC ) Saying that, it's aways great finding flints what ever the date and you must admire the skill that goes into making a flint tool.
Flint-napping or Napping is done in a variety of ways depending on the purpose of the final product. For stone tools and flintlock strikers, chert is worked using a fabricator such as a hammerstone to remove lithic flakes from a nucleus or core of tool stone. Stone tools can then be further refined using wood, bone, and antler tools to perform pressure flaking. Flint-napping shops was in use up to the seventeenth century to supply flints for the Flintlock gun.
Flints Found at Tywardreath.
Roman and Medieval Items
1. /uploads/2/8/5/4/2854397/1.jpg Roman Beads
