"Oldest Cannonball in England Rediscovered" Topic
6 Posts
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 Editor in Chief Bill   | 16 Feb 2015 9:14 p.m. PST |
The oldest surviving cannonball in England has been rediscovered on a medieval battlefield.The cannonball, which was lost for several years, was likely used in the Battle of Northampton in 1460, one of the battles in the decades-long Wars of the Roses. The giant ball has two large dents from a few bounces, as well as a gouge mark that contains fragments of sand from the area. Most historians believe the cannon was first developed in China, and was used in war throughout the Middle East before making its way to Europe. The first English illustration of a cannon dates to 1327, and the "crakys of war," as cannonballs were called. Thought to be a gunpowder-based weapon, the cannon was first mentioned that same year in accounts of the Battle of Stanhope Park, one of the battles in the First War of Scottish Independence, according to the "Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology" (Oxford University Press, 2010)… link |
| Green Tiger | 17 Feb 2015 4:00 a.m. PST |
I used to work in a museum in Leicester and we had a cannonball from Bosworth holding up a shelf in the basement. When I asked about I was told "We only think it dates from the Civil War" – shrug… |
 ochoin  | 17 Feb 2015 4:51 a.m. PST |
How do you date a cannon ball if it's been removed from its context? |
| MajorB | 17 Feb 2015 5:01 a.m. PST |
See also:
TMP link Including a link to the report of the press conference. How do you date a cannon ball if it's been removed from its context? "has undergone multiple tests and examinations by Dr. Glenn Foard"
link Dr. Glenn Foard is probably the world's leading expert on medieval artillery. The analysis almost certainly included detailed comparison with the cannonballs found at Bosworth and may also have involved radio dating. |
| Yesthatphil | 17 Feb 2015 5:12 a.m. PST |
Well there aren't any attribution or similar issues with the Northampton cannonball which has been properly analysed at Huddersfield University … The Fox News piece is a little off the mark, however with its references to the massive cannonball or giant ball … Much deformed, now, as a result of clattering across a battlefield, originally it measured somewhere between 50 and 60mm … Here, Northampton Battlefield's Society chair Mike Ingram holds up the artefact …
No giant, by the standards of later ordnance, but lethal in 1460. The significance, of course, is that this is archaeology from a battlefield that developers and their stooges have pronounced to have no archaeology to offer – and TMP readers may remember only a month back we were reporting on the bulldozers being sent in within around 200 metres of where this object was found TMP link Phil
Ancients on the Move
Vice-Chair Northampton Battleields Society |
| Supercilius Maximus | 19 Feb 2015 5:29 p.m. PST |
The analysis almost certainly included detailed comparison with the cannonballs found at Bosworth and may also have involved radio dating. Since replaced by computer dating, of course. |
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