iron hand grenade

[eftihis]

Hi, i found this rusty old hand grenade here locally together with some small cannon balls.
The size and shape reminds me very much hand grenades of the venetian period made from glass. Can anyone determine the age of this piece?

[fernando]

Most interesting,
I hope the experts have a say on this one!

[M ELEY]

No expert here, but I had to comment- that is a great piece! I have one of the later versions without the raised lip that probably had a wooden plug. Mine dates from 17th-18th c. From the look of the casting and patina to the iron, I'm suspecting this is Medieval, as grenadoes dated back to the 14th c, I believe? Yours would have had a simple long fuse vs the wooden plug of later models. I'm wondering if yours was a shipwreck pick-up?

[Atlantia]

Wow! What a thing to find. Brilliant addition to a collection, congratulations!

[Matchlock]

Hi eftihis,

Great acquisition, that one, and, right: probably Venetian or, in general, North Italian or Austria. Many thanks for sharing! P.S. Why shouldn't it be of Greek origin?

Mark, I think your first guess in dating was quite correct: 17th to 18th century.

No hints or contemporary sources on hand grenades seem to exist before the 16th century but I'll try and re-check that.

For anybody interested in similar early grenades, please see my following thread

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=7085&page=2&pp=30&highlight=hand+grenades

Best,
Michael

[Gavin Nugent]

A most remarkable find and a most remarkable thread bought back to light, thanks for sharing guys.
I was surprised to see just how many of these were excavated in the link provided. Are there indications about the results and effects in combat. I sit and wonder how effective they were compared to the massive effect modern examples have.


Gav

[M ELEY]

Wow, Michael, I don't know how I missed your earlier thread, but thank you so much for reposting it! Incredible! Too bad we don't have finds like that here in the States. Eftihis, again, you are a lucky chap to own one of these. Very nice!

Gav, the effectiveness of these old grenadoes could be unpredictible. Somewhere in my reading, I heard of a modern equivilent being set off in an earthen trench. In that test, one side of the wall was raked with shrapnel, while the other somehow missed most of the blast. No two results were the same. In that incredibly accurate show 'Deadliest Warrior' ( :rolleyes: :D :cool: ), in Knight vs Pirate, they demonstrate a blast with one with good effect. Finally, I would direct your attention to the battle between John Paul Jones and the Brits off Flamborough Head during the Amer Revolution. It is said the entire turn of battle was from some enterprising chap up in the top-sails with a budge-basket of these little nasties, dropping them down strategically on groups of the enemy.

[M ELEY]

www.alderneywreck.com/?page_id=190

I've seen ceramic "Persian" vessels with rounded bottoms as well. I'm assuming these fire pots came in many different shapes depending on nation??

[eftihis]

Speaking of hand grenades, there is another great item in the the "history and folk art museum" of Rethymnon!
A hand greenade (larger than the iron one, but propably same weight) made from paper. They were kind enough to take it out for me, so you can se the size on my hand. When you shake it, you hear sound like something is inside (not completely full ( i guess powder with some iron nails..)

[fernando]

Hi Eftihis,
An extremely curious item, for sure.
But you shouldn't have shaken it; we never know how 'nervous' these things are, even after some centuries :eek: .

[M ELEY]

Hi Eftihis,
An extremely curious item, for sure.
But you shouldn't have shaken it; we never know how 'nervous' these things are, even after some centuries :eek: .

Quite right, if it had blown, you might have gotten a nasty paper-cut! :cool:
Never knew they were made from paper as well! Even some of the modern equivelants were made from odd materials. Some of the WWII Japanese examples are ceramic, as are some of their land mines.

[Rick]

Was the age of the paper grenade stated ?

And yeah, about the shaking ..... :eek:

[eftihis]

Hi, in Greece we are used in shaking, we drink our coffe this way! ("frappe"!)..
Anyway,luckily i am still here writting and i promise not to shake anymore, and if i ever shake again, at least i will have a photographer near by to send you the results guys.... ;)
About the age nobody knows, but i would guess is propably early to mid-19th century, when Crete was constantly on uprising against the Turkish domination.
So this should be actually a revolutionaries home-made grenade.

In contrary, (and regarding Michael's question) the iron grenade could no be identified as Greek, since it needed a more organised manufacturing facility, which Greeks didnt had. Also, if we asume that it dates from Venetian times, all iron workers were on strict regulations from the Venetian authorities and they even had to be working inside the cities in order to be better controlled.

[Matchlock]

Hi eftihis,

This one in Rethymnon is great; it seems to be of either clay, earthenware or glass (?) - does the description give any clue or did I overlook anything?

Best,
Michael