Congratulations on this outstanding piece of history.....which is clearly every bit as rugged as the Khyber regions from which it came!!! This is all the better as it obviously has stories to tell.
Its fascinating watching you going through the disassembly and working on the restoration, and as a complete novice at guns, the information provided by Philip, is pretty amazing in the detail......this is probably why I know so little on guns!! way complicated, and me with zero mechanical skill.
What I do have is my ever present curiosity on markings, and this old balemark is amazing. The old heart topped by a 4 was the old East India Company 'balemark' , which was a merchants mark used to identify goods.
These were typically placed on the locks of guns as well. What is interesting is that the typical EIC balemark seen has the heart quartered, with the initials VEIC in the quarters (United East India Company, the V is seen as a U).
The configuration seen within the heart on this is the much older EIC balemark, interestingly applied with other than EIC initials. The 'I' character is not only applied flanking the 4 within, but in a five place sequence on the lock where 'TOWER' would have been.
The 4 was a key element of merchants balemarks as it was an often used cabbalistic symbol appealing for protection and good fortune and as such on the marks hoped for the best as materials were transported. The individuality of the markings and initials in them of course were identifiers.
What this signifies to me is that this lock was either faithfully reproduced by a native locksmith, interpolating symbols or characters that were known to him in interpeting the old markings seen on other early locks. As we have discussed, such markings were often seen by natives in thier own talismanic perspective, and as such must have been imitated with some of thier own application. Since this early form of balemark was from around mid to somewhat later 18th century, it sets the mind to wonder just how long this old flintlock was around.
I think there is far more to the story of this old 'camel gun' than we yet realize, and need to think more on it as this intrepid restoration continues.
Well done RDG!!!!!
All the best,
Jim