Incendiary quarrels/arrows/crossbow bolts

[Matchlock]

Originally Posted by Andi

Hello Marcus
Is the textile braid on this image visible by an damage of the quoits surface or was it brought outside by intention - probably as a ligting fuse/match?
As far as I understood the publications of Dr. Alfred Geibig no quoits were known so far where a lighting match was visible on the outside.

That's right, Andi,

The outer layer always seems to have been either black tar mingled with black powder, or sulphur that turned from yellowish to a grayish white in the course of the centuries.
On a couple of quoits in the Museum Nordico (City Museum) of Linz/Austria though, the wound matchcord can still be seen beneath the crumbly mixture of tar and black powder (attachments, author's photos of 1989).
In the background, a bundle of matchcord for muskets is displayed, and on the right hand side there are lots of crossbow bolts, the hafts grown musty.

Best,
Michael