A 500 Year Old Ammunition Depot Excavated in Germany

Matchlock · 22nd September 2010, 08:37 AM

In the course of excavations going on since July 2009, several clusters of thousands of iron quarrel points for Gothic war crossbows were salvaged from the grounds of Werburg Castle, Westphalia, Germany, together with 39 limestone cannon balls, calibers varying between 8, 10, and 12 cm, and three cast iron cannon balls.

In the photos below, the cannon balls, as well as the clusters of rusty red iron quarrel points, are easily indentifiable. The latter's wooden hafts had of course gone long ago.

Best,
Michael

Gavin Nugent · 22nd September 2010, 08:47 AM

Wow, more treasures unearthed. Thank you for sharing, this is most interesting.
Do you know how this started, was it just a hey let excavate or was the water pipe in the image leaking and someone stumbled across a piece to kick off the search??

Gav

Matchlock · 22nd September 2010, 08:56 AM

Hi Gav,

As far as I could find out on their city website, they have been deliberately digging to trace back their archeological origins since at least 2008.

Best,
Michael

carlitobrigante · 23rd September 2010, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matchlock

Hi Gav,

As far as I could find out on their city website, they have been deliberately digging to trace back their archeological origins since at least 2008.

Best,
Michael

excellant stuff, wish every city was so interested in excavating and preserving historical sites..

Matchlock · 23rd September 2010, 06:38 PM

Very well said, carlitobrigante,

I am afraid however that most cities over here simply lack the money to dig out their history. On the other hand, weapons related finds are not exactly what German museums are fond of (sigh). They mostly store them in their reserve collections right away and sometimes I feel they would just throw them away if only they were allowed to.

Best,
Michael

Matchlock · 23rd September 2010, 07:09 PM

For crossbow bolts (quarrels) preserved in perfectly original condition, please see my former thread

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=7457

Best,
Michael

fernando · 24th September 2010, 01:01 PM

This is fun!

.
Somebody has just suggested me that, if i were close from this scenario, i might have snatched one or two of these limestone balls.
He just wouldn't realize that, if he counted the balls between the day they were posted and now, there's quite a few missing

.
I am not sleeping here

.

Matchlock · 27th September 2010, 09:05 PM

Hi 'Nando,

I sure wish you could have been there, amigo!

Best,
Michael

22nd September 2010, 08:37 AM	#1
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	A 500 Year Old Ammunition Depot Excavated in Germany In the course of excavations going on since July 2009, several clusters of thousands of iron quarrel points for Gothic war crossbows were salvaged from the grounds of Werburg Castle, Westphalia, Germany, together with 39 limestone cannon balls, calibers varying between 8, 10, and 12 cm, and three cast iron cannon balls. In the photos below, the cannon balls, as well as the clusters of rusty red iron quarrel points, are easily indentifiable. The latter's wooden hafts had of course gone long ago. Best, Michael Attached Images

22nd September 2010, 08:47 AM	#2
Gavin Nugent Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2,818	Wow Wow, more treasures unearthed. Thank you for sharing, this is most interesting. Do you know how this started, was it just a hey let excavate or was the water pipe in the image leaking and someone stumbled across a piece to kick off the search?? Gav

22nd September 2010, 08:56 AM	#3
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	Hi Gav, As far as I could find out on their city website, they have been deliberately digging to trace back their archeological origins since at least 2008. Best, Michael

23rd September 2010, 06:38 PM	#5
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	Very well said, carlitobrigante, I am afraid however that most cities over here simply lack the money to dig out their history. On the other hand, weapons related finds are not exactly what German museums are fond of (sigh). They mostly store them in their reserve collections right away and sometimes I feel they would just throw them away if only they were allowed to. Best, Michael

23rd September 2010, 07:09 PM	#6
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	For crossbow bolts (quarrels) preserved in perfectly original condition, please see my former thread http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=7457 Best, Michael

24th September 2010, 01:01 PM	#7
fernando Lead Moderator European Armoury Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,637	This is fun! . Somebody has just suggested me that, if i were close from this scenario, i might have snatched one or two of these limestone balls. He just wouldn't realize that, if he counted the balls between the day they were posted and now, there's quite a few missing . I am not sleeping here .

27th September 2010, 09:05 PM	#8
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	Hi 'Nando, I sure wish you could have been there, amigo! Best, Michael