Hello fellow HistArchers:

I have recently worked on salvage excavations on a site in Gloucester County,
Virginia.  The site is a mid-seventeenth to eighteenth century colonial site
with little, if any late eighteenth- or nineteenth-century component.  During
the excavations, seven fragments of turned lead were recovered, revealing
three different marks upon opening them.  I have never seen these marks
before and they are not listed in any of the publications I have referrence
concerning turned leads (mostly Egan, Hanna, and Knights 1986 article).  I
would greatly appreciate any comments on these marks and can elaborate on
their context more if desired.

#1)     33 mm in length, this lead had about 5 ridge marks per cm and had the
date 1639.  The lead was broken immediately after the "9".

#2)     85 mm in lenght, this lead had about 4.5 ridge marks per cm and was
marked " * W * I ".  I'm not 100% sure about the last letter as the lead is
broken off at that point.  There is no date and the ridges continue up
immediately before the first " * ".

#3)     The last lead included a joint, with both pieces possessing marks.
The first, smaller fragment was 19 mm in length and didn't have enough space
to measure the number of ridges per cm.  It was marked "1 (sideways 2)(mirror
image of the first 2) MA".  Its hard to describe, but I hope that makes
sense.  The lead is broken one ridge before the "1" and immediately after the
"A".  Also, the bottom of the last sideways 2 was also the left side of the
"M".
    The longer side of the joined piece, 80 mm, had about 5 ridges per cm.
It was marked "1661 (sideways 2)(mirror image of the first 2) MASON".  The
lead is broken immediately after the "N", and the bottom of the last sideways
2 is also the left side of the "M" as with the attached fragment.

Thanks in advance,

Dave Brown