I think you have two shell casings jammed together...you can see a faint
line near the left side of the photo.

Rick

Richard M. Affleck, RPA
Senior Archaeologist
URS Corporation
561 Cedar Lane
Florence, NJ  08518-2511
609-499-3447 (phone)
609-499-3516 (fax)



                      Matthew Sterner
                      <msterner@SRICRM         To:      [log in to unmask]
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                      Sent by:                 Subject: mystery cartridge or trick of the eye?
                      HISTORICAL
                      ARCHAEOLOGY
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                      08/12/02 02:27
                      PM
                      Please respond
                      to HISTORICAL
                      ARCHAEOLOGY






Folks,

I have a tough time analyzing historical-period artifacts from drawings and
photographs, but with the increasing number of non-collection surveys in
the West, we have to do our best right? Anyway, I have a drawing and a
fuzzy photograph of a 45-70 cartridge identified from a nineteenth-century
site in south-central Arizona. The headstamp (don't know which end the
headstamp is on -- see photo) clearly identifies the cartridge as a 45-70
carbine cartridge produced at the Frankford Arsenal in February 1878.

Now for the tough part. Had that been all the information provided, no
problem. Identify the round, determine from notes whether it was fired or
unfired, move on. But there is this blurred digital photo that came along
with the artifact. I swear that the photo makes the cartridge appear to
have 2 bases of equal diameter. I am presuming that the crimped portion of
the cartridge (the left end in the photograph) is the projectile, but I'll
be darned if it doesn't look as though the projectile "rim" extends beyond
the plane created by the length of the cartridge!  Can someone please
reassure me that it's just me eyes playing tricks on me and that the
cartridge will actually chamber.

Photograph can be seen at  http://www.sricrm.com/histarch/ , then click on
file name "4570_cartridge"  . . . or something like that.

Any help/advice/reassurance would be appreciated.


Matthew A. Sterner, M.A., RPA
Senior Project Director

Statistical Research, Inc.
6099 E. Speedway Blvd.
Tucson, AZ  85712
(520) 721-4309