Depending on how close the lead ball was to Jacumba, there is not a lot out  
there for a gate weight to have fallen. There was a 1940s dairy to the east  
along a creek. The Mexican town of Jacume lies several miles to the south.  
Rugged tall mountains ring the Jacumba Valley to the east, south, and west. The  
prehistoric and historic village of Jacum is adjacent to the post 1900 town of 
 Jacumba, which peaked during the 1920s and had a brief boom when American  
soldiers from Campo came down to soak in the hot springs during the 1940s. 
There  was a hotel, spa, post office, a few bars, and a store until Interstate 8  
by-passed the town in the 1960s and then the hotel and spa burned, a bar 
closed,  and most of hte stores are vacant. Now it is just a motel, a couple of 
stores, a  community center, a school, and the gas stations are located out by 
the freeway.  I doubt a gate weight explains the lead ball.
 
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.
 
 
In a message dated 2/4/2008 1:18:32 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
[log in to unmask] writes:

Are you  sure you don't have a gate weight?  These were round iron weights  
suspended from a chain which caused a gate to swing shut. Sometimes the  
attachment is missing because it rusted away or broke off.

Lucy  Wayne

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sandra Pentney"  <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday,  February 04, 2008 3:38 PM
Subject: Need help identifying an  artifact


>I was conducting a survey in southeastern San Diego  County, near the
> Imperial County and Mexico border, near Jacumba. We  found an artifact, 
> which
> I am tentatively referring to as a  cannon ball because it is perfectly 
> spherical
> in weight. It  is about 2 lb in weight and is made of lead. There is a '2' 
>  stamped
> on the surface and another side shows a slight pock mark.  There is a bit 
> of
> brown lichen growing on one area. This was  the only historic artifact 
> found on
> the survey, however over  70 other prehistoric sites, isolates and features
> were also recorded  during the survey.
>
> I am looking for a positive identification  on the artifact, and also any
> information on military or border  activities thay may have occurred in the 
> area.
> Our records  search had no mention at all of any historic battles.
>  





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