Interesting.  I found a few on a site in North Carolina that had been punctured with a knife blade. I can't think of any obvious explanation for your situation either!  I'd love to hear if you find anything out though.
 
Paul G. Avery, RPA
Senior Archaeologist
 
MACTEC Engineering and Consulting
9725 Cogdill Road
Knoxville, TN  37932
Direct: (865) 218-1069
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________________________________

From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY on behalf of David Legare
Sent: Thu 1/7/2010 3:45 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: cartridges



I'm afraid that I don't have any photos.  Almost all of the hundreds of cartridges in virtually every caliber were affected.  They were all subjected to pressure that either put them out of round or flattened them from about 2/3 of the way from the base to where the bullet would have been seated.  There aren't any clear tool marks that would make me say it was done with pliers.  A rock would have done as easily.  There were two exceptions that were one 50 caliber pistol cartridge and all of the very small (less than 1 cm long) 22 caliber cartridges.  We didn't see any in the rest of the cartridges on the site that hadn't been treated like this.


--- On Thu, 1/7/10, Smoke <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> From: Smoke <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: cartridges
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Date: Thursday, January 7, 2010, 1:12 PM
> Have a photo or two?
>
> On Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 1:52 PM, David Legare <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
> > I have a large number of cartridges at a historic mine
> site in southern New Mexico.  The primary occupation of the
> site is from around 1903 to 1911.  These cartridges are of
> a very wide variety of calibers.  they were all
> identifiable  30-30, 30-06, 44-70, 45, etc.  The question
> concerns their treatment.  Virtually every one of them was
> found crimped in almost exactly the same place on the
> cartidge.  Anyone have any idea what this behavior is?
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Smoke Pfeiffer
>
> In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one
> useless man is a
> shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a Congress.
> -- John
> Adams
>
> Proud member of the Angry Mob!
>