----- Original Message -----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Mon Oct 04 18:05:35 2010
Subject: Re: Mystery Glass Vessel

Looks like a target ball to me.  Before the days of clay pigeons, target balls were used on shotgun ranges.

Later ones were nicer than the one in your photo, but yours look appropriate for the period.

Bill



>>> Travis Parno <[log in to unmask]> 10/4/2010 3:44 PM >>>
Dear Histarch-ers,

More from the Fairbanks House in Dedham, MA -- thanks to everyone who helped
out with our pewter button a couple of weeks back.  We've got another
mystery: a small, globular brown glass vessel of some sort.  The vessel (or
should I say *vessels* -- we've found close to 60 based on individual necks
recovered!) roughly resembles a Christmas ball ornament, although not quite
as thin.  They have distinct mold marks and many of the necks show signs of
melting, some beyond what could still be considered functional.  This
deformation has led us to speculate that they might have been some sort of
replaceable oil lamp globe.  I've posted pictures of a base and a neck, as
well as a rather lame attempt to illustrate their original shape, at our dig
blog:
http://fairbanksarchaeology.blogspot.com/2010/10/mystery-glass-vessel.html.

These vessels come from a context that has been initially dated to sometime
after the mid 19th century, possibly as late as the early to mid 20th
century.  If anyone can confirm our oil lamp hypothesis or point us in
another direction, that'd be greatly appreciated!  Thanks in advance~

Best,
Travis Parno


-- 
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Travis G Parno

Doctoral Candidate
Boston University
Department of Archaeology