I think they may be target balls. Meant to be thrown in the air and shot. They might be fire grenades, filled with fire suppressant and thrown at the fire. They look mouth blown in a mold with a sheared finish. I have not actually seen any of those objects; however I have seen them in catalogs and collectors books. Try the SHA web site, they may have some good info on them. Things always look so different when they are smashed and trampled.
Dan Martin

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From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Travis Parno [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, October 04, 2010 2:44 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Mystery Glass Vessel

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