I have encountered something very similar but the core is some highly
compress black compound not solid metal.  I believe that it is a
segmented battery core.  The thin plastic appears to help hold the
material together and keep its shape.

Keith  

-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Sarah Croucher
Sent: Thursday, November 11, 2010 5:35 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Mystery object, East Africa

Dear List-members,

I'm sending the following from Lydia Wilson-Marshall, a PhD student at
the 
University of Virginia. She sends the following:

I have a mystery artifact that I was hoping you could help me identify.
I 
recovered what I think may be an early 20th-century battery or  battery
part at 
Awamthoya, a late 19th to early 20th century Giriama  homestead.  The
artifact 
was found in a STP, so stratigraphy is unclear.  It may be  modern and
not 
relate to the  occupation, but I think it is more likely  to be from the

occupation--Awmathoya was abandoned 1910-1920ish.  Its  metal core is
encased on 
the edges in a type of flexible plastic  (bakelite?  celluloid?).  It
may not 
even be a battery, perhaps part of a  weapon?  I'm more than a little
lost on 
this one.

***

The site in question is located near the Kenyan coast, but I have also
found an 
artifact which appears to be the same at a site on Zanzibar. If anyone
would 
like to see a picture, you should be able to access one at the following
link: 
https://wesfiles.wesleyan.edu/home/scroucher/Archaeology%20pictures/IMG_
5241_reduced.jpg


Feel free to send replies to me off list at [log in to unmask] I
will also 
forward any replies on to Lydia. 


Many thanks,
Sarah Croucher