The ceramic "box" does not appear to be a shard from a plate or vessel. It
might instead be a stake-marker tag for a registered land survey, in which
the R & S identifies the surveyor or surveying company, and the Rd No. is
the identification number of a survey point that was registered with the
state. 

To see whether this is a possibility you might want to check with the
Michigan registrar of surveyors or with the state's department of licensing
and regulatory affairs.


al

Allen Dart, RPA, Executive Director (Volunteer)
Old Pueblo Archaeology Center
PO Box 40577
Tucson AZ 85717-0577 USA
            520-798-1201 office, 520-798-1966 fax
            Email: [log in to unmask]
            URL: www.oldpueblo.org

Disclosure: Old Pueblo Archaeology Center's Executive Director Allen Dart is
a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service cultural resources specialist
who volunteers his time to Old Pueblo. Views expressed in Old Pueblo
Archaeology Center communications do not necessarily represent views of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture or of the United States.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Krista
Eggleston
Sent: Saturday, December 13, 2014 10:39 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Mystery Object

This is a square ceramic 'box' that is 2 cm by 2 cm on the surface and about
1cm X 2cm on the sides. It was found in Detroit at a site dating back to the
early 1900s. On the surface are the letters 'R&S' underneath is 'Rd No
47843'. We believed it may be a component to something electrical in nature
but have been unable to find anything it would belong to. Link to the photo
is below:

http://i1382.photobucket.com/albums/ah242/kristaeggleston/Yeoldcomputerkeyin
field_zpsc9f5c592.jpg

Thanks in advance for the help!