Dear Gang:
I know we had a discussion a few months ago about patina, but I need some
more info and was hoping someone could help out. Found a fragment of a lead
shot, probably at least swan or buck shot sized; we only got about 40% of
it. There's a dimple on one side, although it's more of a crater than a
typical dimple. The other side is quite distorted; it almost looks pinched.
The shot was found on a prehistoric site in southeastern Iowa, far (well,
couple hours by car) from Galena or Mines of Spain. I suspect that it's
analogous to the isolated projectile point, rather than manufacturing or old
cabin site or related to the little Woodland site in which it was found.
But, the shot has a healthy layer of pale yellow patina on it, and so I
can't just write it off as a recent deer shooting event.
I've checked all the T. M. Hamilton references I could lay my hands on, and
have looked at some history of arms texts, but nothing discusses rates of
patination on lead, or special conditions. Can anybody direct me (I almost
said "point me") towards a suitable source of data?
Thanks in advance,
Kris
K. Kris Hirst                                       Scribal Traditions
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"The most sacred word in a great editor's vocabulary...is "stet."  Kurt Vonnegut