This musket ball was discovered by metal detectorists at the Fishponds in Eynsham in 2009. It is believed to date from the 17th century, when three wars, collectively known as the English Civil War, took place. The English Civil War was a battle between King Charles I and Parliament. It led to the king’s execution in 1649, and the only period in British history when the nation was a republic, led by Oliver Cromwell.
Muskets were long guns (about four feet in length), made of steel and wood. They were fiddly and slow to load, as gunpowder, paper and a lead musket ball had to be put into the barrel in the correct order, and then compressed with a long stick before being ignited. They fired with a flash, and had a reach of about 90 metres. They could cause serious injury and, of course, they led to many deaths.
The musket ball itself was formed by pouring molten lead into a mould and then cooling it. It often had to be clipped with a tool called a ‘nipper’ to make sure it could travel down the barrel of the musket.
Soldiers who carried muskets were called musketeers. They fought on foot, and often came from the lowliest parts of society. Who knows whether any Eynsham men might have been musketeers who fought in the English Civil War.