Title

Stone Shot

Accession Number

1986.008.0597

Creation Date

circa 1620

Description

Oblong shape.
Quartzite

Exhibition Label

Case Caption (2023):

Cannon Shot

Each ship carried several sizes of cannon. These ships were not men-of-war, but built to defend the fleet from enemy attacks and pirates. The main battery occupied both sides of the gun deck, while chase guns, firing smaller balls, would be located in the bow and stern. Within the fleet, cannons often differed in size from ship to ship. It was not until the 1700s that cannons were finally standardized by the weight of shot they fired. Even then, this varied from nation to nation.

The quartz balls, found on the wreck site of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, would have been fired from a pedrero. Pedreros were lighter in weight than cannons but just as formidable. The ball would penetrate a ship’s hull and then shatter, causing thick, glass-like fragments to fly among the sailors with deadly effect.

Split shot would be fired at a ship’s sails and rigging. The two halves were bound together with twine that burned away when fired. Still connected by their chain, the two halves would whirl apart, creating one wide, spinning projectile of deadly force.
Object Caption (2023): 

2. Shot
Quartz (c.1620),
Gift of Jamestown Inc.
1986.008.0597, 1986.008.1827, 1986.008.2321, 1986.008.0600