# Unusual Find



## kwayne

I found this Tuesday afternoon in the Ocmulgee River. It appears to be "fired clay" and hollow. Any ideas on what it may be or what it may have been used as?


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## chehawknapper

Shake it and see if there is any rattle.


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## kwayne

No rattle. It might rattle after it completely dries out. It was in the water. There is 1 small (1/8") diameter hole in it.


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## Katera73

Indian bomb


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## dmedd

That's a neat find Wayne. I would like to see it in person.


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## CAL

Definitely a good find.Just wondering how heavy is it.Could it possibly be metal encrusted in river mud?If so ,could be a cannon ball.Have a friend with one found in a ditch.Was full of black powder,made to explode at certain distance.


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## kwayne

Way too light for a cannon ball or any other kind of metal. Notice the small hole in the top right side of the photo. Water leaked out of this for a couple of hours after I removed it from the water. I have many pieces of broken pottery and this feels like and looks like the same material.

David, I actually tryed to call you a couple of times yesterday to see when we could meet so you could take a look at it.


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## Bow Only

It does not look prehistoric to me, but I don't know what it is.


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## Al33

I have not a clue to what it is but it sure is interesting. Can't help but wonder if it was an egg of some type that is now petrified. Maybe the river rounded it from another original form.

I sure hope someone figures it out because an inquiring mind wants to know.


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## thomas the redneck

i dont have a clue but have seen one before cant recall where or when


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## decoyed

maybe some type of clay "game stone"?


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## redman17

I hate to sound like an idiot, but a tennis ball that has been out in the weather and sun baked for a few months looks a lot like that.


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## runswithbeer

redman17 said:


> I hate to sound like an idiot, but a tennis ball that has been out in the weather and sun baked for a few months looks a lot like that.



2big to be a tennis ball, im guessing some type of unexpolded ordinance


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## kwayne

Any ideas?? 
  Ceremonial piece, game ball, heating/cooking ball, float for fish net??


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## Just BB

Possibly a really big Pottery ball:  A clay ball about the size of a golf ball, probably heated then dropped in a pot of water in order to heat the water.


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## sramagesr

great find


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## Son

About the size of an osage orange


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## dawg2

I have that exact same ruler. 

The hole in it is weird.  I have no idea.


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## bronco611

kinda looks like a rolled up pile of dung the way dung beetles build their nests from elephant dung? (no elephants around here tho) other than that it looks alot like u got a good conversation piece there. good find and watch out for the elephants!!!


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## Ballplayer

Maybe sometype fishing apparatus such as a line float, marker, etc. lost/left behind since it was found in the river ?


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## chehawknapper

A very few of these have been found that were made as rattles. An excellent potter friend of mine that live in P.C., Mike Stucky, knows more about them. He replicates them and I have one he made. Same size too.


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## kwayne

Thanks for all of the replys. I'm still not absolutely sure of what it is other than I'm pretty sure the Indians made it and I'm very lucky to have found it in 1 piece.
Wayne


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## julian faedo

kwayne it looks like a geo,some are round and hollow







I found something like what you found but not hollow


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## Jamey J

decoyed said:


> maybe some type of clay "game stone"?



2x that


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## Jamey J

Not sure what it is, but it looks like a cool find.


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## ted_BSR

I have a couple from southern Kentucky, golf ball sized. One is broken in half, hollow and smooth in the center. Geologists I work with speculate it is a clay bubble that has been petrified. I'll post pics later.


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## broadhead

If it is a man made object of clay, the hole in the top allowed hot air to escape during the firing process. Otherwise, the air would have expaned from the heat and the sphere would have cracked or exploded while being fired in the primitive kiln.


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## Chris Whitaker

could it be a face paint ball? i have found a few similar in burke co. that are not as smooth, i have an uncle that has quite a collection of artifacts & he is the one who taught me about the baked pottery face paint balls??? i see someone has posted a collection 5 or 6 of the same type....check it out.


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## kwayne

OK,
Since the last post I have had several more knowledgeable people look at this ball and I have X-rayed it and found it to be hollow. I have received a lot of input but nobody has said for sure what it is. If anybody has any suggestions for who I could contact that may be able to help identify this I would certainly appreciate it. I'll be happy to go anywhere within 2-3 hours of Broxton, Ga. Wayne. 912-389-0490.


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## dawg2

kwayne said:


> OK,
> Since the last post I have had several more knowledgeable people look at this ball and I have X-rayed it and found it to be hollow. I have received a lot of input but nobody has said for sure what it is. If anybody has any suggestions for who I could contact that may be able to help identify this I would certainly appreciate it. I'll be happy to go anywhere within 2-3 hours of Broxton, Ga. Wayne. 912-389-0490.



Some fireworks shoot clay balls.  That may explain the hole ( for  a wick).


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## WoodyMallard

Bring it to the " Indian Spring Artifacts ID Day" Oct 11th and let the experts take a look at it, bet they can tell you what it is.


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## Bow Only

WoodyMallard said:


> Bring it to the " Indian Spring Artifacts ID Day" Oct 11th and let the experts take a look at it, bet they can tell you what it is.



I consider myself pretty dang good on Native American artifacts and I've held it.  I don't think it's Native American.


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## kwayne

Matt, since you looked at it I carried it over to Roberta and had Mike Stokes at the Museum of Southeastern Indians look at it. He pretty much made the same conclusion that you did. He wasn't sure if it was Native American either. He was not sure what it was either. I'll keep looking. Thanks for all of the input.


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## SemperFiDawg

julian faedo said:


> kwayne it looks like a geo,some are round and hollow
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I found something like what you found but not hollow



Im thinking a geode also.  I found one in the Oconee a few years back.  Looked just like that. Cracked it open and all that was inside was fine dust and the inside looked like crystallized rust.


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## kwayne

I have found several of the geodes/hollow rocks over the years. It looks nothing like that. It looks and feels like "fired clay".


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## dawg2

Not Native American info, but a possibility:  http://condor.depaul.edu/sbucking/clayball.htm


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## kwayne

The clay balls described in the article referenced by Dawg2 are actually closer than anything else I've found?? But, that is a long way from south Ga.


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## Bow Only

kwayne said:


> The clay balls described in the article referenced by Dawg2 are actually closer than anything else I've found?? But, that is a long way from south Ga.



The clay balls mentioned in that article are solid.  The one you found is hollow.  Completely different technology required to make what you found.


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## SemperFiDawg

kwayne said:


> I have found several of the geodes/hollow rocks over the years. It looks nothing like that. It looks and feels like "fired clay".



The geode I found on the Oconee looked just like the one in your pic. It looked like fired clay also. My guess was that the river had sanded it smooth.


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## Bow Only

Geodes are rock and much heavier than kwayne's ball.


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## kwayne

Just a reminder that this ball was floating in the river when I found it. I've never seen one of those geodes float.


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## T-N-T

I have held this ball.  It is Very light weight.  Looks very much like clay.  
Wayne,  do you have guts enough to try and scrape some of it off with a knife and try to have it analyzed?
....And Wayne,  Im Genes son Chris from Big Creek....


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## Dr. Strangelove

dawg2 said:


> Not Native American info, but a possibility:  http://condor.depaul.edu/sbucking/clayball.htm



I can see them having some use in cooking, but I'd suppose it was somehow related to the hole in the object.

Why go to the trouble of making hollow clay balls for heating, cooking, etc, when you could just use rocks?

There has to be some advantage over just heating a standard issue rock, or it wouldn't be worth your the trouble to make them.


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## dpoole

kwayne said:


> Matt, since you looked at it I carried it over to Roberta and had Mike Stokes at the Museum of Southeastern Indians look at it. He pretty much made the same conclusion that you did. He wasn't sure if it was Native American either. He was not sure what it was either. I'll keep looking. Thanks for all of the input.



If you have not been to Robrta to see Mikes museum you need to go. He has a AWESOME collection !!!!!


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## kwayne

We visited with Mike at his museum. Very impressive collection. We are planning on going back soon.

Chris, the next time they have a show in South Ga. I plan to take it and let some of those guys look at it.


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