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 Replies: 14 / Views: 3,184 |
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
287 Posts |
Unfortunately... its not metal, I believe it to be a Roman Glass bottle, but know very little and would appreciate help identifying please It was found about 6 inches below ground, up on a local hill that has Roman history. It has a lid, and opening it, it appears it has hair inside!! Weird. My metal detector (1st time used) was going crazy at the point I was digging, but I went down about 10 inches and found nothing metal! (Purchased it second hand and don't have faith in it :( ) have ordered ace 250 new now. Could this be roman? I cant see what other era it can be from. Would it be worth anything at all? what would it have been used for? its quite small, about the size of a golf ball    |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
844 Posts |
Looks neat. Appears to me to be a medicine bottle. Looks threaded at the top and made using a glass mold. I'd say too new to be roman. Not sure when threads were used though, maybe the last fifty years or so? I may be way off so chime in experts!
Oh yeah. Your metal detector may have been going off for something else buried just above the bottle, or even from the rusty remnants of the cap of the bottle. A pin-pointer is an excellent addition to a metal detector. Before getting mine I missed out on finding a lot of targets.
Edited by Jaymon74
12/29/2013 12:15 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1391 Posts |
Is there something metal in the bottle?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1247 Posts |
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Valued Member
 United Kingdom
287 Posts |
The Glass is not quite see through enough to see whats inside, nothing rattles inside.
Taking the lid off, it honestly looks like someone has wedged a load of hair in there, I don't know if I can stomach tweasering it out to see if anything inside. The lids on so it has probably been air tight since it first lied on the ground. I have had a look around the internet, I cannot find another bottle similar enough to identify it, although I did see bottles from 1930's that appeared to resemble its style slightly.
Don't really know what to do with it now, my heart is in coins, although the bottle could be an interesting part of history, I do not know what I should do with it. I cant see it selling?
Any thoughts? It feels wrong to throw it away.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3253 Posts |
I'm thinking you've found a good old-fashioned witch bottle! http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_bottleFilled with various magical ingredients and buried, they can be found by metal detectors if the spell involves pins or nails, and the like. |
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Moderator
 United States
16679 Posts |
Looks way more modern than Roman. I'd say 150-300 years old.
swcoin.ecrater.com
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3253 Posts |
Witch bottles are certainly post-Roman. 16th to 19th century. Still, quite rare, and archaeologically important. The local Portable Antiquities Scheme authorities should be notified!
Edited by philadelphian
12/29/2013 8:17 pm
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
287 Posts |
Looking into the suggestion of it being a witch bottle, it definitely makes sense. Also now has become fascinating, looking at this that I found also shows how rare it actually is: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...covered.htmlNow I am in a bit of a position guys, I need some advice. This was my first time trying out my metal detector, I went to a local hill that has history (is a public hill), and tried out my new purchase. I have since found out from Peter1234 (a member of this site) that it isn't a simple as this and I am not allowed to just go detecting anywhere. I want to do it right, I don't want to do it illegally, I am not trying to get rich, I find the thought of digging up history intriguing. I don't plan on doing more detecting until getting a licence and some other stuff Peter advised. But now I am in a position, I have a significant archaeological find that I would like to declare, but it was dug up in a place I now know I shouldn't have dug, by me without a licence. What do I do? |
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
287 Posts |
I found this 'questionnaire' to help age glass bottles. Answering all the questions to the best of my knowledge and understanding, it dated the bottle 'These type bottles can possibly date back to at least the 1870s (especially for druggist and smaller bottles) though the majority date from the late 1880s' http://www.sha.org/bottle/mouthblow...htm#Question 7 Obviously, there is a chance I haven't understood a question correctly but it does appear to be within this date range. Phil quoted in thread ' Witch bottles are certainly post-Roman. 16th to 19th century. Still, quite rare, and archaeologically important. The local Portable Antiquities Scheme authorities should be notified!' This bottle appears to be near the end of the 19th century so this still makes sense I would think? |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
1015 Posts |
What could makes this a witch bottle is the hair inside the bottle,
It's a possibility
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New Member
United States
7 Posts |
Garret makes the best pinpointer in my oppion. Well worth the $100 plus I spend on it.
Saved me alot of time on the same hole.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
656 Posts |
Quote:
Garret makes the best pinpointer in my oppion. Well worth the $100 plus I spend on it. Indeed!! |
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Valued Member
United States
61 Posts |
I use a Garrett Pro-Pointer, And I Love it.
It's a real time saver.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2781 Posts |
appears to have a metal lid?
also looks to be a factory produced bottle (mold casting lines along the sides). anything OLD OLD would be blown glass.
look for markings on the bottom of the bottle (similar to mint marks on jewelry)
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Replies: 14 / Views: 3,184 |
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Posted 12/29/2013 2:35 pm
