Bonnie Prince Charlie? Musket ball found

[Still Waters]

A musket ball has been found in a part of the Highlands with close links to Bonnie Prince Charlie which was later used for training secret agents.

Archaeologists said the find at Lochailort in Lochaber was post medieval and it would be sent to the Royal Armouries in Leeds for analysis.

Prince Charles Edward Stewart fled Scotland from nearby Loch nan Uamh.

Spent bullets thought to date from Lochailort's use as a camp during World War II have also been uncovered.

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[Gatofeo]

The link between a musketball found in the earth and Bonnie Prince Charlie is stretched farther than a taffy-pulling contest.

Oh, give me a break.

What's the link? That a musketball was fired sometime around the period of Bonnie Prince Charlie? I'm sure plenty were. What makes this ball so special?

And let's not forget that since it was a firing range in World War II, someone could easily have fired an old musket on a lark. The ball would have burrowed into the earth, taking it to a level well below the surface. This would indicate it's much older than it truly is.

Mighty difficult to date a musket ball, let alone associate it with a particular person.

Now, if unfired musket balls that once belonged to Prince Charlie still exist, a spectral analysis might establish a link to this fired ball, provided they were all cast at the same time from the same pot of molten lead. Show me that, and I'd believe the association.

Otherwise, it's all just sensational hype without a shred of evidence.

Of course, if any of you disagree then I'll sell you the original hatchet that George Washington used to chop down a cherry tree when he was a child. Only the head and handle have been replaced ...

Edited June 4, 2011 by Gatofeo