Great balls o' fire

Some more links that are finally being transferred from the old site:

Shipwreck cannonballs glowed red-hot when exposed to air, nearly setting a conservator's desk on fire.

17th-century Swedish warship Vasa's sulphur-soaked timbers are reacting to produce sulphuric acid -- potentially 5 tons' worth in total.

"Guy Fawkes" gunpowder found in basement of British Library: The "two solid bars and numerous small paper packages. . . found packed into an early 20th-century stationery box" may be the earliest European gunpowder preserved.

Roman armory found at Carlisle castle. Finds include various spear and dart heads, balls and bolts for catapults and ballistas, and most remarkably, armor fragments including undergarments and scale armor with its articulation largely intact.

Posted by David on November 12, 2002 10:21 PM