brass or copper plumb-bob, mortar shell, ???

[bhershey]

Found in the side yard of a 1790 farm house in Lampeter, PA, USA.
It's filled with lead and two wires run through it and used to come out of the top... there is some kind of worn off tip at the pointed end.. could it be an old plumb-bob? The lead looks to be in layers inside... the teenager I was walking with thought it was a mortar shell... any ideas?

Thank you!
Brian

 

[Steve(Can)]

Best guess... here's what it looks like, a brass finial:

The one in the pic is from a wood stove and is plated iron, but many different styles of these ornamental fixures are found on everything from curtain rods, lamps, brass beds to roof tops.

The layers of lead would seem to indicate that it was not original, put poured in later by someone a bit at a time... for what purpose, with the wire run through it like that, gosh who could say but the person who did it

Odd find. Thanks for posting!

 

[NorthCentral MN TreasureSeeker]

Steve(Can)'s answer is as good as any. The first thing I thought was a section of an old lightning rod. Who knows. The earth can sure spit up some strange things sometimes.

 

[Steve(Can)]

...any of the old lightning rod cable that I've seen was round braided copper, but I betcha that's what it was. Strange things indeed!