Cache hunting question?

[swizzle]

At the corner of a stone wall is a basketball sized hunk of quartz rock. Only one like it around. I lifted it up to detect under it and found this almost perfectly round rock underneath it. At first it was wet and muddy and the angle made it look like a mineral stained baby's skull. I almost covered it back up but I had to know for sure or else I wasn't going to sleep good. Thank goodness it was just this rock. There is a long flat slightly curved band of metal next to it still locked in ice. Any idea's should I dig deeper? or in another direction? Swiz

[Gregory]

Matbe a cannon ball Jason? Whats the weight?

I'd dig in that area.
Did you find the pop tab near it?

[swizzle]

No the pulltab was found at another location. I just used that for scale. It weighs about a pound and a half, maybe 2 pounds. The metal band next to it resembles the back of a mattocks only skinnier and longer. I thought it might be a grinding stone but why was it buried underneath a hunk of rough quartz? I've heard of people making map rocks and this thing has small holes in spots. It might be natural though. Some of the marks are from other rocks. I detected the spot again but the only signal was from the metal band/blade? Whatever it is. In a different spot I found a splitting maul that has obviously been used for years as it is really pounded down on one side. There is also what appears to be melted broken green glass frozen to the bottom of the hole. That's as far as I got. The quartz was littered with old beer bottles only one of them broken. Probably hidden under the bush before it was cut down. The whole property is littered with 1960's and 1970's (I'm guessing) genesee beer bottles. Swiz

[morestuff!]

Gotta say swizzle, I agree with Greg... re-check that spot when you can get the metal "strap" or whatever moved. Sounds like a great "mystery" spot. Good luck with it!

[swizzle]

Hey Pappy what do you think? Is it a cannonball? a grinding stone? Are stone cannonballs rare? What kind of value do they have? How would I get the measurement for the diameter? Swiz

[PAPPY]

JASON, IT'S A BALLAST STONE. THE BALLAST STONES WERE USED AS COUNTERWEIGHTS IN WAGONS TO BALANCE OUT LOADS....PAPPY

[swizzle]

Wouldn't a counterweight for a wagon be heavier then 2 pounds or did they just keep adding them one by one until they balanced the load? If there's one then should there be more in the same hole or is this possibly just a stone one of the farmers picked up from the field? I don't expect to have all my questions answered, these are just a few going through my mind. My biggest question I guess would be why bury it under a quartz rock on the inside bend of a stone wall only a few feet from the house? How common is it to find one of these? I've never seen a rock this round and this big before. Almost like a softball sized marble. Anyone else in here ever find a cache under a quartz marker? Swiz

[robzombie852]

never found one, but i hope you find something good when you go back.