20. Bolt. Iron; smooth and convex head forged from 

 the shaft; shaft square-sectioned and tapering;; 

 threaded length \% inches; diameter approximately 

 Yie inch; nut, still in position, measures '/(e by %6 by 

 % inch. K2. 



21. Spike. Iron; four-sided; tapering to flat blade 

 point; heavy square head approximately % inch 

 thick. CI. 



22. Staple. Iron; round-sectioned at top, showing 

 evidence of hammering; becoming rectangular- 

 sectioned at the tapering sides, which bend towards 

 each other above the blade-shaped points. Surface. 



23. Nail. Iron; flat head, rectangular-sectioned; flat- 

 tened point. This nail and all the following 

 examples come from stratum 2, but are not identified 

 by area. 



24. Nail. Iron; rose head (?), rectangular-sectioned; 

 normal point. 



25. Spike. Iron; rectangular sectioned; vestigial 

 round head; point lost. 



26. Planching nail. Iron; round head flattened on 

 either side to form T-shape, rectangular-sectioned; 

 chisel point. Such nails were generally used for 

 flooring and were punched below the surface. 



27. Nail. Iron; head missing; round shank becoming 

 "four square," that is, equi-sided; sharp and narrow 

 point. 



28. Spike. Iron; rose head; rectangular sectioned; 

 blunt end. 



29. Spike. Iron; rose head (?), rectangular-sectioned; 

 flattened point. 



30. Lath nail. Iron; rectangular head, shank "four 

 square" and tapering to a point. 



31. Lath nail. Iron; small round head; rectangular- 

 sectioned; flattened point. 



32. Planching nail. Iron; T-shaped head; rectangu- 

 lar-sectioned; blunt end. See no. 26. 



33. Nail. Iron; rose head; rectangular-sectioned; 

 flattened point. 



34. Nail. Iron; rose head; rectangular-sectioned; 

 tapering to point. This type is sometimes de- 

 scribed as "Rose-sharp," while the flat-pointed 

 variety can be called "Flat-point-rose." 



35. Nail. Iron; L-shaped head; rectangular-sec- 

 tioned; blunt point. 



36. Nail. Iron; T-shaped head, possibly broken; 

 rectangular-sectioned; spear point. '"^ 



37. Nail. Iron; vestigal rectangular head; rectangu- 

 lar-sectioned and the point flattened. 



'See Mercer, op. cil. (footnote Og), fig. 201, B3. 



38. Nail. Iron; possibly with L-shaped head; rectangu- 

 lar-sectioned, tapering to point. 



39. Nail. Iron; roughly square rose head; rectangular- 

 sectioned; flattened point. 



All the foregoing nails arc hand wrought and are 

 illustrated as representative of the sizes and types 

 included among the hundreds recovered from the 

 Rosewell deposit. For a list of nails ordered by John 

 Page in 1771 see page 158. 



The first machine for making "cut-nails" was 

 patented by Ezekial Reed of Bridgewater, Massa- 

 chusetts, in 1786, and by about 1800 cut nails were 

 rapidly taking the place of the old wrought \aricties. 

 Cut nails were made from sheets of iron cut to appro- 

 priate lengths, the heads being beaten in a vice by 

 hand. Such nails can be identified by the fact that 

 the shank tapers only on the two cut sides, the front 

 and back being parallel as was the sheet from which 

 theywerecut. The first English patent for a machine to 

 manufacture cut nails was granted to John Clifford 

 in 1790. In the first half of the 19th century the 

 French manufactured wire nails by hand and devel- 

 oped a machine for producing them in the second 

 quarter of the century. Sample machines were im- 

 ported into America soon afterwards. Ihe first 

 handmade wire nails with round-sectioned shanks 

 and heads were made by William Hersel of New \'ork 

 City in 1850. 



Figure 37 



1. Cauldron. Iron; body fragment only; decorated 

 with two encirclins; ridges; the beginning of one of 

 the triangular, ear-type handles appears at the 

 upper edge; wall thickness %f, inch. Such vessels 

 had tripod legs and a pair of handles; they owed 

 their origins to the bronze cooking vessels of the 14th 

 and 15th centuries. P2. 



2. Fireback. Iron; ornamented fragment only. See 

 fig. 23, no. 8. 



3. Hoe. Iron; large size; D-shaped blade; socket 

 thicker at base than at top. Diameter 2)^ inches; 

 height 2% inches. The form is typical of the 18th 

 century. E3. This example was found in wet clay, 

 an environment unsuiied for the preservation of 

 iron; in consequence, the blade is too decayed for it 

 to undergo chemical cleaning without drastic loss 

 of shape. Without cleaning it is impossible to tell 

 whether the hoe possesses a maker's mark — a feature 

 generally stamped on the V-shaped spine. A com- 

 parable, unstratified example found in Williamsburg 



PAPER 18: EXC.\V.A.TIONS .-NT ROSEWELL 



225 



