Replicating fifteenth- and sixteenth-century ordnance

Abstract

One of the principal reasons for the success of European voyages of discovery in the late 15th and early 16th centuries was that each ship was a floating fortress, bristling with an array of devastating weaponry. Analyses of the extensive and varied ordnance and projectiles found on the Molasses Reef and Highborn Cay wrecks spurred experiments in the replication of a type of shot found predominantly in discovery era contexts. These trials in the casting of “composite” iron-cored lead shot, using comparable raw materials and a shot mold from the Molasses Reef wreck, have solved the decades-old riddle of how they were manufactured. Other experiments in the replication of exploratory period ordnance have been designed. Potential benefits from such experiments include compilation of the first empirical data on the true range, effectiveness, and rate of fire of such weapons, as well as estimates of useful life expectancy, minimum effective gun crew sizes, and limitations of tactical employment.