Cannonballs.

This is coolbert:

Danger, danger!

Thanks to the tip from Jeff:

"Hurricane Matthew Unearths 150-Year-Old Civil War Artillery in South Carolina"

"On Sunday, explosives experts were dispatched to Folly Island, South Carolina, after a resident found what appeared to be at least a dozen Civil War cannonballs uncovered by Hurricane Matthew".

. . . .

"Unfortunately, while ordnance from the war is a fascinating part of American history, it can also be a serious hazard. In 2008, a Virginia man was killed after a Civil War-era cannonball he was restoring exploded in his driveway, sending shrapnel through a neighbor’s porch a quarter-mile away."

This "Virginia man" blown to pieces I remember the incident quite well as reported at the time. AN EXPERT REPUTED TO BE ONE OF THE FOREMOST EXPERT ON AMERICAN CIVIL WAR ORDNANCE AND THE SAFE DE-FUSING OF SAME.

Apparently a manufacturing defect to blame [that being the reason the cannonball did originally detonate] and which would have evaded even the most meticulous, safe and detailed handling imaginable!!

BE CAREFUL! BE VERY CAREFUL!

coolbert.