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« on: July 12, 2012, 05:42:26 pm »
Hello all, I joined this forum today because of an object I found in the river a few weeks ago. I live in the Blue Ridge foothills near Hendersonville, NC, and the object in question was found in the Green River, just south of town. Anyway, I was wading in the shallows looking for interesting rocks on the bottom when I spied something different. At first I thought it was a vertebrae from a very large animal, but after pulling it up I noticed that it was made of stone. It seems to be some kind of old carved stone tool or "switch." It is very strange. The best way I can describe it is a "cylindrical stone switch." One end of the cylinder has notches in it to "catch" and turn something, and the other end has a very obvious "knob" for turning. Parts of it are very smooth and might have been craved by a machine, but other parts are very rough. However, I can't tell if the rough parts are from hand carving, or from erosion, where small pieces and chucks have been chipped away by traveling down the river. Also note: the area of the river it was found in has very strong rapids and is know for its whitewater. I cant imagine it's been sitting on the bottom long with the current being so strong in that area. I have no earthly idea what era this is from or what it might have been used for, and it could turn out to be quite modern, but I am very curious all the same, so I thought I would give you guys a shot at it. Pictures are below. Let me know what you think. Thanks so much! -Brendan in NC.
p.s. the last image is analysis work someone did from another forum to explain some of the features on the bottom of the object. His quote...
"I am no engineer, but here is what I think:
It appears that some sort of spring-loaded armature was pushed back by the rounded sides of the prominence at the bottom (something like the sear in a pistol trigger mechanism). That armature left wear facets at the corners on both sides, and the wear appears to me to be from counterclockwise rotation."
When rotated further, the armature snapped into the right-angled recesses (detents). The table at the bottom of each detent could be simply a positioning guide to keep the armature at "just such" a depth in the recess.
This switch knob (if that's what it is) almost has to be electrical. If it were simply mechanical, I don't see how the position of the switch (in one or the other detent) would make any difference."
p.s.s. Many have guessed this to be a ceramic telegraph insulator, and I know it looks like one, but i've been told by several collectors of the objects that this is not an insulator. Or at least not one thats in the books. I would point out that the bottom for the object obviously points to a different purpose. Don't you think?
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