Archaeologists accidentally discovered the oldest weapon ever found in America
Archaeologists excavating a Spanish stone and adobe structure in Arizona discovered a 480-year-old gun, which is considered the oldest firearm ever found within the continental United States and experts believe was linked to the expedition of Spaniard Vázquez de Coronado.
In his quest to find the Seven Mythical Cities of Gold in the American Southwest, the Spanish explorer left behind some materials after a stopover that, while perhaps an afterthought for him, included what is now an important part of US archaeological and gunsmithing history.
A team of researchers discovered a bronze cannon, or "wall cannon," in Arizona and, using radiocarbon dating among other dating techniques, linked the 480-year-old device to Coronado's expedition.
In a study published in the International Journal of Historical Archaeology, a team of researchers first revealed the 2020 discovery from the floor of a Spanish stone and adobe structure at the former San Geronimo III settlement in what is now Nogales, Arizona.
Radiocarbon dating places the weapon in the same time period as the Coronado expedition (1539-1542), led by the Spanish explorer in the hope of finding the golden cities of Cibola, which were thought to exist somewhere in the American southwest.
"This wall gun is the first weapon known to be associated with the Coronado expedition and is the oldest firearm ever found within the continental United States," the study authors wrote.
Measuring 106 centimeters long and weighing over 18 kilograms, researchers say it would have taken two people to use it, but since no bullets were found near the weapon, only broken swords and daggers, fishing hooks, pottery and other items, and the lack of residue in the barrel indicated that it had never been fired.
"I was in shock. It was just a strange feeling that I rarely get. An artifact like this can connect people to the past, to history, and really spark their imagination," Deni Seymour, an archaeologist and lead author, told the Washington Post.
A wall cannon got its name because it was often used on the wall of a building or on the railings of a ship and had smooth barrels.
The study suggests that the found cannon may have been built in the early 1500s and brought back by the expedition after being manufactured in Mexico or the Caribbean.
The expedition led by Coronado was a Spanish effort that began in Mexico and explored the American Southwest with the goal of finding the Seven Cities of Cibola, which were proven to be just a myth.
Seymour said that since the initial discovery in 2020, she has discovered a second, similar ball.
“The ball is pretty amazing, but every object we find and its context has the potential to convey a really interesting piece of history. And that’s what’s fun about it. That’s what’s interesting and that’s what keeps me going,” Seymour said.
