Snaphaunce Cock, Lock, and Barrel

Snaphaunce Cock, Lock, and Barrel

Iron

Origin: Cock, Lock: Scotland, Early 17th Century; Barrel Date: Early 17th Century

Context: Cock, Barrel: Plowzone; Lock: South Palisade Post Mold

The cock and lock are parts of two separate pistols, created as a left-hand and right-hand mirrored pair. The pistols were private arms carried by a gentleman as symbols of his status. The lock uses a flint and steel with sliding pancover to ignite the gunpowder, a relatively new technology.

Very few gun barrels have been found at Jamestown because this was the most expensive part of a firearm and was often reused from outmoded or defective guns.