The Jacobs family, owners of the Five D Cattle Company Steakhouse in Avinger (Cass County), in the northeast Texas "Piney Woods", has a brass artifact that was found by Darren Jacobs (one of the "Five Ds") in the woods near Avinger. The object was embedded in a rotting tree stump, and was covered with verdigris ("all green") when it was found. It has since been polished with "Brasso".
The artifact is of heavy, (~2 lbs) rough-cast bronze, and, when found, contained rotted remnants of the stub of a wooden pole or shaft. The iron cross-pin is "bradded" in place, and the ends are ground flush with the brass.
Because of its heavy, brass structure -- and the fact that the tree had grown around it before the tree died, the owners suspect it may be of Spanish origin.
Conjecture is that it is either the "foot" for a military tent pole or an attachment for the lower end of a flag or banner staff.
Can you identify this strange artifact found in the Piney Woods?
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Overall view, showing the eight-inch length.
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| Photos by Darryl Jacobs (another of the "Five Ds") |