My Olde Site: Getting Older

My Olde Site, a federal era (or earlier) cellar hole,produced these american indian artifacts at the deepest levels.  I've been informeed that the two pieces in the foreground are made of steatite, a type of soapstone quarried and carved by the indigenous tribes.  The large chunk on the left is a  portion of the side of what was once a large bowl. The smaller item is some kind of bowl.  The rounded stone is what I believe to be a masher and is the only smooth stone of its kind to come out of the  ground at this site.     

 The notches or grooves along the top edge of the bowl below are where the chunk was carved away from the face of the quarry.  The native americans would carve the bowl in place then remove it from the face of the quarry, completing the bowl after removal.

 The worked piece of flint below is probably a "graver" used to engrave.  The bead is European and is probably a trade bead from first contact with these american indians.

Plate Straightening

This rather unusual excavated sword belt plate required straightening and touch ups to make displayable.  I suspect that many plough hits over the years has resulted in the significant distortion.

Applying pressure using several clamps simultaneously allowed for a break-less outcome.  Touch ups to some cracks along the edges and face resulted in a pretty good restoration.

What device was originally on the face of this plate is a mystery.  Several possibilities exist and these can be found in the many reference books on buckles and plates of the period.