Conflict archaeology has become an important segment of anthropology/archaeology that has been growing over the years.

Research into the objects used in a camp and carried in the field by soldiers is important to understand which finds are from a certain period, and which were later deposits. The arms soldiers used and the ballistics of those arms have become a part of many projects over the past few decades. A musket or fowling piece shot isn’t just a lead ball. We can learn about troop placements and firing positions based upon fired and dropped projectile distribution. We can also learn about what types of arms were being carried based upon the size of the bullets, as well as deformation studies to see how close fighting was happening. We can see what a fired bullet may have struck, as well as learning about the internal and external ballistics of early arms by the markings on the fired munitions.

I frequently work in site consultation, specializing in the proper identification and cataloging of historic ammunition and artifacts.