Tarkhansky Ostrog of the 17th−18th centuries: directions of search and the beginning of research

The purpose of this paper is to report on the process and results of locating the Russian fortress of Tarkhansky Ostrog of the 17th–18th centuries on the basis of information from written sources and cartographic materials directly related to the location of the site. The objectives of the research included preliminary identification of the presumable remains of the object by means of reconnaissance (20 sq. m) archaeological excavations and the use of geophysical methods (magnetometer mapping with Gem Systems GSM-19WG). This paper considers the information from chronicles, cartographic and written sources of the end of the 17th–19th centuries about Tarkhansky Ostrog, situated at the confluence of the Tura and Tobol Rivers in Western Siberia; the key milestones of its search, undertaken by our research team, and its prospective location and identification are reported. The basis of the investigation was formed by scanty written information about Tarkhansky Ostrog and by the cartographic materials of S.U. Remezov, as well as archaeological reconnaissance works carried out in modern times in the area of confluence of the rivers in the Yarkovsky district of Tyumen Oblast. G.F. Miller was mapping the Russian fortress to the place of the Tatar settlement of Tarkhan-kala, not far from the mouth of the river Tura, on the southeast side of Tobol. According to his description, the fortress was founded in 1628 and represented a citadel with a wooden fence and two turrets. P. A. Slovtsov wrote that Trakhansky Ostrog “at the mouth of the river Tura” was founded in 1631. Following the extensive analysis of the descriptions and cartographic materials, and as the result of the terrain analysis, an ancient butte (250 m  40 m) of a suplra-floodplain terrace was discovered in 2020 on a floodplain inundable during seasonal floods to the southwest of the village of Tarkhany. It corresponds with the description of Yatman hill given by G.F. Miller; even today some traces of, seemingly, “Kuchum’s outpost” can be seen on this height. In the southern part of the butte, we carried down a 4 m  5 m reconnaissance dig. The cultural deposit yielded scanty fragments of the Koptyaki Culture, Late Bronze Age, and Medieval ceramics, although mainly represented by shards of crockery manufactured on a potter’s wheel. Of the artefacts, a clasp knife, a brass thimble, a lead bullet, a gun flint, a lead strap seal, and a silver kopeck of Tsar Fyodor III Alekseyevich have been found. All the articles are dated to the 17th c., with the exception of the lead seal which belongs to the 19th c. With a high probability, we assume that the butte is associated with Tarkhansky Ostrog, although one can only talk about its decisive identification after large-scale archaeological investigations.

Dovesong

This chapter describes the mourning dove's funerary dirge. For the first time in nearly a century, open season has been declared on the dove. Amendments fail to outlaw the lead bullet or set the kill zone back from homes. The chief executive signs the bill in the company of lobbyists from the National Rifle Association. These five ounces of meat with wings are purported to bring seven million dollars into governmental coffers. Ultimately, forty-one of fifty states favor open season on the dove of mourning, making them, in effect, sitting ducks. The chapter then explores how the debate over open season on the mourning dove heralds the coming of the culture wars.

Estimating Lead Fragmentation from Ammunition for Muzzleloading and Black Powder Cartridge Rifles

Lead bullet fragments pose a health risk to scavengers and hunters consuming game meat, but lead or lead-core bullets are still commonly employed for big and small game hunting. Bullet fragmentation has been assessed for modern, high-velocity rifles, but has not been well documented for black-powder cartridge rifles or muzzleloading firearms. We used two established methods to estimate bullet fragmentation. We evaluated a traditional .54 round ball and a modern-designed .54 conical bullet for muzzleloaders, two types of .45-70 black powder rifle cartridges, and a modern lead-core high-velocity bullet (.30-06) as our comparison control. We tested penetration and fragmentation in water (n = 12) and ballistics gel (n = 2) for each bullet type. We measured lead mass lost to fragmentation and x-rayed ballistic gels to visualize fragmentation patterns. The modern .30-06 bullets we tested (Remington Core-Lokt) retained a mean of only 57.5% of original mass, whereas mean retention by muzzleloader and black powder cartridge bullets ranged 87.8-99.7%. Round balls and .45-70 bullets shed less lead (i.e., 0.04g and 0.19g on average respectively) than the modern conical .54 muzzleloading bullets (3.08g) or the .30-06 control (4.14g). Fragments from round balls and black powder cartridge bullets showed far less lateral spread compared to the high-velocity modern bullet. Our findings suggest that round balls for muzzleloaders and black powder cartridge bullets may leave far fewer lead fragments in game than the conical muzzleloader bullet or modern high-velocity rifle bullet we tested, and thus could pose a lower risk of secondary lead poisoning for humans and wildlife. Artificial tests cannot replicate conditions encountered in the field, but the striking differences we observed in bullet fragmentation even under severe testing conditions suggests that follow-up tests on game animals may be warranted.

Lead poisoning due to gunshot bullet in contact with cerebrospinal fluid: case report

CONTEXT: Lead poisoning due to retained gunshot bullets is a well-known clinical problem that is fairly frequently described in the literature. The risk factors for this occurrence relate mainly to whether the lead bullet is in contact with the joint fluid or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The treatment for these cases entails chelation therapy while symptoms are shown and definitive surgical removal of the bullet as a potential source of lead. The aim of this paper is to describe a clinical case of lead poisoning due to a retained gunshot bullet in contact with CSF. CASE REPORT: A 42-year-old male was hit by gunshot bullets during a holdup, and one of them was retained in the spinal cord. Six years later, he developed intense low back pain and underwent laminectomy. Nine years later, he then underwent arthrodesis on L5-S1, but he developed intense abdominal pain after the surgical procedure. For five years, he was treated with calcium versenate in five-day cycles, with a good response. The chelation therapy cycles showed great efficacy during symptomatic periods, thus reducing the symptoms and signs of poisoning and promoting great amounts of lead excretion, thereby reducing the total lead burden responsible for the symptoms. Fortunately, over the last four years, the symptoms have improved and the urine levels of aminolevulinic acid (ALA) have declined, to reach complete normalization. This shows that a healing process is probably taking place on the spinal wound, thereby isolating the bullet fragments from CSF contact.