[AndrewB]

"I’ve seen something recently that looked almost exactly like this object. A very old tree blew over in the local park, and in the roots at its base was a collection of oyster shells and old glass bottles ... and a cylindrical object that resembled this thing almost to a T. I’m going out there tomorrow; it’s probably still there."

A relic hunter's dream! Watch out though, could be a Civil War Parrot shell if it looks like the thing in the pic. Please post back about what you find. Bottles too!

[Mr Ramsbotham]

A relic hunter's dream! Watch out though, could be a Civil War Parrot shell if it looks like the thing in the pic. Please post back about what you find. Bottles too!

I counted the rings on the tree stump, and it was about 50 years old. Nothing really antique there, I'd say, but I'll take your advice and exercise caution.