This English demi-culverin was found adjacent to the fortifications at Monk’s Hill in Nelson’s Dockyard National Park, Antigua. A demi-culverin is a medium-sized smooth-bore cannon capable of firing shot between 8-10 pounds (depending on the gun size), and was developed in the 16th century. This cannon, presently located near the historic Pay Office at Nelson’s Dockyard, dates to between 1600-1630. This date places manufacture of the gun prior to English colonization of Antigua, making it one of the oldest known cannons in the park. It is likely that this cannon was one of the first pieces of ordnance used to defend the fort on Monk’s Hill. The broken muzzle end indicates that it suffered from a catastropic failure and was likely abandoned near the fort until its discovery in 2021. This model was produced on Agisoft Metashape using 176 photos taken with a Nikon D3400 camera.
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