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Archaeologists uncovered a cannon from Spanish conquistador and explorer Francisco Vásquez de Coronado now believed to be the oldest firearm ever found in the United States.
Spanish soldiers under the command of Vásquez de Coronado explored portions of North America ranging from Mexico to Kansas in search of the rumored Seven Cities of Gold, leaving behind materials at a stop in what is now Arizona at one point on the journey. Researchers found a bronze cannon four years ago at that site and linked the weapon to the expedition.
The firearm, which was dated to the time period between 1539 and 1542, corresponding with the expedition led by Vásquez de Coronado, is therefore nearly five centuries old.
The study which revealed the find said the weapon is “the first gun known to be associated with the Coronado expedition” and the oldest firearm “ever found” in the continental United States. The weapon may also be “the oldest cannon currently known on the continent.”
The cannon measures forty-two inches long and weighs forty pounds, meaning that two people would have been needed to operate the weapon. Researchers determined that a lack of residue in the cannon means the weapon was never fired, but they also found broken swords and daggers, fishhooks, pottery, and other items at the site where the cannon was recovered.
Deni Seymour, the lead author of the study, said in an interview about the find that “an artifact like this can connect people to the past, to history, and really stirs their imagination.”
Archaeologists have found a second similar cannon since discovering the first bronze cannon four years ago. “The cannon is pretty darn wonderful, but each artifact we find and the context of them has the potential to convey a really interesting part of the story,” Seymour continued. “That’s what’s fun about it. That’s what’s interesting, and that’s what keeps me going.”
The cannon was designed for mounting on the railing of a ship or in the wall of a building. The weapon abandoned by the Spanish was likely manufactured in Mexico or the Caribbean.
