Geschliffene Flintensteine

Abstract

At the beginning of the 17th century the production of firearms with flintlock started. For use in these weapons, millions of gunflints were produced in a special flint knapping process. A smaller number were also made of flint, agate or jasper in a grinding process employed by the jewellery industry. This article is dedicated to these little-known gunflints and shows the role of their manufacturing process within the production of semi-precious stones in Germany. This can be particularly exemplified by the archaeological record of the historical gemstone-factory “Zum Kri-stallen Eck” in Freiburg (SW-Germany), which was excavated 1988. Further information about the production of ground gunflints is provided by historical documents from Idar-Oberstein, Nurem-berg and other cities in Germany, France and Austria. The armoury of the Staatliche Kunstsamm-lungen in Dresden owns a number of historical guns and pistols with flintlocks which still retain their flints. Among these, some ground gunflints, mostly of jasper, could be identified.