A weird magnetic acorn-shaped object found on an Oban is set to be viewed by historians from the town’s War and Peace museum.
Alice Aspinall found the strange metal “dome” on Dunstaffnage beach, on Tuesday, after heavy rainfall in the area.
She suspects it could have been unearthed from its historic hiding place by the deluge.
The small metal dome is attached to an octagonal base – and over time it appears to have been encased in rock that is somehow magnetic.
Alice posted her find on Facebook – calling for any clues to what it might be.
She wrote: “Found this on the beach at Dunstaffnage, any idea what it is?
“The metal dome and octagonal metal part behind it aren’t magnetic, but the rock it’s encased in is rusty at the back and is magnetic.”
Object was found on Dunstaffnage beach near Oban
She told The Press and Journal she doesn’t usually find such interesting things on her daily walk.
She said: “We were on the beach between the Scottish Association for Marine Science (Sams) and the castle, facing the marina.
“I found it on the beach about halfway down.
“It might’ve been washed up by the weather, don’t usually find anything interesting around there because it’s so sheltered.
“It’s a weird object because the metal is encased in stone… I wondered if it might be something from the bridge as Connel bridge is being worked on at the moment, or maybe something from the old railway.”
What next for mystery object?
She added: “It was a good wee find.”
Alice now plans to take it to Oban War and Peace Museum, which has a large collection of artefacts connected to the area.
Oban was at the centre of training for Catalina Aircraft during World War II, so it could date back to then.
On the post, many commented with ideas of what the object might be.
One man suggested: “Could be an explosive charge or tip off a munition…unexploded ordnance that’s been washed up from years of corrosion.”
Another man wrote: “Looks like the nose of a rifle grenade!”
An Oban-based observer commented: “Looks like a Hertz Horn, a chemical trigger for a sea mine, designed to deform and crush a small ampoule of acid, providing an electrical charge to detonate the explosive.
“This looks like a German WW1 trigger, but I bet Oban War and Peace Museum would have some research on it.”
Oban bomb expert flummoxed by strange ‘acorn’ object
One woman connected the object to Oban’s history said: “Lots of seaplanes nearby during the war, could be something from them.”
However, a former ex-bomb disposal officer said: “It’s not anything that I have seen before.”
Another man wrote: “Looks like an acorn. Unless you can get it out of that matrix or have it scanned who knows what it can be?”
Local historian Neil Owen said: “The fuzes on German 50kg bombs were made of alloy but were mounted transversely in the bomb.
“Don’t think it is part of one of the bombs dropped across the entrance to Dunstaffnage Bay in December 1940.
“These were dropped from so low an altitude into the sea they failed to explode. Two were recovered in the 70s by Navy bomb disposal divers.”
Others praised Alice’s treasure.
One said: “Nice find! Looks like cast bronze, seen similar on the hilt of a sword from the 1600s.”
Can YOU help to identify the object? Let us know in our comments section below
But maybe it’s the acorn from hit movie Ice Age?
Or another man wrote: “My first guess is it’s part of an andiron or fire-dog. Some were made from iron with small brass decorations.”
Another man joked that it looked like an object from Hollywood movie Ice Age.
He wrote: “If you ask me, it‘s Scrat’s acorn. You know, that annoying rat squirrel from Ice Age“.
A local man brought the discussion back to basics, he suggested: “Possibly an alloy, perhaps the top of a bedframe.
“The surrounding metal could be the remains of the bed frame.”
While another woman suggested it was a “Brass weight or chain from a grandfather clock.”
Conversation