An Ottoman period musket-ball mold from Khirbet Drūsye/Horvat Midras: Echoes of changing times

This paper presents a rare copper-alloy mold for casting lead musket balls discovered at Khirbet Drūsye/Horvat Midras in the Shephelah region in Israel. The mold was found concealed within a wall of a makeshift structure, part of a transient settlement dating to the late sixteenth or seventeenth century CE, strategically positioned to overlook the main road. This artifact is a significant material trace of rural security practices during the Ottoman period in the Levant, illuminating how local communities navigated personal protection amid regional instability. The mold's deliberate concealment suggests caution regarding its possession and may reflect general security concerns or fluctuating local power dynamics. It indicates local production of ammunition, implying a degree of self-reliance in security matters. A comparison to contemporary molds contextualises this find within broader patterns of small-arms technology and rural defensive strategies. By examining this artifact alongside historical accounts of political fragmentation in the Ottoman period, this study contributes to our understanding of the material dimensions of rural resilience and security management in peripheral regions during periods of socio-political transformation.