Civil War-era cannonball detonated by Maryland bomb squad

March 24 (UPI) -- A Maryland bomb squad was summoned to a home to safely dispose of a Civil War-era cannonball discovered with its fusing mechanism still intact.

The Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal said a bomb squad was called Tuesday to a home in Jefferson where a resident reported they had been given the cannonball by a relative who found it near the Monocacy Battlefield in Frederick County.

The person said they called authorities after another family member raised concerns that it could explode.

The bomb squad determined it was a Civil War-era cannonball and its fusing mechanism was still intact, meaning it could potentially still be dangerous.

The technicians took the cannonball to the Beaver Creek Quarry to be safely detonated.

"If you should uncover or are unsure if an unidentified object may be military ordnance, be safe rather than sorry. Stay away and call 911," State Fire Marshal Brian S. Geraci said. "Marylanders need to be mindful that military ordnance, even vintage artifacts from previous conflicts, have the potential to explode."