Handgonne or not ?

[Via Dixiane]

Hi !

on top of being a collector i do quite a lot of metal detecting in the south of France.

A few days ago i found what i think to be a "handgonne". I found it not far from a ruined tower and a small spanish church in the vicinity of Perpignan in the south of France. The spot is a strategic hilltop in a region where the kingdom of France and the Kingdom of spain fought over centuries.

When i cleaned it, it was packed with remains of black powder. But i can not find a "touch hole".

I read somewhere that some kind of early handgonne had no touch hole and were ignited by the front end of the barrel .

thanks for sharing your knowledge