Police said a Civil War-era munition found at a Massachusetts antiques collector's home was destroyed by bomb squad

Police provided few details on the item (Mansfield Police)

Updated July 17: A police department in a Massachusetts town 40 miles south of Boston said an apparent Civil War-era cannon munition found in the home of a deceased antiques collector was detonated by a bomb squad.

Police in Mansfield -- which has a population of nearly 25,000 -- said on social media that the artifact was found Thursday evening (July 7) by family members at their deceased father’s home. They were cleaning the residence at the time.

An X-ray done by Massachusetts State Police found “an unknown substance inside that necessitated a prompt controlled demolition.” Mansfield police did not elaborate on the substance.

“We want to apologize to our neighbors for the late-night noise,” the post said of the demolition.

“If you ever come across something similar, whether it be a cannonball or just old ammunition, call us and we will come to you. Don’t drive it to us and definitely don’t walk into the station with it.”

The Picket reached out Friday to the department with questions about the find and was told it would attempt to answer them.

The Facebook post showed a metal object in someone’s hand, with a hole at the top of the ball. The Picket asked readers of Facebook pages focusing on Civil War artillery for help identifying the item, but there was no consensus. Some said without more details they could not confirm it was a Civil War ball.

Massachusetts State Police on July 14 said the ball was 4 inches in diameter.

"The Bomb Squad Troopers ... took multiple x-rays of the object, which revealed inconsistencies within, indicating its interior was not homogenous matter. The x-ray image was consistent with cannonballs that have an interior void space filled with whatever explosive material was used by its manufacturer," read a Facebook post.

"Based on that finding, as well the Troopers’ experience and additional research, they determined that the item was a Civil War-era cannonball and that it could be live," the agency said, adding troopers said the best and safest decision was to blow it up.

"The manner in which the ball exploded when countercharged confirmed the Troopers’ suspicions that it was indeed live and still could have posed a threat."