page_title: Powder keg
hierarchical_section_title: Powder keg
caption_attribution_description: English: Waltham Abbey gunpowder barrel at the Citadel Hill (Fort George) gunpowder magazine
context_page_description: A powder keg is a barrel of gunpowder. The powder keg was the primary method for storing and transporting large quantities of black powder until the 1870s and the adoption of the modern cased bullet. However, the barrels had to be handled with care, since a spark or other source of heat could cause the contents to deflagrate.
  In practical use, powder kegs were small casks to limit damage from accidental explosions. Today they are valued as collectibles. Specimens of early American kegs for gunpowder are found in sizes like 8.75" tall by 6.5" diameter and 13" tall by 11" diameter, often with strappings of reed or sapling wood rather than metal bands to avoid sparks. Kegs for blasting powder used for mining or quarrying were often larger than kegs for shipping and storing powder for firearms.
context_section_description: A powder keg is a barrel of gunpowder. The powder keg was the primary method for storing and transporting large quantities of black powder until the 1870s and the adoption of the modern cased bullet. However, the barrels had to be handled with care, since a spark or other source of heat could cause the contents to deflagrate.
  In practical use, powder kegs were small casks to limit damage from accidental explosions. Today they are valued as collectibles. Specimens of early American kegs for gunpowder are found in sizes like 8.75" tall by 6.5" diameter and 13" tall by 11" diameter, often with strappings of reed or sapling wood rather than metal bands to avoid sparks. Kegs for blasting powder used for mining or quarrying were often larger than kegs for shipping and storing powder for firearms.
caption: Rifle large grain gunpowder barrel at Fort George's Citadel Hill
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