Archeologists discover musket balls fired in 'the shot heard round the world'

“The shot heard round the world” is metaphorical no more.

Archeologists believe five musket balls unearthed in Concord’s Minute Man National Historical Park were fired by colonial militia in the famed battle moments that sparked the Revolutionary War.

The 250-year-old musket balls were discovered in an area inside the park where historians believe British troops faced colonial forces at the North Bridge.

Analysis of the artifacts indicates they were fired by colonial militia members from across the river, and not dropped from British weapons when troops were reloading.

“It’s incredible that we can stand here and hold what amounts to just a few seconds of history that changed the world almost 250 years ago,” said Minute Man Park ranger and historic weapons specialist Jarrad Fuoss in a press release. “These musket balls can be considered collectively as ‘The Shot Heard Round the World,’ and it is incredible that they have survived this long.”

The archaeologists were surveying the area in preparation for the park's Great American Outdoors Act project.

The fighting at North Bridge in Concord, though brief, was a pivotal moment in the battles of Lexington and Concord. It was the first time militia leaders ordered fighters to fire on their own government’s soldiers.

As militia members advanced on the bridge, British troops opened fire, killing three colonial fighters and prompting Maj. John Buttrick of Concord to issue his famous order: “Fire! Fellow soldiers. For god’s sake, fire!”

Militia returned fire and charged, routing the British troops. The event was later dubbed “the shot heard round the world” by Ralph Waldo Emerson in his 1837 "Concord Hymn."

The musket balls will be on display Saturday, July 13, at Minute Man National Historical Park.