The wheellock rifle from the Gatchina Palace and Estate Museum was made approximately in the 1600-1610s. Our specialists were able to determine the exact place of its creation by studying its barrel. Judging by one of the marks on the rifle, it was made in Aachen, Germany. The barrel is octagonal at the breech end and round at the muzzle end. The bore has eight shallow grooves. They were cut to make a projectile spin and thus give it more stability in flight. The rear sight of the wheellock rifle is made of brass in the form of a low blade with a notch. The front sight is also made of brass — a two constituent copper alloy. The barrel was originally gilded from the breech and to the middle of the octagonal part, but most of the coating has been lost. The barrel is also decorated with engraved geometric and stylised floral patterns. The upper plane of the barrel has a brass mark in the form of a plate with an image of an eagle. It is identical to the marks used for the weapons made in the German city of Aachen. This theory about the place of origin is also confirmed by two brass marks in the form of a plate with a graphic emblem and the letters ‘HB’ on the upper side planes of the barrel near the rear sight. The lower plane of the barrel has three eyelets for barrel pins. The lock has a flint and a wheel, that is why it is called a wheellock. The wheel is located within the lock plate, while the arm or ‘dog’ and the dog spring — on the outside of the lock plate. The wheel is protected with a curved faceted wheel cover. The dog is engraved with heads of grotesque beasts. Inside the lock the wheel bracket which holds the wheel shaft is also engraved with a floral pattern. The furniture of the wheellock rifle includes an ivory butt plate and an iron trigger guard. The trigger guard is long and blued and has three finger grooves. The barrel is fixed to the stock with a screw, which goes through the trigger guard up to the tang of the breech, as well as with three pins. The inner side of the fore-end (from the breech end to the muzzle end) is covered with three pieces of parchment glued to it. The parchments have handwritten inscriptions in Latin. The texts are written in Gothic minuscule script, an alphabetic script of lowercase letters, which fit into four imaginary horizontal lines. The parchments are pieces of one page from the Bible translated into Latin by Saint Jerome. The text is a fragment from Chapter 13 of the Book of Daniel — it describes the story of Susanna and the Elders. Palaeographic characteristics allow to date the parchments to the early 14th century.