Thank you all for your input. MikeK, you nailed it. I did a google image search for the picture you show. The article explains how these were used. For those that are interested see the the following link
http://www.castironcollector.com/CICN/cicn24.php
As mentioned earlier these were found in the rear of the engine block in the large water jacket hole on the corner and must have be lodged there in the cleaning process. Extracting them required a great deal of patience to get them in the right position so that they would come out.
Thanks all once again.