Bits of melted tar maybe...
That was (is) a potting material commonly used 'back in the day' over taped connectors. Now, my electrical experience 'in the field' goes back to 1972, and the electrician I worked for had a metal pot with a screw-lid & brush cap that he used when we ran
cables to stubs in a conduit where there might be water involved. The cables would be bugged to the stubs, taped, then tarred, then taped again.
Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA
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