True ... The original dry-compounded powder used in 15th-century Europe was known as "Serpentine", either a reference to Satan or to a common artillery piece that used it.The ingredients were ground together with a mortar and pestle, perhaps for 24 hours,resulting in a fine flour.Original black powder was serpentine.
Then corned powder was adapted with the use of ball mills with wet ingredients mixed together, then corned into press cakes, dried for subsequent sieving to the different grain sizes