SEASON 12, EPISODE 22, “KNIGHT AFTER KNIGHT” EPISODE ANALYSIS
- Daniel Spino
- Apr 30
- 7 min read
In this week’s episode, “KNIGHT AFTER KNIGHT”, the show began in the WAR ROOM where the Oak Island team assembled to discuss their plans for work on the island while the Money Pit area is being stabilized and part of the team is traveling to Malta. It was decided they would focus on the NORTH SWAMP area and search for more square features or “vaults” as called by the team. Marty Lagina mentioned that his brother Rick believes there may be more of them. Marty said that about 80% of the Swamp area hasn’t been explored so they will continue to focus on this area.
The action took us to Malta, where the Oak Island team traveled to investigate a connection between the Knights of Malta and Oak Island. The team visited Fort St. Elmo in Valetta, where the history of the fort was detailed and the Great Siege of 1565 by the Ottoman’s was mentioned. It was speculated that because of this siege, the Knights of Malta may have fled and buried a “mythical” treasure on Oak Island. It should be noted that the Knights of Malta had commanderies all through Europe, and due to their strategic vulnerability in Malta, it’s highly unlikely that such a “treasure” would be located there in this author’s opinion. The team met with Military Historian Matthew Balzan who was shown the pickaxe that had previously been found in RF-1. He said that it was the same type of tool used to make tunnels in Malta. This same pickaxe has also been used to suggest a possible link with the Vikings by the show. It was tested by Dr. Aaron Satkoski in Season 11 who said that the origin of the pickaxe was either from parts of Scandinavia or Southeast France to Northern Italy. Quite a distance from Malta.
The action shifted to LOT 5, where the Oak Island team continued their excavation of the foundation near the circular feature. While working in this feature, Archeology Assistant Ethan Green discovered a piece of pottery. He showed it to Archeologist Helen Sheldon who believed it was a sample of Slipware, noted by the glaze and unique design and was dated to the mid to late 1700’s. It should be noted that Lot 5 was owned by the Melvin family on Oak Island from the 1760’s, so it’s more than likely that some of these finds that have been discovered in this area are associated with them.
We were then taken to the NORTH SWAMP area where the Oak Island Team continued their work in the vicinity where they discovered the square rock and brick lined feature, they termed a “vault”. After excavating the area, a large log was discovered along with another piece of wood that was notched at the end. The team believed that it was evidence of an old structure. Marty Lagina commented that the Swamp was manipulated by man and used for something important. It was very secretive, and he wondered why anyone would do this. As mentioned previously by this author, and by the show, the area was being mined for clay and perhaps other industrial operations, so some infrastructure would be completely expected and needed. It is unclear why Marty would not know about this information.
We were taken back to Malta where the Oak Island Team continued their search for evidence to support a connection between the Knights of Malta and Oak Island. The team met with Journalist Jean Paul Mifsud who took them on a tour of the underground tunnels and chambers that were constructed by the Knights of Malta directly under Valetta. This was for the protection of the population during its wars with the Ottomans. It was also used and expanded during World War II, which was not mentioned on the show. The features of the tunneling work were compared to Oak Island and some similarities were discussed. Limestone is part of the geology and blue clay was used as a sealant from water. These same features appear on Oak Island so it was speculated that this was evidence of a connection between the two sites and that the Knights of Malta could have moved a treasure to Oak Island. It should be noted that using blue clay for sealant in tunneling is not specific to the Knights of Malta or to Malta itself. It was quite commonplace throughout many locations in Europe during this time period.
The action shifted back to the Lot 5 excavation area where the Oak Island team continued their excavation of the foundation feature. While working in the area, Archeology Assistant, Ethan Green found some pieces of broken pottery. Archeologist Fiona Steele said it appeared to be parts of a plate with the foot ring and base noted. She said it was Greenware and dated from the late 1700’s. Fiona then was pictured wondering who would have left this on Lot 5 and what they were doing there. Apparently, Fiona isn’t aware of the Melvin family owning the property during that time, which suggests the origin of this piece. Ethan later found a button that was in close proximity to the Starburst button previously found. It appeared to have a flower design on it. It was bagged and tagged and sent to Emma in the lab for further testing.
The episode concluded with the team meeting with Maltese military heraldry and button collector, Denis Darmanin at the Citadel of Victoria on Gozo, Malta. He was asked about his opinion of the Starburst button found on Lot 5. He said it appeared to have a “Spanish” design which dated from 1650-1675. It was then mentioned by the team that the Knights of Malta were in Spain, and they showed him the painting of a similar button that was identified as a “Knight of Malta” button by Emiliano Sacchetti. Unfortunately, no source or information about the painting was mentioned. Mr. Darmanin seemed to agree with this idea. It appears that Mr. Darmanin pulled his comparable from Wikipedia, under the heading “Shank (sewing)”, and it is listed as “Spanish Metal Button Circa 1650-1675, 12mm diameter”, retrieved in 2010, from the Peach State Button Club.
OAK11)2870 Lead/tin button report.pages/aetnd.com
During this segment, Mr. Darmanin’s report for the team was partially shown. He wrote that there’s some uncertainty about the Oak Island button due to the bad condition in which it was found. He writes that it could be made of pewter with a silver finish. He writes that this alloy was introduced in England in the late 1760’s. He goes on to say that it’s difficult to determine the original shape of the Starburst button but could be as early as 1650 to 1675. He states that during this time aristocratic men wore similar buttons on their coats to show off their wealth and status. Interestingly, according to a report by Archeologist Laird Niven and Archeometallurgist Emma Culligan titled, “OAK11)2870 Lead/tin button” they determined that it was a lead “coated” tin button that was manufactured between the 14th and 17th Century and most likely of British origin. It also states that, “While buttons are very difficult to date with precision, this button does not seem to fit within the Feature 1 (Lot 5) archaeological context of 1750-1800.” The report goes on to list the chemical composition of the button and gives a series of comparable buttons, all British, with similar designs. They range from the 1300’s to 1800 AD. This begs the question, why wasn’t this information shared with Mr. Darmanin and was a British button collector contacted for their opinion?
ANALYSIS: The connection between the Knights of Malta and Oak Island is a very interesting one because of the large number of knights who were also explorers in North America. There is one specific Knight of Malta that this author and researcher has suspected of having an involvement with Oak Island for several years. His name was Antonio the Prior of Crato. Antonio was a Knight of Malta also known as the Order of St. John. Antonio was a claimant to the throne of Portugal in 1580. And briefly was named King of Portugal. King Phillip of Spain was Antonio’s cousin, who also had a claim to the Portuguese throne. Philip invaded Portugal and drove Antonio to the Azores, where he had his operations headquartered.
It is a known fact that the Portuguese had a presence in Nova Scotia. This Portuguese colony was being sustained through the Azores, which was an established colony of Portugal. Since Antonio was ruling the Azores, he knew everything about the Portuguese colony in North America. Did he know about Oak Island? There has been evidence found on Oak Island that suggests that the Portuguese were there at some point. What made Oak Island different from the hundreds of other islands in Mahone Bay? That would be the pyrite that was littered all over the shores of the island, which looked like gold. The main focus of colonial pursuits was to find natural resources for the mother country to exploit. It’s very likely that any explorer that saw this metal confused it with actual gold. It is this author’s opinion that upon seeing this Fool’s Gold, an attempt to mine it was undertaken.
Antonio went to Britain and France for aid in fighting King Phillip of Spain. He received assistance from Queen Elizabeth and King Henri IV of France. What’s extremely interesting are the contacts that he made that provide possible connective tissue to Oak Island. He became friends with Sir Francis Drake, Sir Francis Bacon, Sir Robert Devereaux, and other English Nobels and figures who this author believes were Freemasons and Rosicrucians. These men are also suspects of involvement with Oak Island. It is a fact that Antonio sold some of the Crown Jewels of Portugal, sensitive information, and trade interests to fund his fight against King Phillip. Did he also sell the location of a possible gold claim in North America? This author believes that it’s very possible which could explain why the location of Mahone Bay and Oak Island was encrypted within the pages of Shakespeare’s First Folio and why Samuel de Champlain left Mahone Bay off of his map of Acadia.
Please follow our weekly episode analyses during the season, along with articles from the original “Compendium/Blockhouse Blog”, and special investigations and features involving Oak Island. Feel free to reach out to us for questions, comments, information and any theories to our email, theoakislandcompendium@gmail.com
Good day from Daniel of the Compendium!
