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SEASON 12, EPISODE 2, “WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK” ARTIFACT AND FEATURE ANALYSIS

Updated: Nov 22

The Curse of Oak Island – The History Channel


In this week’s episode, “WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK”, we are first taken to the Research Center, where the Oak Island team met to discuss their upcoming drilling plans. It was mentioned that they had drilled 20 boreholes and had found nothing so far this season. The team had four boreholes left to drill in the Golden Circle area, which has been identified as having the highest levels of precious metal readings. In this area there are high levels of copper, lead, and zinc as well as gold and silver. The team identified their first target as Borehole EN-13.


The Curse of Oak Island – The History Channel


We are then taken to Garden Shaft area, where the team has named the area of interest of their current dig, the “Golden Egg”. They feel that this area may contain treasure, and no activity has ever been recorded there according to the team. The Sonic Drill is set up and operations begin. It is the team’s goal to find a target in this area and put down a 7ft caisson to explore the area underground and potentially retrieve the source of the precious metals.


The Curse of Oak Island – The History Channel


Then the action shifted to the Lot 5 excavation area where Archeologist Laird Niven and Jack Begley are working in an area between the two previously explored features, the Rectangular and Circular features, to see if they are connected. The area has recently had two non-ferrous metal detecting hits, which means they are not iron. As the two are working they uncover another coin. Laird inspects it and notices that it has worn edges and its patina looks old. Jack suggests that they have their “go to” Numismatist, Sandy Campbell, come to the island to render his opinion on the find. It is mentioned that Roman coins have been found in the surrounding area.


The Curse of Oak Island – The History Channel


Then the scene continued on Lot 5, now focusing on the circular depression feature that has now evolved into a much larger feature. As the team has excavated the area, they notice an odd perimeter that has been revealed. It appears that the area is expanding and may have been a base of operations of some sort. Archeologist Fiona Steele mentions that she is surprised by how crude the construction was of this feature, and that it lasted for so long. It is then mentioned that many artifacts have been found in this area. As the team works, they seem to have found another layer to the structure, and they will continue to work to uncover it.


The Curse of Oak Island – The History Channel



We were then taken back to the “Golden Egg” area where the core drilling operation continued. The drilling is taking place between the 80-120ft range. At the 89ft level, the core samples indicated that the soil was loose at the bottom of the sample and the ground was soft in this area. The core drill then hits something hard. Mike Tedford of Choice Drilling mentions that he believes that they hit something solid and believes it is wood. The drill is pulled out. It is then speculated that perhaps there is a chest of wood underground in this area which could be indicated by the soft ground. It is determined that the drill did not hit wood, but it may be very close to some. The team speculates that this may be the area where they find treasure.


The Curse of Oak Island – The History Channel


The action then took us to the Lab where the team’s favorite numismatist, Sandy Campbell, came to render his opinion on the coin found on Lot 5. Sandy inspected the coin and mentioned that it had an irregular shape. He also mentioned that it appeared hammered rather than struck which suggests that it is very old. He states it is pre-1650, but then as he inspects the coin more, says he thinks it’s Roman. He believes he makes out a figure of a horse on the coin. Emma then conducts an XRF scan of the coin and states that it is 70% Copper, 16% Lead, Arsenic and Sulphur. Emma states this composition makes it an older piece. Sandy then was asked his opinion of the age, and he states that it is late Roman from 200-300AD. This then launches the idea that Vikings may have been responsible for these Roman coins because they repurposed old coins and made them their own. It is also mentioned that Templars may have been involved with the Vikings and could have been on Oak Island. Laird mentions that solid artifactual evidence is needed to confirm the Vikings were on Oak Island, but he couldn’t rule it out.


The Curse of Oak Island – The History Channel


The scene returns to the Lot 5 excavation area where the team continued working. It is discovered that the rock patterns are continuing to stretch this feature more and more. As Laird is working, he notices that it seems that there is a hollow area that he can feel. He mentions that it is the weirdest thing, and he has never seen such a feature before. There are more round stones that appear to make a foundation, and it appears that there may be a buried compartment in this hollow area. It appears to be a huge feature, crudely built and a possible extension of the other feature. The work continues.


The Curse of Oak Island – The History Channel


We then are shifted back to the Golden Egg area and borehole EN 13, Where Dr. Ian Spooner was testing the water in the area. Dr. Spooner stated that while he was next to borehole EN 13, at borehole FN 13, he heard what appeared to be thunder underground. He explained it as booms and crashing for about 30 seconds and then it stopped. He found it extraordinary and never had heard of anything like it. He evidently never heard of the crashing and collapsing of the Money Pit back in 1861. This presumably was from the work in the area that caused the ground to become unstable due to the deterioration of the limestone composition underground. Dr. Spooner remarked that he thought the core drill in EN 13 may have caused this collapse underground in a void close by. He also noticed that the water sample he took from this area seemed darker and was yellow, indicating some underground structural failure. The team will assess the information and figure out an action plan going forward.


The Curse of Oak Island – The History Channel


The episode concluded when the team met at the Research Center to discuss a trip they are planning. They discuss how the Vikings spread to Iceland in 875AD, then to Greenland in 985AD, and to L’Anse Aux Meadows in 1021AD. Filmmaker/Researcher, Emilio Sacchetti said he believes that L’Anse Aux Meadows wasn’t the only Viking outpost in North America, although no evidence of this theory has been found to date. The team would like to go the L’Anse Aux Meadows and investigate to see if there are any links to Oak Island and the Knights Templar, which the team seems to believe there were. It was also pointed out that the 1885 Whistle, that was allegedly found on Oak Island, was in the possession of Mary Bogert Steward. According to the show, Ms. Steward apparently had the American Museum of Natural History in New York look at the whistle, and they gave her their opinion that the whistle was possibly Scandinavian and possibly made from walrus tusk. The team then took this opinion and then speculated that the whistle was Viking, and the Templars may have left it on Oak Island.


R.V. Harris/Jacques Bokobsa

The Oak Island Interpretive Center


COMMENTARY:  Unfortunately, the Curse of Oak Island research and production teams must have missed our two investigations last season that touched on these areas. In our exhaustive, three-part investigation called, “The Mystery of the Oak Island Whistle”, The Compendium uncovered the following information. According to the Oak Island Treasure Company Prospectus of 1893, it states, “Some years ago (1885), a boatswain’s stone whistle was also found on the island, of a very ancient pattern but it was accidentally broken by the finder and was thrown away.” The picture of the whistle shown was not the same 1885 whistle. Mel Chappell acquired the whistle in 1963 and clearly stated it was made of bone, not stone or walrus tusk. R.V. Harris in his book, “The Oak Island Mystery” stated the pictured whistle was the 1885 stone whistle that was made of bone or ivory. Which is a complete contradiction and appears to be an attempt by Harris to marry the pictured whistle as the 1885 whistle.


The Compendium detailed how Mary Bogert Steward, a wealthy New York Socialite, financed a dig on Oak Island in 1932. Her proxy, John Talbot, conducted a brief unsuccessful operation. Steward was an avid collector of artifacts and patron of museums in New York. The pictured whistle was obtained by Talbot, and believed to have come from Frederick Blair’s box of Oak Island artifacts. The whistle was given to Steward, and it appears she had the American Museum of Natural History render an opinion of it. They thought that the whistle could be Scandinavian and made from walrus tusk. Although it wasn’t a bad guess with limited information in the 1930’s, it’s clear that this was not the correct identification. The whistle stayed in Steward’s possession until her death in 1955. At that time, the whistle was in the possession of her sisters until it was sold at their estate auction in 1959. It was obtained by John Lewis, who once owned part of Oak Island and planned to conduct operations there. Lewis gave the whistle to Mel Chappell in 1963 and its current whereabouts are unknown.


The Compendium conducted an extensive investigation by contacting whistle experts, museums, archeologists, and other professionals from around the world to ascertain the identification of the whistle. The Compendium contacted Jacques Bokobsa, described as a world class, legendary whistle collector. Mr. Bokobsa wrote the book, “"Il était une fois le sifflet - histoire d'une collection” (Once upon a time, the whistle - history of a collection). Mr. Bokobsa identified the whistle as a  French Napoleonic POW bone pontoon whistle, produced in the early 1800’s. This opinion was confirmed by two other whistle experts we contacted. The Compendium believes the whistle originated in Halifax from one of two French Prisoner of War camps during the early 1800’s. The Compendium also reached out to world class museums such as The Smithsonian Institution, The British Museum, The National Trust UK, The National Maritime Museum-Cornwall UK, Royal Museums Greenwich UK, The US Naval Academy Museum, Musée de l'Armée at Les Invalides in Paris, France and many more. These museums could identify the piece and did not know anything about these types of items.


The Compendium contacted several museums that specialized in French POW artifacts, and we were able to corroborate that the whistle indeed looked to be a French POW piece from the early 1800’s. The Compendium also contacted Halifax area Universities, Historians, Archaeologists, Antiques dealers and other professionals to consult about the whistle. A picture of Mel Chappell blowing the whistle, made of bone, has been on display at the Oak Island Interpretive Center and verifies the fact that the whistle that was in Chappell’s possession was indeed the same whistle pictured in the 1958 book “The Oak Island Mystery” by R.V. Harris and the same whistle owned by Mary Steward. The Compendium finds it very unlikely that the whistle is Viking and made of Walrus tusk, without any comparable to judge.


The Daily Mail

EMAP


In our other investigation, “Was there a link between the Knights Templar, the Vikings, and Oak Island”, the Compendium detailed that the Vikings/Norse expanded their colonies due to their seasonal hunting expeditions. This included whaling, fishing, animal pelts, and the abundance of walrus, and their highly sought after tusks.  The Vikings/Norse had a very extensive trade network that encompassed a large portion of Europe, and these tusks were made into many sought after items like the intricately carved chessmen. The Vikings/Norse also sought narwhal teeth, walrus hides, and walrus rostra (skull with tusks). History tells us that the Vikings/Norse hunted the walrus population in Iceland to near extinction and then moved on to Greenland with similar results. This pushed the Norse further west into Baffin Bay where they set up their hunting operation. This operation worked in cooperation with the indigenous Thule and later Innuit. This happened until the walrus population started to decline which set off a souring relationship with the indigenous peoples. By the 1400’s, the Norse had pulled out of Baffin Bay and entirely out of Greenland, due to the decline in hunting, trade, bad indigenous relationships, and the Little Ice age. This ended the Norse involvement in North America.


It appears that the Vikings/Norse did make whistles, but those that have been unearthed are most often made from the shins of cows, deer, or large birds. They are long and less intricate than the Oak Island Whistle. The Compendium also discovered that L’Anse aux Meadows was a small outpost for the Vikings/Norse and not a large settlement. It seems likely that the Vikings/Norse explored past Newfoundland, but it seems unlikely that they had any settlements due to the factors that led to their withdraw from North America. It seems highly unlikely that the Norse and the Knights Templar had any involvement in North America together. If there was any involvement with a religious order, it would have been with the Knights Hospitaller, who had commanderies in Scandinavia at the time. The Compendium would be more than happy to share our research findings with the Oak Island team and make sure that factual and historically accurate information is provided to their fans and followers. The Compendium’s goal is to attempt to solve the Oak Island Mystery in a timely manner and use accurate, true information in doing so, no matter where that leads. The Compendium is sure that the Oak Island team has the same mode of operation.


Please follow our weekly episode analyses during the season, along with our Throwback Thursday 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 the Compendium!

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