SEASON 13, EPISODE 10, “BOULDER AND WISER” EPISODE ANALYSIS
- Daniel Spino
- 2 hours ago
- 7 min read
In this week’s episode, “BOULDER AND WISER”, the show began at the MONEY PIT AREA, where the Oak Island team began to drill in a new borehole called DN-13. The team has moved a short distance from the last borehole, BN-13.5 within the area that has been identified as, “THE PEACOCK”. It is unknown why this area was labeled as such. The team is hoping to find some sort of underground structure that was manmade and perhaps also an offset chamber where treasure was hidden or had fallen from a collapse in the past.
The action then took us to the SOUTHWEST CORNER OF THE SWAMP, where the Oak Island Team continued its investigation of the area. The team has uncovered a stone road type feature along with a stone path, ox shoes, and wooden stakes. All of which seems to indicate an industrial operation that is known to have occurred in this general area of the Swamp. It appears the features move in a northernly direction towards the north end of the Swamp, which happens to be near Joudrey’s Cove, where ships would be to take out natural resources in this author’s opinion. It was then stated that they have explored this Southwest area, and it is the end of the line there. The team will now plan its next steps for the Swamp exploration.
We were then taken to the LAB where the Oak Island team met to discuss the two artifacts recently discovered on Lot 8. The first is what appeared to be a knife. Archeometallurgist Emma Culligan stated that the artifact was made of hand forged iron but appeared to be mysterious because they are not sure that it’s a knife. She said that it may be some kind of multi-tool. She said they haven’t seen anything like it before. Based on the composition, she stated it was from the pre-1800’s and dated it from the 1700’s. The next artifact was a lead bag seal found in the same vicinity as the knife/tool. Archeologist Laird Niven mentioned that he had seen the design on the bag seal previously. He identified it as a seal from the City of Leeds in Great Britain. This is marked by a suspended dead sheep on the seal. He said it would have been on a finished bale of fabric. The area was known for wool manufacturing. He dated it from the 16th to 18th Century. He also stated that the wool industry began in the 1300’s in that area. The team seemed to be mystified why such a seal would be on Lot 8.
We were then taken to the RESEARCH CENTER, where the Oak Island team met to discuss their upcoming plans for new excavations in the Swamp. The team met with Lot Owner, Tom Nolan, to discuss their next move. It was mentioned that the recent evidence uncovered showed that the features found were leading to the north area of the Swamp. Tom mentioned that the evidence in that area showed that somebody was leaving a path based on stakes and other features discovered. It was decided that the team would go back there and continue its exploration. The action took us to the NORTHERN SWAMP AREA where the team began working. After some digging, another eight-sided wooden stake was found. Surveyor, Steve Guptill measured the spot and it was found it was about a foot and a half above sea level. It was mentioned that the other stakes were found at the same depth. Metal detectorist Gary Drayton was scanning the area and found a piece of iron. Gary believed it may be a Gate Latch. After searching more, a piece of pottery was found which had green and blue coloring. It was mentioned that similar pottery was found on Lot 26, near the stone wall, which was described as a Portuguese type of construction. Although similar walls have been found all over North American built by Europeans. The artifacts were bagged and tagged and sent to the LAB for further analysis.
The scene shifted to LOT 8, where the Oak Island Team discovered a large boulder that has become an area of interest to the team. Archeologist Laird Niven discovered the feature and mentioned that stones were around the boulder. He said it looked as if they were purposely placed there and not a natural arrangement. He also stated it appeared that the boulder may be covering up a pit, and these stones were filling in the feature making a ring around it. It appeared that these stones created a foundation for the feature. Laird mentioned that these features on Lot 8, were leading him to the “Dark Side”, presumably describing extreme theoretical speculation that would make even Darth Vader blush. The archeological team then began its excavation and found that more rocks were under the top-soil layer. It appeared to be mounded, which indicated that the area had been dug out and then filled in with rocks. A piece of wood that looked like it could have been worked by man was also found along the edge of the boulder.
The action shifted to the MONEY PIT AREA, where the Oak Island Team continued its drilling in Borehole DN 13. The team mentioned that they have found no new evidence of a void in this area. The depth reached was 208 Feet. A core sample was brought up stretching from 204 to 208 feet, which was the bottom of the borehole. The core sample was slushy on the top and hard at the bottom. After using the pinpointer, it registered no metal hits. It would be sent to the Lab for further testing. The team stated that they had missed the void in this area.
The action then took us to THE WAR ROOM, where the Oak Island Team met with Video Enhancement Expert, Bob Brown of ProHawk to go over the images taken from Borehole BN-13.5. Bob mentioned that after cleaning up the video it appeared that there was a cluster of stakes like objects and what could be planks and stakes in the area. He said it appeared to be made by human activity. He stated there appeared to be square features that had a certain geometry to it. He believed it was something not organic. He said another spot looked bright and reflective, having a triangular shape. The team wondered if this could be a manmade chamber. Bob was asked his opinion on what percentage he thought this was manmade feature. He stated it was 90% likely in his opinion. The team wondered if this could be the result of a collapse and Bob stated possibly. It was also mentioned there had been no searches in this area, but the Garden Shaft is a very close distance away and it was confirmed that there was a shaft and tunnel in this area. It seems likely that the team is encountering features related to the Garden Shaft and tunnel construction in this author’s opinion.
The episode concluded back at LOT 8, where the Oak Island Archeological Team continued its excavation of the large boulder and area around it. It was stated that the boulder and stones may have been a marker. And perhaps something was hidden beneath the boulder. The team found more wood and stones that were wedged around the outer portion of the boulder and between rocks. It was noticed that there is a void under the boulder that they initially determined to be 3 feet deep. The team mentioned that it appeared the rock was purposely placed there to fill in around the boulder. It was described as “Singularly Unique”. Until Next Week….
DANIEL’S ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY:
During this week’s episode, the Oak Island Team went over the analysis of the Lead Bag Seal found on Lot 8. It was stated that the seal was possibly from the 1500’s to 1700’s. Although the date range of the 1300’s was mentioned giving a certain “Templar” twist to the artifact. It seemed to puzzle the team why such an item would be found on Lot 8. Although after further research by this author, the reason seems quite simple. The seal came from a bale of linen. A lot of these bales were sent to forts for the making of uniforms. It is also well known that these fabrics were used in trade. Evidence found on the island clearly shows that trading with indigenous peoples and others were happening on Oak Island.
The specific seal is known as the “Arm of Leeds”, which is from Yorkshire, Great Britain. The city of Leeds in Yorkshire was known for its wool industry. These seals are known by the hanging sheep’s fleece on the front of them. Examples found in North America are from the 1700’s and 1800’s. These were found at trading posts and military fortifications. It seems most likely that this seal was on a bale of linen that was traded on Oak Island for fur pelts or other commodities from the Indigenous Mi’kmaq people of the Mahone Bay area. This would also include the various beads found on the island as well. All evidence points to British and French traders from the 1700’s interacting with the Mi’kmaq on the island, which would have been an ideal location for such activity.
Please follow our weekly episode analyses during Season 13, 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 the Compendium!
Daniel and Charlotte
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