SEASON 13, EPISODE 17, “THE MISSING LINKS” EPISODE ANALYSIS BY DANIEL SPINO
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In this week’s episode, “THE MISSING LINKS”, the show began on LOT 8, where the Oak Island team continued its excavation of the area under the boulder that has been exposed. Archeologist Fiona Steele explained that the rocks looked like they were structured on one side of the depression but not the other side. It appeared that the stone side was holding up the boulder. The archeological team is working on removing layers of soil and rocks and will check if there is anything underneath it. Fiona speculated it was made during the 1600’s to 1700’s. She uncovered flat rocks at the base of the pit with the round stones making up the one side. She said they would bring in Dr. Spooner for his opinion.
The action then took us to the MONEY PIT AREA, where the Oak Island Team continued to drill into the Karma 1 Borehole and the process of laying down a caisson to reach the Solution Channel. The team stated that the installation of the caisson was going down fast and had reached a depth of 150 Feet. The team anticipated reaching the bedrock plateau at about 160 Feet. Spoils for this borehole would be taken to the Wash Plant for processing and inspection.
We were then taken to the WASH PLANT AREA, which is at Smith’s Cove, where the Oak Island Team began to go through the spoils of Borehole Karma 1. As the scene began it was mentioned that they had been finding pieces of limestone and pottery. During inspection, a piece of chain was found. It appeared to have links that were not uniform to each other, which suggested it could be old. It was mentioned that similar artifacts discovered in area of this borehole were from 1850, but this artifact could be older. It would be sent to the Lab for further testing.
We were then taken back to the MONEY PIT AREA, where the Oak Island team continued its work in Borehole Karma 1. While drilling it appeared that something very hard was hit and the drill was hung up on it, possibly metal. The team reached a depth of 160 Feet and in the spoils, there were pieces of metal. Metal Detectorist Gary Drayton speculated that it was part of the shoe of an old shaft. A mining shaft cutting shoe is a heavy, steel-reinforced ring attached to the bottom of a shaft lining (like concrete or timber) to act as a hardened cutting edge, facilitating sinking through loose, soft, or wet ground. This would be in the area of the Chappell Shaft. Roc Equipment stated they are pushing through this hard material and will continue to cut into the bedrock, which is Gypsum, to access the Solution Channel.
The scene shifted to the NORTH SWAMP AREA, where the Oak Island Team, led by Lot Owner Tom Nolan, began to investigate the area around Boulder D of the Nolan’s Cross construction. The team is going from Cone D towards the Headstone in the center of the construction. The team noticed some rocks that looked split and did not look naturally placed. Tom mentioned that it seemed to line up with the cross construction perfectly. Upon further inspection it looked like some of the surrounding rocks were grayish and so was the soil. The team then found blue clay and immediately wondered if it matched the blue clay found in the Money Pit and Lot 5. The team then worked to see if this feature continued to line up with Nolan’s Cross. Tom then noticed a rock that had something sticking out next to it. He pulled out another wooden stake, similar to the other ones found in the Northern Swamp. This area was about 75 to 100 Feet from Cone D and heading towards the Headstone. This author notes that it is important because it shows this construction was not just random stones but had purpose and planning. What else can we infer? That the same people involved with the industrial activity in the Swamp were also involved with the creation of Nolan’s Cross.
The action shifted back to the LOT 8, where the Oak Island Team continued its investigation of the area under where the Boulder was placed. Dr. Ian Spooner had come over and mentioned that this circular formation of rocks formed a cradle which was not natural. The team believes that it is either a marker or was placed there to cover and hide something. They think it may be very old. The plan is to further excavate the area and Dr. Spooner will return to view the feature. It was mentioned that this cradle created a sort of Mosaic and could be culturally significant and ceremonial. The team stated they think it was done by Europeans and resembled a megalithic structure. They feel physics and geometry were involved. The team will remove more soil and see what else is exposed. Please see my analysis for further details regarding this feature.
The scene shifted back to the MONEY PIT AREA, where the Oak Island team continued its excavation of Borehole Karma 1. The team has reached a depth of 175 feet and are getting closer to the Solution Channel that is believed to be at about 215-220 Feet. At about 180 Feet, the team discovered some pipe. It was mentioned that Dan Blankenship had drilled in the area and used pipe, but the team thought it was not the same. They thought it was probably searcher related and it would be sent to the Lab for further testing.
The action then took us back to the WASHPLANT AREA, where the Oak Island team continued to scan through the spoils of Borehole Karma 1. During inspection, another piece of chain was discovered. Gary Drayton inspected the artifact and speculated that it was very old perhaps from England, where he’s found similar examples. He said it was from the 1700’s, possibly 1600’s, but could even be older. He said that each individual chain link was different and was hand forged. It was a small chain which indicated to Gary that it may have been around a chest, specifically and treasure chest according to Gary.
The episode concluded at the MONEY PIT AREA where the Oak Island team were closing in on the Solution Channel. The work has slowed down as the drilling hit below 200 Feet. It appears the auger is tightening up making it more difficult to descend. It was mentioned that the drilling will stop and the caisson may be full of spoils from the drilling. It will settle overnight and then the caisson will be lifted somewhat so the spoils can spill out underneath. At that point the dig bucket will begin lifting out these spoils for inspection of any theoretical treasure that may have fallen into this area. Until Next Week…
DANIEL’S ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY:
During this week’s episode, more of the area underneath the boulder was excavated showing a strange rock lined feature. The question is what happened to all the material that the snake camera captured underneath the boulder that looked like gold, a mining tool, and other materials? Nothing was mentioned. We are left then to speculate what exactly was there. Although with the help of our Geologist Colleague, Dawn Herrington, we can piece it together. Dawn’s analysis of the pictures came to this conclusion:
“I am comfortable with a version of pyrite and some mica mixed in to some material that looks processed. Stripped of quartz to leave a pyritic ‘ore’…...Having been tantalized by the high lead content levels in area surrounding the Lot 8 Boulder, I checked out lead additives to smelting, and, depending on what the crystal structure of the mineral is, the lead product could be this yellowish Massicot or a reddish Litharge. A little spice to what else was being smelted to draw out gold from ore that could be in that photo. Interesting.”
Dawn also mentioned the apparent mining tool that was shown and that both gold and silver could be found in this type of geological feature. Dr. Spooner finding traces of silver could be explained by this theory. Now what about this rock structure? This author believes it may in fact be the foundation of a Rock Smelting Pit. This would explain the burn event at this site and also the high lead levels found by Dr. Spooner. The attached picture shows an example of such a pit. Now such pits are primitive and could date back a very long time. In this specific case it suggests that it was used anywhere from the 1500’s to 1800’s. Theoretically, it could have been earlier, but based on the surrounding evidence, this is a much more likely time frame in this author’s opinion.
This would suggest that the placement of the boulder was hiding mining activity. The big question is why would you hide such normal industrial activity? The only logical answer is that the activity was done in secret, and it would be dangerous for the people who were doing the mining. Why? It could be that the people who were doing the mining didn’t want anyone else to know about it and make a claim on the island. Expanding that thought historically, it could be related to the Frobisher Pyrite Scandal of the 1570’s, where the material brought back to England from allegedly Baffin Bay, turned out to be worthless pyrite. This resulted in a huge loss of investment funds by the Queen and other notable nobility in Britain. This author has long thought that Oak Island could have been involved in this intrigue.
In the 1500’s, Nova Scotia had not been officially claimed by any country as of yet. Portugal attempted a colony there but only lasted into the later 1500’s, around the same time as the Frobisher Voyages. Around this time the French and English were exploring the area, thus either side could have wanted to keep it a secret. Once Acadia was started to be colonized by the French in the later 1600’s, the secret would not have been necessary. This feature could also date from the 1800’s when such activity could have theoretically been done using investor money from treasure hunting activities. If that was the case, the companies involved could be charged with fraud and misappropriation of investor funds. Enough to want to hide such activity.
This author will continue to investigate these possibilities and pass along any more research that is discovered.
You may not have seen it, but in next week’s episode, my research partner and Compendium colleague Charlotte Wheatley will be appearing on the show to present her research on a very interesting topic. This author is very happy and excited for Charlotte, and I can’t wait to see her presentation next week. Please tune in, you won’t want to miss it.
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
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