SEASON 13, EPISODE 7, “WALK THE LINE” EPISODE ANALYSIS
- Daniel Spino
- 56 minutes ago
- 6 min read
In this week’s episode, “WALK THE LINE”, the show began at the MONEY PIT AREA, where the Oak Island team began to drill in a new borehole named I-9.5. It was mentioned that this location could get to a depth of 210-230 Feet. The material should be soupy, and the hope is that some loose coins are found in this material. A core sample was brought up from 168 Feet, and it appeared to be a denser material, having too much volume. Pieces of gypsum were noticed, and it was thought this might be part of a rock ledge that was hit by the drill. The drilling would continue until it reached the desired depth.
The action then took us to LOT 5, where the Oak Island Archeological Team continued its excavation of the foundation near the circular feature. Archaeologist Tansy Rudnicki was working and found what was identified as a piece of pearlware. Archeologist Laird Niven stated it was interesting because they have found artifacts they believe were from the early 1700’s. Although the pearlware found was made in late 1700’s to mid-1800’s in Britain. Tansy then found a bead that seemed identical to previous ones found in the same vicinity. Laird mentioned it was Venetian and mentioned the Knights of Malta theory.
We were then taken to the OAK ISLAND RESEARCH CENTER, where the Oak Island Team met to discuss the new feature unearthed on LOT 5. Archeologist Laird Niven presented the team with a 3D Model of the feature made from a drone. This made for an extremely detailed view of the feature. It was mentioned that a larger rock was lying beside the standing stone. The team believes this was being used as a marker or to cover up something. It was also stated that a wood sample was taken from the organic soil around the feature that will be C-14 tested. Surveyor Steve Guptil mentioned that he had seen similar features that were attributed to the Vikings and Romans. Steve also mentioned that he will be mapping a line on the ground from the feature to see where it would lead and if it would hit anything of significance.
We were then taken to LOT 5, where the Oak Island team began the surveying project from the new feature. Steve Guptil was joined by Archeology Assistant Ethan Green, Peter Fornetti and Gary Drayton. They were beginning the attempt to survey a line from the new feature to see where it would go and what it may intersect. Steve explained that they would use a total station and a control line from the marker stone feature. He said it was the land version of GPS. It was explained that they would go about 200 yards at a time. Gary was metal detecting along the marked line and had an iron hit. He stated he thought it could be a piece of iron barrel strap. The team would continue their mapping along this line.
We were then taken to the LAB where the Oak Island team met to discuss the artifact found on LOT 15 believed to be a compass. Metal Detectorist Katya Drayton mentioned that the artifact was found close to the beach by the shore. Emma Culligan mentioned that the artifact had two components with one single pin. She believed it was from the 1700’s and possibly older, which seems to be the standard dating of most of the artifacts brought to the LAB this season. It was stated that if this was a compass that it could have been used in navigation and construction and may be related to the Stone Cairns that were located on Lot 15. It was mentioned that Carmen Legge would be giving his opinion on the artifact.
The action shifted to south end of LOT 8, where the Oak Island team continued its surveying project from the new stone feature on LOT 5. The team mentioned that the island has a lot of rocks and boulders, but some seem to have more significance than others. As the team progressed, they crossed into LOT 29. There they found a drilled stone, much like other drilled stones that have been found on the island. This intrigued the team, and they wondered if it was connected to anything else. Continuing on this southeast bearing the team intersected the Kingdom Stone that was first identified by researcher Petter Amundsen as part of the Tree of Life construction connected to Nolan’s Cross. It was mentioned that this area is near the middle of the island and high ground. This suggests that these features could be connected to the geometric design of Nolan’s Cross/Tree of Life.
The scene shifted back to the MONEY PIT AREA, where the Oak Island Team continued its drilling operation of Borehole I-9.5. The team has reached a depth of 185.5 Feet. A core was brought up and it appeared to be very loose material. Charles Barkhouse used his pinpointer on the core. He had a hit, but it was mentioned that sometimes the screws from the table set off the pinpointer, so they moved the core to a wooden table. Charles continued to receive hits, when abruptly it stopped. Katya Drayton was called in to scan with her equipment, and she also had a hit. It appeared there was no solid artifact and she said it may be trace amounts of metal. This would make sense due to the same type of material being found in wood in the Garden Shaft. It would appear that these traces are moving in the Solution Channel throughout the Money Pit Area.
The episode concluded in the LAB, where the Oak Island team met with Blacksmith Carmen Legge to discuss the artifact identified as a compass. After inspecting the artifact Carmen stated he thought it was a Divider. He said this was a high-quality tool used for maps and measuring diameter and circumference, similar to a compass. It was used for geometric measuring and for construction of structures. He said it was double sided with one pin. Carmen said he has seen French examples from the 1620’s and British examples from the 1540’s. Emma stated that the chlorine content suggests it had been in salt water for a long period of time. Craig Tester then speculated that maybe it came from the Money Pit via Robert Dunfield’s spoils. Although Katya Drayton mentioned previously in the episode that it was found near the beach. This would explain why it was in salt water at that location and then worked itself more inland to the location where it was discovered. Until next week.
DANIEL’S ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY:
The new feature with the standing rock seems to be a marker in this author’s opinion. Looking at the cut of the rock, it appears to have a flat side, which is very reminiscent to other stones found on the island that include markers for the Tree of Life and Nolan’s Cross. In this episode, it appears that the feature is lining up and possibly related to the construction of the Tree of Life and Nolan’s Cross. Some will suggest that it was a campsite and functioned as a fire pit. This is possible, but there is no evidence to support that theory to our knowledge.
If it was such a marker, it would have required significant surveying, mapping and mathematical skills to produce it. The compass/divider found on Lot 15 suggests the same thing. The dating of that artifact does not match up with Knights Templar, Viking, or Roman theories involving Oak Island. It should be considered that someone who was on the island at some point was recreating Greco Roman structural features of that time period, but much later. Based on evidence collected so far, this author would put the date of construction to the mid to late 1500’s to the early to mid-1600’s. Any artifacts from the 1700’s can be explained by the historical record of Nova Scotia and North America.
What makes all of this so difficult is that there are layers of historical activity that are melded together in a way that makes it very hard to distinguish from each other and what would be considered normal activity. Very explainable industrial activities definitely happened on the island. This sometimes is mistaken for secretive and clandestine operations. Although, this author does admit that there were some activities involving Oak Island that were secretive and clandestine. This author will present some evidence to suggest what exactly these secretive and clandestine operations were soon.
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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