SEASON 12, EPISODE 18, “IF THE SHOE PHIPS” EPISODE ANALYSIS
- Daniel Spino
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
In this week’s episode, “IF THE SHOE PHIPS”, the show began as the Oak Island team continued their operation at the RP-1 caisson. A recap from the previous week’s episode and the work completed was shown. The action then shifted to the nearby WASH PLANT. While going through the spoils from the RP-1 caisson, a pipe stem and a piece of pottery were found that would be analyzed and tested for more information.
The action then took us to the NORTH SWAMP area, where the Oak Island team was working in an area closer to the shore but in line with the areas they have been uncovering human activity. After working in this area, the team found another wooden stake. This was also axe cut but with four cuts which differed from the previous samples. What was described as an iron spike, although twisted and bent, a chisel, and a sole of a shoe were also discovered in this area. The artifacts were bagged and tagged and would be analyzed for further information.
We were then taken back to the MONEY PIT area, where the Oak Island team continued their work in the RP-1 Caisson. After reaching a depth of 118 feet, the team started to encounter less wood and then no wood at all. It was determined that the material was now in situ, or what you would expect to find naturally. The team decided to abandon the borehole because they didn’t believe they would find anything below their reached level of exploration. They will meet in the War Room to discuss their next steps.
The action then shifted to the WAR ROOM, where the Oak Island team assembled to discuss their current borehole operation. It was agreed that the RP 1 Caisson would be abandoned. Marty Lagina asked his brother, Rick, where he wanted to go next. Rick suggested that they put another caisson into the ground right next to RP 1 to continue exploring that specific area. It was agreed and the new caisson will be named RP 2. The team seemed to believe that the material found in RP 1 proved that the story regarding the Money Pit Collapse in 1861 was true. This provided justification in their minds to continue exploring in this area.
We were then taken back to the MONEY PIT area where the Oak Island Team began the installation of the new borehole named RP 2. This location is just a short distance from RP 1. It is hoped that this will hit the mythical treasure that the team believes is laying at the bottom of the tunnel that connected Shaft 6 with the Money Pit. Although, no such treasure was ever observed by the workers that were working down in that area during the 1860’s.
The scene then shifted to the LOT 5 EXCAVATION area, where the Oak Island team continued its excavation of the round feature. A pipe stem was discovered while digging and seemed to have an inscription on it. It appeared to have an elongated “O” on it. Archeologist Laird Niven mentioned that he had not seen that particular mark before and could be important in dating the activity in this area. The William Phips theory was again detailed which seems to happen in every episode this season, sometimes multiple times.
The action then took us to the RESEARCH CENTER, where the Oak Island team met with leather expert Joe Landry. He examined the pieces of leather from footwear that had been unearthed this season. He stated that it looked like the sole of boots, which he based on the weight of the leather. He mentioned that it appeared to be from an oak tanned hide, which he explained was named so from the solution of the bark of an oak tree used in the process of tanning. He mentioned that some examples looked like military issue or from a gentleman who bought them from the military. He placed the date of these samples from 1830-1900. This then mentioned that it could be related to Anthony Graves, who paid for goods in Chester during this time period with silver Spanish coins. Although, as previously mentioned by this author, this was completely normal and a form of currency that was widely circulated in Nova Scotia at the time.
The action then took us to the NORTH SWAMP area, where the Oak Island team continued exploring and excavating this new location. Another wooden stake was found along with many large boulders. It was noticed that more cobbles were found and appeared to be a continuation of the cobble path that they had found running southeast from this location. It appears to be some sort of walkway and Tom Nolan said that this was something new and not something his father, Fred Nolan, had worked. It should be noted that it is documented by several Oak Island authors that there appeared to be an old road visible at one time that ran from north to south and east to west through the swamp in the past. It appears that this claim is what the current team has found.
The action then shifted back to the MONEY PIT area, where the Oak Island team continued their installation of the RP 2 caisson. Vanessa Lucido of ROC Equipment notified the team that the caisson had reached a depth of 65 feet and they encountered wood. It was mentioned that work in this area is “Rick’s Dream” and his belief that Shaft 6 is where the fabled treasure had fallen to the bottom of the connecting tunnel. A dowel was discovered in the spoils and it was speculated that it could be from the original works of the Money Pit. It would be sent for C 14 testing to get a possible date range for identification.
The episode concluded at the LAB, where the Oak Island team assembled to go over some finds from the spoils of RP 1. The pipe stem that was earlier televised was discussed and archeologist Laird Niven said that he had an “A HA MOMENT”. He said it was the largest diameter stem found on the island so far. After a diagram was quickly shown with various pipe bowls and stems for comparison, another more specific graphic was shown with the 1680–1710-time frame illustrated. It was compared with the RP1 find and it was determined to be a match. This led to the William Phips theory again being presented and intimated that this pipe was related to William Phips. Please see our Analysis for more detailed information that was left out of the episode.
ANALYSIS: After reviewing the pictures from the LAB, this author wanted to note several things that were not discussed in the episode. First, the picture of the finds from RP 1 was presented upside down. When it was flipped right side up, the picture revealed more information. There were three finds shown and two drill bits. Only the small broken piece of a clay pipe on the left side of the photo was discussed. The other pipe stem and pipe bowl that were shown were not mentioned. Neither were two drill bits that were labeled beneath each stem. One was labeled 6/64 and the other 4/64. This seemed odd until this writer began researching the clay pipes of the period.
According to the National Pipe Archive of Britain, clay pipe stems had different sized bore holes through them during different periods of time. It states that during the late sixteen hundreds to the late seventeen hundreds the size of the stem bore was sometimes 7/64 in diameter but typically 6/64 to 5/64 range. This means that the broken clay pipe stem found in RP 1 that measured 6/64 in diameter could have been from any time during that 100-year period. The narrowing down to 1680 to 1710 seems very puzzling to this author. For one, the two samples are not an exact match of each other. The comparable from the graph has a smooth stem and the Oak Island artifact has a spur on its stem. The spur was used so the pipe could stand up when placed on a flat surface.
The National Pipe Archive noted that European Archeologists do not use stem bore holes for the exact dating of samples due to the large sample size and it being unreliable due to variance. The middle stem shown on the table measured 4/64, which falls in the late seventeen hundreds to late eighteen hundreds. The pipe bowl shown also fits into this same time period. What was presented to the viewer as a very narrow time frame of origin for the broken pipe stem, simply is not substantiated by the evidence. This writer has no doubt that the correct information was presented in the LAB by Laird Niven and Emma Culligan based on what was shown on the table. What was presented to viewers deviated from that information for some reason.
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!