THE CURSE OF OAK ISLAND - THE HISTORY CHANNEL
On last night’s Season Premiere of “The Curse of Oak Island”, an interesting artifact was discovered on Lot 5 by Gary Drayton and Laird Niven. It was pinpointed by Gary with his metal detector in the circular depression and dug out by Laird. After the initial inspection it was called a possible “Iron Latch”. It was then taken to the Interpretive Center for analysis by Emma Culligan, the team’s Archaeometallurgist. After scanning, the results were quite interesting. Emma determined that it didn’t match anything that had been discovered on the island previously. Laird then explains that it did metallurgically match some artifacts that were sent to him from the William Phips homestead in Maine. Laird identified this piece as a “River Raft Spike”. This led to conjecture that this is direct evidence that the William Phips Theory regarding the treasure of La Concepcion being buried on Oak Island is correct. The problem with this theory is that the historical facts don’t support such a conclusion.
A river raft spike was used in the making of rafts and bundling of logs. They served as fasteners to keep rafts and logs bound together and were typically used in the logging industry. Lumber production was very important in Acadia in the 1600’s. On the La Have River near present-day Lunenburg County, a lumber and export business was founded by Nicolas Denys that produced oak and elm planks, beams, and rafters to provide return cargoes for ships bound for France. Toward the end of the 17th century, the Acadians operated water-powered sawmills in the Amherst, Minas Basin, and Port Royal areas. If the dating of this artifact is correct, this suggests that this piece was involved with logging in the Mahone Bay area. It is not uncommon for these spikes to wash up on the shore from the surrounding area. The question is how can it be a metallurgical match for an artifact from the Phips Homestead site in Maine?
JUNEAU EMPIRE - TARA WILSON
"From 1986 through 2001, Dr. Robert L, Bradley led a dedicated team of staff and volunteers in the excavation of the Phips Plantation in Woolwich, Maine. The homestead was constructed between 1639 and 1646, and was abandoned and destroyed on August 14, 1676, in a Wabanaki raid during King Phillip's War.". The site was the birthplace and childhood home of Sir William Phips, the first American to be knighted the King of England, and the first royal governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony.” Sir William Phips was born at Nequasset (now Woolwich, Maine), in 1651, the son of James Phips, a gunsmith from Bristol, England. His father died when he was six years old. After tending to the family’s sheep until the age of 18, he became an apprentice to a ship carpenter and after serving him for four years, he moved to Boston. It appears that Phips left the family homestead in 1669.
CANADIAN HISTORY ENX
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
The Nequasset area was very remote and was one the first British settlements encountered from the North and frequently attacked through the years. It was always portrayed that Phips came from a very poor background, which was not entirely true. It seems this was perpetuated to build up Phips image of a “Rags to Riches” story. It is believed that Phips father, James and his business partner, John White, who Phip’s mother remarried, operated a trading post/mercantile. It’s very likely that the River Raft Spike originated out of this area and in the hands of the Wabanaki/French and made its way back to Acadia either through trade or raids. It is highly unlikely that the spike was saved by Phips for almost twenty years and then left on Oak Island. It will be interesting to see if any new information is updated regarding this artifact. Please join us next Wednesday for our next episode analysis.
Good day from the Compendium!