Season 10 of The Curse of Oak Island continues to show new discoveries and theories.
This week on Oak Island they showed the start of the exploration on a lot they have not been able to access before. There was much excitement in the war room when it was announce that they had purchased the four acre plot of land.
Of course, one thing to remember is that the dig season is already over. They have taken the time to determine how to present things each week to build suspense and keep viewers tuned in.
With the Garden Shaft project on hold they focused on other projects, including a new scanning technique that will eventually survey the entire island. They started by running scans in the swamp. The preliminary data shows several areas of interest, including what is known as the eye of the swamp. Now they must wait for the final results and apply for permits that will allow them to further investigate.
They also did a ground penetrating radar survey north of the swamp to see if they could find evidence of what is believed to be a retaining structure used to help create the swamp. The theory is that there used to be two separate islands that were joined together by creating the swamp.
The second bore hole they drilled last week found a cavity at a greater depth that where the tunnel they were following would have been found. They dropped a camera down the almost 150 foot bore hole to the cavity to see what they could see. They found an interesting jumble of rocks at the bottom, with some indication that they may have been shaped.
This week then sent a sonar probe down and have found that there is a large open area. They overlaid the results on a map of the area to see how it fit with other bore holes and to determine the next steps of exploration. They decided to wait for a scan with a more sophisticated sonar device before more drilling is done in the area of the void. While waiting for the scan they will drill closer to the garden shaft to gather more information of that area.
They did some metal detecting on the lot that they just purchased and found some interesting artifacts. They first found a couple of tools that are possibly chisels. It was interesting to me that they had already marked potential targets with flags. Were they really just starting the metal detecting there?
They found a modern survey marker which was bit disappointing, but then as they moved further onto the lot they made an exciting discovery. They found a cut coin that was made from arsenical bronze, which dates it to around the 1600’s or earlier. It was interesting to see them use some of the lab equipment for the metal analysis. This coin joins some other finds from this same time period.
In the preview of the next episode they showed them finding wood in a bore hole near the garden shaft with mention of the original Money Pit. They also did some digging north of the swamp based on the GPR results from this week. Meanwhile, back in the lab they looked at an item that is identified as being Roman and from several hundred years BC.
It looks like it will be interesting next week.
How long before they resume the Garden Shaft project?
What will happen next?
Steven
The first image is an old log barn in Rome, Wisconsin. It was built by my 4th great-grandfather Orsamus Braman.
Next we have a picture of a wheelbarrow full of tools we used on an archaeological dig in Israel.
Here is a strawberry Rhubarb torte I had in the restaurant at a training centre near Toronto. We had good food during that training.
Next we have a barn owl flying over an orchard in the Central Valley of California.
Finally, we have another family barn. This one was near Hamburg, Iowa and is no longer standing. My Dad lived on this farm when he was young.
Braman's Wanderings 