About This Material
Several axe-cut tree stumps recovered from the middle of the triangle-shaped swamp during Season 11. The first large stump was pulled from the deepest part of the brackish bog, with a second uncovered the following day several feet to the north alongside a marked change in the soil layers. Excavator Billy Gerhardt observed that the cut surfaces were uneven, consistent with axe work rather than natural breakage.
The stumps were large, and because trees do not grow in standing water, their presence indicated the area had once been dry, forested ground. No metal was found in association with the stumps, and the wood lay at the base of the swamp in an undisturbed context rather than having been deposited later. Geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner, who has held that the swamp is at least partially a man-made feature, collected samples for carbon-14 testing.
The results returned 1346 to 1396 at 54.1 percent probability and 1296 to 1328 at 41 percent probability, placing the stump at more than 700 years old. The team compared these dates to wood from the swamp's paved area, which had previously carbon-dated to approximately 1200 AD. If the stump dates are accurate, they would indicate human activity in the swamp in the 13th and 14th centuries, well before the Money Pit was discovered in 1795.
Historical Context
The Curse of Oak Island Season 11 Episode 15 "On Target"
(20 February 2024) and Episode 16 "Dark and Stormy" (27 February
2024). Excavation and axe-cut observations by Billy Gerhardt;
recovery context noted by Gary Drayton; carbon-14 sampling by
Dr. Ian Spooner; carbon-14 report presented by Rick Lagina.
Where It Was Found
Found at Middle of the triangle-shaped swamp, deepest area of the brackish bog — the triangle-shaped swamp on Oak Island's southeastern quadrant.
