About This Artifact
A corroded iron tube identified as the barrel of a hand cannon - one of the earliest forms of firearms, originating in 12th-century China and widely used across Europe from the 1200s through the early 1500s. Gary Drayton initially suggested the artifact could be a petronel (an early muzzle-loading firearm), while archaeologist Laird Niven proposed it was a hand cannon. Archaeometallurgist Emma Culligan analysed the artifact and found its mineral content to be clean, dating it to the 1700s or older and confirming its European origin. A CT scan revealed a touch hole - the small aperture through which a flame or slow match would ignite the powder charge - confirming its identification as a hand cannon rather than a simple tube or ferrule.
Maltese military historian Matthew Balzan, who had worked with the team during their visit to Malta the previous season, examined the piece and confirmed it appeared to be a hand cannon consistent with examples used in Europe from the 1200s to the early 1500s. Balzan also raised the intriguing possibility that it may have been repurposed as a tool for directing gunpowder to fracture rock - a technique that would predate conventional blasting. The team suggested this could connect to the construction of the nearby Stone Road Feature.
The find adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting a Portuguese presence on Oak Island, alongside previously discovered artifacts including a piece of a Portuguese breech swivel gun, other cannon fragments, and shot made from volcanic rock sourced from Portuguese colonies. Portuguese colonists are known to have been active in Nova Scotia until the mid-to-late 1500s.
Historical Context
Season 13, Episode 5 ("Keep On Rockin'")
Where It Was Found
Found at Western Swamp, during excavation of the area near the Stone Road Feature. — the triangle-shaped swamp on Oak Island's southeastern quadrant.
