About This Artifact
A fragment of a clay pipe was recovered from the round feature on Lot 5 by archaeologist Fiona Steele during Season 12 filming. Steele had been excavating the feature with Laird Niven when she found a nail followed by the pipe fragment. The episode summary described the piece as a pipe bowl, and Steele and Niven noticed an O stamped on the fragment.
Laird Niven explained on screen that because clay pipes were not reused after breaking, the maker's mark would help date the feature in which the piece was found. He asked Steele to clean the piece for a closer look. Pipe-maker marks have been used since the seventeenth century to identify the workshop, region, or individual maker, with extensive reference catalogues maintained for pipes manufactured in England, the Netherlands, and France during the colonial era.
Niven noted on screen that he had not previously seen this particular elongated O marking on any Oak Island pipe fragment, leaving the question of attribution open. The find joins a growing assemblage of pipe-stem and pipe-bowl fragments recovered from Lot 5, the lot the team had been investigating intensively since identifying the stone foundation in earlier seasons. By the close of Season 12, Niven reported that eight pre-1760 items had been recovered from Lot 5, confirming activity on the site earlier than previously documented.
Historical Context
The Curse of Oak Island, Season 12, Episode 18, "If The Shoe Phips" (History Channel, April 1, 2024). Eyewitnesses on screen: Fiona Steele, Laird Niven, Charles Barkhouse, Alex Lagina, Rick Lagina. Pipe-maker mark reference: Adrian Oswald, Clay Pipes for the Archaeologist (BAR British Series 14, 1975).
Where It Was Found
Found at Lot 5, round feature — Oak Island, Nova Scotia, Canada.
