About This Artifact
Multiple large iron spikes were recovered from the Smith's Cove area by Gary Drayton during Season 6 excavations within the steel cofferdam. The spikes were found in the vicinity of the U-shaped structure, the slipway, and the other wooden features that the team was systematically exposing and documenting beneath the cove's surface. Their size and form distinguished them from the smaller nails and fasteners found across the island.
Marty Lagina, Alex Lagina, and historian Doug Crowell brought the spikes to blacksmithing expert Carmen Legge at the Ross Farm Museum, approximately twenty miles north of the island. Carmen identified them as crib spikes, used to join heavy timbers in crib construction, a technique for building stable platforms in tidal or waterlogged environments by stacking squared timbers in alternating layers and pinning them with long iron spikes. He dated the spikes to between 1650 and 1800 and described the wrought iron hinge found in the same area as the oldest piece in the collection, dating to the early 1600s. Carmen concluded that the crib spikes held something substantial and were consistent with heavy marine construction.
Crib construction of the scale indicated by these spikes would have required substantial pre-planning, a supply of large iron fasteners, and workers experienced in heavy timber work in tidal environments. The spikes complement the other structural evidence from Smith's Cove, including the U-shaped and L-shaped wooden structures dendrochronologically dated to 1769, the slipway with timbers dated to both 1741 and 1769, and the fan-shaped box drains with coconut fibre carbon dated to 1260-1400 AD. Together they indicate an engineered waterfront facility built and maintained over an extended period rather than a single construction event.
Historical Context
Gary Drayton; Carmen Legge dating
Where It Was Found
Found at Smith's Cove — the north shore of Oak Island where the flood tunnel system was discovered.
