About This Artifact
A large hand-forged iron staple discovered embedded in the wall of the Quadrilateral excavation on Lot 13 during Season 10 of The Curse of Oak Island. The staple was found while the team excavated the buried 32-foot boulder formation first documented by Fred Nolan in 1993.
Blacksmithing expert Carmen Legge examined the staple and identified it as a fastener used in a rope and pulley system for moving massive boulders into position. Staples of this type have been used throughout history in the assembly of large stone and wooden structures. Legge assessed the piece as ancient, possibly dating to the medieval period - a conclusion that, if correct, would place the construction of the Quadrilateral well before the 1795 discovery of the Money Pit.
Archeometallurgist Emma Culligan performed an XRF analysis confirming the staple was 98% iron, with trace amounts of silicon, aluminium, manganese, calcium, sulphur, and phosphorous. She described this composition as indicative of the furnace type and smelting technology used in older metalworking, consistent with Legge's medieval assessment.
The staple's context is significant. It was found within a deliberately constructed feature consisting of three layers of stacked multi-ton boulders sealed with blue clay - the same waterproofing material found at 40 feet in the Money Pit and at the Eye of the Swamp. Burnt sticks recovered from the same site matched charred material found beneath the Stone Road.
The staple provides direct evidence of the mechanical effort involved in building the Quadrilateral and, if its dating holds, places organised heavy construction activity on Oak Island centuries before the first known treasure hunters arrived.
Where It Was Found
Found at Lot 13, in the ground around the Quadrilateral — Oak Island, Nova Scotia, Canada.
