About This Tool
A heavy hand-forged iron object with a punched hole through one end, recovered near the stone pathway in the swamp. Metal detection expert Gary Drayton identified it as a plumb bob, a weight suspended on a line to establish a true vertical, and placed it in the 1600s or 1700s. A plumb bob is a basic instrument of surveying and shaft work, used to keep walls and excavations straight as they descend. If the identification holds, the tool is consistent with the controlled, engineered digging recorded in the Money Pit and would indicate skilled construction in the swamp well before the 1795 discovery.
Historical Context
Recovered by Gary Drayton and Jack Begley near the stone pathway, Season 8, Episode 9. Identified by Drayton; not independently dated.
Where It Was Found
Found Near the stone pathway, swamp — the triangle-shaped swamp on Oak Island's southeastern quadrant.
