About This Artifact
Several pieces of pottery were recovered by Dan Blankenship from the vicinity of the inclined ramp at Smith's Cove during the 1970 excavation. Two pieces of dish were taken from near the ramp itself, and a separate piece of dish along with a piece of mug were recovered from beneath the ramp. The ceramics were documented in Blankenship's September 1970 report as Items 8 and 10 in his inventory of finds. Their position beneath the ramp places them below a structure that contained timbers radiocarbon dated to approximately 1135 AD (Geochron GX-1691, range 1025-1245). The pottery was therefore deposited before the ramp's construction or at the time of its construction. No formal ceramic analysis has been published on the fragments. Without typological identification of glaze, paste, or decoration, the pieces cannot be assigned to a specific century or production region. Their archaeological context at Smith's Cove, beneath a structure overlaid by a much newer dock and surrounded by other clearly pre-searcher material, places them outside the post-1795 search-debris layer. The fragments are part of a broader pre-discovery ceramic assemblage from Smith's Cove that has not been formally catalogued. Re-examination of these pieces, if their current location can be established, would provide a typological anchor for the construction phase represented by the inclined ramp.
Historical Context
Sources: Les MacPhie, "Summary of Documents and Results for Carbon Dating at Oak Island" (compiled July 2006). Dan Blankenship, "Summary of Work Performed at Smith's Cove, August 31 - September 18, 1970" (pp. 16-19, Items #8 and #10). Geochron Laboratories report GX-1691 (19 December 1969, p. 14) for the associated ramp beam date.
Where It Was Found
Found at Smith's Cove, vicinity of and beneath the inclined ramp — the north shore of Oak Island where the flood tunnel system was discovered.
