About This Artifact
A ring bolt reportedly observed by early searchers embedded in rock on the Smith's Cove shoreline. Ring bolts of this type were used to moor vessels or secure ropes during loading and unloading operations at wharves and landing points. The earliest accounts describe the bolt as fixed into bedrock at the water's edge, consistent with a purpose-built mooring point designed to withstand the pull of a ship under tide and wind. When Captain Henry Bowdoin's Old Gold Salvage and Wrecking Company investigated the site in 1909, they could find no evidence of the bolt, leaving its existence unverified by any expedition with the resources to document it.
Historical Context
Historical accounts (pre-1909); not corroborated by any Lagina-era find
Where It Was Found
Found at Smith's Cove shoreline — the north shore of Oak Island where the flood tunnel system was discovered.
