Rock Wall (Lot26)

About This Structure

A dry stone wall on Lot 26, located near a well that was carbon-dated to 1028 to 1172 A.D. and tested positive for silver. Charcoal recovered from within the wall has been carbon-dated to as early as 1464, placing its construction in the 15th century.

Forestry technician Peter Romkey examined the wall in Season 10 and noted that the rocks are leaned inward, a classic technique for holding a rubble wall together. He identified a one-over-two, two-over-one building technique and described the foundation of small rocks as very similar to how castles and large structures were built in England and Scotland. Romkey also suggested that someone may have been hiding evidence of underground digging by disposing of spoils within the wall. Archaeologist Laird Niven recovered a piece of worked red granite from within the structure, the same stone type as the Kingdom Stone found on Lot 30 in 2013.

Portuguese researcher Francisco Nogueira examined the wall during a War Room presentation in Season 10 and identified it as the most important evidence of a Portuguese connection to Oak Island. Nogueira explained that during the 15th and 16th centuries, the Portuguese built double walls of large stones with rubble fill, a technique consistent with the Lot 26 construction. He noted that the Order of Christ, a group of Knights Templar who fled to Portugal, maintained a presence on both the mainland and the Azores.

The wall has since been referenced repeatedly as a benchmark for European-style construction on the island. Hand-cut rocks found on Lot 15 in Season 13 were compared to those in the Lot 26 wall, and the construction of the circular stone feature on Lot 5 was also noted to resemble it. In Season 13, researcher Scott Clarke connected the wall to the broader Portuguese and Azores theory, citing it alongside the Pitblado coin and stone shot as evidence of Portuguese activity on Oak Island.