About This Artifact
Fred Nolan acquired a dagger from the heirs of Sophia Sellers, daughter of Anthony Graves, whose family occupied the land that later became Nolan's property. When Nolan examined the sandstone Head Stone at the centre of the cross formation in 1981, he identified a well-weathered slot or groove on its face, distinct from the fresh scratches left by the backhoe bucket that uncovered it. Nolan told Crooker that the groove was hand-carved in the shape of that same dagger and that the fit was perfect. He concluded that the Head Stone represented the brain and that the dagger pointed to the heart, the brain and the heart of the equation as he put it. Crooker calls this a bizarre twist and does not evaluate the claim. The dagger has not been described in detail, photographed in publication, or examined by a specialist, and the groove on the Head Stone has not been independently compared with it. The object is recorded here because it is the only physical item Nolan tied directly to the Head Stone, and because its provenance runs through the same Graves household associated with the island's Spanish coins.
Historical Context
William S. Crooker, Oak Island Gold (1993), chapter 23 (interview with Fred Nolan, 17 June 1992)
Where It Was Found
Found at Family possession, Graves and Sellers households at Joudrey's Cove; not an excavated find. Location: Oak Island, Nova Scotia, Canada.
