Lisbon's military museum, where Portuguese military experts confirmed that stone shots found on Oak Island match 15th or 16th-century Portuguese naval cannon, with calibres originating from the Azores Islands or mainland Portugal.
About This Site
The Museu Militar (Military Museum) is located near the Santa Apolonia station in Lisbon, Portugal. The museum houses an extensive collection of weapons, armour, artillery, and military artifacts spanning Portugal's military history from the medieval period through the modern era. Its artillery collection includes period cannons from the Age of Discovery, when Portuguese naval power dominated the Atlantic trade routes. The museum's staff includes military history experts with specialist knowledge of Portuguese ordnance, ballistics, and the naval weaponry deployed aboard exploration and trading vessels during the 15th and 16th centuries.
Connection to Oak Island
In Season 9, the team visited the museum during their Portuguese research trip with Corjan Mol and Joao Fiandeiro. Sergeants Ricardo Lopes and Carlos Magro, experts in Portuguese military history, examined replicas of the stone shots found on Oak Island. The shots, measuring 3.9 centimetres, had previously been analyzed by geology professor Dr. Robert Raeside, who believed they originated from Portugal's Azores Islands.
The sergeants confirmed the stones were made in either the Azores or mainland Portugal and showed the group a 15th or 16th-century cannon with a four-centimetre calibre that fires a half-Portuguese-pound ball, an exact match for the Oak Island replicas. They also confirmed that smaller cannons of this type were typically used on ships or fortresses and could be removed from a vessel and placed on a structure ashore. The identification provided direct physical evidence connecting Portuguese military hardware to artifacts found on Oak Island, supporting the theory of Portuguese activity on or near the island during the Age of Discovery.
Fieldwork Notes
Visited during Season 9 by Rick Lagina, Doug Crowell, Alex Lagina, Peter Fornetti, Corjan Mol, and Joao Fiandeiro. Sergeants Ricardo Lopes and Carlos Magro examined replicas of Oak Island stone shots and matched them to a 15th/16th-century Portuguese cannon with a four-centimetre calibre firing half-Portuguese-pound balls. Origins confirmed as Azores or mainland Portugal.
