Blade Anomalies 99% Bust the Myth of the "Roman Sword from Nova Scotia"

1/18/2016

You might want to get a fork ready before you read this. I've got mine on standby. I'm about ready to stick it in the myth of the "Roman sword from Nova Scotia:" it's more or less done.

There's a lot of credit to spread around for this one. Pablo Raw pointed out the key "J" similarity in the blades in a comment on this post from earlier today. I only know Pablo from interactions online, but I will buy him a beer (or whatever he wants to drink unless it's on this page) if we ever meet. (Update 1/19/2016: it turns out Cleo pointed the similarities between the blades of the Nova Scotia and Italian eBay swords a couple of days earlier in the comments in this post). Peter Guezen's sword comparison showing the blades made it much easier to spot the similarities. Killbuck pointed out similarities in addition to the "J" and made the illustrations for this post. None of this would have been possible without all the people who found these swords and made them known to us. Good job, internet. That's a win for the good guys.

Now on to the observations.

The blades of the Nova Scotia (Oak Island), Italian eBay, Florida, and France swords have several distinctive anomalies in common. These anomalies include a linear, J-shaped groove or ridge on the distal portion of the blade (all four swords), a bump or depression near the tip (Nova Scotia and Italian eBay swords), two bumps/depressions along one edge (Nova Scotia and Italian eBay swords), and a linear ridge/groove in the proximal portion of the blade (visible on the Nova Scotia, Italian eBay, and France swords).

Comparison of the blades of the Nova Scotia (Oak Island), Italian eBay, France, and Florida swords showing the presence of the J-shaped ridge/groove and other anomalies.

The animated gif flips back and forth between the blades of the Nova Scotia and the the Italian eBay swords. As you can see, the locations of many ridges/grooves and bumps/depressions seem to correspond. This suggests that these anomalies are not simply variation in patina: they reflect characteristics of the metal underlying the patina. The overall shapes of the blades are very similar as well. In fact, I bet they would match almost perfectly in a direct comparison (i.e., with the originals or photographs that were taken in true plan view rather than from an oblique angle). Trevor Furlotte is going to ship the Italian eBay sword to me at the end of the week, so I'll be able to look at this anomalies for myself (in the meantime, maybe he'll tell us if we're looking at ridges or grooves, bumps or depressions). Too bad no-one is apparently allowed to see the actual purported "Roman sword" from Nova Scotia.

The simplest explanation for the similarities in the blades is that these swords all had the same "mother:" they were all cast from the same original or the same mold. If the Nova Scotia sword is supposed to be an authentic Roman artifact but the Italian eBay sword is not, why do they have the same production defects in the blade? Are we really supposed to believe that "incredible Roman artifacts" that were gifts from the Emperor are going to have these beat-ass looking blades with all the same manufacturing defects as cheap tourist souvenirs?

And the similarities in the blades amplifies another problem for the "Roman" interpretation of the Nova Scotia sword. What about the California sword? I argued on Saturday that, logically, the California sword is probably the closest to the original Mother Of All Fake Hercules Swords (MOAFHS). It is the most detailed and has functional blade characteristics (fullers) that are absent from all the other swords. If the California sword is closer to the MOAFHS than the "class" of swords united by these blade anomalies, there is zero chance that the Nova Scotia sword could date to ancient Rome.

The most likely explanation, I think, is that the Nova Scotia, Florida, Italian eBay, and France swords are members of a generation of replicas that post-date the California sword but predate the Design Toscano swords that are currently being produced.

If you want to take heroic measures and continue to perform CPR on the "Roman sword" interpretation even after the patient has stopped breathing, you could still attempt to make the argument, I think, that all of these swords were copies of some "original" authentic Roman artifact and that I have incorrectly interpreted the California sword. One could argue that some of the copies (i.e, the Nova Scotia and Florida swords) were made in ancient Roman times while the others (i.e., the Italian eBay and France swords) were copies produced much later from one of those "original" swords. But . . . logically? Really? To say it's an incredible stretch is being kind. The similarities among this group of blades (some of known replicas) reduce the probability that ANY of them is of ancient Roman origin to one that is vanishingly small.

I'm ready to stick my fork in this "Roman sword." I'll be curious to see whatever metallurgical data are out there, if they ever materialize, but I'm almost certain they won't point clearly to a Roman origin. It just doesn't make any sense.

If you decide to join me and stick your fork in the myth of the "Roman sword from Nova Scotia" and declare it done also, you can also stick your fork in the credibility of J. Hutton Pulitzer. In the original article in the Boston Standard (and numerous times since) Pulitzer declared that the sword was a "100 percent confirmed" Roman artifact. No wiggle room. All the marbles. Confirmed. A done deal. If the sword goes down, so does any claim he has to being a person that can competently interpret a piece of evidence in terms of relevance to the human past. Sayonara.

Pulitzer has already said goodbye to his credibility as an honest person, flagrantly lying about key pieces of evidence (for example) related to evaluating his claim that the Nova Scotia sword is a "smoking gun" that proves Romans visited the Americas.

It will be interesting to see what Dr. Myles McCallum has to say about the sword on tomorrow's episode of The Curse of Oak Island. We've been chewing away at this issue for a month now without having the benefit of examining the actual sword firsthand, and this will be our first look at an archaeologist directly handling and evaluating the thing. Even without the benefit of examining the actual sword, we've come up with substantial information and analysis that bears directly on the key question of whether or not it's Roman. Based on what I've seen, I'd say it's almost certainly not. I'm willing to bet that McCallum comes to the same conclusion: not Roman, probably a souvenir produced in the last couple of centuries. I'm really impressed (and proud, honestly) of the how the inquiry has progressed here, and I think it's going to end up being a classic example of how there are multiple ways to get to the same (correct) conclusion. It's something that archaeologists have to be good at. We are never left with material remains that tell the whole story, so we have to figure out ways to ask questions of the evidence that allow us to discriminate between possible explanations. That's science. If science works (and it does), there are multiple ways to arrive at a correct answer. It's comforting when you arrive at the same answer through different means of inquiry. That means it's probably not an accident.

I think the myth of the "Roman sword from Nova Scotia" is more-or-less busted. We were handed the claim without the accompanying analysis that would supposedly prove the claim and were told to accept the interpretations on the word of someone who has demonstrated himself to be less than trustworthy. Even without any access to the original evidence or data that supposedly underlies the claim of a "100 percent confirmed" Roman artifact, we were able to develop our own lines of inquiry that suggest an evidence-based conclusion of "99 percent baloney." I want to dump a cooler of Gatorade over all your heads right now.

66 Comments

Ron

1/18/2016 07:13:00 pm

Hi,

The recognised term for the item in question is a 'romantic dagger' or a 'figural dagger'. These come from between the late 18th century to the later 19th century (but versions still are made today).

They ranged from being objects de art (the hand sculptured ones) to objects de schlock (ones that had a bronze/brass mass produced hilt made to which a blade was inserted). Subject matter of the blade sculpture.

It's why the blade length on these ones vary as the hit was the part mass copied so a 'blade' had to be added.

http://www.antiqueweaponstore.com/Bronze%20Figural%20Dagger,%2018th-19th%20C,%20Probably%20Italian.htm

http://www.antiqueswordsonline.com/new-19th-century-romantic-naval-decorative-dagger-new/

http://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/objects/42998

Sergio Congedo

1/18/2016 10:28:17 pm

You guys are nuts!!!

Hutton is a genius!!!

Why do you fear truth???!!!

Andrew Thomas Johnston

1/19/2016 01:12:25 am

Oh. Dear. Methinks Mr "Sergio Congendo" protesteth too much... this is a rationally argued and logically concluding article based on EVIDENCE. Well done, Andy.

Cleo

1/19/2016 02:50:50 pm

We might be nuts to spend so much time to arrive to some facts about a tourist ware sword submitted as proof of alternate History, but that is another point. Some people have more time than others and enjoy the challenge.

P.T. Barnum was a genius. Edward Bernays, the father of the modern propaganda sciences, was also a genius. He's the guy that many propagandists have borrowed the idea of "there's no reality, just perceptions of reality" from. I believe J. Goebbels has a famous quote along those lines. He was a student of Bernays, you know.

Those who can create perceptions can create realities. Those who can alter those perceptions can also combat that. It's an age old battle.

What's to be feared by getting at a verifiable Truth? Is is no less scary than to have faith in someone's idea of Truth.

One of the things I came across while researching this is very interesting. It was from an expert in ancient weapons. He said that all objects you will ever deal with must be addressed as if they are impostors. They are only legitimate if you can build a compelling case for their authenticity.

It is never wise to accept stories, even if you want to believe them.

Jonathan Feinstein

1/19/2016 03:54:09 am

Well, my fork has been stuck in the mass of the MOAFHS and going "boing!" for several days now, but I am still curious as to the actual origin of the design.

Without having the correct jargon for it, I believe we have mostly believed it was a "romantic" or "figural" dagger/sword even though we did not know what to call it. I know I was struggling for the correct term, so thank you, Ron, for informing us.

Now, at least, I have the correct words to use in a search string.

Andy White

1/19/2016 03:58:03 am

Yeah, me too. I'm afraid it will be harder to generate new information (i.e., more swords and insightful comments) once the interest in the "is it Roman" question wanes, but I also still want to solve the mystery of the MOAFHS and the children swords. Check out the comment about the New Jersey sword at the end of thread from the "New Insights" post - it sounds like it may be another one like the California sword.

Jonathan Feinstein

1/19/2016 05:15:24 am

The New Jersey Sword might be from the same source as the one from California. I believe I already identified at least two families of copies from the available sword hilt pictures. The CA sword has the most detail, but the France Sword (and possibly the one from Spain) show some similarity in the cut of the lion's skin around the waist. There is a straight line where the others look like rounded V shapes.

I find it interesting, though that the Florida sword has the same blade marks as many of the others that have the rounded V line of the lion skin. It might suggest a third set of copies in which the blade, with its distinctive marks was attached to a hilt that was less detailed than the CA sword, but still had a similar waistline. Molds do not last forever, though and it is possible, I suppose that on a later mold the details on the figure were simplified.

I could also be wrong about all that. Being wrong is one of my greatest talents.

Ghettohillbilly1

1/18/2016 07:19:37 pm

Oh what Id do to have one of these swords right now, I'd drive over to oak island and take a few pics of me holding it in front of the island, probably make a great youtube video too, but I must say very well wriiten and well said, you have my respect even though I've only read your blogs, and very enlightening to see that everyone here has united to reveal the real truth, I'm no scientist but I'm good with facts and thats what led me here, this is one of the ONLY fact based discussions on this sword, I find it funny with Mr JHP how he screams for truth when it is the only thing he cant produce, I think some investigative journalism should be done of the guy personally but I am bias towards him lol thanks Andy for giving me something so enjoyable to read when the weather outside sucks $%%$

Bobby B.

1/18/2016 07:56:53 pm

You want a 100% confirmed, smoking gun, Roman sword? Well, you're in luck. Wal-Mart has them in-stock for $27.90. Amazon has them for $28.09. That is an unbeatable price to own a 100% confirmed, smoking gun, Roman sword.

Boomer

1/19/2016 06:25:53 am

I missed the walmart one.... walmart has them? So, then there must be a distributor somewhere. That would make sense since linen and things and the other store sell them. I mean they all couldn't have the same design for sale just by chance.

Killbuck

1/18/2016 08:08:12 pm

Meanwhile the Treasure Commander has tweeted a fusillade of tweeted messages to bring us all to the cause, and prevent the artifacts from being hidden.... vis"

"URGENT ACTION — DO NOT LET THE OAK ISLAND ARTIFACTS GET HIDDEN FROM HISTORY! History Needs Your Help!
Now is the time for history truth warriors to stand up and join the fight. All great movements that challenged the established order for government democracy, scientific inquiry, and human rights required a group of fearless warriors to stand up and advocate for the truth. This movement is no different. CLICK THIS LINK TO LISTEN TO AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE: https://soundcloud.com/investigatinghistory/history-needs-your-help-urgently-become-a-warrior-for-truth

THE PHONE NUMBERS AND EMAILS YOU NEED HERE:..."

No I won't show all the names and emails and phone numbers he sent out. It includes not only media sources, but also the entire production staff of the show.

How endearing. He even provided a handy copy and past message!

Ok, so I'll get my popcorn as well, cook up some wings, and see what happens Tuesday night. It could be something none of us saw coming. Who knows- it's REALITY television!!! :P

The more I read the works of Douglas Adams, the more I think his version of reality was rather... preferable.

Pablo

1/18/2016 07:39:46 pm

I'm here eating popcorn and refreshing the screen every minute while I wait for comments from Mr. Stella or Sergio Congedo on this.

Holly McFad

1/18/2016 08:00:21 pm

Slide over...I have the buttered popcorn......Oh this will be something else, for sure!

John L

1/19/2016 04:09:02 am

I brought some salt. Slide over.

Killbuck

1/18/2016 07:44:12 pm

Glad to see that the gif animation works on this blog platform!

Andy White

1/18/2016 07:46:53 pm

It's pretty sweet - thanks. I don't know how to do that.

Killbuck

1/18/2016 08:11:04 pm

Magic! My computer has this special lode stone in it that....

...oh never mind.

Joe Scales

1/18/2016 07:48:51 pm

The true beauty in this, is that Curse of Oak Island takes a hit for promoting an obviously questionable "artifact" of unknown provenance to push their show. And furthermore, it's spoiled by a wannabee globe trekking historian who is no more than an ignorant carny who couldn't beat a blind man with three card monte, now forever exposed by the press he sought as a deceiver and poisoner of the well

Win-win..

Bobby B.

1/18/2016 07:59:33 pm

The downside is, Rick and Marty have a five year contract. We're in for at least two more seasons of Curse of Oak Island. Unless History Channel decides to pull the plug.

Joe Scales

1/18/2016 08:22:30 pm

As it's generally the highest rated first run cable series for its night (Big Bang Theory repeats beat it), it's only leaving the air in the near future should the Laginas dig up their long lost buried consciences.

George Johnston

1/19/2016 04:00:36 am

The series is reviewed every spring to see if it will continue. The cast has to want to do it, the producers have to want to do it, and History has to want to do it. Ratings are not the only consideration. Each party has an opt out clause.

donna

1/26/2016 04:08:57 pm

So don't watch.

Pablo

1/18/2016 08:09:30 pm

The History Channel also takes a hit, they promote shows in which pseudoscientists accuse real scientists of "cover up" and being "close minded" and promote unsupported ideas that lead people to hate Science. Shame on them.

Killbuck

1/18/2016 08:14:58 pm

Well, that's not stopped them from going into the 300th season of Ancient Aliens has it?

Pablo

1/18/2016 08:28:12 pm

Unfortunately no!

Cleo

1/19/2016 01:05:08 pm

That's actually not how I see it. The Laginas were portrayed as being highly suspicious (actually gives them more credibility). I suspect they are going to nail Pulitzer to a cross in this week's episode by killing his hypothesis for all to see. Has it not been mentioned that producers of this show have had strenuous relations with this character before for leaking the plot of the show? I do think they have exploited the sword for content. You only have to look at the interest it has generated to understand that it is worth it's weight in gold as a media talking point. Unfortunately, for the same reason it gives newspaper editors the freedom to do the same by publishing this type of claim. To atone they should also follow up with the sad conclusion to this. I hope they do.

Jonathan Feinstein

1/19/2016 01:57:32 pm

I hope you are correct, but I suspect the Lagina Brothers will shrug and say, they cannot say for certain. More likely they'll react in the same manner they did with other wild claims (Phoenecians, Knights Templar, etc.) and admit it could be that the evidence is inconclusive.
I think that's as close as they can come on the show to saying, 'Well, that's really fake." without engendering a host of court cases. But we shall see in just a few hours.

Joe Scales

1/20/2016 07:43:57 am

The Laginas exploited the sword for two episodes and should have known it wasn't a true artifact even before wasting one script on it. They've also exploited the hoax that is treasure on Oak Island for years now. Marty Lagina is an attorney, a millionaire and an engineer. There is no way he didn't do his homework before buying in to realize the true nature of this hoax. Robert Dunfield, like the numerous geologists before him and the Woods Hole study after his time, ruled out such things as flood tunnels that the television show to this day insists are guarding the "treasure". That is just one lie of many asserted in each and every episode. When they do reference Dunfield, there he is on a bulldozer with a butt in his mouth, ravaging nature; which is a ridiculous portrayal. Sure, they pose Rick as a believer and Marty as the skeptic, but seriously... when have "reality" shows truly had anything to do with reality? They bought in for the potential tourist action and television revenue. Don't be fooled by their folksy charm.

Ron

1/18/2016 08:01:38 pm

Now we are starting to get close: here is a 19th century cast iron decorative romantic dagger. Check the blade ridges shape to the stub on the Oak Island one. If they started with one of this type of manufacture, that is why the details have that not so defined features look on the later copies.

http://art-of-swords.tumblr.com/post/73999811889/small-dagger-dated-late-19th-century-medium

Peter Geuzen

1/18/2016 08:31:35 pm

You should have titled this post "Unraveling the Origins of the Roman Sword Discovered Off Oak Island – Story and Research UPDATE".....oh no wait, that title has already..................

Mike Morgan

1/18/2016 08:38:13 pm

Ah, the agony of defeat and the sweet taste of VICTORY!

Like the Marines a Few Good Men take down larger forces, Andy and team take down Commander Pulitzer and his 7361 (or less as he weeds out those who post comments he feels are "disruptive") followers on his "COOI Official" Facebook group and his 1.3 million "Warriors for Truth".

I doubt that he will surrender though. Some of tactics and excuses I can imagine him bring forth:

A.) Threat of legal action again against you or Peter or Killbuck - no permission to use his pictures of the sword.

B.) Claim of photoshopping or manipulation of the pictures.

C.) The "Oak Island Sword" is actually the one the used for a mold made in antiquity that all the rest derive from that ancient mold.

Pablo

1/18/2016 08:45:06 pm

A) I don't think he owns all the photos of the sword
B) The defects or details mentioned on this post, are easily visible on the eBay sword that is still on eBay.
C) As Andy has mentioned, some of the swords have better detail than the one supposedly found on OI.

Killbuck

1/18/2016 09:12:23 pm

The photo of the OI sword was taken by one of the bothers... If anyone would use legal action, it would be the producers of the show for JHP using it for his own, and likely determinable commercial purposes- which this use here does not. Anyway this falls under fair use.

Of course he'd claim the images are manipulated! Do you doubt that?

The best course for him right now is to do some more scrubbing, like the removal of the Treasure Force pages, now mysteriously gone (undoubtedly removed by the Academic Illuminati Paid Shills, etc....

... and just move on to other claims. But he prolly won't. When in a hole, stop digging? He'll just get a bigger shovel.

Killbuck

1/18/2016 09:20:00 pm

He's also been using the official History Channel logo for his own twitter feeds, etc.. I've been on the History Channel three times, and I'd not think of using the logo for my own promotional or commercial uses. They had me as a commentator, but after that, they don't "endorse" me, and I'd not attempt to make it appear that they do.

Mike Morgan

1/18/2016 09:42:48 pm

My points were just my imagining, but given Pulitzer's character, or lack thereof, he could ATTEMPT anything.

He did threaten legal action against both Andy and Jason back in the early stages of "Swordgate" for using the picture from the Boston Standard article which he claimed was under his copyright and they acquiesced, and I am not sure what picture Peter used for his various comparisons.

If I remember correctly, he did accuse one of the E-bay swords of being photoshopped as well as accusing them of using the "museum" photo in a bate and switch tactic.

Right now, I am celebrating the victory for the true "truth" side by breaking out the 18 yo single malt Scotch.

A toast to Andy for his resolve to bring out the truth, to you, Pablo for discovering the similar anomalies on the various swords, to Peter for his photo comparisons, to Killbuck for his skills in lining up and overlaying of the pictures and the GIF that ties it all up, and the rest of Andy's Few Good Men.

SALUDE!

Holly McFad

1/18/2016 08:58:19 pm

Andy, great article here. The process of elimination has been followed through on the "swordgate" scandal. I have enjoyed all your articles on the "roman" sword, To see how the "J" marking all do line up and the bumps it will be hard for hutoon to dispute but he will. We know that is coming! Just glad that I found this site. hutoon look , they have Free Archaeology & Ancient History Online Courses for 2016....you may want to take some classes cause you just got schooled!

Cleo

1/19/2016 11:07:16 am

Great conclusion. The idea has been floating around here for days, though. I commented here, in a reply, a couple of days ago about this unrealistic similarity in the blades (tip geometry and lines) and it got zero traction. Congrats to the re-discoverers.

Andy White

1/19/2016 11:12:08 am

Yes, you did. I'm sorry I missed it! There's been a lot going on. I owe you a beer.

Cleo

1/19/2016 01:22:12 pm

No worries Andy. It's an idea whose time had come, like so many other scientific conclusions that just arise from having sufficient facts brought together at one place and one time. Most credit goes to you for providing an open platform for discussion.

The funny thing is that I did not realize the eBay sword I had noticed the similarity in was the one that had been purchased and shown here. I was working from an image I had found while searching the net and comparing it to the OI image on the hood of the vehicle.

Ron

1/18/2016 09:13:17 pm

Oh the drama. An Othello tableau even.

An example of the copying: the master original of a romantic or figural dagger from the 19th century then an example of the brass copy made of it.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/342203271661212568/

http://www.antiqueweaponstore.com/Superb%20Exhibition%20Grade%20Silver%20and%20Gilt%20Dagger%20Commemorating%20Othello,%2019th%20C.htm

Then the copy hilt is stuck on a new blade.

http://www.patricereboul.com/en/ficheobjet.php?typeobjet=produit&info_typeoeuvre=Armes%20anciennes&produit=R02705

Darren Beck

1/18/2016 10:08:04 pm

Good job on checking the blades and catching those similarity's, this is the type of thing i was wanting to check on but unfortunately the power in my area has been off for the past 24 hours, i have to say i'm impressed with the amount of time and effort that people have put into this, Bring on the next challenge!

Jonathan Feinstein

1/19/2016 04:11:52 am

Excellent research and a good job is spotting the obvious copy marks. It certainly puts paid to this as a Roman sword in our minds, but I seriously doubt this is the last we shall hear of Mister Pulitzer and I also doubt the Curse of Oak Island show will take any hit at all because of it.

To tell the truth, I'm surprised Pulitzer is fighting back on the sword as hard as he is. Like the evangelists who claim that Judgement Day is coming every few months and when the "Rapture" does not arrive on time, just go ahead and predict another date, I fully expect him to simply move on to the next piece of manufactured evidence to support his claim or else come up with an entirely new claim.

Archaeologists and other critical thinkers were never likely to believe his hollow claims anyway. His audience are those who truly want to believe that Ancient Romans came to Oak Island in order to bury the treasure from the Jerusalem Temple (huh! I just thought that one up... I could have been a faux archaeologist... too bad I already have a legit MA degree in Anthropology... I'm over qualified) in spite of the simpler and more believable explanation that the gold and silver was melted down to produce coins. In any case, after the hubbub dies down, he will just move on to the next preposterous claim as though this never happened. We already know the COOI does that every week.

Bob Jase

1/19/2016 06:04:08 am

Right now on ebay there is another of these swords for sale based on the OI sword - it 'may be' the original (the seller claims not to know) and the opening bid is $1000.

I have got to get a dozen of these for resale.

Peter Geuzen

1/19/2016 06:17:37 am

Here it is:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-ROMAN-CEREMONIAL-SWORD-SEEN-ON-CURSE-OF-OAK-ISLAND-SHOW-COPY-ARTIFACT-/301851389333?hash=item4647bead95:g:sSwAAOSwX~dWnV9a

I had a feeling this might happen. This is brilliant. How many will pop up now????

Jonathan Feinstein

1/19/2016 06:29:36 am

Too pricey. I'll still with the $14.95 (plus S&H) Design Toscano I bought while they were on sale yesterday :-)

Bob Jase

1/19/2016 09:24:02 am

that depends on how many are in stock at my local store - on ebay they'll be a bargain at only 300% mark-up!

Jonathan Feinstein

1/19/2016 10:32:22 am

Just took a closer look at this one. Someone was very sloppy on this one. Notice the extra metal flashing attached to the head and to the arms where the metal leaked between the halves of the mold. That's normally filed or broken off even on cheap replicas.

James Lawrence

1/19/2016 07:38:03 am

I don't know what I am going to do with my time when this is all done...I have enjoyed this FAR more than watching any episode of the Curse of Oak Island LOL

Eric

1/19/2016 07:42:51 am

Well I'm sure someone will claim something utterly ridiculous and we can all pile on-"Hunting Hitler" could prove fertile ground for 20th century historians to savage the "History" Channel and its credibility. If it continues on the downward spiral, they are going to have to rebrand themselves reflecting their turn towards fringe and conspiracy. Glad I played a small role in dropping a knowledge Hiroshima on the snake oil salesmen.

Killbuck

1/19/2016 09:52:12 am

I wish I could say that their credibility mattered to them. The programming will change, but it won't happen because of goof ups, or wrong turns ar even a embarrassing shows shows like Bigfoot Captured. For now the formula is still working.

Change when it happens will be cultural. Audiences, over time will become frustrated by quests that are never ended, by mysteries never solved. It's beginning to happen now, slowly, with the COOI. Viewer feedback is getting increasingly annoyed by the never ending never find anything nature.

The show uses that phrase like "...one more must die before the treasure is found". A friend of mine once retorted- "Somebody die already, this has done on long enough!"

When the formula becomes intolerably banal, then viewers will eventually latch onto a new angle that will come out of nowhere; whereupon tv execs will formulate it and copy it all over, all over again. Who can say what that will be, or when.

Killbuck

1/19/2016 09:09:49 am

To me, this particular issue caught my attention because of the witches brew of ingredients that came together as an imperfect storm.

I have a few blogs I follow, Jason's is a favorite, and once in awhile I pop in to say something. Odd claims and fringe books etc are dime a dozen (though they can make millions if an author has properly positioned his or herself effectively as a "star" ref G. Hancock). Then there are the ones who never really go away, such as Z. Sitchen who even has a post mortem new book. Death can't keep a good story teller down.

What really caught my interest here, is how a popular TV show, based on a legend and a mystery, served as a gravitational field that attracted increasingly bizarre proposals (I avoid the word theory as none of them meet the definition, nor of a proper hypothesis either) and to give face to these proposals, the producers brought in, and continue, devotees of lost riches of the Holy Lands, Ark of the Covenant, Templars, Masons, Shakespeare's manuscripts... etc. Each has a champion seeking reality tv stardom and monetary rewards.

Adding to the brew, are the consumers- countless masses of people willing to accept baseless claims, the more exotic and far-fetched the better. Their distrust in any established institution and sometimes even disdain for intellectualism, making them ideal audiences for self promoting windbags. They attend their seminars, buy their books and CDs. And they must be fed to remain loyal.

In an era when everything is seen as a plot by diabolical egg headed hidden masters pulling the strings of destiny, a defense from analysis or scrutiny is merely to shout conspiracy! All the woo masters seem to have adopted this item from the playbook.

Then there is television and the massive dumbing down of quality programming. The discovery Channel, the former Learning Channel now just TLC, and now History formerly The History Channel, have come into the ownership of execs who know full well, that the audiences will go for the fattening junk food programming, be it modern day freak shows like Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, to abominations like Ancient Aliens, America Unearthed and Hunting Hitler, as being historical programming. They know full well it is not, and when pressed will insist it's harmless entertainment programming. Hardly. To paraphrase Carl Sagan, this is a real social danger. For the critical thinking skills of the public, this is feeding them more and more of what makes them stupid.

Take the words Ancient, Secret, or Mystery, and add it to the subject of programming director's choice, and even if it's a brief hit, the ad revenues will be such a stimulant to the rodent brains of the programming execs, that they will repeat the formula over and over and over, etc.

Producers, wanting to have as much control of the reality portrayed on reality TV, will contrive and direct what the viewers usually assume is "the way it is" when it never is. Even the generally harmless and usually entertaining American Pickers is a tightly controlled and contrived wanderlust of barnyard treasure hunts. Yes, you CAN apply to have the pickers visit YOU... once the producers vet you.

But things can get out of control, even for people paid to create TV that just seems to be reality. In this case, a champion of the sword pushed his way into what may have been a lesser remembered episode destined join the other unresolved "mysteries". No, this time, the format of reality TV, insatiable consumers of woo, and a messianic martyr to the truth and warrior against the dark academic forces of control, used incomparable media savvy to launch a sensational fight for your mind. Over 600,000 websites overwhelmingly repeating a story that nobody but a few bothered to check out.

Oh, journalistic discipline? No for most it's link and post, link and post. Far too many actual news outlets were piled into fake news and sites devoted to new age spiritual consciousness rising yada yada, that it's no wonder so many people took the bait.

As a kind of case study in the dynamics of these things it has been fascinating. A perfectly imperfect storm.

I'll be watching where this all goes.

Peter Geuzen

1/19/2016 10:01:43 am

600,000 websites? Use "parenthesis" when searching or you'll get random word mixes. "Oak Island Sword" and "Oak Island Roman Sword" only get 10-11,000 Google hits with about half being the last 30 days and unique sites really only being about 40 the last month, from what I see. The few thousand the last month will cache a page every time a comment is made so the numbers are inflated by forums and blogs with comments like this one, and some newspapers but not Facebook which I think is heavily filtered. So in other words a relatively small number of sites (and Facebook to some degree) have been getting decent traffic, but certainly not 600,000 unique sites. Not an expert on this but I think I have it right, unless someone else knows

Killbuck

1/19/2016 10:15:55 am

I'm no expert on it for sure. Yes, for those who know how searches are organized, but an average web searcher is all but certain to see the batch number as validity to a story by shear volume. I lost count of the number of pages that title referenced the original news release about the Roman Sword changing History. Few are indeed unique sites, but captured and included the same original release.

There can be one news release, repeated a thousand times. But one must not think that's a thousand stories that support one subject.

I'm going to watch American Pickers now, I hear they are going to find the Motherload of All Honey Holes (MOAHH).

Eric

1/19/2016 10:12:42 am

Exactly right. Obviously, whats worrying to actual historians/academics or well educated non-specialists, its the fact that the opportunities to reach the general public with actual historically relevant, factual and enlightening programming is being pushed out by the "fattening junk food programming" as you so memorably put it. People who want to produce real documentaries are being pushed out of the market by the pandering to the lowest common denominator mentality-resulting, year by year, in an erosion of actual historical knowledge and intelligence of the general public in an accelerating downward spiral. Real historical/archaeological/scientific programming is increasingly becoming a niche market

Matt

1/19/2016 10:17:35 am

For 200 years, Oak Island has been a horror show regarding the care and cataloging of discoveries, be they real or be they manufactured. Pulitzer holds that anything that did not fit a pirate treasure narrative was usually ignored, hidden, or even destroyed. Therefore, it’s understandable that when “the sword” emerged he sought to make sure it wasn’t dropped down a rabbit hole before everyone had a chance to look at it.

This is where Pulitzer may have gone “all in” with a risky poker hand. It’s one thing to make sure the sword goes public, but it’s another to push all the chips to the middle for an ancient Roman origin. The finding of each additional Hercules sword is like watching a devastating flop and turn of the cards. At this point, the chance of the river card verifying the Oak Island sword as ancient looks pretty slim. While I’m not a Pulitzer apologist, and it’s certainly possible he’s overplayed his hand…he’s not a complete idiot either, and he seems to have based his certitude on some type of evidence that leads him to believe he has a pair of face cards rather than a pair of threes. If the metal composition turns out to be something beyond what would normally be found in a knockoff tourist sword, that would be intriguing.

The irony is that Pulitzer claims he just wants any evidence looked at before it’s summarily dissmissed—which is pretty much what just happened here. He feels anthropologists and archeologists will try to bury finds that do not fit the current history books, but Mr. White has done nothing of the sort on this blog. Pulitzer wants the public to be able to crowd-source the analysis and get to the truth—which has happened on this blog and in the comments. That was the entire point of publicizing the existence of the sword, was it not? Is there an attack on Pulitzer personally, or just on his theory about the sword and he’s the one making it personal? Both? Unfortunate. It’s been fun to follow the debate over where the sword came from, which should be a win for everyone.

As for The Curse of Oak Island: While the TV show’s production script has cut the brake lines on the possible history of Oak Island, the Lagina brothers are much more circumspect and grounded in reality. They have been turning rocks over there for ten years, long before the show started. To gin up the entertainment factor, the production invites people with interesting (and sometimes crazy) theories to share. It’s one of my favorite things now to watch the camera quickly move over to catch the reaction of a Lagina when someone says “Templar”, “Ark of the Covenant”, or “Aztec”. They do not gobble up every story like a desperate treasure hunter, but have the same eye-raising “Huh?” expression you or I would have. It’s not all bizarre stuff: Nolan’s Cross (for example) is a legit, old, weird thing on Oak Island that indicates there might be some interesting history to be found there, if not treasure.

Anyway, good stuff Andy. Good job turning stones over, everyone.

Eric

1/19/2016 11:02:41 am

"While I’m not a Pulitzer apologist, and it’s certainly possible he’s overplayed his hand…he’s not a complete idiot either."-

Pulitzer certainly acted like one when he tried to foist a piece of tourist junk off as a real Roman artifact. At the very least he and his cronies could have done a cursory Google search to see what a real gladius looked like, bought a decent reproduction and artificially aged it. The real mystery of the OI sword is how those idiots actually thought that toy would fool anyone.

Killbuck

1/19/2016 11:30:16 am

I too, rather like the brothers. Thier poker faces at the war room sit downs with the latest person in to deliver their concepts of what the treasure may be, demonstrates their apparent, genuine coolness. I know people who like the show, not because a great find is expected, but mainly because of these two very likeable siblings.

Pablo

1/19/2016 11:56:47 am

What has been published everywhere, is that he claims that the sword is 100% confirmed. 100% means zero doubts. He also has said publicly that tests were performed that confirm the authenticity and I even think he said that it matches the one that supposedly exists in the Naples Museum (didn't say which Naples Museum). He also claims that the sword has some navigation device that makes it point north. That would take a simple demonstration. So I don't give him any credit, but I will, if the evidence is shown and the sword is scrutinized by reputable professionals and institutions, I will change my mind! So far this sounds like a veeeeeery remote possibility. Very very remote...

Joe Scales

1/19/2016 05:17:07 pm

Pulitzer doesn't get the benefit of the doubt from me. I witnessed his lies in regard to Oak Island just before Season 2 ended while hawking his Solomon's Secret kit. I can call him a liar, a cheat and a fraud. Why? Because it is true.

Cleo

1/19/2016 02:17:31 pm

If someone wanted to do to OI what Andy has done to the Roman sword story I'm almost certain the result would be just as dramatic. Everything is in the realm of legend now, though. That's very hard to test.

8 maravedis coins, and even Roman coins, are not unheard of finds in the area. Some have been made far inland by your average metal detectorists. It's just a relic of our colonial past. Many settlers brought with them souvenirs from the plowed fields of Europe. In fact, some of those were gifted to local universities in Victorian times (the Avard coin gifted to Mt. Allison University and subsequently lost/stolen, i.e, was said to be an "ancient")

It starts off very badly for the OI story when the genealogy doesn't even fit the narrative of there being three teenage boys visiting an unsettled island to begin with.
The shaft with wooden platforms at regular intervals, that many read about in the '60s in the RD story is eerily similar, if not borrowed completely, from an older local story that was written in 1902 by a well known NScotian named Will R. Bird to describe the extensive excavations at the "Jolicure money pit" in his book "A Century at Chignecto" on the local history of the NB/NS border. Who knows what the "mother of all money pit stories" might be? The story borrows from many treasure stories.

The shadiest characters of all might be the Blankenships at this time. You only have to google the claims that were made when the province was not going to renew the licenses before the Laginas showed up. (Nothing much was being done any more to generate economic growth/tourism from this island story any more). They were claiming at that time to be months away from a major find which they had new compelling evidence for. That was year ago.

The island is in new hands now, and with federal government capital investments in this COOI production we are seeing the latest attempts to reinvigorate an exquisite tall tale that any Maritimer can be proud of.

Annie C.Cloutier

1/19/2016 02:18:40 pm

The pop corn will be a popping and the couch ready with throws, tonight is Tuesday and the next episode of Oak Island Mystery is on at 9pm USA.
Will the sword be discounted ?
Will the brothers be astute enough to expose the false nature of this souvenir ? Hope so.
Maybe this is a"symbol" of Hutton's lack of steel, something he needs to hold up in order to try and bully others.
He does not convince me, he does not speak truth, Hutton has gleaned the knowledge of others (me for one) and the video he made on Trees Decoded based on half of the information I shared on Oak Island pages, only to have Hutton incorrectly post images of acacia trees and giraffes (wrong species), and make incorrect assumptions of the trees on Oak Island. Kel Hancock and I spoke of the best tree candidates. Hutton just a very empty drum. A little knowledge is more dangerous that greater.

Elaine Acree

12/1/2017 07:47:22 pm

I saw the video with the Acacia tree and giraffe picture swearing that it was an oak. What kind of trees do you think the old giants were on Oak Island? From some old pictures they were there around 1861 and still there in 1931. I wondered if anyone knew how long the trees were there and what happened to them.

john lavers link

1/19/2016 05:45:51 pm

i watch the show for a lough, but they have found very little in two seasons. that coast of nova scotia has great hidden harbours and was frequented for centuries before 1749(the founding of Halifax as a british naval base and fort). the islands make great places to hide behind when stopping for water supplies and repairs. the natives traded with Europeans and the sailors hunted and logged to get resources. so it should surprise no one a few things were left behind. and the island is limestone, with sink holes. there were lye manufacturers in the old days. the money pit is probably a lye rendering installation that fell into a sink hole.

as for the sword. you need some context even if it is real, such as ginfing a sunken roman ship in the area they say it was found. other wise any old pirate or trader could have had a real roman souvaneer , and lost it in a ship wreck. but it looks like a reproduction in any event. could be a 17th century repro, from a ship wreck.

Don

1/20/2016 05:10:20 am

Well, I guess you all could have just waited for tonight's episode...too much zinc. Modern replica. Yawn.

peter kirchmeir

1/8/2017 03:52:43 pm

Hi, I have had fun reading the blog and searching the web for further information. I will be referencing this site to anyone who is even the slightest bit interested, as an example of 'truthing' and the use of science and history in determining it.
Thanks for the opinions, evidence, systematic investigations, the time spent in finding resources, and commentary. I am looking forward to more discussions.

Andy White

1/9/2017 06:22:10 am

Thanks. There's more coming for sure!

Blade Anomalies 99% Bust the Myth of the "Roman Sword from Nova Scotia"

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