Andy White Anthropology
  • Home
  • Fake Hercules Swords
  • Research Interests
    • Complexity Science
    • Prehistoric Social Networks
    • Eastern Woodlands Prehistory
    • Ancient Giants
  • Blog

J. Hutton Pulitzer Backpedals on Roman Sword Claim, Watches His Credibility Circle the Drain

12/18/2015

 
J. Hutton Pulitzer has finally said something accurate:  he is, indeed, "rewriting history." And by "rewriting history" I mean backpedaling on his statements that a sword allegedly found in Nova Scotia was a "100 per cent confirmed" Roman artifact.  

Following the announcement (on December 16) via a story in the Boston Standard written by Gemma Gadd, several bronze/brass swords that appear to be nearly identical to Pulitzer's claimed Roman sword have come to light (one in a collection in Florida, one recently purchased in California, and one for sale on Italian Ebay). It also turns out that you can buy a currently-produced iron (or stone?) version of the sword from well-known edged-weapon retailers such as Walmart and Linens-N-Things.

If you weren't already suspicious of Pulitzer's sword just by looking at it, the existence of multiple brass/bronze swords that appear to have been cast from the exact same mold as Puliter's sword should give you pause.  If not, you've probably already stopped reading.

There are several basic possibilities of what's going on here.

Possibility 1. All the brass/bronze swords are authentic Roman swords.  That's really completely implausible for many obvious reasons that I don't have the energy to write out. 

Possibility 2. Some of the swords are authentic and the rest are copies. It's possible, but, I think, pretty unlikely. The problem for Pulitzer, however, is that copies are generally worse than the original.  The "best" of the swords I've seen so far is the one purchased for $25 in California - there is no way that is a copy of Pulitzer's sword because it preserves details that are worn off of Pulitzer's sword.

Possibility 3. All of the brass/bronze swords are modern (i.e., manufactured sometime during the last few hundred years).  This is certainly possible. I think, in fact, this is probably the simplest explanation. It's possible, for example, that the swords were all produced as decorative souvenir swords for the Victorian tourist trade in the Mediterranean (i.e., to be sold to wealthy travelers doing a Grand Tour of Roman Italy). Can I prove it yet? No. But I think it's a real possibility.

Possibility 4. There is an authentic Roman or Greek sword somewhere that was the model for all of these reproduction swords.  This is also possible. I'm not aware that such an ancient "model" sword has been identified yet. It may or may not exist. But I'm quite certain that if such an original exists it wasn't submerged off of Oak Island (how would copies have been made?).

In the original Boston Standard story, Pulitzer proclaimed that Nova Scotia sword to be "100 per cent confirmed." That's an unequivocal statement that he has done all of his work and there is not a single iota of doubt left that this could be anything other than an authentic, ancient Roman sword. 

Apparently, however, that has changed. In a post this afternoon, Pulitzer wrote the following:

"Logically anyone should question the find of a single sword out of place, and you can bet we have been working hard to verify it's authenticity."

Wait - still working to verify its authenticity? I thought it was already 100 percent confirmed. Did I somehow misunderstand the meanings of "100 percent" and "confirmed"? 

I guess Pulitzer didn't know about all those other swords out there. That's too bad for him. The more swords there are, the less likely it is that Possibility 1 is plausible. With four brass/bronze swords floating around, in my opinion, Possibility 1 is out the door. Possibility 3, however, looks better and better as more of these brass/bronze swords surface.  But if Possibility 3 is correct, the whole idea of the sword being Roman goes down the tubes.

The existence of any "reproduction" swords really complicates things for Pulitzer as well. It seems he has "tested" his sword (and 100% confirmed its authenticity) by comparing the composition of the metal to that of another sword that he thinks is authentic (I would guess the Florida sword, but I don't know that for a fact). But if that reference sword is also not authentic, then a test tells you nothing (two decorative swords cast in the same foundry in Milan in 1850 would test as the "same" even though neither is from ancient Rome).

This is a significant problem for Pulitzer's story. So he's trying to figure out how to explain the existence of multiple other swords that look just like his. In one silly post earlier today, he even floated the idea that the "new" swords popping up since his announcement were a result of people trying to capitalize from his earth shattering news by quickly making swords to sell. He even suggested that some of the swords didn't exist:

"Take the hottest news story going, clone the photos, see if you can sell tons and make a mint! That's opportunistic capitalism!"

It's also a complete bullshit thing to say. Anyone with a pair of eyes can see that the California sword is a different sword than Pulitzer's, as it preserves much more detail (I would do a side-by-side comparison, but Pulitzer would probably threaten to sue me).  The Ebay sword is real also. I'm aware of who purchased it, and (as a reader of my blog identified as Peter Geuzen informed me through a comment) you can see that it has been for sale since September. 

If those posts weren't enough of an indication that there's some panic in the air over at Pulitzer's secret treasure fort headquarters, the text of the original Boston Standard story was edited today.  Here is the original section that I have quoted several times:

   "Now lead researcher and historic investigator J. Hutton Pulitzer, who also stars in the show [Curse of Oak Island], has put a large white paper together with a group of academics from the AAPS (Ancient Artifact Preservation Society).
    
The main discoveries include a Roman sword found submerged just off Oak Island - and what is believed to be a Roman shipwreck.

Here is how that passage reads now:

    "Now historic investigator J. Hutton Pulitzer, who previously featured on the show, has put a large white paper together with a group of academics from the AAPS (Ancient Artifact Preservation Society).
    He claims to have evidence of a Roman sword found submerged just off Oak Island - and what is believed to be a Roman shipwreck."


There a several differences worth noting. First, Pulitzer is no longer identified as a "lead researcher" and "star" of The Curse of Oak Island (I haven't watched the show this season, but my understanding is that he's no longer on it).  Second, the announcement of the Roman sword is now nestled in the phrase "claims to have evidence of" rather than proclaimed as a discovery (at last check, Pulitzer is still quoted as saying that the sword is "100 per cent confirmed").  

I'm not sure who is doing the rewrites to the Boston Standard article and on what basis the story is being edited. If I was the author of the article, I would be embarrassed to have participated in this nonsense.

Pulitzer loves attention, and he's certainly getting it. That attention has come with some scrutiny, however, and my sense is that right now it's really not breaking his way. He went for all the marbles with his Roman sword claim, and it's going to be pretty difficult to back off of that claim with so many eyes watching. Do you want to be right about the sword or do you want people to think you mean what you say? I'm not sure you can have it both ways at this point.

Sit back and enjoy the continuing saga of Swordgate. I'm sure it's not over.

Update (12/26/2015): A comment has been deleted at the request of the person who posted it.
Michael Wehar
12/18/2015 11:37:15 pm

One point I wanted to support was that some of the replicas have been for sale for a while. I've done a bit of searching and I did find one retailer (who I will not name) that has been trying to sell an iron replica for about 1 year now.

Mike Jones
12/19/2015 07:24:06 am

My gut feeling is that the possibility of an 1850s date is way too generous. My money is on the idea that this sword design dates back to the 1970s at best. It would be interesting to ask Design Toscano as they appear to be the source of many of them.

Andy White
12/19/2015 07:51:11 am

But perhaps the Design Toscano sword is a copy of one of the earlier generation. If the bronze/brass swords were mass produced as Victorian-age souvenirs, Design Toscano may have based their design on one of those that was floating around (they don't seem to be uncommon). It will be simple enough to directly compare the Design Toscano-produced version (available for sale at Walmart - maybe I'll buy one for myself for Christmas) with one of the copper ones (I know who purchased the sword from Italian Ebay, and I'm in contact with the owner of the California sword).

Joe Scales
12/19/2015 08:06:18 am

To me, this seems like Pullitzer is simply being petulant because he was discarded from the current Oak Island craze when he used his appearance on the show to push his "solomon's secret" kit by falsely claiming on his website that things would be revealed on the season two finale and his kit would be indispensable in sorting out the finds. Of course after the episode aired, none of the promised events occurred and the page was pulled from the web. Then the producers go out of their way to inform the public he no longer has anything to do with the show. So what is left with? Acting as a spoiler for future episodes... and of course, still pushing his wares. In my opinion, that seems to be what is at play here.

Doug Crowell
12/19/2015 08:28:06 am

There is a very easy way for Hutton Pulitzer to gain credibility, which he has never pursued. Instead of a year and a half of fabulous claims, he could actually put out these white papers and let his theories stand on more than promotional rantings.

Andy White
12/19/2015 09:04:23 am

I agree that that's what a person who really wants to establish his credibility as someone genuinely seeking answers would do.

Bob Jase
12/19/2015 09:12:37 am

Bwaa-ha-ha! Talk about serious lack of research J. Hutton.

Sorry about the email yesterday Andy, I should have waited for the Christmas party to wear off.

Mike Jones
12/19/2015 09:50:48 am

Joan Rivers said that the worst part of an office Holiday party is having to look for a job the next day.

Steve T
12/20/2015 10:47:00 am

If you look at the figure carefully on the the California sword , the helmet appears to be spanish conquistador and it appears he is holding a musket over his head.

John R. Niemela
12/23/2015 09:06:05 am

Andy White..I would not be so quick to make a judgment on the sword found on the Oak Island Shipwreck...it is far more likely that it is one from Carthage, as it was they who controlled the seas with huge ships and a navy that blocked the Straits of Gibraltar for years, to prevent other nations from discovering what they had found in North America and in Northern Europe...There are a good number of books on the Carthaginians and their sea going capabilities...So It is far more likely that the wreck is an old Carthaginian one, and the sword as well J. Richard Niemela...Col. USAF (Ret) Reston, VA. 703-303-3075

Michael in Alberta
12/25/2015 03:32:25 pm

Thank you for the objective article about this fascinating story, Andy.

I know very little about archaeology or history, but I'm interested what your thoughts are about why 'a people' would go through so much trouble to bury something so deep in the ground.

At first glance, Mr. Pulitzer seems to muscling in the story with his own pet hypotheses regarding Oak Island. I'm really not interested in Mr. Pulitzer at all, I'm interested in the artifacts and the seemingly human structure found so deep under the island.

I just wanted to know from the community if it's even remotely possible for a pre-Columbus contact, and more interestingly, what are your thoughts on what is buried on that island?

Thanks guys,

Mike

JNJ
1/3/2016 09:46:55 am

Pre-Columbus contact? Like the well documented Viking settlements dating well before the "discovery" of the new world.

Charles Tribble
12/26/2015 11:13:23 am

Andy,
Thank you for this beautiful, explosive bit of reality. Your theory is believable on every level. The whole, "reality show" has went overboard years ago, and people like J. Hutton Pulitzer are some reasons why. I watched one Oak Island show this season, it happened to have this Pulitzer clown on it. I couldn't be the only one to see through his facade of " look at me, look at me " crap.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, I hope your story trumps all this bs being sold to everyone.

Margie in California
12/26/2015 12:41:19 pm

I am interested in learning about the unique DNA claimed in the article - what is it? As someone who has had my DNA tested, is it 'ethical" (?) to publish the results of both the Y-DNA and the mtDNA?

John in Nova Scotia
12/30/2015 08:25:04 am

Pulitzer's statement that the occurence of Berberis vulgaris on Oak Island suggests the Romans were there is ridiculous. That barberry is a common weed througout NS and elsewhere in N. America. It was commonly sold - no doubt by the millions - throughout the 19th and 20th centuries as a hedging plant and likely was used in the preceding 2 centuries. It has had plenty of time to seed about. I have Magnolia sieboldii seeding about the garden, would this suggest the Chinese, Koreans or Japanese are responsible? Is this man really connected with a university?

Ryan
1/2/2016 12:44:06 pm

Any news on the shield found close by and the head in New Mexico or are you just gonna focus on a sword

Andy White
1/3/2016 11:08:43 am

Have we been shown the supposed "shield boss" yet? All I've seen so far is an image of the Kirkland shield boss (from the British Museum) with InvestigatingHistory's copyright mark on it. See this post:

http://www.andywhiteanthropology.com/blog/for-the-file-steve-blah-blah-blah-roman-sword-blah-blah-libel-blah-blah-copyright-blah-blah

Is the head you're referring to the Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca head? If so, it's an old claim and I don't think I can add anything new to it at this point. Here is the Wikipedia entry:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca_head

william
1/2/2016 11:19:55 pm

Hutton stated in his first posting that his sword could point to true north. Their is no sword that has the ability to point to true north. True north is not magnetic north.

Andy White
1/3/2016 11:09:22 am

But it's magic. Don't forget the magic.

Astral Spirit
1/5/2016 03:28:28 am

The sword that people are claiming or denying to be Roman, is quite Clearly Viking by the Figure that is the handle. Vikings were the First ones to have been proven to get to Europe as they had ships. The other annoying thing with this is, even if the swords aren't Roman, the Romans had ships as well, so it is completely possible for them to have reached America the way the Vikings did

Andy White
1/5/2016 03:52:23 am

I've seen "Viking" brought up in connection with this sword more times than I can count. Why Viking? What is about a copper alloy sword with Hercules on it that says "Viking"? I don't get it and I'm genuinely curious as to where this is coming from.

donshimoda
1/5/2016 05:25:23 pm

He seems to ignore the fact that an ancient roman shipwreck was found in the same area the sword came from. I'd like too hear how he intends to attempt to debunk that.

Andy White
1/5/2016 07:00:48 pm

What evidence is there of a Roman shipwreck? All I've seen is assertions that one exists, fex to us by the same guy who says the sword is a "100 percent confirmed" Roman artifact. At least there is evidence attached to that claim. I've seen none provided for the "Roman shipwreck" claim.

Rose McDonald
1/12/2016 02:07:46 am

If Pulitzer's claim is valid, why is he changing it so often? I was skeptical from the beginning of this hysterical story. Aside from the fact that I majored in ancient civilizations (Greek and Roman) at Loyola University, Pulitzer's many and frequently-changed narratives about the provenance of the sword is suspicious, at best.If you do a simple Google image search on ancient Roman swords, you'll see pictures of a lot of swords, authentic and reproductions of authentic swords. What you won't see is a picture of Pulitzer's sword. For that you have to go to Italian eBay.

John in Nova Scotia
1/13/2016 09:03:57 am

A full page article in Halifax's Chronicle Herald this morning, it chastizes the History Channel for producing such garbage. No known scallop grounds near Oak Island so pretty much discounts the sword being pulled up dragging for scallopos and Mikmaq spokesman says the DNA reference is hogwash.

Andy White
1/13/2016 09:14:30 am

Yup, I'm on it: http://www.andywhiteanthropology.com/blog/wednesday-morning-swordgate-roundup

John in Nova Scotia
1/13/2016 09:13:09 am

BTW Pulitzer was Philyaw but changed his name after the collapse & bankruptcy of his company CueCat (see Wiki if you can believe that). He did not respond to queries as to whether or not he had a university degree but says he has written 300 books on historical matters. Getting a good picture of him? Worse is The History Channel.

M. Davis
3/31/2016 08:55:53 pm

If this turns out to genuinely be of Roman origin, my first thought would be that it was found by Norsemen viking in England, (Viking was the activity of raiding by the Norse) and possibly left behind in Nova Scotia when their settlements there were abandoned.

John in Nova Scotia
6/16/2016 01:34:00 pm

Norse settlements in Nova Scotia? I know of none.

world of luxury watches at hautetime.com link
6/13/2016 04:28:12 am

Hutton stated in his first posting that his sword could point to true north. Their is no sword that has the ability to point to true north. True north is not magnetic north.

Garmin Forerunner 935 black friday link
10/19/2019 06:54:58 am

This web site is really a walk-through for all of the info you wanted about this and didn?t know who to ask. Glimpse here, and you?ll definitely discover it.


Comments are closed.

    All views expressed in my blog posts are my own. The views of those that comment are their own. That's how it works.

    I reserve the right to take down comments that I deem to be defamatory or harassing. 

    Andy White

    Email me: [email protected]

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner


    Picture

    Sick of the woo?  Want to help keep honest and open dialogue about pseudo-archaeology on the internet? Please consider contributing to Woo War Two.
    Picture

    Follow updates on posts related to giants on the Modern Mythology of Giants page on Facebook.

    Archives

    January 2024
    January 2023
    January 2022
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    March 2021
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    Categories

    All
    3D Models
    AAA
    Adena
    Afrocentrism
    Agent Based Modeling
    Agent-based Modeling
    Aircraft
    Alabama
    Aliens
    Ancient Artifact Preservation Society
    Androgynous Fish Gods
    ANTH 227
    ANTH 291
    ANTH 322
    Anthropology History
    Anunnaki
    Appalachia
    Archaeology
    Ardipithecus
    Art
    Atlantis
    Australia
    Australopithecines
    Aviation History
    Bigfoot
    Birds
    Boas
    Book Of Mormon
    Broad River Archaeological Field School
    Bronze Age
    Caribou
    Carolina Bays
    Ceramics
    China
    Clovis
    Complexity
    Copper Culture
    Cotton Mather
    COVID-19
    Creationism
    Croatia
    Crow
    Demography
    Denisovans
    Diffusionism
    DINAA
    Dinosaurs
    Dirt Dance Floor
    Double Rows Of Teeth
    Dragonflies
    Early Archaic
    Early Woodland
    Earthworks
    Eastern Woodlands
    Eastern Woodlands Household Archaeology Data Project
    Education
    Egypt
    Europe
    Evolution
    Ewhadp
    Fake Hercules Swords
    Fetal Head Molding
    Field School
    Film
    Florida
    Forbidden Archaeology
    Forbidden History
    Four Field Anthropology
    Four-field Anthropology
    France
    Genetics
    Genus Homo
    Geology
    Geometry
    Geophysics
    Georgia
    Giants
    Giants Of Olden Times
    Gigantism
    Gigantopithecus
    Graham Hancock
    Grand Valley State
    Great Lakes
    Hollow Earth
    Homo Erectus
    Hunter Gatherers
    Hunter-gatherers
    Illinois
    India
    Indiana
    Indonesia
    Iowa
    Iraq
    Israel
    Jim Vieira
    Jobs
    Kensington Rune Stone
    Kentucky
    Kirk Project
    Late Archaic
    Lemuria
    Lithic Raw Materials
    Lithics
    Lizard Man
    Lomekwi
    Lost Continents
    Mack
    Mammoths
    Mastodons
    Maya
    Megafauna
    Megaliths
    Mesolithic
    Michigan
    Middle Archaic
    Middle Pleistocene
    Middle Woodland
    Midwest
    Minnesota
    Mississippi
    Mississippian
    Missouri
    Modeling
    Morphometric
    Mound Builder Myth
    Mu
    Music
    Nazis
    Neandertals
    Near East
    Nephilim
    Nevada
    New Mexico
    Newspapers
    New York
    North Carolina
    Oahspe
    Oak Island
    Obstetrics
    Ohio
    Ohio Valley
    Oldowan
    Olmec
    Open Data
    Paleoindian
    Paleolithic
    Pilumgate
    Pleistocene
    Pliocene
    Pre Clovis
    Pre-Clovis
    Prehistoric Families
    Pseudo Science
    Pseudo-science
    Radiocarbon
    Reality Check
    Rome
    Russia
    SAA
    Sardinia
    SCIAA
    Science
    Scientific Racism
    Sculpture
    SEAC
    Search For The Lost Giants
    Sexual Dimorphism
    Sitchin
    Social Complexity
    Social Networks
    Solutrean Hypothesis
    South Africa
    South America
    South Carolina
    Southeast
    Stone Holes
    Subsistence
    Swordgate
    Teaching
    Technology
    Teeth
    Television
    Tennessee
    Texas
    Topper
    Travel
    Travel Diaries
    Vaccines
    Washington
    Whatzit
    White Supremacists
    Wisconsin
    Woo War Two
    World War I
    World War II
    Writing
    Younger Dryas

    RSS Feed

    Picture
Proudly powered by Weebly