I wrote a post yesterday about the claim that three Roman crossbow bolts were found embedded in a thousand-year-old tree on Oak Island. Putting aside the known puffery and dishonesty of the source, there are basically two questions we can address:
The answer to the first question is almost certainly "no." Think about it and read through some of the comments on yesterday's blog post - there's not a lot that makes sense about the "found in the middle of a tree" story. I think we can throw that out as nonsense.
The second question can be addressed in two ways. One, you can ask if these items appear to be similar to documented Roman crossbow bolts. Two, you can ask what else the item could be.
I chose to focus on the second approach, speculating that maybe the items were cast iron "spear" finials for a fence or perhaps some kind of rotary tool bit. Finding a modern item that matched the "crossbow bolt" better than an actual crossbow bolt would allow us to pretty much dispense with this one. In my search I found an item for sale on Etsy (for about twenty bucks, to be shipped from the Ukraine) that was billed as Roman crossbow bolt. That "discovery" of mine has since been Huttoned, and is now being posted around the internet as evidence that the Nova Scotia items are the real deal. That kind of grasping is a prime indicator, I think, that Boltgate isn't going to last very long. Enjoy it while you can.
The best explanation for the "crossbow bolts" so far has come from the Oak Island Compendium blog. Last night, they published this post showing how similar the "crossbow bolts" are to the metal spikes used in a logging tool called a Peavey. The spikes are replaceable in case they get damaged. They expanded on that today, offering a side-by-side comparison of the Oak Island "crossbow bolt" and the spike from a Peavey:
- Is the "discovery" story plausible?
- Are these items Roman crossbow bolts?
The answer to the first question is almost certainly "no." Think about it and read through some of the comments on yesterday's blog post - there's not a lot that makes sense about the "found in the middle of a tree" story. I think we can throw that out as nonsense.
The second question can be addressed in two ways. One, you can ask if these items appear to be similar to documented Roman crossbow bolts. Two, you can ask what else the item could be.
I chose to focus on the second approach, speculating that maybe the items were cast iron "spear" finials for a fence or perhaps some kind of rotary tool bit. Finding a modern item that matched the "crossbow bolt" better than an actual crossbow bolt would allow us to pretty much dispense with this one. In my search I found an item for sale on Etsy (for about twenty bucks, to be shipped from the Ukraine) that was billed as Roman crossbow bolt. That "discovery" of mine has since been Huttoned, and is now being posted around the internet as evidence that the Nova Scotia items are the real deal. That kind of grasping is a prime indicator, I think, that Boltgate isn't going to last very long. Enjoy it while you can.
The best explanation for the "crossbow bolts" so far has come from the Oak Island Compendium blog. Last night, they published this post showing how similar the "crossbow bolts" are to the metal spikes used in a logging tool called a Peavey. The spikes are replaceable in case they get damaged. They expanded on that today, offering a side-by-side comparison of the Oak Island "crossbow bolt" and the spike from a Peavey:
Comparison of the alleged "Roman crossbow bolt" (left) and a Peavy spike (right). Image from the Oak Island Compendium blog.
All things considered, I'm comfortable calling this one a swing-and-a-miss for the Lost Legion of Roman Scotia.
Got anything else?
Got anything else?
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