Three years ago today, I was cleaning the kitchen floor in anticipation of the arrival of relatives for the holidays. Through Facebook I became aware of J. Hutton Pulitzer's ludicrous claim that a ""100% confirmed" Roman sword had been recovered from a shipwreck off of Oak Island. The debacle that followed remains, in my opinion, a great example of how facts, logic, and reality can triumph over lies, nonsense, and fantasy in real time. Swordgate remains the most fun I've ever had dealing with pseudoarchaeology online. I can't imagine it will ever be repeated, which is why it's worth remembering and celebrating.
The final chapter on Swordgate remains to be written. There are still a few swords that we're aware of that we don't have many details about, and we're still missing the real "smoking gun" to nail down exactly when and where these Fake Hercules Swords were first produced. Without a doubt, however, they are all modern creations. There is and never was a "Naples Museum sword." The sword purportedly found on Oak Island didn't come from a shipwreck, was not covered in gold, did not have magical navigational powers, and it is not made using Roman-era metallurgical methods. The sword will never appear in history books. There will never be a "White Paper," and you will probably never get an admission from the principal proponent of the sword that the whole thing was a big pile of baloney. C'est la vie.
The final chapter on Swordgate remains to be written. There are still a few swords that we're aware of that we don't have many details about, and we're still missing the real "smoking gun" to nail down exactly when and where these Fake Hercules Swords were first produced. Without a doubt, however, they are all modern creations. There is and never was a "Naples Museum sword." The sword purportedly found on Oak Island didn't come from a shipwreck, was not covered in gold, did not have magical navigational powers, and it is not made using Roman-era metallurgical methods. The sword will never appear in history books. There will never be a "White Paper," and you will probably never get an admission from the principal proponent of the sword that the whole thing was a big pile of baloney. C'est la vie.
To celebrate this year's anniversary, the hearty band of sword researchers on the Fake Hercules Sword group on Facebook is having a contest to create a new cover image for the group. I made this trophy for the winner. The "100% Mightier" award for 2018 is a pen holder made from two roofing nails, the flange from a garbage disposal, a piece of chromed tubing, and a Hercules action figure I bought on eBay for $5. Pen not included.
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Note: it's not that we're snobs, but we've intentionally kept the membership of the Facebook group limited to those who have taken a more-or-less active interest in investigating the swords. It's a public group, so you can see what's in it if you're interested. But we're not looking for new members unless you've got something to contribute. It's a pretty small club.
Other than keeping our eyes open . . . there's not a whole lot going on with the swords these days. New facts have been few this year. There are still die-hards out there who maintain, for whatever reason, that the poorly-cast cheap brass souvenir trinket sword with blurred features, dull edges, obvious filing marks, a fake patina probably created by urination is an actual Roman artifact that will rewrite history. I don't know what to say to those people. They're probably still watching The Curse of Oak Island and still convinced that a Roman Legion sailed there and buried something important that the government doesn't want them to know about. Enjoy the humbug this holiday season, I suppose. And add this piece of an old frog gig to your pile of "evidence."
If you're at all into this nonsense (and you're reading this blog post, so I like my chances), check out this Third Anniversary video by Peter Geuzen:
If you're at all into this nonsense (and you're reading this blog post, so I like my chances), check out this Third Anniversary video by Peter Geuzen:
I solemnly pledge that by the fourth anniversary I'll finally get the database and everything else in the archives tidied up and up-to-date. Maybe I'll even get a draft of the Swordgate paper going.
In the spirit of remembrance for those of us who live in reality, here are some important retrospective posts from previous years. Enjoy!
In the spirit of remembrance for those of us who live in reality, here are some important retrospective posts from previous years. Enjoy!
- "Ten Great Moments in Swordgate History: A Look Back" (6/11/2016)
- "Swordgate Year One: 365 Days of Thimblerigging" (12/16/2016)
- "And a Very Merry Swordgate to You!" (12/26/2016)
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