The Curse of Oak Island: The team asks for public help with identifying mysterious artifact

Marty Lagina and his brother, Rick, are looking for help with some key artifacts. Pic credit: History

The Curse of Oak Island guys have begun asking the public for help analyzing and identifying various artifacts found on the island that the Lagina brothers believe may be vital to solving the mystery.

The Fellowship of the Dig announced in April that they would regularly post images and videos of artifacts they are having trouble explaining.

They hope there are treasure-hunting fans out there who may have done their own research and have theories about the origin of these mystery artifacts.

In a video posted last week, Rick Lagina thanked their fans for any help coming their way and had Oak Island researcher Judi Rudebusch introduce an artifact that has the guys perplexed.

The item, referred to as the copper alloy piece, was found by Jack Begley and Gary Drayton in 2022 during filming for Season 10 on Lot 8. The artifact appeared to be an ornate plate with a number of strange symbols on either side.

The archaeology team was baffled by the object and has so far only been able to speculate on its meaning.

Experts agree Oak Island artifact comes from Europe, but that’s all they know for sure

The guys drafted in expert archaeologist Dr. Edwin Barnhart, who was the first to suggest it could be of Viking origin. However, he also thought it could be Portuguese.

Edwin confirmed the object contained copper, zinc, and lead, came from Europe, and was probably made between the 8th and 11th centuries.

This mysterious artifact has baffled the Oak Island archaeologists. Pic credit: History

Earlier this year, in Season 11, historian Doug Crowell claimed to have found matching symbols from the artifact in an ancient Icelandic manuscript. This manuscript was a Viking document related to astronomy and astrology, which suggested more evidence that the Norsemen visited Oak Island.

In the last series, the guys explored the theory that the Vikings and Templar knights collaborated to hide treasure on Oak Island.

Is the Oak Island artifact actually from the Seljuk Empire?

However, according to the latest video, the team has learned much more about the artifact, which may contradict the above. Judi now claims the artifact could be connected to the Seljuk Empire. The Seljuks were a Muslim Turco-Persian dynasty that ruled a large area of the Middle East in the 11th and 12th centuries.

Judi also stated that a University of New Brunswick study concluded the lead in the artifact was mined in Greece. They also reckon it is part of a much larger piece.

The Curse of Oak Island Season 12 will likely return in November 2024 on History.