An entrepreneur/citizen historian’s hypotheses about historical anomalies in early colonial Nova Scotia
A Curious Case of Unremarked Limestone
Was ‘Mahone Bay limestone’ a ‘trade secret’ before the 1750s?
Are 16th-18th C industrial archaeology artifacts hidden at Mahone Bay?
Is this evidence of a smuggler’s entrepôt during the Ancien Régime?
Project start: 18 March 2017
Clue noticed: Early April 2017
Hypotheses finalized: 04 May 2017
Status date: 04 Dec 2017
- PDF Link: 1-page summary [Tweaked hypothesis: 04 Dec 2017]
- PDF Link: 1-page summary [Original hypothesis: May 2017]
- 1-page outline of proposed methods to test for archaeological field evidence – delivered shortly
- Research notes, references, etc – published as time permits
About this Project:
This project began during a search for something new to investigate for intellectual fun. Oak Island, NS is the alleged Treasure Island of Captain Kidd, executed for piracy in 1700. My interest got piqued by the sinkhole reports when looking for karst – landscapes formed from precipitation percolating through soluble carbonate formations, such as limestone, marble, gypsum and anhydrite.
Image 1: Public Domain. Stanisław Skowron. 6 October 2006: All Rights Released.
Image 2: Captain Kidd, gibbeted, following his execution in 1701. Public Domain. Ellms, Charles, “Hanging of William Kidd,” The Pirates Own Book, Published 31 December 1836.
