Gary Drayton and Emma Culligan Analyze Copper Clue Tied to Phips Theory (Season 12, Ep11)

In Season 12, Episode 11 of The Curse of Oak Island, titled “Best Caisson Scenario” and originally aired on February 6, 2025, the spotlight shifts once again to Lot 4, where the team continues their hands-on exploration with promising results., the spotlight returns to Lot 4, where metal detection expert Gary Drayton and Peter Fornetti continue their careful scan of spoils removed from the rounded stone foundation recently unearthed on nearby Lot 5. The effort yields what appears to be a fragmented copper belt plate, complete with visible rivets—possibly once part of a military uniform or satchel.

This find is especially significant given the growing body of artifacts recovered in this area, including 17th-century Venetian trade beads, deep-soil mortar consistent with that of the Money Pit, and iron tools previously linked to the hometown of Sir William Phips, the 17th-century English naval officer long rumored to have buried Spanish treasure on the island.

Back in the lab, blacksmithing expert Carmen Legge and archaeometallurgist Emma Culligan analyze the copper artifact using advanced CT scanning and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. The results are promising: the alloy contains arsenic, a material commonly used in earlier metallurgical processes but phased out by the late 1700s. This composition suggests a possible origin in the 1600s, aligning with the timeline of Phips’s expeditions.

The discussion turns speculative but compelling as Craig Tester, Jack Begley, and others explore the idea that Phips may have used Lot 5 as a staging site during or after his salvaging of the Spanish treasure ship Concepción in 1687. Historical researcher Scott Clarke, a 32nd-degree Freemason, adds weight to this theory by noting discrepancies in Phips’s reported treasure deliveries to the English Crown and suggesting that a portion of the recovered silver may have been hidden on Oak Island.

Though the team admits they lack a definitive “smoking gun,” the alignment of artifacts, metallurgy, and historical clues continues to build a persuasive case. The episode concludes with renewed determination: further exploration of Lot 5 and the swamp may yet confirm whether the island’s oldest structures were constructed under the direction of someone like Sir William Phips.

Cast Featured: Gary Drayton, Peter Fornetti, Craig Tester, Jack Begley, Carmen Legge, Emma Culligan, Scott Clarke