Treasure Beaches Report: Pt. 2. (2020 and Beyond). : 3/22/26 Report - Shipwreck on Beach, Indigenous Archaeology, Who's Cross. Sheave Find. Magnets. Real Royal Reale.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

Known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic” researchers on Sable Island may have found a rare shipwreck that could be from before the 20th Century.

The ecological reserve off he coast of Nova Scotia has seen more than 350 ships destroyed since 1583, many of which sunk to the bottom of the ocean or decayed on the soft sands of the island...

In May 2025, underwater and terrestrial archaeologists launched a project with a Mi’kmaw archaeological technician to uncover one of the shipwrecks. For two weeks, they carefully dug up the “remarkably well-preserved” ship just below the sandy surface on the North Beach...

However, after uncovering parts of the ship, some wood and copper fragments were marked with British Royal Navy broad arrows, and it had Bermuda cedar elements, which researchers suggest could be three possible connections: HMS Barbadoes, the sloop Swift, and the schooner Emeline...

Here is the link for more about that article.

Archeologists linking shipwreck on Sable Island to historical event

I've mentioned the Mi'kmaq people in this blog several times before. They were among the first indigenous of North America to meet Europeans. They encountered the Norse around 1000 A.D.

The Oak Island TV show seems to go out of their way to avoid mention of the Mi'kmaq, despite them being dominant in the early history of Nova Scotia. They are inconvenient to the preferred storyline of the Knights Templar. It seemed there was absolute panic at one point when archaeological discoveries and concerns could have shut them down. After that, archaeologists became a regular part of the program - though not Mi'kmaq. I actually find the archaeological discoveries more telling and fascinating than the metal detector finds, as few as they are for thirteen seasons. The detector finds have failed to answer any questions pertaining to the search for the Oak Island treasure. As I've said before, various random surface scatterings are not likely to shed light on a treasure buried in a complex tunnel system.

By the way, the Mi'kmaq flag is a cross, sometimes displayed horizontally with the star at the upper left.

A cross is such a basic form that by itself provides little information and can be seen almost anywhere - even nature. There is, for example, the Southern Cross or Crux constellation.

One of the big lessons of Oak Island is to not get so stuck on one story or idea that you can't see evidence for anything else.

Translations are not always easy or straightforward. Mi'maq is sometimes spelled and pronounced in various ways, including Migmaw, Mikmaw, Mikmaq and Migmao. You see the same kind of the with Kang-hsi, which is sometimes spelled or transliterated as Kangxi as well as other spellings.

One thing I've done that has been widely accepted but occasionally criticized for is using "reale" for the Spanish word real. Even in the Spanish language, the word real is used differently in different locations. It has three primary meanings, one is royal, another is the coin, and the third is simply real or authentic.

When it comes to language, I put function over form and don't stick rigidly to rules. I'm not good at grammar anyhow but try to improve. As long as I clearly communicate, I'm happy with that, however I sometimes play with language just for the fun of it.

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Magnet fishing has become a big thing. I posted about magnet fishing over a decade ago. At that time, it wasn't as prevalent as it is today.

I've always been an advocate of alternate forms of finding treasure. Magnet fishing is just one of those. I've also recommended eyeballing a lot.

But magnets are not just good for magnet fishing. For the detectorist I've recommended using magnets to remove surface trash from littered detecting sites. I once showed what was called a magnet rake, which could be used to remove iron trash. Here is an example.