In the 10th season of the reality TV series The Curse of Oak Island in the episode :Over the Muon Gary Drayton and Jack Begley unearthed a copper alloy artifact with a green patina. This copper alloy piece is about two by three inches and is folded over with three separate folds. I originally thought it depicted wick or rope hieroglyphics combined with Moon or Sun hieroglyphics from Ancient Egypt.
The copper piece was analyzed by Emma Culligan in an XRF machine and the artifact contained 94.5% copper, 3.35% zinc, 1.92% iron and .23% arsenic. This formula created a copper alloy object that was created a long time ago.
Thinking the copper piece may have been Egyptian on June 16th, 2023 I showed pictures of the artifact to Dr. Zahi Hawass. Dr. Hawass is a world famous Egyptian archeologist. His response was "This is nothing." So I guess the artifact is not Egyptian.
In season 11 of The Curse of Oak Island the copper piece was cleaned up and revealed more details and was displayed in the 20th episode titled Wet and Wild. In the original episode where the copper piece was found, Dr. Edwin Barnhart suggested that it may be a Viking object. Researching Norse symbols used by Vikings on the Internet I followed a link to alchemical symbols. The link of alchemical symbols showed symbols that seem to match the symbols found on the copper piece for bismuth or platinum and gold.
Screen shot from The Curse of Oak Island season 11, episode 20
Looking closer at the piece I realized there are snakes wrapped around a circular symbol with three black holes or dots. Doing more research I found the symbol - caput mortuum, a circle with three dots in the circle. The caput mortuum symbol represents the residue or the deitrus after metals or plant material are transformed into other materials. This led me to believe the entwined snakes that surround the caput mortuum symbols represent the caduceus. The caduceus may represent mercury and sulphur and the caput mortuum symbol probably represents red ochre. These components were used in transmuting different materials into a substance known as the Philosopher's Stone.
The symbols on the copper sheeting piece include the following -
5 1/2 Philosopher's Stones- a substance known as the ultimate symbol of transformation
20 entwined snakes or caduceus'- represents transformation and probably represents mercury and sulphur
5 gold symbols - gold was used to create the Philosopher's Stone
5 platinum or bismuth symbols - possible elements used to create the Philosopher's Stone
5 caput mortuum symbols - ancient dissolution or deitrus symbol, probably represents red ochre
7 whole mortars or mixing bowls and 4 partial bowls - contains the Philosopher's Stones and the gold and platinum or bismuth symbols
I believe the symbols on the copper piece include Philosopher's Stones in mortars or containers, caput mortuum symbols surrounded by entwined snakes or caduceus', gold symbols and platinum or bismuth symbols. The copper piece most likely depicts the distillation of gold and platinum or bismuth combined with mercury and sulphur into a substance that was known as the Philosopher's Stone. The Philosopher's Stone was described as both a substance or a liquid that could help one achieve immortality. The copper piece was probably made in the 1600s or 1700s and it may have adorned a box that contained materials used by an alchemist.
Together these alchemical symbols lead me to conclude this copper piece is a very unique object. I can't find another combination of these symbols on the Internet. It would be great to figure out who was the original owner of this copper object.
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