In 1928, a New York newspaper published a feature story about Oak Island. [22] Exploratory holes that were drilled turned up bits of wood, more coconut fiber, soft clay, and blue mud. In 1965, Robert Dunfield attempted to find the legendary Oak Island treasure and dug a 100 foot wide by 140 foot deep hole in order to find it. The wood's color resembles Tyrian blue, a dye used by royalty and church documents. [27] Further excavations were made in 1935 and 1936, none of which was successful.[28]. The immediate suspicion was that another money pit had been found. That is quickly followed up by a more incredible find: A piece of ammunition called grapeshot. His finds, including a solid-silver 1781 Spanish half-real, are documented on his website.[32]. A compelling argument that connects the lost treasure of the Knights Templar to the mysterious money pit on Oak Island, Nova Scotia, that has baffled treasure hunters for two centuries * Fascinating occult detective work linking the Cathars, the Scottish Masons, and Renne-le-Chateau to the elusive treasure pit on Oak Island * Draws on new evidence recently unearthed in Italy, France, and . Rick and Marty Lagina have led the charge for nine seasons now on their. In his book, Snow said that he received the set of symbols from Rev. episodes. A "curse" on the treasure is said to have originated more than a century ago and states that seven men will die in the search for the treasure before it is found.[2]. In "A Boatload of Clues," the 11th episode of the ninth season of "The Curse of Oak Island," metal detection expert Gary Drayton is joined by treasure hunter Michael John. Faribault, E. Rudolph. The alleged excavation was eventually abandoned after workers attempted to recover the treasure from below by digging a tunnel from a second shaft that also flooded. Dating back to 1260-1400, coconut fibers were first discovered in Smith's Cove in 1850 along with five stone box drains that were meant to booby trap the Money Pit by filling it with water. Another pirate theory involved Edward Teach (Blackbeard), who said that he buried his treasure "where none but Satan and myself can find it. [4] According to the most widely held discovery story, Daniel McGinnis found a depression in the ground around 1799 while he was looking for a location for a farm. Drayton believes it to be a 17th century crossbow bolt. Will finds in the Money Pit area and Smith's Cove turn up. However, it could be evidence that this military was responsible for some of the buried secrets around the island. This happened by the Garden Shaft, which wasn't as much of a surprise as one might think. [17], In his 1872 novel, The Treasure of the Seas,[42] James DeMille describes being a summer resident of Chester Basin during the later 1860s. I expect next season to see nothing less than the complete excavation of the whole damn island itself, with the debris pile reforming the NEW Oak Island mere feet away. Gary owns Little Mash Island, a tiny spit of land a few hundred yards . A 19th century excavation. But what would a British naval officer be doing visiting the home of a simple cabbage farmer? Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Secret Treasure of Oak Island: The Amazing True Story of a Centuries at the best online prices at eBay! Drayton soon digs up what appears to be a handmade decorative keyhole plate. Get ready to read all the deets about this mystery. [82], When marine biologist Barry Fell attempted to have the symbols on the stone translated during the late 1970s, he said that the symbols resembled the Coptic alphabet and read: "To escape contagion of plague and winter hardships, he is to pray for an end or mitigation the Arif: The people will perish in misery if they forget the Lord, alas". Francis Drake . history of and rationale for the Baconian-Rosicrucian involvement in this Oak Island mystery. By using our Services, you agree to our use of cookies. The 'Money Pit' on Oak Island in 1947. [75] Author and researcher Mark Finnan[76] elaborated on Leary's Oak Island theory, which was also used in the Norwegian book Organisten (The Seven Steps to Mercy) by Erlend Loe and Petter Amundsen and the TV series Sweet Swan of Avon. [2] [3] [4] As of November 20, 2022, 166 episodes of The Curse of Oak Island have aired. During this nine season run, the Lagina Brothershave been on a constant search for hidden treasure, perhaps buried on the island by Spanish pirates, the British military, or even the Knights Templar. 1897 - The parchment is sent to Harvard University and confirmed as . All Rights Reserved. The design included a pine tree with thirteen branches. A generation later, with the inscription nearly worn away, the stone found its way to a bookstore in Halifax, and what happened to it after that I was unable to learn. A reminder of the Spanish maravedi coin found in the Season 1 finale "The Find," the Lagina Brothers and their team wonder if they will soon find even more Spanish treasure hidden somewhere on Oak Island. The Curse of Oak Island: MYSTERIOUS WOODEN VAULT UNEARTHED (Season 4) | History HISTORY 11.3M subscribers Subscribe 4.2K 492K views 2 years ago Love The Curse Of Oak Island? At a point where the earth was soft, "At about two feet down a layer of fieldstone was struck. Gary Drayton and Jack Begley are joined by geophysicist Mike West, who uses a metal detection device that penetrates deeper than Drayton's usual handheld metal detector, in "Depth Perception," the third episode of the sixth season of "The Curse of Oak Island.". Cookies help us deliver our Services. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Adjustable Standing Desk, Mobile Standing Desk, Laptop Cart on Vintage Oak at the best online prices at eBay! By this time, saltwater was undermining the walls of the original shaft, which some workers refused to enter. According to Joe Nickell, there is no treasure; the pit is a natural phenomenon, probably a sinkhole connected to limestone passages or caverns. On August 19, 1911, Collier's magazine published a firsthand account by Captain H. L. Bowdoin of the stone (which was then in use at Creighton's bookbindery in Halifax). A depression was also spotted beneath the tree. If he had, perhaps nobody else would have walked the woods on the eastern end of Oak Island for the next ten years. It turned out to not be a Maravedi coin at all, but instead something far more interesting. These drains were first discovered in 1850 by the Truro Company and may have fed into one tunnel meant to fill the Money Pit with water as a booby trap. Or, perhaps more hopefully, could they have been dropped by a wealthy group out on Oak Island to bury treasure of their own? [12] The Truro Company then ran out of funds and was dissolved sometime in 1851. Or will the team of archaeologists leave the site empty-handed? This appears to be confirmed when they find another piece nearby that matches the first one perfectly. 1. The effect caused the next two platforms to drop as well, with any treasure now resting some 119 feet (36m) below ground along with an estimated 10,000 board feet (24m3) of lumber. One of the coins found had the year 1771 clearly printed on its surface, seemingly confirming the centuries old age of the currency. In 1970, a U-Shaped structure was discovered by treasure hunter Dan Blankenship after creating a cofferdam around Smith's Cove. [29] On August 17, Restall was overcome by hydrogen sulfide fumes. [12] When efforts failed to shut off the flood system, one final shaft was dug 118 feet (36m) deep with the branched-off tunnel going under the original shaft. Could their be more piratical discoveries to be made? Samples of human bone dating back to the 17th century were found during a dig in the Money Pit. Harry W. Marshall (born 1879), the son of an owner of the bookbindery, wrote in 1935 that: One researcher claimed that the cipher translated as "Forty feet below, two million pounds lie buried". It then took another five years before one of the alleged original diggers gave a statement regarding the original story along with subsequent Onslow and Truro Company activities. Once the new source of metal has been x-rayed and studied, it is revealed to be composed of 0.2 percent gold, an even larger percentage of gold than the previous find. The characters were there all right, but no person present could decipher them. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. They soon find a lead ingot used for making musket balls, as well as several King George II coins also from the 1700s. One of the "best" accounts of what happened with the Truro Company later appeared in the "1893 Oak Island Treasure Company Investment Prospectus". There are thirteen. Tests conclude that it dates between the early 1600s to 1700s and could be a hinge meant for a very thick door. This connection to the Knights Templar becomes even more concrete after further investigations into the cross occur in Season 5, Episode 13 "Unhinged" and Season 5, Episode 15 "Steel Trapped.". The difference here is that this coin has been cut into a smaller segment. Stories of buried treasure on Oak Island, Nova Scotia, Canada, William Chappell and Gilbert Hedden (19281939), Restall family and Robert Dunfield (19591966). During the 1990s, further exploration stalled because of legal battles between the Triton partners and a lack of financing. The first confirmed gold found on Oak Island, this brooch dates back as early as the 14th century. Hot on the trail of the legendary Chappell Vault, the team gleans thrilling new information from the most notorious treasure hunting operation in the history of Oak Island. The Michigan group, working with Blankenship, said that it would resume operations on Oak Island in the hope of discovering buried treasure and solving the island's mystery. John Godwin wrote that given the apparent size and complexity of the pit, it was probably dug by French Army engineers hiding the treasury of the Fortress of Louisbourg after British forces captured the fortress during the Seven Years' War.[69]. However, Skowronek provides an even bigger revelation when he tells the team that the lead isotopes are identical to the ones found in the lead cross. Discovery of these fibers suggests that box drains exist. Amirault and Taylor uncover pottery pieces hand painted in bright red, blue, and green colors. Where did these 17th century coins come from? Armed with a metal detector, the Oak Island team explored these leftover spoils and soon found a pair of English coins with King Charles II's face on one side and the years "1673" and "1694" inscribed on the other. In 1795, 16-year-old Daniel McGuiness went on a fishing expedition to Oak Island. Discovered in the swamp during the first season by the Laginas and their team, this copper coin from 1652 suggests that there was activity on Oak Island long before the 1795 discovery of the Money Pit. This stone wharf, which was determined to be at least 300 years old, was unearthed in Season 8 and provides further evidence that the Oak Island swamp is a man-made feature. Although the president secretly planned to visit Oak Island in 1939 while he was in Halifax, fog and the international situation The Laginas are not 100% sure as to its exact location on the island, but they believe that is located somewhere near the Money Pit. The Lagina Brothers and Gary Drayton continue their search for buried treasure by exploring the Dunfield Spoils in "The Curse of Oak Island" Season 5, Episode 3 "Obstruction.". [5] Another article, a year later, claimed that the stone was held by the Smith family. Since the 19th century, explorers have tried to locate the loot. Although the pumps were unable to keep water out of the flooded side shaft, boring samples were taken. Not much was found. In a January 27 letter to Hunter-Duvar, Cooke claimed that Smith built the stone into his chimney in 1824 and said that he was shown the stone by Smith in the chimney around 1850, when "there were some crudely cut letters, figures or characters upon it. It's likely the wood was stained a vegetable dye and may be a fragment of bookbinding that the parchment was once part of. [3] Byrd advised Franklin D. Roosevelt about the island;[57] the men forged a relationship, forming the United States Antarctic Service (USAS, a federal-government program) with Byrd nominally in command.[58]. I wish the show would give this kind of history.". The show has already developed a cult-following among reality series lovers, and those who have been following it are curious is a Season 9 is on the cards. Its design suggests an ancient metalwork technique called cloisonne. Map What's Been Found on Oak Island Treasure hunters have been intrigued by the legend of Oak Island for more than 200 years. Probably the very first account of any sign of treasure on Oak Island was at the end of the 18th Century. [63], Another pit, similar to the early description of the "money pit", was discovered in the area in 1949 when workmen were digging a well on the shore of Mahone Bay. This page was last edited on 28 April 2023, at 16:00. He went to England to consult Harold T. Wilkins, author of Captain Kidd and His Skeleton Island, about a link he found between Oak Island and a map in Wilkins' book. According to History, Oak Island itself is 140 acres, and possesses several locations deemed worthy of investigation by the Laginas and their "Fellowship," gleaned from previous efforts to find. He further connects it to Templar graffiti from a similar timeframe. Using their metal detector, Drayton, Begley, and Lagina soon find a small piece of metal that Drayton believes might be a part of a military cap badge. The explosion was first mentioned in an 1863 novel titled Rambles Among the Blue-noses, while mention of a death came five years later. In Season 5, Episode 16 "Seeing Red," Rick Lagina and Gary Drayton return to the site where they had found the decorative keyhole in the previous episode. Roosevelt continued to follow it until his death in 1945. Very little verified information is known about early treasure-related activities on Oak Island; thus, the following accounts are word of mouth stories going back to the late eighteenth century. Not much was found. Howlett, A. The Chappell Vault is named so for the dig conducted by William Chappell in the 1930s, who managed to find several items of interest (via History.com). They were minted in the 1600s, which is more than 100 years before the first discovery of the Money Pit in 1795. find some relics and archaeological items. In Season 7, Episode 4, "The Lucky Thirteen," Gary Drayton and Charles Barkhouse return to Lot 21 where many prior discoveries have been made to see if they can't find more. Considered one of the biggest finds, this lead cross was discovered at Smith's Cove. Gary Drayton discovered a wrought iron hinge that is similar to the decorative hinges discovered on Fred Nolan's property. "New season of Oak Island new nails, pieces of wood and rocks waiting to be found," another added in November 2021. I cannot recollect which, but they appear as if they had been scraped out by a blunt instrument, rather than cut with a sharp one". Could they have been dropped by hurried individuals on their way to find buried treasure? However, this coin appeared to be of a much smaller size; perhaps two Maravedis rather than eight. The rest of the company is owned by Blankenship. [10] The last major company of the unpublished era was called The Truro Company, which was allegedly formed in 1849 by investors. The imitation Chinese porcelain on these hand-painted pearlware pottery fragments suggest that they originate from Staffordshire, England from 1700-1800. It was first reported in a July 2, 1862, Halifax Sun and Advisor article, which mentioned a June 2, 1862, letter by J. The island was the subject of an episode of In Search of which was first broadcast on January 18, 1979. Later treasure hunters claimed that coconut fibres were discovered beneath the surface of a beach, Smith's Cove, in 1851. All of these attempts were failures in the end, due to the tide which eventually broke through barriers that were put in place. In the following Season 6 episode, "Gold Rush," the brooch is taken to gemologist Charles Lewton-Brain who says that the gem is actually leaded glass, though a threaded technique used on the brooch dates the jewelry to the 14th century or earlier. It is known that the company operated sometime roughly in the early 1800s. But there are plenty of people living who have seen the stone. William Chappell became interested and excavated the pit in 1931 by sinking a 12-by-14-foot (3.7m 4.3m) [b], The first published account took place in 1857, when the Liverpool Transcript mentioned a group digging for Captain Kidd's treasure on Oak Island. Tests reveal the wood beams predate the discovery of the Money Pit by more than two decades. Part 3 is devoted to the secret. Might it have been part of a barrel that once contained a portion of the Oak Island treasure? However, no treasure was ever found and eventually the large hole caved in on itself. The Oak Island mystery is a series of stories of buried treasure and unexplained objects found on or near Oak Island in Nova Scotia. According to an account written in 1862, after the Onslow Company had excavated to 8090 feet (2427 metres), the pit flooded with seawater up to the 33-foot (10m) level; attempts to remove the water were unsuccessful. According to an undocumented story, Marie Antoinette instructed her maid (or a lady-in-waiting) to flee with her jewels. [70][71][72] [3][8][9], In about 1802, a group known as the Onslow Company allegedly sailed from central Nova Scotia to Oak Island to recover what they believed to be hidden treasure. "[41] Mitchell was the superintendent of works for the Oak Island Association, which was formed on April 3, 1861, and ceased operation by March 29, 1865. However, no treasure was ever found and. DeMille lived on Oak Island for a summer and had firsthand knowledge of the area. This distinctive cross could be the symbol of the Knights Templar who, in the 13th century, had instituted one of the first international banking systems. Was the coin brought to Oak Island by pirates, the Spanish, Egyptians, the British military, or the Knights Templar? This suggests there was activity in Smith's Cove earlier than first thought. The treasure hunting trio soon make a trio of discoveries. [18][19] Another shaft was dug in the spring of 1862, one which was 107 feet (33m) deep. This section follows Nickell, section "Man-made or Natural?". In "Circles in Wood," the sixth episode of the fourth season of "The Curse of Oak Island," Gary Drayton along with associate producers and fellow treasure hunters Jack Begley and Alex Lagina do some metal detecting on property once owned by former slave-turned-cabbage farmer Samuel Ball. The original story by early settlers involves a dying sailor from the crew of Captain Kidd (d. 1701), in which he states that treasure worth 2million had been buried on the island. With the discovery of this cartwheel, as well as the large amount of other 17th and 18th century coins the Oak Island team has dug up, it seems like finding a hoard of buried treasure seems like could be just on the horizon. Scientists Solve Mystery Of Oak Island Buried treasure was officially found on Oak Island which officially solves the 400 year old mystery. This cap badge is yet another exciting find potentially expanding the diversity of 17th century Oak Island visitors to include the Spanish, the British, and now the French. ADVERTISEMENT It All Started With Three Boys With his friends Anthony Vaughn and John Smith, McGinnis dug a reported thirty feet into the ground. Freemason Dennis King examines the Masonic aspects of the Oak Island legend in his article, "The Oak Island Legend: The Masonic Angle". The next mention of the stone is in an 1893 Oak Island Treasure Company prospectus. The characters in the novel find that the stone had been removed from the chimney when they arrived on the island;[43] until then, no one had been able to decode the mysterious symbols reportedly on the stone, which an inn landlord describes as 'rather faint, and irregular' he also says that 'men who don't believe in Kidd's treasure say that it isn't an inscription at all it's only some accidental scratches'. Oak Island lies on a glacial tumulus system and is underlain by a series of water-filled anhydrite cavities which may be responsible for the repeated flooding of the pit. While many discoveries had been made prior, this semi-precious gemstone would be the most valuable treasure the Lagina team had found up to that point. Robert Restall, his 18-year-old son, and work partner Karle Graeser, came to Oak Island in 1959 after signing a contract with one of the property owners. [24] The second accidental death occurred on March 26, 1897, when a worker named Maynard Kaiser fell to his death. While initially thinking it to be a coin, they quickly realize it has the word "plated" engraved on it. The symbols associated with the "Forty feet below" translation first appeared in 1949's True Tales of Buried Treasure by explorer and historian Edward Rowe Snow. The nearest community is the rural community of Western Shore which faces the island, while the nearest village is Chester. Perhaps after further investigation and continued excavation, all of these secrets and more will one day be revealed on "The Curse of Oak Island. On October 5, 1789, revolutionaries incited an angry mob of Parisian working women to march on the Palace of Versailles. A. T. Kempton of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but no information was provided as to how or where Kempton obtained them. It was then decided to drill five bore holes using a pod-auger into the original shaft. This artifact supports the theory that the Knights Templar may have been on the island. 1965. [7][14] The accounts based on the Liverpool Transcript articles also ran in the Novascotian, the British Colonist, and is mentioned in an 1895 book called A History Of Lunenburg County. Gary Drayton and Rick Lagina go metal detecting along the shoreline and find what appears to be a religious artifact in Season 5, Episode 10 "The Signs of a Cross. ", Drayton dates the solid lead cross to somewhere between the 1200s and the 1600s. Here are the top 25 discoveries on the island. The Little Mash Theory. No original documents relating to the Onslow Company have ever been found. [18] The first of six accidental deaths during excavations occurred during the fall of 1861 when a pump engine boiler burst. Having found nothing of interest, the group gave up the search in 1867. In 1931 the Chappell shaft was dug where the drill rig had been set up in 1897. Although the pumps could not keep up with the floodwater, tools that had been used by the Onslow and Truro companies were recovered. According to Charles B. Driscoll's 1929 book, The Oak Island Treasure (based on secondhand accounts), The stone was shown to everyone who visited the Island in those days. This week's discoveries suggest that the Oak Island mystery could date earlier, and be more profound, than anyone could have suspected. Researchers and cryptographers such as Petter Amundsen and Daniel Ronnstam claim to have found codes hidden in Shakespeare, rock formations on the island, and clues hidden in other 16th- and 17th-century art and historical documents. The Blair letter mentioned above states that MacDonald took down the partition in order to examine the stone, not to remove it. The Oak Island mystery is a series of stories of buried treasure and unexplained objects found on or near Oak Island in Nova Scotia.Since the 18th century, attempts have been made to find treasure and artifacts.Theories about artifacts present on the island range from pirate treasure to Shakespearean manuscripts to the Holy Grail or the Ark of the Covenant, with the Grail and the Ark having . From the account I have read from his son that was written in the 1970s he believed the drill may have gone off course in an unknown direction. This artifact was unearthed near the site of Daniel McGinnis' old home on Lot 21. Both of these shafts were filled with water when an alleged flood tunnel was again breached. Pulling up a large boulder, Drayton and Lagina find underneath a large copper twopence coin featuring the face of King George III. Testing showed that the material in the lead is from Southern France and dates back to the 1300s or 1400s. Eventually, they reached a hard surface that was seemingly impenetrable. July 24, 2011 -- There are more than 700 curious tunnel networks in Bavaria, but their purpose remains a mystery. He is excited to discover the show's first appearance of buried gold. [53] Throughout his political career, he monitored the island's recovery attempts and development. And some. Summary Report of Geological Survey Branch of the Department of Mines. Collier's Magazine, August 18. [56], Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd Jr. was also a passive investor in Oak Island exploration and treasure hunting, and monitored their status. Shards of pottery were discovered at an astounding 192 feet underground. An account of an excavation of the pit was published in the January 1965 issue of Reader's Digest. Nobody, however, ever seriously pretended to translate the inscription."[49]. Maybe these findings are just a small piece of the treasure Ball found on Oak Island. Sometime during the excavation of this new shaft, the bottom of the original shaft collapsed. [67] But Crooker stated it was more likely that British engineers and sailors dug the pit to store loot acquired in the British invasion of Cuba, during the Seven Years' War, valued at about 1,000,000 pounds.[68]. The original shaft, in a location unknown today, was dug by early explorers and known as "the money pit". One can only wonder what would have happened if young Daniel McGinnis had chosen to go exploring somewhere else on that fateful day in the summer of 1795. [7] This platform was hit twice; each time metal was brought to the surface, along with various other items such as wood and coconut fibre. Brothers Marty and Rick Lagina and their team of treasure hunters have been digging around a Nova Scotian island for over eight years on the popular History Channel show "The Curse of Oak Island." These exquisite pieces are further examples of buried man-made objects spread throughout the underground of Oak Island. Some believe one of the greatest treasures of all time is hidden. This interactive map lets you explore the what and where of their intriguing discoveries. This led to the theory that the beach had been converted into a siphon, feeding seawater into the pit through a man-made tunnel. This amazing discovery could mean that the Knights Templar visited more of Oak Island than previously thought. Since the 18th century, attempts have been made to find treasure and artifacts. It continues to be a mystery if this brooch is a piece of buried treasure or was once the property of a resident. Further analysis of the coin also revealed that it had, in fact been lost, in the swamp for hundreds of years, and not something planted recently.
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