supersix2

Has anyone ever heard of the Oak Island Treasure Hunt? One of my friends recently told me about it so I decided to check it out in more detail online. The whole story behind it and the theories sorrounding it are really quite interesting.

Oak Island is off the coast of Nova Scotia in Canada and has been the center of a massive treasure hunt since the late 1700's. It was originally discovred by 3 young boys while they were walking on the island. The saw a tree with a cut branch that looked like it was used as a pulley. Beneath the tree there was a large depression in the ground about 13 feet in diameter. They began digging and after 10 ft they reached a layer of flag stone that was laid down over the hole. They continued to dig down another 20 ft and hit wood. They thought they discovered treasure chests but only found a layer of oak logs that were laid in the hole as well. They dug down 20 more feet only to hit another layer of logs.

Since then several companies have been established and gone bankrupt trying to get the treasure out.
The farthest the hole was been dug to was 90 feet and after that it would flood so rapidly even modern day pumps could not keep the water out. At the 90 foot level an inscribed stone was found (check out this webiste for info on the stone http://www.activemind.com/Mysterious...ed_stones.html)

They estimate that the pit goes down to 200 feet but anything beyond 100 feet is determined using drilling samples and video.

It was determined that a large subterrean shaft the was dug from the pit all the way to the shoreline (several hundred feet) was responsible for the pit flooding. It was a booby trap created by the people who dug the pit.

Core samples of the pit have brought up several more layers of obstacles inlcuding rock not native to the area, various types of wood, iron plate, and a layer of clay. Core samples have also brought up various pieces of metal, a gold chain, and parchment paper with writing on it.

Video taken of the shaft has revealed chests (supposedly containing mass quantities of gold) and a human skeleton at the bottom of the pit.

Another interesting fact is that the beach there is an artificial beach that was created by the people who dug the hole.

There are many theories about what is buried in the pit and who buried it and why. Some of them inlude the treasure of Captain Kid, various bands of pirates, Stores of gold buried by French or British armies, The Holy Grail buried by the Knights Templar, plundered gold from the inca and aztec by the Spanish, and so on.

More information can be found at these sources:
http://www.activemind.com/Mysterious/Topics/OakIsland/

http://www.oakislandtreasure.co.uk/

http://www.oakislandtreasure.com/

Coppertop

Isn't buried pirate treasure a myth pretty much invented by Robert Louis Stevenson?

supersix2

This is not a myth this is a true story the multiple websites show that.

Coppertop

A website does not the true story make.

thespian86

I've been to Oak Island many times and it's pretty interesting. It's not just a story told to kids, people have lost theirs lives, companys, like mentioned above, have run out of money... it's serious stuff

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Coppertop

I don't doubt that - I'm merely pointing out that it is likely not buried pirate treasure. I believe there has only been one documented instance of a pirate burying their treasure, which was shortly dug up. And that was on Long Island.

The concept of pirates burying treasure is largely a creation of Robert Louis Stevenson.

As to what may be in the ground there, I have no idea. But it's not very likely to be pirate treasure.

thespian86

Then what do you think it may be?

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Coppertop

My first thought is this place is a tourist trap a la the Mystery Spot. But I am cynical that way. Does it seem logical that we can put a person on the moon but cannot dig a hole 200 feet into the earth to see what is there?

Again, I haven't been there and likely never will be.

supersix2

If you go to the websites and read about it you will soon realize why it is very difficult the dig out whatever is down there. The fact that video footage has shown chests of some sort could indicate that it is infact buried treasure.

I know that having something on a website does not make it true but there are many websites written about it and I found some news sources talking about it. And I know that still doesn't make it true but there comes a point when the exsistance of something is more plausible than its non exsistence. This seems to be one of those cases.





That does seem logical actually. Digging through the earth is not that easy especially when there are obstacles in the way and the fact that it fills with water once you get to a certain level.
Thats like saying "We put a man on the moon so logically people living at sea level can have basements"
Living in Florida, I can tell you that no one here has basements for the same reason that they cannot dig down to 200 feet. Simply put the hole fills with water and caves in on itself.

There is more evidence that points to buried treasure than evidence that can dispute it. Ann inscription on a rock was found that when deciphered said that "2 million pounds are below," video footage and bore samples have revealed much evidence. There are also several underground tunnels leading to the pit some of which cause it to flood other may have been access tunnels.

The websites also state that the treasure can be retrieved by simple starting a tunnel some 200 or so feet away and digging at an angle toward the bottom but such a feat would cost upwards of $15 million. Judging from the amount of companies that went broke trying to get it already no one is in a big hurry to cough up the cash.

As a response to the whole tourist trap idea the island isn't even open to tourists any more it is owned by a company that is currently trying to raise the money to extract whatever is buried there.

darens42

here's an interesting read:

http://www.csicop.org/si/2000-03/i-files.html

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ObieX

Yea digging from the side would be the way to go, digging strait down isnt the smartest way to go, especially witht he flooding and caving in, and all that goodness. I dont see how it can cost 15 million tho.

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lite campfire

My problem with the story is believing that '3 young boys' dug 50 feet.

tecoyah

Anything is possible.....by the way, anyone finds this....just remember ol tec

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tooth

I've been reading about this since I was little. Imagine over 200 years ago, the ingenutity of a group of people that could engineer such a site. That this was built with probably nothing more than shovels, ropes, and pullies. Fascinating.


I would imagine that this will remain a mystery until someone with bottomless pockets(A Richard Branson type) swoops in and gets it done, no matter the cost. $15million to dig a hole? Bah, pocket change.

Coppertop

All I am saying is that if someone really wanted to know what is down there, they'd dig it up and know. And it is possible to dig a hole that deep in that location. Otherwise how'd it (whatever it is) come to be there in the first place?

But something about this really sets off my spidey-sense. Something's not right about it.

FngKestrel

I would argue that whatever company closed down the island to tourists made a bad business move and would probably have generated more money from the tourists and the novelty of buried treasure than actually attempting to get the treasure.

If they ever do get down there at great expense, they better hope it's some ungodly amount of currency and not some treasure with a moral to it ("To these nomads, corn was the greatest treasure!" a la some movie of the week) or an empty hole, like Geraldo Riviera's opening of Al Capone's vault.

go-bots

yea i watched a couple of shows about this on the history channel.
cool stuff. i guess someone use a drill in the hole and when they pulled it out it was covered in mud, gold flakes and paper. it will be interesting to see what is really down there.

ObieX

The island is probably so riddled with pits and holes that if you were to wander around you may fall into ne and never be heard from again.

What would really suck is that since they did drilling and hit paper, that if a bunch of the real value of the treasure is from the paper parts then they'd be fucked cuz by now mud and stuff would have sunken into the hole they pushed through whatever the paper is in. So atleast some of that is destroyed now, not a very smart move by who did it. Of course the gold would still be ok, but a lot of the history around what its doing there and who ut it there etc is probably now destroyed because they messed up the papers. Hell they could include deeds to like half of canada.. "oops!"

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blahblah454

It could be the Gardeners technologies stored away. Aparently there was something like 3 sites where they stashed it all. mmmm anigravity devices. (read Lobsang T. Rampa... I honestly don't know much about it but a guy I work with is obsesed with him)

Furry

Where's a GPR array when you need one?

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Janey

true. however, I was reading books about this mystery since i was a kid (pre web days)

But I'm cynical, if it was there, somebody would have found a way to get it by now. isn't there drilling for natural gas off of the coast of NS? that expertise could play very well into the exploration of the site...

braisler

I think that I favor the sinkhole theory as far as the depositing of various timbers and artifacts in the hole. I also agree that the company who owns rights to the island could probably make more money charging $10 a head for a brief guided tour of the island. They could have a little gift shop, etc. They would probably have the $15 million pretty quickly. Then they could decide whether they actually wanted to dig up the treasure or not.

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byesman

I saw something on Unsolved Mysteries or something like it, a long time ago, when they showed video from the Pit, and it purportedly showed a hand/skeleton hand beside a chest. I couldn't see the hand, or the chest, it just looked like murky water, but they talked about it like it was easy to see. I wish I could remember what the show was... Anyway, they said that the next step was excavating it, and I have never heard anything else about the Pit. Like Janey, I've read about this for probably 20-25 years, and have it in a lot of books of unsolved mysteries. My favorite theories:
(Not necessarily believed, just favorite)

- The Pit was built by the Knights Templers to hold the secret that was rescued from Montsegur by the Cathars during the Albigensian Crusade.

- The Pit was built by King Arthur and holds Excalibur. (This is a new one I just read). I won't get into the whole Britian-North America aspect of this...
- It was built by British troops during the Revolution to hold their money
- It was built by exiled French Nobility to hold their treasures.

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Coppertop

I think people here are misunderstanding me. I'm not sayng this place isn't likely to exist, obviously it does if people here have been there. I'm merely saying that because a website says it contains "buried pirate treasure" does not in fact mean that it does.

And how would the Templars have come to be in North America?

go-bots

maybe someone was just being a real dick and decided to dig an ellaborate hole
and then started rumors of buried treasure. you've been punked!

whocarz

I highly doubt that the Templars buried treasure in North America, seeing how their order was dissolved in 1308. All remaining Templars and their assets were transfered to the Hospitallers.

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Dostoevsky

As much as I love a good conspiracy I just can't make myself believe that there is a fortune buried 200 ft down and no one has dug it up yet. It just doesn't make sense. I've also seen a televised special on this topic.

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Kalnaur

What about Vikings? Let's say Dudeson the Fox gets pissed at Thor Goldhorder who's richer and stronger than he is, but he's also a real jerk, so Dudeson hires a bunch of guys to steal Goldhorder's gold and hide it from him. No big deal, they dig a hole and bury the treasure. But so consuming was Dudeson's rage and hatred for Goldhorder that on the way he kidnaps a Lapp woman (according to the Sagas, they were sorcerers) and threatens her to curse the treasure or die, and she's so stubborn she refuses. In his anger at not being able to complete his revenge, he gets a really bad idea. He beds the woman, kills her, and throws her body in with the treasure, believing that her soul will be so angry and vengeful it would not be able to move from that spot nor allow anyone else to get to Goldhorder's gold. Unfortunately, before Dudeson can get back to tell Goldhorder he's been duped, the boat lands afoul bad weather...and somehow the story gets passed on to the Masons who add their clues and speculations to the site, but never actually attempt to find Goldhorder's gold. But their work is lost to the shifting dirt of the island (because the treasure site is, by this account, over 1,000 years old) and that's when the teenagers found the indention in the sand and start digging.

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fastom

I've been to Oak Island years ago when they had tours.

If you think they'd make the 15 million back quickly at 10 bucks a head perhaps Nova Scotia will hire you for Minister of Tourism. I think #103 would need to be expanded to 4 lanes to handle the traffic.

There certainly is a real dig there and the stuff they found in the hole is documented. If it isn't treasure what is it? Is it worth the cost of extracting it?

ForgottenKnight

I think it's more along the line of being a sinkhole than a treasure site. A sink hole that has filled in, sunk in, filled in, sunk in, etc, etc, ect, each time having something else wash up and in or whatever. That would explain all of the "artifacts" found. But if it is a burried treasure it would be cool. I'd be more likely to believe that IF it is burried treasure, they burried it in a sinkhole that has sence sunk and been filled in so many times that the treasure has been burried that 200 ft naturally, than believe that someone dug down that far, burried the treasure, and then filled it and the area with a large number of traps.

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Fohur2

It wasn't in one day if memory serves,more like 2 months plus.

NoSoupForYou

what if we never made the moon

cellophanedeity

Hey, at least now I have another reason for my love to take me to visit Nova Scotia!

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AndTylerToo

Haha, whats the first reason?
This seems REALLY interesting, but I too, am a bit suspicious that the tablets that spoke about the money, were only taken down by one person, translated by one person, and now they're gone. It just raises more than a few questions.

Hash_Browns

Just a theory that popped in my head while reading this:

What if there is a skeleton down there with a wooden box, but it's just the skeleton of an early settler who got caught in the naturally occuring sinkholes of Nova Scotia? Not treasure, but his belongs? The artifacts things that have been brought up with other sinkholes causing the floods to lift them up, then get stuck in the dirt as the water eventually 'seepedl back into the soil and the walls started caving in? The wood, slate and other things could be there because they were at the top of that current flood of their time before the dirt fell in on top of the sink hole agian?

Just something I was thinking about...It would be much more fun to have it be treasure, but who knows if we will ever know...it's already a few of my lifetimes, generally speaking, old.

I will remain happy to think of it as a mystery until someone else wants to pay to prove me right or wrong...

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Skettios

Interesting sure.... I still don't understand what conclusion he came to. He says that it was a natural phenomenon, but then he goes on and on about the Masons. What's the connection?

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byesman

New news on Oak Island:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...nt_3180058.htm

Here is the article:

Canadian legendary "treasure island" to be sold

www.chinaview.cn 2005-07-06 04:20:14

OTTAWA, July 5 (Xinhuanet) -- A legendary "treasure island" in Canada's eastern province of Nova Scotia is to be sold for about six million US dollars after the two estranged business partners agreed to give up their hunt for the buried treasure.

Dan Blankenship, 82, and David Tobias, 81, who own most of the Oak Island, located off Nova Scotia's South Shore, have decided to shut down their business, Oak Island Tours Inc., and offered to sell it to the provincial government for seven million Canadian dollars, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) said on Tuesday.

The island was rumored for two centuries as the home of hidden treasure including pirates booty, the royal jewels of France, the treasures of King Solomon's temple, and the Holy Grail.

A court-appointed liquidator hoped to wind up the business at the end of August, CBC said. At that time, the island could change hands, provided that the partners and the court approve the sale.

First discovered by a teenager in 1795, the mysterious money pit of the Oak Island, has stymied treasure hunters for decades, but 200 years of searching has failed to yield any thing. Blankenship and Tobias have spent almost 40 years in their search.

Modern engineering has failed to crack the mystery of various layers of logs and metals, mysterious inscriptions on stones, and booby traps that have either flooded the pit or caused it to collapse inward.

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Lwang9276

man this place sounds nuts... but yea i wonder what could it be? It be crazy if it was Excalibur.. lol

Mephisto2

This is laughable.

And I don't say that to insult anyone.


Mr Mephisto

Menoman

I've read about this story man times, and many times I've brought it up to talk about with 3 of my relatives, 2 who work for the third, and the third owns a large excavation company. They have done enormous jobs of moving enormous amounts of earth.

Every one of them says it's total BS, and they have told me many ways that they could get down to that area with little safety flaws.

one of the ways that we think is probably the best and safest, is that you dig a side trench, about 20x20feet, you go down 20 or 30 feet, and you dig another thats 19 feet, and its stepped off to one of the sides.

Now unless there are actually huge HOLES that are letting the water in, it is seeping through earth to get into the pit, there is no way that water can seep through earth fast enough that certain industrial pumps (however many you need) won't get the water out.
I'm talkin some of the pumps that you can get for industrial work will pump 5-6 THOUSAND gallons of water a minute. Water does not seep that fast.

if it is actually holes that are feeding the water, they can be plugged well enough that they will only seep, they make a tar that you can pump into the holes and it will combine with the ground in so many seconds after it comes into contact with H2O. This is how they deal with underground springs when they are trying to move earth. They will plug it, let it seep and then they send people out to find where it's backing up and bubbling out of the ground, and divert the water around wherever they are building.



Pretty much saying, with all the experience and technology that my relatives know about dealing with the removal of earth, it is extremely possible to remove something thats 200 feet underground.

Actually the first thing that my uncle said when I told him about the story was "It's ONLY 200 feet? hahaha"

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