The Oak Island Treasure Pit

I've been fascinated by the story of the Oak Island Treasure since I read about it in elementary school. Oak Island is a small, uninhabited island off the coast of Nova Scotia. In 1795 a teenager discovered a circular depression on the island, and a tree next to the hole that had a tackle block attached. The boy enlisted the help of of two of his friends, and they started digging. Before long, they discovered a layer of stones and marks on the side of the hole indicating it had been dug with a pick. After the initial layer of rock, they found layers of logs approximately every ten feet. However, the boys gave up after digging thirty feet or so.


The story got out, and eight years later, the Onslow Company tackled the project. They continued to find layers of logs every ten feet, and also found layers of charcoal, putty, and coconut fiber at forty, fifty, and sixty feet. They dug down to about ninety feet, and, according to the earliest reports, found a stone engraved with strange symbols. The most accepted translation is "Forty feet below, two million pounds lie buried." Before the company could dig any further, the pit flooded, and no amount of bailing or draining could empty it.


The pit was again abandoned until a group of investors funded another attempt in 1849. They again managed to reach a depth of about ninety feet before flooding the shaft again. However, this time they continued to drill and passed through a layer of spruce at ninety-seven feet, two feet of metal pieces, a lawyer of oak, another level of metal, and one more level of spruce. After passing through the last layer of wood, they drilled through seven feet of clay without hitting anything else.


Another group undertook an excavation in 1861 and drilled until the bottom of the shaft collapsed. Booby trap or the consequence of digging in a giant sinkhole? The first of six fatalities occurred during this excavation when a boiler exploded. The group gave up in 1864, when they ran out of money.


Various groups all tried to discover the secrets of the Treasure Pit in 1866, 1893, 1909, 1935, 1936, and 1959. Even Franklin Roosevelt (yes, THAT Franklin Roosevelt!) took part in the 1909 expedition. Obviously, he was too busy running the country by the time the next excavation rolled around to actively participate, but he closely followed the goings on for the rest of his life.


The island has passed through the hands of several owners since the 1920s, and pits and shafts are now pockmarked all over the island. Many artifacts have been found, including an English pick, pieces of anchors, and various other tools. But because the island is by now most certainly an archaeologist's worst nightmare, accurately determining the date and origin of the artifacts is next to impossible. Treasure hunting on the island is now allowed only with express permission of the Canadian government, effective January 01, 2010.


Naturally, what lies at the bottom of the Oak Island Money Pit has provided conspiracy theorists with something to speculate about for more than two centuries. And, as luck would have it, records from some of the early expeditions are sketchy at best. The oak platforms found every ten feet were originally only described as marks. What does that mean? Who knows? The second expedition, the one that reached a depth of ninety feet before the shaft flooded, recorded a man made tunnel running perpendicular to the shaft specifically designed to flood the whole. However, later, a trained geologist examined the site and found no evidence of said tunnel. 


And that stone with the ciphers? It's nowhere to be found. Some say the man who found it used it as a fire back. Others swear it was used as the doorstep of a bookshop. Regardless of where it ended up, it hasn't been seen since the beginning of the 20th century. No one even knows if the copies of the inscription we have today are accurate. The controversial '70s author, Barry Fell, was given a copy by a Nova Scotia archivist. Fell translates the description as a plea for people to remember their God, lest they should perish. I don't know about y'all, but I prefer the translation of "forty feet below, two million pounds lie buried." Fell believes the symbols resemble the Coptic (Christian Egyptian) alphabet.


It is a documented fact that man made structures exist underground on Oak Island. But, naturally, no one knows if they were built by the same people who built the pit or by one of the later excavation teams.


Some people believe the pit was built by renowned pirate, Captain William Kidd, or even Blackbeard. Personally, I don't know that a handful of scurvy-ridden vagabonds could engineer something so complex that two centuries of engineers and fancy drills would be unable to locate it.


Others theories give credit to Spanish sailors, British sailors during the American Revolution, or French sailors during the Seven Years' War. 


Some crazier theories claim the pit holds the missing jewels belonging to Marie Antoinette, or documents proving that Sir Francis Bacon was the real author of Shakespeare's plays. And, of course, you can't really have a good conspiracy without dragging in the Knights Templar. Yes, some people postulate that a few of the crusading knights skipped town and deposited the Holy Grail and/or the Ark of the Covenant in Nova Scotia.


Slightly less stimulating to the imagination is the theory that it's just a big sinkhole. I'll be honest, I'm going to have to pull a Scully on this one. I remain skeptical that anything of value will ever be found, but I want to believe, and I'd love for someone to prove me wrong. And besides, if the Oak Island mystery hole wasn't a money pit to begin with, it certainly is now. Millions of dollars, countless thousands of man-hours, and at least six human lives have been poured into this sinkhole. And what has anyone gotten? No real satisfaction, just a darn good story. But, hey, that's better than nothing.