Some Notes Re: Construction of the Money Pit

[TruthbeTold]

I want to thank Carl-NC, N2MINI and Armchair for posting their counter arguments and collaboration that helped shape this conclusion and changed my mind regarding the sinkhole theory.

I believe the initial 30ft dig was indeed real and very well could have been a treasure site where the log platforms used to support fill creating a chamber for the treasure.
- CO

Please tell us as to what factual historical treasure you are referring to?

Also please provide evidence that log platforms were arranged in the hole as these have always been talked about yet no evidence has ever been presented.

 

[ARC]

No treasure was ever buried there.
No person or persons in their right mind would have ever conceived that this situation was even remotely a good idea.

Nothing... not even a treasure containing the ARK and holy grail would even justify the risks of building AND OR of loosing them in such a ridiculous situation.

They have got those who "tune in" to fantasy ... hook line and sinker.

 

[ARC]

Furthermore....

Countless tales with exhausted treasure hunts abound history.
Sheesh just in Florida here there have been hundreds of crazy individuals who have gone to all lengths of imaginations hunting fabled treasures to no avail.

 

[chalkoutline]

TruthbeTold and ARC,
It was suggested that the story is fictional so I thought i would try to prove it was.

1. The three boys are documented historical people who lived nearby so I cannot conclude they are fictional like Thomas Beale.

2. They saw an indentation in the ground and started digging. Since indentations do occur, I cannot dispute their claim.
There was mentioned a pulley or something that also convinced them to investigate.

3. None the less, the next part of the story is... they start digging and find log platforms every 10ft.

I focused on whether the platforms could have been used for ascending/descending the shaft. My conclusion was...only for the first 30ft or so. After that one would need to support the walls from cave ins.
Since there were no reports of cribbing when the Onslow company (1803) used cribbing themselves to dig down to 90ft, a treasure was never buried that deep. And the inscribed stone could not have been found at 90ft. So that part of the story is proven fictional.

So what about the first 30ft? Is there an explanation for the reported log platforms?
These platforms could be used to move up and down the 30ft hole which means they wanted access to 30ft below ground.

The drawings recreating the money pit show the platforms all the way across. This is hardly proof but seems to indicate others got the impression they went all the way across and not just me.

The only reason for full platforms would be support fill/dirt that was put on top. I could only come up with two:
1. To keep it from dropping if the sinkhole below dropped.
2. To create a cavity or chamber below ground.
With the help of those mentioned i ruled out a sinkhole.

Whether the platforms were to access the bottom (half platforms) of the 30ft hole or create a cavity (full platforms) doesn't really matter since either one involved previous digging activity.

The only question is, what was the activity for?
Treasure would certainly be a reason. Personally, I can't think of another.

One could say the boys made up finding log platforms but then you have to ask...why log platforms?
Log platforms don't exactly scream treasure is here?
if you are trying to scam someone, wouldn't some other artifacts be better? Maybe a coin? Or a jewel?

I tried to prove how/why the three boys started the dig to be fiction, I was not able to do so. I failed. There is a logical explanation behind there story.
If you have facts that prove me wrong I will certainly change my mind and agree but saying they lied isn't proof either.

 

[ARC]

TruthbeTold and ARC,
It was suggested that the story is fictional so I thought i would try to prove it was.

1. The three boys are documented historical people who lived nearby so I cannot conclude they are fictional like Thomas Beale.

2. They saw an indentation in the ground and started digging. Since indentations do occur, I cannot dispute their claim.
There was mentioned a pulley or something that also convinced them to investigate.

3. None the less, the next part of the story is... they start digging and find log platforms every 10ft.

I focused on whether the platforms could have been used for ascending/descending the shaft. My conclusion was...only for the first 30ft or so. After that one would need to support the walls from cave ins.
Since there were no reports of cribbing when the Onslow company (1803) used cribbing themselves to dig down to 90ft, a treasure was never buried that deep. And the inscribed stone could not have been found at 90ft. So that part of the story is proven fictional.

So what about the first 30ft? Is there an explanation for the reported log platforms?
These platforms could be used to move up and down the 30ft hole which means they wanted access to 30ft below ground.

The drawings recreating the money pit show the platforms all the way across. This is hardly proof but seems to indicate others got the impression they went all the way across and not just me.

The only reason for full platforms would be support fill/dirt that was put on top. I could only come up with two:
1. To keep it from dropping if the sinkhole below dropped.
2. To create a cavity or chamber below ground.
With the help of those mentioned i ruled out a sinkhole.

Whether the platforms were to access the bottom (half platforms) of the 30ft hole or create a cavity (full platforms) doesn't really matter since either one involved previous digging activity.

The only question is, what was the activity for?
Treasure would certainly be a reason. Personally, I can't think of another.

One could say the boys made up finding log platforms but then you have to ask...why log platforms?
Log platforms don't exactly scream treasure is here?
if you are trying to scam someone, wouldn't some other artifacts be better? Maybe a coin? Or a jewel?

I tried to prove how/why the three boys started the dig to be fiction, I was not able to do so. I failed. There is a logical explanation behind there story.
If you have facts that prove me wrong I will certainly change my mind and agree but saying they lied isn't proof either.

*** "The only question is, what was the activity for?
Treasure would certainly be a reason. Personally, I can't think of another." ***

Heh.... well...... you really cannot think of any other reason ? ? ?

How about the simpliest and most logical..... a water well.

BEINGS,,,,, there IS documented FACTUAL information about livestock being farmed on that island.. many many times.

Did you miss that one in your research ? ? ? ... no offense and don't mean to come off like a d*ck.

 

[releventchair]

 

[ARC]

PS...

You must not have read my many posts on this.

First off....... you cannot contradict empirical facts. (Einstein)

And empirical fact is....... NO WHERE in history has anything of value.... NOT EVEN King Tutankhamun's tomb... has EVER been buried at such a depth and especially not a straight down shaft.
Nothing shaft-like has ever been dug besides types of well's.... either for water or for oil ONLY.

FACT.

 

[ARC]

Some are those that no matter what logical facts you tell them.....
they still don't see....
for they are blinded by their imaginations(s).

 

[ARC]

The greatest stories ever told are ones that cannot be proved or disproved.. especially treasure stories.
For mans lust for riches and wealth blind them to the logic.
Many a man has lost their lives or livelihood in the quest for treasure that never existed.

Like the "fountain of youth" they will cross entire oceans risking life and limb to only find anything but.

 

[chalkoutline]

*** "The only question is, what was the activity for?
Treasure would certainly be a reason. Personally, I can't think of another." ***

Heh.... well...... you really cannot think of any other reason ? ? ?

How about the simpliest and most logical..... a water well.

BEINGS,,,,, there IS documented FACTUAL information about livestock being farmed on that island.. many many times.

Did you miss that one in your research ? ? ? ... no offense and don't mean to come off like a d*ck.

I considered a water well, but it wouldn't need log platforms when filling it with dirt and you could just put a fence around.
So Ill clarify my statement...a reason to fill a hole and use log platforms.

 

[ARC]

I considered a water well, but it wouldn't need log platforms when filling it with dirt.
So Ill clarify my statement...a reason to fill a hole and use log platforms.

IF you read about well construction throughout history....
this was one way to achieve it.

"Ancient well construction involved creating a stabilized excavation using wooden planks, posts, or cylindrical forms as platforms and supports. These platforms helped prevent the well walls from collapsing, allowing for deeper digging and facilitating water access through simple manual methods, with well-preserved Bronze Age examples found in Europe showing complex wooden structures. "

 

[chalkoutline]

IF you read about well construction throughout history....
this was one way to achieve it.

"Ancient well construction involved creating a stabilized excavation using wooden planks, posts, or cylindrical forms as platforms and supports. These platforms helped prevent the well walls from collapsing, allowing for deeper digging and facilitating water access through simple manual methods, with well-preserved Bronze Age examples found in Europe showing complex wooden structures. "

This supports my theory that to dig below 30ft you need to support the walls.
Of course you need platforms when digging but wouldn't they be in the way when trying to use the well? I remember reading they lined the artisan withstand. stone.
Do you think they would put platforms back if they needed to fill it?

 

[chalkoutline]

This supports my theory that to dig below 30ft you need to support the walls.
Of course you need platforms when digging but wouldn't they be in the way when trying to use the well? I remember reading they lined the artisan withstand. stone.
Do you think they would put platforms back if they needed to fill it?

BTW, im asking because I don't know...the fresh water table on Oi is pretty high and I wouldn't think a well would run dry. Is there another reason to fill a well.
If it wasnt dry, wouldn't it be hard placing log platforms every 10ft?

 

[ARC]

This supports my theory that to dig below 30ft you need to support the walls.
Of course you need platforms when digging but wouldn't they be in the way when trying to use the well? I remember reading they lined the artisan withstand. stone.
Do you think they would put platforms back if they needed to fill it?

Who knows why it was filled.
Logically... Perhaps salt water intrusion was the beginning of the fail... along with collapses.

This would have been an ideal location to "water" ships in the early era of colonization.

Away from native activity and a safe anchorage.

There is no doubt there was many forms of human activity at OI... but treasure burial IN that shaft was not probable.

NOW>.. there could have been buried valuables on that island... perhaps many times throughout history... and perhaps some still exist...
But if it were me....
I would be looking and digging anywhere ELSE ... other than that shaft area.

 

[ARC]

Oak island.... makes me think of another early settlement island.......

Roanoke Island.

 

[ARC]

Also... just so you know....... little trivia....

"The Woodingdean Water Well is the deepest hand-dug well in the world, at 390 metres (1,280 ft) deep. It was dug to provide water for a workhouse.
Work on the well started in 1858, and was finished four years later, on 16 March 1862. It is located just outside the Nuffield Hospital in Woodingdean, in Brighton and Hove, England, United Kingdom"

 

[ARC]

Also... just so you know....... little trivia....

"The Woodingdean Water Well is the deepest hand-dug well in the world, at 390 metres (1,280 ft) deep. It was dug to provide water for a workhouse.
Work on the well started in 1858, and was finished four years later, on 16 March 1862. It is located just outside the Nuffield Hospital in Woodingdean, in Brighton and Hove, England, United Kingdom"

My point being....
Hand digging deep wells was nothing new...

AND.... the FIRST thing anyone wanting to establish anything somewhere had to do.

OR... most of the time persons just looked for an exiting water source.

Water.... the FIRST and most important item needed for life next to air... food stuffs were usually brought with them...
Water was and always has been the issue.

PS.... oh yeah btw........ i am also sure....
there was plenty of fresh air.... heh

 

[releventchair]

BTW, im asking because I don't know...the fresh water table on Oi is pretty high and I wouldn't think a well would run dry. Is there another reason to fill a well.
If it wasnt dry, wouldn't it be hard placing log platforms every 10ft?

Why platforms so often and so many? Why not one and done?
You are speculating as much as anyone can be a why.

I did not see undisturbed platforms.
IF anyone dug up four "platforms" from a hole I'd declare them cribbing. Four walls. Not platforms.
Cribbing for...Well use. To reduce collapse potential.
With a preference for stone lined bottom walls a short distance from the bottom for human exclusive use.
For cattle? Who cares as long as they can get water?

Why fill a well? (I'm guessing you mean with soil or prior removed substrate.)To prevent livestock or humans falling in it is one reason.
To avoid contaminating the water aquifer for another.
Were wells ever fouled deliberately in history? (Yes.)
Have livestock or humans ever fallen in an abandoned well? (Yes.)
Should your water supply be safe if a nearby abandoned well attached to it is left open? Easier to climate it as a disease or illness potential by capping it after filling.
Lacking bentonite clay (per current code) , how would you cap a well back when? A wooden cover? Square? Round?
Is a square cover easier to bang together? Would it look like a floor after demolition of the site using heavy equipment?
Again I did not see multiple floors. Don't ask me to believe accounts of others. I can't stand to watch the modern video b.s, speculation and untruths anymore by people making money off what is "alleged".

If alleged floors existed where are they?

 

[chalkoutline]

Why platforms so often and so many? Why not one and done?
You are speculating as much as anyone can be a why.

I did not see undisturbed platforms.
IF anyone dug up four "platforms" from a hole I'd declare them cribbing. Four walls. Not platforms.
Cribbing for...Well use. To reduce collapse potential.
With a preference for stone lined bottom walls a short distance from the bottom for human exclusive use.
For cattle? Who cares as long as they can get water?

Why fill a well? (I'm guessing you mean with soil or prior removed substrate.)To prevent livestock or humans falling in it is one reason.
To avoid contaminating the water aquifer for another.
Were wells ever fouled deliberately in history? (Yes.)
Have livestock or humans ever fallen in an abandoned well? (Yes.)
Should your water supply be safe if a nearby abandoned well attached to it is left open? Easier to climate it as a disease or illness potential by capping it after filling.
Lacking bentonite clay (per current code) , how would you cap a well back when? A wooden cover? Square? Round?
Is a square cover easier to bang together? Would it look like a floor after demolition of the site using heavy equipment?
Again I did not see multiple floors. Don't ask me to believe accounts of others. I can't stand to watch the modern video b.s, speculation and untruths anymore by people making money off what is "alleged".

If alleged floors existed where are they?

I have three accounts of the log platforms
1. Log platforms every 10ft for only first 30ft
2. Log platforms every 10ft down to 90ft
3. Log platforms for first 30ft, one at 50ft and another at 70ft.
The only thing common is the first 30ft.

I attached a drawing of the platforms. I didn't attach it as proof but its consistent with how i envision when I hear the term Log platforms. No wall support.

It wasn't clear to me, when you hear Log platforms, you envision wall support too?

 

[chalkoutline]

I have three accounts of the log platforms
1. Log platforms every 10ft for only first 30ft
2. Log platforms every 10ft down to 90ft
3. Log platforms for first 30ft, one at 50ft and another at 70ft.
The only thing common is the first 30ft.

I attached a drawing of the platforms. I didn't attach it as proof but its consistent with how i envision when I hear the term Log platforms. No wall support.

It wasn't clear to me, when you hear Log platforms, you envision wall support too?

With regards to your question...
1. You dig a 30ft hole.
2. On the bottom you place a log platform
3. You place something of value on the platform.
4. Additionally another platform at 20ft covering the entire hole.
5. Fil from 20ft to 10ft with dirt coating and chamber between 20 to 30ft
6. Place another log platform at 10ft.
7. Fill from 10ft to surface.

Could it be accomplished with fewer platforms, seems like it. Does this conclusion invalidate the story. Maybe but not for me.