Doug from NS
Full Member
- Apr 21, 2019
- 132
- 570
- Detector(s) used
- Currently Fisher F75LTD SE
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
So, I see that there is a lot of interest in Oak Island here.
I live about half an hour from Oak Island. I have grown up along the coast of Nova Scotia and know the geology and topography of the land well. I have taken the tour of Oak Island with Charles Barkhouse from the show guiding, it was interesting.
Before I start, I will be clear, I like the show and believe that something did happen on Oak Island.
Here is my take:
The Knights Templar have absolutely nothing to do with it. Never had, never did and never will. I just don’t buy it.
This coast is heavily glaciated, there is very little topsoil. It is not easy to dig a hole here; believe me I know. To dig a hole a hundred feet deep, without being seen, or without leaving any tailings behind, is virtually impossible. I have been to a number of very old mine sites in Nova Scotia. Check out Abandoned Mines Nova Scotia on YouTube, they have great videos exploring these.
The 90-foot stone is a fake. Really, who would leave a carved rock 90 feet underground saying, in code, that there is a treasure below. That stone was supposedly found in 1814 or thereabouts, but did not appear until the 1860’s when it was put on display by someone who was, wait for it…, looking for investors. This is not the first hoax from these parts. The famous Nova Scotia built ghost ship Mary Celeste was an insurance scam, look it up. If the stone was that important why would it be discarded later for working leather and then dumped in a basement?
There are no flood tunnels that go out into Smith’s Cove. I see absolutely no evidence of this. My wife’s family has a beautiful parcel of land, on high ground, 30 miles (as the crow flies) from the coast where I metal detect. It is a very old farm and on it there is a hole 30 feet deep. It is full of water. We call it a well. Generally, if you dig a hole deep enough it will fill with water, you just have to reach the table or open up a spring. Now, there is not much fresh water on many of the islands in Mahone Bay but if you dig a hole 90 feet deep a stone’s throw from the shore on an island in the ocean, I guarantee it will fill with seawater.
The money pit never went that deep. The descendants of the boys who first started digging clearly stated that they found the treasure at a much shallower depth and showed what was clearly a Spanish gold cross as proof. In those days if they had declared that they found treasure the Crown would have seized it, just as the government would do today. The best thing to do is keep quite and pretend to keep digging, and thus the story began. The name Money Pit, however, is fitting considering the resources that have been poured into it since. This was in the 1700’s, why go to the trouble of digging a hole that deep and complicated when a shallow hole in the ground on an uninhabited island will do?
The porcelain and other items recovered from ‘below searcher levels’ during the excavations in the money pit could very easily have come from higher depths. The hammer grab is significantly smaller in diameter than the casements. Small items could easily tumble to much lower depths before being recovered.
Nowlan’s Cross is wishful thinking. If you really want something bad enough you will see it. Give me a map of Oak Island and a sharpie. I will put a random dot on the map and if you go to that point you will see a large boulder within 100 feet.
So, what happened there? Here is my hypothesis:
In 1762 the British raided Havana. They seized the treasure and about 30 ships. In that treasury there were apparently 1.8 million Spanish 8 reale coins plus innumerable other treasures. The Crown claimed all of it even though it was the officers and the men who took all the risks and did all the heavy lifting. The Crown had no idea how much was there. Seven ships were loaded up with booty and made their way to Halifax before heading over to England.
I believe that some unscrupulous commanders decided to appropriate an additional ship which travelled with those 7, or a bit behind them, and then diverted to Oak Island where it was unloaded in Smith’s Cove which is on the far side of the island out of direct line of site from the newly settled town of Chester. Each man was given a portion, with more to the officers of course, and then told to head into the island and bury it in a location known only to themselves. They were further told not to come back for a number of years less they all be hanged. Some men did not live long enough to return.
This works with most of the points discussed on the show, the Spanish Cob in the swamp, the Spanish ships spike also found (I will take their word on it being Spanish), Samuel Ball suddenly becoming rich as he was clearing lands to make his fields and seeming to have a stash 8 reale coins, which were still commonly used at that time. Even the supposedly middle eastern bone fragment could have been from an unfortunate Spaniard of Moorish descent who was brought along for the ride. By the way, the brothers should thank their lucky stars that the bone did not turn out to be aboriginal, if it had, everything would have stopped.
From the show there was obviously a British encampment on the island in the 1760’s they found too many clustered items for there not to have been. The British kept very detailed records here at that time, that fact that this is not recorded is in itself very telling.
The lead cross could well be 14th century, it certainly has that look. A cross like that would be very special to Catholic Spaniards and would have been kept. Less so with Anglican British raiders. I suspect it was tossed by a man who was less than impressed with a lead cross as part of his booty.
There is no ship at the bottom of the swamp. It is simply too shallow even for a ship on its side. If a smaller insignificant Spanish ship did exist, it is somewhere out in Mahone Bay where it was quietly scuttled on a dark foggy evening after being stripped.
The only way treasure is going to be found on Oak Island is with a metal detector. If you notice, so far, that is the only way anything of interest has been found. I would go to every large boulder or significant landmark and work my way out from each of them (trees can be cut down and make for poor landmarks over time, huge boulders are unlikely to be moved). If and when treasure is found it will be one mans portion and not the mother lode.
If you want to learn about real Nova Scotia pirate treasure lookup Isle Haute in the Bay of Funday where Spanish and Portuguese silver and gold coins were discovered in the outstretched hand of a skeleton in 1952:
https://lifeasahuman.com/2014/arts-culture/history/the-mysterious-treasure-island-of-isle-haute/
https://books.google.ca/books?id=4F...=life magazine edward snow isle haute&f=false
You can also look up Halls Harbour in Nova Scotia where supposedly privateer booty from looted American ships is buried. There was a local in the 1800’s who for some reason suddenly became very wealthy, giving money to build a church.
History - Pirates, Pasha, and the Sea
Then, there is also the Black Hole Treasure as well, I am going to check this out someday, anybody want to go?
https://www.mysteriesofcanada.com/nova-scotia/black-hole-harbour-treasure/
One final funny story: I was travelling with work about 2 weeks ago and was in the neighbouring province where the corporate head offices of a large company involved with the show is located. I was having lunch alone in a restaurant and seated at a table next to me were 8 or 10 mining engineers that I suspect work for this same company. They were having fun and discussing the Oak Island show. They all seemed to know that drilling rig very well as well as the blond engineer who runs things. I heard her described as ‘very competent’ and who would in no way be ‘mystified’ as to how that rig could become ‘jammed’ at 90 feet or so. Apparently that rig can punch through 400 feet of granite with no problem, a concrete ‘vault’ would not stop it. I will not relate the rest of what I overheard though the gales of laughter less I get sued.
As I said at the start, I enjoy the show, or at least yelling at the TV while it is on. If they ever do manage to dig all the way down to the bottom of the money pit, I humbly suggest that the take that rather annoying narrator and put him at the bottom of it. “A rock! Underground! On Oak Island! Could it be a rock that the Knights Templar carried there on their heads?’ Yeesh.
I do hope they find something though…
I live about half an hour from Oak Island. I have grown up along the coast of Nova Scotia and know the geology and topography of the land well. I have taken the tour of Oak Island with Charles Barkhouse from the show guiding, it was interesting.
Before I start, I will be clear, I like the show and believe that something did happen on Oak Island.
Here is my take:
The Knights Templar have absolutely nothing to do with it. Never had, never did and never will. I just don’t buy it.
This coast is heavily glaciated, there is very little topsoil. It is not easy to dig a hole here; believe me I know. To dig a hole a hundred feet deep, without being seen, or without leaving any tailings behind, is virtually impossible. I have been to a number of very old mine sites in Nova Scotia. Check out Abandoned Mines Nova Scotia on YouTube, they have great videos exploring these.
The 90-foot stone is a fake. Really, who would leave a carved rock 90 feet underground saying, in code, that there is a treasure below. That stone was supposedly found in 1814 or thereabouts, but did not appear until the 1860’s when it was put on display by someone who was, wait for it…, looking for investors. This is not the first hoax from these parts. The famous Nova Scotia built ghost ship Mary Celeste was an insurance scam, look it up. If the stone was that important why would it be discarded later for working leather and then dumped in a basement?
There are no flood tunnels that go out into Smith’s Cove. I see absolutely no evidence of this. My wife’s family has a beautiful parcel of land, on high ground, 30 miles (as the crow flies) from the coast where I metal detect. It is a very old farm and on it there is a hole 30 feet deep. It is full of water. We call it a well. Generally, if you dig a hole deep enough it will fill with water, you just have to reach the table or open up a spring. Now, there is not much fresh water on many of the islands in Mahone Bay but if you dig a hole 90 feet deep a stone’s throw from the shore on an island in the ocean, I guarantee it will fill with seawater.
The money pit never went that deep. The descendants of the boys who first started digging clearly stated that they found the treasure at a much shallower depth and showed what was clearly a Spanish gold cross as proof. In those days if they had declared that they found treasure the Crown would have seized it, just as the government would do today. The best thing to do is keep quite and pretend to keep digging, and thus the story began. The name Money Pit, however, is fitting considering the resources that have been poured into it since. This was in the 1700’s, why go to the trouble of digging a hole that deep and complicated when a shallow hole in the ground on an uninhabited island will do?
The porcelain and other items recovered from ‘below searcher levels’ during the excavations in the money pit could very easily have come from higher depths. The hammer grab is significantly smaller in diameter than the casements. Small items could easily tumble to much lower depths before being recovered.
Nowlan’s Cross is wishful thinking. If you really want something bad enough you will see it. Give me a map of Oak Island and a sharpie. I will put a random dot on the map and if you go to that point you will see a large boulder within 100 feet.
So, what happened there? Here is my hypothesis:
In 1762 the British raided Havana. They seized the treasure and about 30 ships. In that treasury there were apparently 1.8 million Spanish 8 reale coins plus innumerable other treasures. The Crown claimed all of it even though it was the officers and the men who took all the risks and did all the heavy lifting. The Crown had no idea how much was there. Seven ships were loaded up with booty and made their way to Halifax before heading over to England.
I believe that some unscrupulous commanders decided to appropriate an additional ship which travelled with those 7, or a bit behind them, and then diverted to Oak Island where it was unloaded in Smith’s Cove which is on the far side of the island out of direct line of site from the newly settled town of Chester. Each man was given a portion, with more to the officers of course, and then told to head into the island and bury it in a location known only to themselves. They were further told not to come back for a number of years less they all be hanged. Some men did not live long enough to return.
This works with most of the points discussed on the show, the Spanish Cob in the swamp, the Spanish ships spike also found (I will take their word on it being Spanish), Samuel Ball suddenly becoming rich as he was clearing lands to make his fields and seeming to have a stash 8 reale coins, which were still commonly used at that time. Even the supposedly middle eastern bone fragment could have been from an unfortunate Spaniard of Moorish descent who was brought along for the ride. By the way, the brothers should thank their lucky stars that the bone did not turn out to be aboriginal, if it had, everything would have stopped.
From the show there was obviously a British encampment on the island in the 1760’s they found too many clustered items for there not to have been. The British kept very detailed records here at that time, that fact that this is not recorded is in itself very telling.
The lead cross could well be 14th century, it certainly has that look. A cross like that would be very special to Catholic Spaniards and would have been kept. Less so with Anglican British raiders. I suspect it was tossed by a man who was less than impressed with a lead cross as part of his booty.
There is no ship at the bottom of the swamp. It is simply too shallow even for a ship on its side. If a smaller insignificant Spanish ship did exist, it is somewhere out in Mahone Bay where it was quietly scuttled on a dark foggy evening after being stripped.
The only way treasure is going to be found on Oak Island is with a metal detector. If you notice, so far, that is the only way anything of interest has been found. I would go to every large boulder or significant landmark and work my way out from each of them (trees can be cut down and make for poor landmarks over time, huge boulders are unlikely to be moved). If and when treasure is found it will be one mans portion and not the mother lode.
If you want to learn about real Nova Scotia pirate treasure lookup Isle Haute in the Bay of Funday where Spanish and Portuguese silver and gold coins were discovered in the outstretched hand of a skeleton in 1952:
https://lifeasahuman.com/2014/arts-culture/history/the-mysterious-treasure-island-of-isle-haute/
https://books.google.ca/books?id=4F...=life magazine edward snow isle haute&f=false
You can also look up Halls Harbour in Nova Scotia where supposedly privateer booty from looted American ships is buried. There was a local in the 1800’s who for some reason suddenly became very wealthy, giving money to build a church.
History - Pirates, Pasha, and the Sea
Then, there is also the Black Hole Treasure as well, I am going to check this out someday, anybody want to go?
https://www.mysteriesofcanada.com/nova-scotia/black-hole-harbour-treasure/
One final funny story: I was travelling with work about 2 weeks ago and was in the neighbouring province where the corporate head offices of a large company involved with the show is located. I was having lunch alone in a restaurant and seated at a table next to me were 8 or 10 mining engineers that I suspect work for this same company. They were having fun and discussing the Oak Island show. They all seemed to know that drilling rig very well as well as the blond engineer who runs things. I heard her described as ‘very competent’ and who would in no way be ‘mystified’ as to how that rig could become ‘jammed’ at 90 feet or so. Apparently that rig can punch through 400 feet of granite with no problem, a concrete ‘vault’ would not stop it. I will not relate the rest of what I overheard though the gales of laughter less I get sued.
As I said at the start, I enjoy the show, or at least yelling at the TV while it is on. If they ever do manage to dig all the way down to the bottom of the money pit, I humbly suggest that the take that rather annoying narrator and put him at the bottom of it. “A rock! Underground! On Oak Island! Could it be a rock that the Knights Templar carried there on their heads?’ Yeesh.
I do hope they find something though…
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