To the casual observer, Oak Island - a small, unassuming island off the southern shore of Nova Scotia, Canada - may not seem particularly special. But dig deeper, and you'll find that it has had over 50 books written about it, raised the interest of important historical figures and served as the topic of countless documentaries.

This is because Oak Island has been the site of a quest for buried treasure for nearly two centuries. Linked with Shakespeare, Marie Antoinette, Captain Kidd, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, Oak Island's mysterious "Money Pit" has provided generations of treasure hunters with endless material for speculation, theory and hope.

Its latest excavators, treasure hunting brothers Rick and Marty Lagina, have brought its mysterious allure to millions of viewers worldwide with their documentary show on the History Channel.

Screenshot from "The Curse of Oak Island"

So what is the secret of Oak Island, and what have the Lagina Brothers unearthed that others before them have not?

The legend of Oak Island starts in 1799. While out on a fishing expedition, the story goes, three teenaged boys - Daniel McGinnis, Anthony Vaughn and John Smith, had discovered a depression in the ground after they came ashore to restock on supplies. Investigating the strange depression, they soon found that the dirt was noticeably loose, unlike the surrounding, hard packed ground.

McGinnis had heard a story involving a sailor from the crew of the infamous Scottish pirate, Captain Kidd, who had supposedly buried a treasure - over £2 million from Kidd's loot - somewhere in the surrounding area, and thought that they had possibly found its resting place.

Advertisement

Image via Imgur

Digging down, the three boys dug down for over 30 feet (9.1 m), after finding a layer of flagstones, oak platforms and tool marks and pick scrapes on the wall of the pit.

For some unclear reason, after digging 30 feet down, the boys decided to abandon their search and return home. Some accounts cite superstition as the main reason, while others believe they may have found something - and kept it a secret. Whatever the reason, the pit which the boys had dug, then already called "The Money Pit," was abandoned.

But the boy's story did not go unnoticed.

Advertisement

Screenshot from "The Curse of Oak Island"

Advertisement

A few years later, a group known as the Onslow Company returned to the island, this time equipped with excavation tools, and continued the dig McGinnis had started. Digging down to 90 feet (27 m), they continued to find stacked layers of logs in ten feet intervals, until they found a large stone… inscribed with mysterious symbols.

The stone's story remains mysterious to this day.

First reported in 1862 in a local newspaper, it was described as "a stone cut square, two feet long and about a foot thick, with several characters cut on it."

Advertisement

Image via Imgur

Advertisement

The symbols remained undeciphered for many years, and the stone itself has been lost - but some accounts of the characters say they hint at a great treasure.

There are many speculations and theories about what the treasure might actually be.

Some believe that it might be Marie Antoinette’s jewels, while others speculate that the pit hides manuscripts indicating Francis Bacon was the actual author behind the works of William Shakespeare.

Image via Wikipedia

The pit has also, over the years, provided extraordinary evidence. It's not without reason that the island has been home to the efforts of researchers, adventurers and historians for over two centuries.

One of the island's most prominent researchers was a man by the name of William Chappell. Chappell became involved in the Oak Island excavations in the late 1920s, following a newspaper article he had read on the subject. He travelled up to Canada to dig and see what he could find. In his excavations, he found an axe, a fluke anchor and a pick in his dig - tools which prompted him to believe there must have been some sort of dig on the site in ancient times.

After Chapell's efforts -and funds - ran dry, the American industrialist Gilbert Hedden took over the Money Pit digging efforts. Harnessing the resources of Bethlehem Steel Company, which he owned, he took over operations at the island. After consulting with British journalist Harold T. Wilkins, Hedden came to believe that it was captain William Kidd who left the treasure on the island. A few years after his initial dig, he purchased a portion of the island and started a full scale excavation.

One of William Chappell's most important discoveries was a fluke anchor which was found on the tunnel, and there was also an instrument that appeared to be a 250-year-old Acadian axe. Other essential discoveries included parts of an oil lamp, and a miner's pick.

Screenshot from "The Curse of Oak Island"

How these artifacts got to the remote island, and why they were all buried in approximately the same place remains a mystery, but strengthens the conviction of those who believe that there's more to the island than meets the eye.

One of the most compelling reasons researchers believe that there really is treasure hidden on Oak Island, is the vast amount of wars and conflicts that occurred around the time the island was first discovered, including the French-Indian War and the Seven Years War.

Image via Wikipedia

Wars have a tendency to drive people away, seeking safety and stability in odd places. Oak Island is, even today, just about the farthest away anyone can get from Europe's long and bloody wars - so if anyone was looking to hide their riches away from the dangers of war, and had the means to get there - Oak Island would have been an ideal location.

Another set of historical circumstances make Oak Island an attractive location to bury treasure: Pirates.

Between the years 1690 and 1730, during the period historians call the Golden Age of Piracy, many pirates were known to travel to and around the mysterious Oak Island.

Aside from being a "goldmine" for natural resources, where pirates could safely stock up on wood, water and other important provisions away from major Naval powers, the island was also an ideal place for these pirates to stash their treasures and loot.

Photo by Diego Catto on Unsplash

Many people believed that pirates had, indeed, left their riches on the island - but one treasure hunter in particular might surprise you.