For nearly 200 years, singly and in syndicates, men have been boring and tunneling on a small island off Nova Scotia in search of a fabulous treasure. Vastly more treasure—has been poured into the …
The Money Pit of Oak Island | Circa71 Skip to primary content Circa71 Search Main menu HomeApplebutter Halloween Circa71 Post navigation ← Previous Next → The Money Pit of Oak Island Posted on January 14, 2010 by circa71 For nearly 200 years, singly and in syndicates, men have been boring and tunneling on a small island off Nova Scotia in search of a fabulous treasure. Vastly more treasure—has been poured into the search than has ever came out of it. Whoever dug the “Money Pit” on Oak Island was a brilliant engineer, who harnessed the sea to keep trespassers at bay and to keep something so valuable out of others hands. The pit consists of a deep shaft, furnished with an ingenious arrangement of side tunnels that allow the sea to flood in whenever diggers plumb it’s depths. Many hopeful treasure hunters have retired soaked, penniless and baffled as to the secret of the legendary treasure’s final resting place. The only finds so far have been: three links of a chain that may have been gold or copper (accounts vary); a tiny scrap of parchment reading the two letters, V and I, written with a quill pen: and a cipher stone with odd samples that was found at 90 feet down the shaft. But which has since mysteriously disappears. Having last been seen circa 1912. The hunt began in 1795, when 16-year-old Daniel McGinnis paddled over from the little Nova Scotian town of Chester to hunt game on uninhabited Oak Island. In a clearing at one end of the island, an old ship’s block and tackle hung from a tree over the center of a 12 foot wide depression. Undeterred by tales of hauntings and fired by legends of pirate treasure, he and two other boys started digging. They found a 13-foot-wide circular shaft dug through flinty clay, with thick oak platforms at 10, 20 and 30 feet. The work became harder for various reason—including a difficulty of getting help from superstitious townsfolk and was then abandoned in 1804. In the same year, a wealthy Nova Scotian named Simeon Lynds formed the first treasure company—and found the first and greatest obstacle to all further “open” explorations of the pit: water. The diggers had broken through eight oak platforms, three of which were sealed with ship’s putty and coconut fibers when the cipher stone was found at 90 feet, and when the hole had been dug 8 feet deeper, a crowbar hit something solid. Lynds was sure he had found the elusive treasure chest. The next day he was mortified to discover that the pit had filled with 60 feet of water overnight. Weeks of bailing with buckets and the use of crude pumps failed to lower the water’s level inside the pit. In 1805, Lynds’ miners sank a second shaft close and parallel to the original pit. At 100 feet they began burrowing toward the treasure. The miners had to scramble for their lives when water suddenly burst into their shaft—and filled it to the same level as the original shaft. The once wealthy Simeon Lynds was now practically destitute—having run through his fortune in search of the treasure. The original discoverer of the Money Pit, Daniel McGinnis, died. But in 1849, the two boys who had helped him with the first dig in 1795, John Smith and Anthony Vaughn, now in their seventies, returned to Oak Island and tried again with the help of a syndicate from Truro, Nova Scotia. Two more chests The Truro shafts, drillings, and pumpings seemed to confirm the existence of two or more chests that might contain treasure in some form: but their work weakened and undermined the pit itself and caused the bottom to collapse into what was thought to be a vast cavern—carrying down the chests and possibly breaking apart and dispersing the contents. But the Truro syndicate did discover why the pits had flooded to a level that rose and fell with the tides. A man-made tunnel, 111 feet down connected the sea to the cavern and pit. In 1893 the sea tunnel was dynamited and blocked—yet still the pit flooded uncontrollably. In 1942 a second man-made tunnel, 150 feet down was discovered and it was feared that there might be many more. Further excavations were made in 1909, 1931, 1935, 1936, 1942, 1959, 1965, 1969, and 1971, none of which were successful. During the 1990s, further exploration was stalled because of legal battles over the land rights. As of 2005, a portion of the island was for sale. In April of 2006 a Michigan group, said it will resume operations on Oak Island in the hope of discovering buried treasure and the mystery of Oak Island. Pirate treasure There has been wide-ranging speculation amongst enthusiasts as to who originally dug the pit and what it might contain. A pirate treasure hoard buried by Captain Kidd or possibly Edward Teach (Blackbeard), who claimed he buried his treasure “where none but Satan and myself can find it.” Some also hold to the theory that Kidd conspired with Henry Every and Oak Island was used as a pseudo community bank between the two. Navel engineering Others agree it was dug to hold treasure but believe this was done by someone other than pirates, such as Spanish sailors from a wrecked galleon or British troops during the American Revolution. John Godwin argued that, given the apparent size and complexity of the pit, it was likely dug by French army engineers hoping to hide the contents of the treasury of the Fortress of Louisbourg after it fell to the British during the Seven Years’ War Marie Antoionette’s jewels There is a story that, like most others regarding the island, lacks adequate archival sources, which places the priceless jewels of Marie Antoinette (which are historically missing) on Oak Island. During the French Revolution, when the Palace of Versailles was stormed by revolutionaries in 1789, Marie Antoinette instructed her maid or a lady-in-waiting to take her prized possessions and flee. Supposedly, this maid fled to London with such royal items as Antoinette’s jewels and perhaps other treasures, such as important artwork or documents, secreted away either on her person or as her luggage; it is even said she was perhaps assisted by the remaining officers of the French navy during the uprising at the queen’s behest. The story then goes that this woman fled further afield from London to Nova Scotia; through her royal connections she would have had during her service to the queen at Versailles, she managed to contract the French navy to help construct the famed ‘pit’ on the island. This theory, as noted, lacks recognized documentation other than that which is folkloric in nature, involves the French navy, which, during the Revolution had an uncertain level of authority, and would place the construction of the Oak Island structure very close to its initial discovery by Daniel McGinnis in 1795. Whether such a complex engineering effort could have been completed in that small space of time is questionable, though no official date of its construction exists. However, other theories do suggest the structure is French and naval in style. Other theories Still others have speculated that the Oak Island pit was dug to hold treasure much more exotic than gold or silver. In his 1953 book, The Oak Island Enigma: A History and Inquiry Into the Origin of the Money Pit, Penn Leary claimed that English philosopher Francis Bacon used the pit to hide documents proving him to be the author of William Shakespeare‘s plays, It has been asserted that the pit might have been dug by exiled Knights Templar and that it is the last resting place of the Holy Grail. Critics argue that there is no treasure and that the apparent pit is a natural phenomenon, likely a sinkhole and natural caverns Regardless of it’s hidden secrets or storied past and after over 200 years of drilling, digging and pumping the surrounding area of Oak Island has become so confused that the exact location of the original Money Pit is no longer known for certain. Visit: Oak Island Treasure for more info about Oak Island and The Money Pit. Rate this: i 24 VotesShare this:Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)3K+Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)3K+Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)Like this:Like Loading... Related The Hidden Treasure of Robinson Crusoe IslandJuly 25, 2011In "Ancient Civilizations"The Treasure of LimaAugust 23, 2012In "History"What Happened To Hitler’s Gold?August 25, 2010In "Abandon Places" This entry was posted in Abandon Places, Legends, Oddities and tagged 2010, boobytrap, Exploration, holy grail, Jewels, Marie Antoinette, Money Pit, Nova Scotia, Oak Island, Pirate Treasure, Treasure, Treasure Seekers by circa71. Bookmark the permalink. 108 thoughts on “The Money Pit of Oak Island” RAD on July 25, 2010 at 6:40 pm said: Why don’t anybody who digs up the money pit using todays technogly,like hudge dieasle bildge pumps to suck up the water then plug up the holes that bring the sea water in them keep up the process and hit the money pits secrets. If companys can drill relive well in the gulf then enough said. i 10 Votes Reply ↓ Targenor on November 1, 2010 at 11:41 am said: Rad That´s imposible, since the water comes from the ocean it will continue to flood even if you pump it out, you are trying to drain the ocean litteraly. i 6 Votes Reply ↓ T on December 23, 2010 at 5:06 pm said: he makes a point. we do offshore drilling all the time. Why cant those principles be applied to oak island. i 1 Votes Reply ↓ osmommy1723 on October 26, 2012 at 5:19 pm said: actually there are several pipe-like ditches buried at different levels and die was cast in the pit to stain the distant shoreline where these pipe-like ditches originate. i believe a circular ditch around the outside would expose them & not affect the pit itself. i’ve seen gold and silver pits dug that are much deeper so the tech is available i Rate This Reply ↓ Max on July 17, 2011 at 3:14 pm said: I don’t think we should be digging down there. They wouldn’t booby trap it for no reason, and since we don’t know what the tablet says we should just leave it alone. It’s probably nuclear waste from ancient times. They don’t want people to get hurt or die. i 12 Votes Reply ↓ Larr on February 1, 2012 at 1:14 pm said: Max, Did you seriously say “Nuclear waste” from Ancient times? Wow i 14 Votes Reply ↓ CSmith on July 18, 2012 at 4:42 pm said: Hi, jumping in this. Ancient civilizations had more advanced nuclear technology than we do now, by roughly 75 years. Look into the rama empire, and ancient radioactive ash in india thats still there today from 10,000 ears ago. i 9 Votes Reply ↓ joe on January 16, 2013 at 11:08 pm said: If there was another civilization before ours that was more advanced with nuclear technology I seriously doubt that they buried their waste 100+ feet down a hole on this island. I bet there is treasure down there. i 4 Votes Reply ↓ chrystal coleman on July 19, 2013 at 9:22 pm said: The interesting thing is that is exactly what we were going to do with our nuclear waste at yucca mountain, it’s the only thing anybody can think of to do with it. Another interesting thing is that spent nuclear fuel needs to be covered in cool water CONSTANTLY or else it will explode, or mixed with other chemicals to make it into “glass” rods, and encapsulated in dry casks (which it will eventually eat through) It makes perfect sense that this is an ingenious measure to bury waste. i 2 Votes Reply ↓ Mangus on February 6, 2013 at 1:50 pm said: Send the goonies down they’ll find what’s hidden in that pit i 4 Votes Reply ↓ Warren on November 7, 2016 at 7:34 pm said: Indiana Jones is your man.. i Rate This Reply ↓ sabah on May 8, 2016 at 1:28 am said: It says that “Forty feet below two million pounds are buried” i Rate This Reply ↓ Bill the Annoying on August 15, 2011 at 1:21 am said: They should use the technique used to dig the supports for bridges. A chamber lowered to the bottom, that can be sealed air tight, like an upside down bell. Once water is pumped out of the bell, workers can enter via and air lock at the top of the bell, this stops water from entering the bell, and worker can get a first and look of what they are working on. i 6 Votes Reply ↓ Ron on July 27, 2010 at 9:12 pm said: It is not a treasure pit and it wasn’t built recently. The only answer for the structure is that it was built when the sea level was lower by 200 – 400 feet. Or in other words during the last glaciation, at least 15,000 to 18,000 years ago. Building a tunnel 150 feet under sea level is not within the limits of the existing technology. i 11 Votes Reply ↓ T on December 23, 2010 at 5:08 pm said: well the building of the pyramids went way beyond the expertise of the time period but they stand so I would say that are logic and intellect of today can not be applied to the past as we just dont know enough about what actually happened during those time periods i 7 Votes Reply ↓ bj windsor on March 24, 2011 at 3:07 pm said: They shoulg get BP to stop the water leak i 9 Votes Reply ↓ chris on April 15, 2011 at 11:26 pm said: except that whole area was covered in a mile of ice at that time i 2 Votes Reply ↓ curt on September 21, 2012 at 12:39 pm said: really, what about the Chunnel? That’s under the freaking English Channel! i 1 Votes Reply ↓ Bob on September 19, 2014 at 9:50 pm said: I agree, the side tunnels were air shafts or possibly easier routs into the pit, they were not under water when the put was originally built. The Layers of oak platforms may have been to store food supplies in a cooler environment. The pyramids has similar air shafts. If there were treasure down there, there is also a good possibility that it was moved within the lifetime of the builders. i Rate This Reply ↓ Chris on August 2, 2010 at 3:56 am said: You do not know that Ron. That is your opinion. Nobody knows the truth. i 11 Votes Reply ↓ JackN on August 8, 2010 at 10:42 am said: Considering the time in which it was discovered, the report mysterious Green Lights on the shore, and the complexity of the engineering, eroneous carbon dating of artifacts in it, it really is a unique problem to explain. Anyone heard anything about the inscribed stone? i 4 Votes Reply ↓ sebastien on September 7, 2010 at 4:02 pm said: it translates ” 40 feet below, two million pounds are buried” i 6 Votes Reply ↓ Brent on December 23, 2010 at 2:47 pm said: Sebastian Were the measurements in this translation converted? i 3 Votes Reply ↓ ROD VIENNEAU on August 12, 2010 at 4:46 pm said: Hey Guys, there is three logical explanation, the hole was dugged during a time when the water level was much lower, maybe during a long moon eclipse, the moon controls the oceans, if not, it would mean that Capitain Kidd had a technology that we know nothing about, or like the pyramids, someone had help from outerspace. Rod i 7 Votes Reply ↓ stew on April 10, 2014 at 7:20 am said: Aliens!!!!!!!! i 1 Votes Reply ↓ D Jones on August 14, 2010 at 8:23 am said: Maybe, just maybe one of the excavator teams found what was really buried and are keeping it a secret and maybe the secret was too big for public knowledge. Therefore the Money Pitt mystery will never be solved because it has been solved in secret. I just find it hard to believe that in the 20th 21st century man cannot get to the bottom of this pit regardless of the flooding situation or other obstacles. i 5 Votes Reply ↓ powell on June 9, 2012 at 4:57 pm said: i agree. with today’s tech an all the things we are able to accomplish and do. it really doesn’t make any sense how we can’t get to the bottom of a hole in the ground no matter how complex it’s design or it’s engineering . we can go to the moon but cant get the bottom of a pit, we can send robots to mars but cant stop a hole from flooding. hum somethings not adding up. im pretty sure we at least have the technology to see whats at the bottom of the money pit if we figured out how to clone animals and built nuclear weapons. look at what i’m saying hear everything i just stated hear are technology super advancements. the money pit’s contents have either been found out. or the gov controls the area now and is gonna find out. an everything that is being said is just a destraction fueled by speculation. i 1 Votes Reply ↓ Jeff on November 5, 2012 at 1:02 pm said: Its on private land, and the owner will not give access to new teams i 1 Votes Reply ↓ John Early on September 14, 2010 at 7:28 pm said: My nephew, an engineer, used the term “diabolical” when I mentioned it to him. I don’t know what it is; I’d like to know more or less how old it is. King Solomon in the Bible said that there was “nothing new under the sun”, so what went on even long before his time might very well have encompassed great feats of engineering. (From what I understand, King Solomon, while the wisest man on earth at the time, was unaware of specifics of such things towards the end of his life.) It is possible that books in the great Library of Alexandria, destroyed more than 2,000 years ago, might have discussed some of that ancient engineering. I think it best to occupy ourselves with the here and now rather than speculate about the so-called “Oak Island Money Pit”. i 9 Votes Reply ↓ n.jeffries on September 28, 2010 at 5:19 am said: Ive seen the discovery channel on this topic and it seems it may have been dug when the sea level was lower.Ime sure somone must of carbon dated the wood? there are many mysteries on this planet,you only have to look at Egypt and the middle east its all good stuff.I wish people were more open minded and less narrow minded,the so called experts think we only developed inteligent brain several thousand years ago.As for the money pit somone went to a lot of effort to hide somthing, if it was! at sea level. i 6 Votes Reply ↓ nerf herder on December 7, 2011 at 11:21 am said: The carbon dating was apparently inconclusive, giving inconsistent results (according to one source, even futuristic dates). About the sea level issue, I think they could have dug the pit first, then open the hidden channels that flood the pit. So the whole thing didn’t have to be above sea level at the time of building it. But this kind of negates the idea that it was used as a ‘bank’ for pirate treasure. It certainly wouldn’t have been easy to get in and out of there, unless there was another entrance or it was a simple matter to plug the flooding channels if you know where they are (but then you still have to dig and go thru all those platforms). i 1 Votes Reply ↓ crut on September 21, 2012 at 12:42 pm said: If the water level was lower then why did the side channels to bring in water? The people who built it created it knowing it would flood if an excavation was attempted. They would not have done that if the water levels were lower, it wouldn’t have flooded and would have made zero sense! i 2 Votes Reply ↓ Jason on October 3, 2010 at 4:06 am said: quote: it translates ” 40 feet below, two million pounds are buried” And, indeed, two millions pounds had been buried into that pit. Maybe more by now. i 3 Votes Reply ↓ Jim on October 14, 2010 at 10:07 pm said: Why don’t they seal off the top, then pump air into the pit therebye forcing the water out and plug the tunnels that are letting the water in. It doesn’t seem to me the pressure would be that intense. It would be like a deep water dive. Problem Solved i 4 Votes Reply ↓ CKMIII on October 17, 2010 at 8:47 pm said: Good idea, however I believe there are are hundreds of holes from all the failed bypass drilling attempts, would hat effect it? If there are caverns there must be a cave entry somewhere you would think. i 1 Votes Reply ↓ loggiedaddy on March 24, 2011 at 3:33 pm said: I think that would work, but you’d need a heavy bulkhead to pressurize from, or secondary bulkheads at de… truncated (36,218 more characters in archive)