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Oak Island Money Pit
Posted by
The Observant
,
24 May 2011
·
363 views
Money Pit Oak island bizarre
Now there is probably topic and talk on UM about the Oak Island mysteries but I felt like blogging it anyway. If you don't already know Oak Island is a uninhabited island in Lunenberg County, Nova Scotia, Canada [44°31′00″N 64°17′57″W]. The island is 40-acres and tree-covered and one of around 360 small islands in the Mahone Bay area. At it's peak the island rises to just 35 feet above sea level.
The island is nicknamed "The Money Pit" and there is a truly fascinating story behind it. In 1795 a teenager by the name of Daniel McGinnis and some friends set off to explore the island. They discovered a small circular depression on the Southeastern side and decided to dig. The boys unearthed a layer of flagstones just a few feet below the surface. The pit walls had evidence of pick axes being used proving the pit was man made. The group dug further and discovered layers of logs at every 10 feet that formed strange "platforms". The boys decided to abandon the dig at around 30 feet.
Eight years after the 1795 discovery and excavation The Onslow Company ventured out to Oak Island hoping to uncover "treasure" they thought to be buried at the bottom of the pit. They took the excavation to around 90 feet and found more layers of logs that they tagged "marks" every ten feet (as before) along with strange layers of charcoal and coconut fiber mixed into a kind of putty at 40, 50 and 60 feet.
A written account of the dig claimed that at 80–90 feet they unearthed a large stone bearing an odd inscription of symbols never before seen. Several researchers apparently attempted to decipher the symbols. A scientist apparently translated them as saying "forty feet below, two million pounds lie buried.". This decoding was accredited to a a set of symbols linked to Reverend A.T. Kempton of Cambridge, Massachusetts.
After uncovering the stone and attempting to go further the pit began to flood and only stopped at the 33 feet mark. The company tried bailing the water out but had no effect. The company aborted the excavation and abandoned the site.
Enter The Truro Company in 1849, they were next to pour money into the project. The Truro Company re-excavated the site back down to 86 feet before disaster struck and the pit once again flooded right on cue. Not wanting to pack up just yet the team drilled into the ground below the bottom of the shaft. Records suggest that the drill "passed through a spruce platform at 98 feet (30 m), 12 inches (300 mm) head space 22 inches (560 mm) of what was described as "metal in pieces", 8 inches (200 mm) of oak, another 22 inches (560 mm) of metal, 4 inches (100 mm) of oak, another spruce layer, and finally into clay for 7 feet (2.1 m) without striking anything else." The project was deemed a failure.
Other attempts to reach the bottom of the pit took place in 1861 [resulting in the first death related to the site], 1864, 1866, 1887, 1893, 1909, 1931, 1935, 1936, and 1959. In total six people died in relation to the various excavations. None of these projects ever recovered anything else from the pit and were all foiled by the booby trapped flooding every time they got too deep.
So what is at the bottom of this ingeniously designed vault? Many theories have been devised over the years ranging from the pit being a hiding place for Pirate Treasure to the Holy Grail/Ark of the Covenant. Some people think the infamous pirate Blackbeard [Real name Edward Teach] created the pit to hide his loot. The main reason behind this is a claim he made that his hiding spot was so secure that it was "where none but Satan and myself can find it." To some this sounds exactly like the Money Pit but there is very little evidence back up the pirate ever being in Nova Scotia.
Another nautical theory suggests that Captain Kidd buried his vast hoard of treasure and claimed it to be located on an island "east of Boston".
Another idea is that the British Army created the pit during the American war of independence to hid money and precious items from revolting Americans. This is a good theory but does not explain what became of the stash and no records exist of the British undertaking such a project. More elaborate ideas point the finger at the Freemasons, The Knights Templar and even Ancient Egypt but I will leave those pieces of research to you. [Or you could go digging around UM]
What do you think is hidden away at the bottom of this amazing pit?
The island is nicknamed "The Money Pit" and there is a truly fascinating story behind it. In 1795 a teenager by the name of Daniel McGinnis and some friends set off to explore the island. They discovered a small circular depression on the Southeastern side and decided to dig. The boys unearthed a layer of flagstones just a few feet below the surface. The pit walls had evidence of pick axes being used proving the pit was man made. The group dug further and discovered layers of logs at every 10 feet that formed strange "platforms". The boys decided to abandon the dig at around 30 feet.
Eight years after the 1795 discovery and excavation The Onslow Company ventured out to Oak Island hoping to uncover "treasure" they thought to be buried at the bottom of the pit. They took the excavation to around 90 feet and found more layers of logs that they tagged "marks" every ten feet (as before) along with strange layers of charcoal and coconut fiber mixed into a kind of putty at 40, 50 and 60 feet.
A written account of the dig claimed that at 80–90 feet they unearthed a large stone bearing an odd inscription of symbols never before seen. Several researchers apparently attempted to decipher the symbols. A scientist apparently translated them as saying "forty feet below, two million pounds lie buried.". This decoding was accredited to a a set of symbols linked to Reverend A.T. Kempton of Cambridge, Massachusetts.
After uncovering the stone and attempting to go further the pit began to flood and only stopped at the 33 feet mark. The company tried bailing the water out but had no effect. The company aborted the excavation and abandoned the site.
Enter The Truro Company in 1849, they were next to pour money into the project. The Truro Company re-excavated the site back down to 86 feet before disaster struck and the pit once again flooded right on cue. Not wanting to pack up just yet the team drilled into the ground below the bottom of the shaft. Records suggest that the drill "passed through a spruce platform at 98 feet (30 m), 12 inches (300 mm) head space 22 inches (560 mm) of what was described as "metal in pieces", 8 inches (200 mm) of oak, another 22 inches (560 mm) of metal, 4 inches (100 mm) of oak, another spruce layer, and finally into clay for 7 feet (2.1 m) without striking anything else." The project was deemed a failure.
Other attempts to reach the bottom of the pit took place in 1861 [resulting in the first death related to the site], 1864, 1866, 1887, 1893, 1909, 1931, 1935, 1936, and 1959. In total six people died in relation to the various excavations. None of these projects ever recovered anything else from the pit and were all foiled by the booby trapped flooding every time they got too deep.
So what is at the bottom of this ingeniously designed vault? Many theories have been devised over the years ranging from the pit being a hiding place for Pirate Treasure to the Holy Grail/Ark of the Covenant. Some people think the infamous pirate Blackbeard [Real name Edward Teach] created the pit to hide his loot. The main reason behind this is a claim he made that his hiding spot was so secure that it was "where none but Satan and myself can find it." To some this sounds exactly like the Money Pit but there is very little evidence back up the pirate ever being in Nova Scotia.
Another nautical theory suggests that Captain Kidd buried his vast hoard of treasure and claimed it to be located on an island "east of Boston".
Another idea is that the British Army created the pit during the American war of independence to hid money and precious items from revolting Americans. This is a good theory but does not explain what became of the stash and no records exist of the British undertaking such a project. More elaborate ideas point the finger at the Freemasons, The Knights Templar and even Ancient Egypt but I will leave those pieces of research to you. [Or you could go digging around UM]
What do you think is hidden away at the bottom of this amazing pit?
