The Oak Island Mystery: The Secret of the Worlds Greatest Treasure Hunt (Mysteries and Secrets)

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To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about The Oak Island Mystery , please sign up. Be the first to ask a question about The Oak Island Mystery. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. This book is divided into two nearly equal halves. The first half contains a brief telling of the history of the Island as well as its mystery, followed by chronological telling of history's attempts to reach the bottom of the mystery: Each ending with the same result: The second part of the book details, quite haphazardly at times, the working theories of jus This book is divided into two nearly equal halves.

The second part of the book details, quite haphazardly at times, the working theories of just who, how and why the mystery exists. From the plausible to the obscured, I lost interest when the wheel fell off the wagon with regards to the Bible's Melchizedek involvement, UFOs, and ghosts. This book seems to deserve a split decision rating - searcher activity: Jul 01, Tokoro rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: I picked this up thinking it would be a grea, exciting romp, but what I got instead was much better!

I'm no Erik Graff but I found these authors to be able researchers, weighing all the possibilities fairly and cogently not jumping to conclusions because of an exciting or preferred explanation , and describing the progress of the expeditions very well with an admirable precision. The association of the Old Testament's Melchizedek with the scribe of the Egyptian gods, Thoth and the clarification I picked this up thinking it would be a grea, exciting romp, but what I got instead was much better!

The association of the Old Testament's Melchizedek with the scribe of the Egyptian gods, Thoth and the clarification of the grail probably being tablets rather than the Passover cup and it's connection to the mystery was intriguing.

The Oak Island Mystery: The Secret of the World's Greatest Treasure Hunt

When I become curious about the paranormal and other unexplained mysteries, I will definitely return to this husband-wife team. Highly recommended for clarity, logic, detail and combinatorial-learned grasp of what's at hand. Very much in the style of Ancient Aliens TV show I want to read more. I love Ancient Aliens and Georgio's hair Dave Sadler rated it it was amazing Feb 02, Dundurn Press rated it it was amazing Apr 03, Larry rated it it was ok May 05, Brian rated it liked it May 26, Mark rated it really liked it Apr 13, Lisa Leatherby rated it really liked it Jan 22, Jessie rated it it was amazing Jul 24, Allie rated it it was amazing Feb 18, William Kasza rated it did not like it Mar 04, Dana rated it it was ok Mar 14, David Pascarella rated it liked it Oct 21, Ericka rated it liked it Apr 28, Menno rated it liked it Apr 25, Although Pitblado disappeared that day, he would not be absent from the narrative for long.

Whatever Pitblado pocketed from the drilling debris had inspired him to petition the provincial authorities for a license to conduct his own excavation on the island. To help back his venture, Pitblado convinced lawyer and recognized businessman Charles Dickson Archibald to join him. Unfortunately for the two, the only official privilege they were granted by the government was the right to continue their search on "ungranted and unoccupied" lands.

Essentially, the splinter group of fortune hunters could only seek treasure on property not already deeded to a private owner Crooker, This restriction barred the men from exploring the enigmatic Money Pit. After a rejected attempt to purchase the lot containing the pit, Pitblado and Archibald were forced to leave finding the potential riches to the Truro Company. Archibald eventually retired to England while the duplicitous Pitblado and his unknown trophy disappeared into the fog of history. Despite the promising developments in , the men of the Truro Company left the site for the season.

When they returned in the summer of , the team brought with them a renewed sense of purpose and a refined strategy to extract their wealth. Similar to the Onslow Company's second effort, the members of the Truro Company devised a plan that would descend a shaft parallel to the original tunnel. At a depth of feet, the new tunnel would burrow horizontally, thereby entering the Money Pit Harris and MacPhie, A daring spelunker would then collect the coffers and return to the surface to celebrate.

As could be expected, the island would not succumb so easily. Similar to previous attempts, before the adjacent access shaft could reach the intended depth, the new tunnel filled with water. While not the result the crew had intended, this episode did offer an important discovery. As the team worked to drain the deluge, the laborers made two valuable observations.

First, the water present in the shaft was salty. Second, the level of the water rose and fell with the tide. Although simple, these observations had profound implications. Previously the company thought that the Money Pit was being inundated with water as either part of a complicated trap or as a result of the natural water table. Now the team knew that somehow it was the surrounding sea that flooded their excavations.

Equipped with this new knowledge, the Truro Company investigated the area for more clues. As though a veil had been lifted, the men discovered that a southern portion of the island's shore was actually manmade Crooker, The company decided to build a temporary rock dam in Smith's Cove to see if the key to the mystery could be found outside the actual tunnel. With the water held behind the cofferdam, the crew uncovered remnants of a previous dam as well as five peculiar vent openings.

Tracing the vents back to shore, the investigators tried to determine whether the shafts converged into one before continuing inland toward the pit. Here, their suspicions were confirmed. In order to drain the Money Pit, the team would either have to empty the Atlantic Ocean or obstruct the feeder vent that connected the five shafts to the tunnel. They chose the latter. After two attempts to find the feeder vent, the crew succeeded and wedged wood pilings into the shaft to prevent further flooding.

Thinking they could now remove the water and claim any treasure, the men were puzzled to find that, despite their best efforts, the water level refused to lower. The confused Truro Company ultimately broke camp and left empty-handed from the expedition. Deflated and destitute, the company disbanded the following year Harris, I n spring of , the next group of hopeful treasure hunters was formed.

They were named the Oak Island Association. Under the agreement to give the property owner, Anthony Graves, one third of all findings, the group began work at the Money Pit Crooker, At first, the men of the new expedition found the task to be an easier challenge than expected. They soon had cleared the main tunnel down to 88 feet, and had excavated two parallel tunnels to and feet all with no sign of flooding.

The foot shaft was dug 18 feet west of the Money Pit. The plan was, at that depth, the excavators would begin tunneling east to access the entombed loot. However, just one foot from penetrating the Money Pit, water flooded the access tunnel Harris and MacPhie, With so little earth between them and the promise of treasure, the Oak Island Association utilized a pumping gin to clear their watery path.

After three desperate days of trying to drain the shaft with no results, the company turned their efforts towards the other access tunnel 25 feet from the Money Pit. Already at a depth of feet with no sign of water, the crew determined to burrow horizontally from this new direction. Here again, with the main chamber just feet away, the second access tunnel was inundated with water Crooker, For two days, the 63 men of the company struggled to dredge the shaft to no avail. Down but not out, the team decided to send surveyors into one of the access tunnels in an effort to assess the cause of the flooding.

As two men labored in the shaft, those aboveground heard a loud crash. The thankful surveyors made it out alive as water began rushing into the tunnel. With everyone safely at the surface, the crew heard another startling sound. This time it was the Money Pit causing the commotion. According to Harris, beneath the weight of the oncoming water, the timbering installed to support the sides of the Money Pit collapsed everywhere below 30 feet from the opening Along with the partial wall collapse, further inspection revealed that the bottom of the tunnel had also given way.

The depth of the hole now stood at approximately feet. Although startling, no one was injured during the event. On the contrary, this episode may have helped heal the concerns of the team. As it turned out, when the floor of the Money Pit failed during the flood, pieces of debris from below washed upward through the murky water. When the men inspected the scene, they discovered several curious items including the bottom of a yellow dish, a piece of Juniper worked at either end of the wood, an oak timber, and a spruce slab scarred by the hole left by a drilling auger Crooker, A s the digging season moved forward, the Oak Island Association remained steadfast in their efforts.

Perhaps encouraged by the debris, the men installed a cast iron pump and steam engine to dispatch the water in the pit. Although pumping operations on Oak Island had become a standard practice for teams of treasure hunters, this particular attempt would have a lasting impression on the hopeful crew. In fall of , as the company struggled to drain the tunnel, a boiler exploded fatally scalding one operator and injuring several others. To the regret of many, it would not be the last.

Despite the tragedy, the men of the Oak Island Association returned to the site over the next four years. Following the incident, much of the group's efforts involved locating and obstructing the feeder tunnels from Smith Cove thought to be responsible for the flooding. Although these attempts also failed to produce results, there was no further loss of life among the ranks of the Oak Island Association. In , the company relinquished its rights to search for treasure at the site, ending a costly and tragic campaign in the Oak Island narrative. I neffective attempts by misbegotten treasure hunters persisted for much of the 19th century, with little more than mounting debt and sinking hopes to show for the investment.

Then, in , excitement for the enigmatic tunnel was reignited when a one and a half ounce copper coin was discovered on the island Harris and MacPhie, Although the copper piece was found outside of the Money Pit, to many observers, it served as yet another testament to the wealth buried below. Energized by the new potential, in Frederick Blair and S.

Despite the enthusiasm of the Oak Island Treasure Company, the organization's efforts proved despairing even from the start. Initially, when the fledgling association met in Truro to appoint officer positions and generate revenue, the group was unable to raise enough capital to cover the purchase of a pump Harris, Without this essential piece of equipment, the company would scarcely be able to move forward with the expedition. Regardless, the group decided to take aggressive action and began a deliberate excavation in Unfortunately for the crew, they had unknowingly been laboring within one of the auxiliary access tunnels 10 feet northwest of the Money Pit itself.

To make matters worse, the team had dug down to 55 feet before the chamber was inundated with water and work was interrupted Harris and MacPhie, Several months later, the Oak Island Treasure Company was confronted by additional difficulties. In September of , the Attorney General of Nova Scotia informed Frederick Blair that, in spite of the lease agreement, any treasure acquired as a result of their expedition belonged to the Queen, represented by the provincial government. To encourage continued digging, officials of Nova Scotia agreed to claim only a portion of the riches recovered from the island Harris, The following year, with the assistance of a new pump, the company returned to Oak Island.

However, this attempt proved uneventful when, at a depth of 70 feet, the pump failed to keep up with the water flow and work was suspended Crooker, However, the trend toward the mundane was abandoned in when tragedy again visited the island. On March 26th of that year, a man named Maynard Kaiser was working in one of the many shafts drilled into the terrain. As he was being hoisted to the surface, the ascension rope carrying Kaiser slipped from the pulley, casting him back into the shaft to his death Fanthorpe, Following the accident, several crewmembers felt convinced that the treasure was either cursed or protected by a malevolent spirit and refused to descend into the Money Pit.

Whether or not they were confronting a paranormal guardian, in June of the Oak Island Treasure Company again tried their luck at acquiring the presumed fortune. After only moderate success in draining the Money Pit, the team followed the lead of their predecessors and relied on drilling to uncover whatever was buried below. Unbeknownst to the company, their findings that day would taunt innumerable imaginations for years to come.

According to Lamb, the team first drilled down feet, encountering a five-inch layer of oak before hitting an impenetrable iron surface The men moved their drill one foot from the initial hole and executed a second attempt. Here, the auger passed through layers of soft stone, oak and a deposit that seemed to consist of loose pieces of metal. Encouraged by the results, the team sent the drill back down the same borehole.

At a depth of approximately feet, the drill again came in contact with what the team perceived to be loose metal. Beneath the supposed metal the auger encountered the same iron barrier and could not descend further. When the drill returned to the surface and the team examined the boring extracted from the pit, excitement soon faded. Despite the layer thought to be loose metal, the men only found pieces of coconut fiber, oak splinters and loose debris. At first, this appeared to be no different than previous attempts.

However, upon closer examination, the debris pulled from the tunnel that day would ultimately invite theories once considered outlandish. While the men continued drilling at the site, the extracted debris was transported to a courthouse in Amherst, Nova Scotia. Porter subjected the materials to closer examination. After scrutinizing the Oak Island debris, Dr. Porter made an alarming discovering.

Amongst the dirt and rubble, he found an unmistakable piece of parchment. Further distinguishing the fragment was what appeared to be the letters "VI" written on one side of the material Crooker, Eventually the tiny script was inspected by Harvard University specialists who verified its authenticity Harris, Another discovery made during that excavation only came to light many years following the summer of As indicated by Lamb, during that fateful excavation, drill operator William Chappell found traces of gold sediment on the auger after drilling into the Money Pit Similar to James Pitblado, formerly of the Truro Company, Chappell hid his valuable discovery from fellow crewmembers.

It was not until that Chappell's findings would come to light. T he next year, a less lucrative yet equally significant discovery was made. Given the amount of flooding in the Money Pits and surrounding auxiliary holes, excavators believed the tunnels were somehow interconnected, forming a sophisticated labyrinth. The crew reasoned that by tracing the path of the pigment, they could determine the locations of the various flood channels and ultimately obstruct them once and for all.

When the team set their plan into motion, they were astonished to find the dye streaming out from the shoreline at distant points around the island's perimeter. Perhaps most astonishing was that the coloring did not appear in Smith Bay where structures thought to be flood tunnels were located in Harris, Further perplexing the crew was that, after multiple attempts to dynamite the feeder channels, they seemed unable to clog the pathways and prevent further flooding. Despite the increase in capital and experience the excavators received from the acquisition, success eluded the teams throughout the early s.

T o claim that all of the treasure hunters were somehow misguided would undermine the credibility of even an acclaimed United States president. The affluent, Harvard-educated Roosevelt spent that summer off the shores of Nova Scotia, as hopeful to find the treasure as any who had preceded him. According to written correspondence, Roosevelt nurtured an interest in the Oak Island mystery well into his presidency. In a letter to a friend, the president intimated his intentions to return to the island on Mahone Bay, but was prevented from doing so by the outbreak of war in Europe University Archives, O riginally part of the Oak Island Treasure Company, William Chappell was noted to have found traces of gold on an auger during an excavation.

Although he initially kept his discovery a secret, many years later Chappell confided the details of what he had found to Frederick Blair. In an effort to garner Blair's support as well as his permission to drill at the site, Chappell described his encounter with the gold dust. Convinced of their impending fortune, Blair signed on with the new expedition under Chappells Limited of Sydney, Nova Scotia Crooker, The two men along with Chappell's brother Renerick, son Melbourne and nephew Claude, began work in Like many before them, the group found themselves with far more enthusiasm than solutions.

The first problem they faced was discerning exactly which hole in the ground was actually the Money Pit. By that year, the site had undergone nearly a century and a half of excavation efforts, marring the island's surface with shaft openings.

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Mistakenly, the team ended up drilling approximately six feet south of the Money Pit Harris, The duration of the Chappell expedition was short-lived; only active for one digging season. However, the team was able to make several astonishing discoveries during their brief stay. All between and feet deep in their new shaft, the men recovered an anchor flute sunk into the side of the tunnel, an implement resembling a year-old Acadian axe, a miner's pick and the remnants of an oil lamp with seal oil Crooker, Adding to the intrigue of the site, Mel Chappell also located a triangular formation of stones situated along the south shore of the island.

Individually, each of these findings would be significant, but together, perhaps they provided more insight into the mystery of the island. A man named Gilbert Hedden initiated the next significant effort at Oak Island. While several of his predecessors were qualified and even intellectual men, Hedden had perhaps the best combination of resources to be successful at extracting the fabled treasure. In this capacity, Hedden grew increasingly familiar with the application of structural steel in engineering. His career also provided Hedden with the financial means to pursue the promise of the Money Pit when his company was purchased by the Bethlehem Steel Company in The steel magnate was convinced that the tunnel contained the fabled treasure of pirate captain William Kidd.

By , his interest had heated to a passion. That year the affluent Hedden purchased the eastern portion of Oak Island and had arrived at an agreement with Frederick Blair securing access to the Money Pit Crooker, To undertake the pumping and excavation, Hedden hired Sprague and Henwood, Inc. Having obtained legal access to the property and the means to excavate the buried treasure, Hedden began his expedition in The results of his team's first digging season were unimpressive.

Sprague and Henwood, Inc. Similar to Chappell, the shaft only produced disappointment as the attempt ended with Hedden leaving empty-handed Harris and MacPhie, In , Hedden and his contractors returned to Oak Island. This time the company would encounter intriguing findings. Burrowing down one of the many auxiliary tunnels pock marking the island, the team stumbled upon a number of fascinating items including a miner's oil lamp with whale oil and unexploded dynamite at 65 feet.

At a depth of 93 feet, they unearthed clay putty not previously found on the island. Slightly further down in the tunnel the men made an even more encouraging discovery. At a depth of feet, Hedden's team came across an intersecting tunnel measuring 3 feet and 10 inches wide by 6 feet and 4 inches tall. Remarkably this chamber was lined with hemlock timbers and may have served as one of the original flood tunnels Harris and MacPhie, Although promising, the elements discovered in did nothing to offset the increasing expense of the excavation.

Along with a treasure map resembling Oak Island, the work of fiction provoked readers with irrefutable similarities to the Money Pit narrative. Captivated, Hedden traveled to London to learn the source of the author's information. To Hedden's dismay, Wilkins was surprised to hear of any parallels between his tale and the site in Nova Scotia Crooker, While Hedden maintained his interest in what he believed was pirate treasure, in he halted his drilling campaign to concentrate on business matters Harris, Despite abandoning excavation efforts, Hedden felt that the clues he uncovered during his investigation deserved the attention of British royal and fellow Freemason, King George VI.

According to author Mark Finnan, in Chappell drafted correspondence to his majesty, highlighting the unique importance of the Money Pit on Oak Island S ince its discovery in , the Money Pit has elicited a number of legends and tales to help explain the mystery of Oak Island. Among the stories created by those grappling with the enigma is that the treasure will evade discovery until seven people die trying to capture it. If this folklore holds any truth, the Restall expedition of the s did the most to fulfill the tragic prophecy.

Prior to arriving on Oak Island, Robert Restall had become well acquainted with adventure. In fact, not long after meeting and marrying his young wife, Mildred, Restall enlisted his bride in a spectacular traveling show. The act was called the "Globe of Death" and involved the couple whipping around a large steel sphere on motorcycles at speeds up to 65 miles per hour. The daredevils performed throughout Europe in the s before moving their act to Canada. By , the couple had settled in Hamilton, Ontario and was raising two sons and a daughter Restall, As Mildred Restall described in , once Robert had heard about the Money Pit mystery, it became his pursuit.

He set out collecting articles and information on the site, determined to learn everything about the island including the reasons others had failed. After years of building enthusiasm, Restall negotiated a deal with owner Mel Chappell in In exchange for 50 percent of any recovered treasure, Restall was given full rights to operate at the pit. Within the month, Restall relocated him and his eldest son to the modest island Restall, Some of this had been borrowed from outside investors while the remainder of it represented the family's own savings.

Immediately, Restall and his son set to work. By July of , the two managed to remove water from the main shaft to a level not seen in decades Lamb, That year the rest of Restall's family moved to Oak Island to help in the excavation. Over the next five years, the Restalls dedicated their lives to Oak Island and the pursuit of the fabled riches. The family lived in two primitive cabins void of running water. Their fresh water was gathered from snowmelt and rain collected in a depression left by a dynamite blast many years before. At times they would visit the mainland for supplies, but would always return to Oak Island driven by Robert Restall's constitution and certainty that he would capture the pirate's bounty Restall, Sadly for Mildred, this unique chapter in her family's history ended abruptly on Tuesday, August 17th, As she recalled, her husband intended to visit Halifax that afternoon.

Restall and his son had been working on digging a new shaft on one of the beaches. Restall then lost consciousness and fell into the watery shaft. When his son, Bobbie, witnessed this episode, he dashed in after his father only to be claimed by the toxic fumes as well. Unaware of what was unfolding, two nearby workers, Karl Graeser and Cyril Hiltz, also rushed in to help. Both suffered the same fate as the Restall men Lamb, At the close of this fateful day, Oak Island had claimed a total of six people since the mystery began.

J ust over one month before the tragedy that claimed the lives of four men, Robert Restall signed an agreement with investor and Geologist Robert Dunfield. After Restall passed away, Dunfield assumed control of operations at the island. Rather than make small incisions at strategic locations, Dunfield's approach involved a much more dramatic approach.

Oak Island Money Pit

In fact, Dunfield's first order of business as project manager included using two bulldozers to clear 12 feet from the surface of the Money Pit and spread the removed clay over Smith's Cove as a way to clog any feeder tunnels that might be flooding the main chamber Crooker, In order to transport even larger excavation equipment to the site, Dunfield ordered a causeway be built connecting the west end of Oak Island to Crandall's Point on the mainland.

Completed on October 16, , the causeway stretched feet and consisted of cubic yards of compacted fill Crooker, With the land bridge in place, Dunfield could move operations beyond lightweight machinery. Within weeks, the geologist had brought a ton digging crane to Oak Island and was preparing to excavate at a scale never before seen at the site. The month following the crane's arrival, Dunfield and his crew dug in.

Assisted by the modern equipment, the team removed a foot deep by foot wide crater from the Money Pit. The effort proved bitter sweet as the team uncovered small shards of porcelain dishware but consistently struggled against the tunnel's collapse as a result of heavy rains Harris, Despite having spent countless hours and dollars excavating the main tunnel, he demanded that the Money Pit be refilled to create a base for a drilling campaign.

The Last Great Unsolved Mystery

Once his men had finished filling the gaping cavity, Dunfield began taking core samples at greater depths. He drilled four separate 6-inch holes to a depth of feet into the Money Pit. From this investigation, he concluded that at approximately feet a wooden platform obstructed the tunnel. Below the timbers was a foot chamber void of any material. This empty space was followed by bedrock. Intrigued by these findings, Dunfield sent the core samples to the University of Southern California to undergo chemical analysis. Although he kept the results confidential, they encouraged Dunfield to announce his intentions for further large-scale drilling operations in the main tunnel Harris and MacPhie, The next several months were perhaps more frustrating than fruitful for Dunfield and his team.

After excavating several promising locations across the island, he was unable to find anything more than the previous shards of porcelain and core samples. Further complicating matters, treasure-seeker and Oak Island property owner, Fred Nolan, bought lots immediately adjacent to Crandall's Point. Frustrated that Dunfield would not allow him use of the causeway to the island, Nolan barred its entrance from the mainland, essentially prohibiting both parties from the costly land bridge Crooker, P rior to the formation of the Triton Alliance, key partners Daniel Blankenship and David Tobias had been investigating the plausibility of the Oak Island narrative.

In , the men had made their assessment and decided to actively pursue the alleged treasure by purchasing the majority of the island. Given the recent tension between Dunfield and Nolan, the two investors knew that their undertaking would need to be political as well as technical. Taking conciliatory measures, Blankenship and Tobias initially enlisted both Dunfield and Nolan to assist in their expedition Harris, This move ensured their access to the valuable causeway and Dunfield's knowledge of the island. Under the tentative truce between the treasure hunters, Blankenship and Tobias began an ambitious drilling campaign.

Throughout , the men bored over 60 holes into the surface near the Money Pit. From their drillings, the two ascertain that bedrock began at a depth of to feet. They also found that, at certain locations, there was a wooden level 40 feet beneath the bedrock. As they continued their coring, Blankenship and Tobias retrieved a piece of brass from a site they termed Drill Hole From similar test holes, they found pieces of porcelain, wood, clay and charcoal Harris and MacPhie, In , the expedition began in earnest when Blankenship and Tobias formed the Triton Alliance Limited.

The new company wasted no time in their efforts to retrieve the mysterious fortune. Selecting strategic locations outside of the Money Pit, the Triton Alliance employed a calculated approach to their expedition. That year, in a test pit feet northeast of the main tunnel, the Triton crew noted finding a small amount of metal at a depth of feet.

Additional metal samples were found in at various depths northeast of the Money Pit. Also in , during an excavation attempt in Smith Cove, workers uncovered a U-shaped formation of logs marked with Roman numerals. The construction was thought to be the remnants of an ancient dam or harbor Crooker, Adding to the excitement of the Smith Cove investigation, the Triton Alliance team discovered a pair of wrought-iron scissors, a wooden sled, a portion of an iron ruler and other iron artifacts including nails and spikes.

When sent to the Steel Company of Canada for testing, these materials were determined to predate Harris and MacPhie, The Triton Alliance now had its own evidence of human activity prior to the first Money Pit excavation. The developments in only furthered the team's convictions in chasing the alleged riches. In January of that year, one of the most promising boreholes termed 10X was widened to fit a inch diameter casing and deepened to feet. During the process, the crew recovered fragments of broken concrete as well as pieces of metal chain and wire from the flooded tunnel Crooker, Several months later, after the men had satisfactorily prepared the site, the team lowered a video camera into the watery shaft.

The lens relayed grainy yet dramatic images back to observers at the surface. Within the stone chamber were what appeared to be a severed hand, a corpse and several treasure chests Prompted by the video images, the Triton Alliance initiated approximately 10 diving excursions into the subterranean cavern. No treasure was extracted as a result of the divers' investigations. Dismayed by the results of the Borehole 10X dives, the group spent the following years excavating locations across Oak Island. Then, perhaps spurred by the frustration of their circumstances, legal conflict erupted between the various interests.

The first unraveling came in when the Triton Alliance brought a suit against Fred Nolan contesting his ownership of seven lots on the island and claiming their right to access the causeway extending from Crandall's Point.

The strain of these legal battles combined with the stock market volatility of caused much of the activity surrounding the Money Pit to halt. L egal issues again undermined Oak Island's stakeholders in Since , the Treasure Trove Act served as the standard for regulating treasure-hunting activities.

The terms of the license guaranteed 10 percent of any recovered wealth went to the provincial government. Then, in , the legislation revised the original act, tightening regulations and limiting license issuance Lewis, With large-scale excavations stalled due to imposing financial constraints, many of those possessing interests in Oak Island turned to tourism as both a source of revenue and public promotion. Unfortunately, this type of commercial activity also required a license.

Despite the additional limitations governing treasure hunting, the main players on Oak Island, including the Triton Alliance, all managed to secure Treasure Trove Licenses. A s early as the s, Blankenship and Tobias were operating a tourism arm of their expedition. This entity was termed the Oak Island Exploration Company. Supported by the prominent Oak Island land holdings of the Triton Alliance, the organization enjoyed nearly exclusive access for tourism. However, members of the public interested in the island's history also began organizing their own groups.

Among them was the Oak Island Tourism Society. In the late s, when Tobias moved to sell his shares of the property, the Oak Island Tourism Society fervently petitioned the Canadian government to purchase the land and open it to the public. Unfortunately for Oak Island enthusiasts, several developments around the turn of the 21st century created further complications. First, in , the Oak Island Tourism Society voted to dissolve the organization, citing their inability to open an interpretive center dedicated to the Money Pit narrative.

Then, in , the Canadian government revisited the Treasure Trove Act. This time, rather than tightening restrictions in the legislation, officials replaced the bill with the Oak Island Treasure Act. The new law aimed to discourage exploiting Nova Scotia's cultural resources for commercial gain. As a result, "[a]nyone who wants to search for and recover in Oak Island Nova Scotia precious stones or metals in a state other than their natural state, and to keep them," would face a cumbersome licensing process with the Department of Natural Resources and would be heavily taxed on any findings Department of Natural Resources, Since its enactment, the measure has discouraged many potential treasure seekers and has inhibited activity on the once spirited Oak Island.

The show details the island history, famous treasure-hunting events and discoveries, and works to solve the mystery which has been in place for hundreds of years. O ne might like to dismiss these forlorn teams of excavators as just ignorant but optimistic wayfarers bent on imaginary riches. However, this perspective would cast such respected actors as Errol Flynn and John Wayne in the role of delusional fortune hunters. Both prominent men sought the buried mystery in the s Ricketts, Unfortunately for Flynn, a company owned by Wayne held the rights to seek treasure on the island, barring Flynn from pursuing the prize.

A s with any spectacular mystery, skeptical observers have tried to degrade the Money Pit down to natural processes. Under this theory, critics maintain that Oak Island is fewer than yards from the mainland of Nova Scotia. Due to its proximity, it is assumed that the two landmasses share in certain geologic characteristics. Individuals who subscribe to this school of thought point to the multitude of sinkholes littering Nova Scotia's subsurface.

To these onlookers, the Money Pit is little more than a profound sinkhole worn through a susceptible limestone substrate. According to critics of the Treasure Island hypothesis, all of the artifacts recovered from the pit can be credited to debris washing into a naturally occurring subterranean cavity. This approach to the Canadian site reduces the site to a matter of geo-fluvial activity, with snowmelt and rainwater contributing the mysterious artifacts and features. T he most common theory as to what's at the bottom of the Money Pit on Oak Island is that Captain Kidd buried his vast fortune there just prior to his capture in Boston in However, others believe that Kidd might have conspired with Henry Every to use Oak Island as a type of community bank between the two.

Some even believe that notorious pirate Blackbeard Edward Teach buried his treasure there due to him boasting that his treasure was hidden "where none but Satan and myself can find it. G iven the international volatility present since the discovery of the New World, it should come as no surprise that the otherwise inexplicable Oak Island would come to symbolize a hidden cache of royal treasures.

Two of the most favorable explanations in this category originate with either the British or French military forces. The explanation largely hinges on British aggression against French holdings at Fort Louisbourg. Here, it is thought that at some point during the French and Indian War and subsequent Seven Years War, the Franco treasure held at the fortification was transferred to the sophisticated vault on Oak Island.

There are two opposing viewpoints to this line of reasoning. Some believe that, at some point during the six-week siege of , the French slipped transportation of their riches past the invading British vessels, depositing the Fort Louisbourg coffers in the aptly named Money Pit. Others deem that the successful British attack on Fort Louisbourg, ultimately led to the construction of the Money Pit for safekeeping. Under this hypothesis, British forces were ordered to systematically dismember the fallen French stronghold, pillaging its riches before depositing them beneath the island off the coast of Nova Scotia O'Connor, I n June of , the Truro Company managed to recover a mysterious shroud of parchment from the depths of the main tunnel.

Written on the face of the fragment was what appeared to be the letters "VI. So why then, do so many observers feel that two letters on parchment are more significant than even gold coins? According to one theory, the answer can be found in a 16th century English playhouse. William Shakespeare was born in in Stratford-upon-Avon in the English countryside. Although his early schooling remains debated, records indicate that Shakespeare never attended college.

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Instead, as a young man, he joined an acting troop and pursued theater as a profession. Through his remarkable ability as a playwright and unique talent to captivate his audiences, Shakespeare eventually earned a reputation as a literary genius. His canon of work includes 37 plays attributed to the distinguished author Ackroyd, However, some critics believe that the unparalleled literature of William Shakespeare is part of a real-life narrative far more cunning.

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