The Oak Island Mystery

by Lionel

A third strange theory of the Oak Island Mystery can be built from the trustworthy and reliable accounts in George Young’s excellent book Ghosts in Nova Scotia. In 1973 visitors to the island were surprised to see what they described as a very small man, a dwarf, or midget, walking in old-world costume alongside a normal-sized man dressed in black. Thinking, understandably, that they were actors dressed up as part of the tourist attraction to the island, the visitors followed them. The strange figures suddenly vanished as if they had crossed into an unknown dimension. They were seen again two years later, and again vanished with disconcerting suddenness.

  In 1968 another witness was looking out towards the island when she saw an old-style sailing ship approach it and anchor there. She was amazed to see a column of British Redcoats in eighteenth century uniforms disembark and march over the island. Her first thoughts were that these were extras — part of a film crew. Next time she looked, there was no sign of the ship, nor of the Redcoat soldiers! What if Oak Island stands at some strange intersection of our own plain, solid, simple three-dimensional universe and a mysterious, unknown dimension? Are the avant garde physicists right in postulating the existence of parallel universes, the worlds of if? What if time can experience warps and glitches in the same way that matter does? What if Oak Island is a portal, a strange gateway between normal reality as we understand it and some weird unknown place? Could beings from that other place have created the Money Pit for enigmatic purposes of their own?

  A fourth, pragmatic and practical historical theory suggests that the Money Pit was created during the American War of Independence, also referred to as the American Revolutionary War, of 1775 to 1783. The then-thirteen British colonies in North America wanted their independence and fought against King George III. The French, under King Louis XVI, secretly supported the colonists with general supplies, weapons, and ammunition. There are several variations of this theory of the Money Pit’s construction and use: it may have been built by the French to hide what they were supplying to the colonists; it may have been built by the colonists; it may have been the work of British Army Engineers to keep their army payroll safe from both the French and the colonists.

  A fifth theory concerns the boldly adventurous Sir Francis Drake. In his otherwise well-documented history, there are several missing months. The buccaneering Drake would have been more than capable of relieving a Spanish treasure galleon of its contents, but making no official report of it. With the undivided loyalty of his staunch Devonshire crewmen, he could have made a trip to Oak Island, constructed the Money Pit, and deposited their treasure there — perhaps as a pension fund for all of them when their sailing days were over. Drake’s character and ability were such that nothing would have been beyond him.

  Theory number six suggests that pirates made the Money Pit and deposited their spoils in it. The two names that come to mind are William Kidd (1645–1701) and Ned Teach, known as Blackbeard (circa 1680–1718). Either might just possibly have been responsible for creating the Money Pit and concealing their treasure in it, but it is far from likely. Pirates tended to prefer a quick hole in the sand with landmarks such as distinctive trees or rock formations nearby. There are rumours and legends, however, of “pirate banks.” These are described as being very similar to the Oak Island Money Pit. A deep shaft with booby traps such as flood tunnels is constructed and left with obvious indications of its existence: the tree with the lobbed branch and the old ship’s block and tackle hanging over the top of the shaft. The treasure, however, is actually buried relatively close to the surface and very easy to recover — provided the owner knows its exact location. Although the decoy shaft goes down a very long way, the diggers strike upwards again towards the surface at an angle to the main shaft. Meticulous measurements are made — not a difficult feat for a skilled nautical navigator with a good quality compass — and with these the treasure can be recovered by going down a few feet through virgin soil yards away from the decoy shaft. The pirate theory makes more sense if such a “pirate bank” had been built on Oak Island at some time in the past and then used by numerous pirates, including both Teach and Kidd. If the Money Pit is just the decoy shaft for a pirate bank, it is possible that the easy access point lies below the Oak Island swamp.

  Another version of the pirates’ treasure theory concerns Sir William Phipps (1651–1695), who was Governor of Massachusetts Bay from 1692 until 1694. In his earlier career Phipps had been a ship’s carpenter and later established a shipyard beside the River Sheepscot in Maine. He was later commissioned to find the remains of a Spanish treasure ship El Concepción, which had been wrecked on the notorious Silver Bank in the Caribbean. Although he formally handed over some £300,000 to his government backers, he had ample opportunity to conceal a significant share for himself on Oak Island.

  The seventh theory — for which George Young deserves the credit — is that a group of religious refugees, probably Coptic Christians from Egypt, led by their Arif, reached Oak Island and set up a small religious community there. When their revered Arif died, his followers constructed the Money pit as a protected grave for him. He was laid out in all his bejewelled robes and vestments 100 feet or so down the shaft. The oak logs were laid across the shaft at ten-foot intervals in order to prevent the weight of the soil from crushing the burial chamber. The flood tunnels were built to dispose of any grave robbers. When the 19th century treasure-hunting expeditions brought up a few links of gold chain and a jewel on their drills, these were not from buried treasure but from the Arif’s ornate robes.

  Co-author Patricia on the edge of the mysterious central swamp on Oak Island.

  Theory number eight revolves around the mysterious scrap of parchment brought up on a drill, and its possible link with the Bacon-Shakespeare controversy. Among Bacon’s pioneering scientific work, he experimented with preserving manuscripts in mercury. This is recorded in his book Sylva Sylvarum. Fragments of old flasks of mercury have been found on Oak Island from time to time, and in 1610 King James granted land in Canada to Bacon. This would have provided Bacon with access to Nova Scotia and Oak Island. Brilliant Oak Island researcher Keith Ranville was looking at the first edition of our Oak Island book (1995), in which he studied the Baconian watermark codes we had reproduced there, and from which he established a significant link with the Oak Island triangle. Bacon undoubtedly had the intelligence to design the Money Pit. Did he preserve his original manuscripts there? If they could be recovered, they would bring a definitive end to the Bacon-Shakespeare controversy.

  The ninth theory links the Money Pit to the adventurous, epic voyages of early Welsh sea-rovers, and of Norsemen. Did fearless Celts or Vikings get across the Atlantic centuries before Columbus? Would they have had the skill and excavating experience to design and dig the Money Pit? They certainly had the strength and determination. But if they were responsible, what was their purpose? Did they create the Money Pit as a grave for some great war leader?

  The tenth theory involves the fearless Knights Templar. They were treacherously attacked on Friday, October 13th, 1307, by the odious Philip IV of France, nicknamed Philip le Bel because of his attractive appearance that disguised an evil heart and mind. The Templar fleet escaped from La Rochelle before Philip’s minions could apprehend it. What were those Templar ships carrying? Where did they take it to be safe from Philip? Could they have crossed the Atlantic and reached Nova Scotia? The Templars were expert navigators and superb architects and builders as well as fearless warriors. They had the motive. They had the skills. They had the disciplined manpower. They could have constructed the Money Pit to conceal and protect something of immense value.

  The other Oak Island on the opposite side of the Nova Scotian peninsula.

  The other Gold River emptying into the Bay of Fundy.

  Connected to this Templar theory is the theory of the other Oak Island. Nova Scotia has two Gold Rivers. One empties into the Bay of Fundy on the northwest of Nova Scotia. Not far from it is what was once another Oak Island, but whi
ch became part of the mainland during the financial rescue packages after the Great Depression following the Wall Street crash of 1929. The other Gold River is very close to the famous Oak Island in Mahone Bay. Some researchers have put forward the idea that in medieval times European adventurers — possibly the Templars — had built a fortified stronghold in central Nova Scotia. Because navigation was then so uncertain, their followers might have sailed up into the Bay of Fundy instead of encountering the eastern seaboard of Nova Scotia. Their instructions were to find Oak Island (either one!) and then sail up the river nearby, which would bring them to the fortified settlement in the centre of the peninsula. Both Oak Islands were, of course, covered with oaks that the first expedition had planted on them in order to identify them, so that later expeditions could find the central fortress.

  Numerous subsidiary versions of this theory tie the Oak Island treasure to the lost Arcadian treasure associated with the mystery of Rennes-le-Château in southwestern France, and the mysterious Glozel alphabet, from an underground chamber on the farm near Vichy.

  Could this be another Money Pit? It is situated on Frog Island in Mahone Bay, not far from Oak Island.

  Our eleventh theory has been expertly developed and expanded by Keith Ranville, whose recent work on the Oak Island mystery is second to none. We went out to have a close look at Frog Island. which is not far from Oak Island, and there we found a very similar earthwork to the Oak Island Money Pit. Keith’s recent researches took him to Birch Island as well, and he evolved a triangle theory in which Oak Island, Frog Island, and Birch Island all play significant parts. It is perfectly possible that the builders of the Oak Island Money Pit also went down deep and constructed a triangular labyrinth involving the other two islands.

  The twelfth theory gives prominence to the Mi’kmaq Nation, an Algonquin First Nation people who have lived in Nova Scotia and other parts of Canada, and the northeastern areas of New England in the U.S. for many centuries. The English version of their name is Micmac, but the people themselves prefer the Mi’kmaq spelling. Originally regarded by historians as a peripatetic nation, rather than builders, later researchers such as Keith Ranville have suggested that the strange hieroglyphics on the mysterious engraved stone found in the Money Pit may have had Mi’kmaq origins. There is a tradition in Mi’kmaq history that a great hero named Glooscap arrived in “a boat as big as an island” and taught the people many useful and practical things that enriched their lives. He may well have been Henry, Earl of Orkney (1345–1400), one of the noble Sinclair family who allegedly sailed to America via Greenland many years before Columbus.

  The great problem with pursuing the latest developments concerning the mystery of the Oak Island Money Pit is that despite all the latest modern technology, a shortage of funds hampers the work. Very advanced submarine technology and exploration of the waters around Oak Island — including the first class research by Thermacline — has not brought the recovery of the hypothetical Oak Island treasure any closer.

  An outstandingly good plan put forward by engineer John Wonnacott and his colleague Les MacPhie involves defeating the floodwater by freezing an area around the Money Pit. This would mean drilling holes a metre apart in a ring around the Money Pit. Chilled brine would then be pumped in to create a ring of frozen soil some sixty metres deep — all the way down to bedrock. The area inside this frozen ring could then be dug out and waterproofed inside steel protection. The Wonnacott-MacPhie plan would undoubtedly work very well in engineering terms. Once again, however, the problem is financing the operation.

  In addition to the financial difficulties that are holding up the work, there are legal problems. Special treasure hunting licences have to be obtained from the government under new legislation dating from 2010.

  Appendix I

  Terry Ross Investigates

  While staying with Dr. Bob, Zohara and Anna Hieronimus, and their friend Laura Cortner, in Owings Mills, near Baltimore, Maryland, in November, 1993, we received many great kindnesses. Not least of these was an introduction to the celebrated and gifted psychic, T.E. Ross. He shares our interest in Rennes-le-Château and in the Oak Island Money Pit mystery, and phenomena, and a gifted psychic in his own right — to various aspects of those enigmas.

  We asked him first about the mainland camp which the original Money Pit builders were supposed to have established, and which George Young had shown us as a result of its being identified by a psychic friend of his. Terry Ross confirmed what George had said, and added that this camp site would be worth investigating.

  When asked for his psychic response to the stone triangle, he felt that it was of genuine importance, but that it pointed to a significant clue rather than to the heart of the mystery itself. In response to our questions about the inscribed porphyry slab found at around the ninety-foot level in 1803 and 1804, he said it had a strange feeling, and that it was nothing to do with pirates, except perhaps later in a superficial way. Terry felt that the stone was involved with the centre of the mystery, with the centre of all the expeditions which had set out and put up the standing stone structures in New England and everywhere else. He said he thought it was probably connected with activities which took place around 2000 B.C.E.

  Terry also felt strongly that the people responsible for it had a Mediterranean connection. His comments on what he referred to as their “mindset” were very interesting indeed. “The mindset of these people seems utterly and totally different from anything we know today. They were friends of the earth and their whole motivation and energy were being expended to nurture the earth and be nurtured by her.”

  He then went on to talk about some fascinating archaeological work in Ohio in which he had been involved. “The mounds we’ve investigated in Ohio had seven levels — like Silbury Hill, in Wiltshire, England. The archaeologists sliced on mound all the way down … We found independently that there were seven layers of earth in it — like a battery, you know. One of the layers came from Iowa — all the way from Iowa to Ohio. They don’t know of anywhere else where that earth is found. That would account for some very strange stones turning up in important places. The Oak Island Money Pit stone was probably brought with the people who came from the Mediterranean. It has a centring effect for whatever they wanted to do there.”

  Terry gets the feeling that the flood tunnels were definitely a protective device.

  When asked about Pitblado and his role in the Oak Island mystery, Terry had strong “negative vibes.” “He’s not a very savoury man; that’s the first feeling I have. I think that what he found was not, perhaps, all that critical or important, but he thought it was. I don’t think it contained a secret or the clue to any riches. In fact I have an awful time finding riches in connection with this whole thing.”

  We then asked him whether we (and all the other investigators!) had been looking at the Money Pit in entirely the wrong way. Were all its elaborate precautions and defences designed to keep something very dangerous in, rather than to keep intruders out? Terry said that he thought whoever had built it had had an entirely different motivation from that of contemporary humanity. He felt that a different approach to the problem was needed. When we asked him how different, how alien, the originators were, he replied that he got a strange sensation about them — laughingly, he used the word “spooky.” He had the distinct feeling that there was a connection with something very unusual, a feeling that there was “a back and forth of information and instructions.” The Money Pit, perhaps contained some kind of “implant” that was necessary for future developments. “I think that this is connected with earth changes to be … It’s that drastic in my mind. These people, super-engineers that they were, were the only ones that could have pulled this off in that whole range of time. They were prevailed upon to do so.”

  When asked about Rennes-le-Château, the Scottish Sinclair-Templar connection and Mike Bradley’s “Two Oak Islands” theory, Terry felt that they were all involved to a greater or lesser extent. He felt that this
was a mystery that “went right back through the Corridors of Time … almost to the Garden of Eden.”

  In response to our final question about Fred Nolan and his recent discovery with William S. Crooker of the supposed huge Templar Cross on Oak Island, Terry said, “Nolan’s a decent fellow, and he’s holding on to some ideas that don’t fit in with the others.” Just as Pitblado had produced a negative psychic response, so our mention of Nolan’s work produced a strongly positive one.

  Appendix II

  George Young, Glozel, and the Yarmouth Stone

  George Young, who unlocked the amazing connection between the Ogham hand-sign alphabet and Poussin’s strangely coded Arcadian paintings, made another very significant discovery. The authors gave George detailed information about the mysterious and highly controversial Glozel alphabet, which they themselves studied on-site in the early 1970s. George related this to his own special knowledge of Ogham and the curious Yarmouth Stone, now carefully preserved in the Yarmouth County Museum, Nova Scotia.

  This 400-pound boulder, which was discovered in a salt-marsh by a Yarmouth family doctor, Richard Fletcher, in 1812, bears an inscription consisting of only fourteen characters. Numerous experts have puzzled over it for nearly two centuries. Olaf Strandwold, an eminent Norwegian scholar, believes that the characters are runic, and that they can be translated to mean “Leif to Eric raises [this monument] …” The idea of “this monument” following “raises” is understood, rather than actually inscribed on the stone. Leif Eiriksson and his father, and their adventurous voyages are referred to in detail in Chapter 12, “Celts and Vikings,” on page 135.

  Other scholars believe that the inscription is the work of Mi’kmaq Indians, or that the characters are Japanese. Another school of thought credits early Basque fishermen with the work, and translates the inscription to read, “The Basque people have conquered this land.”