Scientist Found Treasure On Oak Island That No One Was Supposed To See

Humanity’s love for treasure is a tale that is as old as time. Think about stories like the epic adventure Treasure Island penned by Robinson Crusoe. Once we find a map where an X marks the spot, we are pretty much set to go on a treasure hunt.

That is exactly the case when it comes to this one island that lies off the south coast of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. This remote island, known as Oak Island, has been the site of many treasure hunting expeditions for many centuries, with many people giving everything—and I mean everything—just to find that chest of gold.

And it isn’t as if these treasure-hunting expeditions are carried out on a whim, as it is believed that many people, including several historical figures such as Marie Antoinette, William Shakespeare, and even Captain Blackbeard, have been rumored to hide their treasure on this island. That being said, many, if not all, of these treasure hunting expeditions have been unsuccessful. Not only do they have to find the treasure, but they must also wade through booby traps while battling the elements.

That is, until recently, when some scientists and explorers revealed that they may have found some long-lost treasure. Let us take a journey to this legendary island to learn the tales of those who have hunted for treasure for centuries and how those today may have succeeded where many failed. They may just have found where X marks the spot.

Recently, treasure hunting has become so popular that the History Channel, in collaboration with the Lagina brothers, has come together to create a TV show known as The Curse of Oak Island. While the Lagina brothers have been scouring Oak Island for decades since the mid-60s, this wasn’t their first attempt at treasure hunting.

Rick Lagina, the ringleader of the pair, has always had treasure hunting on his mind, as his first expedition occurred when he was about 10 years old. The pre-teen lad happened to come across a huge boulder. Believing that his fortune may lie underneath this boulder, he led his brother and some friends on a digging expedition beneath the massive rock. Unfortunately, this was a fruitless exercise.

That being said, the spirit of treasure hunting never left his body. Upon coming across the legendary Oak Island in a Reader’s Digest magazine, the young man soon became enthralled with the idea of finding his fortune on the island. As soon as he and his brother were old enough, they hauled themselves to the south of Nova Scotia.

We must reiterate the fact that treasure hunting on this island began long before the Lagina brothers stepped on Oak Island. More than 200 years ago, in 1796, it is believed that a young man named Daniel McGinnis sparked the treasure hunting frenzy for which the island is known today. This occurred when the young man, on his way in search of a farm for some work, noticed a circular depression on the ground. Driven by the treasure hiding and hunting legend of the island, he was ready to bet good money that he had discovered his fortune—he only had to do some digging.

Together with two friends, he started digging. Upon coming across some flagstone, the lads were encouraged to continue their excavation. This led them to dig through layers of oak logs as they went 30 feet deep before suddenly coming to a halt for no given reason whatsoever. Where the McGinnis crew failed, the Onslow Company continued in the hole that was dubbed The Money Pit.

This crew dug 60 feet further into the ground. As they continued digging, they came across oak logs, charcoal, putty, and coconut fiber, which encouraged them to dig further. Somebody must have put these things in there—who? Somebody hiding the treasure, of course. Unfortunately, their efforts were in vain because they found no treasure—well, at least not the treasure they would have wanted.

Instead of a chest of gold, they came across a stone tablet, which was inscribed with the words, “40 feet below, 2 million pounds lay buried.” Furthermore, their digging efforts came to a screeching halt when their shaft became flooded with water. It was soon discovered that the flooding was by design, as the hole was connected to a 500-foot waterway from Smith’s Cove. They soon gave up on their digging. All they were left with was the stone tablet with the cryptic message and the legend which stated that for anyone to find the hidden treasure of the planet, seven people had to die.

Whoa. So far, it is believed that six people have already died following this legend or curse. Many people have speculated about who the loot belonged to. Some believe it belonged to Marie Antoinette, the beheaded queen of France, who is rumored to have hidden her fortune on Oak Island before she lost her head. Others believe it might have been Sir William Shakespeare, the great bard, who may have hidden his unreleased manuscripts and his large fortune on the island for whatever reason.

There are other schools of thought that suppose the Knight Templars may have considered the remote island the perfect place to hide and protect their large fortune before the medieval Catholic military order was disbanded in the early years of the 14th century. There are even those who believe that the treasure on the island may belong to naval captains or pirates who needed the safest place possible to hide their earnings. Famous seamen such as Captain Kidd and Blackbeard are among those whose stories stoked the flames of this rumor, with Blackbeard even declaring that his treasure is buried only where he himself and Satan may find it.

Well, those who are desperately in search of this fortune may have the devil on their back. As time went on, many people hopped on that boat to Oak Island. Almost half a century after the Onslow Company packed up and left Oak Island, the Truro Company decided to take a swing at the hunt for treasure. Citing the flooding problems faced by their predecessor, the Truro Company used a drill to dig into the hole. Amazingly, they dug through three links from a gold chain. Bizarrely, however, these items soon went missing after their discovery. Understandably sick to their stomachs, thanks to the loss of their loot and the flooding problem, the company gave up on their expedition.

Nonetheless, explorers just wouldn’t let up on this gold rush. In 1861, the Oak Island Association picked up the mantle from the Truro Company. They tried to dig other shafts near the hole, but the prevailing water problem from Smith’s Cove reared its ugly head once more. Unfortunately, one of the six deceased victims of Oak Island met their demise when a water pump malfunctioned and killed him. Following this, the second death occurred when a member of another digging crew named Maynard Kaiser fell into a pit to his death following the discovery of a sheepskin parchment.

Regardless, many were still undeterred by this sad news. Even President Franklin D. Roosevelt was involved in the treasure hunt. Although he couldn’t be there himself, he was a member of the Old Salvage group who tried their luck on Oak Island. He would remain a staunch treasure hunter until the end of his days.

In 1928, New York businessman Gilbert Hedden and Fred Blair used equipment from their steel company to dig into The Money Pit. There, they found another piece of the stone slab and a piece of timber that was held together by wooden pins. This helped them deduce how old The Money Pit was, because during their time in the 1920s, they used metal pins.

Following this, several others tried their luck on the pit, but none ever found any gold. All that occurred was more deaths, as Robert Restall, his son, and two of their crew members inhaled carbon monoxide and died. As such, the fervor toward the island died. Although a handful of others made their way to Oak Island, it wasn’t until Daniel Blankenship discovered a nail, a washer, and a heart-shaped stone within The Money Pit that the island regained popularity.

This sparked another flurry of interest in Oak Island. Soon, the Triton Alliance took on The Money Pit with a borehole, passing a steel tube wielding a camera into the ground. With this, they were able to scan the hole. They discovered a 300-year-old pair of scissors, a pair of leather shoes, and a body. They also discovered three treasure chests. Although they tried to reach the chests with some divers, it was just too far out of reach, and once the alliance ran out of money, they packed up and left.

It wasn’t until a decade later, in 1979, that Oak Island regained its popularity when it became the subject of a show called In Search Of. However, legal disputes between the alliance and one of their members, Fred Nolan, killed some of the island’s hype.

It was during this time that the Lagina brothers came across the island. In 2005, the brothers bought half of the island, which was valued at seven million. Together with the History Channel, they worked on finding the treasure. With the use of technology, they overcame the flooding problem before making several discoveries, such as a Roman sword, a 17th-century Spanish coin, and a 17th-century French map.

Today, the digging continues, and with any luck, these explorers and their scientists will uncover more treasure on Oak Island. For now, we wait and see.

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