< /obscure reference >
Posted on 11/09/2005 7:14:42 AM PST by ZGuy
It may look like a fixer-upper at first glance, but what is buried beneath scrubby little Oak Island might just make its estimated $7 million price tag worth the investment.
Oak Island, in Nova Scotia, is famous for its Money Pit, a mystery that has endured two centuries, claimed six lives and swallowed up millions in life savings.
The Pit was discovered in 1795 by a local boy named Daniel McGinnis who, spotting an unusual clearing in the earth under one of the island's oak trees, was prompted to start digging. The discovery of layered planks, mysterious stone slabs, and mats made of coconut fibers descending deep into the ground turned his casual afternoon dig into an all-out excavation.
Investors and thrill-seekers would eventually jump in and continue the work, kicking off one of the world's longest running treasure hunts.
Complex trap
What appears to be a complex flooding trap has thwarted efforts to reach the bottom of the Money Pit ever since. Some think the pit was purposely flooded with seawater, via a series of artificial swamps and tunnels, to hide its contents.
Through the murk, drill borings and shafts dug by the island's series of owners have detected what seem to be cement vaulting, wooden chests, and scraps of parchment paper. Radiocarbon dating of these artifacts is consistent: whoever constructed the shaft likely did so sometime in the 16th Century.
Speculation about the contents of Oak Island's Money Pit range from the treasure of the Knight's Templar to Shakespeare's original manuscripts.
Oak Island's current owners, Dan Blankenship and David Tobias, have worked on the island since the 1960s, sinking millions of dollars into the project and revealing some intriguing clues of their own. For many who follow Oak Island developments, their abandonment of the treasure comes as a surprise. As recently as December of 2003, Blankenship told the Halifax Herald that he would announce some new, exciting findings in the following months. The revelation never came.
What's it worth?
The treasure's fate -- assuming there is treasure -- now rests on the outcome of the sale. Court-appointed liquidators in Nova Scotia are currently wrapping up the evaluation of Oak Island's market worth, with an announcement expected before the end of the year.
A growing movement led by the Oak Island Tourism Society calls for the governments of Canada or Nova Scotia to purchase Oak Island and exploit its potential as a major attraction. It seems for now the governments have little interest in throwing their hats into the ring of potential bidders, and that has many who've follow the island's saga breathing sighs of relief.
"The ideal candidate would be an individual or group with a genuine interest in and means to carry out professional archaeological work", Mark Finnan, author of "Oak Island Secrets" (Formac, 1997) told LiveScience in an e-mail interview.
Finnan believes Oak Island has not seen the last of the aging treasure-seeker Dan Blankenship, either.
"He has a strong hunch about the nature of the treasure and may yet pass on his findings to the new owners of the land or even participate in a new exploration effort," Finnan said.
< /obscure reference >
LOL.
$15 Billion later...
I could use the excitement AND the money! ;o)
(Also a lesson o9n spelling! :o/
But think of all the CBC documentary footage that could be shot. Telefilm or the NFB could make a movie - re-employ all those former Degrassi actors. Think of it, Shirley Douglas could be the matriarch.
Just having fun with your screen name
BoneHead
They had D&D in the 16th Cen. ?LOL!
Yes, and Keifer Sutherland as the dig leader!
All in the family.
I do love a good mystery!
No. You were having fun with my nuts.
HaHa.
We have several Defense Department contracts for our extensive, secret underground manufacturing centers, and have significant petroleum holdings in the South China Sea. I think we'll be okay.
As soon as I hit the send button I realized we forgot Gordon Pinsent - gotta ressurrect his career too.
In 400 years, wonder what'll be thought of our trash dump landfills?
KEWL!
A fool and his money are easily parted.
..Hey, Man! :D ...This could be, "a plot from the future"...
The Oak Island, Buried Treasure Mystery...like the Truman Show, is the ultimate Game show...for Space Aliens. :D
Oak Island is the LaBrea Tar-Pit of buried treasure dinosaurs.
A few observations:
Digging a 212 shaft in the 17th century was a serious undertaking and would involve many manhours of work.
The addition of the underground flooding system would probably quadruple the work.
I suspect that when we clean it out we will find that it was for a more valuable purpose than burying treasure although I can't think of what that purpose would be. Perhaps the key may lie in the flood tunnels which would raise and lower the water level with the tides.
Any ideas, anyone? This could be a machine that did something using the tides as a power source.
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