Review of "Curse of Oak Island" and Some Other Stuff

1/6/2014

I have three topics today. Two are short, and one is my review of The Curse of Oak Island.

First, if you subscribe to my email newsletter, you’ve already seen this link to an interview I did with Matt Staggs over at RandomHouse’s suvudu.com about Cthulhu in World Mythology. Be sure to check it out! After many, many delays, Atomic Overmind has scheduled the release of the eBook for the beginning of February and the print book at the end of February.

BIBLICAL INERRANCY VS. CABLE TV MYSTERIES
I’d like to direct your attention to a strange conversation happening over on author Karla Akins’s website. Akins is a Christian author of novels about faith published by the Pelican Book Group, a Christian publishing house, and historical biographies distributed by KnowledgeQuest, Inc. for use by homeschooling parents. She is upset KnowledgeQuest won’t let her include fringe history research in her books for children: “I write biographies for middle grades, and it’s frustrating that my research can’t always be included in my work because it’s not substantiated by so-called experts.”

She would like publishers to accept Scott Wolter as a legitimate expert in history.

But here’s where things get interesting.

Akins loves Scott Wolter’s work—and Ancient Aliens!—but is struggling to reconcile her faith with her interest in Wolter’s claims. After “buying everything” Scott Wolter wrote and watching every episode of America Unearthed, she wants to know whether it’s appropriate for Christians to investigate the mysteries of the Hooked X® even though it is associated with Gnostic heresies. (In so doing, she wonders why Columbus used a “Hooked X®” in his signature, while completely missing the Hooked Y just two letters over: It’s a penmanship issue related to starting the ink flowing when using a quill.)

What say you? Does it offend you that I study the Hooked X and its implications? As a Christian should I stay away from such mysteries? Or should Christians be able to discern sound doctrine and be able to argue effectively against false teachings?

In response, most readers told her that there wasn’t anything wrong with investigating this because she tests all claims against scripture. One even said that it was interesting that she has chosen to learn about “the world” and that this can help her see through false secular teachings. One reader said he loves Ancient Aliens even though he is a Christian, and Akins responded: “I like me some ‘Ancient Aliens,’ too, but I’m always yelling at the TV: ‘of course there are aliens! They’re called demons!’”

The comments are fascinating but, to my mind, disturbing in the insularity they reveal.

THE CURSE OF OAK ISLAND
Against my better judgment, I checked out the first episode of The Curse of Oak Island, a History channel series from Prometheus Entertainment, the company that brought you Ancient Aliens and narrated by the same narrator as Ancient Aliens. The documentary opens with video shot last winter as the sizzle reel to get funding for the rest of the show, which was shot months later, in the summer. The episode is atmospheric, if overproduced, full of flying graphics, still shots of magazine articles, and loud horror-movie music.

We follow two brothers, Marty and Rick Lagina, who plan to look for buried treasure on the island, but the show itself doesn’t really go into much detail about the story of Oak Island except for a brief overview at the beginning of the episode in which the brothers give a rather superficial discussion of the many discoveries found on the island. They review several “theories” of what’s buried down there, including the treasure of the Knights Templar, the lost works of Shakespeare, etc., but don’t really spend much time thinking about them. That’s fine as far as I’m concerned because I don’t find the mystery very interesting. I think that Joe Nickell had it right back in 2000 when he explained the mystery by claiming that the island is an abandoned Freemason initiation site in use in the early nineteenth century for enacting the “secret vault” mystery. The supposed “platforms” are probably layers of logs washed periodically into a naturally-occurring (and still growing) sinkhole.

The brothers plan to dig to see if they can find artifacts that predate 1800, for doing so would suggest that there is a genuine mystery in the island. The brothers announce that they have invested millions of dollars investigating the island (they own the corporation that owns most of the island) and hope to recoup it someday—and I guess being paid for a TV show is a good start. The two seem much more grounded than any of the Ancient Aliens stars, or Scott Wolter, and seem to be interested in investigating in an archaeologically sound, or at least somewhat responsible, way. (The island is so full of old excavations that it is a big mess.) Interestingly, the government of Nova Scotia has designated Oak Island a special archaeological zone that allows treasure hunting with a permit, unique in the province.

After an inconclusive winter dig, they return for summer digging, and here the narrative becomes the story of the two brothers’ excavation and more or less lost my interest because I’m not a huge fan of procedural documentaries where we watch people do work. I know a lot of people like watching people work—cable is full of truckers and lumberjacks and fishers—but it’s not my speed. As an example of its genre, it’s as good as I’d expect.

Like other shows in both the ancient mysteries and outdoor work genres, there is an emphasis on masculinity; one senior citizen is described by the narrator as the kind of man “other men call tough as nails.” Everyone on this show is male, and in focusing on the relationship between two brothers and their circle of all-male friends (most of whom have financial investments in the island and its mysteries), there is a sociological undercurrent reflective of the observation that men bond by doing and that this shared activity serves to unite them. All of the men seem to genuinely like one another, and I wonder if finding the “truth” about Oak Island might end up being more disappointing that having a “mystery” that they can keep investigating together.

Unlike on Ancient Aliens, the narrator is not histrionic, dutifully calling any subterranean structures “alleged” structures. (Nickell says they are fallen trees and driftwood.) There are, though, more than a few “Could it be…?” constructions. However, if I had to nitpick, I’d prefer that the narration use “ancient” less casually because calling an “alleged” subterranean beam “ancient” presupposes something genuinely old is located beneath the island.

If you like watching people use machines and dig holes, then you probably had a much better time with this program than I did. It seems to be a decent program documenting what genuinely curious investigators are doing to discover the “truth” about Oak Island. I, though, won’t be following their adventures week to week. I don’t have the time to watch other people have fun digging holes, and there isn’t enough information in the course of an hour to make it worth my time. Had they found anything worth noticing, we’d have heard by now.

Marty Lagina sums up the Oak Island mystery by noting that Oak Island researchers’ common denominator is “obsession,” but Rick Lagina sums up the show by telling Marty that his obsession is entirely because he wants to find the truth “for you, for us.” This isn’t really a show about Oak Island. It’s a show about brotherly love and male bonding. I already have a brother, so I think I’ll leave this one be.

105 Comments

CFC

1/6/2014 04:27:16 am

Looking forward to adding your latest book to my library. Congrats!

Nice Bump

1/6/2014 06:27:46 am

Important enough to be included on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Curse_of_Oak_Island

Greg Briggs

11/28/2018 04:24:08 pm

I would just like to thank you for your show and making my life a little more enjoyable thanks again you're very good human beings

B L

1/6/2014 04:40:51 am

One request before you leave this show behind, Jason....Can you shed any light on the carved stone slab supposedly found in the Money Pit at a depth of nearly 100 feet? The stone apparently went missing in the early 1900's never to be seen again. I have seen drawings and a replica of the stone, but how accurate are these recreations? For that matter, did the slab ever really exist?

Jason Colavito link

1/6/2014 01:02:42 pm

Joe Nickell believes it to be part of the Masonic paraphernalia and discusses it in his article. Others suggest it was a hoax, either placed there to fool treasure-hunters, or by its alleged finder.

Barry Fell declared it Coptic even though it's a simple English substitution-cipher.

Fantasy History Watcher

1/6/2014 09:43:03 pm

Alas, if Nickell's theory was correct remnants within Freemasonry would exist to prove the theory correct. Which Freemasonic Fraternity in Oak Island has existed, or exists, that would have held such rites? Is there, was there, a Freemasonic Brotherhood on Oak Island at all

DrBB

1/6/2014 11:53:58 pm

Nickel's account of Masonic connections is well supported and persuasive, but I get confused toward the end when he shows that many of the most prominent treasure seekers were themselves high level Masons, e.g. "Frederick Blair, whose family was involved in the quest as far back as 1863. Blair, who formed the Oak Island Treasure Company in 1893, was a 'prominent member' of the lodge in Amherst, Nova Scotia."

If it was just a Masonic initiation site, wouldn't these guys be in on the secret, and consequently the last people to go around forming "Treasure Companies" and spending themselves into bankruptcy searching for actual buried doubloons in the spot? I seem to be missing a step in the logic somewhere.

Still, I'm with you--not really interested in a yet another Nessi/Yeti/Bigfoot/Haunted-House search in which much is suggested and mysterious things are glimpsed just before the commercial break, but you know at the start they're not going to find anything because if they had it would have made a huge news splash back when they were shooting the darn thing.

1/7/2014 12:30:42 am

Nickell's explanation for the "Money Pit" is an interpretation. There is a better interpretation (much repeated) that is much more prosaic in nature to explain its origin

1/7/2014 07:20:46 am

To be honest, since no one can show that Oak Island's "mystery" predates known European contact, I don't really care who was involved. But, if the Masons first used the site in the early 1800s, it stands to reason that half a century later, the stories could have become twisted and/or confused, prompting later "treasure-hunters" who misunderstood the allegories as real events.

1/7/2014 08:29:08 am

The Mason interpretation is unrealistic. There is no data to back it up. Nickell could be 100% wrong (and most likely is, since the Masons credo involves the Temple of Solomon and not a pit).

Enon

1/12/2014 10:12:17 am

I'm sorry to say that in this case, I have always found Joe Nickell's arguments regarding Masonic Ritual and Oak Island to be off the mark. He claims that the pit is part of a Masonic degree known as the Holy Royal Arch. As a Royal Arch Mason who has participated in that degree many, many times, I find any connections to be superficial at best.

Other articles have been written tying the pit more closely to a similar degree in the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. Although I am also a member of that body, I confess to far less familiarity with that particular degree, although the idea that it would have been conferred at that location is hard for me to believe simply because that is not how degree work was done, particularly at that time.

On the other hand, some have speculated that the Masonic symbolism was ADDED to the Oak Island story over time, for uncertain reasons. I, personally, find that scenario to be more plausible. Then again, many people find things they interpret as Masonic symbolism where they were were never intended as such (e.g. in the Great Seal of the United States or the streets of Washington DC, etc.). Lay on your back gazing at the clouds and if you look hard enough you can find something you can call a Masonic symbol, but does that mean it really is one? Is the something going on with these supposed sightings on Oak Island?

Speaking as a "Masonic Scholar," I have yet to find the idea of a Masonic connection any more convincing than one with Captain Kidd or the Knights Templar (who, despite the fringe history theories, were not the founders of Freemasonry).

Glen J. Card link

1/27/2014 07:06:19 pm

Oak

keith

1/6/2014 08:22:31 pm

The slab stone was originally removed and discarded. It went to one of the workers home and was a stone in a fireplace for many years before put up for sale at a local antique store where it was discovered and translated by a professor at Halifax University.

THe major problem with this is the stone said 100 feet below and the treasure hunters have dug 230 feet below. No treasure still. Also they failed to mention that the hole that is next to the money pit was originally dug to lower the water level of the money pit.

I did not know the stone disappeared. That is news to me. I wonder i it existed because no photos of it ever were produced only a copy of the text...no one also has described what type of text it was (Latin, Nordic, etc...)

A third thing they left out was a book written entitled Captain Kidd and his Skeleton Island which showed an island that resembled Oak Island and the money pit was in the exact location.

Over the years no one has found anything and when funding dries up, someone finds something else. The gold chain was found by a worker who eventually bought part of the island. The VI paper could refer to Philip VI who banned the Knights Templars...

Who knows. Just put a pipe down the hole, put a second pipe down and fill it with cement and then drain it, you can then dig below it and you are fine.

1/7/2014 04:50:10 am

The story of the stone is just a story. Just that.

cjs

1/6/2014 05:37:16 am

There is a youtube video explaining how this is most likely a viking longboat, stuck in a sinkhole vertically after hundreds of year of climate change and sea level variations. Makes a lot of sense. Even the flood chambers have a semi-logical explanation (formerly ropes of the sail mast and the mast itself). The stone tablet was not translated properly and may have not even been translated to the correct language. There is little documentation for the tablet, too many assumptions made

tacitus

1/6/2014 06:04:52 am

Just found your blog because I was looking into the "oak island" show that I stumbled upon last night. Nice blog.

1/6/2014 12:58:47 pm

Thanks!

craig

3/20/2015 08:25:35 am

jason you'r wrong there is something very down there of significance who would go through that much trouble to do that much digging and it don't take a genius to say that the pyramid Made swamp Is man made

Shane Sullivan

1/6/2014 06:26:56 am

I'm looking forward to Cthulhu in World Mythology (I have been since I heard about it).

Only Me

1/6/2014 08:41:08 am

Not to be a spelling Nazi, Jason, but Karla's website shows her name as Karla Akins, not Atkins.

1/6/2014 08:59:52 am

Arrgh! Auto-correct is killing me. I compose in Word and have to fix the auto-correct, and then I dump it into the text editor here, and it auto-corrects again! I'll fix it.

Coridan

1/7/2014 05:27:35 am

I also believe it is a Sizzle Reel, not a Sizzle Real

Nitpicky Jew

1/6/2014 06:08:11 pm

Ha Ha...I love it when supersessionists speak of Biblical inerrancy

RLewis

1/7/2014 03:35:24 am

It's amazing how this Money Pit myth can continue with absolutely no hard evidence (or even a reasonable theory) of a treasure after over 200 years of futile searching. It's disheartening to think that we'll still be seeing programs about the Templar and the Holy Grail in American caves 200 years from now.

1/7/2014 05:48:05 am

Accretions to wonder stories are an inevitability. The Illuminati, Flying Saucers, Bigfoot, Roswell Spy Balloon, Holy Bloodline.

Begin anything, it will grow.

And grow,

michael link

1/14/2015 04:45:06 am

................agreed

Landshark

1/9/2014 12:12:59 am

Did anybody notice that Pteradactyl in the sky during the episode when the narrator was discussing European ships in the 1600's?
Was this an editing error?

Seeker

1/11/2014 05:38:05 pm

Thanks for the review on this, Jason. I viewed the first episode and it was nice to find more down to earth protagonists and less wild speculation than other H2 shows, but I quickly grew pretty bored.

Like AU, the show is dragged out to fill an hour. And other things were annoying, like the conference room scene. Why keep cutting away from the video being shown and telling us what it showed? Why not just shut up and show highlights of the footage!? And I agree as a woman I didn't find anyone to really bond with on this show.

As much as I've been intrigued by this particular mystery, I also believe this show will end up being a Finding Bigfoot-type waste of time since a major discovery obviously wasn't made. And yes, the announcer being the same guy as Ancient Aliens was really distracting! I'll be taking a pass on this series.

Rev. Phil Gotsch

1/12/2014 08:16:43 am

I am still waiting -- breathless -- to learn how this Oak Island stuff (including the 1965 article in "Reader's Digest," which I still recall reading at the time) will somehow be relegated to yet another put-up job foisted by "Scott Wolter, Forensic Geologist" …

LOL ...

Walker

11/11/2015 03:04:22 pm

I have to disagree. As a "woman/mother/history, I love watching the family trust element of the show. I, too, dislike so many cut-a-ways to the war room, but really like the show.

Greg Smith

1/12/2014 10:24:33 am

Just a whole lot of words. It would sure be great to get some answers on this hole.

1/12/2014 03:50:02 pm

So, what say ye haters to the coconut fiber found in "tonight's episode" that was dated "within 95% accuracy" to the years 1260-1405AD? How doth ye explaineth that? To me, it seems to fit the Knights of Solomon hypothesis perfectly1307 is absolutely within that range.

1/12/2014 04:06:19 pm

But … see … It DOESN'T fit with H. P. Lovecraft's novels ...

mike

1/16/2014 11:17:16 am

For the carbon dating, this was an early dating done before it wa sknown that there is a difficulty dating things in a marine setting.

SSP

1/14/2014 01:53:03 am

The coconut fibers and Smith cove's artificial beach were once part of a salt extraction process used by early fishermen during the 13- 1400s. There were other such processes done in the area of Mahone bay and along the coast. Salt at that time was a highly priced commodity and heavily taxed. Fishermen needed it to preserve their vast catches before transporting to cities along the coast. The coconut fibers were widely used in this technique along with sand. The design of these were exactly what was found in Smith cove. Coconut fibers from the Caribbean were commonly used for packing / shipping of goods and materials. Its availability is no great mystery. As for Carbon dating, that has a pretty big window so it cannot be used with pinpoint accuracy. And really doesn't apply anyways with the historical facts showing fishing activity during the same time period

1/15/2014 07:21:28 am

Is it a historical fact that fishermen (presumably European) were salting their catch on oak island during 1300-1400s? Its generally been presented as speculation. It certainly would
be interesting to prove a significant presence of European fishermen before Columbus in northern Atlantic waters. Of course other explanations could be some weather/gulf stream issue where lots of coconuts made there way up to oak island.

Brian

1/16/2014 08:53:40 am

So far on the show no new evidence has been produced and never will be produced. It is a old viking ship nothing else nothing more. For being engineers, I would think they would be smarter than this. All the info. they have produced was found out 40 years ago. They haven't found any new evidence and they won't at the pace there going. What they need to do is hire some good ole rednecks with a team of excavators and dig up there worthless "treasure" boat. The only treasure in that damn hole would be a viking sword.

Mark

1/26/2014 03:10:32 pm

Jason, please, I beg you to watch the latest episode. Lots of history referencing that I would love to really get clarified. For instance, Shakespear hidden codes for a treasure map? Tonight's show finds the vault that is picking up on the metal detector as silver and gold.
If anything, this and next week finale episode is something worth writing about.

jeff

1/27/2014 01:28:52 pm

I see Ken Burns name in the credits. I wish they would approach the subject in a more documentary style like a real Ken Burns series (Baseball, Prohibition). I find the subject fascinating and the bothers are cool. The cheesy cut aways and sound effects gotta go. But i am hooked because i just wanna know what they find.

1/27/2014 01:55:11 pm

Opps...i see now that that is Kevin Burns. Not Ken. The credits go by so fast i guess my brain saw Ken Burns because i'd still rather learn this subject as a Ken Burns docu rather than the sorta fluff approach they are doing it in.

1/28/2014 04:14:26 am

"The supposed “platforms” are probably layers of logs washed periodically into a naturally-occurring (and still growing) sinkhole."--
This is your answer??? Pretty lame!. I have been following this story for years and nothing I have seen even suggests that the layers of logs every so many feed down are natural. They've always been described and photographed as being parallel, horizontal, of about the same size, and imbedded into the sides of the hole. Why not just drop it until they find something new or prove themselves hoaxers or fools? These two guys are so boring I can't stand to watch it anymore

Michael

1/28/2014 04:32:43 am

Great site Jason

Rick Sterling

1/29/2014 12:41:54 am

Jason, great site.
History Channel doing this oak-island story is "in-step" with Animal Planet & "half fish/ half human" evidence.
Here's another one "in-step" with the rest.
O-bomb-ah Care will Work!!!!

Jay McCauley

11/22/2016 08:49:33 pm

Wow, I knew someone would bring politics/Obama into this eventually. Go back under your bridge, troll.

1/29/2014 04:34:35 pm

GW, There are photos of the platform logs ?? That's a first ! The only photos I have seen are a few logs and cut trees in a debris pile. The Brothers are all over the place first Smith cove now the swamp and Introducing a Shakespearean connection is well beyond logic. Who uses plywood sheets to get across muck ? For brothers in engineering they really aren't showing much smarts. Who ever is writing this script needs to have their head examined. Blankenship and co are just along for the ride and the paycheck.

Josh link

1/31/2014 08:52:46 am

Thus far, I have enjoyed the series. I keep expecting the show to go really weird, and it seems like the production staff really wants it to go there, but the main cast members (The brothers) seem fairly levelheaded and just go about looking for what they are looking for..

Episode 3 kinda sucked. A lot of talk and no action... And the Shakespeare nutcase in episode 4 had a massively nutty theory, but that really didn't detract from the plot of the show..

1/31/2014 08:53:00 am

1/31/2014 08:53:24 am

Brian Iverson

2/2/2014 04:00:37 am

I have the sinking feeling that they will turn over a slab and Bam! Geraldo Rivera will be there like a deer in the headlights, still looking for the contents of Capone's secret vault.

Wild

2/2/2014 03:40:35 pm

Anybody that thinks it's a viking ship turned up on its nose OR oak trees systematically blown into a perfectly dug hole at regular 10 foot intervals is smoking crack. The original discoverer detailed that a large number of oak trees had been felled near the hole. Besides, a ship would not explain the levels of flagstones in the hole as well.

"The coconut fibers and Smith cove's artificial beach were once part of a salt extraction process used by early fishermen during the 13- 1400s."

I dare you to prove that statement. Natural salt springs were well known to the natives of Nova Scotia well before Colonial Europeans arrived, but salt was not extracted successfully from anything until well after 1813. The salt works theory is a modern interpretation of what was there. You cannot use Wikipedia as your primary source, because I can edit Wikipedia to say my 10th great grandfather dug the hole. Read the original story in the Liverpool Transcript from 1856, and the Reader's Digest article from 1966.

Also the flood tunnel theory would hold water (pun intended) because the area where the original hole was located and borehole 10-X are the ONLY TWO HOLES on the island that have saltwater in them. No other excavation or well does.

However, Robert Dunfield, jackass that he was, came in in 1965 and 66 after Robert Restall and his son died there and ruined any historical value. He proceeded to scrape a 12 foot deep section of earth away from the money pit area and then dug the original hole to 140 feet deep and 100 feet wide. He then decided to fill it back in. So NOBODY is actually digging in the right place to this day.

Somebody went to a great deal of trouble to put something there, and great effort to keep it there. It most likely wasn't done by one person, and probably took several months to do.

Jason Colavito is biased because he vested his time to review the show "against my better judgement", and should have kept his personal hypothesis out of the review and allow the viewer to come to his own conclusions.

There may not be anything there, but it is one hell of a mystery.

2/2/2014 10:36:27 pm

What would be the point of reviewing the show if it didn't involve my opinion? If I didn't give my view, then I'd be doing nothing but summarizing the show, which is useless. You could just watch it.

2/3/2014 04:43:27 am

Wild - Great post! I'm with you.

GWS

2/3/2014 04:44:46 am

Great post, Mr Wild!

Jeff

2/3/2014 09:29:31 am

It's a great story so far. But the truth is (in my opinion) that these shows are filmed and shelved a minuet before ever hitting the airwaves. And if something spectacular like The Lost Ark, the minora, Shakespeare writings, Templar gold, etc... would have been found it would be ALL over the news by now. So...I think this is just a show with very little truth (other than the legend) behind it. And if this is true, History Channel just jumped the shark in my book.

Rafeman

2/4/2014 04:42:47 pm

Believe it was the first episode and they put a very expensive camera down into the pit to film what was there...... they went to review the footage at the end of the show with the old man and his son and it was erased. That was it, no going back for a second try or mention of doing so. Why not? That raised a flag with me. Just saying. Enjoyed this thread.

Graham Harris

2/9/2014 12:55:01 pm

Episode 2 made much of the fact that large blocks of stone were discovered on the seabed offshore Smith's Cove lying in a straight line pointing towards the Money Pit. These would have been anchors for marker buoys enabling the tunnellers at the Smith's Cove end of the Flood Tunnel to backsight upon and maintain a straight line. The Flood Tunnel is some 500 feet long, and was dug from both ends. Tunnellers (and I'm one) don't like digging downslope so the tunnel was dug from both ends meeting at about the Cave-In Shaft. However, this tunnel is not the shortest distance from the Money Pit to the sea, a much shorter length of tunnel would link the Money Pit with South Shore, and there is evidence a first tunnel was attempted here but ran into poor ground conditions necessitating recourse to the present line. Archival evidence indicates the Flood Tunnel was excavated 1752-54.

ACman

2/9/2014 03:22:19 pm

That last episode tonight SUCKED! Waited all week, what a leg down!!!

2/9/2014 03:24:02 pm

"Leg down",hahaha! Meant to say "let down".

Linda

2/9/2014 03:59:23 pm

I think with all the technology we have if any treasures at oak island it should be found by now , what I really want to know if the shows going to continue in coming months. Please can anyone answer?

landshark

2/11/2014 02:36:36 pm

Finally!! Someone explains this using common sense.The way you explain it should put an end to the entire debate about the "treasure" and the waste-of-a-time TV show. Those that buried the "treasure" did not have the required technology to bury a "treasure" that deep. Think of the time required for burial. It would not be worthwhile and would bring unwanted attention for something that is supposed to be secretive. Burying the "treasure" would require all of the modern construction technology to originally excavate the shaft then brace the shaft to prevent collapse not to mention the siphon tunnels from the ocean. This also would require modern knowledge of fundamentals of groundwater science (they did not have) and micro-tunneling technology (they did not have). Give me a break!!!

2/12/2014 12:41:42 pm

In the prevailing ground conditions, consisting of hard glacial till over gypsum/anhydrite bedrock, the Money Pit shaft could have been dug by hand to a depth of 200 feet or so, with few problems, in a matter of between four to six months - at least first time round. As gypsum/anhydrite is water soluble, sea water percolating into the bottom of the shaft (after the treasure had been cached) would have opened up solution channels, which more recent pumping (since 1795) have enlarged. (Oak Island can now be said to be as perforated as a proverbial Swiss cheese! And more pumping only makes the situation worse!)

On attempting to recover the treasure, that had been consigned to the imagined security of the depths, observations by Blair in the 1930s suggest that a blow-out had taken place at the base of the shaft, thereby preventing treasure recovery. From this it may be concluded that the inability to recover the treasure by the original depositors led to the subsequent excavation of the Flood Tunnel, linking the Money Pit with Smith's Cove, to ensure that the treasure remained flooded, and was never recovered by anyone. It should be noted that the intersection of the pit and the shaft is at a depth of about 100 feet, i.e. marginally higher than the plume of debris, resulting from the blow-out, would have risen in the shaft.

Though the Money Pit could have been dug by a ship's crew, the Flood Tunnel, attendant cofferdam, and inlet works, comprise a sophisticated piece of engineering requiring considerable knowledge and expertise. The fact it has baffled treasure-seekers for over two centuries is a testimony to the cunning of its engineers. The dimensions of the Flood Tunnel bear the hallmarks of British military tunnelling of the eighteenth century. The general conclusion is that the treasure remains entombed underground.

2/10/2014 01:28:38 am

No one has mentioned this, but I think this hole could be a hoax. Let's say Black Beard really did dig it, why? To hide his treasure? No! To throw off his pursuers who were out to get his treasure. He digs it, spreads the rumor that it's there, hides his treasure elsewhere, and lets everyone waste their time and lives digging in that hole. Meantime, no one is chasing him and he's relaxing and spending his treasure someplace else. Fast forward today and we have these rubes making a TV show about it, still "obsessed" with finding a buried treasure. Black Beard is rolling in his grave laughing.

2/17/2014 09:13:40 am

Every now and again someone suggests the Money Pit was a hoax, or was dug as a means of deception. I am a professional tunnelling engineer who's sunk several shafts in his time, and I can say that digging deep holes by hand is tough work. Even with the machines we have today there's still a lot of hard labour. That said, a ship's crew, prepared to crack a few sinews would take no more than about four to five months to dig the Money Pit to its final depth of +/- 200 feet, first time round when digging in vergin ground. The Flood Tunnel was a far different 'kettle of fish' taking skilled miners about 18 months to accomplish.

john link

2/10/2014 05:55:52 am

oak island show. the guys must pick things up, such as put buncker busting bombs down their money hole.use better technology when using die to come out of caves into the ocean. or the show will be as bad as the teams tracking bigfoot , and not making the cut by the ceremonial camp fire. the show has one more chance. i would blow up the island and see what falls down. might use some common sense... regards

2/10/2014 11:52:15 am

i should like to comment briefly on the radiocarbon dating of the coconut fibre. In general there is nothing wrong with such dating methods as a laboratory technique, depending on the method and assumptions on which the method is based. However false conclusions can be drawn by thoughtless application and a misplaced faith in the exactness of the resulting date. For example (a) the extremities of a one metre long stick of wood discovered in a burial chamber in Jordan were radiocarbon dated yielding 3100BC at one end and zero at the other - a discrepancy of 5000 years; (b) living crustaceans were crushed and tested, and found to be 2,300 years old; (c) radiocarbon dating of the Shroud of Turin continues to be the subject of intense debate. There are many good reasons as to why anomalious results occur. Thus radiocarbon dating by itself should be treated with extreme caution and supported by archival or archaeological data where possible. In the case of the Oak Island coconut fibre I am more tempted to assign a date of 'post 1720' as this was the year when the Mexican volcano Popocatepetl exploded unleashing massive amounts of carbon dioxide, devoid of C-14, into the atmosphere, thus diluting the C-14 already there as a result of uniform cosmic bombardment of Earth's atmosphere (which is the basis of the theory).

Joe

4/18/2023 03:27:55 pm

Thank you, common sense and expertise.

2/12/2014 01:43:29 pm

The idea that somebody (pirates, "Templars," or whoever) would go far, far out of their way to make sure that NOBODY -- EVER -- would be able to recover a vast valuable treasure … is … ummm … ludicrous …

Why not just dump it -- scatter it -- into the depths of the ocean … ???

drew kight

2/12/2014 10:47:36 pm

Is the curse of Oak Island a real show I mean is it set up and what was the last big find on the Island or is it private because the brothers own the Island and filter the info?

Josey

2/13/2014 04:01:50 pm

They found a coin... lol. The hook is in. Time to reel in the suckers.

2/13/2014 05:40:56 pm

It's all getting to be a bit on the absurd side for me...... the "question" at the end of the last show was are the two brothers going to pack it in and call it quits..... are you kidding me LOL! they bought all or most of that island. They have a t.v. show and than there is the old man and his son who I would guess are in a pretty sweet spot. Metal detectors getting positive hits for precious metals and than a diver saying it's in my hand and than disappears..... give me a break. Think I'll wait to see if this comes out on Netflix and fast-forward to the last episode.

hollywood link

2/15/2014 12:55:54 am

Hey guys,
My take:
If the so called mercy rock is a suspicious place,..then excavate it....I'm certain that the equipment can be rented. Perhaps stand the plywood in the mud with stakes...and pump out the middle to the place of interest...and wash it off ( like pouring a form for a dock )? At that point ,see if it is a latch, marker, entry point?
How come nobody mentioned the sons journals? The photos and entries seemed interesting................. fluted tunnels and riddles?
Um ....Viking ship...really? A sink hole...come on. Those logs were put there, clearly cut and placed log tiers at 10' intervals purposely placed for some reason? Digging by hand 150" deep in the 1600s I doubt was easy, let alone in a spiral fashion?

Some of you guys are close minded thinking that those shafts and booby traps are a farce >>>>>>>>>>>>>the pyramids.shafts------have celestial alignment, ...booby traps.....Mayan temples and such places have shafts that flood-spears -pungi's, and they are mostly made of stone..............again clearly slave work. I believe that the shafts and secret rooms are plausible,...Europe seemed to have some crafty folk back then,...
I agree that Petter was a bit out of the realm, but some of that stuff was kinda creepy. The perfectly symmetrical triangular swamp? Perfectly cut stones with their mates 1000' away? There was something going on there for sure,
I say get a company in there with a machine.....lay out some logs to stabilize the swamp area., and get a CAT ca336EH. and with 1-2 sweeps under mercy rock, I'm sure we'd see if that's an entry of some kind :)
I actually like the show because with all this staged reality shit on cable , its better than watching a bunch of teen moms from west Virginia smoke crack and slug it out all the time..".White trash tv"....or dancing /singing shows that have a quota to fill.
Even if they don't find anything, I still find it more interesting than the Olympics for sure.

I'm sure the show is all about the bottom line, but I truly think that the Laginas like the bonding experience, and the adventure of maybe even cracking the code, whether its true or faux ? Solving mysteries or folklore is appealing to me...more so than all the effing gold prospecting shows out there. Good grief already...greedy toothless methheads phucks and their get rich quick schemes!

Now that I'm hooked...I'll have to wait a year to see the outcome? I truly hate suspense tv. If anything is recovered, I'm certain the Canadian Gov is going to step in and take whatever is found and keep it a secret . Wouldn't it be a hoot to see something like the menorah or the ark come out of a hole in Canada.....that would truly be worth talking about for years to come,.....and Im the farthest thing from religious. This story actually inspired me want to find more stuff like this....any suggestions for an interesting read for a laymen of treasure stories?

I apologize for being all over the place,....with my punctuation and spelling errors, ...I refuse to proofread lol

2/17/2014 12:12:17 am

I will make a prediction of what will be recovered from the swamp. It will consist of old mining equipment, prominent among which will be iron hoisting buckets, perhaps a windlass, and mining tools. These artifacts will be dated to the seventeenth century.

Once the Money Pit had been completed, and the treasure safely secured underground, it would have seemed unnecessary to keep certain items, the possession of which may have proved incriminating. Heavier, bulkier objects would have been dragged through the forest and dumped in the swamp, where they would have been deemed buried for ever. No-one of that time could have foreseen the invention of metal-detectors! Any equipment needed for a subsequent recovery operation would have been stored safely underground on the platforms in the Money Pit. All traces of activity on the island would have been obliterated as much as possible before they finally departed the island in January 1689.

When treasure recovery was attempted later that same year difficulties were encountered, with a blow-out taking place within the gypsum/anhydrite bedrock. Some of those underground at the time likely lost their lives. The cause of the disaster would have proved inexplicable to anyone of that age, as geology as a science had not yet made its appearance. It would take several fruitless attempts to recovery the lost treasure, but all would fail. In the end the Flood Tunnel was constructed to ensure the treasure would never be recovered by anyone.

I look forward to the fifth and final episode, but I'm not expecting to see any golden minorahs, forgotten manuscripts of Shakespeare, or arks of the covenant being recovered. Who, on Earth, would bury these in a swamp?

2/22/2014 01:40:57 am

Crystal skulls. It's going to be crystals skulls ;)

Fat Spoke link

2/23/2014 09:51:45 pm

Thanks to sharing this blog its help me alot

What hello

3/3/2014 05:37:21 pm

So when is episode 6 coming out for season 1or what's next could somebody please help me I'm stuck

john

3/4/2014 05:23:17 am

please post when the next season will begin.......

[email protected] link

3/4/2014 05:29:20 am

good day all. I see that all of my comments have not been posted. . it is a shame .bests regards.. looking forward to next season.

anon

11/4/2014 01:37:14 am

Joe Nickell, et al. has thoroughly explained the Oak Island "mystery"--there is--and never was--any treasure buried on the island. Last night I watched the curse show for the first time and shook my head in great sorrow. Here are these deluded people destroying a natural ecosystem (tramping all over the landscape with men and machines, draining a swamp, etc.) for a chimera. It's deplorable.

Joanne

11/9/2014 02:51:20 am

There is an absolutely hilarious scene in "Curse" that I haven't seen talked about. I can't even refer you to the right episode, and damned if I'm watching them all again to pinpoint the scene. Anyway, it is the episode where they bring in a scuba diver to go into the hole in the swamp after they put down plywood.

The diver stands with his back to the "hole", about two feet from the guys who are standing in the swamp. He literally does a "fall back" as if he were entering the ocean from a dive boat. Because of extremely bad editing, the clip shows him landing on his back in about 2 inches of water. Later on, he is scuba "diving" in about six inches of mud and muck.

The fall-back is absolutely hilarious, and we were hysterical after rerunning this scene over and over.

Wendy

12/7/2016 08:09:26 pm

I saw this too & cracked up! I've been trying to find the clip to watch again.

Michael Jude link

11/25/2014 10:29:36 pm

Found this site about a minute ago while looking up critical response to the Oak Island series. I wonder what Jason would say about my website SHOWNAMYSTERY.COM and the videos linked to it

11/29/2014 04:23:38 am

you had better pick up the pace, and get to the point soon, or you will have no viewers

Dave

12/2/2014 11:56:51 am

It's actually too bad this show gets the bad wrap it does. Granted, there's some iffy at best content. But, compared to other History programming, they actually use some investigative methods. It's also too bad they do have to introduce some BS into the show to spawn interest. I guess the typical television audience has too short of an attention span for a real documentary of something like this. I blame Geraldo.

Kal

12/3/2014 12:05:46 pm

I just saw the one where they allegedly look for the Ark of the Covenant, which was so lame on so many levels, and to think all these fake Indy Jones wannabes on the shows think they're not ripping off that series. The strangest thing though is they keep claiming the curse will take out another person, when they've never proven a curse took out the other 6. It would be an old Tales from the Crypt spoof if it was scary.

Carter

12/17/2014 02:59:44 am

The corn depicted in scotland church and the eight pointed star engraveing on rocks are two clues that show a strong link to knights templars being involved

michael jude link

12/17/2014 10:48:07 am

Not only would I not be surprised, but, I fully anticipate that, whatever they find on Oak Island, they will not attribute its being 'deposited' there to any means that is attributable to the laws of physics as they are generally understood

Karl

12/27/2014 03:02:25 pm

Ok the thing abut this show is it should have been over a long time ago I too like the one brother saw this on In Search Of Ok someone as already blown red dye into it way back when to see where it comes out with what we have now it would be even more because they could take photos from the air why haven't they plus the one guy had the right idea when he tried to in close it with piping that was 30 years ago we have better stuff so again I ask why as for the draining of the swamp buy a oil tanker or tow and pump the water there see people just over think stuff

12/28/2014 04:43:48 am

Although I can certainly guarantee they will not.............if the show follows what i consider to be, given every aspect they have thus far covered, a logical line of reason the final conclusion will address the idea of substance vs. accident

Lance

1/6/2015 04:56:22 pm

I would like to make a comment on why this show is a never ending TV so called reality. Compare "The Curse of Oak Island" to s show hosted long ago by Geraldo Rivera some years back, 2 hours if I recall, where a walled up tunnel was discovered and a mass media frenzy ensued by Geraldo Rivera's belief and gullibility captivated watchers stating that behind the bricked up tunnel was very possibly Al Capone treasure. After hours of BS from Geraldo Rivera, the was eventually penetrated to no avail, just some garbage. This being said, I think it is safe to say, how many viewers would tune in longer than a couple of episodes if/or when the treasure was found? What would be the point. The television of today knows and understands this reality as does anyone with anyone common sense. Alas, it is futile to argue this point to the same people who still believe wrestling (WWF) is real and not staged. I think shows like these can e entertaining and somewhat educational, however, I wish the television description of the word "Reality", should carry the same scrutiny as that of foods stating all natural (non-regulated and anyone can place this information on their respective product), however, organic is in fact, regulated. Please encourage networks such as the plethora of channels by Discovery Channel and other channels to bring back to their collection of education and , what's that lost word? FACT.

1/6/2015 05:01:12 pm

Please forgive the terrible spelling in my previous comment. My browser seems to want to "guess" what I am thinking, and,at times, auto correct can really suck. Cool review Mr. Colavito.

1/7/2015 02:34:04 am

ok.......once again....the necessary elements to solving the mystery of Oak Island and more, much more, were already alluded to in the episode entitled SEVEN MUST DYE in which they visited the village of Rennes Le Chateau and especially when they showed the dragon symbol adorning the a wall in the town...........michael jude, author
thirteenth apostle: the coming transubstantiation

1/11/2015 02:36:20 pm

Show is really starting to get bad! "Could it be? Is it? Will they find...? Or is it? What will they find? Over and over and over through out each show.
Then it takes the whole hour show for 2 divers to descend down to the money shaft...good grief...I guess I can understand why when there 30 minutes of commercials in the hour show..
And now where at season the final episode already, good grief, how many episodes was the 7?
Yeah their are just destroying that show...Why bother even watching it any more it's a joke...

1/12/2015 06:23:24 am

I've been with the show since the beginning and I agree they ARE dragging it out. H-O-W-E-V-E-R.............in the episode SEVEN MUST DYE I saw what I was supposed to see and they could end it right now and I'd be grateful for the experience........something occurred in that particular episode that was of extremely personal relevance and interest to me and is something I told others about but they did not believe what I told them but the episode corroborated what I claimed...............SO MOTE IT BE

Steve

1/12/2015 01:38:45 pm

Jason you are kidding me how else would they find the truth if not actual working and digging. It's not the work that intrigues me it's the factual findings. I think there is so much more to this story than just Freemasons, Templars, people hiding things. I be alive this goes back thousands of years before the ice age.... I think the water level was a lot lower at the time and there where caves built by who knows who and things hidden on the island then water level rose folding the tunnels. There is so much we don't know about humanity just think the earth been around for bilons of years we as sivilization been around for a blink of an eye. Who knows what secrets are hidden bellow ground the oceans. Oppen mind nesesary it's not like the churches teaching with every thing has an answer with a tunnel vision and that's the way it is. I do think there is more to the stories look at the inscriptions there where more intelligent beings on this planet before us. How else can u explain the wonders in front of our noses?

Lori

1/15/2015 10:33:48 am

The "mystery" has already been solved. Watch the You Tube Oak Island RESOLVED video and it explains it in full detail as Brian mentioned. The only reason this show is still on the air is so these guys can recoup some of their money from the show to pay for the waste of time and money lost.

Ernest. M. Wyatt link

1/27/2016 01:05:46 am

Filtered. Salt water. To. Drinking. Water. Thats. All. Needed. Fresh. Water to. Stay alive !!! The. Rest. Was. Fools. Gold. Sorry. But. Thats. It. From. The. Start. It. Was. Fools. Gold. No. Treasure !$!

2/4/2016 12:12:13 pm

another year , another year of finding nothing. i`m sure i would hear on the news before i would catch it on your show. i like the two brothers and appreciate what they do. i will not watch anymore. my hand is down. regards

robert john link

2/19/2016 12:35:31 pm

i wonder if you are as frustrated as i am? i`m sure you know much more. i would assume next season will end ,once again without a clue. i feel your pain, you movie stars! i would like to offer my help in anyway you might see fit. you have to understand, that if something was found, it would be all over the news. thus, i see next season as a failure. i want to help. regards

helen

3/2/2016 04:04:38 pm

marty, why do you perpetuate the digging of what has become a gaping wound? does not every fiber of your being cry out that no good can come from this? i can feel the love you have for your brother. how can you continue to supply the rope that will hang him?

TAB Writing Service link

7/30/2016 07:21:34 am

Nice post! and i hear that In 1803, the hunt was picked up again by the Onslow Company. This new effort used better equipment and more manpower and finally saw the original excavation better explored. Along the way, every ten feet, oak platforms were unearthed until, at the ninety foot level, a stone slab was found with strange markings. In later years, several translations were attempted on the stone (the stone itself has long ago vanished), the most tantalizing one being enough to whet any self-respecting treasure hunter’s appetite to continue on in the search: “Forty feet below two million pounds are buried.” Digging down another three feet, the crew noted an introduction of water into the pit, but nothing that caused too much concern. The men returned the following day only to discover that, unbelievably, the pit had filled with ocean water overnight. For all intents and purposes, this incarnation of the treasure hunt was now over. thanks for sharing!

Otto

11/23/2016 06:02:23 am

Your article really only stated why you would not watch the show. I followed a link over here to see why the word 'debunked' was used in reference to your site. I am confused and disappointed, I don't see how you debunked anything, nor any educational background to suggest your theories should be trusted more than any of the others. Probably wont come back.

Dawn

2/1/2017 02:21:08 am

I'm sure my review will be deleted but just so you know I hate this show. It's boring, drawn out and I could care less if you find treasure or not. Please wrap the Oak Island treasure hunt up now so I don't have to skip over it when I'm flipping through channels. Worst show ever!! Yes I set through I don't know how many episodes just to come to the conclusion that you all are searching for something that does exist. May as well be hunting big foot or better yet unicorns.

Scott Hipple

9/26/2018 10:43:35 pm

The real treasure of Oak Island is the Laginas running this show year after year and accomplishing very little. How much money do they make a year by continually dragging the show out?

2/28/2019 11:06:25 pm

The two brothers are sell outs. They will drag this out for another
three or four seasons. They already know whats down there.
The Church is involved now...

Clare Lazarow link

5/26/2020 02:51:11 pm

STOP THE INSANITY!!
This show is akin to a guinea pig running on his wheel for 8 years.
Enough already---there is NOTHING there! Really! how much more of the island can they dig up before the last bit of Dirt Island falls disappears forever.

I gave up watching years ago. Lets face it , we have been played. The Leguinas are rich and there are enough core samples to build a new island. That lovely island has been ripped apart and if they have not found anything other than trinkets---Give it up!

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Review of "Curse of Oak Island" and Some Other Stuff

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