Treasure Tales

ABC Wednesday
May 25th, 2016

The letter is T for Tales and Treasure.

Let me tell you the Tale of a Treasure
although perhaps you have already heard of Oak Island, in Nova Scotia
and the fascinating mystery that surrounds it!

The stories of pirate treasure and Captain Kidd,  and Blackbeard,
who hid his treasure "where none but Satan and myself can find it"

The tale goes back to the late 1700's when a Mr. McGinnis;
 happened upon a depression in the earth which was consistent with the Captain Kidd story.
An excavation revealed a layer of flagstones two feet below, and then a layer
of logs about every ten feet.  At thirty feet they abandoned the excavation, but about
eight years later another group examined what was to become known as the
Money Pit.

They continued the excavation down to about 90 feet and more layers of logs were found
at about every ten feet, along with layers of charcoal, putty and coconut fibre.

A large stone,
 inscribed with symbols was uncovered, and
one researcher identified the message it contained thusly...

"Forty feet below, two million pounds lie buried"

Well, I am sure news of this got the wind up!!!!

There have been many attempts to successfully excavate the Money Pit, but
they have been foiled by flooding of the excavation.

And there have been many notable explorers interested in the mystery of Oak Island, including Franklin Delano Roosevelt, his grandfather Warren Delano, Jr.
Errol Flynn and John Wayne invested in the dig.  William Vincent Astor
and Rear Admiral Richard E. Bird Jr. maintained a passive
investment in this Oak Island endeavour.

And the theories abound!!!

Many critics argue that there is no treasure, and that the apparent pit
is a natural phenomenon, likely a sinkhole connected to limestone passages
or caverns.  The resemblance to a human-made pit,
 they suggest, has been partly due to the texture of natural accumulated debris in sinkholes.

It has been thought that the Money Pit is actually a tar kiln that dates from a period
when Oak Island served as a tar-making location for the British
Naval industry.

Prosaic speculations indeed besides the more exotic ones existing....

There is the exciting Pirate Theory, and tales of a Spanish Naval treasure.

Marie Antoinette's jewels, which apparently are missing, are said to have been
sent fleeing with a lady-in-waiting and she could have perhaps been assisted
in hiding them by officers of the French navy.

Still others offer the idea that the Oak Island pit was dug to hold manuscripts
showing Francis Bacon to be the author of William Shakespeare's works,
 and a leader of the Rosicrucians
.
Could it have been a Rosicrucian Vault - a Knights Templar treasure?

One writer noted that many Masonic markings were found on Oak Island
and pointed out that the shaft or pit and its mysterious contents
seemed to replicate aspects of a Masonic initiation rite involving a hidden vault
 containing a sacred treasure.

Or is it a place of safekeeping for artifacts from King Solomon's temple
or the Ark of the Covenant, -

Could it be an actual sunken Viking ship which
has settled in a  vertical position?  Sukhwant Singh theorizes the regularly
separated platforms are actually wooden backrests for rowers,
and the coconut fibers are the remains of
mattresses, pillows, or other cushions used  by the Vikings for comfort.

If this mystery truly interests you there is a great link at WikiMedia
and also one here with many more details of the goings-on at Oak Island.

What truly irks me is that thirty-five years ago, while touring the Maritimes researching sheep marketing, I stopped at Mahone Bay, bought a silver christening cup
for a new grandson, took a picture of a lovely yellow gingerbread house,
and knew nothing of  the mysteries that engulfed the Bay

(oh, it was a Bay, not a Gulf)

I would have been in better shape then to help with the digging!!!

For more Ts  trail over here to ABC Wednesday with

many thanks to Roger and Denise and their Treasured helpers.