MYSTERY OF THE MONEY PIT

Posted on Sep 7, 2008 in Lost Treasure

THE DISCOVERY

One spring day in 1795 Daniel McGinnis, then a teenager, was wandering around Oak Island, Nova Scotia when he came across a curious circular depression in the ground.

Standing over this depression was a tree whose branches had been cut in a way which looked like it had been used as a pulley. Having heard tales of pirates hiding their treasure in the area McGinnis hurried home to tell his friends. Over the next several days McGinnis and two other boys worked furiously on the hole. What they found astonished them.

Click Image to Enlarge

Two feet below the surface they came across a layer of flagstones covering the pit. At ten feet they found a platform of oak logs wedged into the shaft’s walls. Ripping it out they excavated another ten feet. There they found another platform, then another one ten feet lower. Frustrated by the barriers, the boys eventually returned to their farm chores.

Eight years later, in 1803, the three boys returned to Oak Island to continue the hunt. They were adults now and had the financial backing of a syndicate of Nova Scotia businessmen who called themselves The Onslow Company.

The excavation picked up where it had left off eight years before and more oak platforms were discovered – every ten feet. Besides the boards, at 40 feet a layer of charcoal was found, at 50 feet a layer of putty, and at 60 feet a layer of coconut fiber.

At 90 feet one of the most puzzling clues was found – a stone tablet inscribed with mysterious writing:

It turned out to be a simple substitution cipher where each symbol inscribed on the stone corresponded to a letter in the alphabet. When decoded the cipher read:

“FORTY FEET BELOW TWO MILLION POUNDS ARE BURIED”

As nightfall descended the digging had to be stopped due to poor visibility – the treasure would have to wait one more day.

The group returned to Oak Island the next day eager to recover treasure only to find the shaft completely flooded with seawater. No matter how hard they tried, all attempts to pump out the water failed.

Booby Trap!
Many believe that the flooding was part of an elaborate booby trap built to protect the Money Pit’s secret. Later excavations discovered an intricate rock-lined tunnel system that directed seawater from the ocean into the shaft. The water had been held back by a barrier that was tripped during the excavation.

Unwilling to give up on the treasure, the group dug a separate shaft next to the original in order to allow the flood water to drain out.

But the plan turned out to be a disaster – the walls of the new shaft collapsed leaving the original shaft flooded once again. The diggers were lucky to escape with their lives.

The pit was abandoned for 45 years.

OBSESSION

Over the next 200 years the Money Pit’s secrets obsessed scores of people – an endless procession of individuals and corporations descended upon the island to take up the hunt.

The lure of the unknown attracted all types of adventurers – some of the more noteworthy were: soon to be US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, explorer Richard Byrd, and actor Errol Flynn who wanted to search Oak Island in 1940, but was discouraged when he found the search rights already belonged to a company owned by fellow actor John Wayne.

Franklin D. Roosevelt and friends
working the Money Pit in 1910.

Despite the millions of dollars invested, and the increasingly sophisticated tools at searchers disposal, the contents of the Oak Island Money Pit have remained out of reach.

One indian legend has it that the search will end only after all the island’s oaks are dead, and seven treasure hunters have lost their lives in the search. By 1990, six diggers had died and only three oaks remained on the island.

RECENT DISCOVERIES

Around 1967, Daniel C. Blankenship and David Tobias formed The Triton Alliance, Ltd. and purchased most of the island. In 1971, Triton workers excavated a 235-foot shaft supported by a steel caisson. According to Blankenship and Tobias, cameras lowered down the shaft into a cave below recorded the presence of some chests, human remains, wooden cribbing and tools; however, the images were unclear, and none of these claims have been officially confirmed. Work was eventually halted due to lack of funds and the collapse of the partnership.

Exploration was stalled in the 90s due to legal battles between the Triton partners, but recently Dan Blankenship and his new partners, the Michigan Group have worked things out and further exploration of the Money Pit will continue this year (2008).

WHAT TREASURE LIES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MONEY PIT?

The pit has yielded few clues to what it may hold. Three links of chain, iron scissors of Spanish manufacture, a carved-bone boson’s whistle, and a scrap of parchment are among the few artifacts to be raised.

Coconut fiber has also been found, although the nearest coconut trees are 1,500 miles away – coconut fiber was used to pack cargo on seventeenth and eighteenth-century ships.

One of the most tantalizing discoveries was a heart-shaped stone similar to those found among pirate treasure-troves in Haiti.

There are many theories as to what the Money Pit may hold but my three favorites are:

THEORY #1 – THE TREASURE OF THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR

The tale of the Knights Templar’s Lost Treasure is well known among treasure hunting buffs. In the early hours of October 13th, 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered all the Knights Templar arrested on trumped up charge of heresy – and their fabled treasure confiscated in the name of the crown. But when the King’s men arrived at the Templar’s Paris Headquarters the treasure had vanished as had almost the entire Templar naval fleet.

The Templars were now wanted men in most of Europe, so, the theory goes that desiring to establish a new Templar government outside the reach of French persecution, the Templars sailed westward towards Nova Scotia where they established a colony.

The presence of the Knights Templar in Novia Scotia a century before Columbus discovered America may sound far-fetched, but it is supported by a Zeno narrative and map that depicts the landmass of Nova Scotia (New Scotland) with the figure of a crowned knight drawn upon it (one of the Templar’s Symbols).

At some point, the theory goes, the Templars decided to abandon their colony and head back to Europe, but with the order weakened and fearing their treasure might fall into the wrong hands, they decided to hide it. They constructed the money pit to protect their treasure until such a time they could return for it.

Which they obviously never did.

To this day none of the Templar treasure has been found. Their treasure is rumored to contain artifacts of spiritual significance retrieved by the order during the Crusades, including the genealogies of David and Jesus and documents that trace these bloodlines into the royal bloodlines of Merovingian France.

THEORY #2 – CAPTAIN KIDD’S TREASURE

Legends abound about the numerous secret caches of treasure buried by Kidd throughout his illustrious career as a Pirate. One legend told of a dying sailor in the New England Colonies who confessed to being a part of Kidd’s notorious crew.

The old sailor stated that Captain Kidd had buried a hoard of treasure to be found on an island “east of Boston”, but he never named an exact location for the hidden booty. Could it have been Oak Island?

Skeptics claim that Kidd spent little time near Nova Scotia, suggesting that he could not have devoted enough time to constructing the money pit.

THEORY #3 – INCA OR MAYA TREASURE

During the conquest of the Americas by the Europeans in the mid 1500s much of the wealth of the Incas and Mayas disappeared. There are two persistent legends about where much of this treasure went – if you want to know more check out these two articles:

Montezuma’s Gold

Inca Gold: The Treasure of the Llanganatis

Some researchers believe it’s possible that a group of Incas or Mayas, possibly with the help of sympathetic Europeans, stole away with the wealth and buried it on Oak Island out of the reach of the conquerors.

RESOURCES

For more information about the Money Pit visit http://www.oakislandtreasure.co.uk/ – this is the most comprehensive site I’ve found on the subject and a great place to start your research.

http://www.thelifeofadventure.com/mystery-of-the-money-pit/#more-1315

TREASURE OF THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR

Posted on Sep 12, 2008 in Lost Treasure

 

aftermath of the First Crusade of 1096 AD, a small group of French noblemen led by Hugues de Payens formed a monastic order of knights. Their mission was ostensibly, to make the roads of the holy land safe for Christian pilgrims – but protection of the holy land may have just been a cover story…

Many believe the Knights had actually traveled to the holy land in search of buried treasure!

It’s believed the Templars were in possession of an ancient scroll – a treasure map of sorts, pointing to the fabled treasures of King Solomon. So, it’s no surprise that the knights chose, as their command post, the captured Al Aqsa Mosque on Temple Mount – which just happened to be constructed right over the ruins of the second temple of King Solomon.

The Al Aqsa Mosque, on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. The Crusaders called it The Temple of Solomon, as it was built on top of the ruins of the original Temple. It was from this location that the Order took their name - The Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, or just plain ol' Knights Templar.

According to legend, the Templars spent the next nine years excavated beneath the ancient temple, eventually finding a vast network of tunnels – and then Solomon’s treasure.

There’s been much speculation about what the treasure consisted of – The Ark of the Covenant, massive hordes of gold from King Solomon’s Mines, or ancient texts revealing secret knowledge or the Holy Grail have all been suggested.

But there’s no doubt that they found something of enormous value, because upon their return to France in 1118 Pope Innocent II granted the order total freedom from every authority but his own.

With their newfound autonomy the Knights Templar quickly became the most powerful military organization in the medieval world.

THE TEMPLARS RISE TO POWER

After the Templars were recognized by the Pope, noblemen flocked to join them. New members were required to turn over all their worldly possessions to the order, so vast estates were acquired throughout Europe. Benefactors such as Alfonso I of Aragon bequeathed his entire kingdom to the Templars.

The swelling ranks of nobles made the Knights vastly rich, and they grew still richer through international trade, banking, and the spoils of war. Their commercial activities rivaled many states and could be compared with multi-national conglomerates of today.

The Templar’s Stronghold in Paris became a key European financial center, its strongrooms reputed to hold a fortune in gold, silver and gems.

But In the end the Templars were victims of their own sucess…

AH, TREACHERY!

Success, wealth and power bred envy and resentment, especially from those who were heavily in debt to the order – and there was no one more heavily indebted to the Knights than King Philip IV of France. When the King asked the Templars to forgive his massive debt, they refused. So, King Philip devised one of the most devious schemes in the history of mankind.

By this time the Templars were so strong and powerful that King Philip dared not face them in open battle – instead he drew up a list of trumped up charges against the Order, among them; denying Christ, worshiping the devil and sodomy.

In the early hours of Friday, October 13th, 1307, envelopes containing secret arrest orders were opened simultaneously by hundreds of French Sheriffs throughout the land. The Templar’s Grand Master, Jacques DeMolay, along with hundreds of other prominent Templars, were arrested in the name of the Inquisition and, with blessing of Pope Clement V, charged with heresy.

The day came to be known as Black Friday, and from that day on, Friday the 13th would be considered unlucky.

As the flames took hold, de Molay, spoke his final words..."Clement, iniquitous judge and cruel torturer, I assign you to appear in forty days, in front of God's court! And you too, King Philip!" De Molay's curse came to fruition - both the King and the Pope died later that year.

On March 18th, 1314, seven years after his capture,  Jacques de Molay – 22nd and final Grand Master of the Order of the Knights Templar – was burned at the stake, taking the secret of the Templar’s disappearing treasure to the grave.

THE VANISHING TREASURY

While the goal of defeating the order had succeeded, the real goal of King Philip had failed. Immediately after the arrests, the King’s agents found the Templar treasury had vanished without a trace, as had almost the entire Templar naval fleet.

Confirmation of the disappearance of the treasure was made by John of Chalons, a Templar sergeant, who gave evidence at his own trial. Chalons said that some of the Templars had been tipped off about the arrests and a a group of 24 brave Knights managed to sneak the gold, silver, and jewels out of Paris in three wagons covered over with hay.

The Templars made their way to La Rochelle, a port city on the Atlantic coast of France, where they loaded the treasure aboard Templar ships. Then the Templar fleet simply disappeared, never to be heard from again.

WHERE DID THE TEMPLAR’S TREASURE GO?

The destination of the Templar fleet and the treasure it allegedly carried has been debated ever since, but many historians and treasure buffs agree that the most likely destination would have been Scotland.

At the time of the Templar Holocaust, Robert the Bruce controlled most of Scotland. Bruce had been excommunicated by the Pope in 1306, one year before the persecution of the Templars began.

Basically, the papal decree that outlawed the Knights Templar was not applicable in Scotland, or at least the parts of the country that Robert the Bruce controlled. This would have made Scotland a very desirable location for the outlaw fleet.

While there is no concrete historical evidence that the Templars ended up in Scotland, there are some tantalizing clues…

Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn
• The Battle of Bannockburn On June 24 of 1314, Robert the Bruce, with approximately 6,000 Scots miraculously defeated 20,000 English soldiers at the Battle of Bannockburn.
  Exactly what took place has never really been recorded, but It’s believed by some that Bruce won with the help of a special force of Knights Templar. The Battle of Bannockburn was made famous in the Finale of Mel Gibson’s 1995 Oscar-winning movie, Braveheart. Unfortunately, the Knights Templar weren’t in Mel’s Version.
• Templar Symbols Throughout Scotland there are carvings and tombstones using early Templar imagery – skull and crossbones, Templar swords, Templar crosses – and Masonic symbols (compass and square). This has led some historians to believe that modern Freemasonry was originally developed as a way for the surviving Templars in Scotland to preserve their history and to do so in secrecy – as they were hunted men at this time.
• Rosslyn Chapel The Knights Templar built an extraordinary number of castles, churches, cathedrals and temples all over Europe. These edifices were built in styles previously unknown. Most noticeable were the unusual icons which suggest pagan connections.
  An excellent example can be found in Rosslyn Chapel in the village of Rosslyn, Scotland. The chapel was built in 1446, by Sir William St. Clair, more than a century after the formal suppression of the order. Many people have speculated that the ornate carvings in the chapel hold the key to the secret of the Templar’s fabled treasure.
  Rosslyn Chapel figures prominently in Dan Brown’s Davinci Code, and Holy Blood, Holy Grail.

For more information on the Knights Templar check out http://www.templarhistory.com/http://www.thelifeofadventure.com/treasure-of-the-knights-templar/#more-180

THE ARK OF THE COVENANT

Posted on Oct 14, 2008 in Lost Treasure

The Ark of the Covenant is one of the Bible’s holiest objects, and also one of its most intriguing archeological mysteries. Since its disappearance in 607 B.C speculation as to its whereabouts have been rampant; if the Ark is ever unearthed it would be the greatest archeological find — well, ever!
ARK STATS

According to the Biblical account, the Ark was built at the command of God, in accord with Moses’ prophetic vision on Mount Sinai. Made of acacia wood, the ark measured two and a half cubits long, and one and a half cubits deep and high. If the Egyptian royal cubit was used as the standard, this would make the Ark 4.3′ x 2.6′ x 2.6′ – somewhat smaller than what we’ve come to imagine from watching Raiders of the Lost Ark.


The vessel was covered in pure gold leaf and surrounded by a rim of solid gold. Resting on top, also leafed in gold, was the so-called “mercy seat”, a lid with two statuettes of cherubs facing each other.

Alternate descriptions such as that in the Book of Deuteronomy describes the Ark as a simple wooden container with no mention of ornaments or gold. The Quran has a similar description of the Ark as a simple wooden box with holy relics inside it.

THE ULTIMATE WEAPON

Throughout their conquest of the holy land, the Jews were accompanied by the Ark – it was not only a sacred object, but if some text are to be believed, a formidable weapon as well. The Ark was carried by specially trained priests 2000 cubits in advance of the Israelites and according to one midrash, would clear the path for the nation by burning snakes, scorpions, and thorns with two jets of flame that shot from its underside.

This divine flamethrower also came in handy during the Israelites wars with Canaan, Emor and Midian – it was carried in advance of the army as a sort of divine standard, burning all who stood in its way.

When the Jews crossed into the land of Canaan, the Ark caused the waters of the Jordan River to miraculously split, allowing the army to cross. The most dramatic demonstration of the Arks power came when the Jews knocked down the walls of Jericho merely by blowing horns and circling them with the Ark.

When not in use, the Ark was always wrapped in a veil of blue cloth, and was carefully concealed, even from the eyes of the Levite priests who carried it. This was for good reason as many careless Israelites who got too close were fried by the Ark’s terrible power.

PseudoScience Minute

A great deal of research has attempted to explain the wonders that are attributed to the Ark in the Bible. One recent study suggests the possibility that the Ark represented man’s first harnessing of electricity. The historical accounts given of peoples’ sudden deaths from touching the Ark are consistent with death by a high voltage, lethal electrical charge.

Such a charge could have resulted from the constant exposure of the box to static electricity, which builds up quickly in a hot, dry climate like the Middle East.

The materials that the Ark was made of further support this theory: gold is one of the most powerful electrical conductors, and wood is an excellent insulator.

In his book Lost Secrets of the Sacred Ark, Laurence Gardner argues for the Ark as a gold-transmuting , anti-gravity machine.

THE ARK OBSESSION

Through-out history scores of treasure hunters, archeologists and biblical scholars have been obsessed with finding the Ark of the Covenant – so, what’s so special about this little box?

It’s certainly not the monetary value that grips the imagination – the gold content of the Ark would be worth $100,000 at most – and not many serious scholars believe the Ark actually possessed mystical powers – contrary to what Raiders of the Lost Ark states there’s no evidence that Hitler sought the ark for military applications.

What makes the Ark so coveted today is what may lie inside of it… The Ten Commandments.

According to the Bible, two tablets of stone (or their fragments) constituting the “testimony” or evidence of God’s covenant with the people were kept within the Ark itself. Also in the Ark were the Rod of Aaron (Moses’ brother), and a golden pot of manna collected from the Israelites’ journey through the desert.

THE DISAPPEARING ARK

According to the Book of Samuel, the Ark was captured by the Philistines, but after seven months of hemorrhoids, mice and other plagues befell them, the Philistines returned the Ark to the Israelites and it was installed in the Holy of Holies in King Solomon’s Temple.

The Ark carried by Levite Priests in King Solomon’s Temple

The Ark remained in the Temple until 607 B.C. when the Babylonians, led by King Nebuchadnezzar II invaded Jerusalem. The Temple of Solomon was destroyed in the attack and the Ark’s fate from that point onward remains a matter of amateur and scholarly speculation.

The Ark was nowhere to be found when the Israelites returned 70 years later to rebuild Jerusalem and It’s unlikely that the Babylonians took it, as their detailed lists of looted items made no mention of the Ark. So, what happened to it?

WHERE IS THE ARK OF THE COVENANT?

Some of the literally hundreds of theories about the final resting place of the Ark are detailed below:

Beneath the Ruins of Solomon’s Temple

Some believe that King Solomon married into the Egyptian royal family to gain the Egyptians’ famed knowledge of sand hydraulic technology. King Solomon reportedly, when building the temple, put the Ark of the Covenant on a platform which could be lowered down into a tunnel system if the Temple were ever overrun.

Modern excavations near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem have found tunnels, but digging beneath the Temple Mount is somewhat restricted as the holiest Islamic shrine, the Dome of the Rock, sits in the location where the First Temple of Solomon once stood.

The Knights Templar

The Al Aqsa Mosque, on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. The Crusaders called it the Temple of Solomon, as it was built on top of the ruins of the original Temple.

In 1096 AD, nearly 1700 years after the disappearance of the Ark, the Knights Templar established their headquarters in the captured Al Aqsa Mosque on Temple Mount – which was constructed right over the ruins of the Temple of King Solomon.

According to legend, the Templars spent nine years excavating beneath the ruins of Soloman’s Temple, eventually finding a vast network of tunnels – and then, perhaps, the Ark of the Covenant.

When their order was decimated 200 years later most of their fabled treasure disappeared without a trace. Could the Ark have been among the lost Treasure of the Knights Templar?

Valley of Kings

Some ancient sources (such as the Mishnayot) state the hiding place of the ark to be a desolate valley under a hill – on its east side, forty stones deep. Today, it is believed by some that this refers to the Tomb of Tutankhamun. Some believe that what was found in Tutankhamun’s tomb are the described treasures,
including the Ark of the Covenant.

King Josiah

According to some sources, Josiah, one of the final kings to reign in the First Temple period, learned of the impending invasion of the Babylonians and hid the Ark. Where he hid it is questionable but according to one midrash, he dug a hole under the wood storehouse on the Temple Mount and buried it there.

Another account says that King Solomon foresaw the eventual destruction of the Temple, and set aside a cave near the Dead Sea, in which Josiah eventually hid the Ark.

Ethiopia

According to an Ethiopian royal chronicle called the Kebra Nagast, the Ark left Jerusalem much earlier than generally thought — in the days of King Solomon.  The Ark was allegedly smuggled from the temple at the hands of Menelik I, the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. It went first to Egypt, eventually winding up in Ethiopia where it remained safe over the millennia – carefully hidden during wars and times of great unrest.

There are actually some carvings on the Cathedral of Chartres in France that may support this theory.

The Chapel of the Tablet

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church actually claims present-day possession of the Ark which they say is enshrined in a special treasury called The Chapel of the Tablet near the Church of Our Lady St. Mary of Zion in Axum, Ethiopia.

Most Western historians are skeptical of this claim.

Although the alleged Ark was once paraded before the town once each year, the object is now kept under constant guard in the treasury and only the “Guardian of the Ark” is allowed to see it.

Agreeing with ancient sources about a magnificent light emanating from the Ark, the History Channel in a 2008 special claimed that many of the Guardians have died untimely deaths, mostly due to the cataracts that have formed in their eyes.

The Lemba people are known as the “Jews of Africa” and live among the indigenous African tribes of Malawi, Zimbabwe and South Africa. They avoid intermarrying, are proud of their Jewish origins and live according to ancient Jewish lore. They also refer to themselves as the “children of Abraham” and are thought to have left Israel over 2,700 years ago – they have DNA that is remarkably similar to other Jewish groups.

http://www.thelifeofadventure.com/the-ark-of-the-covenant/