Research paper 6th

Have they found treasure on Oak Island

First lets start off with where is the island located. Located on the southern shore of the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. Oak Island is one of the 300-plus islands that make up Mahone Bay. Many believe a massive treasure is buried in the 140 acre forest covered area due to the legends and stories that have been told about the island since the late 18th century.

Many theories have pointed to who may have stashed the treasure there. Many people think its the infamous pirates Captain Kidd and Edward “Blackbeard”. Other thinks that the treasure was buried at Oak Island by the Knights Templar when they went underground in the early 1300s. According to some, the British buried their imperial treasures on nearby Oak Island to keep them out of the hands of American revolutionaries after claiming a naval base in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Oak Island has long exuded mystery. From its early discovery, it was the only land in the area covered in red oak trees. Because a black ant infestation largely destroyed the oaks in the 1800s. Now the island is covered mostly by spruce trees and shrubs. During an early dig expedition, a stone discovered 90 feet deep bore a mysterious inscription that one decoder interpreted to read, “Ten feet below two million lies buried.” Island lore includes tales of hauntings and eerie lights—and a widespread prediction that no treasure will be found until seven treasure seekers have died trying to find it. The current amount stands at six.

The first survey of the island which is about one mile long by less than a half-mile wide took place from 1762 and 1765. It was divided up into 32 four-acre lots. A 1776 map by British cartographer J.F.W. Des Barres called it Gloucester isle. Now people use the name “Oak Island” because it was used on land-transfer deeds even before that time.

Most reports credit discovery of the island’s “Money Pit” the focal point of the treasure hunt, as having occurred in 1795, when teenager Daniel McGinnis and two friends rowed to the island for a little exploration and came across a large depression in the ground. McGinnis thought this unusual-looking area signaled a pirate treasure hiding place. Mahone Bay, after all had been a notorious pirate haven during the 17th and early 18th centuries.

According to O’Connor, the teens uncovered a shaft. As the teens continued to dig they came across oak logs, flagstones and wooden platforms placed at 10-foot intervals. “They had launched what would become the world’s longest and most expensive treasure hunt,” O’Connor wrote.

The three eventually purchased land on Oak Island and did a lot of work but in the following year’s they had to sell. Eventually in 2006 Brother’s Rick and Marty bought Oak Island. Soon after around 2014 History channel started a tv show about. It wasn’t long till the brother found manmade structures that pre-date the Money Pit, evidence of wooden casks, a gemstone brooch dating to the 16th century, a Spanish coin from the 1650s and a 14th-century lead cross, among others.

Over the years, a variety of artifacts discovered on the island have come to light, some of which have since been carbon-dated and determined to be hundreds of years old. No major treasure has ever been discovered yet they get closer every year.