'The Curse Of Oak Island' Season 8: Pirates to Knights Templar, all the treasures said to be buried on the island
It has been over 200 years and scholars are still trying to get to the bottom of the Oak Island mystery. In the past eight years, History Channel's 'The Curse Of Oak Island' has emerged with several theories of what lies in the murky depths of the island and while many of them sound far-fetched and extravagant, others sound quite probable and convincing.
The Lagina brothers and the team have been working on the island for the past eight years and are sure that there are more than several treasure troves buried here. Here are some of the theories:
Pirate treasure
This is probably the most exciting theory. According to this strong speculation, Oak Island is the site of the buried treasure of a 17th Century pirate named Captain Kidd. Local legend has it that a dying sailor on Kidd’s crew claimed that $2.6 million (£2 million) worth of treasure was buried on the island. Treasure hunters in the 19th Century discovered a large stone from the mythical Money Pit that contained symbolic inscriptions said to read, “Forty feet below, two million pounds lie buried.”
Spanish treasure
Dave Blankenship spearheaded this theory: He believed that a 16th Century Spanish galleon, filled with gold from the Americas, had to stop at Oak Island due to bad weather. The crew buried their treasure here, as they expected to return on with a more stable ship. However, it is expected that they never returned.
Shakespeare's manuscripts
Here's another thing that people believe. Could Shakespeare's manuscripts be buried here? It is said that Francis Bacon was the one behind his genius and that the original works could be at the bottom of the Money Pit.
The Knights Templar treasure
This is possibly a favorite. The religious military order known as the Knights Templar had acquired a vast treasure that holds the Holy Grail and the Ark Of The Covenant. There has been much Templar symbolism on the island, including the discovery of the lead cross that led to this strong belief that the Templars buried their treasure here. In the past few episodes of Season 8, the Laginas have been calling in experts to give more fuel to this theory.
Marie Antoinette's jewels
During the French Revolution, Queen Marie-Antoinette is said to have instructed her lady-in-waiting to take her jewels and flee. Many believe that the maid fled to Nova Scotia with the help of royal connections, and constructed the Money Pit to bury the jewels here.
Fort Louisbourg
Fort Louisbourg was a Nova Scotian French fort which fell to the British after a siege in the mid 18th Century. The Money Pit on Oak Island is speculated to be French and naval in style. Many researchers argued that it contains treasure from the fort which was taken out before the French surrendered to the British.
Freemason artifacts
There are symbols and markings in and around the Money Pit that fuelled the theory that the Money Pit is a Masonic secret vault created by the Freemasons.
Chinese treasure
The Fellowship had discovered a Chinese coin on the island, thanks to Gary Drayton and Jack Begley. Could this mean that the Chinese buried treasure here too?
The possibilities and theories are endless. Tune into 'The Curse Of Oak Island', which airs on History Channel. Tuesdays at 9 pm for more.