In this week’s episode, “SINKING IN”, the show began as the Oak Island team continued their operation in the MONEY PIT area. The oscillator continued to put down the TB-1 Caisson to a depth of 90 Feet where the soil appeared to be soft, and the team believed they may have encountered a void. The focus then shifted to the NORTH SWAMP area where the Oak Island team continued their exploration. Several pieces of pottery were discovered, one looked like a handle of a jug. The team had been following the Stone Path, but they no longer saw that it continued. The team also reached the end of the area for which they had a permit from the Provincial Government. It was decided to end the exploration at that point.
The action then took us back to the MONEY PIT area, where the Oak Island team continued their operation. The Oscillator grinded down to a depth of 100 Feet and the Hammer Grab started to pull up wood from a depth of 110 Feet. These appeared to be short timbers that would indicate a tunnel. The wood had no metal in it, so the team believed it was older. Within the wood, there appeared to be dowels holding pieces together. One piece appeared to have three lines that the team interpreted as roman numerals. This was compared to the U-Shaped structure at Smith’s Cove and the roman numerals found on wood there. The team felt this could be from original cribbing of the Money Pit and was the oldest wood they have seen. The oscillator proceeded down to 117 Feet.
We were then taken to the WAR ROOM, where the Oak Island team met with researchers, Scott Clarke and John Edwards. They presented information regarding the comparison of the square feature that was found at the NORTH SWAMP and what was depicted in the FLX 157 SKETCH that Edwards presented in Season 11. Their conclusion was that because both features were square and located in the same general area, it must validate that the sketch as legitimate. After thorough analysis, This writer determined last season that the sketch has problems. One being that the ink used in the sketch is from a ballpoint pen, first produced in the 1940’s, and not a quill in this writer’s opinion. This indicates a more modern rendering. Also, the inclusion of what appears to be New Ross Castle which is obscured on the screen, which again was a modern invention that was a theory first put forth in the 1970’s. Please see our Analysis for more information regarding this presentation.
The action then shifted to the LOT 5 area, where the Oak Island team continued their excavation of the perimeter of the Stone Foundation. Metal detectorist Gary Drayton began working the area which consisted of many flags that indicated previous hits from metal detecting. Gary mentioned that there were a lot of rocks in this area, as he registered a hit on his detector. Gary became excited when he noticed an object on a rock. Jack Begley became so excited that he grabbed his face in anticipation, although it was revealed not to be the Holy Grail, but a copper nail. Gary remained excited and mentioned that he had seen these types of nails previously and they were associated with ships. Not long after, another copper nail was discovered in the same area. The nails were bagged and tagged and sent to Emma in the Lab or further analysis.
The scene then shifted to the LAB, where the Oak Island team met with Blacksmith Carmen Legge to get his opinion on the two nails found on Lot 5. Upon inspection, Carmen said he believed they were sheathing nails that would have been used on the hull of boats. He asked what the chemical composition of the nails were to help him date them. This seemed to be an unusual request for Carmen. Archeometallurgist, Emma Culligan used the XRF scanner on the nails and determined they were made of a bronze alloy with lead and arsenic. She stated that they were from the 1700’s. Carmen followed this up with a narrower dating of 1720-1760. This is interesting because it mirrored the dating of last week’s iron pin. This led to Jack Begley asking if this could be from the Knights of Malta, who appear to have taken the Knights Templar’s place as possible suspects of burying treasure of Oak Island. Please see the Analysis.
The action then took us to the MONEY PIT area, where the work continued. The Oscillator reached a depth of 160 feet when it appeared that it encountered an obstruction, which slowed down the speed of the TB-1 Caisson being installed. The action quickly shifted to the WASH PLANT area where Charles Barkhouse was in charge of the operation. Leather, from what appears to be from a shoe and a piece of what was identified by Charles as possible “Concrete” was show to Marty Lagina. Both objects will be analyzed at the Lab for further information.
The episode concluded back at the MONEY PIT, where at the depth of 160 Feet, the Oscillator hit an obstruction. After the Oscillator passed the obstruction, some of the team noticed tremors and it was revealed that the area being oscillated was “caving in”. The team was concerned with a catastrophic cave in and everyone’s safety. Vanessa Lucinda of ROC Equipment was asked about how they should proceed, and she stated that they would backfill the area and move ahead slowly and with caution. It should be noted that previous work in this area in history became so dangerous due to the instability of the ground that work was halted. One must ask if this endeavor is worth the risk of a catastrophic cave in and possible lives being lost?
ANALYSIS: During the War Room presentation, Theorists Scott Clarke and John Edwards suggested that biblical treasures were buried on Oak Island due to some books and a picture out of another book that Edwards acquired in 2019. The picture from the book, which Edwards does not have possession of, is the FLX 157 Sketch that the Compendium feels is a modern-day forgery as cited earlier in this article. Another book showed illustrations of what was interpreted by Edwards and Clarke as the Menorah and Ark of the Covenant. In another book the underlined letters of John Easson launched their research into Easson’s Masonic membership in the first masonic lodge in Nova Scotia at Annapolis Royal. Somehow this was all tenuously tied together by a painting in that lodge of what was called, “A Templar Tent” which apparently suggested the burying of biblical treasures on Oak Island. It was intimated that the Knights of Malta may have been responsible for this as Templar descendants and cited Issac de Razilly as a possible suspect. Aside from the obvious concerns, there are questions involving this painting. First, it is unknown when and by whom the painting was created but appears to be from the 1800’s. Razilly was in Nova Scotia about 200 years before this and founded Fort La Have, which is some distance from Oak Island.
While most of the presentation seemed to be quite a stretch of the imagination, one part is worthy of further investigation. This is the decrypted identity of John Easson. Easson and his business partner, Daniel Dyson, were Freemasons and merchants. It is quite clear that both men were involved with the smuggling of goods that generated large taxes by the British Crown. This was a common occurrence during the 1700’s into the 1800’s. It is also apparent that these men were involved with Oak Island Lot owners and other smugglers that used Oak Island as a smuggling hiding place. Easson can be tied to Founding Father and signer of the Declaration of Independence John Hancock. Hancock inherited his fortune from his uncle, Thomas Hancock and was his protégé. Thomas Hancock was business partners with Charles Apthorpe and their company, Apthorpe and Sons, had a large land grant in Chester, Nova Scotia. This can be shown by a legitimate map of Chester Township from 1761. This also happens to be the first known map of Oak Island, showing amazing accuracy. For some reason, this information is deemed unworthy to be presented by the show, which is quite mind-boggling. The goal should be to investigate and identify the truth about Oak Island, instead of focusing on what creates better ratings in this writer’s opinion.
Please follow our weekly episode analyses during the season, along with articles from the original “Compendium/Blockhouse Blog”, and special investigations and features involving Oak Island. Feel free to reach out to us for questions, comments, information and any theories to our email, theoakislandcompendium@gmail.com
Good day from Daniel of the Compendium!