Oh ... and there's this ...

They carbon dated the wood taken from the platforms blocking the pit. They dated at 1575 plus or minus 80 years.

FAX

Awesome, more circumstantial stuff that links us Masons to conspiracies involving treasure troves and related cover ups. Just when I thought Dan Brown couldn't make us out to be more than we really are, this happens. Yay!

On the lost colony of Roanoke subject, CROATOAN is the key to that puzzle. Either they got absorbed that tribe, but more likely is that they got wiped out by another tribe or possibly the Croatoans themselves.

I'm lucky I didn't fall in

Oh ... here's something else ... (you'll really appreciate this one, Mr. J-Town Fan 1988) ...

According to ancient manuscripts associated with Rennes Le Chateau, the Merovingians were not wiped out by the Carolingians under the direction of Pope Zachary.

Instead, some of the lineage survived and sought protection from the Sinclairs of Scotland who were the hereditary lords of Rosslyn Chapel and descended from the Scots Guards (a group loyal to the Stuart dynasty and members of the Templar Order who fought with Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn). These Scottish Templars took responsibility for what remained of the Merovingians and their secrets.

According to Michael Bradley, some of these Templars came to the New World long before Columbus - fleeing to Canada after the dissolution of their order - carrying the Grail. This is evidenced by the 15th Century Venetian "Zeno Map" which shows a Templar Knight with a sword standing where Nova Scotia is.

Therefore, the Money Pit could well contain the Grail ... or proof of its location ... hidden there to protect it from the Carolingians, the Pope, and the Holy Roman Empire.

FAX

I read about this back when I was in High School. I always thought it must contain something because who would seriously dig down so deep just for a prank? I'm kind of surprised that noone has gotten down there yet.

The solution is clear. We must drain the Atlantic ocean....

I've read about this a few years back. I think the piece of wood that claimed treasure was down there was supposedly found by a guy who then said he lost it somehow, so they don't know if that actually existed. But it's a really cool story. A lot of money's been spent digging there.

Read a story about this in Rolling Stone some years ago. It had more detail though. If I remember right, it said the shaft filled with water b/c there was a hole dug horizontally to the sea. Also, it said something about the beach itself may have been man made. The ground was completely lined with palm leaves and covered with sand. Very cool stuff.

I had since looked for a copy of that story, unsuccessfully of course. Chiefsplanet amazes me again, the story I could never find pops up out of nowhere. Good stuff FAX.

The place I read it was a book called The Best of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader which has a bunch of strange stories like this. Oak Island is one of the longer ones. There's also one about a Frenchman called La Petomaine who could fart on command, fart songs and blow out candles with farts, who played to packed houses in France.

Here's a website regarding Oak Island

http://www.oakislandtreasure.co.uk/c...page/Itemid,1/

This was on the History channel the other day. Some believe the ark of the covenant is down there. It said 6 people have died trying to excavate over the years. Lots of money has been spent trying to get to the bottom.

Yeah, I left out the part where the flooding was due to a booby trap. My bad. But, you're right ... whoever dug the original hole also dug another horizontal shaft that connected the ocean to the pit at approximately the 110 foot level. The idea was that, when someone dug down that far, they would uncover the flood shaft and the whole thing would get swamped with water discouraging the thieves. And, it worked.

I mean, who would go to all that trouble if there were nothing at the bottom of the pit? I think there's something down there. Something very cool.

FAX

Jason sought the Golden Fleece, Mr. Hog Farmer. Who knows? Maybe the Golden Hog Jizz is down there?????

One of the biggest problems now (there's a new excavation effort going on as we speak) is that there have been so many efforts over the years that it's difficult to know just exactly where the original pit was. I've seen some photos of past digs and the crazy bastards had the entire island practically dug up.

Another bad thing is that, as I mentioned, the island is only 35 feet above sea level at its highest point ... presumably much higher when the treasure was buried ... so digging down to the level they need to reach is extremely difficult due to flooding.

One researcher who seems to be pretty bright has suggested that the "map stone" was incorrectly translated and actually points to the fact that the real treasure is on an adjacent island. He says that this pit is just a decoy that held the map stone and that's it.

FAX

This is old news, In Search Of covered this in like 1977. :clap:

I think you're talking about the "map stone", Mr. blaise. And, you're right, it's missing now. However (and this is really important), the map stone was found and its contents copied very early on ... well before any thought would have been given to hoaxing the deal. At that time they found it, they probably believed the treasure was just another spade length further down. Keep in mind that they were still finding these "platforms" of oak and coconut and putty and flagstone all the way down to 60/70 feet. These platforms were obviously man made and placed there for a reason ... either to dissuade treasure hunters or protect the treasure.

I think the map stone is legit. I'm not so sure about some of the other engraved stones in the area. They could well have been done by laborers or tourists.

FAX