While the Laginas begin to power up for a new assault on the treasure hidden beneath Oak Island, a new theory about the Money Pit has been revealed. Joy Steele, in her book, The Oak Island Mystery Solved, has provided an interesting idea. According to her, there is no treasure, never had been, and the alleged Money Pit is nothing more than a tar kiln, used in the early 18th century to produce material to repair ships. And, given what has been found on the island by the Laginas and some of those others, this does make some sense.
According to the history, back in the early eighteenth century, the British received their naval stores from Sweden which apparently included tar. But that supply was cut off and the British looked to their colonies in the new world to replace that source. They induced colonists in the Carolinas to create the tar kilns because of the dense pine forests (Can you say Tar Heels?). It would seem on my quick research that they built dozens of these kilns in the Carolinas, but it seems they also built them up and down the east coast of North America.
The question becomes, “Would they have built tar kilns on Oak Island?”
I have learned that pine trees are considered resinous trees, but oaks are not. They don’t produce resin when cut or “injured” which makes them good for furniture, cabinets and fire wood. Pines do produce the resin which can be rendered to tar which makes them bad for furniture and fire wood.
Would the British have established a camp on Oak Island and used it to produce tar? Well, oak trees aren’t any good for that, but there are pine trees in Nova Scotia. Would Oak Island have been a place where the British would build these kilns even if the pine trees were not in abundance on the island?
We know there was a British camp on the island. That was established by those guys the Laginas brought in and who, using metal detectors, found British coins and other debris that suggested a camp. So, there was a British presence on the island that predates the discovery of the Money Pit. And remember that the residents of Nova Scotia reported seeing lights on the island in the early eighteenth century.
I don’t know all that much about sailing ships of the eighteenth century, but it would seem that docking at an island for repairs might have been simpler than sailing all the way to the mainland (and yes, I know it’s not all that far, but the tides and depth of water might have made it somewhat problematic). That might also explain the artificial nature of that swamp that the Laginas are always attempting to drain, might explain some of the debris found in the swamp, and might explain why some believed that a ship had been scuttled in the area. It would might also explain the artificial beaches, the coconut fiber and the alleged coffer dam.
I also know that some of you might say, “Yes, but what about that stone with the strange carvings found 90 feet down in the Money Pit?”
I would say, “I believe that was created as an inducement for selling stock in another attempt to penetrate the Money Pit. They could say that they had found this plaque proving that there was a huge fortune just a few feet down. Buy stock in my company to recover it.” I would note that no treasure has been found a few feet below where it is the alleged stone was found.
There are those out there who will complain about this debunking of the Money Pit, but I have to say that you need to follow the evidence. The Laginas have provided some of that evidence from their searches. They have found coins on the surface, have pulled iron nails out of the swamp that suggest they had been using on sailing ships, and they have found evidence of lots of tunnels… but they have found absolutely nothing to suggests there is a treasure hidden anywhere on the island.
For those interested in seeing the other side of the coin, might I suggest you take a look at Joy Steele’s book, The Oak Island Mystery Solved, which can be found in many places including Amazon at: