One would assume that with each discovery made, another question is answered. As any Acorn (fan of The Curse of Oak Island) would know, that is not the case regarding the titular island. Every discovery made on the island asks more questions than it answers. This week's episode, "May the Norse Be With You," has asked one of the biggest questions the Fellowship has ever faced.
RUNDOWN The possibility of a Viking-Templar connection was first posited in last week's episode and addressed in my Season 11 Episode 17 post. Investigating this collaboration has brought researcher Dr. Doug Symons to the War Room to share his findings. He points out that the Vikings were active in L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, which is northeast of Oak Island, in 1000 AD. Interestingly, Vikings were present in the Holy Land in 1110 AD and interacted with the Knight Templar. This was during the time of the First Crusade, and as legend goes, the Templars recovered holy relics including the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, and King Solomon's Menorah. Research suggests that the Templars came to Oak Island to secure their treasure, but perhaps they were not alone; perhaps they were accompanied by the Vikings. With the Vikings' knowledge of North America and their seafaring and navigational skills, I say it is not only possible, but true. Note my observation from my previous "Oak Island Rundown" post in which I suggest that the Vikings could have constructed some of the stone features on the island, particularly the stone triangle which archaeoastronomer Prof. Adriano Gaspani said could only have been built by someone knowledgeable in both astronomy and geometry, i.e. a navigator. While every discovery is exciting, the Viking-Templar connection is one of my favorites! Blacksmith expert Carmen Legge met with members of the Fellowship to analyze two iron artifacts discovered by metal detection expert Gary Drayton at the bottom of the Garden Shaft. He concluded that they date between the late-1400s to the mid-1700s. This timeframe further suggests the Shaft's construction of pre-1795, the year Daniel McGinnis and companions first discovered the Money Pit. Speaking of the Garden Shaft, representatives from Dumas Contracting, Ltd. had recovered the wooden planks found at the bottom of the Shaft, approximately 100 feet deep. The planks were surmised to be the top of the tunnel the team had detected, but as it would appear, such a tunnel may have collapsed or filled in. Regardless, the team will continue to investigate. Excavating in the southeast corner of the triangle-shape swamp, Billy Gerhardt uncovered a wooden structure. He theorized this could be the same wooden feature discovered 30+ years earlier by the late Oak Island treasure hunter and landowner Fred Nolan. It was Nolan who posited that this area was dammed to create the swamp in an attempt to hide something. The who, what, and when remain to be seen, but at the rate the Fellowship is going, those questions may soon be answered. Geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner suggested that the feature could also have been used for the loading and unloading of ships. CONCLUSION The timeline of the history of the activity on Oak Island is broad, encompassing a range of 500 years if not more. The timeline of the history of uncovering the island's secrets dates back 229 years to 1795. Before, we could only speculate to the best of our knowledge who was on the island, what their business entailed, why they came to the island, etc. Now, though there are still many questions to be answered, the pieces are beginning to come together, questions are being answered, and the missing pages of history are being restored. With faith and determination, no storm, no expense, and no curse can stand in the way of Rick and Marty Lagina and their whole Fellowship and the adventurers who came before them.
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