I've mentioned in a previous post that with every question answered, two more questions take its place. The same may even be said of every step made towards the treasure; whenever the team comes closer to advancing underground, something -- a curse perhaps? -- always attempts to thwart their efforts.
RUNDOWN This week's episode, "Straight as an Arrow," begins with further investigations of the northern region of the swamp. Last week, the team uncovered a boulder within the vicinity of where researcher John Edwards theorized to be a Sefirot of the Kabbala Tree of Life (see my previous post for more details). Along with the boulder, Billy Gerhardt uncovered a rock-lined depression, a feature that was certainly man-made. Geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner confirmed that the aforementioned boulder was intentionally put there and that the swamp was artificially manipulated. Later in the episode, lead archaeologist Laird Niven also concluded that the swamp is not a naturally made feature. The stones and boulder were put in place at a time when the landscape was not a swamp. The uncovering of more tree stumps is indicative of this since such trees cannot grow in a swampy environment. Surveyor Steve Guptill notes that the elevation of this feature matches that of previously uncovered stone paths which date to the 13th century. Rick Lagina and historian Doug Crowell drive up to Halifax to meet with Eric Wroclawski whose father, Paul Wroclawski, was an Oak Island researcher. Wroclawski presented Lagina and Crowell with an artifact found on Oak Island in the 1960s by treasure hunter Robert Dunfield. Crowell notes that the artifact could be part of a crossbow, suggesting it is medieval. More research will be made on the artifact to identify what it is, where it originated, and how old it is. Last week, there was good news and bad news regarding further excavation of the Garden Shaft and a possible adjacent tunnel. This week, there are still good news and bad news. The bad news is that water continues to flood into the Shaft and poses a danger to its structural integrity. While such an obstacle is new to the Fellowship of the Dig, it is certainly nothing new overall as it was a hurdle no team before could clear. Hopefully, the Fellowship will be able to. The good news is that Dumas Contracting, Ltd. can pump the water low enough to probe for an offset chamber at a depth of 50 feet. Rounding up the episode was a War Room meeting with researchers Corjan Mol, Emiliano Sacchetti, and Judi Rudebusch whose investigations point to new evidence connecting the Old World with Oak Island. Rick and Marty Lagina plan a trip to Italy and the Netherlands to follow up on the researchers' leads and finally answer the who, what, where, when, how, and why of Oak Island. CONCLUSION It is unfortunate that the Garden Shaft has become flooded. The salinity of the water no doubt indicates it is coming in from the ocean which leads to the possibility of the conduit being a flood tunnel, a design of the original Money Pit to protect the treasures buried at the bottom. A nearby void was discovered at a depth of 50 feet, leading Marty Lagina to believe that the treasure is actually located in a hidden offset chamber. This makes a lot of sense to me. Just the fact of someone digging over 100 feet deep and constructing a system of flood tunnels -- all at a time before mechanical equipment, mind you -- tells me that whatever they had hidden away was of great value to them and they did not want anyone else to find it. Why else would they go through such an endeavor? If the treasure was that valuable, would it not make further sense to secure it in an offset area where potential thieves would not think to look and instead continue to follow a labyrinth of shafts and tunnels? Comment and share your thoughts. Thank you for reading!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorJonathan Archives
May 2024
Categories |