Oak Island Treasure Pit: The Greatest Unsolved Pirate Mysteries Ever Told

Not only do you have this description in the newspaper, which we now see in front of us, find the money pit, understand what’s there, and hopefully retrieve an island shrouded in mist.

A pit carved deep into the earth and a mystery that has claimed fortunes and lives.

Oak Island’s treasure pit is not just a buried secret. It may be a curse.

For more than 200 years, explorers have descended into its dark depths, searching for pirate gold, ancient artifacts, and long-lost secrets.

Instead, they found collapsing tunnels, sudden floods, and a trail of unexplained tragedies.

According to legend, the treasure will never be uncovered. Not until seven people have died. And eerily, the count is already close.

What lies beneath Oak Island? A pirate king’s hidden fortune, a forbidden relic, or something far more dangerous than gold?

Tonight, we peel back the layers of one of the world’s darkest and most haunting unsolved pirate mysteries.

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The story begins in 1795 when a young boy named Daniel McInness discovered a peculiar depression in the ground while exploring the island.

This discovery marked the beginning of what would become known as the Oak Island Money Pit.

Fascinated by the possibility of hidden treasure, McInness returned with two friends and they began to dig.

Just a few feet down, they encountered a layer of flagstones, an unusual find that only fueled their curiosity.

As they continued to dig, they discovered wooden platforms every 10 ft. These layers were meticulously constructed, suggesting that someone had gone to great lengths to bury something deep within the earth.

The deeper they dug, the more complex the pit seemed, with layers of logs, charcoal, putty, and coconut fibers, materials not native to the area, further adding to the mystery.

The first significant excavation attempt was made in 1804 by the Enslow Company.

They dug down to a depth of 90 ft and found a mysterious stone inscribed with symbols.

While the exact translation of these symbols remains debated, it is widely believed to hint at a treasure buried below.

However, as they dug further, the pit flooded with water, halting their progress.

Despite numerous attempts to pump out the water, the pit seemed to be ingeniously designed to thwart treasure hunters.

One of the most intriguing aspects of the Oak Island mystery is the alleged booby traps that flood the pit.

It is believed that the original diggers created a series of flood tunnels leading from nearby Smith’s Cove, designed to fill the pit with seawater if disturbed.

This theory was supported by the discovery of coconut fibers and remnants of a drainage system in Smith’s Cove, suggesting a sophisticated engineering feat aimed at protecting whatever lies below.

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, numerous expeditions attempted to solve the Oak Island mystery.

In the 1860s, the Truro Company dug a parallel shaft to bypass the flood tunnels, but their efforts were also thwarted by water.

In the 1890s, the Oak Island Treasure Company used drilling rigs to probe the pit, allegedly finding traces of gold metal, and even what appeared to be a piece of parchment with the letters “thigh” written on it.

These tantalizing clues only deepened the intrigue.

The 20th century saw renewed interest in the Oak Island mystery with several high-profile attempts to uncover its secrets.

One of the most notable was the exploration by Robert Ristol and his family in the 1950s and ’60s.

Tragically, Restall and several others died in an accident while attempting to dig the pit, adding to the lore that the treasure is cursed.

Despite this setback, interest in the island continued to grow.

In the 1960s, a syndicate led by Dan Blankenship and David Tobias took over the search, employing modern technology and heavy machinery.

They discovered a man-made shaft known as borehole 10X, which reached depths of over 200 ft.

At the bottom of this shaft, they reportedly found evidence of wooden structures, tools, and even a human hand.

However, due to the dangerous conditions, they were unable to retrieve definitive proof.

The legend of Oak Island has inspired countless theories about what might be hidden beneath its surface.

Some people are convinced that it contains pirate treasure, possibly the long-lost riches of the notorious Captain Kid, who was known to roam the surrounding waters.

Others suspect the buried fortune could be the missing treasure of the Knights Templar, secretly stashed away to keep it from being seized.

There are even ideas suggesting that the mysterious pit might hold priceless historical writings such as lost Shakespeare manuscripts or unprinted works by Francis Bacon.

Modern investigations haven’t slowed down, especially with the History Channel’s The Curse of Oak Island bringing fresh attention, funding, and technology to the search.

Brothers Rick and Marty Lagina have poured major resources into high-tech equipment like sonar mapping, seismic testing, and sophisticated drilling rigs.

Over the years, they’ve uncovered a wide range of intriguing items, including ancient coins, human remains, and objects older than the documented history of the island itself.

Yet, even with all these discoveries, the ultimate treasure, if it truly exists, still lies beyond reach.

One of the most captivating findings in recent years involved the excavation of the island’s swamp.

The Lagina brothers and their crew partially drained the swamp and uncovered a stone causeway and wooden constructions, which some experts think might be the remains of an old wharf or dock.

This surprising discovery hints that whoever hid the treasure may have used the swamp as a route for moving heavy cargo, adding even more complexity to Oak Island’s layout and deepening the enigma surrounding it.

Olivier Levasur’s cryptogram.

Olivier Levasur, famously nicknamed Leuse or the Buzzard, was a feared pirate whose story is tied to one of the most legendary unsolved riddles in pirate history.

A coded message believed to point the way to his hidden treasure.

Levasur’s life mixed legitimate privateering with outright piracy, and his legacy continues to fascinate treasure seekers around the globe.

Levasur’s career started during the War of the Spanish Succession, which took place between 1701 and 1714.

King Louis XIV granted him a letter of marque allowing him to operate as a privateer—essentially a pirate backed by the state.

With this license to attack enemy vessels, Levasur quickly earned a fierce reputation thanks to his boldness and strategic skill.

But like many privateers after the war, he eventually abandoned legality and slipped fully into piracy.

One of his most legendary achievements was the capture of the Portuguese galleon Nossa Senhora do Cabo, also called Our Lady of the Cape.

This enormous ship carried a massive treasure haul including gold bars, silver, jewels, pearls, fine silks, and sacred artifacts from Goa’s cathedral.

Among these items was the famous fiery cross of Goa—a massive gold cross studded with diamonds, emeralds, and rubies, so heavy that three men had to lift it onto Levasur’s vessel.

The treasure was so vast that every pirate on the crew walked away wealthy, with Levasur claiming the biggest portion.

But despite his enormous fortune, Levasur’s fate eventually caught up with him.

He turned down a 1724 offer of amnesty from the French government, refusing to hand over a share of his riches and instead hid out in the isles.

In time, he was seized near Fort Dofair in Madagascar and transported to Réunion Island, where he was executed by hanging on July 7th, 1730.

According to legend, just before he died, Levasur tossed a necklace containing a mysterious cryptogram into the gathered crowd and shouted, “Find my treasure, the one who may understand it.”

This coded message, made up of 17 lines of symbols, supposedly reveals the location of his secret hoard.

The earliest known reference to the cryptogram appeared in a 1934 book written by French historian Charles Dearonier.

The coded message, described as a pig pen cipher, uses a symbolic grid system where shapes take the place of letters.

Even though countless people have tried to crack it, including years of effort from English researcher Reginald Cruz Wilkins, the exact spot of Levasur’s hidden treasure remains unknown.

Cruz Wilkins dedicated decades of his life to studying the cryptogram, firmly believing it was rooted in Masonic symbolism and tied to layers of mythological and astrological meaning.

He suggested that the treasure was concealed in a way that required the puzzle solver to complete a sequence of challenges mirroring the 12 labors of Hercules.

His tireless investigations pushed him to examine several locations across Mahé, where he uncovered items such as antique rifles and scattered coins.

But the treasure itself continued to evade him.

Reginald’s son, John Cruz Wilkins, picked up where his father left off and has carried the mission into the present day.

He is convinced that he is closer than ever to uncovering the treasure, having pinpointed what he believes is a specific cavern that matches the clues.

Yet, reaching this cavern is incredibly dangerous, involving flooded passageways, hidden hazards, and possibly even built-in traps.

Despite all of this, John remains resolute, relying on both advanced modern tools and classic investigative techniques to advance the search.

Still, the legitimacy of the cryptogram is heavily disputed.

Some historians argue that the entire story is simply too sensational to accept, especially given the nearly 200-year gap between Levasur’s execution and the cryptogram’s first appearance in the 1930s.

There are also inconsistencies found in various translations of the cipher.

Some sections resemble jumbled recipes or old-fashioned folk remedies more than actual directions pointing to a treasure site.

The mystery deepened even further with the discovery of two separate versions of the cryptogram.

The first version, which became known in the 1930s, has been the center of study for decades.

The second, appearing in more recent years, includes additional symbols and extra lines that were not part of the original.

This newer version has raised even more questions, leading to debates over whether the first was incomplete or whether the second is a forgery created to mislead treasure hunters.

Some researchers even suspect the second cryptogram might be entirely modern.

Although countless theories and decoding attempts have been proposed, the real meaning of the cryptogram has yet to be truly uncovered.

Some explorers insist that Levasur’s treasure is buried somewhere on Réunion Island, while others argue that the Seychelles or even nearby Madagascar are more likely candidates.

The legend continues to spark curiosity and fuel the imaginations of adventurers who dream of being the one to finally break Levasur’s code.

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Anne Bonnie’s disappearance.

Born around 1700 near Cork, Ireland, Anne Bonnie was the daughter of attorney William Cormack and his servant Mary Brennan.

To escape the scandal surrounding their relationship, Cormack moved the family to Charles Town, what is now Charleston, South Carolina, where he eventually built a strong reputation as a prosperous merchant.

Anne’s rebellious streak showed itself early in her life.

Known for her fiery personality, she reportedly stabbed a maid at just 13 years old.

By age 16, she married James Bonnie, a minor pirate, despite her father’s strong objections, an act that cost her his inheritance.

Searching for a new start, Anne and James traveled to Nassau in the Bahamas, which at the time had become a bustling pirate refuge known as the Republic of Pirates.

It was in Nassau that Anne met the pirate John “Calico Jack” Rackham.

Disappointed with her husband, who had become an informant for the local governor, Anne fell in love with Rackham and joined his pirate crew while disguised as a man.

Alongside another female pirate, Mary Read, Anne became well known for her fearlessness, combat skills, and willingness to fight as fiercely as any of the men on board.

Anne and Mary often battled shoulder-to-shoulder with the crew, dressed in men’s clothing, and their bravery became a defining part of their legend.

In October 1720, however, Rackham’s crew was overtaken by pirate hunter Jonathan Barnet.

Most of the crew, including Rackham himself, were too intoxicated to fight back, but Anne and Mary continued resisting with ferocity until they were finally subdued.

The captured pirates were transported to Jamaica, where Rackham and several others were quickly executed.

Anne and Mary avoided immediate execution by pleading the belly, claiming they were pregnant.

English law prohibited the execution of pregnant women, so both received temporary stays.

Mary Read eventually died in prison, likely from fever.

But Anne Bonnie’s later life is wrapped in uncertainty.

No official documentation records her execution, her release, or her death, which has led to a wide range of theories about her fate.

One belief is that she escaped prison, possibly aided by her influential father, and lived the remainder of her life hidden away in anonymity.

Another theory suggests that she was quietly released and returned to Charles Town to rebuild her life under a different name.

Parish records from 1733 list the death of an Anne Bonnie in Jamaica.

But whether this entry refers to the legendary pirate remains a mystery.

Adding to the intrigue, some legends claim that Anne became the mistress of a former pirate named Robert Fenwick and lived with him near Charleston.

Stories suggest that she even ran away with another man, but was persuaded to return to Fenwick, who then ensured her lover was hanged.

Despite these tales, the truth about Anne Bonnie’s later life remains elusive, making her disappearance one of the enduring mysteries of pirate history.

The accounts of Anne Bonnie, largely derived from Captain Charles Johnson’s A General History of the Pirates, blend fact and fiction, complicating efforts to discern the true events of her life.

Johnson’s work, possibly penned by Daniel Defoe, is known for its mix of accurate historical detail and imaginative storytelling.

This blend has cemented Anne Bonnie’s place in pirate lore, but also left many questions unanswered.

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William Kidd’s hidden treasure.

William Kidd, better known as Captain Kid, was a 17th-century Scottish sailor who turned to piracy and left behind one of the most enduring mysteries in pirate lore: the location of his hidden treasure.

Born around 1654 in Scotland, Kidd started his maritime career as a privateer—a private ship owner authorized by a government to attack enemy ships.

However, his transition from a respected privateer to a feared pirate and his eventual execution have fueled centuries of speculation about the whereabouts of his fabled treasure.

Kid’s most infamous exploit was the capture of the Qued Merchant in January 1698.

The ship, laden with valuable goods such as gold, silver, silks, and satins, was owned by Armenian merchants and was under French passes, making it a legitimate target in Kidd’s eyes.

However, this act was deemed piracy by the British authorities, and Kidd was declared an outlaw.

He attempted to return to New York to clear his name but was arrested and sent to England for trial.

During his trial, Kidd claimed to have hidden a treasure worth £40,000, but rumors suggested it could be as much as £400,000.

He promised to retrieve this treasure and hand it over if he were spared, but these pleas were ignored.

He was found guilty of piracy and the murder of a crew member named William Moore, and was executed in 1701.

After his execution, his body was displayed in a gibbet over the River Thames as a warning to other would-be pirates.

One of the earliest major discoveries connected to Kidd’s treasure happened soon after his arrest.

Authorities recovered a cache of gold and valuables worth around £20,000 on Gardiner’s Island, located just off Long Island, New York.

Kidd had entrusted this stash to the island’s owner, Jonathan Gardiner, who later cooperated with officials to hand it over.

The find only fueled growing speculation that Kidd had hidden even more treasure in various secret places over the years.

Many potential hiding spots for Kidd’s remaining treasure have been suggested.

Several of the strongest theories point to the New Jersey coastline: Cape May, with its reliable freshwater springs, and the mouth of the Toms River, known for offering safe shelter from harsh ocean storms, are commonly mentioned.

Money Island near Sandy Hook is one of the most famous sites—17th-century Spanish gold coins have been uncovered there.

Another key location is Duck Pond, today called Treasure Lake, where more gold coins have also surfaced.

The hunt for Kidd’s treasure has expanded far beyond American shores.

In more recent times, interest has shifted toward the Indian Ocean, especially the waters around Madagascar.

In 2015, marine archaeologist Barry Clifford announced that he had discovered a 50 kg silver bar from Kidd’s vessel, the Adventure Galley, near St. Marie Island.

Clifford’s team recovered the bar while examining a shipwreck they believed belonged to Kidd.

The discovery sparked excitement and renewed hope that more treasure might be found.

However, the authenticity of the silver bar quickly came under scrutiny.

UNESCO criticized Clifford’s excavation techniques and suggested that the bar was likely a piece of lead ballast rather than actual silver.

Even with these challenges, Clifford stands firm, arguing that the ingot is genuine and part of Kidd’s legendary trove.

From sandy beaches in New Jersey to the vast waters of the Indian Ocean, the legend of Captain Kidd continues to attract treasure hunters determined to uncover the truth.

The disappearance of Captain Henry Every.

Henry Every, sometimes spelled Avery, ranks among the most notorious pirates of the late 17th century.

His mysterious disappearance is one of the great historical puzzles that still captivates researchers.

Born in England around 1659, Every’s life changed dramatically when he embraced piracy and became one of the most successful and elusive pirates of his era.

Every’s path to piracy began after service in the Royal Navy and participation in the Atlantic slave trade.

In 1694, he signed on to a privateering mission aboard the Charles II, a vessel financed by backers hoping to capture Spanish wealth.

When the expedition stalled and wages went unpaid, Every rallied the crew in a mutiny.

They seized control of the ship, renamed it Fancy, and set sail toward the wealth of the Indian Ocean.

His most renowned accomplishment was the 1695 capture of the Mughal treasure ship Ganj-i-Sawai.

This massive vessel, belonging to Emperor Aurangzeb, was returning from Mecca and packed with gold, silver, and priceless jewels.

The Fancy, accompanied by a small alliance of pirate ships, ambushed both the treasure ship and its armed escort.

The fight was intense, but Every’s crew ultimately overpowered its defenses.

They seized a colossal amount of wealth, with estimates ranging from £325,000 to £600,000, making it one of the richest pirate captures ever recorded.

The attack on the Ganj-i-Sawai set off an international hunt unlike anything seen before.

Outraged, the Mughal Emperor demanded justice, putting enormous pressure on the British government to respond.

Both the East India Company and the British crown issued large rewards for the capture of Every and his men.

This became one of the earliest global manhunts in history, with overwhelming pressure to track down the pirates responsible for such a catastrophic political incident.

Despite the intense worldwide effort to seize him, Every managed to slip through every net.

After the raid, he sailed to the Bahamas and dissolved his crew.

Some of his men were eventually captured, tried, and executed, but Every himself simply vanished.

Some accounts claim he bribed officials to secure his freedom, while others say he escaped under a new identity.

His last confirmed appearance was on Ascension Island in the Mid-Atlantic.

After that, he disappeared from the records entirely.

Many theories try to explain what became of Every after he vanished.

One possibility is that he returned quietly to England, perhaps to Devon, and lived unnoticed for the rest of his life.

Another theory suggests he may have continued pirating under an assumed name in some remote corner of the world.

Some stories say he squandered his riches and died penniless.

Others imagine him retiring comfortably with his stolen fortune.

Adding even more mystery are recent archaeological clues that hint at a new direction.

In 2014, a metal detectorist in Rhode Island found a 17th-century Arabian coin.

Additional finds of similar coins across New England have led some researchers to believe Every may have fled to the American colonies.

These coins, minted in Yemen during the exact period of Every’s piracy, offer intriguing, though circumstantial, evidence that he might have spent his final years in America.

Henry Every’s tale has been preserved through both history and storytelling.

Daniel Defoe’s A General History of the Pirates, published under the alias Captain Charles Johnson, includes a chapter on Every that further solidified his legendary status.

The book blends truth and myth, portraying Every as a clever and ruthless pirate.

Despite the enormous wealth he stole and the global chase he provoked, the ultimate fate of Henry Every remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of piracy.

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The missing fleet of Sir Francis Drake.

Sir Francis Drake’s adventures at sea earned him a complex legacy.

He was honored as a national hero in England, yet cursed as a fearsome pirate by Spain.

While the English praised him for helping defend the nation and weakening Spanish power, the Spanish regarded him as a relentless marauder who devastated their ships and colonies.

Drake’s most legendary achievement was his circumnavigation of the globe from 1577 to 1580.

During this voyage, he raided numerous Spanish territories and seized ships loaded with treasure.

One of his greatest captures was the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, nicknamed the Cacafuego.

The ship carried a staggering amount of gold, silver, and jewels.

This haul dramatically elevated Drake’s wealth and fame, but it also enraged the Spanish, who viewed him as a ruthless criminal.

His repeated attacks on Spanish ports and treasure ships across the Caribbean and along the Pacific coast of South America caused immense destruction.

The Spanish came to call him El Draque, the dragon, and feared him so deeply that King Philip II reportedly offered a bounty of 20,000 ducats for his death—a reward worth millions by modern standards.

In 1586, Drake delivered another powerful blow to the Spanish Empire by striking the port of Cádiz.

This surprise raid, later nicknamed the “Singeing of the King of Spain’s Beard,” destroyed many ships and disrupted crucial supplies, delaying the launch of the Spanish Armada.

Drake’s final expedition in 1595, undertaken with his cousin Sir John Hawkins, set out to claim more Spanish treasure in the Caribbean.

But the mission was plagued by disaster.

They failed to take San Juan, Puerto Rico, and met repeated resistance from heavily defended Spanish forces.

Illness swept through the fleet, and both Hawkins and Drake died, with Drake succumbing to dysentery on January 28th, 1596.

After Drake’s death, the surviving ships attempted the long, dangerous voyage back to England.

Several vessels vanished along the way, along with whatever treasure they were carrying.

Over the centuries, theories have suggested that these ships may have succumbed to hurricanes, been captured by Spanish forces, or even been deliberately sunk to prevent their riches from falling into enemy hands.

The Caribbean’s deep waters and labyrinth of coves have inspired endless treasure hunts, but no conclusive evidence of Drake’s missing fleet has ever been found.