The Curse of Oak Island: Ancient Manuscripts Buried in Swamp (Season 7) | History

In 1893, Oak Island treasure hunters Frederick Blair formed the Oak Island Treasure Company, convinced that his drilling equipment could reach depths further than anyone else’s. Four years later, while drilling an exploratory borehole near the site of the original Money Pit treasure shaft, Frederick Blair’s chief drill operator William Chappell and his crew experienced one of the biggest breakthroughs in the island’s history.

When they were drawing down, they encountered a cement-like material. They theorized that there was a vault underneath this chamber. When they drilled into the vault, they were able to recover a small piece of parchment. One of the participants noticed it. It was like a pea-sized little brown ball, and he unfurled it with tweezers. It turned out to be a small piece of parchment with an inscribed “VI” on it.

Of course, this is written with a quill pen and Indian ink, which was typical writing of the day: beautiful ink writing on a small piece of parchment found in what appeared to be a vault located some 153 feet deep underground. Had William Chappell found an actual handwritten fragment from one of the original Shakespeare manuscripts?

Unfortunately, the answer to that question might never be known, as shortly after discovering the mysterious underground vault, the wet, porous grounds around it appeared to cave in, pulling the structure down as the Chappell vault went deeper and deeper underground.

In 2013, researcher Petter Amundsen traveled to Oak Island to test his theory that, according to clues hidden in the first folio of Shakespeare’s works, the Bard’s original handwritten manuscripts might be buried there.

“If there are documents, their documents tell us a story—ancient information, ancient knowledge.”

“There’s one theory, and it’s but a theory, that the Shakespearean folio is down there. All of that is every bit as rich and wonderful and magical and amazing as a chest full of diamonds and rubies to me,” Petter said.

He is convinced that the key to finding the entrance to an underground vault lies in first locating what he calls the Mercy Point—one of 10 locations on the island that correspond to each of the ancient symbols on what is known as the Tree of Life, which, according to the pattern, should be marked on the island by 10 strategically placed boulders.

Unfortunately, the Mercy Point was not easy to access, as it was submerged in some six feet of water near the eastern edge of Oak Island’s triangle-shaped swamp.

“We’re gonna check out his Mercy Point. We’re gonna check it out as best we can, and if we find something, then you’ll see the excitement level.”

“It is very deep, and it’s very dangerous. Careful. I don’t like to probe this whole area if I could,” Marty said.

“I did say hello,” said Petter.

“There is some kind of floor with small stones on top of it. Keep trying.”

“So, Marty, I think we can’t accomplish more than this. We know that it is stony ground, and if this is some part of the secret wall, it’s impossible for me to say,” Petter said.

Although Petter was unable to continue his exploration of the swamp, he left the island convinced that his theory was correct.

“I like to decipher things. I know this ciphered something that tells me that Shakespeare’s manuscripts probably will be on Oak Island, and I feel certain that if my theory has merit, they will discover that the Mercy Point is a doorway to something,” Petter said.

“Could he be right?” someone asked.

“Sure, he could be right. Maybe he’s right. As far as what’s in the swamp, there are some things that might be in there that are beyond belief—the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the Shakespearean folios, a vault that maybe contains Rosicrucian documents. So it’s incredibly exciting, and there’s credible evidence to indicate that some of those things are indeed possible.”