According to legend, a young man named McGinnis was wandering Oak Island, an island in the Mahone Bay off the coast of Nova Scotia in Canada, in the year 1795 when he came upon an oak tree where an old rope was tied to a branch. In front of it was ground that appeared to be slumped. Believing there might be buried treasure, he and two friends began to dig in the depression. After several hours, they found what they thought might be a wooden chest. However, before they could continue, a flood came in and prevented them from any further excavating. The hunt has continued ever since. To this day, there are still people who are convinced that there is treasure somewhere waiting to be found on Oak Island. What is interesting about the stories regarding Oak Island is that they have a lot of motifs which appear to originate from Freemasonry. This has led some to suggest a Masonic connection to the legend.
Treasure Hunting on Oak Island
The earliest treasure hunt on the island is said to have been in 1795 when the aforementioned group of treasure seekers discovered a layer of flagstones, a shaft, and some rotten wooden logs. Despite this discovery, they abandoned the project because of a lack of manpower. Sometime later, either in 1803/1804 or 1810, they resumed digging with the help of a wealthy businessman. During the excavation, they discovered nine levels of the shaft marked by wooden platforms. At the lowest level, they discovered a plaque with a strange inscription on it and a container which turned out to be hollow when it was hit with a crowbar.
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