The Untold Truth Of The Money Pit In The Curse Of Oak Island

Legend has it that Oak Island, a small landmass just off the coast of Nova Scotia, is home to one of the most impressive treasure troves in human history. Riches beyond belief, significant historical artifacts, and more are said to reside somewhere on the island, beckoning explorers from all areas of the globe to try and find them. The latest and most prominent individuals to take on the island's challenge are siblings Rick and Marty Lagina, who have documented their quest via the almost nine season-long series, "The Curse of Oak Island."

Since January of 2014, "Oak Island" has staked its claim as one of the top treasure hunting programs on the air. The Laginas' crew has grown significantly to include a host of people, all with extensive backgrounds in areas such as landscaping and metal detection. Though their combined efforts have yielded mixed results, the Oak Island team remains committed to its cause, no matter how much time, money, or energy they have to sink into it. Some may call their mission a money pit, but ironically, that's the very thing they're looking for. 

The famed Money Pit of Oak Island is said to be the motherload when it comes to the locale's offerings, and the Laginas have touted it as an essential element of their operation. Here's the untold truth of this hidden cache.

More often than not, archaeologists know what they're looking for when they go out to unearth relics of the past. In the case of the Oak Island Money Pit, however, the fact of the matter is no one truly knows what the facts are. Its contents are a total mystery, prompting people to not only go to great lengths to learn the truth but speculate on what it holds and who put it there in the meantime. Suffice to say, some of these theories are out there, but until the truth comes to light, they're the best we've got.

According to History, one of the main speculative stories centers on the notorious Captain William Kidd, who plagued the high seas throughout the late 1600s. Word has it that the supposed riches that lie in the Money Pit came from one of his final raids on a Spanish galleon. On the other hand, there's the belief that the Knights Templar and, oddly enough, William Shakespeare, are connected to the Money Pit. This line of thinking posits that the famed playwright's written works include hidden messages pointing to Templar treasure that the Money Pit may house.

Descriptions of the Money Pit are all fairly similar, using a centuries-old tale as a point of reference. In the late 1700s, a local teenager took notice of a strange indentation in the ground, so he gathered up some friends and started digging. What they found was a roughly 100-foot deep shaft with wooden platforms meticulously placed at 10-foot intervals. Something that big and unnatural shouldn't be hard to find, right? Not quite, since the location of the original Money Pit is currently unknown and may remain as such forever.

As explained on the History website, an apparent expedition to pull the Money Pit's riches to the surface in the 1960s has caused issues for the Lagina brothers in the modern-day. This excavation attempt caused seawater, clay, rubble, and more to overtake the original Money Pit, collapsing the nearby digs into a massive, dirty mess. Therefore, all anyone can do now is make their best guess as to where it once was, cross their fingers, and start digging. Of course, there's also the flooding system to worry about, which brings in gallons of water from the nearby Smith's Cove to make exploration even more difficult.

Oak Island as a whole is far from a sprawling metropolis, with a population of year-round residents that you can count on one hand. At the same time, the excavation operation that the Laginas run is enormous and surely requires them to jump through countless legal hoops. After all, it's not their backyard, so having to handle extensive paperwork and confer with the proper authorities is paramount to their mission regardless of how many people occupy the island. Although, when it comes to the Money Pit, the fact that they own it likely makes their work somewhat easier.

Unsurprisingly, when it comes to Rick and Marty's partial ownership of Oak Island, there's a bit of uncertainty and, naturally, debate. History cites the Oak Island Society — comprised of the Lagina siblings and a few other partners — as owning 78%, notably including the Money Pit. Alternatively, Distractify points out that Oak Island Tours Inc. owns 50% of the island and that the Laginas bought a 50% stake in the company, thus making them partial owners (via History UK). At any rate, no matter how much of Oak Island they own, it's impossible to deny the impact that the Lagina brothers have had on the area.

Hopefully, someday the mysteries of the Oak Island Money Pit will be solved, but until that day comes, make sure to keep an eye on "The Curse of Oak Island" and all of the Laginas' latest discoveries.