This week on The Curse of Oak Island, the discovery of a damaged old cannon leads the guys to believe there may have been a battle for the treasure on Oak Island.
As always with Oak Island, the clock is ticking, and the pressure to find something really significant before the end of the season is starting to intensify. This season has been a bit of a slow burner as they’ve embarked on two long-term projects: digging for the Money Pit and excavating the stone roadway.
However, in the preview, Rick Lagina seems to confirm what we’ve all suspected, that there’s a firm link between the Money Pit and the stone roadway.
The team have been excavating the stone roadway and following its route since it was first discovered a few months back. They’re now convinced that this road was used to transport cargo/treasure from a wharf at the swamp to an unknown location.
I say “unknown,” but the Oak Island team reckon it’s leading them to the Money Pit. But what is most intriguing is there was a clear attempt to keep this road hidden. It all points to hidden treasure, possibly stolen treasure.
Have the British military buried treasure on Oak Island?
There also seems to be increasing evidence that the hidden treasure is somehow linked to the British military.
A couple of months ago, the guys unearthed a whole load of ox-shoes used by the British military in the 18th century, before the initial discovery of the Money Pit. The team concluded that the Brits had been using large numbers of oxen to transport cargo across the island.
What’s more, last week, the guys spoke to a historian at Nova Scotia’s Louisbourg Fortress, who said ox-shoes found at the old French fortress matched those found on Oak Island.
It was also explained that the Fortress had been a regular battleground for the French and the British in the mid-eighteenth century when it had often changed hands between the two European powers. And it’s rumored that in the 1740s, English soldiers stole a large quantity of French treasure from the Fortress.
It looks as though this week’s finds will continue along this theme. The History Channel’s episode description reads:
As the team chases the trajectory of the stone pathway in the swamp, they discover pieces of an English cannon dating back to nearly a century before the Money Pit, suggesting that whatever may have been buried there, was worth fighting for.
Oak Island team has found pieces of a cannon
Metal detectorist Gary Drayton seems to have uncovered parts of an old cannon, and according to the preview, he’s hugely confused as to what the pieces might be.
Luckily for him, the Oak Island guys are able to take the pieces to blacksmith expert Carmen Legge. Not only is Carmen able to tell the guys it’s a cannon, but he also explains that it’s been destroyed in an explosion.
This could mean that there was some kind of battle on Oak Island. If folks were burying large amounts of treasure on the island, then it’s hardly surprising if some got a bit over-aggressive. We shall hopefully get all the details in tonight’s episode.
The Curse of Oak Island airs at 9/8c on History.
The history uncovered is worth the effort even if no treasure is found although we keep hoping a treasure of sorts will be located. This has intrigued me since I first read about it in the Reader’s Digest in my teenage years.