Case file · Folklore / legend
The Oak Island Money Pit
According to tradition, in 1795 a young man found a depression under an oak on Oak Island, Nova Scotia, and with friends began digging the 'Money Pit', starting more than two centuries of treasure hunting.
1795 CE · 44.51, -64.29 · status: legend
The account
Theories range from pirate gold to the Holy Grail and Shakespeare's manuscripts. A legend says seven men must die before the treasure is found; six had died in searches by 1965.
The sceptical view
No treasure has ever been found; geologists point to natural sinkholes and flooding through porous anhydrite, and early accounts were written decades after the events.