Oak Island's lords of the ring

WESTERN SHORE - A frozen ring could finally solve the mystery of Oak Island. But this ring is no precious gem - it's a mass of frozen dirt.

That's the premise of a plan devised by two geotechnical engineers intent on determining once and for all whether there's buried treasure on the 56-hectare island.

"This is a good plan with a high chance of success in solving the mystery," said Les MacPhie, vice-president of SNC Lavalin subsidiary Geocon, of Montreal.

It's been more than two centuries since pick and shovel were first used in a bid to unearth any secrets buried deep below the surface of the Lunenburg County island. There has never been any concrete evidence of treasure but there have always been enough tantalizing discoveries to keep treasure hunters intrigued.

Mr. MacPhie has developed a proposal with fellow engineer John Wonnacott of Shelburne that they say will lay the mystery to rest.

Mr. Wonnacott runs his own consulting firm and is vice-president of operations for Black Bull Resources, which is developing a mineral mine near Shelburne.

He said the common problem with countless digs before has been water - all previous efforts to recover any treasure have been flooded out.

The latest plan is to drill a series of holes a metre apart in a ring 30 metres in diameter. At the centre is the so-called money pit, where many Oak Island buffs believe the treasure is stashed.

Mr. Wonnacott said a pipe header system would be installed in the holes and chilled brine would be pumped in, creating a ring of frozen soil down about 60 metres to bedrock.

"We want to be sure that whatever is in the money pit is inside that frozen ring, and we think we've got the correct location for the shaft to do it."

The soil would be screened and any artifacts displayed in an underground museum to be built in the shaft.

Mr. Wonnacott believes they will find a chamber about 10 metres into the bedrock off to the side of the money pit.

"I do not think the money pit was used to store the treasure. I think it's an access."

He said whoever buried the supposed treasure chest knew the overburden would have caved in unless they buried it in bedrock.

In a report drawn up for potential investors, the two engineers write "there is no doubt that excavation of a deep shaft, in conjunction with appropriate historical and archeological studies of recovered items and exposed workings, would finally resolve the Oak Island mystery."

Most previous drilling hasn't gone so deep, and attempts to dig shafts and tunnels have been flooded out by what some believe is a complicated tunnel system built to foil treasure hunters.

If treasure is recovered, the team hopes to build a full-scale replica of the chamber underground. Mr. Wonnacott said tourists would be able to go down a stairway to see where the mystery of Oak Island was finally solved, along with any artifacts uncovered.

The two engineers are doing the preliminary work for Montreal businessman David Tobias, who owns most of the island and holds controlling interest in a company known as Oak Island Explorations.

The only hitch is he needs someone with about $15 million to allow him to follow through with the plan.

"I would just be happy to see a conclusion," said Mr. Tobias, 80, who has spent about 37 years and $5 million searching for the 13-hectare island's treasure.

He acknowledged this plan is similar to his 1997 proposal to excavate a hole 24 metres in diameter. But that idea didn't involve freezing the ground, and fell through when he couldn't find investors for the $10-million plan.

Mr. Tobias said he does not want to sell shares this time to raise money because he is concerned about what would happen to the island. But he is ready to move ahead with the proposal now because a treasure trove licence just issued by the province allows work to begin.

"But we need sponsors, we need partners to continue," Mr. MacPhie said. "We're talking about big amounts of money and this is high-risk. The commercial value may not be there but there is tremendous tourism potential and archeological and historical value."

The treasure licence was one of three the province issued in April. Other recipients were art gallery operator Robert Young, who owns one lot on the island, and Fred Nolan of Bedford, who owns five. Mr. Tobias and Oak Island Explorations own all but one other lot, which is owned by Dan Blankenship, who did not renew his application for a treasure licence.

Rick Ratcliffe, the province's registrar of mineral and petroleum titles, said the licences are for five years, and each proponent submitted a detailed plan of exploration for "precious metals and gems." The exploration plans are confidential.

Mr. Tobias said if he can't find somebody to put up the cash without the possibility of finding treasure, he will consider selling his land "to the right person."

But he said they must be more than a treasure hunter, they have to be interested in preserving Nova Scotia's history by solving the mystery.

He said he would consider selling the rights to his licence and land for $7 million to $10 million.

"My overall interest here is to see the mystery solved and find out what's down there. The very nature of Oak Island attracts strange people. It's an obsession, we're all guilty of it. It attracts a lot of nutty people because its potential, on paper, is of treasures and riches."

But for Mr. Tobias, who faces declining health and a retirement that's been consumed with the Oak Island mystery, the time has come to find somebody to help him find answers.

"I think she's tired of it," he said. "She thinks it's about time I wrapped it up."

If history is any indication, not only will this fail to find anything, it'll cause whatever is there to fall further away and 3 or 4 people will be killed in the process.

I have always been intrigued by Oak Island and will be watching results with interest. I do not however, believe that they will find anything. My take on this mystery is that the colonial British Army buried supplies on the island returned and got them. they left a block and pulley and as they brought up the supplies they left the oak platforms in the pit. The flooding can be accounted for by natural springs in the limestone and the famous filter on the beach was left by packing from various ships that either left the supplies or were thrown off by passing ships that drifted into the springs along with the current and stuck. Most of the stories that support the idea of treasure came from promoters that tried to raise money to dig into the pit and can not be trusted. But, then again who knows what you will find as I say I will be interested! Who does not like a good mystery.

I really wish someone like Bill Gates or Paul Allen would pay for stuff like this. Why not? Carnegie funded public libraries. The Microsoft Boys could solve some of the Great Mysteries of our time. That's a worthy legacy.

It is my understanding that a drill was once used, and it pulled up a bit of gold chain. Any idea if it was a stunt or a straight out lie to promote interest?

Dunno about Bill, he's probably busy dreaming up new bugs to put in Explorer, WinXP, Outlook Express, and so on, but it looks like Paul Allen is keeping himself busy with this

good point! by it's very nature it could of easily been planted by the fund raiser-promotors. then again it could have been actual buried treasure. I have always learned to stay conservative and have a leaning for the debunkers when it comes to the fantastic. But, as I said, i will be very interested in results and i do hope they get the money to do this. Also, frankly I hope they do find something to make it worth while. The only thing better then a good mystery is a mystery solved!

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