Maybe better not to think ...

[gjb]

Hi; During one episode they stated that they had spent"Millions" on it. Maybe that was BS as well. Anyyways, I'll way until the real dirt hits the fan so to speak. It WAS interesting at first but not now. PEACE:RONB

Now I understand. That's true, millions have been spent previously on 10X - it goes back near 50 years - but I'd be surprised if the Laginas have spent that much in relative terms (though the price they paid may have included the 10X investment), and I just can't see them committing to the expenditure necessary to complete the dream based on the results to date.

I wouldn't let Dan Blankenship's (or Triton's) obsession, and the reluctance of the Laginas to complete his work, cause you to give up on the quest. The series is annoying in its repetition and it's pandering to modern public tastes, but it's not all bad!

 

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[n2mini]

Some where along the line they are said to have spent roughly 7 million dollars just to gain rights/access to the parts of the island that they have. That is before spending a penny on a y actual search in the ground. Other then that I don't see where they have spent a lot of money. Granted the drilling machines and divers probably weren't cheap but pocket changed compared to the initial cost of just getting on the island.

 

[Robot]

Whoever dug the shaft didn’t simply fill it in by throwing the soil back into it. The fact that there were wooden platforms could be because whoever dug the shaft wanted to be able to get back to the bottom in the quickest possible time. Hence, the platforms weren’t a barrier to excavation, they were an aid.

If it was the originator who did all this then maybe he hadn’t finished the job. So, it’s possible that all that’s in the Money Pit is what he left, and needed, in order to continue.

We seem to attach huge significance to the platforms, apparently, ‘because they were there’. We seem to conclude that because the water appeared on removing them that this was intended to happen. Not an accident. Then we massively conclude there had to have been a really huge treasure in the Money Pit because of the platforms and the flood!

It’s not exactly a simple choice to decide which way to go, but in the end it really is just a preference whether you attach any great significance to the platforms. It could simply have been useful to fill in the shaft that way, and they had a practical and mundane purpose. The 'treasure platform' is a huge assumption. It could have been a 'storage platform', but the original diggers were after treasure and preferred not to see it that way.

One Theory why the Oak Platforms were used...was to distribute the weight of the Fill and not cave in the Water Trap Valve prematurely!

 

[gjb]

Some where along the line they are said to have spent roughly 7 million dollars just to gain rights/access to the parts of the island that they have. That is before spending a penny on a y actual search in the ground. Other then that I don't see where they have spent a lot of money. Granted the drilling machines and divers probably weren't cheap but pocket changed compared to the initial cost of just getting on the island.

I'd heard that the original asking price was to be in the region of five million, but it was certainly a lot of money! That's why I figured that the cost of 10X had been factored into the price, which would be quite a penalty if you're just going to junk it!

I'm not sure that David Tobias was as committed to 10X as was Dan Blankenship, and it seems to me it was a huge White Elephant. I know there was a lot of other work done (such as the Woods Hole reports) but it's not much to show for 40-odd years' work on the island. Lucky, then, to find someone who'd pay out for a potentially unsound and unproductive investment in 10X.

 

[treasure1822]

One Theory why the Oak Platforms were used...was to distribute the weight of the Fill and not cave in the Water Trap Valve prematurely!

I will go one farther as to say it was meant to be found....Come on, all that work and no one thought of taking the pulley down. The pit in itself is a representation of "Enoch's Vault". "Stone covering the pit followed by "9" levels of Oak Timbers. And it just so happened to have a "Coded Stone Slab" at the 9th level telling to dig 40 more feet. The only thing missing on that was the "Triple Dog Dare". It was pretty obvious that there was something there. My question to all is why was there so much work in creating the "Cave-In Pit"?

 

[gjb]

One Theory why the Oak Platforms were used...was to distribute the weight of the Fill and not cave in the Water Trap Valve prematurely!

I think there can be little doubt that the platforms were present to distribute the weight of the soil infill, presumably to prevent collapse, but as I've pointed out elsewhere we don't actually know there was a water trap. The fact that there was water in the Money Pit when it was opened does not mean there was water there when the originator left the island.

As you imply, we have here competing hypotheses, and it's just a matter of preference, rather than fact, that decides which way we go. We either want, or need, to believe in the water trap, or we don't.

If someone decides that there's a treasure in the Money Pit then they're likely to believe in a water trap. However, if there was a water trap then it didn't have to be present in order to protect a treasure in the Money Pit. It could have been to prevent anyone accessing the tunnels leading off the Money Pit, which potentially led to the treasure. If someone considers it possible there was no water trap, then they might tend to believe there was no treasure in the Money Pit, or in the tunnels leading off it.

As with so much of Oak Island, we're just guessing. The prevalent guess is that there's a treasure in the Money Pit, so the assumption is that there was a water trap. But even if there was a water trap the treasure does not have to be in the Money Pit!

Furthermore, if there was a water trap then there's a good chance the originator actually wanted to keep us focused on the Money Pit. He succeeded. So, there's a good chance, either way, that the treasure's not there!

 

[gjb]

My question to all is why was there so much work in creating the "Cave-In Pit"?

From reports I've seen, there wasn't much work involved in creating the Cave-In Pit. I understood it to have been originally six to eight feet in diameter and between fifteen to eighteen feet deep. Because it was believed to lie above the flood tunnel, it was then dug out below this depth, to fifty-two feet, and then probed for another sixteen feet. After this, water appeared in the excavation, which filled to sea level, and it was thereafter referred to as the Cave-In Shaft.

The reports give the impression that it started out as just a common hole, of no great depth, and I had a thought that it could have been the location of a temporary deposit until the final location for this had been prepared.

 

[treasure1822]

From reports I've seen, there wasn't much work involved in creating the Cave-In Pit. I understood it to have been originally six to eight feet in diameter and between fifteen to eighteen feet deep. Because it was believed to lie above the flood tunnel, it was then dug out below this depth, to fifty-two feet, and then probed for another sixteen feet. After this, water appeared in the excavation, which filled to sea level, and it was thereafter referred to as the Cave-In Shaft.

The reports give the impression that it started out as just a common hole, of no great depth, and I had a thought that it could have been the location of a temporary deposit until the final location for this had been prepared.

You might want to recheck on features of the "Cave-In Pit". The wall's were lined of almost impenetrable material as described by Fred Blair. Also, there was no water till Fred Blair took a small bore through the bottom of the Cave In pit. So at 55 feet it was dry. If there were no water, where did the 27 cubic yards of earth go when the pit caved in. There was a void in the cave in pit but not in the Money pit....Why?

 

[gjb]

You might want to recheck on features of the "Cave-In Pit".

Done that. The Cave-In Pit was much as I described. One report says it was ten to twelve feet in depth. You might want to check your chosen beliefs concerning the Cave-In Pit.

The wall's were lined of almost impenetrable material as described by Fred Blair.

As I understand it, the walls were not lined at all. They were so hard it was difficult to drive a pick in. Presumably, the hole had been open for a while and the clay had completely dried out.

Also, there was no water till Fred Blair took a small bore through the bottom of the Cave In pit. So at 55 feet it was dry.

That's what I said. At about that depth, they bored down a further sixteen feet, after which, the shaft filled with water.

If there were no water, where did the 27 cubic yards of earth go when the pit caved in.

I was not aware that the Cave-In Shaft caved in. I understood it continued its existence until Dunfield obliterated it. I also don't understand your reference to 27 cu. yards. The original Cave-In Pit surely required the removal of about 1.5 times this.

There was a void in the cave in pit but not in the Money pit....Why?

I'm not following you. The Cave-In Pit was just a hole that was not particularly deep. Where does a void come into this?

 

[Robot]

The Freemason's ...Junction Box?

In order to build the elaborate Flood Tunnel from Smith's Cove to the Money Pit, it required the construction of a Junction Box (Sump Hole) and a Shut Off Valve (Cave In Shaft).

These can be found on the Freemason's Celestial Map, at what would have been their Stone Markers 5 Dra and 50 UMa on my Map!

 

[gjb]

In order to build the elaborate Flood Tunnel from Smith's Cove to the Money Pit, it required the construction of a Junction Box (Sump Hole) and a Shut Off Valve (Cave In Shaft).

I take it you mean to suggest that, "were there an elaborate Flood Tunnel from Smith's Cove to the Money Pit, building it would potentially require the construction of a Junction Box (Sump Hole) and a Shut Off Valve (Cave In Shaft)."

Simply continuing the discussion above, my understanding is that there wasn't a Cave-In Shaft until after the discovery of the Cave-In Pit. So, it appears that the Cave-In Shaft was a modern creation.

 

[treasure1822]

"I was not aware that the Cave-In Shaft caved in. I understood it continued its existence until Dunfield obliterated it. I also don't understand your reference to 27 cu. yards. The original Cave-In Pit surely required the removal of about 1.5 times this."
In 1878 Sophia Sellars was plowing her fields when she and he oxen fell into the "Cave-In pit". It is not that she and her oxen over looked a 9 to 10' hole in front of them. The ground collapsed beneath them to a depth of around twelve feet. When Fred Blair excavated the Cave-In Pit he was bewilder as to why it existed. Here is a link...

https://books.google.com/books?id=0...tion of the cave in pit on oak island&f=false

When, Dunfield excavated the "Cave-in pit" he found timbers at two different depths. The Cave-In Pit was made to keep water out. So how does one enter the 9 different vaults that Enoch had designed in honor of "God"? Through the "Arch". So in a vertical shaft the "Arch" is through the "Wall".

 

[treasure1822]

I have to ask myself repeatedly why people believe there is something worth wild in the "Money Pit". I believe "Jean Lafitte" said it best, "Man can be lead down bad or false paths". You know strategically, having a "Decoy" shaft with no way of reaching the bottom ensures the longevity of the legend and focus peoples attention to that pit. Think about this, if the "Cave-In Pit" had not collapsed then no one would have a reason to look there. They would focus their attention on the "Money Pit" until they had there answer and if no treasure was found they would probably look elsewhere off that island.

 

[gjb]

"In 1878 Sophia Sellars was plowing her fields when she and he oxen fell into the "Cave-In pit". It is not that she and her oxen over looked a 9 to 10' hole in front of them. The ground collapsed beneath them to a depth of around twelve feet.

Did it not occur to you that your interpretation could be wrong? Go back to the earliest authoritative source! This is how I read it.

The Cave-In Pit was discovered when a plough team fell into a shallow depression in the ground as the earth broke beneath its weight. Inspection revealed the opening to a pit, with well-defined sides. The small depression thus revealed was then filled in with stones. Later, the stones were removed and the pit was dug out. The pit itself was filled with soil, it did not cave-in, a thin layer of soil covering it caved in.

It appears that the soil had been put back in the hole, and the top had presumably been tamped down, so much so that it was obviously more compacted than the soil underneath. Over the years, the soil beneath this ‘crust’ settled, leaving a small cavity. When the oxen stepped onto the crust it couldn’t take the weight, and it ‘caved in’. The very small hole thus revealed became known as the ‘Cave-In’ Pit. Nobody was hurt.

When dug out, the pit was found to be between fifteen to eighteen feet deep. Period. Full stop. They then decided to carry on digging below the bottom of the pit, as found, and thus created a shaft of their own ... the Cave-In Shaft. Later, it was found that they may have passed too close to a tunnel which caused their shaft to flood. What they discovered by creating this shaft was puzzling ...etc.

 

[Robot]

My Grandma warned me as a small boy...Don't set foot in the "Sink Hole"

I take it you mean to suggest that, "were there an elaborate Flood Tunnel from Smith's Cove to the Money Pit, building it would potentially require the construction of a Junction Box (Sump Hole) and a Shut Off Valve (Cave In Shaft)."

Simply continuing the discussion above, my understanding is that there wasn't a Cave-In Shaft until after the discovery of the Cave-In Pit. So, it appears that the Cave-In Shaft was a modern creation.

Yes, more than 100 years after the Freemasons constructed the Shut Off Valve for the Money Pit, a cow accidentally fell into and found this Sink Hole.

 

[gjb]

Yes, more than 100 years after the Freemasons constructed the Shut Off Valve for the Money Pit, a cow accidentally fell into and found this Sink Hole.

I don't think it was a sink hole. Reports say it was a man-made pit six feet or more in diameter and some eighteen feet deep.

 

[Raparee]

Eventually the history channel will report the truth....the money pit was a salt reclamation system.

I'll just leave this here ... Oak Island mystery: Its history is the real treasure | The Chronicle Herald

 

[Ryano]

Tar kiln huh ? Money pits all over the eastern seaboard ? Are they all 100 foot plus deep ?

 

[gjb]

Tar kiln huh ? Money pits all over the eastern seaboard ? Are they all 100 foot plus deep ?

You're overlooking the key part of the research: “I went back to the earliest reports and, for example, they say the logs went all the way down every 10 feet, and that’s simply not true.”

So, now we know! Tar kilns it is!

 

[banana skin slippers]

Platforms? could be used to access and go sidey ways , as opposed to general thought dig down ways?
(just a thought)