The Oak Island Mystery: Part Four Compiled by Caleb Whitaker, Worldwide Drilling Resource® Throughout the 1900s, several major drilling, blasting, and construction excavations were attempted with hopes of discovering the treasure buried on Oak Island in Canada. In 1931, William Chappell, the drill operator during the 1897 excavation, admitted he had kept secret his discovery of gold traces on the auger. Frederick Blair, the lease owner of the Money Pit property, was convinced by the newly revealed evidence to conduct more excavations. After undergoing nearly 150 years of excavation efforts, the island's surface was marred with shaft openings. This caused the team to drill approximately six feet south of the Money Pit. At a depth of 115 -130 feet in their new shaft, the men recovered an anchor flute sunk into the side of the tunnel, a 250 year-old Acadian axe, a miner's pick, and the remnants of an oil lamp with seal oil. Gilbert Hedden led the next significant effort on Oak Island. In 1937 while drilling into the auxiliary tunnels scattered around the island, the team unearthed clay putty at a depth of 90 feet. Further downhole, Hedden's team came across an intersecting tunnel lined with hemlock timbers. It was thought the tunnel could possibly have served as one of the original flood tunnels which booby trapped the Money Pit. In the 1960s, Robert Restall took over the hunt, managing to clear a shaft sunk in the 1930s. He added eight boreholes in an attempt to intercept the alleged flood tunnels which halted previous searches. In one of the boreholes, he found a stone with the date “1704” chiseled into it, but once again no treasure was found. In 1965, Robert Dunfield assumed control of operations on the island. Rather than make small incisions at strategic locations, Dunfield's approach would include heavy machinery, blasting, and large-scale drilling. He used two bulldozers to clear over 10 feet from the surface of the Money Pit, then he spread the removed clay over Smith's Cove as a way to clog any feeder tunnels which might be flooding the main chamber. Dunfield also brought in a 70-ton digging crane capable of excavating a hole 200 feet deep. The team was able to excavate a 140-foot deep by 100-foot wide crater from the Money Pit. During the operation, the front of Chappell’s shaft was clipped, causing the top section to cave in. The team uncovered small shards of porcelain dishware, but heavy rains caused a consistent struggle to keep the tunnel from collapsing. In a new approach, Dunfield drilled four 6-inch boreholes to a depth of 190 feet into the Money Pit. He found at approximately 140 feet a wooden platform obstructed the tunnel. Below the timbers was a 40-foot chamber void of any material, which was followed by bedrock. After excavating several promising locations across the island, he was only able to find more pottery. In 1967, the Triton Alliance was formed to conduct an ambitious drilling campaign. The team bored over 60 boreholes near the Money Pit, finding bedrock began at a depth of 160-170 feet. At certain locations, they discovered a wooden level 40 feet beneath the bedrock. As they continued their coring, the team retrieved a piece of brass, pieces of porcelain, wood, clay, and charcoal. In 1970, additional metal samples were found at various depths northeast of the Money Pit. During an excavation attempt in Smith Cove, workers uncovered a U-shaped formation of logs marked with Roman numerals, which was thought to be the remnants of an ancient harbor. They also discovered a pair of wrought-iron scissors, a wooden sled, a portion of an iron ruler, and other iron artifacts including nails and spikes. These materials were dated to before 1790, which meant the team had found evidence of human activity prior to the first Money Pit excavation. In 1971, one of the most promising boreholes named 10-X was widened and deepened to over 160 feet. The crew recovered fragments of broken concrete, pieces of metal chain, and wire from the flooded tunnel. The team lowered a video camera into the watery shaft, revealing the borehole terminated in a cavity carved out of bedrock. Within the stone chamber, the video documented what appeared to be several treasure chests. This led the team to initiate several diving excursions into the cavern, but no treasure was extracted. Dismayed by the results of the borehole 10-X dives, the group spent the following years excavating locations across Oak Island. In 1987, much of the activity surrounding the Money Pit came to a halt due to legal battles, but drilling would return to the island with many new discoveries. Publisher’ Note: This is the final in a series of articles Caleb wrote for WWDR. He lost his life in 2022. He was greatly loved by us all. Borehole 10-X. Drilling on Oak Island courtesy Chester Municipal Heritage Society. C&G eranhenderson@gmail.com New & Used Tricones PDCs Drag & Claw Bits Drill Collars Bit Tipping Subs & Stabilizers HDD Bits & Reamers DTH Hammer & Bits Custom Fabrication Junk Mills / Fishing Tools Rod Henderson 661-201-6259 Eran Henderson 661-330-0790 11 MAY 2023 WorldWide Drilling Resource®
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