Stones and Structures
A database of the different man-made structures and remarkable stones.
The U-Shaped Structure
The Curse of Oak Island- History Channel
The Curse of Oak Island- History Channel
In 1936, Searcher, Gilbert Hedden, built a wharf at Smith’s Cove that was used to transport equipment from the mainland. His crew discovered a pallet-type structure sticking out of the sand on the beach which Hedden believed was a skid. In 1970, Dan Blankenship rediscovered it after creating a cofferdam around Smith's Cove. The structure has a notch in it every four feet and features a different Roman number. Dendrochronology dated the wood structure to around 1769. We know from history that there was a huge forest fire in Lunenburg County in 1770 and it’s suspected that trees were being felled on Oak Island. In 2018, The Lagina’s started their own work on the U-Shaped Structure. They discovered a slipway, L-Shaped Structure in the area in front of the U-shaped structure. It is still unclear what was the purpose of the structures. Theories include it being a wharf, dam, military structure, barn, and others.
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Information about an Iron Spike in the U-Shaped structure: https://www.oakislandmystery.com/research/artefacts-found-david-tobias/tobias-collection/2748-hand-forged-wrought-iron-spike-below-smith-s-cove
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Map of the U-Shaped structure: https://www.oakislandmystery.com/images/Oak%20Island%20Research/Triton%20-%201990s/Oak%20Island%20Surveyor's%20Drawing%20of%20the%20Structures-copyright.jpg
Nolan’s Cross
Cracking the Shakespeare Code documentary by Petter Amundsen
Cracking the Shakespeare Code documentary by Petter Amundsen
Nolan’s Cross is a formation of stones in the shape of a cross. Possibly a representation of the Northern Cross of the constellation Cygnus. It was originally found on Oak Island in 1981 by Fred Nolan. Some people claim that Fred moved the stones to make the cross. This is not true, as Fred was a surveyor and made a complete survey of Cross. He carefully marked the original position of the boulders he found. He moved the boulders to check what was beneath them, but put them back, at or near, their original position.
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Firsthand account in the PDF download section: https://www.oakislandmystery.com/research/artefacts-found-david-tobias/tobias-collection/2690-christian-cross
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Nolan's Cross Report on Oakislandtreasure.co.uk: https://www.oakislandtreasure.co.uk/research-documents/research/declassified-nolans-cross-report/
The Hidden Wharf
The Hidden Wharf by Robert Hotz
The Hidden Wharf by Robert Hotz
“This Hidden Wharf was uncovered in 1972 by Triton Alliance LTD. It was buried about 3 feet below the existing beach. Spikes in it are wrought iron and tested as being made prior to 1750. About 8 feet below was found two leather shoes. One of them measuring over 12 inches long.” The Wharf is located underwater on the west side of Oak Island. In the picture you can see Round Island just off the beach.
The Wharf at Joudrey’s Cove
The Curse of Oak Island- History Channel
The Curse of Oak Island- History Channel
This is a stone wharf that is underwater at Joudrey’s Cove on the North side of the Island. This is where the boulderless beach is located, which was one of the first features that Dan Blankenship saw when he first came to Oak Island. Dan thought it was very strange and he’s the one that discovered the stone wharf. It is located below the low tide level and east of Cone C of Nolan’s Cross. There has been mention of an old road that stretched from Joudrey’s Cove to the Money Pit. Parts were destroyed by Fred Nolan during excavation efforts.
The Foot Stone
A strange stone was found by Gary Clayton in 1993 on Little Mash Island, located very close to Oak Island. The stone, shaped like a foot, was buried 2 ½ feet below the surface. A “T” shaped stone was buried adjacent to it. About 3 feet away, another odd stone appeared to be pointing to the location of the foot stone. This stone was visible about 3 to 4 feet above ground. Clayton, who owns Little Mash Island, presented a theory in Season 4, Episode 13 of the Curse of Oak Island that claims that Lord George Anson made the island, and an underground tunnel connects to Oak Island. Are these stones that Clayton discovered just naturally occurring or are they some sort of clues that support his theory?
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See correspondence of Robert Schmalz complied by Les MacPhie: https://www.oakislandmystery.com/images/Les-MacPhie-Files/table-b/B08%20Mark%20Schmalz%20Oak%20Island%20%20Letters%201992%20to%201994%20Compiled%20by%20Les%20M%20April%202003.pdf
The Stone Road
The Curse of Oak Island- History Channel
The Curse of Oak Island- History Channel
The stone road feature, which it is sometimes referred to, is a cobbled stone path discovered in the swamp at the beginning of Season 8. It’s been theorized that it was connected to a wharf in the swamp and then went towards the uplands and possibly to the Money Pit. The theory entails that treasure was unloaded at the wharf and then transported to the Money Pit. Comparisons to this feature and Roman roads have been made, especially in Portugal, but there are still questions if it was a road at all. Other theories include it was an entire wharf or a boundary marking for past lot owners.
The 90-Foot Stone
The Curse of Oak Island- History Channel
From Pirate Gold: The Buried Treasure in Mahone Bay
In the “The Colonist” Newspaper of Halifax, January 1864, it states that during the 1802 dig they found, “a flag stone about two feet long and one wide, with a number of rudely cut letters and figures upon it". They were in hopes the inscription would throw some valuable light on their search, but unfortunately they could not decipher it, as it was either too badly cut or did not appear to be in their own vernacular…This remarkable stone was pretty far down in the pit, laying in the centre with the engraved side down. As it was preserved in the family of Mr. Smith it may be seen by the curious at the present day.” The 90ft stone was reportedly built into Smith’s fireplace with the symbols on the stone facing outward. The stone disappeared and has never been located.
The HO Stone
The Curse of Oak Island- History Channel
The Curse of Oak Island- History Channel
The ‘HO’ stone was discovered at Joudrey’s Cove by treasure hunters previous to 1936. They noticed strange carvings and symbols on it, and they believed treasure was buried beneath it. They then decided to blow it up to check. Nothing was found there. In 1936 Gilbert Hedden, the famous Oak Island Searcher, recovered some fragments of what was left and took a picture of the piece with the letters H and O. Some believe there are alchemical symbols depicted, others a Knights Templar connection. It is still unclear what the symbols mean.
The Money-Pit Flagstones
The Curse of Oak Island- History Channel
The Curse of Oak Island- History Channel
The Flagstones are described in the original money pit founding story which said that a tier of flagstones was found about two feet down and had strange markings on them. It’s noted in D'Arcy O'Connor's "The Big Dig" that the discoverers "ascertained that these stones were not indigenous to the island but must have been brought from Gold River, about two miles distant".
The Pine Tree Stone
From Gary Drayton's blog Hardcoretreasurehunting
Essential History of Oak Island-1753 to 1795, A Presentation of Documents by Paul Wroclawski.
This stone, the Evans Stone, is located on a beach on the north side of Oak Island. It cannot be determined if the carvings were carved at the same time. The words “R. W. Evans”, “Chester”, and “August 9, 1897” appear beside the carving of a Pine tree. A theory details that the carving references “Appeal to Heaven”, which was a battle flag used during the American Revolutionary War and designed by George Washington. The pine tree was a symbol of independence and was depicted with 13 branches, which was a sacred number to Freemasons. The theory states that a treasure was hidden on Oak Island and funded the American cause during the Revolutionary War. It’s most likely that Evans was a part of the 1897 Oak Island Treasure Company operation or was a curious onlooker.