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Compendium Investigations is continuing our series of posts analyzing different aspects of the mysterious sketch that was presented on The Curse of Oak Island episode called, “Hi Ho Silver”. Our goal is to shed some light on whether this sketch is a possible clue to the Oak Island Mystery, or a fraud. The Compendium is now examining what appears to look like some sort of structure that is located beneath “FLX157” and appears to be north of Oak Island. In reviewing maps, it appears this may be indicating New Ross, Nova Scotia and the purported castle that is theorized to have existed there. Compendium Investigations has looked at the history of “New Ross Castle” and will share our findings with our readers which provides greater context to determine its legitimacy.
Holy Grail Across the Atlantic, Bradley 1988
It appears that the first mention of a castle possibly being located in New Ross was in the 1970’s by Ron and Joan Harris who discovered, while gardening and landscaping, the remains of a habitation that was located on their property. The Harris’ lived on the property from 1972 to 1990. It appears that Mrs. Harris spearheaded the campaign that the “ruins” the couple discovered were the remains of the mythical Norumbega and that Vikings had initially been in the area and later Prince Henry Sinclair built a colony there. It appears that Harris developed these ideas from reading Frederick Pohl’s book, “Prince Henry Sinclair: His Expedition to the New World in 1398” and other associated readings.
Holy Grail Across the Atlantic, Bradley 1988
The Harris’ found artifacts they felt substantiated their claim in their unofficial garden excavations. These included portions of a flaked flint knife blade, part of an iron or steel dagger blade segment, a portion of an alleged 14th century sword, metal pin type clamps they attribute to Celts or Norse. Other various shaped stones and features, Harris pointed out as evidence of her theory. Mrs. Harris attempted to have the site professionally excavated but she was told there was not enough evidence to warrant such an investigation. Harris began contacting authors to generate interest and Michael Bradley responded. Bradley wrote a book called, “Holy Grail Across the Atlantic”, in which he casts doubt on Harris’ interpretation of the site and artifacts. Bradley spun Harris’ theory to suggest that Prince Henry Sinclair sailed to Nova Scotia with the Knights Templar and brought the Holy Grail with them. New Ross castle was built and provided a refuge for the Templars in the area, Bradley borrowed heavily from “The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail” by Baigent, Leigh, and Lincoln from 1982, which is curiously the same time that Bradley was involved with the Harris’.
New Ross, Nova Scotia Canada: Final Report
Holy Grail Across the Atlantic, Bradley 1988
Joan Harris became upset that Bradley had changed the Harris’ names in his book and didn’t mention New Ross, only referring to it as “Cross” which he said was to protect their privacy and anonymity. Harris decided to self-publish a book called “A Castle in Nova Scotia" in 1997 in which she used the pen name, Joan Hope. In the book she puts forth the additional theory that the New Ross Castle/Estate was built by the Stuart monarchy, with help from Harris’ “de Hope” ancestors, that served as a hunting ground and hiding place for the Stuart royalty during the English Civil War. Harris cites supposed sketches from a Nauss family member of Lunenburg/Chester Nova Scotia that indicate a castle/estate was built and one of the Nauss family members from Germany came to Nova Scotia to construct it in 1626. The Compendium has referenced a variety of sources and have found absolutely no evidence to support this claim. In fact, according to our genealogical research, the first Nauss family member that came to Nova Scotia was Johann Christoph Nahs who was one of the first settlers of the new town of Lunenburg in 1753.
Storrowtown Villiage Museum
Historical research indicates that New Ross was first settled in 1816 by Captain William Ross who, along with his family, led 172 disbanded soldiers that were tasked with starting a settlement and blazing a road from Chester to Kentville to promote settlement of the interior of Nova Scotia. In "Voyages to North America Before John Cabot: Separating Fact from Fiction", Historian Brian Cuthbertson states that the New Ross site was once a Blacksmith’s shop and associated complex that provided the origin of the artifacts that the Harris’ found on the property. Cuthbertson identified a 1817 letter that requested William Ross to find a suitable location for Daniel McKay, blacksmith. A 1860 survey map shows a property in approximately the same location as the “Castle” site that was given to Daniel McKay. This evidence was backed up in 1985 when archeologists from Parks Canada investigated the alleged “Castle” site and determined it was indeed from the 19th Century. The artifacts were blacksmith related in origin and no further investigation of the site was recommended.
America Unearthed
Despite these professional and scientific conclusions, the myth regarding a Castle at New Ross persists to this day. Speculation regarding these original claims by Joan Harris, modified by Michael Bradley, continues to be proffered. A connection between the mythical New Ross Castle and Oak Island has been suggested. It appears that there is no correlation between the two sites other than the flowing of the Gold River between them. Based on all of this information, Compendium Investigations concludes that if "New Ross Castle" is being depicted on the Oak Island sketch, it is a modern creation and has no bearing on the Oak Island Mystery in any way. Please watch for more of our posts regarding this sketch in the upcoming weeks.
Good day from the Compendium!