The Treasure of the Knights Templar
While one can only speculate about what the treasure of the Knights Templar actually was, theories abound as to where it was hidden. One of the most pervasive assumptions is that it is buried deep underneath Oak Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. What makes this theory so compelling yet incredible is that Oak Island is far from France, from where the treasure was supposedly secreted away. The knights who survived the Friday the 13th massacre would have had to carry it all the way across the Atlantic Ocean, only hoping that they would find land on the other side.
The theory begins with the idea that the knights first carried the treasure up to Scotland, where they would find greater freedom, especially in light of laws there that allowed for greater freedom of religion. Some believe that those that stayed behind in Scotland were behind the construction of the mysterious Rosslyn Chapel, a Medieval church that lies a few miles south of the capital city, Edinburgh. To protect the treasure, some knights carried it first to Iceland, then on to Greenland, and finally to Nova Scotia, Canada. If the theory holds, then the Knights Templar may have preceded Christopher Columbus to the New World by over a century.
According to local legend, Daniel McGinnis, the first recorded settler on Oak Island, found a depression in the earth while surveying land for a farm in 1799. People claimed that Captain Kidd had buried his treasure there. A furious treasure hunt began, where several people lost their lives. However, there is no real evidence that treasure hunting began on Oak Island until the mid-nineteenth century. And there is no evidence that Captain Kidd buried treasure there. If anything, the evidence suggests that any treasure on Oak Island was from the Templars.
What the treasure hunters discovered is a pit that, at ten-foot intervals, had shafts made of either logs or flagstones. Clearly, someone had already visited Oak Island and dug the hole intentionally and with great care, presumably to bury a treasure of great value. In the time since the pit’s discovery, investors have put so much money into finding what lies hidden in it that it has come to be known as the “money pit.” Several people have died trying to find what lies at the bottom of the pit, leading to what some call “the curse of Oak Island,” rather than the treasure.
Symbols and icons found near the pit indicate the possibility of a Templar presence. Combined with the mystery and intrigue surrounding the group’s disappearance in Europe in the fourteenth century, many believe that the theory of the Templars burying their treasure at Oak Island is entirely plausible. If that is the case, then things like the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail, along with other mysterious relics and artifacts that the Templars uncovered at Solomon’s Temple, may indeed be buried at Oak Island.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“Secrets of the Knights Templar.” The History Channel.
“Who were the Knights Templar?” by Elizabeth Nix. The History Channel. October 17, 2012.