“The Curse of Oak Island” is home to many theories.
The popular reality TV series, which follows Marty and Rick Lagina and their dedicated crew of treasure hunters, archaeologists, diggers, and family members, has spent years combing over a mysterious Canadian island that supposedly contains a vast amount of hidden relics, valuable artifacts, and precious loot. Those on the show have yet to find their grand payday, but have found enough historical items to inspire the group of “Oak Island” to continue their search. As far as the speculative treasure goes, though, how it might have come to rest on Oak Island is subject to much speculation.
One theory says that the Knights Templar fled their destruction and came to the New World (per Oak Island Mystery), while another hypothesis says that the island was actually an outpost of the Aztec Empire. There are other theorists who have believed that Christopher Columbus brought the Ark of the Covenant to the island, or that the island could be a hidden repository for pirates (via How Stuff Works).
Recently, though, a new fan theory may have actually opened up a whole new line of questioning and possibilities.
A fan theory believes Oak Island was home to a Knights Templar drydock
Taking to Reddit, user scottthebard postulated a theory that believes the Knights Templar used Oak Island as a drydock, and that the location known as “Smith’s Cove” is actually the remnants. They said, “If we assume some of the Smiths Cove features to be pre-searcher, we get a drydock. That covers the massive stone works in the swamp and why it joins the two islands. The U shaped structure and other pre-searcher works in Smiths Cove, along with the stone foundation that is near Isaac’s point leads me to see a defensive post. I believe that the way it is facing the open bay would be perfect for a ship to sail in, make dock to be repaired after a transatlantic voyage, and remain mostly hidden.” They continued by arguing that they believed the Templars moved wealth and goods to the island around the year 1170, until the island eventually went dark during the purge of the Templars.
Based on this theory, these secrets were passed down through family generations, and if it’s accurate, then it means there are no less than three different locations of treasure.
Other “Oak Island” viewers were intrigued by this line of reasoning, though not everyone was convinced. Reddit user chrisbachmann agreed with the idea that there may have been a drydock, while user OldDriller thought that this theory didn’t make much sense because drydocks have been a more recent innovation, and believed that a boat larger than a Viking Longship could not have been possibly unloaded in the swamp.
It seems that fans of “The Curse of Oak Island,” like the people they watch, are far from done using their imaginations to unlock the secrets of the island.