The Curse of Oak Island

[mr. tegu]

Has anyone else started watching this show? I am a sucker for this kind of thing and so far it has been very interesting. You can watch the first two episodes in the link below. Since this was filmed over the summer, if any of you have figured out what happens please use spoilers for anything that hasn't aired yet.

http://www.history.com/shows/the-curse-of-oak-island

For those who aren't familiar, very briefly, it is about an island on the eastern shore of Canada that is rumored to have buried treasure from possibly the Knights Templar dating back to the 1300s. In 1795 an apparent secret hiding space was discovered in which levels of wooden planks were buried every 10 feet. Digging down around a hundred feet, they found some gold link chain and a few other things. Eventually they dug to a point that causes the hold to be flooded by sea water as if it was some sort of boobie trap, which is believed to come from some type of tube that is out in the ocean.

Another person in the 1970s dug alongside the original hole but also got his hole flooded by sea water. These guys now who are on the show purchased most of the island and are trying to solve the mystery with help from the guys who dug their own hole in the 1970s. The hole curse aspect is just kind of meh and I don't really pay attention to it, but I am sure the producers just like the added element it presents. The mystery and adventure is really interesting. It is nice to see a show like this that is actually producing some results so far.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

I can't stand when he gets into the BS Freemason conspiracies. But when he pulls out the "Minoans mined thousands of tons of copper in Michigan during the early Bronze Age" I admit I can't stop watching.

To me the annoying thing about that show is that they constantly run up against legality issues so they often times introduce a story but can't really do anything about it.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

I've never heard of Minoans in North America but I have read that the Vikings were here long before Columbus and of course theories of Africans influencing the Olmec as well.

That's interesting stuff..

Oh man. You gotta check out the show, or several other sources for research about pre-Columbian voyagers.

Just off the top of my head:

1. They've found Viking rune stones and land claims in Kentucky, North Carolina, and OKLAHOMA.
2. There's evidence that Minoans mined copper in the Great Lakes region for (possibly) 1000 years during the early Bronze Age.
3. There's a tribe of native Americans in southern California that are of Polynesian descent and similar cultures exist on the coast of Chile, suggesting Polynesians were migrating here during the 10th, 11th, and 12th centuries.
4. There's stone solar chambers of 8th-9th century Irish origin all over the American northeast.
5. There's substantial evidence that the Welsh were here before Columbus and intermingled with the Mandan Indians. President Jefferson even suggested that Lewis and Clark keep their eye out for people of Welsh descent during their explorations.
6. Possible Egyptian artificacts and inscriptions have been found in Arizona and Illinois.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

To me the annoying thing about that show is that they constantly run up against legality issues so they often times introduce a story but can't really do anything about it.

We just laugh about it mostly. He's the master of building up to no conclusion.

"I can say without a doubt that it probably, maybe happened."

[mr. tegu]

The next episode comes on tonight in a few hours. I know the previews have some stuff about the curse stuff so I hope they don't spend too much time on that.

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Oh man. You gotta check out the show, or several other sources for research about pre-Columbian voyagers.

Just off the top of my head:

1. They've found Viking rune stones and land claims in Kentucky, North Carolina, and OKLAHOMA.
2. There's evidence that Minoans mined copper in the Great Lakes region for (possibly) 1000 years during the early Bronze Age.
3. There's a tribe of native Americans in southern California that are of Polynesian descent and similar cultures exist on the coast of Chile, suggesting Polynesians were migrating here during the 10th, 11th, and 12th centuries.
4. There's stone solar chambers of 8th-9th century Irish origin all over the American northeast.
5. There's substantial evidence that the Welsh were here before Columbus and intermingled with the Mandan Indians. President Jefferson even suggested that Lewis and Clark keep their eye out for people of Welsh descent during their explorations.
6. Possible Egyptian artificacts and inscriptions have been found in Arizona and Illinois.

That is incredible. It seems those ancient civilization may have been a lot more civilized than we care to admit?

[beach tribe]

Originally Posted by aturnis

I'm not sure why this is so nuts.

Is it more nuts than free diving? Or scuba diving in deep ocean water? What is so nuts about it?

What he did, with that gear that was likely primitive THEN, sure, a bit nuts, but with modern means?

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

That is incredible. It i seems those ancient civilization may have been a lot more civilized than we care to admit?

I rember reading in the local paper a few years back the they had dug up some 3000 year old mummified bodies in the everglades that were of caucasion decent.

Not sure about the specifics though, and my memory is pretty foggy on the subject.

[beach tribe]

There is definitely something at Oak isl.

No way anyone could have recovered it yet.

[seaofred]

This is just absolutely fascinating. I can't wait until next week. There has to be something in that swamp.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by seaofred

This is just absolutely fascinating. I can't wait until next week. There has to be something in that swamp.

It was just as feared this week though with all the curse stuff. They spent way too much time on that.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

That is incredible. It seems those ancient civilization may have been a lot more civilized than we care to admit?

Of course.

It's the whole "history is written by the victors" thing.

Just like the fact that the Gallic people weren't AT ALL barbaric, they had more sophisticated mathematics and calendars than the Romans. They also had enough gold to pay off Caesar's debts and enough status to make him a conquering hero. So the Romans conquer them, wipe out their greatest works, and then record them in history as bloodthirsty barbarians.

The US scientific community and the US government don't want to acknowledge pre-Columbian voyagers. If Columbus didn't discover America, the Spanish didn't own the Louisiana Territory. If the Louisiana Territory wasn't owned by Spain, they couldn't legally sell it to the US.

You should read up on the suicide of Merriweather Lewis.

[aturnis]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Of course.

It's the whole "history is written by the victors" thing.

Just like the fact that the Gallic people weren't AT ALL barbaric, they had more sophisticated mathematics and calendars than the Romans. They also had enough gold to pay off Caesar's debts and enough status to make him a conquering hero. So the Romans conquer them, wipe out their greatest works, and then record them in history as bloodthirsty barbarians.

The US scientific community and the US government don't want to acknowledge pre-Columbian voyagers. If Columbus didn't discover America, the Spanish didn't own the Louisiana Territory. If the Louisiana Territory wasn't owned by Spain, they couldn't legally sell it to the US.

You should read up on the suicide of Merriweather Lewis.

Science, or history? I guess I don't understand why scientists would give a **** about any of that.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by aturnis

Science, or history? I guess I don't understand why scientists would give a **** about any of that.

Geologists, paleontologists, anthropologists...

All scientists who, in part, study history.

In retrospect, I should have said "academic community" and perhaps it would have been more clear.

[Easy 6]

Sounds like I didnt miss much last night and its just as well, I was too schnockered to pay attention anyway.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by scott free

Sounds like I didnt miss much last night and its just as well, I was too schnockered to pay attention anyway.

You didn't miss anything. They pretty much did nothing with the actual expedition except they started draining the swamp at the very end.

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

You didn't miss anything. They pretty much did nothing with the actual expedition except they started draining the swamp at the very end.

Seems like they might be dragging this thing out for the sake of the show, if I were those brothers I'd be wanting to get to the bottom of it just as fast as possible.