The Oak Island Deception: Part 4 - The Knights of Christ and the Teutonic Knights

Eighteen years before the King of France attacked and destroyed the Templar Order, King Denis of Portugal signed the Concordat of Fourty Articles with Pope Clement V swearing to protect the Roman Catholic Church's interests in Portugal. So while the French King was trying to destroy the Church's power in France, the Portuguese King was committing its loyalty to the Church. Importantly, in 1317, ten years after the Templars were arrested in France, King Denis started the formation of the Portuguese Navy. Two years later he created the "Order of Christ", which was formed from surviving Templars. In 1319, Denis successfully lobbied Pope John XXII to formally recognize the new order, and most importantly its right to inherit the Templar assets and property - which would of course include the treasures on Oak Island.

                                                             King Denis of Portugal

                                                                "Father of Portugal"

Over a hundred years earlier, the Teutonic Knights were founded as a "hospitaller" order in the Holy Land by a prominent German businessmen, at which time they were named "The Order of Brothers of the German House of St. Mary in Jerusalem". (a long name indeed) In 1190, while still in the Holy Land, Acre to be exact, the order was rebranded as a Roman Catholic military order named the Teutonic Knights. The order controlled such important things as tolls charged in the harbour of Acre, and was recognized officially by the Pope in Rome. The order also became a naval power in the Black Sea, and purchased Montfort Castle, which was north east of Acre. With this strategic position, the Teutonic Knights controlled the route from Jerusalem to the Mediterranean Sea. They held onto the castle until 1271, at which time they were forced to retreat to port city of Acre during the collapse of the Catholic Church's control of the Holy Land. 

                                                        The port fort of Acre

After the war in the Holy Land, the Teutonic Knights focused their energies on eastern Europe - the modern areas of Poland, Ukraine, and the Baltic States. In 1309, two years after the Templar mass arrest, the Teutonic Knights purchased the castles of Gdansk, Swiecie and TcKew, and the surrounding areas. Eventually the Order went to war with Poland, which was ended by the Treaty of Kalisz in 1343. In 1346, the Duchy of Estonia was sold by the King of Denmark to the Knights for 19,000 Cologne Marks. Clearly the Knights Templar were a Roman Catholic military order with a lot of wealth after their withdrawal from the Holy Land. 

Suffice it to say that by the time the Catholic military orders had fled the Holy Land they were a force that controlled vast military power in Europe, and had combined navies greater than that of an single nation. The Templar gold that was stored at Acre before its fall, in the hands of left the hands of these two orders. Whether the gold went first to the Templar controlled island of Cyprus, or the Church controlled island of Malta, or any other place, is still unknown. However, one thing is certain: a massive naval operation would have been necessary to evacuate not just the gold, but also all the troops that were stationed there. Such a massive naval exercise would have required the fleets of both the Templars and the Teutonic Knights. 

In 1420, after nearly a hundred years after its creation, "Henry the Navigator" became the Grand Master of the Knights of Christ. Henry was known for bringing map makers from around Europe to modernize the maps known to the world at that time. Also, and importantly, Henry directed a new class of ship, the Caravel, be developed, which was fast, maneuverable and could sail into winds. The new ships were sent into the Atlantic, and on their sails they carried the Knights of Christ's cross. Henry's primary objective with these ships was to master the trade winds of the Atlantic, which would mean direct travel across the ocean, rather than the need to follow shorelines. In a sense, he was copying King Solomon's efforts to cross directly to Ophir rather than take the much longer trip around the continent of Africa. 

By 1347 we know, by Zena's Map, that only very initial work had started on the Oak Island project. It appears by that time the Templars had taken over responsibility for guarding of the holy treasures for the Catholic Church. It also appears likely that they removed the Holy Treasures from its initial resting place on lot 5, and created a new resting place in the "vault under the ground" for it. It also appears that the Templars were starting a new excavation on the south east of the swamp. All this being noted thirty years after the Templars had been arrested. Zena's Map also makes it clear that the swamp at that time was dry land and was not used for naval purposes. The "death triangle", used for offloading boats, etc. was on the other side of the island - which was safely protected from the waves and winds of Mahone Bay. At this point we don't know how much of the Acre/India gold was able to be stored on Oak Island. Given the excavations noted on Zena's Map, it would appear that only a limited amount of gold could be stored there at that time - unless it was superficially buried before its permanent residence was ready.

                                                            Zena's Map (1347)

When the Knights of Christ took over from the Templars in the early 1300's the operation on Oak Island simply continued as before. The Knights of Christ, likely with the help of the Teutonic Knights navy, continued to extract gold from southern India. It should be noted that Zena's Map refers to the southern Indians, and that was thirty years after the fall of the Templars. Therefore, it is logical to conclude that the relationships between southern India and the Knights of Christ survived the collapse of the Templars. 

It was the Knights of Christ that stopped using the sheltered northern side of Oak Island for the exposed south side. From a construction point of view, the southern side of the island offered an easier place to dock large ships. The knights of Christ started a massive excavation in what we now know as the swamp. Specifically, they excavated the eastern side of the swamp to create a harbour deep enough to accommodate the larger ships of the time, which the smaller Roman and Templar boats did not need. Take note of the Lidar image below and the steep cuts to the eastern bank of the swamp:

There would be no need to excavate the eastern side of the swamp to make it deeper other than for the purpose of creating a harbour, and it has clearly been excavated. Further evidence for a port is the so-called "stone road". It is established that this "road" was built by the Portuguese some 500 years ago at least - likely older than that. The "road" is in fact a sea wall to shelter the ships in the harbour from wind driven seas - which has been a common practice for centuries. What is most interesting is how the peninsula protruding into the middle of the swamp from the eastern side is almost at the same angle as the stone sea wall, which further proves it was a sea wall. Next to the peninsula is the flattened stone area at the north of the swamp. The logical deduction is that the peninsula was used as the docking area, and the goods were off loaded onto the flattened stone wharf next to it. From there the goods were moved onto the land via the ramp found right next to the stone area. 

              The Oak Island harbour site. Take note of the stone roads built and where they lead to...

    

                                                The Portuguese stone sea wall.

   

                                                            The stone wharf

                                                            The stone ramp area

        Colombo Fort/Harbour built by the Portuguese in the 1500's

The Colombo Fort harbour was built as a permanent place, although the Portuguese disassembled the port, only to rebuild it 50 years later. The Oak Island harbour was never built to be a permanent port requiring security from other navies. It was built in a location unknown to most of the world, with the sole purpose of functioning as a depository. When it had served its purpose the Portuguese would also "disassemble" it, but in this case they used the sea wall as an anchor for filling in the harbour to hide its existence. It should also be noted that a settlement of sorts appears in Lidar images on the western hill next to the swamp, which would look out over the harbour area, not unlike the the image of the Colombo Fort above.

            The blue area is the general outline of the settlement area, and the yellow area is the location on             Zena's Map of the vault buried under the earth. Take note of the path leading from the                            yellow/blue area to the corner of the swamp. These paths (not the road) appear to be oxen paths             for dumping mining debris in the swamp area.

The Knights of Christ and the Teutonic Knights continued to excavate and ship gold to Oak Island for centuries after the Oak Island excavation. Unlike the Roman days, they sailed directly across the ocean to Oak Island, which kept their activities even more of a secret. Their navy's movements could not be tracked by their visiting of ports along a coastal route. In 1501 Pope Julius II introduced a tax on the Knights of Christ's income of three quarters of their income, and abolished the need for them to swear an oath of poverty. Thus, the Catholic Church essentially privatized the order, but taxed it heavily. That was the trade off. Therefore, Oak Island served as a convenient "tax haven" for the order. What the Church didn't know about could not be taxed, giving the planet its first off shore tax haven.

The Portuguese Crown eventually decided that the gold of southern India, along with its spices and other natural resources, would become the property of the Portuguese Crown. In 1498, Portuguese explorer Vasco De Gama, a member of the Knights of Christ, was officially the first Portuguese to land in India. He landed in southern India, in Goa. In 1505 the Portuguese began their official occupation of southern India, which lasted until 1961. In a real sense, the De Gama visit to India marked the end of the Roman Catholic Church's monopoly of southern India's gold. The occupation merely seven years later by the Portuguese was their statement of taking over the Roman/Catholic/Templar/Teutonic/Knights of Christ role as keepers of the Oak Island secret and treasure - namely the body of Christ, the Ark of the Covenant, and the Temple treasures. That doesn't include the largest gold treasure in history. 

In 1551 Pope Julius III granted the order "perpetual administration" to the King of Portugal, which further distanced the order from the Roman Catholic Church. In 1522, by Papal order, the order of Knights of Christ was divided in two: a religious order under the control of the Pope; and a civil order under the King. In 1523, Jerome Friars were ordered by the Pope to reform the order of the Knights of Christ. By 1529 new statutes applying to the order were approved, and all documents of the order were ordered destroyed. The remaining Knights were ordered to return to convent life. In 1567, Pope Pius V gave control of the convents of the order to its Grand Master. 

The Portuguese continued to hold onto their possession of Oak Island, and its treasure, until 1580, when the Roman Catholic Spanish monarchy defeated Portuguese, French and British forces. This marked the end of the rogue Catholic orders control and development of Oak Island. After the Spanish victory in the War of Portuguese Succession, Phillip II of Spain assumed the Portuguese Crown in 1581, and Portugal and its oversees territories became his possessions - including Oak Island. Spain now held the treasure of Oak Island, and therefore control of its secrets. Please remember that the holder of the Oak Island secrets necessarily held a position of power over other countries and the Catholic Church by the virtue of its contents. The power was now in a very Catholic friendly country. In a sense it represented the return of the treasure to the Roman Catholic Church's influence. Until this time, the Templars in Britain, France and their descendants in Portugal had been in charge. Now it was Spain who became the new defender of the faith, and holder of the secret. 

                                                               Phillip II of Spain

The Spanish contribution to the Oak Island treasure, if any, is not known at this time. Findings on Oak Island suggest the Spanish were present on the Island in the 1600's. Several Spanish coins point to this fact. Importantly, Spanish coins were found in the swamp. Given the history of the Oak Island project, it would seem reasonable to conclude that the Spanish had a hand in "filling in the swamp". Beyond that possible contribution, there is little other evidence of their presence on Oak Island. There is also plenty of evidence that suggests the Portuguese were very active on Oak Island until they were defeated by the Spanish. 

A QUICK NOTE:    As I am writing this series the show has been running last seasons results. I was interested to note that in episode 17 the team found a lead stick which their analyst found the item came from the Scandinavian region. While it is very unlikely, as the show suggested, that Vikings were hanging out with Templars on Oak Island, it does lend credence to the theory that the Teutonic Knights were present on Oak Island. 

CONCLUSIONS:

1.    The Knights of Christ and the Teutonic Knights played a significant role in the Oak Island                       operation. Clearly, the Templars would have not been able to move all the Indian gold they held at        Acre without the naval assistance of the Teutonic Knights. It is also evident that excavations at Oak        Island were still rudimentary by 1347, which necessarily means the Knights of Christ did most of           the work after that.

2.    The Knights of Christ were the primary developer of the underground complex on Oak Island, they        finished the excavations in the bed rock where the treasures are stored, using Southern Indian               labour and know how, and left Nolan's Cross and the other surveying markers in place when they           left. The purpose of leaving these markers, especially Nolan's Cross, was to provide a treasure map       for the future. In other words, this treasure was meant to be found and not lost to history. The                  Knights of Christ built Nolan's Cross, and the proof of that is coming in the next part to this series.          Suffice it to say for now that Nolan's Cross, in conjunction with other geometric symbols, pin point       the exact spot of the treasure, and therefore only those that had completed the under ground                  complexes would know where that spot would be. That could not have been the Templars. The              Knights of Christ also built a sheltered harbour at Oak Island, which also could not have been built       by the Templars - given Zena's Map.

3.    The Crown of Portugal, and the country as a whole benefitted significantly from their collaboration        with the remnants of the Templars, which became the Knights of Christ. King Denis, who provided        the Templars a new base and name, was formally known in history as the "Father of Portugal", and        the Knights of Christ had everything to do with this. The Portuguese Crown took over the gold               trade from Southern India from the Knights of Christ, and Portugal became a major player in the           world (and rich) - especially in the maritime and colonization world.

The Oak Island Deception: Part 3 - The Templars

In 1099, Christian armies of western Europe, captured the Holy Land (Israel) from the Muslims. European pilgrims began visiting Israel, and especially Jerusalem, shortly thereafter. In 1113 the Knights Hospitaller was founded as a Catholic military order. Its full name was Knights of the Order of the Hospital of Saint John in Jerusalem. In 1113 the Knights of Malta, known as the Knights Hospitaller, established a hospital in Jerusalem to care for pilgrims. In that same year Pope Paschal II officially recognized the monastic community as a lay religious order. In 1118 French knight Hugues de Payens created a military order, along with eight relatives and acquaintances, called the Poor Knights of Christ.  The stated purpose of the order was to protect European pilgrims from bandits, who were robbing and killing pilgrims during their journey. In 1119 the Poor Knights of Christ were granted quarters on the Temple Mount, where Solomon's original temple was located. In 1129 the Templars were granted the formal endorsement of the Catholic Church, and in 1139 Pope Innocent II issued a Papal Bull that granted the Templars rights which made them exempt from taxes and answerable only to the Pope. Fifty years after the Templars established themselves in Jerusalem, 1190, the Teutonic Knights were formally recognized as another armed branch of the Catholic Church and were headquartered in Acre - the fortress port of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land.

We won't go into all the history of the Templars here. Suffice it to say that the Templars, and other Catholic military orders, became the armed wings of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land. It is important to remember that, although these were separate organizations under the control of the Catholic Church, they were all solely responsible to the Pope. Furthermore, they should not be viewed as individual organizations, but rather as a collective and cooperating group. They were from the onset a multi-national force, and this is reflected in the work on Oak Island later. 

The Templars created the first "traveler cheque" system, whereby pilgrims could leave their funds with the Templars in their home country, then be given a receipt, which would be refunded by the Templars in the Holy Land - for a fee. Many people considered this aspect of the Templars' organization as the first multi-national banking system. What people don't understand is that the Templars also offered this service for pirates. We'll get to that in a bit.

It has become common for many researchers to believe that Templar excavations underneath the Temple Mount revealed such treasures as the Menorah, however as we've seen on the Titus Victory Arch, Romans were the group that found the Temple treasures and not the Templars. What the Templars did discover was information on the source of Solomon's gold - that is the Ophir Valley in India. 

The Templars had a large "naval force", at this time mostly leased merchant ships, but some fighting ships as well. They used the "Jolly Roger" flag as their naval battle flag. It's origins lay in the disgusting story of a single Templar in Sidon, Lebanon. In the Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, the authors state:

    "A great lady of Maraclea was loved by a Templar, A Lord of Sidon; but she died in her youth, and on      the night of her burial, this wicked lover crept to the grave, dug up her body and violated it. Then a         voice from the void bade him return in nine months time for he would have a son. He obeyed the         injunction and at the appointed time he opened the grave again and found a head on the leg bones of      the skeleton (skull and crossbones). The same voice bade him 'guard it well, for it would be the giver      of all good things,' and so he carried it away with him. It became his protecting genius, and he was         able to defeat his enemies by merely showing them the magic head. In due course, it passed to the         possession of the order."

This horrid story is a sign of things to come for the Templars. As the Templars occupied Lebanon, Syria and Israel, they began to learn and practice non-Christian beliefs. In other words, they became corrupted. The corruption reshaped the Order. They learned from their Catholic sources, which involved the leading families of western Europe whose sons had been Popes, about the secret of Oak Island. They knew Christ had not resurrected in the body. Essentially they turned on Jesus as their savior, and they began secretly mocking him. More on that to come. They knew where the treasure of Solomon was buried. They knew where Ophir was, and the riches they could extract from it.

Sometime between 1129 and 1300 they discovered Solomon's gold mines, and began extracting vast amounts of gold using their own merchant ships. Initially they funneled that gold from India to the Holy Land. They held a vast amount of the gold underground at their fortress in Acre. From their they would distribute it to their "franchises" in Europe, but only as much as required to conduct their loaning practices. The Templars branched out into privateering, by "sub-contracting" to persons they were close to, but allowing themselves a certain amount of plausible deniability by using intermediators. Such is the case of Roger de Flor. Flor was the protege and first mate to a Templar lay-brother sergeant called Brother Vassayll, one of the few ship's captains permanently employed by the Templars to transport goods to Outremer. Vassayll took on Flor as an apprentice. Flor was very skilled in all things maritime - especially raiding other ships. According to Muntaner: "the Templars did so well with this ship that they liked none so well as this one." However, as Muntaner relates, Flor gave a large part of the profits to the order, but "envious people told the Master (of the Templars) that he had cheated the Templars, since he had still more." Flor was assassinated in 1305. The Templar skull and cross bones, commonly seen today as a pirate symbol, became the symbol for many military and, even secretive, evil organizations:

MILITARY:

                                            German Nazi SS

        

                                                                            British

                                            Jolley Roger Templar Navy/Pirate Flag

                    

                                               US covert forces Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos

        

                                                               US 101rst Airbourne 

        

MASONIC:

Clearly, the Templar Sidon skull has made its way into many places since those fateful early days. The Sidon skull will come to feature very prominently in the Oak Island story as well. More than you can imagine, it is associated with the Oak Island treasure. Coincidently, here is the logo for the Curse of Oak Island show:

    There is more to this image than you can imagine, and that will come shortly, but suffice it to say for     now that it is integral to the location of the Oak Island treasure. 

The truth is the Templars, like every multi-national corporation, had diversified since their beginnings. Disillusioned by their loss of faith because they held the remains of Jesus, and heavily influenced by mistic teachings of other beliefs, the Templars became a secretive, corrupted order that focused on gathering wealth rather than being defenders of the faith. There are also rumored individual treasures deposited around Oak Island, and this appears to be true. 

Without getting into all the treasures, because we really don't know how many there are yet, it appears that the Templars were also acting like a combination of "fences" (those that buy stolen items cheaply) and offshore, secretive banking. This is, at this point, is a theory. Consider, however, the treasure of William Phips for example. It is rumored, with some evidence, that he hid a treasure of  Spanish gold and silver on Oak Island. In such a case, he would be rewarded a cash settlement that he could use back in Britain and Europe. The treasure would otherwise useless to him. Given the deep ties between pirates and the Templars, it seems logical to assume the Templars established a similar system as they certainly had when dealing with pilgrims going to the Holy Land - take their cash and give them notes of reimbursement, minus the fee, which they can cash in at any Templar post. It is also evident that the Templars served all sides. Pirates were the plausibly deniable forces that all kingdoms used to raid and hamper expansion of competing empires. In that sense it was a multi-national industry, and that fits perfectly with the Templars' own mode of operation. They became wealthy from their Middle East pilgrim money, the mining of gold in southern India, the fencing of pirate treasure, and revenue from the holdings they were bequeathed. The other big, big card they held was the ability to black mail the Pope and the Catholic Church over the Temple treasures, and Jesus's remains. In short, in that era of mankind, they were invincible - or so they thought.

 It is common for people today to say the King of France quashed the Templars, because he hoped to cancel his debt to the Templars, but that appears to be an attempt to white wash the Templars by the organizations that succeeded them. In other words, propaganda. A closer examination of the facts surrounding the times show French King Philip was really interested more in consolidating national power in France to the monarchy, and that was to the detriment of those who owed their allegiances elsewhere. In 1301, while conducting this struggle for centralization of power against the Catholic Church, Philip arrested a French Bishop for treason. Pope Boniface VIII retaliated by suspending Philip's right to tax priestly orders and summoned French clergy to Rome for "consultations." Pope Boniface then passed a Papal Bull declaring universal Papal authority - including over King Philip, which he publicly burned. In 1303, just as Pope Boniface was preparing to excommunicate Philip from the Roman Catholic Church, the King with others had him arrested. Two days later local authorities rescued him from capture, but he died a month later before he could excommunicate Philip. He was replaced by Pope Clement V.

                                                                Pope Boniface VIII

In 1304, King Philip received Papal guarantees from Clement that he would not have to participate in further crusades to the Holy Land, and he was also absolved of having to pay back money he took from the French clergy.  In  1305, Philips wife, Queen Joan died. He was very close to her, and she was a woman of strong virtuous views. It is her death that seemed to cause Philip to focus on issues of morality and conscience. It is also the same year that a former Templar made accusations against the Templars. In 1305, likely as a result of the accusations against the Templars, Pope Clement V of Avignon, France attempted to merge the Templars and Hospitallers into one Catholic military order. The idea was not received well by either Grand Master. In 1306, Philip continued consolidating power and wealth in France by expelling all Jews from the country. Happily for him, he also received their lands and any tax money he was owed. In the same year he invited Jaques de Molay (Templar Grand Master) and Fulk de Villaret (Hospitaller Grand Master) to France to try and convince them of the merger. De Molay did not make it to the meeting in France until early 1307. The Pope and DeMolay discussed criminal charges that had been made two years earlier by an ousted Templar. It was these charges that French King Philip IV of France insisted on prosecuting the Templars for. The charges involved Templars forcing initiates to spit on the crucifix, practicing wide-spread homosexuality within the order, worshipping a head (thought to that of John the Baptist), and worshipping Baphomet (the devil) - which was likely true as we will see. 

                                                                

    

                                                            King Philip of France

        

                                                                Pope Clement V

By 1307, King Philip was focusing on the Templars to consolidate his position versus the Catholic Church. He insisted that both the Templars and Hospitallers be consolidated. Templar resistance to consolidation with the Hospitallers, combined with the accusations of the former Templar of 1305, motivated Philip to notify Pope Clement that he intended to round up and prosecute the entire order. The Pope was at the same time conducting an internal Church investigation of the charges, and tried to convince Philip to wait for his investigations result. Philip, true to form, showed the Pope who was boss in France and issued arrest warrants for all Templars. 

What becomes clear is that the Templars' downfall was a result of a jurisdiction war between the King of France and the Catholic Church - which had been brewing for years, and of course the accusations made by a former Templar. The Pope tried to stop the prosecution of the Templars, because he likely knew the knowledge they had of the Church's origin, especially the burial of the body of Jesus and the Temple treasures. An investigation involving torture, outside of Papal control, would prove fatal to the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, Clement could not get Philip to backdown, and when Philip acted unilaterally the Templars as an official organization were destroyed.

They left behind a deep legacy, a lot of very dangerous secrets, and many survivors. Books have been written on the Templars and their exploits, but this is a blog series so we can't get too far into that. Suffice it to say that they began as the "poor monk soldiers", but were really knights from noble families. They began as a lie, and ended as a lie. They plundered southern India for gold, charged poor pilgrims protection money, and collected large fees on pirate treasure - without any national allegiance. In a sense, they acted like a mafia, which might be an apt description considering they operated out of Italy - more-or-less. The big lesson in this is the Templars were an armed division of the Catholic Church, and their treasure was the Roman Catholic Church's secret treasure. Most of the stories surrounding the Oak Island treasure are focused on secretive military orders but, as seen thus far in this series, all roads lead back to Rome. 

  

The Oak Island Deception: Part II - Solomon's Gold and Zena's Map

Solomon's Gold:

1400 years before the Romans buried the Temple relics and Jesus on Oak Island, on the other side of the world, King Solomon was beginning his rule of Israel. Solomon, being the son of King David, was instructed on the value of diplomacy and treaties between nations by his father. King David was a warrior, but he developed strong regional friendships as well, such as Hiram, King of Tyre (ancient city in Lebanon). It's interesting that such a friendship would be possible considering Hiram worshipped Baal, which the Jews were instructed by the Lord in the Old Testament was evil and should be destroyed. Solomon himself married 700 women from different nations and tribes of Israel, which did not include his 300 concubines. He did so to cement alliances - mostly economic. He focused on international trade, and used the navies of Lebanon and Tarshish (modern southernmost Spain) to grow Israel's economy and power. 

Through his relations with the Tarshish, Solomon discovered the riches of Ophir - which normally referred to the "gold of Ophir" as described in the Old Testament. The Old Testament (meaning the Jewish Bible) described the arrival every 3 years of the ships of Tarshish with gold, silver, ivory, peacocks, precious stones and algum wood. There was only one place in the world where all these items were indigenous and that was India - in this case the Indian territories known as Kerala and Karnataka (South Western India). Southern India was the site of ancient gold mining in India:

Although many people debate where the biblical Ophir is, Google Earth labels Ophir as:

The  truth is "Ophir" was not a city, but a massive valley in Southern India. The Indians had developed bedrock mining in ancient times, and it was not uncommon for their mine shafts to be 100's of meters deep into the bedrock. This fact will be discussed further when we talk about Zena's map. The "Kochi Jews" claim their residency in India from Solomon's time. They started their Indian life in Cranganore, which was the main port city of Western India during Solomon's times. It was later filled in by silt during a tsunami, and the major port functions shifted to the south at Kochi. When that happened the Jewish residents also moved to Kochi, and became known as the Kochi Jews. The Kochi Jews were involved in the trading of diamonds, gold, and silver. They were the ultimate middlemen for King Solomon. Solomon was highly respected in India, and the Kochi Jews were granted land and what can best be described as Royal protection. Even the Chinese trading missions respected the position of the Kochi Jews. Kochi is located roughly 50 miles from the Ophir Valley.

Apparently Solomon figured out that if he built a fleet of ships in the southern Israeli city of  Ezion Geber he could stop using Tarshish ships, which travelled around the Horn of Africa to reach India (a 3 year return round trip journey), and sail directly to the port city of Cranganore. Solomon would receive 16 tons of gold each trip in a third of the time. India's gold made Solomon and Israel rich. 200 years later, Judean King Jehoshaphat attempted to build his own fleet in Ezion Geber, to replicate Solomon's direct trade with Cranganore/Ophir, but his entire fleet was destroyed during a storm and they never made it. The story of the gold of Ophir is very important in relation to Zena's Map, and the next part of the series, so please remember this. 

Interestingly, the Romans also traded with southern India after they conquered Egypt. Here is a Roman axe pin made of gold from the 3rd century, which was found in the Kochi area:

Zena's Map

                                                                        Zena Halpern

Zena Halpern came onto the Curse of Oak Island show for seasons 4 and 5 before she passed away. Zena studied everything Knight's Templar, which is interesting because her faith is Jewish (the story will explain why as we go). Zena presented to the Lagina brothers a map that she claimed to have discovered loosely placed in a book she found while researching the topic. The map claims to be a Templar map of Oak Island from 1347, and is sent from one "Lion Cub of Talmont" to one "Mr. Frangorska Rochefoucauld". It describes its purpose as: a "tiny bit of knowledge"; describes the process of reaching the island; obstacles to avoid; an entrance to something; and landmarks on the island. It is a fascinating glimpse into Oak Island as it existed in 1347, and the state of construction at that point in time. 

The "Lion Cub of Talmont" actually refers to Louis De La Cerda (1291-1348). He was a French naval officer, who subsequently became Admiral of the French Fleet - his rank when the map was made. In 1344 Pope Clement VI made him the Prince of Fortuna (the Canary Islands). He was the first Count of Talmont, and died on July 5, 1348 - one year after the map's date. 

Mr. Frangorska Rochefoucauld was Guy VII de Rochefoucauld, a knight and noble in west central France. He combined several small towns into one town known as Rochefoucauld. His family was known for building the first castle in the area on solid rock - hence the beginning of the name "Roche" or rock in English. After Guy VII built a Carmalite Convent in Rochefoucauld, the Bishop of the area, Bishop Aglin de Blaye, excommunicated him from the Catholic Church. The Carmalite Order was not based on any Catholic saints, which was rare, but on the Jewish prophet Elijah - hence the ex-communication. He died at the side of the King of France in the Battle of Poitiers in 1356, 9 years after Zena's map was created. The "Rochefoucauld  Grail", a hundred miniature paintings of noble life and chivalry at the time, was made in his honour. 

The map itself has come under attack by critics who claim it cannot be authentic, because the French used in it is rudimentary and sometimes wrong. They have a point, and what they say is true, but they speak from ignorance of the structure of Catholic holy orders. In the 1300's there were a number of Catholic military orders. These orders spread all over Europe. The key to understanding the authenticity of Zena's Map is the word "Frangorska". Frangorska in English means "man from the mountain".  The "mountain" part of the name is telling and comes later in this series, but the use of the term "gorska" is of Polish origin. In the 1300's the dominant holy military order was the Teutonic Knights, with a minor order named Knights of the Cross and Red Star also existing in the area - they originated from Prague, but made their way to a small part of southern Poland. It is more likely than not that Zena's Map was a reproduction of the original for use amongst the Teutonic Knights. It gave them knowledge of the treasure, and was handed down over the years. You may think this is a stretch, but the links between the Teutonic Knights and the Masonic Order of Royal Archer Masonry are real. 

The Order of the Royal Archers was at one time the bodyguards of the Scottish King. Today it is the Order dedicated to protecting the treasure on Oak Island, specifically the Ark of the Covenant - we'll get into that later. Here is a picture of modern Royal Arch Masons getting together with modern Teutonic Knights. The Royal Arch Masons wear the Red Cross of the Templars, and the Teutonic Knights wear the Black Cross of their order:

The fact is, the Polish reproduction of the Zena Map is authentic, and the features it does and does not show, prove that. It's a picture in time - 1347. In all probability, Louis De La Cerda, the Lion Cub of Talmont, knew he was dying of an illness and wanted to share his secret with Rochefoucauld before his death at age 57. He may have succumbed to the Black Plague which was striking Europe at that time, or something he picked up from his journey to Oak Island and back. Finding his cause of death has been impossible, other than it was "untimely". One side note, which I will expand on later, is the term "Lion Cub of Talmont". The "Lion Cub" part of the title is not referring to Richard the Lion Hearted, as is sometimes suggested, but rather to the "Young lions of Tarshish" from the Old Testament. The young lions of Tarshish were those men that sailed the seas without fear to bring gold from southern India to Israel. The underlying preposition is that  Louis De La Cerda, a secret Templar, was transporting Ophir gold to Oak Island - more on that later.

Zena's Map has several verifiable details on it:

Firstly it shows the "anchor stones", which have been found on Oak Island and are still there. The rest has yet to be dug up, which is strange if you consider the "entrance at the Oak tree", was the original shaft built by the Templars. It also shows a dam, which was coincidentally invented by Roman Emperor Vespasian to desilt harbors. From Lidar images the outlines of the ancient dam still remain. It shows the reef near Oak Island and advises not to take ships through there.

The Zena Map really describes the logistics of the Oak Island operation. It shows a Lebateau, or large ship, taken to the west, and a small boat, Le barque heading east. The underlying meaning is they come fully loaded when heading west, and are fully unloaded when  heading home. It also shows that they anchor their ships behind Frog Island nearby, and bring small boats to Oak Island, which would suit both the avoidance of the reef and being hidden from the open sea. It shows the existing hatch, valve, death triangle (used to drag cargoes over land, to lower cargoes into shafts, and to remove stone debris from shafts), the anchor stones (which were surveying points), the original Templar shaft at the southeast of the swamp, and the subsurface vault. It's a fascinating look at the early days of the Oak Island project.

The Zena Map is also equally fascinating for what it doesn't show. It doesn't show the circular feature on Lot 5, Nolan's Cross, a massive swamp, or any other shafts being built. It doesn't describe why the feature was being built, or what treasure they found under the hatch. The only hint of that treasure was the words "Lion cub of Talmont", meaning the young lions of Tarshish who transported the gold from India. Zena's Map does give a tantalizing hint to this end: "the southern Indians work very good". In 1347 there were only one people that were referred to as "Indians", and they were the people of India. The reference to "southern" Indians refers to the bedrock miners of Kerbela and Karnataka, India. It is they who toiled to build the vast underground complex on Oak Island. Yes that is also the region of King Solomon's Ophir, and the place of the Kochi Jews. In case you are wondering if the reference to "lion cub" is synonymous with the biblical "young lions", have a look of this picture from the closed Masonic lodge in Mahone Bay, NS - the town just off Oak Island:

As you can see, the picture shows Solomon on his throne. The arm rests of his throne are large grey lions, but flanking them are golden lion cubs. In the background, on the right, you can see the outline of the Templar fort in Acre - their last stand in the Holy Land. The message is that the Templars left Acre, with their gold, and the sun no longer shines on it, because it has moved to a new land. The golden lion cubs signify the transportation of gold from Ophir, India, which was the source of Solomon's wealth, to the new world (Oak Island). There are three more frescoes in the Lodge that we will deal with later that get far more specific about the treasure. It is noteworthy that this Masonic Lodge closed in 2014, the same year the Curse of Oak Island started airing on television.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  King Solomon was aware of the gold deposits in southern India, and this is the biblical Ophir gold.         Solomon sent a Jewish contingent to Kochi area to organize the export of this gold, as well as other      luxury goods, and to act as his ambassadors. He used the young lions of Tarshish to transport the             gold in three year cycles, but eventually built his own fleet in southern Israel to facilitate a much             quicker return trip, and cut out the Tarshish middlemen. 

2.  Zena's Map is a true copy of the original and it originated in Poland with the Catholic military                 order of the Teutonic Knights. It's purpose was handing down the information between Catholic             military orders. The originator of the map and the receiver of the map are real historical figures             linked to the Catholic military order of the Knights Templar. Zena's Map acts as a historical snap             shot of the existing works on Oak Island in 1347, and the logistical approach taken to build the             works by its early engineers. 

3. The Knights Templar, in conjunction with other Catholic military orders, transported massive                quantities of gold from Acre and southern India to Oak Island. The knowledge of this treasure, and        where it was buried was handed down to the Masons, because the original survey of Oak Island,            done by a Mason, shows knowledge of the surveying system used by the Templars during deposit.        The Royal Arch Lodge was and is responsible for the safe guarding of the Oak Island treasure, and         particularly with guarding of the Ark of the Covenant.

EPILOGUE:

    The connection between King Solomon and the Oak Island treasure cannot be understated. Not only     is it a treasure of gold from his mines, but it contains the holy relics from his Temple to the Lord. The     true nature of the Templar's wealth was not by way of land grants and donations, but the gold of            southern India. It is why so much of the current Masonic symbolism and culture is devoted to King        Solomon. In fact, much of it is a way of passing knowledge on to each generation of the treasure,            cloaked in rituals that give it a "humanistic" meaning. The real reason for the rituals, and the exact        nature of the Oak Island treasure are cloaked in secrecy until the Mason has successfully completed        the Royal Arch Masonry right. The natural and logical conclusion, with much more evidence to            come, is that the Masonic order is perpetuating something that began a long time ago - a grand                deception.