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 Treasure - X Marks the Spot

I began my research into the Oak Island mystery with an open mind, and trying to incorporate all the historically known facts into a comprehensive solution to the mystery: who started it; what did they hide; why did they hide it; and how to retrieve it. For the most part, my focus at the beginning was where is it and how do you access it. That mushroomed into a journey going back 2000 years, and I've decided that covering it in a series of blogs doesn't do the real story justice. 

Let's just say it started with the Romans going into Viking long-discovered territory, and burying the Ark of the Covenant, and the Temple treasures they "liberated"  from Jerusalem in 380 AD. The Emperor was Constans, son of Constantine the Great. They built a Temple on Oak Island, covered it in planted English oaks from their territory in Britain, and buried the Temple treasure in a relatively small shaft near their own Temple. The Romans considered the oak tree to be the most sacred of all trees, which is why only the highest ranking amongst them wore oak leaves on their heads. As they did in all places, the Romans scattered coins there for the "protection of the gods" on their next journey over the sea. The burying of the Temple treasure was done in the name of creating the Roman Catholic Church as the sole Roman Empire religion, and to kill Judaism in Juda (Israel), as Jews had been a major destabilizing force within the Roman Empire for over a century. 

As per Zena's Map (further in), the "trove" beneath the hatch. The use of the word "trove" means a treasure collection. Notice the long rectangular shape of the shaft, which matches the rectangular shape on Zena's map:

The Templars took part of their gold treasure from the Valley of Ophir, Southern India, from it's storage place either to Cyprus (which they controlled) and then onto Oak Island, or directly to it. The Teutonic Knights, another Roman Catholic Military order, who operated out of Acre and had the largest naval force in the nearby Black Sea, assisted the Templars in moving the treasure to Oak Island. The Knights of Christ were established in Portugal shortly after the 1307 dissolution of the Templars, which was essentially a brand name change. The Knights of Christ were the group that built the harbour at Oak Island (now referred to as the "swamp"), including the sea wall that is referred to as the "stone road". They built all the water tunnels, of which there are many from all sides of the island. They also covered everything up in the late 1600's early 1700's. Meaning they buried all evidence of roads, paths, pits, tunnels, and filled in the harbour making it into a swamp. What some people believe is a ship sunk in the swamp, is just the western wall of the artificial harbour deconstructed. They also filled in the entire area around the actual burial place of their treasure - which was sea water at the time.

Both the Templars and the Romans chose the north side of the island for the location of their treasure works. It seems obvious they were trying to hide their works from prying eyes at sea. In Roman and Templar times that could only be the Vikings. In other words, they knew each other, but they did not trust the Vikings with the knowledge of their treasure. During my research on the surveying used on Oak Island, I discovered that Viking rocks, shaped deliberately to match surveying lines, were present throughout Nova Scotia, Labrador, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and into Quebec. I also found evidence of the same surveying techniques in other places around the world. There are also plenty of Vikings symbols throughout the area, including on Oak Island. These symbols were either left by the Vikings or copied by the Knights of Christ. My belief is that many on Oak Island and area were copied from the Vikings, because there are plenty of figures right beside the spot the treasure is buried, and it wasn't the Vikings that buried it:

It seems the Vikings did a lot more surveying and navigating than they are credited for. Suffice it to say that the burial of the Temple treasure is a Roman Catholic conspiracy carried out by their military orders, who in a sense were the first organization of private military contractors in the world. They were also the first multi-national bankers in the world. In fact, the Jewish families that became multi-national banking families seem to have patterned their rise on the operations of the Templars, which they would use to undermine Catholic power and place themselves in the world power hierarchy which the Roman's had banished them from. 

Back to the treasure. The Oak Island treasure is not really all these mysterious signs and all the rest of it. Yes, the Masons who took over from the Knights of Christ, and took the western dominated world power in a different direction that we see today, like to use symbols as a mask for it. The simple truth is the Oak Island treasure is a surveying treasure. It appears the Templars and Knights of Christ used the Viking navigation stones to tie themselves into its lay out of the land and water. It is, however, very likely that the Knights of Christ continued the use of the Viking rock navigation to create maps of the eastern sea board, and the interior of Nova Scotia. To give you an idea, a survey line on Oak Island will not end at Oak Island. It continuously travels to other provinces and likely other countries. Here is an example of what I'm talking about:

The Templar (or Viking) stone I found following survey lines from Oak Island. It is located on the shore of New Brunswick:

                        (as you can see it is perfectly aligned North/South/East/West)

Another is the "Nolan's Cross" (which isn't a stand alone cross), and some, but not all survey lines:

Here is one with a significant amount of survey lines:

Some examples of these stones, large and small are shown below. Note how most of them have several straight sides, and then have a small corner missing. Some have lines carved in them. Some are three stones in a triangle. They all meet up with survey lines. It is an incredible human story in itself. Between the Vikings and the Knights of Christ/Portugal they created a wonder of the world equal to the pyramids in Egypt, but sadly goes completely undisclosed.

Viking marks (or copied marks) on Oak Island - just a sample:

Survey/Navigation rocks (just a sample):

There are, of course far too many to show, but this is a sample. It seems they were used on water, rivers, lakes, and of course on the ground. They are not simply glacial till as you realize when you start connecting them. Some are of course, but many have a navigational purpose. The danger in moving, or removing stones, is you don't know which is which until you shoot the surveying lines. Take "Nolan's Cross" for example. Firstly, there is no Nolan's Cross. The boulders on Nolan's Cross are simply line markers as is common throughout the area. Note how many are being dug up that were buried in the swamp. It is true that the head stone Nolan dug up does refer to the treasure shaft, but the cross is not a cross in the Latin cross sense or Templar cross as its often thought of. In fact, the boulders on Oak Island are simply a continuation of what's happening all over Mahone Bay. They're all interrelated. Take the only stone of Nolan's Cross that's in the water for example. It is not a one sided stone that one would draw a straight line to the head stone. It is 6 sided with additional markings on the rock that match other survey lines. It is completely misunderstood as simply being a rock of the so-called Nolan's Cross.

Now that it is established that the Oak Island mystery is centered on surveying, it's time to refer to the symbology and two ancient maps that point to the exact spot of the treasure, and the layout of the lair that lies beneath the shaft, because if you thought simply finding the treasure shaft was all that was needed you would be sorely mistaken. The underground in which the treasure lies is a virtual labyrinth of rock that resembles an underground, multi-leveled parking lot. There are many different stories to it which must be navigated in darkness by using stones put in place to navigate by. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. 

First some tracing boards:

Real goddess of Saraswathi:

I love this one, because it has many of the elements in it. It shows the Pegasus (middle right), which became synonymous with the Templars, on top of stone stairs that represent "Jacob's ladder" - only going in the reverse, ie. not to heaven. In fact that entire feature is meant to represent "the invisible mountain" or "magical mountain" in sorcery. It is the beginning of the descent to the multi-level facility below. It shows spells being cast at a spot on land and in the ocean by 9 figures, which represents the 9 times a circle must be completed to cast the spell. This is also sorcery. It also represents the work going on it the system below. Bed rock had to be heated, then doused with water and broken by pick and hammer in those days. The woman on the right is the Hindu goddess Saraswathi, made to look like a European. It means something different, but it also gives a nod to who built the underground, and that is the Indian miners from southern India - from the area of the Valley of Ophir. 

This one is interesting because it shows a sequence of events beginning at the bottom right where it shows a fire at the Temple of Peace that Roman Emperor Vespasian built after he conquered Jerusalem, which held almost all the Temple treasures (except the Ark), and they are depicted here. It shows the Ark moving over the ocean, meant to look like Noah's Ark. It shows the tools used to dig the treasure pit, and the stones that marked its spot. It shows the Ark of the Covenant being lowered to a man burying it, and it shows those involved in the plot.

This one is also interesting, because it shows the chain of custody of the treasure. It begins on the top of the mountain with King Solomon, then shows a Roman Emperor, then a Pope with his cross staff, then knights on horseback, then royal families, and finally Masons. On the left it shows two dark figures that are Indian miners, one carrying a torch and another cutting stone. This is all accurate.

There are many more such tracing boards, as these organizations were entrusted with the secret of the holy treasure over the centuries and millennia. It would be impossible to show them all here, but this gives a sample and an idea.

The next thread to find is the actual placing of the treasure. The "X" marks the spot. For that we have to look closely at maps. When I say closely, I mean we have to magnify them and use different filters to bring out the details from time to time. A good place to start is with the Zena Map. 

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, 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, a year later. 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. Maybe something more sinister. 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 .

                                                            Zena's Map - 1347

The interesting part of this map, for our purposes here, is the "bassin" and the "barrage", or the swamp and the dam respectively. It shows the shape of the swamp in 1347, and it is very small in it's northern position compared to the reality of today. In fact, when using a superimposed grid system on the Oak Island portion of the map, one is able to determine exactly where the swamp was then. It also shows an oval dark spot at the end of the line indicating its a bassin. In comparison to other features on the map it indicates this spot is about 35-40 feet wide - a very big digging area. When the area is enlarged the details within the map are exposed. Take a look at the enlarged picture of the swamp area:

The map shows the dam having a cross-like beginning at the water and then a line running back to the oval feature, indicating that ocean water was being funneled toward the feature, as well as an area around the feature. Remember the cross-like dam feature. 

The FLX 157 Map:

The FLX 157 map was recently introduced in the Curse of Oak Island show as part of a book that the show wanted to buy. However, all that's really needed is the map.

The thing to note on this map is the two water bodies, one on the north and one on the south. What's clear from the map is how the Portuguese Knights created a harbour on the south side which included a slight bump where the "stone road" is and the protrusion built out into the swamp. By the way, this harbour was specifically laid out by stone as well. the light greyish colour is indicative of land in the water. In the case of the north part of the island, the water covers completely what would be Fred Nolan's house and grassed area. Also, you can see the light grey area in the shape of an upside down check mark in the middle of the water. You can see it better here:

 The light grey areas in the black areas are in fact large stones. The largest one is around 100 feet long and 50 feet wide. This area looks like this today:

This blow up of Zena's Map shows the oval spot in detail. You can clearly see the rock formation in the middle of it, which matches that shown on the FLX 157 map. Additionally, it shows the water channel between the dam and the oval area. Just to the right of the oval area is water in the form of a dolls dress. That water body remains the same shape today. 

Take aways from this are that at some point in time Nolan's land was completely filled in. It wasn't Nolan that did it as the land was filled before any houses were on it. Someone went to great lengths to hide what is underneath the land. Unfortunately for them, modern technology allows us to see through it. This spot is important, not just because it is represented on Zena's Map as a significant place, but it is shown on the FLX 157 map as the place where the shaft is located, along with some of the flood tunnels:

The red circles are the flood tunnels built into the northwestern part of Oak Island and running straight through to surround the treasure shaft. The blue circle is the treasure shaft. The cover of the shaft is represented as a large rock with a very distinctive shape. Then there is a line leading directly south to the area of the swamp that we have been discussing. The yellow circle shows a large ship which also mimics the shape of the harbour. The white circle shows the three very large camps that those working on the island, including all the labourers from southern India, stayed. The small lake to the north of them is still there. Other parts of the map leading to the left from there actually reflect their journey inland from Oak Island. There are many landmarks and of course rocks that bare this out. I have found two certain Fort-like areas in the vicinity.  A necessary key to understanding the map is to realize that each gap in the drawing means that something next to it on the drawing should be inserted there. FLX 157 by the way is the name of the tracing board used to pass this knowledge on to certain groups involved.

Using modern technology, Google Earth and filters, it is possible to narrow down exactly where the treasure shaft is, where the dam is, the pipe feeding ocean water from the dam into the treasure area is, and the massive rocks surrounding the treasure shaft. Many of these rocks appear to have inscriptions on them as well. The actual rock covering the treasure shaft appears to have a large T or perhaps "tau" on it. Here are some images that will help out with that:

The shaft is very evident here, as is the shape of the large rock covering it. The T stands out well here and the close up below. Furthermore, resting just above the covering stone is a skull shaped stone outlined in yellow below. The dam pipe heading into the treasure shaft area is also evident as a black line. (black means water) NOTE how the shape of the covering stone is just like the shape of the stone on the FLX 157 map.

In the picture below the dam is very clear as well as the cross that was detailed in the Zena Map. In addition, the stone pipe leading from the dam is also evident. It is really curious how nobody could have picked this out by now.

This picture shows the treasure shaft area in blue. You can make out the T as well as other stone carvings. Notice how the shaft is completely surrounded by very large rocks measuring 15 to 20 feet long, and of course the massive bolder to the right of the shaft.

An important part of confirming this find comes from the Masons themselves. In particularly, the Masonic Lodge in Mahone Bay that closed in 2014, the same year the Curse of Oak Island show began filming. Perhaps they didn't want the crew to see inside, but curiously they left the interior pictures of the lodge on a memorial page on the internet. There are four large pictures:

This painting shows what appears to be Aron sitting on the rocks with his staff and head pointed toward the ground. He is surrounded by, you guessed it, boulders.

This painting shows the entrance into the Holy of Holies where, behind the curtain, the Ark of the Covenant rested. I suggest that in the chambers below Oak Island a similar Temple was built to this, and that is where the Temple treasures rest.

In this painting we see King Solomon sitting on his throne. In real history his throne was white marble, and had many lions descending from it. In this case he has two lions, but he has golden "lion cubs" or young lions (circled in pink), representing the young lions of Tarshish that brought Solomon his Ophir gold. In the background is the Templar Fortress at Acre with the sun setting on it. The motto means "Let there be light". In other words, the "light" has come to a new place.

This, the final wall painting in the Masonic Lodge, is the most important of the four. It actually describes where the treasure is. 

Firstly, it shows what the area of Fred Nolan's house used to look like before it was filled over. Secondly, the oak and elm trees are present in the picture. The ancient saying is that the Templar treasure "lies between the oak tree and the elm tree". You will notice that one of the plants in a cement vase on the lower right is moved to the middle of the picture.(blue circle) Above that, and also on the left you see oak trees.(pink circle) Half way between the elm tree and the oak tree you see the partial image of a skull and below it you see the inner works of the treasure vaults (levels) (white circle). The three cows to the left (circled in gold) represent: the white cow which is sacred to the Hindus, and it looks directly at the skull; the middle red cow is sacred to the Jews, and will not drink salt water, so its back is turned to the water, because it is sea water; and the third cow's significance is unknown to me, although it also looks at the stone skull. 

The skull is important. The head stone that Nolan excavated appears skull like as well, and there is a faint outline of a skull with only one half its face being normal just above the elm tree circled in blue. As noted here already, there is a skull stone right beside the shaft entrance, although it appears to not have a jaw bone. The skull, and the cross bones, have been a symbol for the Masons, and the Templars before them. Templar ships used to raise the "jolly roger" flag when going into battle, and the pirates used the same. The three cows on the left of this picture are represented by stones on the edge of where the swamp was on Nolan's property. It seems clear that members of this Masonic Lodge, or at least some of them, knew exactly where the Temple treasure, and gold treasure, were buried. This might have been one of the reasons it closed when the Curse of Oak Island was starting up in a serious way.

The Royal Arch Masons:

The Royal Arch Masons began life as body guards for the Scottish King, but now represent a 32nd degree organization within the Masons. Their primary focus is the protection of the Temple Treasure, and in particular the Ark of the Covenant. You can do your own research on these folks. At least one, if not two have been featured on the Curse of Oak Island show. Funny enough, these guests continually push the team to investigate the Money Pit. Coincidentally, one even referred to maritime maps of navigation to draw lines directly to the money pit. One could be excused for thinking that they were directing the team to a place where they knew the Temple treasure would be secure - because it was not there.

Here is a sample of the Royal Arch Masons symbology:

The golden Royal Arch, with the stone in the centre. Below it the triple tau symbol in the centre of the Royal Arch Masonry symbol. Finally, below that the Ark of the Covenant. The message is that the Royal Arch Masons protect the Ark.

This is the hat that the guest Royal Arch Mason wore the last time he was on the show.

The Royal Arch symbol is a treasure symbol. The three taus represent the Temple treasure. The symbol itself represents a treasure map. Check this out:

The Royal Arch logo shows the massive bolder as the centre point, but it also shows three taus going in three directions from the centre. It is the authors theory that there remains a large skull-like formation that the shaft leads to, which may be a part of the massive bolder - like an iceberg. From different Masonic paintings, and from the head stone, it can be deduced that there is an entrance to the inner part of the skull near its right temple, and exiting through its mouth to the chamber below. In some ways similar to the Tom Cruise version of "The Mummy" when it was first discovered. From there the tunnels go deep into the bedrock. To prove that a little further we have to examine the head stone, and what's known as the "Seal of Solomon". 

The red sword mark points to the temple of the right eye of the skull. Note there are deep marks around the nose. This is actually there on purpose as it shows the path to the right nostril which you enter before proceeding to the mouth. This is a treasure map as well, and not just a stone rock caved for fun.

This is the Masonic version of the "Seal of Solomon". It also is a treasure map. It represents Serapis as the god of the underworld, worshipped by the Egyptians, and Dionysus as the god of the world, worshipped by the Greeks as Dionysus and as Bacchus by the Romans. Each forms a triangle with their heads and arms. Together the two triangles represent the Star of David. What appears to be a Templar Cross in the middle isn't. A close examination shows the cross is uneven. On the top it is one sided to the left. The cross is also partly hidden by both middle beards. The cross itself is an amalgamation of the Templar/Knights of Christ Cross, and the Teutonic Knights Cross. You'll notice by inward ends of the cross on the left and right, and the outward flaring at the end of the cross to the top under the white beard. The portion of the cross that goes southerly is not a part of the cross at all. The three cross ends already discussed form the three taus, or the Temple treasure. The fourth portion of the cross going southerly behind the dark beard is not shaped like a cross at all. It is shaped like the Ark of the Covenant: 

So you are aware, this Seal of Solomon was made by the Royal Arch Masons, and is signed by them. The "146" you will see below (circled in yellow) is the the number of the Royal Arch Masons founding Lodge.

The three beards in the dark area represent three tunnels. It was common practice in medieval times, and before to use three tunnels for air flow while working underground. The middle beard is shaped like, and meant to represent the invisible mountain, or magical mountain. Here is a trace board with that on, and the highlighted portion of Solomon's Seal that represents it:

This tracing board shows the Invisible Mountain at the top, which is covered in darkness below, except one part that has an Ark like table with a lantern, and a treasure below that surrounded by a snake eating its tail - ouroboros (worshiped by ancient Egyptians and up). You will note the ouroboros in the Oak Island Swamp:

The serpent in the swamp is definitely man-made. Connecting the surveying stones shows it was surveyed into place. Beneath the surface are likely rock works to form its shape. Given the tracing boards I've seen it would appear the gold part of this treasure is located in the bedrock under the swamp, accessible only through the shaft in Nolan's backyard. The original Templar entrance to it, as shown on Zena's Map, was located just east of the south eastern corner of the swamp - which then makes sense. That entrance was huge according to the map - some 5o feet wide.

This is a portion of the Seal of Solomon, where the Ark is shown, but it also shows a replication of the Invisible Mountain. (circled in blue) The author theorizes that the reason the "Invisible Mountain" is invisible is because it is underground. You have to pass through this feature to move to the massive "skull stone" as pictured here as the face of Serapis. It shows the right eye as more of an entrance than an eye... Below that are the different levels of the treasure vaults. Of note is how the right shaft/beard has a cap on it before it reaches the surface, and the left appears to be filed with boulders. Also, given the actual swamp construct is about 666 feet, expect the treasure area to be the same deep. As above so below. Of that, fully 450-500 feet would be bedrock. 

Some other tidbits:

During research, and doing the math, I was also able to fit the Star of David onto a portion of Nolan's Cross. Although many people have tried using Nolan's Cross to superimpose the Tree of Life, I would have to disagree with that. The Tree of Life does not superimpose onto Nolan's Cross without moving one of the large boulders from its current place.

Some modern technology:

              Dam construct on Lidar. (in black circle) Note the sea wall that runs from it to the west. 

        

          The treasure shaft construct and hole on Lidar. (circled in black)

         The Templar fort at New Ross was in fact there.

      The survey line to New Ross altered from the existing survey line at a river. There were survey             stones that created a branch of the line that led directly to the New Ross Fort (upper part of the             picture)

   

     The water table at the Nolan property/treasure area (top left corner):

A picture of Oak Island before any houses were built on the Nolan property. Treasure shaft area circled in blue.

The Overton Stone in Liverpool, Nova Scotia is simply a survey stone that has been marked:

Ted Nolan knew the story of the survey stones, and likely the treasure shaft location. When he joined up with the Laginas, just prior to his death, he said: "I won't stand in the way of progress anymore". So, apparently he was standing in the way of progress by keeping his knowledge to himself. His property certainly appears to be aligned very much along the lines of the survey stones:

.

The stone triangle that once existed on the shores of Oak Island is a survey mark. It likely had nothing to do with the treasure, and was more likely just another survey point in the Mahone Bay survey system. Curiously, the stone triangle resembles a triangle within the circle - just with the upper edges of the circle missing. In other words, it very much resembles the symbol of the Royal Arch Masons shown earlier here. If you were to superimpose this stone triangle from the northern tip of Nolan's Cross, the line to the left would intersect directly with the treasure shaft.

The 90 foot stone that was buried in the Money Pit (copy of) is commonly misunderstood to be some kind of Templar secret code or language to the treasure. This is false. I knew that immediately while doing my study of the surveying rocks and symbols and Oak Island and beyond. These symbols represent stone markers, that when followed lead to the the treasure. That's why the tackle was left in the tree. Those that knew what they were looking for would copy the inscription and follow the trail. Those that did not would flood the pit and have no idea what the rock meant. There is absolutely no question that these symbols are everywhere in Mahone Bay area and beyond. That's too much of a coincidence. 

 

The Ophir Valley is in southern India, 55 miles inland from the Port of Cochin where the Jews were sent in the time of Solomon - known as the Cochin Jews. This is the area that Solomon, the Templars, Knights of Christ, and finally Kingdom of Portugal took gold for their enrichment. This is where the gold treasure at Oak Island came from. The area of Kerala is the main point of interest here.

Also in Kerala is a Hindu temple known as the "Golden Temple". It is said to be the richest temple in India. It is made of gold, and has vaults buried underneath it. It is thought to have a trillion dollars worth of gold in the secret vaults underneath it. The entrance to the vaults is guarded by a curse, and more....

The door to the vaults is protected by serpents, and very importantly, Templar shields. The fleur-de-lis shields surrounded by 12 dots is a Templar stamp for the protection of the treasure within. Like Oak Island, the door entrance to the vaults is said to have been cursed. It is the author's deduction that, given the Templars and the Knights of Christ operated in this exact area, the Hindus formed an alliance with them, and this vault contains a part of the Templar gold.

Zena's Map shows a comment by the crafter stating: "the southern Indians work very good" (circled in blue). In 1347, the only Indians or people referred to as being Indians, were people in India. This is more evidence of the Indian connection, and specifically mining. Southern India had, at that time, been mining deep in bedrock for gold for at least 1000 years.

In case you might think the Masons aren't that interested in Oak Island, here is a picture of a tour of them at the Island. At least one Templar is present as well. 

The final word:

Before I sat down to investigate the mystery of Oak Island, the feeling that the Ark of the Covenant was there burned deeply inside me. I would say from the first season of the Curse of Oak Island on. Over time it became clear to me that the team was not solving the riddle, and that perhaps I should put my mind into investigating the spot where the true treasure shaft was. I prayed to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to guide me in my research and help me find the Ark (I am not Jewish though). During my months long research one step lead to another and the answer started to take form. It brought me disturbing information surrounding the treasure - most of which I have not written here. Is there a curse on Oak Island? Yes there is. The entrances to the treasure area, one from the sea and one from the land, were cursed by black magic. The entire treasure is surrounded in evil. The burying of the Temple Treasure was an act to bury man's focus on God, and to create a "new dawn" where scientific reason would rule rather than spiritual. It has driven the world for two thousand years since. I hope you have found this informative, and I pray it helps in finding the Ark of the Covenant and the Temple Treasures. The gold is there too, but it pales in contrast. God bless you all.