In a quest that spans continents and centuries, the investigative team behind the Oak Island enigma has unearthed compelling evidence tying the legendary Knights Templar to hidden treasures and sacred relics. From ancient churches in Italy to fortified prisons in Malta, recent expeditions reveal symbols, historical lineages, and cryptic carvings that could rewrite the story of one of history’s greatest unsolved mysteries.
The journey began 65 miles northwest of Rome in Viterbo, Italy—a city that once served as a papal stronghold during turbulent times in the 13th century. Here, the team, led by Rick Lagina, met with author and Templar expert John Luca Prospero, who has dedicated over two decades to studying the order’s medieval activities in the region.
“Viterbo was an important crossroads and, for 24 years, the center of Christianity in the known world,” Prospero explained during the visit. The focus quickly shifted to Santa Maria Nova, a church constructed in 1080 AD, brimming with paintings, carvings, and enigmatic symbolism. “We found some interesting symbols in a church very close to here,” Prospero noted, hinting at Templar ties.
Inside the church, team member Pete discovered a striking emblem: a cross encircled by four dots. “It’s unmistakable—the cross with the four dots, same as the HO stone,” he announced. The HO stone, a fragmented boulder found on Oak Island’s northern shore in the 1920s, has long puzzled researchers. Destroyed by dynamite in a failed treasure hunt, its surviving piece bears the same motif. Prospero elaborated: “These four-dot crosses are marking special places that Templars used to be in and around. This is also present in places connected with the Holy Grail or the Holy Shroud.”
The symbol’s recurrence—from Portugal to Oak Island—suggests a deliberate Templar code. “If this four-dot cross is only found in Templar-associated locations or with Templar-associated articles that they may have been safeguarding, it speaks volumes for our Oak Island,” Lagina reflected. Further scrutiny revealed Latin inscriptions like “HIC” (meaning “here”) alongside what appeared to be a compass and square—icons often linked to Freemasonry.
Many historians theorize that the Freemasons evolved from the Templars after the order’s dissolution by the Catholic Church in 1312. “A possible Masonic compass carved in the wall of a medieval church with known connections to the Knights Templar,” one team member observed. This find echoes Masonic symbols found across Oak Island, including triangles and the letter “G,” and raises questions about Freemasons’ involvement in treasure hunts there since 1795.
Interpreting the HO stone anew, team member Alex proposed a cipher: combining the cross, dots, and other elements to read as “here Templar gold” or a sacred relic. “We know that in medieval times, they really liked their ciphers and hidden meanings,” he said. Lagina praised the insight: “You may have just filled in the blank. I think it was incredibly insightful.”
The investigation then crossed the Mediterranean to Malta, where the team explored Valletta and Mdina, delving into the legacy of the Knights of Malta—an order that absorbed many Templar remnants. In Malta’s oldest prison, they spotted the four-dot cross again. “That’s carved on the HO stone back on Oak Island,” Lagina noted. “The four-dot cross is thought to represent the presence of holy relics at some point in time.”
Author and researcher Corjan Mole presented a groundbreaking theory in Mdina, tracing a familial lineage from the fall of Jerusalem in 1187 to Nova Scotia in the 17th century. Key figures include William de Villaret, second-in-command of the Knights Hospitaller (precursors to the Knights of Malta); Gerard de Villaret, a Templar master who fled Paris in 1307 with rumored treasures; and Philip de Villaret, Grand Master in 1522 when the order gained Malta.
The line culminates with Catherine de Villaret, mother of Isaac de Razilly—a Knight of Malta who established a French colony in Acadia (modern Nova Scotia) in 1632, just 15 miles from Oak Island. “We have an almost direct line of Villaret from Jerusalem to Malta all the way to Isaac de Razilly in Nova Scotia,” Mole asserted. “Was this Templar secret and treasure perhaps handed over to generations of the Villaret and Razilly?”
Lagina called it “connected tissue” for the Oak Island narrative: “The Oak Island story to me was always even more than multi-generational. It was multi-episodic.” The team also noted underground tunnels in Malta resembling Oak Island’s flood tunnels and a starburst-pattern button linking the sites.
These discoveries bolster theories that Templars transported holy artifacts—like the Ark of the Covenant or Holy Grail—to Oak Island after their 1307 persecution. Traces of gold and metals in the island’s Money Pit add intrigue. “Every place we visit speaks to me that there’s an ongoing story here,” Lagina said. “We need to look backwards in time.”
As the team returns to Oak Island, questions linger: Could these symbols unlock buried secrets? And what role did the Templars and their successors play in North America’s hidden history? Experts urge caution, but the evidence mounts, turning legend into potential fact.
Elena Rossi is a freelance journalist specializing in historical mysteries. This report is based on exclusive access to the Oak Island team’s European expeditions.
