OAK ISLAND, NOVA SCOTIA – On a sunlit but wind-swept morning, Rick Lagina, historian Charles Barkhouse, and researcher Jack Begley stood among the weathered stones of one of Oak Island’s most puzzling landmarks: the monumental alignment known as Nolan’s Cross.
Accompanied by local stonemasons Mike Welling and Mark Fuir, the team approached the five massive granite boulders—each weighing several tons—and the central “headstone” that together form a perfect cross when viewed from above. Originally documented by the late surveyor Fred Nolan in 1981, the formation measures 720 feet along one axis and 867 feet along the other, each stone placed with uncanny precision.
Historians have long argued over its meaning. Some believe it is a navigational marker, others insist it is a coded religious symbol—possibly a Templar cross or a representation of the Hebraic “Tree of Life.”
But on this day, Welling noticed something no one had remarked upon in decades. Running his calloused hand along the base of one boulder, he detected a smooth, almost polished section. “This doesn’t look natural,” he said. “If you dragged a stone like this for a distance, especially over wooden rollers or sledges, the abrasion could leave a finish like this.”
If true, this suggests the stones may have been transported over considerable distances using advanced methods for their time—casting doubt on the theory that they were simply glacial erratics left behind after the Ice Age.
“This could mean deliberate placement,” Barkhouse mused. “And if that’s the case, it changes the entire narrative of who was here—and why.”
LOT 12 – THE DUMP OF THE ANCIENTS
The mystery did not end at the cross. Later that afternoon, the team turned its focus to Lot 12, one of the most talked-about parcels on Fred Nolan’s property. In private conversations years ago, Nolan described the area as an “ancient dump”—a place where the original constructors of the Money Pit might have discarded debris, broken tools, and even failed containers.
Armed with metal detectors, treasure hunter Gary Drayton quickly struck pay dirt. In less than an hour, the finds began to pile up: square nails, ceramic pottery shards, and a set of heavily corroded iron hinges with ornate edges—unmistakably from a chest or storage box.
“These aren’t just barn door hinges,” Drayton explained. “I’ve seen similar ones on Spanish colonial strongboxes. That’s 16th- or 17th-century craftsmanship.”
The discovery stirred memories of one of Fred Nolan’s most controversial finds: a large brass skeleton key recovered decades earlier from the same lot. Nolan always believed it belonged to the pirate Captain James Anderson, a shadowy figure rumored to have used Oak Island as a supply base in the early 1700s.
The pottery, too, told a story. Fragments matched patterns from European export wares—objects that would have been valuable in colonial trade. “If this truly was a dumping site, it may be where the people working on the Money Pit discarded material after bringing in supplies,” Rick Lagina reflected. “We could be standing over a 300-year-old garbage can—and that’s exciting.”
LOT 13 – THE RING BOLT RETURNS
In another corner of Nolan’s holdings, history seemed to loop back on itself. On Lot 13, the team, joined by Fred Nolan’s son Tom, examined a massive flat-topped boulder with a rusted iron ring bolt still fixed in place.
“This is one of the original ring bolt rocks I saw with Dad when I was a boy,” Tom Nolan confirmed. “We always wondered what they were used for.”
Ring bolts are historically associated with mooring ships, securing cargo, or hoisting heavy loads. Dr. Ian Spooner has previously suggested that a nearby cobblestone pathway may once have served as a concealed transport route—possibly leading to the Money Pit itself.
“This stone is perfectly hidden from the coastline,” Rick observed, noting its strategic position. “If you were unloading something valuable and didn’t want it seen from the water, this is where you’d do it.”
The theory raises tantalizing possibilities: Was this a secret anchorage for clandestine operations? Were heavy crates, barrels, or chests winched ashore here and carried inland under cover?
FROM SCATTERED CLUES TO A LARGER PICTURE
The day’s discoveries—smoothed granite, ornate chest hinges, ancient pottery, and a rediscovered ring bolt—are not, in themselves, conclusive. But taken together, they hint at a broader pattern: organized labor, deliberate concealment, and an operation involving heavy transport and imported goods.
Stonemason Mike Welling summed it up simply: “We’ve added another piece to the thousand-piece puzzle. The trouble is, we don’t know how many pieces are still missing.”
Rick Lagina, reflecting on the day, was more philosophical. “You keep pulling at the thread, hoping it unravels the whole mystery. But on Oak Island, the thread always seems to lead to another knot.”
As the dig moves forward, the team stands at a crossroads—fitting, given their starting point at Nolan’s Cross. The hope is that these new findings will bring them closer to answering the question that has haunted the island for over two centuries: Who came here, what did they leave behind, and why did they go to such lengths to hide it?
