# One or more tunnels were cut from Smith's Cove (and the south shore) to flood the shaft when it was breached.

> Disputed: One or more tunnels were cut from Smith's Cove (and the south shore) to flood the shaft when it was breached.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/answers/ANS0D52X8861XXJ/one-or-more-tunnels-were-cut-from-smiths-cove-and-the-south  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Questions](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions)[Oak Island money pit](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island)[Are the "flood tunnels" man-made?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/questions/QST0D52X3443MBJ/are-the-flood-tunnels-man-made)Answer

Answer · Oak Island money pit

# One or more tunnels were cut from Smith's Cove (and the south shore) to flood the shaft when it was breached.

One or more tunnels were cut from Smith's Cove (and the south shore) to flood the shaft when it was breached.

**Disputed** Answers **1** questionPublished0

## Where it stands

**Disputed** One piece of evidence for, three against. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

## What it predicts

- A continuous cut channel exists between the cove and the pit.
- Dye or tracers put in at the cove drains appear in the pit faster than groundwater flow would allow.
- Blocking the drains stops or slows the flooding.

## What would rule it out

- Tracer tests show the pit water moves at ordinary groundwater rates with no preferential channel.

## Evidence 1 for · 3 against

[Searchers in 1850 found converging stone box drains at Smith's Cove and later dyed water that reportedly…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/evidence/EVD0D52X8G00E1Z/searchers-in-1850-found-converging-stone-box-drains-at)

Suggestive

FOR

[A 1995 Woods Hole dye study attributed the flooding to natural freshwater and tidal interaction.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/evidence/EVD0D52X8QT2C66/a-1995-woods-hole-dye-study-attributed-the-flooding-to)

Supported

AGAINST

[Coffer dams at Smith's Cove have never stopped the pit flooding.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/evidence/EVD0D52X97E32KC/coffer-dams-at-smiths-cove-have-never-stopped-the-pit)

Supported

AGAINST

[Dunfield's 1965 to 1966 excavation reported no sign of the tunnel described by earlier expeditions.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/evidence/EVD0D52X8ZM6JP9/dunfields-1965-to-1966-excavation-reported-no-sign-of-the)

Supported

AGAINST

## The questions it answers

[Are the "flood tunnels" man-made?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/questions/QST0D52X3443MBJ/are-the-flood-tunnels-man-made)

Most likelyThe pit floods because it is dug below sea level into permeable, cavernous rock; no tunnel exists

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). One or more tunnels were cut from Smith's Cove (and the south shore) to flood the shaft when it was breached. [Answer ANS0D52X8861XXJ]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ANS0D52X8861XXJ
```

Key

**ANS** 0D52X8861XXJ

Kind

Answer · hypothesis

Origin

Published

Version

1

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