# What is the Oak Island money pit? · Oak Island money pit > Four answers have been proposed. The depression was a natural sinkhole over a dissolved cavity in Windsor Group gypsum; the platforms were… leads, with… Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/questions/QST0D52X2WA4BV7/what-is-the-oak-island-money-pit Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-26T11:58:19+00:00 --- **0** # What is the Oak Island money pit? Asked 26 Oct 2026 by [**apollo** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)·4 answers·0·0 following **Most likely: the depression was a natural sinkhole over a dissolved cavity in Windsor Group gypsum; the platforms were…** Ahead on the evidence, not yet confirmed. It needs two reviews to be accepted. ## Where it stands Four answers have been proposed. The depression was a natural sinkhole over a dissolved cavity in Windsor Group gypsum; the platforms were… leads, with evidence 3 for, 1 against: partly supported by its tests. Three are still possible. Of the three narrower questions under it, none is answered yet. ## Why it matters Everything else depends on this. If the original depression was a worked shaft, someone dug it before 1795 and the search has a target; if it was a natural sinkhole, the two centuries of digging have been chasing geology⁠[[1]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WQ5A7JGY/the-secrets-of-oak-island)⁠[[2]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WQMY1TJW/an-interpretation-of-multibeam-bathymetry-off-eastern-oak). ## Answers 4 [**The depression was a natural sinkhole over a dissolved cavity in Windsor Group gypsum; the platforms were…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/answers/ANS0D52X5J87DVK/the-depression-was-a-natural-sinkhole-over-a-dissolved) Partly supported by its tests Evidence: 3 for, 1 against Most likely [**The story of a worked pit was invented or inflated in the 1840s to 1860s to sell shares; there may have been…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/answers/ANS0D52X6SA21RX/the-story-of-a-worked-pit-was-invented-or-inflated-in-the) Partly supported by its tests Evidence: 3 for, 1 against Most likely [**A shaft at least 90 feet deep was dug and refilled with platforms before 1795 to hide a deposit.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/answers/ANS0D52X4B62ZZW/a-shaft-at-least-90-feet-deep-was-dug-and-refilled-with) Tested, but the results don't decide it Evidence: 2 for, 2 against Disputed [**None of these.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/answers/ANS0D52X80C4V0W/none-of-these) Not tested enough to call either way Evidence: none yet Still possible ## History 1. 1861[anonymous: the 1861 'Oak Island Folly' says shares sold at an enormous premium; the flood-tunnel claim first appears in…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WNPE3NH7/the-oak-island-folly)For: The story of a worked pit was invented or inflated in the 1840s to 1860s to sell shares; there may have been… 1. 1861['Patrick' (pseudonym): 'Patrick' in 1861 reports digging under the platforms and finding it dry, contradicting the flooded-vault…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WNY87JY7/reply-to-the-oak-island-folly)For: The story of a worked pit was invented or inflated in the 1840s to 1860s to sell shares; there may have been… 1. 1862[McCully puts forward: a shaft at least 90 feet deep was dug and refilled with platforms before 1795 to hide a deposit.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WP62302N/the-oak-island-diggings) 1. 1862[McCully: accounts of 1862 and 1864 describe oak platforms at regular intervals and layers of charcoal, putty and…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WP62302N/the-oak-island-diggings)For: A shaft at least 90 feet deep was dug and refilled with platforms before 1795 to hide a deposit. 1. 1893[Oak Island Treasure Company: the stone's 'translation' first appears in the 1893 company prospectus.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WPNP5A6J/oak-island-treasure-company-prospectus)For: The story of a worked pit was invented or inflated in the 1840s to 1860s to sell shares; there may have been… 1. 2000[Nickell puts forward: the depression was a natural sinkhole over a dissolved cavity in Windsor Group gypsum; the platforms were…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WQ5A7JGY/the-secrets-of-oak-island) 1. 2006[Joltes: no record older than 1857 mentions a pit, a treasure or the three discoverers.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WPXG04KS/history-hoax-and-hype-the-oak-island-legend)Against: A shaft at least 90 feet deep was dug and refilled with platforms before 1795 to hide a deposit. 1. 2006[Joltes: the 1795 story names real settlers of the island, so a core event cannot be ruled out.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WPXG04KS/history-hoax-and-hype-the-oak-island-legend)Against: The story of a worked pit was invented or inflated in the 1840s to 1860s to sell shares; there may have been… 1. 2008[Dunning: coconut fibre, a tropical material, exists from the pit and Smith's Cove; a 1970 analysis identified three of…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WQD46NPJ/skeptoid-129-the-oak-island-money-pit)For: A shaft at least 90 feet deep was dug and refilled with platforms before 1795 to hide a deposit. 1. 2008[Dunning: coconut fibre at depth is not explained by a sinkhole alone.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WQD46NPJ/skeptoid-129-the-oak-island-money-pit)Against: The depression was a natural sinkhole over a dissolved cavity in Windsor Group gypsum; the platforms were… 1. 2008[Dunning: a sinkhole opened under oxen on the island in 1878, and a well nearby later showed similar flagstone and log…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WQD46NPJ/skeptoid-129-the-oak-island-money-pit)For: The depression was a natural sinkhole over a dissolved cavity in Windsor Group gypsum; the platforms were… 1. 2020[CBC News: a retired geologist who read the Warnock Hersey, Golder and Woods Hole reports concluded the pit is a…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WQWR005Z/money-pit-or-sinkhole-retired-geologist-digs-up-oak-islands)For: The depression was a natural sinkhole over a dissolved cavity in Windsor Group gypsum; the platforms were… 1. 26 Oct 2026Asked on this site ## Discussion 0 [Add to the discussion](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/oak-island/questions/QST0D52X2WA4BV7/what-is-the-oak-island-money-pit%23discussion) Help with this question [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ] [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/oak-island/questions/QST0D52X2WA4BV7/what-is-the-oak-island-money-pit%23add-answer) [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ] [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/oak-island/questions/QST0D52X2WA4BV7/what-is-the-oak-island-money-pit%23add-evidence) [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ] [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/oak-island/questions/QST0D52X2WA4BV7/what-is-the-oak-island-money-pit%23add-question) [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ] [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/oak-island/questions/QST0D52X2WA4BV7/what-is-the-oak-island-money-pit%23add-source) Where it fits Oak Island money pit **What is the Oak Island money pit?** Key question · you're here [Did the inscribed stone exist, and what was on it?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/questions/QST0D52X3BY6DCH/did-the-inscribed-stone-exist-and-what-was-on-it)Most likely · a plain or naturally marked stone was found, and the inscription was read into it or added later [If something was buried, who buried it?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/questions/QST0D52X43C0QAM/if-something-was-buried-who-buried-it)Open · 4 answers, inconclusive [What do the Lagina-era finds show?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/questions/QST0D52X3VJ0CBS/what-do-the-lagina-era-finds-show)Most likely · the finds are a mix of ordinary colonial and later debris from farming, logging, military use, shipbuilding… [ Ask a question under this one ]