# Did the inscribed stone exist, and what was on it? · Oak Island money pit > Four answers have been proposed. A plain or naturally marked stone was found, and the inscription was read into it or added later. leads, with evidence 2… Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/questions/QST0D52X3BY6DCH/did-the-inscribed-stone-exist-and-what-was-on-it Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-26T11:58:19+00:00 --- **0** # Did the inscribed stone exist, and what was on it? Asked 26 Oct 2026 by [**apollo** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)·Part of [What is the Oak Island money pit?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/questions/QST0D52X2WA4BV7/what-is-the-oak-island-money-pit)·4 answers·0·0 following **Most likely: a plain or naturally marked stone was found, and the inscription was read into it or added later** Ahead on the evidence, not yet confirmed. It needs two reviews to be accepted. ## Where it stands Four answers have been proposed. A plain or naturally marked stone was found, and the inscription was read into it or added later. leads, with evidence 2 for: partly supported by its tests. Three are still possible. ## Why it matters The stone is the only early find anyone later claimed to have seen, and its "message" is the legend's clearest statement that money was buried. Its history is traceable in print from 1862 to 1935⁠[[1]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WPXG04KS/history-hoax-and-hype-the-oak-island-legend)⁠[[2]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WPNP5A6J/oak-island-treasure-company-prospectus). ## Answers 4 [**A plain or naturally marked stone was found, and the inscription was read into it or added later.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/answers/ANS0D52XBNJ7CFV/a-plain-or-naturally-marked-stone-was-found-and-the) Partly supported by its tests Evidence: 2 for Most likely [**A stone bearing deliberate cut characters was found at about 90 feet by the Onslow Company.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/answers/ANS0D52XAEG7XM2/a-stone-bearing-deliberate-cut-characters-was-found-at-about) Tested, but the results don't decide it Evidence: 1 for, 3 against Disputed [**No such stone was found; it was invented for the 1862 narrative.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/answers/ANS0D52XCD034QV/no-such-stone-was-found-it-was-invented-for-the-1862) Not tested enough to call either way Evidence: 1 for, 1 against Still possible [**None of these.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/answers/ANS0D52XD4E501V/none-of-these) Not tested enough to call either way Evidence: none yet Still possible ## History 1. 1862[McCully puts forward: a stone bearing deliberate cut characters was found at about 90 feet by the Onslow Company.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WP62302N/the-oak-island-diggings) 1. 1862[McCully: mcCully (1862) and 'A Member' (1864) report a stone with characters cut into it, found near 90 feet.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WP62302N/the-oak-island-diggings)For: A stone bearing deliberate cut characters was found at about 90 feet by the Onslow Company. 1. 1862[McCully: the stone is first mentioned in 1862, fifty-eight years after its supposed discovery.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WP62302N/the-oak-island-diggings)For: No such stone was found; it was invented for the 1862 narrative. 1. 1893[Oak Island Treasure Company: the familiar cipher and its reading appear first in the 1893 prospectus; no drawing from the stone survives.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WPNP5A6J/oak-island-treasure-company-prospectus)Against: A stone bearing deliberate cut characters was found at about 90 feet by the Onslow Company. 1. 1893[Oak Island Treasure Company: the 1893 Oak Island Treasure Company prospectus is the earliest source for the reading 'Ten feet below are…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WPNP5A6J/oak-island-treasure-company-prospectus)For: A plain or naturally marked stone was found, and the inscription was read into it or added later. 1. 2006[Joltes puts forward: a plain or naturally marked stone was found, and the inscription was read into it or added later.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WPXG04KS/history-hoax-and-hype-the-oak-island-legend) 1. 2008[Dunning puts forward: no such stone was found; it was invented for the 1862 narrative.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WQD46NPJ/skeptoid-129-the-oak-island-money-pit) 1. 26 Oct 2026Asked on this site ## Discussion 0 [Add to the discussion](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/oak-island/questions/QST0D52X3BY6DCH/did-the-inscribed-stone-exist-and-what-was-on-it%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/QST0D52X3BY6DCH/did-the-inscribed-stone-exist-and-what-was-on-it%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/QST0D52X3BY6DCH/did-the-inscribed-stone-exist-and-what-was-on-it%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/QST0D52X3BY6DCH/did-the-inscribed-stone-exist-and-what-was-on-it%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/QST0D52X3BY6DCH/did-the-inscribed-stone-exist-and-what-was-on-it%23add-source) Where it fits Oak Island money pit [**What is the Oak Island money pit?** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/questions/QST0D52X2WA4BV7/what-is-the-oak-island-money-pit)Key question · most likely the depression was a natural sinkhole over a dissolved cavity in Windsor Group gypsum; the platforms were… **Did the inscribed stone exist, and what was on it?** You're here · 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 ]