In that case, no archaeological surveys have been completed of the
island. I delight in being a skeptic, but I also take most folklore
quite seriously (from witch bottles to projectile points in hearths).
Access to Oak Island is tightly controlled by people who believe that
there are "two million pounds" just somewhere out of their reach. The
Canadian government recently passed on buying the island and setting it
aside as a park, which means the next go-round of destruction has
already begun. A large piece of that section of the island has been
excavated to depths of nearly 200 feet, often using mechanical
excavators. Other areas of the island are reported to contain evidence
of structures, "stone crosses", and other items that may either exist or
may be figments of treasure hunter's imagination. 
The folklore for Oak Island is very often self-generating, and much of
what has been said or written about the island seems to have been
offered for the purpose of securing funds for additional treasure
hunting, or for the purpose of selling information on what has been
found. There are several webpages that, for a small fee, offer glimpses
of the unprovenienced "artifacts" recovered from the island. I view that
as advertising, not folklore.
In Kentucky, we have Jonathan Swift's silver mine. The common belief
among treasure hunters is that the mine lies somewhere in the eastern
portion of the state, possibly in the Red River Gorge area of the Daniel
Boone National Forest. People have somehow latched onto the idea that
prehistoric petroglyphs, specifically turkey tracks, point to the mine.
On the basis of this idea, countless rockshelters have been looted, and
entire parcels of private land have been dynamited and bulldozed. All
this on the idea that Swift had a silver mine in an area where no silver
is found that was operated by Native Americans. 
In southern Indiana, we have Madoc the Welsh Prince - who of course
visited the area in the 12th century. There is even a statue of Madoc at
the Falls of the Ohio Museum - which is an Indiana State Park. Madoc
gave rise to the tales of tribes of Welsh Indians - since the common
belief was that Native Americans could not have been responsible for
complex villages or earthworks, so they must have had help from
somewhere. I have a cousin in Indiana who thinks part of Madoc's
treasure may be on his property. 
In short, I prefer folklore that does not involve treasure. Most of
these tales seem to spring from nineteenth century con-men who stood to
profit from initial investments into searching for "lost" treasure.
After the initial round of duping the locals was over, the stories took
on a life of their own. We've been paying the price ever since.

Daniel B. Davis
Archaeologist Coordinator
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
Division of Environmental Analysis
200 Mero Street
Frankfort, KY 40622
(502) 564-7250

-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ron
May
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2007 5:16 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Oak Island

 
In a message dated 3/27/2007 12:45:44 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
[log in to unmask] writes:





A funny thing about archaeologists is their swift willingness to dismiss

folklore as fantasy. I specifically recall all the emphatic dismissals I

received during my enquiries about a concealed hat and boot behind a
fireplace  in a 
1904 barracks building in 1999 (the subject of a paper at the 2000 SHA  
Conference). Over the past few days, I have received a half dozen
replies that  send 
me to amateur websites written by skeptics who delight in dismissing Oak

Island as fantasy and a monument to ill advised treasure-hunting. All I
really  
wanted to know was if anyone on HISTARCH knew of professional
archaeology  
investigations on Oak Island. Sheesh. 
 
However, I did receive one reply from someone who I believe will look
into  
whatever facts exist. My thinking is the camps of the various
expeditions over  
the past 200-years would be interesting to investigate. Assuming the
island  
owners would allow it, survey by professional archaeologists and mapping
all 
the  equipment, camps, artifact scatters mining locations, and running
soil  
transitivity meters and other technical devices could prove to be a
fascinating  
venture. What, I ponder, would ground penetrating radar detect? Just the

archival records of the various island owners, oral histories,
correspondence,  
and other data would be interesting to just about anyone who knows the
legend.  
Shoot, it would make for a great tourist heritage site and a source of
income 
 for the locals.
 
So why dismiss it out of hand? I can only conclude that archaeologists
are  a 
strange lot, me included.
 
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.



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