Oak Island is a small, privately owned island in Mahone Bay on Nova Scotia's south shore, joined to the mainland by a causeway. It is famous for one thing: the hunt for a treasure that may or may not be buried there.
According to the often-retold story, a young man named Daniel McInnis noticed a depression in the ground in 1795 and began digging with two friends. They said they found a layer of flagstones and, about 10 ft down, a tier of oak logs. The Onslow Company, which took up the search in the following decade, was said to have found more oak platforms about every 10 ft down to about 90 ft, until the shaft flooded. Accounts of the 'Money Pit' have been published since 1857.
Theories about what is down there include Captain Kidd's treasure, religious relics, lost manuscripts and Marie Antoinette's jewels. Since 2014 the History Channel series The Curse of Oak Island has followed brothers Rick and Marty Lagina, who have reported centuries-old coins, a brooch and a lead cross. Sceptics argue the 'pit' and its flooding are natural features of the island's limestone and gypsum.