About This Structure
A rectangular depression chiseled into bedrock on the western side of Oak Island near the former Blankenship property on Lot 22. Dave Blankenship first stumbled into the feature while trailing a deer, and when the team examined it during Season 4, Marty Lagina described it as a square hole cut into bedrock by humans, noting there was no geological explanation for its shape. Archaeologist Laird Niven agreed the formation was not natural.
Jack Begley connected the depression to the feature labelled "The Hatch" on a hand-drawn French map of Oak Island dated 1347 that researcher Zena Halpern had presented to the team. Begley overlaid Halpern's map on a modern map of the island and determined that the depression near the Blankenship home fell almost exactly where the historical map placed the Hatch, one of several landmarks noted on the document alongside "The Basin," "The Marsh," "The Dam," "The Anchor," and "The Valve." The concept of a walk-in tunnel entrance to the treasure chamber had been discussed by treasure hunters since the 19th century, and both Fred Nolan and Dan Blankenship believed such an entrance existed somewhere on the island.
Jack probed the bottom and sides with a shovel, striking only rock under the soil, and suggested that if the hatch once contained a wooden door it may have rotted away. Further excavation through what appeared to be bedrock chiseled by hand revealed a solid surface that sounded hollow when struck, but the hole narrowed as it descended and conditions made further hand-digging impractical. The feature was not explored to a definitive conclusion.
Historical Context
Lagina team; Zena Halpern map
Where It Was Found
Found at Western side of island — Oak Island, Nova Scotia, Canada.
