2 ft
Flagstone layer
Money Pit, 2 ft depth
Since 1795, every answer has been deeper.
The Money Pit: A Descent
Scroll down through 235 feet of the most excavated ground on Earth. Every object at its recorded depth, every claim at its source.
235Feet
41Recorded Finds
231Years of Digging
Depths are as the historical record states them. The original shaft's exact location was lost in the excavations of the 1960s; modern finds come from boreholes and caissons in what is believed to be the original location of the Money Pit, or as close as possible to it.
Begin the descent
The Upper Pit
0–60 feet
What the first diggers met: worked stone, timber platforms, and materials that had no business being underground.
10–90 ft
Oak log platforms (multiple)
Money Pit, every 10 ft (10-90 ft)
Recorded at every ten feet from 10 to 90 during the original dig
30–40 ft
Charcoal layer
Money Pit, 30-40 ft depth
50 ft
Putty layer
Money Pit, 50 ft depth
50 ft
Miner's oil lamp (whale oil)
Hedden shaft (No. 22), approx. 50 ft depth
Found in the Hedden shaft (No. 22), beside the Money Pit
60 ft
Coconut fibre (Money Pit)
Money Pit, 60 ft depth
60 ft
Eelgrass layer
Money Pit, 60 ft depth
The Deep Workings
80–130 feet
The Victorian companies drilled and dug into evidence: inscribed stone, traces of gold, and tools left behind.
80–90 ft
Inscribed stone (90-foot stone)
Money Pit, approximately 80–90 ft depth
88 ft
Metal fragment with gold traces
Borehole D-2, Money Pit area
90 ft
Piece of wood containing traces of gold
Borehole DN11.5, Baby Blob, west of the Garden Shaft, Money Pit area
98 ft
The 98-Foot Stratum
3 finds share this single depth, recorded across the years of digging.
100 ftRecovered from spoils
Stone Shot (Money Pit)
Money Pit - E-5.25 shaft spoils
100 ftRecovered from spoils
Stone Shot (Peacock 1)
Money Pit spoils from below 100 feet
101 ft
Piece of chain + bone
Borehole S-6 (Shaft Six tunnel), Money Pit area, ~101 ft
103 ft
Unknown tunnel (east-west)
Money Pit area, ~103 ft depth
114 ft
Possible booby trap spike
Borehole 8-A, approximately 114 feet depth
116 ft
Anchor Fluke
Money Pit area, 116 ft depth
123 ft
Axe
Money Pit area, 123 ft depth
127 ft
Cornish miner's pick
Money Pit area, 127 ft depth
The Vault Level
134–171 feet
The layer that made the legend: cement, parchment, human bone, and an iron barrier no drill has passed cleanly.
134 ft
Bone fragments and periwinkle shell (Borehole 10X sieving)
Borehole 10X, sieved from recovered material at about 134 ft drilling depth
143 ftRecovered from spoils
William III sixpence, 1697-1701 (Lot 18)
Dunfield spoils from the Money Pit
147 ft
Keg bottom (wooden)
Borehole OC-1, approximately 147 feet depth
150 ft
Pottery shard with raised leaf design
Borehole H-8, approximately 150 feet depth
150 ftRecovered from spoils
Spike coated in limestone/concrete
Borehole H8 spoils, 150-foot level (Lot 18, Money Pit area)
153 ft
The 153-Foot Stratum
4 finds share this single depth, recorded across the years of digging.
153 ft
Chappell Vault
Money Pit, 153 ft depth
153 ft
Cement/concrete vault layer
Money Pit, 153 ft depth
153 ft
Parchment fragment
Money Pit, 153 ft depth
153 ft
Blue clay layer
Money Pit, below 153 ft
160 ft
Human bone fragments (2 individuals)
Borehole H8, Money Pit, ~160 ft
167 ftRecovered from spoils
Rose Head Spike (Karma-1)
Karma-1 shaft spoils, wash plant
168 ftRecovered from spoils
Pigmented Parchment Fragments
Borehole H-8 spoils, Money Pit area
171 ft
Metal object from 171-foot void
Money Pit, 171-foot void
171 ft
Iron barrier
Money Pit, 171 ft depth
Below Everything
176–235 feet
Deeper than any shaft has stayed dry, the boreholes keep returning worked material.
176 ft
Brass fragment (Borehole 21)
Borehole 21, 176 ft depth
192 ft
Crude lime mortar fragments (Becker Hole B33)
Becker Hole B33, partial cavity below 192 ft, Money Pit area
192 ft
Pottery shards (Staffordshire pearlware)
Money Pit, 192 ft underground
195 ft
Stained Wood Fragment
MP-1 caisson, Money Pit area at 195 feet
196 ft
Oak buds in puddled clay (Becker Hole B11)
Becker Hole B11, 196 ft depth, Money Pit area
235 ft
Borehole 10-X camera images
Borehole 10-X, 235 ft
An underwater camera returns images interpreted as chests, tools, and a human hand. The bottom of the recorded descent.
Dig Deeper
Recommended Reading
The Knights Templar: History & Mystery
The Jerusalem Files
The Curse of Oak Island
Secret Treasure of Oak Island
The Roosevelt Connection
As an Amazon Associate I may earn a small commission on your purchase that is independent of your purchase price.
Keep Reading
The Sack of Havana
In 1762, British forces captured Havana and seized a fortune in Spanish gold, silver, and warship...
Peter Easton, the Pirate Admiral
The wealthiest pirate of his era commanded 40 ships from Newfoundland, captured a Spanish silver ...
Benjamin Franklin's Nova Scotia Connection
Benjamin Franklin owned 20,000 acres of Nova Scotia land. The Surveyor General who processed his ...