Hamilton's tunnels from the shore shaft (1939)

In 1939 Hamilton excavated the sand-filled shaft on the shore (the Truro shaft of 1850) and found three tunnels leaving it: the uppermost starting at about 40 ft in the north corner and running diagonally toward the sink hole (the Cave-in Pit); a second directly beneath it toward the western shore, not investigated; and the lowest, from the south side. The two he cleared each ran 25 to 30 ft and ended in disturbed ground, and both ended on a straight line that would pass through the sink hole and the Money Pit. At the end of the lowest he sank a 3.5 by 4 ft shaft 18 ft, finding ground disturbed by man and old leaf tobacco at 12 ft; surface water entering the main shaft ran through this tunnel into the inner shaft and vanished. The lines drawn here follow those distances and directions.

Placed from distances and directions in the record.

Depth

Where It Sits

Connected to Hamilton's tunnels from the shore shaft (1939)

• Shaft No. 11 (Cave-In Shaft)1878108 ftSearcher shaft
• Shaft No. 4185075 ftSearcher shaft
• Shaft No. 5185080 ftSearcher shaft
• Truro cofferdam, Smith's Cove18505 ftCofferdam

Sources

• By Erwin Hamilton (tunnels found, 1850 work)
• Erwin Hamilton, Work Carried On at Oak Island (Summer 1939), typescript via Amos Nauss (1976); R.V. Harris
• Positions and depths: see how we know this on the Money Pit Map.