Oak Island – the Templar and Viking connection!

Since the mid-nineteenth century, Oak Island has been claimed as the site for a vast, secretly hidden store of Templar treasure. Possibly the location of priceless items they discovered under the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem.

Vast amounts of money have been spent excavating below ground to find millions of dollars worth of medieval booty. Companies have been set up with the sole task of getting to the treasure left behind by these enigmatic warrior knights. So – is the wealth of the Templars actually there?

Of course the answer is – we don’t know. But let’s try and figure out how the story has come about and why it still exercises such a tremendous hold on the popular imagination.

The Viking link to Oak Island

I think a good starting point are the claims made in the 20th century that the Vikings had got to the New World long before Christopher Columbus. Why is this important? Because if the Vikings could have got there – then why not the Templars?

This theory has been supported by the so-called Vinland map (dating from the 15th century), that seems to show our Viking ancestors touched down in north America. Trouble is, the map is just a little too good to be true and even though scholars from the British Museum and Yale backed it up in the 1960s, the evidence (for example dating of the ink) suggests it could be a forgery.

If it was true, the Vinland map would establish the feasibility of Europeans sailing across the Atlantic to the American coastline. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility because the Vikings did get to Iceland and Greenland. Some Templar conspiracy theorists suggest the knights or those who helped them had access to Viking navigation charts.

TEMPLAR EXCLUSIVE: Do you want to find your Templar ancestors?

The Templars and Oak Island

Moving away from the Vikings now, let’s shift our focus to the Knights Templar. In 1307, their number was up. Philip, king of France, had ordered the arrest of all the knights and they were interrogated under torture in various dungeons. But if the king had hoped to find lots of loot at the Paris Temple, their headquarters, he was to be severely disappointed. Only empty shelves greeted his soldiers.

We then get the story of Templar treasure being spirited away from Paris in wagons bound for the port of La Rochelle and from there on to Scotland (and/or maybe Portugal, see my other blog posts on that option). And then – the wealth of the Templars simply evaporates into thin air!

In his book Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar: Solving the Oak Island Mystery, Steven Sora claims that the Templars’ treasure – gold, silver, jewels and sacred relics of immense power – were firstly hidden away in the crypt at Rosslyn chapel by the Sinclair family. The Sinclairs are central to the whole Templar getaway-via-Scotland theory.

The Sinclair connection

Quick detour on the Sinclair family then. They are an ancient Scottish family that includes Henry, the first earl, who fought alongside the first Grand Master of the Templars, Hugh de Payens (or Payns) in the Holy Land in the early 12th century. So, we have an early association between this family and the order of knights.

Fast forward to the early 14th century and Sir William Sinclair (sometimes spelt St Clair or Saint-Clair) is sometimes held up to have been the last Templar Grand Master before his death in 1330. Trouble is, he also appears to have given evidence at their trials AGAINST the Templars – somewhat scuppering that theory unless he was involved in some kind of complex double bluff!

Then we have another Henry Sinclair who in the late 14th century allegedly explores the coast of north America with an Italian navigator called Antonio Zeno. This establishes the idea that the Sinclair family know all about the New World so are ready for a subsequent very important voyage.

According to Steven Sora, the Sinclairs leave the Templar treasure under Rosslyn until the 16th century. But then along comes the Protestant Reformation. The Sinclairs are devout Catholics. Fearing that that the Templar treasure might be seized, they set sail with it and land on…Oak Island!

Daniel McGinnis on Oak Island

Now, nothing more gets said about this – obviously, being a secret mission – until the 19th century. Then stories circulate in newspapers of discoveries made on the island by a man called Daniel McGinnis in the 1790s. I’ve read different versions of the McGinnis story. In one account, he found a curious depression in the ground while setting up his farm. Or, he saw unusual lights on the island one evening and sailed across, discovering the pit when he got there.

The story of McGinnis and his excavations only emerges fifty years later in a paper called the Liverpool Transcript. By the mid-nineteenth century, tales of pirates and their hidden treasure had become the stuff of boys’ magazines. In 1881, the author Robert Louis Stevenson would publish Treasure Island in a boys’ magazine called Young Folks. The Oak Island booty came to be associated with both the Templars and notorious pirates like Captain Kidd and Blackbeard.

This was also an era of gold rushes – speculators dashing to reputed finds of the precious metal. So, maybe not entirely surprising that Oak Island was soon swarming with diggers. The main attention was the Oak Island Money Pit. This was a curious shaft with what appeared to be booby traps set at different levels.

Most intriguing was the discovery of a stone slab that allegedly has carved on it the message: Forty feet below, two million pounds lay buried. That line is best said if you impersonate Nicholas Cage in the movie National Treasure. More seriously, at least six people have died investigating the very deep money pit due to flooding and in one case, a boiler exploding.

The Franklin Roosevelt connection

One well known Oak Island devotee was the US president Franklin Roosevelt (pictured above). The Democrat occupant of the White House through the 1930s was a Freemason and from his youth until his death in 1945, retained an abiding interest in the site. One feature that apparently gripped him was the rumour that the jewels of the last queen of France, Marie Antoinette, had been squirrelled away on the island.

Which brings us to the 21st century! Such is the level of interest in Oak Island that the History channel has just commissioned a whopping 30 hours for season six of its series The Curse of Oak Island. This runaway success of a documentary series features two Michigan brothers Rick and Marty Lagina who have bought much of Oak Island to pursue the treasure hunt. They are accompanied by local expert, Dan Blankenship.

Rick is a retired US postal worker who passionately believes something lurks under the surface. His brother Marty is the sceptical foil raising doubts every so often about their enterprise. However, as the digs proceed, Marty is seen to convert by degrees to the cause.

The programme has attracted an impressive four million views. And it’s spawned two spin-offs: The Curse of Civil War Gold and Yamashita’s Gold. The first spin-off speaks for itself. The second is the alleged burial of treasure by Japanese soldiers in the closing days of World War II in the Philippine jungle.

In case you missed my recent outing on the History channel – I appeared in episode four of the Templar documentary series Buried earlier this year. Together with presenters Mikey Kay and Garth Baldwin, we looked for Templar treasure in the ancient citadel of Tomar in Portugal.

Earth from Space – Arc de Triomphe, Paris

Arc de Triomphe, Paris.

ESA

This striking, high-resolution image of the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris, was captured by Planet SkySat – a fleet of satellites that have just joined ESA’s Third Party Mission Programme in April 2022.
The Arc de Triomphe, or in full Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile, is an iconic symbol of France and one of the world’s best-known commemorative monuments. The triumphal arch was commissioned by Napoleon I in 1806 to celebrate the military achievements of the French armies. Construction of the arch began the following year, on 15 August (Napoleon’s birthday).

The arch stands at the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, the meeting point of 12 grand avenues which form a star (or étoile), which is why it is also referred to as the Arch of Triumph of the Star. The arch is 50 m high and 45 m wide.

The names of all French victories and generals are inscribed on the arch’s inner and outer surfaces, while the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I lies beneath its vault. The tomb’s flame is rekindled every evening as a symbol of the enduring nature of the commemoration and respect shown to those who have fallen in the name of France.

The Arc de Triomphe’s location at the Place Charles de Gaulle places it at the heart of the capital and the western terminus of the Avenue des Champs-Élysées (visible in the bottom-right of the image). Often referred to as the ‘most beautiful avenue in the world’, the Champs-Élysées is known for its theatres, cafés and luxury shops, as the finish of the Tour de France cycling race, as well as for its annual Bastille Day military parade.

 

This image, captured on 9 April 2022, was provided by Planet SkySat – a fleet of 21 very high-resolution satellites capable of collecting images multiple times during the day. SkySat’s satellite imagery, with 50 cm spatial resolution, is high enough to focus on areas of great interest, identifying objects such as vehicles and shipping containers.

SkySat data, along with PlanetScope (both owned and operated by Planet Labs), serve numerous commercial and governmental applications. These data are now available through ESA’s Third Party Mission programme – enabling researchers, scientists and companies from around the world the ability to access Planet’s high-frequency, high-resolution satellite data for non-commercial use.

Within this programme, Planet joins more than 50 other missions to add near-daily PlanetScope imagery, 50 cm SkySat imagery, and RapidEye archive data to this global network.

Peggy Fischer, Mission Manager for ESA’s Third Party Missions, commented, “We are very pleased to welcome PlanetScope and SkySat to ESA’s Third Party Missions portfolio and to begin the distribution of the Planet data through the ESA Earthnet Programme.

“The high-resolution and high-frequency imagery from these satellite constellations will provide an invaluable resource for the European R&D and applications community, greatly benefiting research and business opportunities across a wide range of sectors.”

To find out more on how to apply to the Earthnet Programme and get started with Planet data, click here.

– Download the full high-resolution image.

Les Champs Elysées

Elysian Fields comes from the greek word “Elusia” which means "where the gods and heroes come and rest".

The Champs Elysées is surely one of the most famous avenues in the world. Symbol of Paris, the Elysian Fields are the emblematic place of many events: military parade on Bastille day on July 14th, finish line of the Tour de France, New Year’s Eve, Party for a soccer game cup, etc.

The Champs Elysées harbor its famous theater, movie theater, international chains and undoubtedly for its international recognition in the grand fashion houses.

What we like best on the Champs Elysées - if you are not a shopping addict - is the Eastern part with the Grand & Petit Palais, getting to Alexander Third Bridge. 

Arc de Triomphe on Place de l'Etoile - ©Daniel Thierry Paris TO

Place de l'Etoile & Triomph Arch

At the far west of the Champs Elysées, the Arc de Triomphe proudly stands on the Place de l’Etoile. 

This imposing arch at the center of the Place de l’Etoile (also called place Charles de Gaulle) has been the symbol of the grandeur of France.

The Arc de Triomphe was built in 1806 by Napoleon the First to commemorate those who fought for France (as well as himself). The tomb of the unknown soldier killed during the World War I is placed under its beautiful arch. It honors all those who fought for France. 

The Arche de Triomphe is the second largest triumphal arch in the world. The monument measures 164 feet - 50 meters in height and 148 feet – 45 meters in wide. The Arc de Triomphe is built as the center of a busy roundabout on the western end of the Champs Elysées. If you climb the stairs to the top, you will have a grandiose view over the Elysian Fields and the avenues departing from the Arc in a star shape – giving its nickname to the square: Place de l’Etoile.

If you drive in Paris, this is the one place you don’t want to drive on. This is probably the biggest roundabout in the world but it has its own special rules (yes: French people like exceptions to rules). Contrary to other roundabouts, those who enter the square have priority over those who are already on it. This is a nightmare for non-Parisian drivers. 

I can recommend every amateur historian and Bonapartofile to read Jean-Baptiste Pérès. We chase dreams. Napoleon never existed. He’s fake news. A myth. Just like, say, Santa Claus, Homerus, William Tell, Robin Hood and King Arthur. Forget him.

I once bought Pérès’ essay “Comme quoi Napoléon n’a jamais existé” in French, that language of love, but found an English version today. For the busy Napoleonist, here’s the management summary of this brilliant satire.

Napoleon Bonaparte, of whom so much has been said and written, never even existed. He is nothing more than an allegorical personage. He is the personification of the sun ; and we can prove our assertion by showing how everything related of Napoleon the Great has been borrowed from the great luminary.
Let us see briefly what we are told of this remarkable man. We are told :

– That he was called Napoleon Bonaparte:

– That he was born in an island in the Mediterranean sea ;

– That his mother’s name was Letitia-;

– That he had three sisters and four brothers, three of whom
were kings;

– That he had two wives, one of whom bore him a son ;

– That he put an end to a great revolution;

– That he had under him sixteen marshals of the empire, twelve
of whom were in active service;

– That he prevailed in the South, and was defeated in the North;

To conclude, that after a reign of twelve years, begun upon his arrival from the East, he departed, and disappeared in the Western seas.

It remains for us to ascertain whether these various details are borrowed from the sun, and we hope that every reader of this disquisition will rise convinced that this is the case.

What’s In A Name?

Pérès notes that Sun=Apollo and Napoleon sounds like Apollo. “It is unquestionable that the word Apollo means Exterminator; and it seems that this name was given by the Greeks to the sun on account of the injury it did them before Troy, where a part of their army perished from the excessive heat

(…).Now, Apollo is the same word as Apoleon. They are derived from Apollyo, or Apoleo, two Greek verbs which are really the same, and which mean ” destroy,” ” kill.” ” exterminate.”

But why is it N Apoleon, Apollo with an N? Pérès:

(…) the real name of this supposed hero was Neapoleon, or Neapolion. This is more particularly to be seen on the column of the Place Vendome. Now, this extra syllable makes no difference whatever. The svllable, no doubt, like the rest of the name, is Greek ; and in Greek ne, or nai, is one of the strongest affirmations, equivalent to our veritably, or yea. Whence it follows that Napoleon means Veritable Exterminator, Veritable Apollo ; it means, in truth, the sun.

Bonaparte is, of course, the good part, in other words, “the light”, as opposed to malaparte, darkness.

Born In The Bayou

Just like Apollo, Napoleon was born on an island in the Mediterranean. Delos wonderfully corresponds to the mythical island described in Greek mythology.

Pausanias, it is true, calls Apollo an Egyptian divinity (…) He designed to inform us that the Egyptians worshipped Apollo, and that establishes yet another connection between Napoleon and the sun; for Napoleon is said to have been held in Egypt to be invested with supernatural qualities, to have been regarded as the friend of Mahomet, and to have received homage partaking of the nature of adoration.

Son of Leto, aka The Dawn

Napoleon’s mother was named Letitia, which is the Roman translation of Leto, the mother of Apollo, Pérès writes. Napoleon had 3 sisters – corresponding with the three Graces from Greek mythology.

Brother Of The Four Seasons

Napoleon had four brothers: three were king and one of them a Prince (Lucien, Prince of Canino).

Of Napoleon’s four brothers, three, they tell us, were kings; these three kings are Spring, who reigns over the flowers; Summer, who reigns over the harvest; and Autumn, who reigns over the fruit. As these three seasons derive all their potent influence from the sun, we are told that Napoleon’s three brothers held
their sovereignty at his hands, and reigned only by his authority. And when it is added that of Napoleon’s four brothers one was not a king, it is because one of the four seasons Winter, reigns over nothing.

Napoleon Gave Us Colour

Pérès writes how the winds come “from northern climes, discolor our land, and cover it with a detested whiteness”

This has given rise to the fabulous account of the invasion of the northern nations into France, where they are said to have done away with a parti-colored flag adorning it. and to have substituted a white one which entirely covered it, after the exile of the fabulous Napoleon. It would be idle to repeat that this is merely emblematical of the rime that the winds from the north produce in the winter, and which obliterates the charming colors that the sun produced in our land, before he waned and departed from us. It is easy to see the analogy of all these things with the ingenious fables conceived in our century.

Husband Of The Moon And The Earth

According to these same fables, Napoleon had two wives; hence two wives have been attributed to the sun. These two wives are the moon and the earth : the moon according to the Greeks (Plutarch is our authority), and the earth according to the Egyptians

(…) Even so the birth of the supposed son of Napoleon has been fixed at the 2Oth of March, the period of the vernal equinox, because in the spring agricultural produce undergoes its most important phase
of development.

Napoleon’s French Revolution is Apollo’s Python

Napoleon ended the terror, aka the “Hydra of the French Revolution”. Apollo slew the Python, an enormous Serpent, as first exploit. Another similarity, Pérès writes. Besides,

revolution is obviously derived from the Latin word rwolutus, which denotes a curled-up serpent. The Revolution is the Python, neither more nor less.

The Twelve Marshals Of The Zodiac

Pérès writes:

The celebrated warrior of the nineteenth century had under him, we are told, twelve marshals at the head of his armies, and four were not in active service. Now, the twelve first are obviously the twelve signs of the zodiac, marching under the orders of the sun Napoleon (…) The four others, in all probability, are the four cardinal points, which, fixed amid universal motion, are very well symbolised by the inactivity of which we have spoken. Thus, all these marshals, active and inactive, are purely symbolical beings, with no more reality than their leader.

Napoleon Followed The Course Of The Sun

Pérès writes that we are told that “this leader of so many brilliant armies overran in triumph the countries of the south, but that, having penetrated too far north, he was there unable to maintain himself. Now, these details precisely apply to the sun’s course.”

This, then, is the material from which has been drawn Napoleon’s imaginary northern expedition to Moscow, together with the humiliating retreat by which it is said to have been followed. Thus everything we have been told of the success or defeat of this strange warrior is nothing more than a series of allusions to the course of the sun. Finally, and this needs no explanation, the sun rises in
the east and sets in the west, as all the world knows (…)That, then, is all we are to understand when we are told that Napoleon came by sea from the east (Egypt) to reign over France, and that he disappeared in the western seas after a reign of twelve years. The twelve years are nothing more than the twelve hours of the day during which the sun shines on the horizon.

Napoleon is nothing more than an image of the sun. And in truth he is nothing more, Pérès concludes.

His name proves it; his mother’s name proves it ; his three sisters, his four brothers, his two wives, his son, his marshals, his exploits. all prove it. It is proved, moreover, by his birthplace; by the regions whence we are told, he came before entering on his career of dominion; by the time he employed in traversing those regions; by the coun tries where he prevailed, by those where he succumbed; and by the place where he vanished, pale and discrowned ‘

It has, then, been proved that the supposed hero of our century is nothing more than an allegorical personage, deriving his attributes from the sun. It follows that Napoleon Bonaparte, of whom so much has been said and written, never even existed ; and this fallacy, into which so many people have fallen headlong, arises from the amusing blunder of mistaking the mythology of the nineteenth century for history.

So, remember, my fellow enfants de la patrie: he’s fantasy. Sigmar. The Emperor. Darth Vader. Forget him and paint dinosaurs instead. They’re more historic than this Ghost of Christmas Past…