Joel and Emma never expected to spend the summer searching for untold millions in gold and jewels on famous Oak Island. But soon after their adventurer uncle Jake telephones them in British Columbia to ask for their help with the excavations, they're in the air flying to the coast of Nova Scotia. Exploring the island on their bikes, Joel and Emma find intriguing hints of the treasure's whereabouts: an ancient rock painting and cryptic Latin inscriptions. When a mysterious old man appears and gives them one final clue, they're sure they have all the pieces of the Oak Island puzzle. But as Uncle Jake's dig starts to fall apart, they have to race to put the pieces together in time. Set against the background of one of the most famous treasure hunts of all time, The Secret Treasures of Oak Island is the action-packed story of a summer quest for pirate gold.

It started on a summer afternoon in 1795 when a young man named Daniel McGinnis found what appeared to be an old site on an island off the Acadian coast, a coastline fabled for the skullduggery of pirates. The notorious Captain Kidd was rumored to have left part of his treasure somewhere along here, and as McGinnis and two friends started to dig, they found what turned out to be an elaborately engineered shaft constructed of oak logs, nonindigenous coconut mats, and landfill that came to be known as the Money Pit. Ever since that summer day in 1795, the possibility of what might be hidden in the depths of a small island off the south coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, has made it the site of the world's longest, most expensive, and most perplexing treasure hunt. Author D'Arcy O'Connor recounts the fascinating stories and amazing discoveries of past and current treasure seekers who have sought Oak Island's fabled treasure for over two hundred years. It has baffled scientists and madmen, scholars and idiots, millionaires and get-rich-quick schemers, psychics, engineers, charlatans, and even a former president of the United States. The island has consumed the fortunes-and in some cases, the lives-of those who have obsessively set out to unlock its secret. Despite all their efforts, the mystery remains unsolved, and not a single dime of treasure has ever been recovered. The present-day search is an archaeological dig exceeding anything ever done anywhere for similar purposes, and it may well result in the discovery of one of the world's richest and most historically significant treasures. But this is also the story of individuals who have dedicated years of their lives to discover what was buried long ago beneath this strange island. They are driven by a lust for gold, by archaeological curiosity, and by their determination to outwit the engineer who was responsible for the Oak Island enigma.

Oak Island in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, has a secret treasure that has now been revealed.

When Emma's Uncle Jake comes to Vancouver to talk about his latest fortune-hunting adventure, little does she imagine that she is on her way to becoming a treasure-seeker herself. Jake is going to dig at a world-renowned treasure site--Oak Island, Nova Scotia. Over the past 150 years many people have tried to retrieve the treasure that lies in the bottom of the so-called money pit. None has been successful. Jake persuades Emma's parents to let her and her brother Joel fly from Vancouver to Nova Scotia to spend a few weeks on the island while the dig is on. It will be a great adventure. They will witness an event that will break on national and international news media. In addition, Jake tells his brother that it will be good for Emma for her recovery. She has recently been in a car accident in which she lost an arm. Emma and Joel are thrilled. When they get to the island Jake gives them each a new bike and they set off to explore. Their discovery of a very old 'cave' drawing adds an unexpected side to Jake's project. Things begin to fall apart when the financial backers lose faith in Jake. Although the treasure chest is in sight, the work has to come to a stand still and the heavy equipment has to be returned to the mainland. But Emma and Joel's chance encounter with a kindly ghost helps Jake fulfill at least part of his dream. This young adult adventure is based on factual information about the 'money pit' on Oak Island and the attempts to retrieve it.

In the summer of 1795, a teenager was exploring a tiny island in Nova Scotia's Mahone Bay when he came across a curious depression in the ground. Driven by visions of lost pirate treasure, he later returned to the spot with shovels, pickaxes, and two friends. The trio began to dig, and in so doing launched what would become one of the most famous treasure hunts of all time. For over 200 years, the baffling mysteries of the Oak Island treasure have captured countless imaginations they have also been the cause of bitter rivalries, dashed hopes, and tragic deaths.

More than two centuries ago, compelling evidence of buried treasure was found on Nova Scotia's Oak Island. Since then, extensive engineering works have been discovered and mysterious objects unearthed in and around the island's "Money Pit." The ongoing search has been featured on a long-running popular television series, but to this day, the island guards its secrets. In this book, historian John Bell presents all the competing theories — about who buried treasure on the island and how the complex structures in the Money Pit that have kept treasure hunters at bay were created. Is the island the former settlement of pre-Columbian Vikings? The location of a lost pirate treasure or royal treasures from England? The hiding spot for rogue captains of Spanish treasure ships? John Bell presents each theory in turn. Bell also provides a detailed illustration of the mysterious work that was done on the island prior to the discovery of the Money Pit in 1795. The illustration shows each element of the Pit's design as it was first built — including elaborate flood tunnels, a cave-in shaft, and more. This book offers a fascinating opportunity to explore many centuries of world history from the perspective of one of the greatest mysteries of all time. The extensive visuals showcase what treasures could have been hidden, and illustrate the lives of the adventurers, renegades, pirates, politicians, and paranormal entities that might be responsible for this puzzle.