# oak island treasure

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oak-island-treasure/1623>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [March 8, 2000, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oak-island-treasure/1623 "2000-03-08T21:32:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![donhsf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@donhsf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donhsf)\
**Post date:** [March 8, 2000, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oak-island-treasure/1623/1 "2000-03-08T21:32:00Z")

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The march april issue of skeptical inquirer has a detailed article by joe nickell, whose analysis of spontaneous human combustion is featured in an update on that topic. nickell shows evidence that the pit is a natural sinkhole with natural limestone channels admitting seawater and that the details of proof of a manmade treasure are the result of imagination, exageration, and a kind of masonic parable perpetrated by some of the treasure hunting principles who were masons

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**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\
**Post date:** [March 8, 2000, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oak-island-treasure/1623/2 "2000-03-08T21:44:00Z")

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Here is the article referenced: [Oak Island treausre](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_441.html)

This was a column by Cecil, not a Mailbag item, and so I am moving this topic to the appropriate forum.