“The Curse of Oak Island” Season 11 continues to document Rick and Marty Lagina’s long-standing quest to find the treasures hidden deep within the titular island’s legendary money pit. In Episode 18, the team’s efforts uncover an old wooden wall with two old, nail-like objects that seem to support the theory about the Knights Templar having a hand in the island’s past — which they’ve already entertained earlier in the season. However, the new discovery sees another iconic group enter the theory field: Vikings.
As the theory the team posits on Season 11, Episode 18 has it, Vikings — who had a presence on the east coast of the U.S. before Christopher Columbus — and Templars might have known each other and been on good terms, which opens up the possibility of the two groups working together on Oak Island.
If true, this would be a fascinating discovery that could potentially overshadow whatever physical Templar-Viking treasure Oak Island may hide, considering that the Viking Age lasted from the 9th to the 11th century. Meanwhile, the Knights Templar organization was founded in 1199, didn’t rise to true prominence until the 12th century, and was effectively wiped out by French king Philip IV in the early 14th century — well before Columbus’s 1492 voyage to the Americas.
The Viking-Templar team-up is just the latest strange Oak Island theory
As intriguing as the Viking-Templar theory may be, it’s worth noting that “The Curse of Oak Island” and its fandom have put forward quite a few theories over the years. In fact, pretty much all the treasure found on “The Curse of Oak Island” can be connected to various outlandish theories. The things rumored to be buried on Oak Island range from pirate treasure to Marie Antoinette’s jewels. Though it has by no means been serious about all of them, the show has been known to cover some of the wildest ideas, too — from legendary playwright William Shakespeare’s theorized connection to Oak Island to the one about Christopher Columbus and the Ark of the Covenant.
Of course, season after season of strange ideas with comparatively little payoff has caused the theories to run in the other direction, too. Some fans have put forward a controversial “The Curse of Oak Island” hoax theory that posits some of the treasure might be planted to keep the show relevant to the viewers, and academics have called the show “pseudo-history.” As such, the theory about Vikings and Templars joining forces for some Oak Island treasure-hiding action might not end up rewriting the history books as we know them … that is, unless Rick and Marty Lagina actually find solid proof of this historical team-up from the island.