The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar: Solving the Oak Island Mystery [Paperback]

Steven Sora (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1999

A compelling argument that connects the lost treasure of the Knights Templar to the mysterious money pit on Oak Island, Nova Scotia, that has baffled treasure hunters for two centuries 

• Fascinating occult detective work linking the Cathars, the Scottish Masons, and Renne-le-Chateau to the elusive treasure pit on Oak Island 

• Draws on new evidence recently unearthed in Italy, France, and Scotland to provide a compelling solution to one of the world's most enduring mysteries 

When the Order of Knights Templar was ruthlessly dissolved in 1307 by King Philip the Fair of France it possessed immense wealth and political power, yet none of the treasure the Templars amassed has ever been found. Their treasure is rumored to contain artifacts of spiritual significance retrieved by the order during the Crusades, including the genealogies of David and Jesus and documents that trace these bloodlines into the royal bloodlines of Merovingian France. 

Placing a Scottish presence in the New World a century before Columbus, Steven Sora paints a credible scenario that has the Sinclair clan of Scotland transporting the wealth of the Templars--entrusted to them as the Masonic heirs of the order--to a remote island off the shores of present-day Nova Scotia. The mysterious money pit there is commonly believed to have been built before 1497 and has guarded its secret contents tenaciously despite two centuries of determined efforts to unearth it. All of these efforts (one even financed by American president Franklin Delano Roosevelt) have failed, thanks to an elaborate system of booby traps, false beaches, hidden drains, and other hazards of remarkable ingenuity and technological complexity.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When the Order of Knights Templar was destroyed in 1307, the secret society supposedly had vast wealth that was rumored to include the genealogies of David and Jesus and other religious artifacts as well as your run-of-the-mill gold and jewels. Over 200 years ago, the site of an elaborate vault was discovered by three teenagers on Oak Island, Nova Scotia, which was determined to have been built sometime between the 14th and 16th centuries. Author Steven Sora has been investigating both the Order and the vault for over 17 years, and The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar details his fascinating theory of where the Templar's hoard went and what is buried under Oak Island. If you enjoy real-life mystery, the intrigues of secret societies, or thoughtfully researched revisionist history, this one's for you. --P. Randall Cohan

Review

"An enjoyable read, and one that will be well received by those whose interest is to keep tabs on the more unusual aspects of history and Templar survival."
(

Mark Stavish, Institute for Hermetic Studies, Feb 2006

)

"The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar will have you turning its pages deep into the night, and Steven Sora should be commended for his fascinating, seamless scenario!"
(Bodhi Tree Book Review, Winter 1999 / Spring 2000 )

"If you enjoy a good non-fiction mystery, a kind of arm chair treasure hunt, and are a bit of a closet archaeologist or a medievalist to boot, this is a book for you. Fascinating reading."
(Convergence, Volume Thirteen Issue One )

“. . . well written and enjoyable. . . . a good summation of the Oak Island mystery.”
(Mike Gleason, Witchgrove, March 2007 )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Destiny Books (February 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892817100
• ISBN-13: 978-0892817108
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #578,679 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Avid reader.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intersting speculative work with some errors, September 13, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar: Solving the Oak Island Mystery (Paperback)

This work by Sora is an interesting one that keeps you entertained to the end of it. If you are interested in the Money Pit/Knights Templar/ Clan Sinclair & Rosslyn, etc. this is a must read. However, as interesting and well presented though his book is, it is marred towards the end of it with a couple of errors, one expecially glaring. For one thing, despite his implication to the contrary, the Teutonic Knights were not an outgrowth of the Templar order. They may have imitated the Templars and Hospitaller militrary monks, but they were no more ex-Templars than were the Templars ex-Hospitallers. Finally, and this was so glaring an error that it casts doubt about the other facts and statements by Sora, he describes the Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem and states that within this mosque is housed the Ka'aba, the holy black stone of Islam! Consult any standard work on Islam and it will state that the Ka'aba is located in the holy shrine at Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, a long way from Jerusalem! Hopefully, this will be corrected in a later edition (if any) of this work. Also, it is curious that Sora does not mention Michael Bradley's works, Holy Grail Across the Atlantic and its sequel, which closely parallel Mr. Sora's thesis regarding the Money Pit, the alleged Templar involvement in its construction and the exploration of the Nova Scotia by Henry Sinclair in 1398. Still, it's worth four out of five stars and a good read.

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well-Researched Work, February 22, 2000

By 

T. McIntire "Misanthrope" (Medford, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar: Solving the Oak Island Mystery (Paperback)

A truly well-written and compelling piece of work. Sora gives both a good overview of what's known about the Knights Templar and a good amount of well-thought-out conjecture about what we think we know about the Knights, the Sinclairs, Oak Island, and the bloodline of Jesus. He's also very good about distinguishing between what is known and what is just theory.

The only criticism I have of the work is that when it comes to the bloodline of Jesus and the geneology of the house of David, the author tends to rely too heavily on Holy Blood, Holy Grail, so that at times his chapter reads like a summary of that other book.

Overall, a great read and an invaluable piece of writing for anyone who's interested in the Knights Templar.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun reading, January 18, 2004

By 

Robert Graves (Thompson Station, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar: Solving the Oak Island Mystery (Paperback)

The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar is a fascinating book covering a wide variety of topics, ranging from the title topic - the Oak Island treasure - to ancient Viking history, authenticity of Shakespeare's authorship, and the family line of Christ.

Sora's main interest in this book is whether or not the Templars, made so popular recently by Dan Brown's "Davinci Code," are responsible for the mysterious pit on Oak Island in Nova Scotia.

This is a very fascinating topic and book, presenting an extraordinarily detailed history of the pit's excavation and an even closer look at the possible explanations for its existence. The explanation Sora chooses to focus on for the majority of the book, obviously, is the Templars. In doing so he presents an intriguing look at this secret society's beginning's, the historical climate surrounding its beginning's, and then follows it through the ages to the present day.

My only criticism is also a praise - the book tends to diverge in seemingly random directions, and you're never quite sure where Sora is going with it. However, if you find this kind of random minutia interesting, as I do, then it also allows Sora to cover an even wider range of topics on a deep level.

If you find a mysterious, unreachable treasure on an unlikely island, and an ultra-secret society that has lasted for thousands of years to be interesting topics, then I recommend this book. Be aware, however, that it is quite dense at times with a detailed historical presentation of little-known topics (like the Vikings, esoteric Scottish leaders and families, etc.) - but this may be its strongest point.