I didn't realise there was a TV show about it. Could run for decades if the history of the pit is anything to go by. Are the presenters doing the digging, or is it more of a look back at the futility of it all?
The show is based around 2 brothers - one who has a boyhood dream of finding the treasure and the other who made his money from oil and so has the means to play treasure hunter. They bought land on the island about 10 years ago and set about finding the treasure with the help of locals and guys who had previously dug there.
I will say that they are both intelligent, articulate and well educated. This isn't just Pawn Stars/Storage Wars with shovels.
The show has no presenters - it's a fly on the wall type thing. The usual modern documentary set-up (20% new footage and 80% stock footage of the environment with voiceover asking rhetorical questions).
I will say that they are using the most advanced techonology possible and are pouring millions of dollars into the hunt. They have found remarkable things (Spanish coins, coconut matting, hidden stones and messages).
For those of you who are intersted on a brief rundown, this is what we
know* so far.
In 1795, a hidden entrance to a depression/shaft was discovered. The opening was consealed with flat stones.
Every 10 feet down was marked, later reported as wooden, man-made platforms.
At 40, 50 and 60 feet, coconut matting and putty was found as well as the wooden platforms. There are no coconut trees in Canada.
At 90 feet, a large flat stone with an inscribed coded message was found. There is no photographic evidence of the stone but numerous drawings of the symbols. The exact translation of the symbols is still contested.
The pit then flooded with sea water either from natural means or through man-made, booby trapped channels.
All subsequent attempts to excavate the shaft have failed with sea water refilling the shaft.
Drilling below the 90 feet mark revealed what apeared to be a wooden box/chamber. (wood, metallic objects, wood and clay) at 153 feet down.
The exact location of The Money Pit was unknown for years as there were no exact GPS co-ordinates given. Every failed expedition had sabotaged/backfilled their excavations in order to thwart future hunters, making it nearly impossible to find the shaft.
*No speculation. Just the facts.