Gretchen Cornwall

I do think that the Templars were capable of not only sailing to Nova Scotia but also had the mental capacity to build the French Finger Drains, water trap, vault and the infamous Money Pit.  Having had multiple communications from readers in doubt as to the capacity of Templars having the engineering skills to understand simple hydraulics, I chose to do a bit of research to back up my theory.

I do think that those of us who live in cooler environments with plentiful water supplies, take it for granted that dry or desert cultures of 800 years ago, thrived due to their abilities to harness water, store it and direct it to their people.  Indeed having done so since antiquity.  How did the ancient cities of Jerusalem, Athens or Istanbul survive and thrive?  They collected massive amounts of water and channelled it around their cities.  They did understand hydraulics and applied it in order to survive.

It did not take long to discover an academic paper written on the history of the water cistern, collection methods and channelling water to a city population.  I have attached this document in its entirety as it is an interesting read.

The document is a pdf which you may download.  It covers ancient history from Crete, Spain and of course the Byzantine Empire when Istanbul was known as Constantinople and was the seat of Christianity in the east, prior to the 15th century.

The paper, written by three academics from various universities outlines how dry regions over thousands of year and including the medieval period, collected water, channelled it and kept their cities alive.  The following is an excerpt from the enlightening paper:

“Rainwater cisterns were built not only as public facilities, but also as private ones in monasteries such as at Osios Loukas and Dafni [31,32], illustrated in Figure 16a,b, respectively. Also, cisterns were built next to or under churches, as well as in the residences of that era. The cisterns in the Byzantine town of Mystras [33] and of the arid Monemvasia [34] are quite characteristic. Additionally, the numerous rainwater cisterns found are basically the only remains of the collapsed houses at the castle of Leontari in Arkadia. The extensive use of domestic cisterns was typical during the last period of the Byzantine Empire since the state could not afford the construction of the necessary public ones, not only for financial reasons but also due to the limited space of the regularly fortified towns.”

The ancient monastery of Osios Loukas is still open for visitors –

Here is the wiki page for the Greek village where the disused castle, of Leontari in Arkadia and its large cistern may be found:                         https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leontari,_Arcadia

You will need to translate this age:  http://arcadia.ceid.upatras.gr/arkadia/places/liont.htm

As you read the paper (below), view the diagrams and photos, let it sink in what our ancestors around the world were capable of centuries before our own modern civilization and industrialization flowered, giving us lives of greater ease and greater time to live with such variety of choice in the present.  Our ancestors were brilliant and we are standing on the shoulders of their collective achievements.

It’s easy to forget that the Cistercians, the cousin Order to the Templars, diverted rivers in order to create fishing ponds to sustain their monasteries.  They were famous for taking land no one else wanted and draining swamps to create verdant farmland.

One of the most comprehensive books ever printed on the Cistercians: Cistercian Abbeys: History and Architecture by Gaud, Leroux-Dhuys and Crook, extensively covers their architectural achievements, innovations and use and understanding of hydraulics.  I quoted this book on page 51 of my own:

“Where needed their use of hydraulic engineering was singular and one example can be found on the hillside at Obazine where a community of hermits associated themselves with the Order.  The original, though ill placed buildings were kept, but water was an issue.  They harnessed the resource from a mile away, carving a canal and redirecting the water to the hillside.  The abbeys were protected from floods by many clever means such as building terraces.”

Yes, it is not just possible but probable that Templars were capable of creating a water trap on Oak Island, Nova Scotia.  They built cathedrals, castles, fortresses, farms and ran networks of preceptories across Europe & the Middle East.  They knew how to channel water.

What remains to be seen is enough supportive finds and of course the all so important vault.  Only then will we know who its true authors are – for myself I am drawn to the proposition that Templars sailed to the New World due to the knowledge passed down to them by their ancestors, the ‘Vikings’.  I hope I am not proved wrong, but we must follow the evidence.  I’m holding my breath along with you…

I hope the article on the history of water collection leaves you as captivated as myself as to the possibilities for the mysterious engineers of the Finger Drains at Smith Cove.

Please follow this link to download the paper: Cisterns Drains & Knights

Thank you for your time and I so look forward to the next episode!

May you be blessed,

Gretchen Cornwall