Reports of the size of the stone found in 1804 somewhere between the 80-90' level in the Pit varied to between 2-3' long by 12-16" wide. It was said to resemble dark Swedish granite and to have an olive tinge, and was not a stone common to the area.
A rendering of the symbols claimed to be on the stone are shown below but once again, this exists largely from the memory of an earlier viewer. No tracings or rubbings of the original have survived even though it was said to have been viewed by hundreds of people while in the home of the Smith family. The stone was last seen in the window of a Halifax merchant where it was being displayed in an effort to stimulate interest in the sale of shares.
The mysterious inscription continues to engage researches and cryptologists. The most famous, and generally accepted, translation is that offered by Reverend A.T. Kempton in 1949.
A recent discovery of a similar cipher by the late Zena Halpern, a Knights Templar researcher from New York, has introduced fresh possibilities into this piece of the Oak Island puzzle. Referred to as La Formule, the incomplete document does appear to work with the Kempton cipher, when transcribing the symbols into the French language. It also adds additional letters to help complete the cipher.
