Tonight on The Curse
of Oak Island...
28 feet of water, lads!
These are targets
that we've identified.
I don't think that's a rock.
There it is!
Finally, we've exposed
the entire slipway structure.
It's the biggest mystery,
isn't it?
They want to keep things secret.
Ooh! Look at that!
That looks like
it's off
a substantial treasure chest.
- Hello!
-We're gonna find out
from a blacksmith
how old the hinge is.
That is early 1600s.
This could be pre-Money Pit.
There is an island
in the North Atlantic
where people have been looking
for an incredible treasure
for more than 200 years.
So far, they have found
a stone slab
with strange symbols carved
into it,
mysterious fragments
of human bone,
and a lead cross whose origin
may stretch back
to the days
of the Knights Templar.
To date, six men have d*ed
trying to solve the mystery.
And, according to legend,
one more will have to die
before the treasure
can be found.
Let's get Craig on the phone.
It is the start
of another day on Oak Island...
-Hi, guys.
-ALL: Hey, Craig.
...as brothers Rick
and Marty Lagina,
along with other members
of their team,
have arranged to meet
with their partner,
Craig Tester,
via video conference.
So, we're wanting
to talk about the dye tests.
Okay.
-Um, here's what happened,
okay?
We pumped somewhere between
maybe a quarter million
and half a million gallons.
The biggest surprise was
we saw seepage
down in Smith's Cove,
which definitely turned
rusty-colored.
Wow.
One day ago,
Rick, Marty and the team
conducted what is known
as a dye test
in order to find out
if the man-made flood tunnels
believed to exist
at Smith's Cove
could still be directly traced
to the Money Pit
treasure vault.
Let's do this.
After pumping thousands
of gallons of seawater
mixed with nontoxic red dye
into the C-1 shaft...
MARTY (over radio):
The dye has been cast.
...metal detection expert
Gary Drayton
spotted what appeared
to be red-colored water...
If we're looking for red, guys,
I'd say that's red.
...water which, when analyzed,
tested positive
for traces of the red dye.
11.98.
That's a good
positive indication.
Yeah!
All the rocks
turned, like,
an orangey-brown color
wherever the water
flowed over the rocks.
It was never flowing
like that before,
and I never saw that color
in that area.
So, that was interesting start
to the pumping.
Well, it's consistent with
a flood tunnel that's plugged.
And maybe, you know, pumping in
caused them to silt up.
Maybe there's something
under the pad.
Structures or a tunnel.
I think there is something
under the crane pad.
In order to construct
the massive
525-foot-wide steel cofferdam
that now surrounds
Smith's Cove,
the Laginas and their partners
hired the team
from Irving Equipment Limited
to build a 6,000-square-foot
wooden pad
capable of supporting
the weight and movement
of a 300-ton crane.
But now,
although the excavation efforts
at Smith's Cove
have been hugely successful,
the team must deal
with an unintended consequence
of their operation.
The crane pad is most likely
built directly over the spot
that Rick and Marty
have been most eager to find,
the convergence point
where the stone box drains meet
on their way to the original
Oak Island Money Pit.
But you mess around
with that crane pad,
and Irving's gonna want
to do it,
because they're gonna
want it all done to their specs.
Yeah. Marty's point is
we need to talk to them.
The larger context is,
what do we do in Smith's Cove
at this point?
Do we dig at the crane pad,
yes or no?
Craig, what do you want to do?
I-I really want
to pursue it, uh,
and try to get everything
in Smith's Cove done this year.
Um, I really like
going under the pad.
I know it's a pain, but, um,
you know, following that water,
follow it while we can, while
we got the cofferdam in place.
The point is,
we're not done in Smith's Cove.
I think we all will agree
with that, Rick.
Although Rick, Marty
and the team
are eager to verify
if they have found
the main flood tunnel
that links
to the Money Pit
treasure vault,
they must first
obtain additional
environmental permits
from the Canadian government
to expand
their excavation efforts.
They will also need
an extension
on their existing permit
to keep
the massive cofferdam in place.
In Smith's Cove,
you have to deal with all kinds
of governmental
oversight agencies--
Department of Fisheries
and Oceans,
Department of Environment.
And we have long sought
and worked laboriously
to make certain
-That's right.
that we have respect
for the environment.
We are going to figure out a way
to move this crane pad
and dig underneath it.
The more we dig,
the more we discover.
So let's just continue digging
and,
hopefully, we get lucky.
So let's go make it so.
Following their morning meeting
in the w*r room,
Rick, Marty and Dave
arrive at Smith's Cove.
We're gonna go talk to Billy
about the process there.
Go talk to Billy. Fine.
Although the team
has made a number
of significant discoveries
at Smith's Cove
during the past eight weeks,
the time to finish excavating
the area is running short.
Summer is almost over,
and the permits
that Marty and Rick obtained
from the government
in order to build the cofferdam
are set to expire.
Even if the team obtains
the necessary permissions
to dig up
the crane pad,
they will have to move quickly
if they intend to do
a thorough search of the area
for important artifacts
and clues.
We've certainly set out
to uncover the secrets
of Smith's Cove.
Now it's time to get to work to
try to come to an understanding
as to what
these structures represent.
Oh! Hey!
(excavator engine shuts off)
Okay.
The first question is,
what do you got to do here?
The objective is to get as close
as we can to the...
to the slipway with the machine
and then clean it off by hand.
Right.
After building a massive
525-foot-wide cofferdam
and draining a large area
of Smith's Cove,
the Oak Island team
has unearthed
a number of mysterious
and previously undocumented
structures.
What is it?
-It's concrete.
In addition to a concrete wall,
they have uncovered evidence
of a stone box drain
and remnants of
an ancient wharf, or slipway,
which was previously discovered
by treasure hunter
Gilbert Hedden in 1936.
Let's stay focused on this.
Billy thinks a couple shovelers
here helping Laird,
dig this down
and then blade this off.
Get it nice and level.
Okay. Great.
Let's go.
The reason why I wanted
to do Smith's Cove in
the first place was to answer
the questions of who and when.
And I think
there are some clues,
hopefully, that reside
within this slipway structure.
(beeping)
I got an hit here, Jack.
(sustained beep)
It's iron,
and it's reading four inches.
Hang on, mate.
I think I saw it.
No, not in there.
JACK: Pretty sure that... Oh.
-Ooh!
That's a beauty.
This looks hand-forged.
This looks old.
This freaking reminds me
of some kind of, like,
a spear point.
This looks like
a projectile of some kind.
Like a spear tip?
Yeah, a spear tip.
A spear tip?
This is almost w*apon-like.
It was while metal detecting
in this same area
four weeks ago
that Gary discovered
a nearly identical object,
which was strikingly similar
to one found
on the island's southern shore.
What it appears to be...
is Roman.
-No way!
No way.
A possible Roman pilum,
a spear point used
by Roman soldiers
as far back
as the first century BC.
I mean, we don't know.
We don't know
how old these structures are,
who made 'em,
and, possibly,
who protected 'em.
I mean, look at that.
It looks like
it was made like that
on purpose.
I don't think this is
no fastener, mate.
I think these are,
potentially, weapons.
-Well, that wasn't
fastened into anything.
Yeah.
Laird!
Check this out, mate!
This was below
where the bottom of this log
would be.
-Oh, right.
-So it's a disturbed area? Yeah.
And... Yeah. Well...
Why would anyone make something
That tapers down like that?
-I don't know.
I don't know why they'd create
a weak point right there.
It reminds me of,
like, a projectile.
Like, a-a w*apon of some kind.
This is a really sweet find.
More and more I'm starting to
think the slipway is really old.
And if there's anything
in Smith's Cove
that's original
from the depositors,
it's the slipway.
-It's certainly hand-forged.
- I just don't think
these are tools.
Yeah.
But That looks
really old.
LAIRD: Yeah.
I think we've got
something interesting
going on in this area.
Right.
Yeah.
There's only one way
to find out.
Yeah. Find some more.
While Gary, Jack and the team
continue to investigate
the mysterious slipway
at Smith's Cove...
-Hi, Vanessa!
How you doing today?
...brothers Rick
and Marty Lagina,
along with Dave Blankenship,
head to the Money Pit area
to meet with representatives
of Irving Equipment Limited.
The plan for today is
to get H-8 leveled,
put the falsework in place,
crane mats in place,
Get things bolted up.
VANESSA: I think We pushed H-8
as far as We can safely.
Been a lot
of stuff down here.
Exactly. Exactly.
Yeah.
We're obviously antsy,
but we know
you got to do it right.
I don't know
what the heck that is.
Oh, that's... pottery.
Two weeks ago, while excavating
the borehole known as H-8,
the borehole
that Marty Lagina believed
was most likely on the site
of the original
Money Pit treasure shaft...
...the ground surrounding the
50-inch-wide drilling caisson
began to suddenly
and mysteriously collapse.
Although the team
from Irving Equipment Limited
was able to stabilize
the massive sinkhole
using a powerful
vibro hammer tool,
the site is now considered
too unstable and too unsafe
to continue excavating.
It's full stop.
Uh, again, frustrating, 'cause
H-8 was giving up some data.
No, incredibly frustrating.
I mean, we may not
be done with H-8,
but we may be done this year.
Unfortunately.
It's unsafe.
Doesn't mean
we can't move forward.
Doesn't mean we can't
be successful.
Determined to continue,
the Laginas and their partners
have decided to return to one
of their earlier strategies.
They will attempt to reach
the Money Pit treasure vault
by means of an adjacent tunnel,
Shaft Six.
Well, I have high hopes
for the first site.
Shaft Six has always been,
uh, important to me.
I think I've
somewhat convinced these two.
He's certain there's
gonna be something there,
which makes it...
-You've set yourself
a tough course, big brother.
I know I have.
And I think if there's anything
to be found in the Money Pit,
it's in that shaft.
CHARLES:
Uh-oh, that's wood.
11 weeks ago,
while conducting an extensive
core-drilling operation
in the area,
the team found evidence of
a 19th-century searcher tunnel
that was dug
in a failed attempt
to enter the original
Money Pit from below.
I think we're right on target
for that tunnel.
How specific do you need,
in terms of the location?
How specific?
If we know approximately
within a couple of feet,
at this point, uh,
just to get the pad prepped.
-All right, well,
let's let him get to work.
Yep.
-All right,
have a good day, guys.
Thank you.
See you later.
DAVE: Yep.
(wind whistling)
Before another day ends
on Oak Island...
Tony, welcome back
to the w*r room. Yeah.
-Thanks, buddy.
...Rick and Marty Lagina
join members of the team,
along with professional diver
Tony Sampson,
in the w*r room.
They are eager to follow up
on data they retrieved
during a recent investigation
of the island's southern shore
that was conducted by the
Centre for Geographic Sciences,
otherwise known as COGS.
What we're gonna do here today
is we're gonna go over
the offshore data that the
COGS students obtained for us,
and they came up
with some interesting stuff
on the seafloor.
So Jack and Alex have
the data in front of them.
Why don't you show Tony
what we got.
Mm-hmm.
-Yeah. So, so, Tony,
-we've got the data
on the screen there.
Uh-huh.
But there's a couple
in particular
that we're
especially interested in.
Okay.
-Jack, if you can pull up
-the, uh, image of 12.
on it.
-Oh, my God, that's interesting.
Right.
Look at the shadow.
Look at the jagged top
to that thing.
And it's very skinny.
I don't think that's a rock.
Yeah.
I think that's something
sticking out of the seafloor.
And anything sticking out
of the seafloor near Oak Island
is worth a look.
Yeah.
In addition to finding
what could be evidence
of a flood tunnel
off the island's
southern shore...
These two yellow columns
are possible vent locations.
...the scans also detected
a number of possible
man-made objects
on the ocean floor,
including a mysterious
triangle formation
that appeared to point
directly towards the Money Pit.
That is clearly worth a dive.
Yep.
While the team waits
for the government permits
they need
in order to expand their
excavation of Smith's Cove,
they will redirect their
efforts in hopes of locating
what is believed to be
a second flood tunnel system,
one that lies just off
the island's southern shore.
I'm sure you've seen
a lot of strange things
-on the sea bottom, right?
-Exactly, yeah.
It's clearly an anomaly.
Um, you probably know this,
but I'm just gonna say it.
Those boulders sitting there
are not gonna be nice and clean.
There's gonna be stuff
growing all over them.
I mean, this feature
I find interesting,
and only because, to me,
that looks like it lines up.
PETER: the two rocks?
Yep.
'Cause you could say that
the two features
are the gunsight,
and the rock is, like,
the end of your barrel.
Yeah.
- So let's go
to the next one.
This is the possible anchor.
Now, that's very interesting.
And if you zoom in,
you can see that there's
a break in the shadow
between these two objects.
Whoa.
A boat anchor found
off the island
could be
completely insignificant,
or it could be very significant.
It would matter whether
it was a boat anchor
from a 1900s boat or a...
late-1800s boat
or, let's say, a 1600s boat.
And so we have to have a look.
I want to see
which of those it is.
- If you find a feature,
Mm-hmm.
I'd like to know
physical measurements, sizes...
Yeah.
-...and really come up
with an understanding
of what these things look like.
Mm-hmm.
Well, take these guys with you.
Okay.
They both are certified divers.
Okay. Well, with that in mind,
what we'll do, guys,
is, with these anomalies,
we'll run a line, and then
we can put an underwater compass
on the bottom,
so you'll have hard numbers
as to where she is.
Okay.
- Okay, this is good.
We have a plan, a plan.
We have the perfect people
to execute it.
So let's come back
with some good data,
and I'm happy.
Let's go underwater.
It's the start
of another promising day
on Oak Island, and as
archaeologist Laird Niven
and members of the team
continue their excavation
of the mysterious slipway
in Smith's Cove...
- Lock and load, buddy.
RYAN M.: Okay.
...Alex Lagina, Peter Fornetti
and Jack Begley,
along with professional diver
Tony Sampson,
prepare for
an investigative dive operation
in the waters
just off the southern shore.
28 feet of water, lads!
-51 degrees!
-The team's first target
will be the mysterious
triangle-shaped formation,
which appeared to point
directly towards
the Oak Island Money Pit,
and which the team believes
may be associated with a second
man-made flood tunnel system,
which, in turn, might lead
directly to the Money Pit
treasure vault.
Mark!
In previous years,
looking for things offshore
was not a primary goal for us,
because we needed information
to point us to an "X marks
the spot" on the island.
But now we need
all the information we can get.
And if it's offshore,
it's offshore.
Point us to something,
where to dig.
Okay, so,
what we have here, guys,
in the bag, we have the compass
so we can get Marty's point
and his orientation towards
the Money Pit or wherever else.
Great.
Got it?
Yep.
Excellent.
We're not just
checking these things out
for the sake of doing it.
Theories are numerous
on the island,
and many of them include
underwater features.
So the hope,
obviously, is to find
some of these features,
or something, and hopefully,
we'll have
our next breakthrough.
Okay, the terminals
are both hooked up.
-The container's back together.
Fantastic.
While Tony Sampson
and Alex Lagina
perform their dive,
Peter Fornetti will maintain
continuous communication
with them from the boat.
Should either diver
need assistance
during the operation,
Jack Begley--
who is also
a certified scuba diver--
will be ready
to enter the water.
Are you guys ready?
Surface to diver. Over.
Despite the fact
that Alex and Tony
have seen the anomaly
on a sonar scan,
they may have great difficulty
actually finding it
due to the heavy vegetation
covering the ocean floor.
Although the team
is permitted to search for
and recover treasure
on Oak Island,
provincial laws prohibit
the removal
of any artifacts
from the surrounding waters.
Even so much as touching
or disturbing one
is against the law.
While Tony and Alex
continue their search
in the waters off
the island's southern shore,
at the Oak Island
Research Center,
brothers Rick and Marty Lagina,
along with other members
of the team...
Steve.
Hi.
...have arranged to meet
with professional surveyor
Steve Guptill.
They are hoping that Steve,
using maps
and more than 100 years
of notes and surveys,
can help them pinpoint the
exact location and orientation
of the Shaft Six tunnel.
Although Rick believes the team
located it 11 weeks ago...
I think he hit
the tunnel from Shaft Six.
...he is concerned that if
any new excavation is off,
even by a few feet,
they will miss finding
the Money Pit's
underground treasure vault.
I'm not sure if Doug
has filled you in,
at least a little bit about,
-you know, the basics.
-Well, a little bit.
Yeah. We've got all
of these data sets
from the different decades
of treasure hunters
and researchers, and Dan is
really interested in the idea
of bringing them ALL together.
-Yeah, it's all possible.
I think you guys have
some depths, as well, right?
So what I can do is, I can take
these images over the years,
and I can lay them on their...
each on a separate layer.
And eventually,
when we get the data overlaid
and it's geo-referenced
properly, um,
we can make it so we can start
putting the depths in
and we can see the drill paths.
Might you find out,
in this process,
-that the surveys don't tie?
That happens.
Yeah.
it can still be done.
We just have to find other...
So, what I would do from
that point, I'd look for trees,
-buildings, landmarks.
Okay.
Yeah.
- I think it's
gonna be helpful
as we carry it out
into the field.
Yeah, I would love
to find Shaft Number Six.
Well, find Six,
and we'll dig it.
The overlay will assist
in determining
the location of Shaft Six,
because the early data is all
about shafts
numbered one through seven,
or one through eight,
but if you establish where
eight, four, three and two are,
you'll know exactly
where Six is.
It's doable,
and that's the thing.
You know, and I think
it's gonna bear fruit.
STEVE G.:
Yeah, it sounds interesting,
sounds fun.
And, we're on
a treasure hunt here.
-Let's go.
(laughter)
As Rick and Marty conclude
their meeting
with Steve Guptill...
...Alex Lagina and Tony Sampson
believe they may have finally
located the mysterious
triangular formation
in the waters
off the southern shore.
The fact that Alex and Tony
have confirmed that
the rock formation does point
in the direction of
the Money Pit is significant.
It suggests that it might have
been deliberately placed here
as some sort of marker,
pointing the way to
the Oak Island treasure vault.
Divers coming up.
Mark!
Shortly after completing
their search for the mysterious
triangle-shaped object
in the waters
just off the southern shore
of Oak Island,
Alex Lagina, Jack Begley
and Peter Fornetti,
along with diver Tony Sampson
and his crew,
are about to perform
a second dive
in an attempt to locate
what they believe
might be a ship's anchor.
Okay, guys. As you can see,
the weather's turned to crap,
so we're going
to live-boat this one now.
We'll just walk
straight off the bow
and onto the buoy like now.
Sounds good.
Okay. Let's kit up, guys.
Because the weather conditions
have made it difficult
to drop anchor,
Captain Ryan Mosher will
strategically place the barge
directly over the target area.
This will allow Tony and Alex
to enter the water
the safest way possible
to search
for the mysterious object.
ALL ready?
- Yep, all set.
Good luck, but be safe.
(water gurgling)
A rock?
Is it possible that the object
that appeared to be man-made
is, in reality,
merely a natural formation?
I think if you were sensitive
to disappointment,
you would not be on Oak Island,
but it's not discouraging.
We had a list to look at.
We got eyes on them.
We still know more
than we did this morning.
Good results, though?
Uh...
Or just rocks?
It was definitely a rock.
it was not an anchor.
Okay.
Well, it was kind of
interesting.
We hit the bottom there to what
we thought was gonna be
the anchor, and we ended up
coming across, like, two rocks,
-eh, Alex? Yeah.
Yeah.
Although Tony and Alex
are momentarily disappointed
by what they found
during their dive,
their earlier discovery
of a possible
triangle-shaped stone marker
offers a compelling
and potentially important clue,
one which could lead
to the discovery
of a second flood tunnel system
designed to protect
the original
Money Pit treasure vault.
There's more research
that needs to be done
on the stone marker,
because it looks like
it is actually pointing
at the Money Pit.
That's-that's kind of a success,
but I want to see
where exactly
the compass bearing leads us.
Great. Well, I'm gonna
get out of this and, uh,
Get warmed up a little bit.
-Yeah, I don't blame you, buddy.
Okay, mate.
You do that.
Okay.
- Hey, Ryan?
If you want to steam towards
the buoy buddy, we'll haul her.
Okay.
the next day...
Look at that.
-Pretty cool, eh?
-CRAIG: Yeah, it is massive.
...Marty Lagina
and his business partner
Craig Tester arrive
at Smith's Cove...
Hey, guys. How are you?
Good. You about got it?
Pretty much. Pretty much done.
So, pretty quick,
we'll be able to remove this,
and then we can get over
to that stuff, and then we can
-excavate here, is that right?
-Yeah, exactly.
It's gonna be interesting
to get under it.
Now that the entire slipway
is exposed,
archaeologist Laird Niven
will photograph
and meticulously record
the details of the structure.
The team will then
carefully disassemble it
in order to search
the area beneath it
for artifacts
or possible clues.
and you can See it
on the other side?
-Oh, yeah.
Yeah?
-Yeah, at low tide,
it's visible. Yep.
Wow.
Yeah.
It's pretty big for a slipway.
Certainly,
the ones we're used to.
For hauling... just hauling up
your little fishing boat,
-it's a lot larger.
Yeah.
And the other thing is,
they're really too close.
To haul a ship up, you only
need one every three
or four feet.
Yeah, but a cart full of gold,
you'd need 'em every...
Right?
(LAIRD laughs)
just to strengthen it?
Yes.
'Cause it'd be...
the wheels would be
way closer together and stuff.
I guess my question is,
why-why use a slipway
as opposed to a wharf?
You know,
there's some people that feel
that they want to keep things
secret, so it's very low...
It's a low, almost no profile.
Is it possible that the slipway
was actually
a sort of secret wharf,
one used not
for the docking of ships,
but rather as a ramp
to offload something of value
onto Oak Island?
And, if so,
what else might the team find
buried underneath
this mysterious structure?
The slipway is clearly
a-a rather massive structure.
It appears to be quite old.
It doesn't have a lot
of iron in it.
It clearly looks like
it was used
to load or unload something
for this island.
Well, a whole bunch
of somebodies thought
this was really important.
It's pretty much
the biggest mystery, isn't it?
This massive undertaking down
here, and hardly any detritus.
I mean...
and the majority of it
is actually
-coming from here,
as Gary suspected.
-Right here, yeah.
Well, it will be interesting
to dig a little deeper here,
See What you find.
- Yeah. No, absolutely.
All right, well,
let's keep going.
ALL Right.
-Carry on, man.
Talk to you later.
As archaeologist Laird Niven
begins to carefully dig
beneath the slipway area,
(beeping)
metal detection expert
Gary Drayton continues
to search the spoils
for possible clues.
(beep)
(beeping)
(loud beep)
Here we go!
Hmm. Interesting.
That looks like an hinge.
That looks like an oldie.
What's an hinge doing down here?
(wind whistling)
That looks like an oldie.
While searching through spoils
recently taken
from Smith's Cove,
metal detection expert
Gary Drayton has just made
what could be
an important discovery.
It's not gold,
but it's interesting.
That looks like
an old wrought iron hinge.
That is cool.
What do you make of the iron?
That's nice. I don't know
if it's off a door, a chest
or whatever,
but that's a substantial
hinge piece.
Pretty massive.
-Yeah, it is.
What I make of that is
that it's old.
How many "verys"?
I can give you at least
a couple of very, very olds.
Really?
it might even be
very, very, very old.
Really?
An iron hinge?
Possibly from a chest?
And found more than six feet
deep beneath the seabed?
Could it have been part
of a container used
to bring something
of great value
onto Oak Island centuries ago?
You imagine the pin
that went in there?
I mean, that is cool.
That is cool.
Do you think that's
a square hole?
It's tough to tell, isn't it?
The way it's angled.
'Cause this looks broken off
at the end here.
Yeah.
So it...
-Well, that has gone through...
it had to be
at least this long.
I mean that's a huge length
to put on even a chest.
Looks like there's a little more
out there somewhere.
Yeah.
Something like this
really opens the door
to finding something else.
Yeah.
Well, one thing's for sure,
we can bring this
to Get compositional analysis
done on it.
Yeah.
The hinge Gary found
was very interesting.
It did look very old.
I mean, the metal itself seemed
to be hammered
at some point in time
in layers like that,
so we can find experts
that might tell us, you know,
what it was used for,
what time period it was used.
So we just got to follow up
on that.
All right, mate, I'll try
and find whatever...
A-Associated with that.
That's a pretty cool hinge.
It is.
The following morning,
while the careful
investigation efforts
at Smith's Cove continue,
Marty Lagina and his son Alex,
along with area historian,
Doug Crowell,
head some 20 miles north
of Oak Island
to the Ross Farm Museum,
located in the nearby town
of New Ross, Nova Scotia.
They have arranged to meet
with blacksmithing expert
Carmen Legge.
All right.
-Hello!
-Hello, sir.
-Hey, there.
-I'm Marty.
Hi. Carmen Legge. How are you?
-Hi, Carmen. Pleasure.
-Carmen, I'm Alex.
-Alex. I've met you before.
Doug. How you doing again?
Good to See you.
-Yeah, very good.
- So we've got some...
pieces of metal-worked items,
and we're wondering if you can
identify them
or shed some light on their time
of manufacture.
Let's do it.
Let's have a look.
All right.
(Marty, Alex and Doug laugh)
It is.
Yeah, this one
is really interesting.
Hmm.
There were several. These were
all found in Smith's Cove.
So, for a shaft,
for sure, right?
How about age on that, Carmen?
I mean, any way to know?
Crib spikes?
Dating back as early
as the mid-1600s?
Could they have been used in
the construction of the slipway
that the team has recently
uncovered at Smith's Cove?
The funny thing
about the crib spikes
is that there were only
a few of them.
I mean, if they were being
used, say, in the slipway,
they would have been used
en masse.
There would have been
a lot of them.
But maybe there's a cribbing of
some sort we haven't found yet.
hmm.
this is the kind of thing
you would use in-in,
like, a house, or a,
you know, something like that,
right?
Why did you think
it was real old?
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
What time period?
Before 1800.
At the
Ross Farm Museum
in the town of New Ross,
Nova Scotia,
Marty Lagina, his son Alex,
and historian Doug Crowell
have just been informed
that the large metal hinge
recently discovered
at Smith's Cove
could date back as early
as the 17th century,
more than 100 years before
the discovery
of the Money Pit in 1795.
Wow.
(laughs) We have no idea.
We know activity
took place there.
Smith's Cove,
I'll just tell you, flat out,
has just been
a complete mystery.
The more we dig, the more we
don't understand what happened.
There's a lot of stuff in there.
Now We do. Now We do. (laughs)
(laughs) We do now.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
I'm going to vote flood gate.
Is it possible that the team
has found a piece
of the fabled booby-trapped
flooding system,
believed to be protecting
whatever lies buried
deep in the Oak Island
Money Pit?
Well, it's massive.
There would have been several
of these, right?
Probably? Yeah.
Carmen Legge thought the hinge
was very old, and then
he also thought the hinge
supported something
very massive.
Could be evidence of,
and perhaps lead us to,
the flood tunnel.
So, that's exciting.
Carmen, this has been great.
Thank you very much.
We learned a lot.
We Got some more.
-We'll be back.
- Yeah, we'll be back.
-CARMEN: I'll be waiting.
ALL Right.
Following his
informative meeting
with blacksmithing expert
Carmen Legge...
-Hey, guys. How you doing?
-Oh, Marty.
...Marty Lagina
has arranged to meet
with his brother Rick
and other members
of the Oak Island team,
at the Mug and Anchor Pub
in the nearby town
of Mahone Bay.
Alex and I actually went
to see a blacksmith,
and the guys there
is Carmen Legge.
Very, very knowledgeable.
I loved the guy
right off the bat.
I mean, he-he was great.
Anyhow, couple of those things
you thought were weapons,
he thought were crib spikes.
Oh.
-What's a crib spike?
- Well, you get
two pieces of a log,
and you're trying
to put them together like this,
you drive a crib spike
right down through the corner.
like making a tunnel. Yeah.
Yeah.
Far as date goes, it was old.
You know, looking
for that key date, uh,
pre-1795, which is always
what I'm focused on.
Yeah.
he thought it could be
pre-Money Pit.
This... again,
I thought wasn't much.
You did. And so does he.
This... is that famous hinge.
Oh. The strap
or the hinge, yeah.
Uh, he thought this was
the oldest piece in the bunch
and was willing to say this
could easily be...
it could be pre-Money Pit,
and he thought it could be, uh,
quite a ways pre-Money Pit.
How-how old at the oldest?
-1795 is the Money Pit.
Right.
Yeah.
He thought, easily,
into the 1600s.
(chuckles)
-And he also said,
look, this held something
substantial.
he said this-this was...
as wide as it is.
Yeah. He said this held
a two-inch,
to two-and-a-half-inch piece
of something.
It was a... you know, and when
he heard it was in Smith's Cove,
he was... said, well,
it's hard to picture
what sort of big door
would be down in a cove.
Yeah.
Yeah. he was quite intrigued
with it.
I'm-I'm quite excited about it,
because he thought that,
wow, this could be very, very,
very old, this one.
We got some clues.
I wouldn't be surprised
if these are a depositor.
-Uh, ths one, for sure.
Yeah.
If it holds up
and it really is that old,
perhaps it could be original.
And it's exciting, because
I feel like we might be closing
in on the information hunt.
I-I really do, with these dates
and these things
we-we need to look into.
I think we might figure out
what happened here.
What it tells me is not only
we're making, you know,
really substantial finds,
but it's all about
the information hunt,
and when you source someone
who really can give us,
-you know, input...
Mm-hmm.
...I-I think that's very,
very important.
We need to continue
to cultivate,
you know,
contacts like-like Carmen.
Well, here's to the ancient
and venerable trade
of blacksmithing.
DAVE: Agreed.
May it help us find
the treasure.
Cheers to
the blacksmiths.
Cheers.
After a week that began
with dead ends
and potentially
devastating setbacks,
have the Laginas and
their partners finally found
what they call "the one thing,"
the indisputable evidence of
man-made activity on Oak Island
prior to the discovery
of the Money Pit in 1795?
But could something as simple
as a crib spike, or a hinge,
really be proof
that the slipway
and other wooden structures
at Smith's Cove
were put there, not by
searchers, but by depositors?
If so, then what was deposited?
A vast treasure of gold
and silver?
Precious jewels?
Priceless artifacts?
Or was it something
completely different?
Something so incredible
that finding it
will change history forever?
Next time on
The Curse of Oak Island...
We have a dozen survey plans.
We now have an ability
to overlay the surveys.
Shaft Six is right here.
Put your finger on the map,
big brother.
We focused in
on the most likely spot
in the Money Pit to find
some actual treasure.
I think it's there. I really do.
Ooh! There's a coin.
No way.
this could be depositor.
Those are some
really big timbers.
-Yeah, there we go.
- They're oak.
Which would be the only oak
we've ever seen, underground.
We must be near the Money Pit.
That changes everything.
06x16 - Detour
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Follows brothers Marty and Rick as they search for the infamous treasure on Oak Island.
Follows brothers Marty and Rick as they search for the infamous treasure on Oak Island.