Tonight on
The Curse of Oak Island
Here are the stones
of Nolan’s Cross.
-They intersect
at this location.
-MARTY: Wow.
X marks the spot.
DANNY:
Yeah! That’s what
we’re looking for!
RICK:
We’re on something.
That is massive.
-GARY: Whoa! Look at that.
-JACK: What?
-That’s a lock.
-It is.
That looks like it’s off
a treasure chest.
-CRAIG: That does not look good.
-MARTY: Nothing’s running.
-RICK: Hammer grab’s down.
-We’re in trouble.
JARDINE:
Very disappointing for me.
We got the word this morning
that we’re on strike.
NARRATOR:
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.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR:
As a new day begins
on Oak Island...
DOUG:
I see a piece of timber there.
Let’s have a look at that
before he takes it away.
...local historians,
Paul Troutman and Doug Crowell,
along with geologist
Terry Matheson,
are monitoring the excavation
of the 60-inch-wide borehole
known as GG-1.
DOUG:
It looks like
an older timber to me.
Oh, she’s well over six-inch.
NARRATOR:
It is this borehole
that the team believes could
get them within a few feet
of the original
Money Pit treasure shaft,
first discovered in 1795.
TERRY:
Old chunk of timber.
PAUL:
Yeah, you got a little notch
right in here.
Break at the top,
break at the bottom.
Notch right on the side.
TERRY:
Yesterday, we didn’t see,
uh, we didn’t see any changes.
Just saw a lot of debris
and, uh, little wood splinters
-and twigs and this and that.
-Yeah.
-That looked different.
-Where are we at now?
JARDINE:
The hole was at 90, 91 feet.
So we’ll be pushing 100 feet
right there now with the can.
PAUL:
We should be in the target area
between 100, 150 or so.
So hoping to see
some more timbers
-as we, as we come
into it, so...
-Yeah.
DOUG:
Something like that
could be, uh,
supporting the top of a tunnel.
RICK:
There’s no question about that.
NARRATOR:
Two weeks ago,
while excavating a 60-inch-wide
borehole known as S-6,
some six feet
southwest of GG-1,
the Oak Island team penetrated
what they believed
to be the infamous Shaft Six,
the searcher tunnel that was
originally dug back in 1861
as a kind of back door into
the original treasure vault.
It was while searching
through the S-6 spoils
that the Oak Island team made
a number of exciting finds,
including bits
of leather bookbinding,
stoneware pottery dating back
to the early 1700s
and a hand-hewn oak timber,
similar to those
reportedly found
in the original Money Pit.
These finds convinced them
that not only
might they have
finally found Shaft Six,
but they could be
closer than ever
to finding the original
Money Pit treasure vault,
and, thus,
solving the Oak Island mystery.
RICK:
Based on these maps,
the Money Pit is up
in this northwest quadrant.
I have high hopes and high
anticipation. I think that
we’re on the cusp
of possibly finding
the one thing in the Money Pit.
DOUG:
Hey, Rick.
RICK:
Hey, guys.
DOUG:
We’ll let Danny fill you in
-on what’s been going on.
-DANNY: All right.
We have 111 feet
of casing in the ground.
And the oscillator pressure
is the highest it’s been
since we’ve last year to this
year, we’re breaking records.
We’re flirting
with 210 bar right now.
What do you, what do you make
of that, though?
The real enigma is what are
we biting into that’s creating
those high torque pressures
on the oscillator?
RICK:
We’re all hoping for something
significant here, but I...
you know, we got to let
the facts tell the story.
NARRATOR:
News that the massive
oscillator is circulating
at a torque pressure
of nearly 210 bar,
over double its normal
operating pressure,
is a potentially
significant development.
It indicates that
the 60-inch-wide steel caisson
is now drilling into
an extremely hard object
some 111 feet deep underground.
The question now becomes
whether the object is natural
or man-made.
PAUL:
Interesting thing is
we’re getting an assortment,
just like we did last time,
of many different types
of woods and shafts.
RICK:
That looks like oak.
It does, doesn’t it?
That’s what you’d think
in the Money Pit.
TERRY:
A lot of oak in and around here.
Can we see the cuts?
There’s an indication
of a saw direction.
See that?
Seems even more of a vertical
than a circular saw.
NARRATOR:
Oak timbers?
Found at a depth of 111 feet?
As searchers began excavating
the original Money Pit
more than two centuries ago,
they reported finding the first
of what would eventually be
nine oak platforms,
each ten feet deeper
than the last.
Could these oak timbers found
in the spoils of GG-1
be evidence that the team has
finally found
the original Money Pit
treasure shaft?
PAUL:
So, the question is,
with all this wood coming up,
do you want to put
another can on?
-Keep going? Okay.
-Oh, yeah. We have to.
Yeah, we got
to continue going on.
Well, you can’t can’t stop now,
you got to figure out
what’s going on.
NARRATOR:
As the excavation
of borehole GG-1 continues...
Ooh! Wow,
it’s cold out here, Gary.
-Wait, hang on, mate.
Let’s put the seats down.
-Oh.
NARRATOR:
...Jack Begley
and metal detection expert
Gary Drayton...
GARY:
This clips on here.
...are heading to the western
side of the island, to Lot 25.
It is one of nine
four-acre lots on the island
once owned by the former
American sl*ve Samuel Ball.
-JACK: Right here?
-GARY: Here’s good.
-JACK: This good?
-Yeah.
Ooh!
Where do you want to start?
GARY:
The edge of the lot.
-The other side of the wall.
-Okay.
NARRATOR:
In light of the recent
and significant finds
made on the western side
of the island,
such as the lead fragments that
have been scientifically proven
to be associated
with the medieval cross
found last year
at Smith’s Cove,
the team is hoping
that this side of the island,
and perhaps Samuel Ball’s
former property,
will reveal more clues
that could help solve
the 223-year-old
treasure mystery.
GARY:
All right,
so we’ll see what we can find.
(beeping)
I’ve been all over Oak Island,
but these lots have always been
too thick to get in.
But now they’re cleared,
there’s more ground opened up,
and we’ve been finding
some good stuff.
(beeping)
Wow, that sounds good.
This is iron,
but definitely worth a go at.
Good digging.
JACK:
Now it’s gone?
Should be out.
-Whoa! Look at that.
-What?
What - I have no idea
what that is, Gary.
That is a lock.
An old one, by the look of it.
-Look at that.
-JACK: Oh, it is.
See those nails.
-Look at that old nail
in there still.
-JACK: Holy...
GARY:
That is a lock plate.
I mean, this would have been
on a box or a chest.
Oh, definitely. I know!
That’s amazing, Gary.
GARY:
This looks like an oldie to me.
-Oh, look, you can see
the keyhole. Look.
-JACK: Yeah.
NARRATOR:
A lock plate,
from a possible chest?
This is a good sign.
NARRATOR:
Could it be from a chest
once owned by Samuel Ball?
Or could it be
from one belonging
to his former neighbor,
the 18th century privateer
Captain James Anderson?
It makes you wonder
what was going on here.
NARRATOR:
Reportedly born
in Baltimore, Maryland,
Captain James Anderson
pledged his loyalty
to the United States
during the American Revolution
in the late 1700s.
However, after being
given command of a ship,
known as the Betsy, Anderson
defected to the British.
Although he was charged
with treason and piracy
by then governor of Virginia
and future American president
Thomas Jefferson,
Anderson escaped to Canada,
where he purchased Lot 26
on Oak Island and lived there
until he sold the property
to Samuel Ball in 1788.
-Hey, Steve?
-Yes.
NARRATOR:
Just last year,
members of the team
visited the nearby home
of James Anderson’s direct
descendent, Steve Atkinson.
There, Steve showed them one
of Anderson’s own sea chests,
as well as a mysterious set
of keys.
STEVE A.:
That one opens
that treasure chest.
Could there have been more
treasure chests on the island?
That’s what I wonder.
NARRATOR:
Could this lock plate
be from a chest
that once belonged
to Captain James Anderson?
JACK:
Samuel Ball got rich
for a reason,
and if he was wealthy,
he had something worth hiding.
GARY:
Ah, we’re cashing in.
DANNY:
Yeah! That’s what
we’re looking for! big p.
NARRATOR:
At the Money Pit...
-Gentlemen.
-Hey, Craig. How you doing?
NARRATOR:
...Rick Lagina, Craig Tester
and other members
of the Oak Island team eagerly
monitor the excavation
of borehole GG-1,
a borehole which they believe
may have intersected
with the original Money Pit
treasure shaft.
CRAIG:
What are we finding?
PAUL:
Just a mix of everything.
CRAIG:
How long have you been
going through this wood?
Uh, about over ten feet.
-Yeah.
-Okay.
-Uh, let ’em dump this.
-Yeah.
(horn honking)
JARDINE:
Oh, wow. What’s that?
PAUL:
Is that wood?
DANNY:
Yeah!
JARDINE:
Oh, wow.
DANNY:
That’s what we’re looking for!
Whoa!
Nice section right there.
That is large.
DOUG:
And I don’t think we have
the full width of it there.
I think it split.
Want to try knocking it off?
RICK:
Let Danny just
put the bucket on it.
That is one big piece.
Give it a try here?
(grunting)
Ooh, yeah.
There we go.
Five-foot.
CRAIG:
That’s an awful massive beam.
TERRY:
That’s a big ol’ chunk of tree.
CRAIG:
What kind of depth we at?
One... 115 with the teeth,
maybe 113 with the excavation.
NARRATOR:
A five-foot wooden beam
found at a depth of 113 feet?
RICK:
Can you imagine getting that
down at that depth?
-Just the labor.
-I know. I know.
-That is massive.
-Mind-boggling.
CRAIG:
The way it came up, it could
have been vertical at the time.
Like it was part of a tunnel.
How high was the Halifax tunnel?
RICK:
This is roughly at the right
depth, is it not?
That’d be the Halifax tunnel.
NARRATOR:
In 1867, searchers from
the Halifax Company
dug a large shaft
some 200 feet southeast
of the original Money Pit.
After reaching a depth of 110
feet, they constructed a tunnel
heading in a northwest
direction in the hopes of
reaching the treasure vault
from the side.
Several feet short of their
target, they encountered
what they reported to be a
two-and-a-half-foot-wide
by four-foot-tall flood tunnel
that was filled
with rounded stones.
Although it was
a major discovery,
unfortunately for
the Halifax Company,
breaching the booby trap
thwarted their efforts,
and by the following year, they
no longer had the financial
resources to continue
operations.
Could it be that Rick, Craig
and the team were wrong
in their previous assessment,
that they had intercepted
the original Money Pit?
Is it possible that the timbers
they uncovered in borehole GG-1
are actually the remains
of an abandoned
19th century searcher tunnel?
It’s all great news
from a historical perspective,
but sad, because then we’re in,
we’re in already-worked ground.
What do you think about going
to whatever depth?
CRAIG:
Yeah, I’d like to take it
as deep as we can.
PAUL:
Be interesting to find out
what we have.
RICK:
Tomorrow’s another day.
CRAIG:
Yeah.
NARRATOR:
The next morning,
as the excavation
of borehole GG-1 continues
at the Money Pit site...
TERRY:
Hey, Billy.
NARRATOR:
...Rick Lagina, his partner
Craig Tester,
and geologist
Terry Matheson meet
with heavy equipment operator
Billy Gerhardt at Smith’s Cove.
Beautiful day for shorts.
-It is.
-(laughter)
NARRATOR:
With the days getting shorter,
and with just a few weeks
remaining before
major operations on the island
must shut down
for the winter,
Rick Lagina and his partners
are determined to excavate
beneath the massive
6,000-square-foot crane pad
and make what could be their
greatest breakthrough yet.
Do you think you’ll have
the crane pad out today yet?
Well, there’s the edge
of the crane pad.
We took a little of the edge,
and I have a little of this
top section to go yet.
You have any holes open
right now, or...
Uh, there’s a hole there
in the corner,
and there’s - we’re down to
horizon up here
-where those excavator
scratches are.
-Okay.
There’s definitely more water,
it appears, in this corner
-than anywhere else.
-RICK: Yeah, it has.
It’s making a lot of water.
Yeah, there are some
steady streams here
that are running, you know,
pretty full-on.
RICK:
That’s a lot of water.
Well, you know, to me,
the dye coming out
in this water right through here
indicates, you know,
is it part of the flood system?
Let’s do this.
NARRATOR:
Four weeks ago,
the Oak Island team conducted
a major operation
that involved pumping
thousands of gallons
of water,
colored with nontoxic red dye,
down borehole C-1.
-MARTY: The dye has been cast.
-Copy that.
NARRATOR:
They were attempting
to locate the entrance
of one or more flood tunnels
believed to be protecting
the Money Pit treasure vault.
Have you guys spotted
anything yet?
NARRATOR:
Just a few hours later,
metal detection expert
Gary Drayton found that
red-colored water had begun
seeping out of the ground
at Smith’s Cove
from beneath the crane pad
that had been put in place
to construct the 525-foot steel
cofferdam surrounding the area.
If we’re looking for red, guys,
I’d say that’s red.
NARRATOR:
It is the team’s belief
that this water,
which tested positive
for traces of the dye,
indicated they may have
discovered the site
of the so-called
convergence point--
the place where the five
stone box drains,
first discovered in 1850,
are believed to merge into
a single flood tunnel.
A flood tunnel that should
lead them directly
to the Money Pit
treasure vault.
If we can find one arm
of that old drain system,
and that’s what’s leaking
the water right here,
that’d be fantastic.
Yeah. I mean, at some point,
they’re going to converge,
and then we’re really
onto something.
-Mm-hmm.
How much more of the crane pad
do you want to remove
before we start cutting these...
these trenches?
Uh, I think we can remove
all of it.
-Oh, really?
-Yeah.
It bodes well that
there’s something to be learned
underneath the crane pad.
It’s just unfortunate
that it’s there, but...
We have to dig under the
crane pad for a couple reasons.
One is the obvious:
it’s unknown.
We haven’t dug there yet.
So there’s the unknown factor.
There’s the fact that the
If there was a drain system,
it would be converging
very near that point.
So, we have to look under there,
and we don’t have much time.
-Okay.
-Okay.
-All right.
-See you in a little bit.
-Thank you, Billy.
-Very good.
-See you in a bit.
NARRATOR:
As the operation to remove
the crane pad continues
at Smith’s Cove...
DOUG:
Hey, Rick.
NARRATOR:
...Rick Lagina joins
Craig Tester
and other members
of the Oak Island team
at the Money Pit area.
They are eager to see if the
excavation of borehole GG-1
has turned up any new evidence
that the team is drilling
in the vicinity of the original
treasure shaft.
The dig’s at 159.
And, uh, we’re not hitting much.
You know, we’re not
we haven’t gotten much wood.
That’s just, that’s the extent
of the wood we’ve found.
DOUG:
But he came out with so many
empty grabs before that.
TERRY:
Right around 155.5, we did ten
grabs and made about a foot.
The last few grabs that were
brought up had nothing in them.
RICK:
The dig’s at 159?
159.
RICK:
Well, let’s see what
the next few come up with.
Yeah.
MARTY:
It’s a little bit disappointing
in the lack
of significant artifacts,
from a discovery process.
Anytime you work on Oak Island,
no matter what you’re doing,
whether we’re digging,
drilling, exploring,
you know, your expectation level
is way up here. You know?
It’s always, "Today’s the day.
Aha! There it’ll be."
And we don’t have that yet.
RICK:
There we go.
Come on, baby.
No.
Nothing in that one.
We need to make a decision.
Yeah, I agree.
I’d call it.
At this point, we’re...
-we’re running tight
up against it, right?
-Yes.
Time is our biggest enemy
right now.
And if we can save some time
by cutting this off...
NARRATOR:
Because Rick and the team
believe they are now drilling
in an area explored
by previous searchers,
they see no reason
to continue excavating
in borehole GG-1.
Mike, we’re ready
to call it quits.
-Shut this one down?
-Yeah.
-Okay.
-We’re ready to move on.
-Sure.
-Okay.
NARRATOR:
After weeks of careful research
indicating that this was
the most likely location
of the original Money Pit,
shutting the hole down deals
a devastating blow
to the Laginas, their partners
and everyone on the island.
One day after need
excavation of borehole GG-1...
RICK:
I’ll introduce you to everyone.
Gentlemen...
this is Rich Moats.
NARRATOR:
...Rick Lagina has invited
archeoastronomer Rich Moats
to the w*r room for a meeting
with the Oak Island team.
After having spent
a great deal of time
working with Rick’s
close friend,
the late author and researcher,
Zena Halpern,
Rich has recently
developed a theory
which he believes
may help the team find
the precise location
of the Money Pit’s
original treasure shaft.
Gentlemen, I thank you for
asking me to come here today.
I think that what I’m
about to show you
is going to help you greatly in
what you’re trying to do here.
What I am about to show you
is my analysis
of Nolan’s Cross.
As we look at the
overall view of the island
and then move in closer,
uh, here is, um, a sh*t
of the five stones
that comprise Nolan’s Cross.
NARRATOR:
In 1981,
Oak Island treasure hunter
Fred Nolan
made the astonishing discovery
of five cone-shaped boulders
which, when connected together,
formed a giant,
perfectly symmetrical cross.
Although
some researchers believe
that Nolan’s Cross
represents a religious
and most likely
Christian symbol,
just who made
the megalithic formation
and for what purpose
remains a mystery.
All of these stones, uh...
were selected and shaped
to be roughly
the same size and shape
and stand six-foot
above the ground.
They were often called cones.
There are only five stones
on this island
of that size and shape.
There are no other stones,
to my understanding,
that are conical shaped
and of the same size,
is that correct?
There are
significant-sized boulders,
but as you say,
shaped like that?
I don’t know of any.
I-I haven’t seen any.
So, that brings to the question:
why was Nolan’s Cross
constructed?
Nolan’s Cross was constructed
by engineers with
ocean navigation capability
’cause it’s how they got there.
-I see.
-RICH: Okay.
That was their technology.
That was their science.
We forget about that now.
You know, back in the day,
-navigating by the stars...
-Yeah.
-That was what you did.
-RICH: Exactly.
Nolan’s Cross provides a means
of relocating specific places
on the island
by using navigation principles
along with markers
that could not
be changed by natural processes.
They were using sunrises
and the stars
for terrestrial navigation.
Okay?
The association of Nolan’s Cross
with the Christian cross
suggests a group of people,
highly motivated by a fervent
Christian belief system,
constructed Nolan’s Cross.
Together, this points
to a subgroup
of sailors and navigators
I believe known
as the Knights Templar.
NARRATOR:
It is believed by many,
including some of the Mi’kmaqs,
the first nation people
of Nova Scotia,
that members
of the Knights Templar
sailed from Europe
to North America
as early as the 14th century.
According to them,
the Templars arrived
on Oak Island
and constructed
what is now known
as the Money Pit.
There, they hid a vast treasure
that they had accumulated
during their years
in the Holy Land,
including the golden menorah
from King Solomon’s Temple,
the Holy Grail
and even
the Ark of the Covenant.
Nolan’s Cross is a device
so large that its true purpose
would not be easily recognized.
RICK:
The other thing
about Nolan’s Cross is...
the permanence of the structure.
What is the one way,
long ago, that you’re guaranteed
that your map...
stays where it’s needed to be?
You use large stones.
And you use the word "map."
Conversely,
it’s not written on paper.
They didn’t
have to write it on paper.
All that had to be done
was the knowledge
maintained as to what
the stones did.
Mm-hmm.
Here are the stones
making up Nolan’s Cross.
If you extend the sight line
C through stone A,
and you extend a line from
stone D across stone B...
Don’t tell me that lines up.
RICH:
They intersect at one location.
MARTY:
Wow.
(chuckles softly)
Stone E across stone B
intersects at
a different location.
Those are possible
places to look...
for what you might be
looking for.
NARRATOR:
According to
Rich Moats’ theory,
by tracing
the sight lines between
each stone of Nolan’s Cross,
there are four
potential target sites
in and around
the Money Pit area.
One of which, Rich believes,
is the location
of the original treasure shaft.
I have already given you
places where I hope
you would search,
but the most important
of these...
is "Site Three."
I strongly implore you
to search the earth
to see what may be there.
RICK:
First, I want to say thank you.
We’re certainly intrigued,
’cause you’ve been kind enough
to give us proper coordinates.
NARRATOR:
Could Rich Moats’
incredible theory be true?
Is Nolan’s Cross really part
of an ingenious treasure map
created by
members of the Knights Templar
centuries ago?
And if so, could this explain
the lead cross
and other artifacts that
the team has recently found
and scientifically traced
to a 14th century lead mine
in Southern France?
RICK:
He’s bringing all this
disparate information to bear
and he’s come up
with this theory
that indeed, Nolan’s Cross
is a map on top of the ground.
Many, many theorists
have suggested that.
Not a single one of them
have done what Rich has done.
Rich actually puts
X marks the spot
on the ground, on Oak Island.
We appreciate everything
you’ve done.
GARY:
That was fascinating.
-RICK: Yep, absolutely stunning.
-You’re welcome. Thank you, sir.
NARRATOR:
One day after the team’s
meeting with
Oak Island theorist
Rich Moats...
-CRAIG: Morning, Mike.
-Morning, Craig.
-How are you this morning?
-Good, yourself?
Oh, not bad.
...Craig Tester arrives
at the new
60-inch-wide borehole
that Rich had designated
as Site Three,
and where the Oak Island team
hopes will find evidence
of the original
Money Pit treasure shaft.
-Hey, Craig, how you doing?
-Good.
-Freezing.
-So...
-the teeth are at
33 feet below grade.
-Okay.
The dig, uh, five-foot of plug,
so the dig is at, uh, 28 feet.
The hammer grab
seems to be bringing up
an awful lot of timber.
From about eight feet down.
CRAIG:
Well, that’s expected.
So we should be
in it for a while,
but then once we get
down to the important areas,
the 100-foot range and below.
-It’s a great spot.
-Okay.
It’s an unknown territory
by degrees.
NARRATOR:
As the team continues
their excavation
at Site Three...
BILLY:
The water is coming
right here for sure.
-RICK: Under the crane pad?
-CHARLES: Yeah.
...brothers Rick
and Marty Lagina,
along with Charles Barkhouse,
arrive at Smith’s Cove.
They are responding to news
that heavy equipment operator
Billy Gerhardt may have made
a potentially important
discovery at the beach.
So that water was leaking out
more like there
-than here, right?
BILLY: It was leaking out
there,
but the source is somewheres
right in this general area.
-CHARLES: See it pouring
right there.
-BILLY: Yeah.
CHARLES:
Right near your left foot.
And there’s some timbers
in there, too.
(Rick grunting)
Obviously we got into
something here,
-though, right?
-RICK: Definitely something.
MARTY:
Where did the crane pad
come out to,
Billy, about right here?
Uh, there where
that foot-and-a-half boulder is.
RICK:
Well, there’s a bunch more
boards in there.
BILLY:
It looks like the wood
is a foot deep
under the crane pad.
NARRATOR:
Wood?
Buried as much as one foot deep
beneath the crane pad?
Could it be the remnants
of yet another
man-made structure?
If so, is it one put there
by a previous searcher
or by someone much earlier?
And could it be associated
with the flood tunnel
believed to lead directly to
the Money Pit treasure vault?
There’s another board here.
BILLY:
It looks like a structure.
-CHARLES: Yeah, right in here.
-RICK: Yeah.
I suppose there’s a possibility
someone thought they found
the flood tunnel,
tried to block it right here.
CHARLES:
Yeah.
RICK:
Well, I would say...
-keep digging.
-BILLY: Yeah.
-I’d just dig it real slow.
-MARTY: I would.
-CHARLES: Yeah.
-So let’s keep digging, Billy.
Hope springs eternal
every time somebody says,
"Hey, we got
a new structure, we got
a new find, you better
come here and look."
It’s always exciting.
I think it’s reasonably likely
that the crane pad
was obscuring
some significant answers.
-RICK: Hey, Gary.
-Anything exciting going on?
MARTY:
We just pulled a bunch
of planks out of there, so
we’re thinking it might be time
to do a quick sweep.
GARY:
Okay.
CHARLES:
Oh, look at here.
See a crosspiece on it, now.
And there’s one
going in that way.
-GARY: Yeah.
CHARLES: you got All that
water behind it.
GARY:
I think you got
your answer there.
The water’s running,
they tried to stop the water.
RICK:
That’s a brace,
that’s not the wall,
so it probably
goes back further.
CHARLES:
Yeah.
RICK:
I don’t know
what to make of it.
Why so many structures
in a very confined space.
I-It’s hard to fathom.
And there’s still one
yet to uncover.
That may give us, uh,
a little more insight
as to what actually
occurs between
Smith’s Cove and the Money Pit.
Looks like you’ve really opened
the floodgates, now.
Maybe it is a floodgate.
One day after discovery
of a possible floodgate
at Smith’s Cove,
Craig Tester,
historian Paul Troutman
and geologist Terry Matheson,
returned to the Money Pit area
to monitor the progress
at Site Three.
CRAIG:
So where we at?
DANNY:
So, I’d say eight feet an hour.
-Half an hour would be 104.
-Yeah.
NARRATOR:
Since beginning
to dig the shaft
just two days ago,
the Oak Island team has now
finally reached a depth
of approximately 100 feet.
-You guys will be able to make
a house here pretty soon.
-Yeah.
And is it Chappell or is it
just some other...
This one is.
A Hedden or a Chappell.
-Clearly a six by six.
-Yeah.
Whereas this one,
definitely hand-hewn.
Yeah, little notches, holes
and imperfections.
-All kinds of more box joints.
-Yeah. Good notch hole
on that one.
CRAIG:
Yeah.
-That could be collapsing
of any of the old...
-PAUL: The old shafts, yeah.
We’re definitely
in a conglomeration of...
-They were hewn by hand.
-Yeah.
-That says you’re going
back a ways.
-That’s for sure.
NARRATOR:
Hand-hewn wood?
Found at a depth of 104 feet
in the Site Three borehole?
Prior to the beginning
of the Industrial Revolution
in the late 18th century,
lumber used in construction
was cut manually,
such as with an a*
or hand-operated saw.
But could the hand-cut timbers
the team has just found
be remnants of an early attempt
by searchers
to reach the bottom
of the original Money Pit?
Or have they finally
found evidence
of the treasure shaft itself?
TERRY:
Let’s see what’s up here.
It’s just dominantly old wood.
Hand-hewn.
That’s a good chunk right there.
TERRY:
There’s a new one.
Tongue joint.
Oh, that’s interesting.
CRAIG:
That’s an interesting one.
Yeah.
You can see it on both ends.
What the heck was that used for?
I don’t know.
Between something, or...
-Perhaps a central support?
-Or up, over here? Or there?
Central support?
-Beam sitting on each side?
-For a tunnel, yeah.
Maybe there was something
tunneling off all of a sudden.
PAUL:
That’s encouraging. Out of all
the ones we’ve been inside,
this is-- I haven’t seen
anything like that.
Look at the round
it’s rounded, hand-hewn, just...
I mean,
what a significant effort.
NARRATOR:
Because the team believes
they’ve begun drilling
into some kind of tunnel
or wooden structure,
100 feet deep
in the Money Pit area...
Dump it!
...Alex Lagina,
Jack Begley and Dan Henskee
will meticulously search the
spoils excavated from the shaft
at the nearby wash table
for any important
clues, artifacts,
and hopefully,
evidence of treasure.
DAN H.:
Finding any pottery?
-I haven’t seen any pottery.
-Yeah.
-Well, that’s a different depth.
-Yeah.
So if we find something
interesting, we know it is
from relatively deep.
At least 100 feet down.
Pottery?
Pottery!
ALEX:
Yeah, I think that’s...
that’s definitely pottery.
DAN H.:
But it’s, it’s shattered
little pieces broken off.
Like a teacup, or actually, a...
Oh, you’re right,
’cause there is
a little bit of glaze on this.
Like a fine china teacup,
something like that?
ALEX:
Here, I’ll, uh, I’ll bag it up
-and we can show it to Laird.
-Yeah.
-Here’s your purple wood.
-Is it?
-Yeah, definitely
purple looking.
-Yeah.
DAN H.:
Must be a... must be, like,
fluorescent or something.
-It looks much more purple
in the sunlight.
-ALEX: Right.
NARRATOR:
Purple wood?
JACK:
Look at this, Dan.
Purple wood!
NARRATOR:
Last year, while searching
the spoils excavated
from the nearby borehole
known as H-8,
Jack Begley and Dan Henskee
discovered strange pieces
of wood,
which appeared to be stained
the color purple.
How often was this
color purple used?
Well, just in important,
uh, church documents
and royal documents.
NARRATOR:
When the wood
was later examined
by medieval book expert
Joe Landry,
the purple color was thought
to have been created
by means of an ancient dye
used in the production
of important books
and manuscripts
throughout the Middle Ages.
Could the presence
of this purple wood,
found alongside pieces
of pottery,
be evidence that the team
has in fact located
part of the original Money Pit?
-PAUL: Oh, wow, look at that!
-DANNY: Look at that scoop!
-Whoa-ho-ho!
-That’s quite the jumble.
We haven’t encountered,
uh, pieces like this before
that are this solid.
What do you make of this, Craig?
I saw that all come up.
They came... these...
most of them came up vertical.
-Those were vertical?
-Yeah.
TERRY:
I like our chances of being
in the collapsed structure
of the Money Pit.
-Big brother!
-Where are we?
CRAIG:
This is one of the last ones
brought up.
MARTY:
You feel like
any of this is oak?
Uh, yeah, there’s
some of it looks like
it has an oaken grain, yeah.
CRAIG:
Yeah, then we get those things,
which are obviously old.
TERRY:
Hand-hewn.
What we were thinking
is varied materials
cobbled together to hold the...
side of the actual
Money Pit together.
-That’s good.
-Let’s cross our fingers.
Is it, perhaps,
part of the original Money Pit?
The only thing I can think of:
whoever built the Money Pit
would have cared,
and oak would last better,
would be heavier,
would be stronger, so if...
if these anomalously
large timbers are oak,
then yeah, it could be part
of the original Money Pit.
Okay. Good.
Keep going.
Find something.
Yup.
NARRATOR:
As a new day begins
on Oak Island...
brothers Rick and Marty Lagina,
along with their partner
Craig Tester,
head back to the Money Pit area
to continue supervising
the excavation of Site Three.
MARTY:
Ominously quiet.
I’m not seeing anybody.
RICK:
What’s going on?
CRAIG:
I don’t know.
Hammer grab’s down.
CRAIG:
That does not look good.
-(crickets chirping)
-No sounds.
Crickets.
We got crickets.
-Nobody’s working.
-CRAIG: Yeah.
-MARTY: We’re in trouble.
-RICK: Yes.
Mike’s here, though.
Let’s go in.
-Yeah, let’s go in the trailer.
-RICK: Yup.
As we pull onto the pad,
it is very clear
that nothing’s running.
The men are gone.
I mean, this looks serious.
Hey, Mike.
Morning, guys.
RICK:
There’s something
going on, and...
we want answers.
MARTY:
Pretty quiet out there.
JARDINE:
Way too quiet for my likings.
So, it’s a very
disappointing morning for me.
-Right.
-Yeah.
We got the word
this morning that
the crane operators...
they are on strike.
NARRATOR:
A strike?
One that has shut down
drilling operations
on Oak Island?
Although the crane operators
at the Money Pit site
are employed
by Irving Equipment Limited,
their rates are regulated
by the Nova Scotia Construction
Labor Relations Association.
Over the past 24 hours,
the union,
which represents some
100 heavy machine operators
throughout Nova Scotia,
went on strike
due to wage issues unrelated
to the work on Oak Island.
JARDINE:
I am in touch with my guys
back at the office
that’s, you know,
digging into that to see
what they can find out,
to see what we’re up against.
-It’s just a waiting game.
-Mm-hmm.
Uh, we know that...
they are negotiating again
and-and... and they’re hoping
to have this resolved
within 21 days.
NARRATOR:
The fact that operations
at the Money Pit site
cannot continue
for what could be
the next three weeks
offers yet another setback
for Rick, Marty and their team.
The harsh winter weather is
already setting in...
and it won’t be long
before conditions on the island
become too difficult
to resume drilling.
MARTY:
For me, it’s a big
disappointment,
because I want to put an X
through something,
and the Money Pit, you know,
we’ve thrown a lot
of resources at it.
We can’t proceed,
and we are coming
tight up against some windows.
We are running out of time.
I think I speak
for these two guys.
Um... we understand completely.
-We just soldier through this.
-Yeah.
I think we got to respect
the workers’ rights here.
-Yep.
-So, we’ll let this play out.
-Yep, absolutely.
-MARTY: Okay.
Good. Thank you.
Appreciate it.
-RICK: Thanks, Mike.
-JARDINE: Thanks, guys.
NARRATOR:
For Rick, Marty and their team,
the bitter realization
that their efforts
to find the original Money Pit
have been halted by a strike
is both heartbreaking
and infuriating.
Nevertheless...
they are determined
to make the best of it.
If experience
has taught them anything,
it is that patience
and persistence
are stronger
than any drilling caisson.
They can now redouble
their exploration efforts
at Smith’s Cove.
They will also have time
to examine new theories...
evaluate new evidence...
and employ new methods of
reaching their ultimate goal:
the discovery
of a treasure vault
that has endured centuries
of setbacks,
and whose secrets
have remained hidden,
at least... for now.
Next time on
The Curse of Oak Island...
Look over there, Marty.
-Is that a wall?
-RICK: Yep.
Yeah, there it is right there.
I think it’s a shaft.
-(beeping)
-JACK: I see it!
Yeah, that’s 1700s
all over it, mate.
JAMES:
The Knights Baronet
are connected
to the Knights Templar,
and might be responsible
for a treasure buried
on Oak Island.
GARY:
All right, here we go.
-What do you got?
-I don’t know yet,
but it looks shiny!
06x19 - Striking Distance
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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.