07x08 - Triptych

[bunniefuu]

Tonight on
The Curse of Oak Island...

‐Oh, wow, look at that.
Oh, it is a timber!

It's a timber!

We don't have any structures
like this on any of our maps.

This could be some
of the early workings.

This painting was an instrument

to record a secret
about Oak Island.

I would dig

where the shepherd points.

‐ Wow!
Lots of wood.

‐ We're on a corner.
The Money Pit's

‐14 feet away.
‐That's stunning.

I mean, that's zeroing in.

The Money Pit
may no longer be lost.

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.

That's a substantial amount
of water coming through there.

Am I seeing things,
or is there,

like, a bunch of cobble?

I do see
a bunch of cobble, yeah.

Quite distinctive, isn't it?

Those rocks look like

they've been placed there.

‐Yeah.
‐On purpose.

Yeah. I think so, too.

Shortly after completing

this 6,000‐square‐foot
extension

to the massive steel cofferdam
at Smith's Cove,

Rick Lagina and members
of the Oak Island team

have already found evidence
of what could be

another breakthrough discovery.

There's a lot of cobble there
and none here.

Like a rock wall.

This is a heck of a start,
or what?

Just moments ago,

while excavating a mysterious
square‐shaped log structure

one that was never reported
by previous treasure hunters

the team unearthed
what they believe

could be part of one
of the five stone box drains.

First discovered in 1850,

the box drains draw ocean water
from the shore,

which is then used to fuel
a booby‐trapped flooding system

which prevents digging in the
area known as the Money Pit.

‐They look like
they've been stacked. ‐Yeah.

I mean, look at how quickly
the water runs out

from the structure.

It's still working today,
you know?

Quite packed in there, Laird.

I'm not gonna make a statement,

but it's... well defined.

I only know one thing, right?

There's a preponderance
of cobble,

but it seems to keep going
that way and that way.

Hey, Billy, can you take
a couple scoops of water,

and we can see it better?

Look at the sheer difference of,
like, pure clay

to a mound of rocks.

There's definitely more rocks

going that way.

That pile is continuing.

Wow. Look at that.

So, this is the shaft?

We‐we don't have
any structures like this

on any of our maps, so this is
a new original discovery.

Plus, you've got black organic
material rotting away there.

That's another sign of it.

What's disturbing
about this is that there is

no historical record.

Dan did not articulate
having built anything like this.

I can't believe
that Mr. Blankenship

would have built
such a structure, so...

Certainly, uh,
Restall or earlier,

but it begs the question:

how were they able
to get out this far?

I think this,

more than anything else,
it mimics Restall work.

These vertical timbers,
they used that feature a lot.

The only problem I have is,
for this to be Restall work,

this is... somebody said
it's underwater.

‐So how would they
have gotten here? ‐Yeah.

Yeah.

Bill, you want to hop in
and get this cleaned up?

Yep.

Just like old days.

It is pretty interesting.
Yeah.

They look like
they've been stacked.

Here comes the geologist.
All right!

‐ Oh, wow, look at that.
‐ What do you make of that?

Well, yeah,
I would say people were there.

All right.
‐People piled those boulders up.

‐So, the north end
of this, Terry, ‐Right.

is the south end of the slipway.

Oh, we're not to far off there.
I see. Okay.

One year ago,

near the same area
of Smith's Cove...

There's a timber right there.

Wow.

...the team uncovered
the remains

of a wooden slipway,
which would have been used

for hauling boats
in or out of water,

usually for the purpose of
loading, unloading or repair.

When the wood used
to make the slipway

was scientifically dated
using dendrochronology,

it suggested that
it may have been built

as early as 1769,

nearly three decades before
the discovery of the Money Pit

in 1795.

Is it possible that
this recently discovered

rock‐and‐log structure
is related in some way?

But if so, how?

Is that rounded,
or is that a piece of timber?

Let's have a quick look here.

I think it's another bit of,
uh, wood.

Oh, it is a timber!

‐ It's a timber!
Oh, yeah, it is.

What do you think, Terry?

It means that it's part
of a crib‐work, I would say.

That's not natural.

This is the furthest structure

that we've ever found.

‐ Yes. ‐You know, furthest away
from the actual beach.

RICK Well, who
thinks they know what this is?

We have
to keep digging to find out.

Exactly.

For now, it's been a long day.
I think we're done.

Another day, another structure.

Following their
productive search operation

at Smith's Cove,

Rick, Craig and other members
of the team gather

in the w*r room.

They are eager to share

the news of today's findings

with Rick's brother Marty,
who is away on business.

‐Hey. How you doing?
‐Hey, Marty.

Good. Whatcha got?

Well, Marty,
I'm just following up,

those pictures that I sent you

‐about the Smith Cove's work?
‐Yes.

Just wanted to explain
the‐the pictures, really.

Remember Mike Jardine showed us
those box‐like features

at surface?

Yeah, I sure do,
before he even started.

‐Yep, I do.
‐We've exposed them now.

The curious thing
that is on the back side,

the seaward side of the box,

there's a tremendous amount
of rockwork,

and that really is the most
interesting feature to date.

We still have to decide if we
want to dig inside the box.

Yeah, so, the rockwork

outside the box,
do you think that's...

different time,
or associated with it?

It appears
as though it's extensive.

It was quite laborious.

But what it means
and its relation to the box,

I don't think
I can time‐frame that.

‐Not yet.
‐But it could have been

that they were digging down
to‐to find a way

to shut off the water,
you know, the age‐old thing.

Or it could be one of the...

‐one of the last finger drain
systems in Smith's Cove. ‐Yeah.

Entirely possible.
Go dig 'em up.

This area, because it's
outside Dan's cofferdam,

it's really interesting.

I know Dan...
really liked this area.

He always thought
it was leaking in this area,

the... from the flood tunnel
or something.

There was water coming out

when he had his cofferdam
in here, so...

hopefully,
we can get down deeper

and get in these rocks and...
and find out what it is.

Okay. Well,
it was a good start.

At least you found
something already unknown...

‐hitherto unknown.
‐Yeah.

I really didn't think
we'd discover

something as massive as what
we found in the bump out.

When I see these timbers,

um, you know,
these are substantial.

And Rick tells me
that also there was

an enormous amount of rock
associated with it, too,

that he took out by hand.

This is yet another,
yet another structure

in Smith's Cove,
so I'm impressed.

It's just the beginning
of Smith's Cove,

and the hope is that it
will reveal some things

that to this point are unknown.

I say dig, Craig, Rick,

Billy, Doug, dig!

Let's get to the bottom of it.

That's the hope,
and‐and, uh, we'll...

‐dig away, as you say.
‐Yeah, Rick,

you're off to a really good
start, and I'll be out there

just as soon as I can, 'cause I
don't want to miss all the fun.

All righty. See ya.

‐See you guys. Thanks.
See you, Marty.

As a new day begins
on Oak Island,

Jack Begley
and historian Doug Crowell

have joined
archaeologist Laird Niven

and other members of the team
at Smith's Cove

to continue their investigation

of the mysterious
wooden structure.

To get down to the depth
we need to get down to,

we almost have to take out a...

a little bit more with
the excavator, don't you think?

Do you want
to come onto a linear section

of the box drain undisturbed,
or do you want to cut through

‐and then try to find it?
‐Well, that's up for debate.

I'm inclined
to try and cut through it

and then find it
in the sidewall.

I'll peel back in
a little bit. Yeah.

Yeah, but not too far,
because yeah,

‐this is where...
what we're focusing on. ‐Yeah. Yep.

Yeah.

Using a 40‐ton excavator,

Billy Gerhardt will carefully
dig along the suspected path

of the rock feature
in the hopes

that by exposing more of the
structure, they can confirm

whether it is, in fact,
connected to a flood tunnel

a flood tunnel

that would lead directly
to the original Money Pit.

Sounds like he's
hitting rocks there.

That's a good sign,
then, isn't it?

Are you okay with me metal
detecting over this, Laird?

‐Yep.
‐Okay.

When Billy's finished,

I'll give it a little search.

I've been chomping at the bit
to get back to Smith's Cove.

We didn't have a lot of success

with coins
and artifacts last year,

but this is the year.

You ready, Billy?

‐Yep.
Here we go, Jack.

There's a hit here.
It's just tough

to see what it is.

This is probably iron.

You can feel it?
Yeah.

I'm getting something,
but it seems to be

all over the place.

Wow.

This is fantastic.

Yeah!
It's definitely an old piece

of wrought iron here.

That's a cool little find.

‐Structural, right?
Yeah, that's cool.

They look very similar
to what you found last year

‐along the slipway.
‐Yeah.

Right in line.
And that's where we found

all those old cribbing spikes
from 1600s, 1700s.

A cribbing spike?

Similar to the ones found
within the 18th‐century slipway

that was unearthed
in this area last year

and which blacksmithing expert
Carmen Legge suggested

could be as much
as 400 years old?

Could Gary and Jack
have just found

further evidence to suggest

that the mysterious
log structure was made

before the discovery
of the Money Pit in 1795?

This is the start
of something good, mate.

Mm‐hmm.

‐Hey, Rick.
‐ Hey, Rick.

Hey. How can we help?

We've already found

a couple of things here,

and I'm sure
you'll recognize these.

‐And I believe...
‐Yeah.

This is the only area

we found
those old cribbing spikes beside

of the slipway,
and it was found down there.

It's in really good shape.

Oh, yeah. That's an old piece
of iron, as well.

You can actually see it.
I think it...

The hand hammered,
you know, right here.

All the little dimples.

‐Right here.
‐Yeah. It's in great shape.

And we haven't gone
that far down in this area.

Gary comes up
with a cribbing spike that he

suspects could be
from the 17th century.

And we're always looking
to have one data set,

if you will,
reinforce another data set.

So we have this

dendrochronology date of 1769.

Certainly fits
within that bracket.

And I ask myself,
is it original work,

or is it searcher work?

We know the myriad number

of structures
that we've found down here.

‐Mm‐hmm. ‐There's nothing says that
this is the singular one.

Might be something over here.
Over there.

There.
So we have to take our time

and really analyze what we see

‐and just take it slow.
‐Yeah.

I feel good
about how it's going so far.

Good. Very good.

After finishing the day's work
at Smith's Cove...

‐ Hey, guys. ‐ Corjan.
Welcome to Oak Island.

Brothers Rick and Marty Lagina,

along with members of the team,
meet with Oak Island researcher

and theorist Corjan Mol
in the w*r room.

Corjan has recently intrigued
the Laginas with the notion

that a French artist
used his paintings

to plant clues
as to the location

of the Oak Island treasure.

Thanks for the invitation.

Okay, there we are.

So, this is, uh,
Nicolas Poussin.

Now, if you look at the mystery,

first, you need to know
some things about Poussin.

Nicolas Poussin is‐is a...

Well, he's actually
the classical painter.

Some of his works are, uh,

incredibly famous
and are in the big museums.

And from my perspective,

you know,
he‐he was an instrument

to, uh, record a secret

about Oak Island.

Born in 1594,

Nicolas Poussin became
one of the preeminent painters

of the classical
French baroque style

during the 17th century.

In addition to serving
as the First Painter

to King Louis XIII of France,

Poussin spent much
of his career

living and working in Rome,

where his patrons included
powerful nobles,

Catholic church officials

and even the pope.

But according to
Corjan Mol's research,

three of Poussin's
prominent paintings

may have been created
with a secret purpose:

to offer clues about a treasure
buried on Oak Island.

The first of these
is believed to appear

in the 1627 painting
Shepherds of Arcadia,

which depicts a group
of shepherds

gathered around a stone tomb
inscribed with the phrase

"et in Arcadia ego."

If you look at the painting,

the shepherd is pointing
at the phrase,

"et in Arcadia ego."

It's a special phrase,
and perhaps it's an anagram.

So, an anagram is a word
or a phrase that uses

the same letters
in a different order.

Now,

"et in Arcadia ego"
could be an anagram for, uh,

in Italian, uh,
"Gite neo Arcadia."

Excursion to new Arcadia.

In 1523,

Italian explorer
Giovanni da Verrazzano

led an expedition
to North America

on behalf
of King Francis I of France.

After making landfall
in North Carolina,

Verrazzano sailed northward
along the Atlantic coast,

a region
which he later called Arcadia,

a name meaning "refuge"
or "paradise" in Greek.

During the 17th century,

this was later changed
to Acadia

by the French cartographer
Samuel de Champlain

to refer
to the coastal colonies

of New France in Canada,

which included Nova Scotia.

Now, Poussin paints

another work at the same time:

Midas washing his feet
in the river Pactolus.

And these two works
belong together.

They call that pendants.

So these were supposed
to hang together.

The story is
that when Midas washed himself,

the gold, uh,
came into the river.

And from that moment,
it was a gold river.

A gold‐bearing river.

It is Corjan's belief

that Poussin's second painting
in his trilogy

offered a deliberate reference
to the Gold River,

which is located just north
of Oak Island

and was also the site
of a gold rush in the mid‐1800s

after large deposits
were discovered there.

Almost ten years later,

he paints the scene again.

And Poussin used a pentagram
as the basis

for the Shepherds of Arcadia,
the second version.

A common practice

in 17th century painting

was to use geometric shapes
as a means

of basing a painting's
overall composition.

Most often, this was done
for aesthetic purposes,

but Corjan is convinced

that Poussin intended
the shape embedded

within his painting to serve
as a kind of treasure map.

One which, when combined
with the megalithic formation

known as Nolan's Cross, points
to a possible treasure site

in the Oak Island swamp.

I thought if you look
at Nolan's Cross,

there's five dots,

and you only need four
to make a cross.

‐ Mm‐hmm. ‐ So the fifth
might be what you need

to place a pentagram
on Nolan's Cross.

So, this point
is where the shepherds point.

If you superimpose
the painting,

this would be the placement.

Wow.

That is pretty cool that
that pops out. It really is.

You think that these paintings

actually say that

the treasure came
to Nova Scotia?

But it also could have been

‐on Oak Island
that it was deposited? ‐ Yes.

Yes. Yeah.

Look,

I've always felt that,

and I think we spoke earlier

when we first discussed things,

that there was something
in the swamp.

My question to you is
since you are intrigued,

what is here, in your opinion?

I believe the ark was found,

uh, by the Templars in, uh...
after 1099.

And I'm convinced it came here.

The Ark of the Covenant

buried on Oak Island?

For decades,
numerous Oak Island

researchers and historians

have theorized
that while fighting for control

of the Holy Land
during the Crusades,

members of the Knights Templar

also conducted
secret excavations at the site

of King Solomon's Temple

and removed numerous
sacred religious relics,

including a golden menorah

and the Ark of the Covenant.

It has also been speculated

that after facing persecution

in Europe
in the early 14th century,

the surviving members
of the Templar order

fled to North America,
taking with them

not only these sacred treasures
but also a fortune in gold

and buried them on Oak Island.

Could Corjan Mol's
incredible theory

that Nicolas Poussin
had secret knowledge

of these Templar treasures
and that he used that knowledge

to embed clues in three
of his most iconic paintings

offer evidence
that the Templar theory

might be true?

Very interesting.
I mean, the connections

you can make
with conventional history

‐are really amazing, you know?
‐There's no end to it.

I mean, with all the data
we have now

from Steve's work...
So we should be able to...

‐line that up.
‐Yeah.

Well, Corjan,
I've always felt that

it's through collaboration
and cooperation

that this will ultimately be
best served.

So, to that end,
we can but say thank you.

‐ Thank you.
‐ Thank you very much.

One day
after the team's meeting

with Oak Island theorist
Corjan Mol...

Actually, I'm probably gonna
start digging this shaft out.

...Jack Begley and Gary Drayton
continue digging

inside the box‐like wooden
structure at Smith's Cove

in the hopes
of finding evidence

of one
of the fabled stone box drains.

What I like about this area,
what we're digging in now,

there's no photos
of what it used to look like.

Yeah.

Never dug this deep.

Yeah.

Meanwhile,
at the triangle‐shaped swamp...

‐Morning, Don.
‐Good morning.

‐Sorry about the weather.

You're gonna get wet.

...Rick Lagina,

surveyor Steve Guptill
and local diver

Tony Sampson welcome back

ground‐penetrating radar
experts Don Johnston

and Steve Watson.

They are curious to find out

if the possible treasure sites
Corjan Mol identified

in the swamp are worth
further investigation.

So, uh, Tony's been kind enough
to assist us,

and I think that he's gonna be
a great boon to the effort here.

The hope is that Steve and I
will be in the water.

We'll run the run the line.

Tony will be in the boat
with you.

We'll do a hand‐over‐hand pull.

Try to keep it
consistent travel.

And, uh, then you're gonna have
to tell us

‐if it's working or not.
And then we'll tweak... ‐Yeah.

We'll tweak the system.

‐Yeah. ‐All right.
‐ Okay.

Although Rick and Marty
conducted

extensive seismic testing
across the swamp last year,

which revealed
a 200‐foot‐long anomaly,

they are hoping

that additional scanning
will help better define

existing targets

and possibly identify new ones.

The other years, you know,

we were in there
doing investigative work,

and we didn't
we didn't have an inkling

as to what may
or may not be in there.

But now we have real reason
to‐to gather great data,

corroborative data,
at this point.

So there's a lot more incentive

‐to get back in there.
‐Yeah.

We believe
there's something there, but...

it's all about expectation
management. We have to prove it.

Just like finding the one thing
in the Money Pit.

We have to prove
that that's a real anomaly.

Okay. We're all ready to go.

‐Got it? You got it?
‐Yeah. Yeah.

Ground‐penetrating radar,
or GPR,

sends electromagnetic pulses
into the earth

to detect changes in soil

that could indicate
any structures or objects

buried deep
beneath the surface.

‐Ready?
‐Yep.

In order to apply
this technology

in a wetland environment
like the swamp,

the GPR team will conduct

their scan by boat
with the help of Tony Sampson.

Meanwhile, Rick Lagina

and Steve Guptill
will guide the team

along a systematic grid pattern

using rope lines.

Went off a little bit.

Come back left.

There you go.

Corjan Mol has done

an incredible job of research,

and the swamp is a very
specific location of interest.

It's more than interesting.
It's certainly

something we have
to follow up on.

And I'm hoping
that GPR will get

two things: one, to get
a baseline reading of the swamp

and also to see if there are
any hits, if you will,

in the associated anomalies
within.

Steve, what's your swath like?

Like, are you going
You're probably

You're a meter wide

‐and you're swathing out, right?
‐Yeah.

At‐at what angle?

Uh, 30 degrees.

That's not bad.
That's good coverage.

Yeah.

Just hold on!

I'm gonna get rid
of the other rope!

Okay! Go!

Going over a bunch of stuff now.

Okay, just...

went over something there.

Just went over an anomaly!

How deep?

About three meters!

‐How big?
‐Uh...

six meters.

Six meters!

Six meters wide? Across?

‐Across.
‐Okay.

An anomaly some ten feet
beneath the swamp

measuring 20 feet wide

and found near one
of the locations identified

by Corjan Mol?

Could it be connected to
the large ship‐shaped anomaly

that was discovered
by seismic scanning last year?

This GPR is showing a‐an anomaly
that's quite substantial,

and I do want us to pursue it
as aggressively as possible.

So we're in the process
of trying

to acquire permits
to allow such a dig to occur

and understand if indeed
the swamp held secrets.

That's probably our anomaly!

Yep. That's interesting.

Where you are,
the dimension of it.

It could be significant.
Let's put it that way.

So, here's what I think
we should do.

Do a couple more runs here
and then go north‐south

‐through that area.
‐Okeydoke.

As GPR continues
in the swamp...

You guys call for some more guys
with shovels?

Only if you're willing
to get your hands dirty.

Yeah.

...Alex Lagina joins

other members of the team
at Smith's Cove

as they continue searching

inside the mysterious
log structure

in hopes of finding
possible evidence

of the legendary
flood tunnel system.

What's going on?

We're trying to find
the stone drains.

So, we're digging very carefully
to see if we can find the trace

that the drain is hiding
somewhere within this pile.

‐So...
‐ So, on the theory

that this was put down
to try to...

intersect
and shut off the drain,

we're looking in here
and out there?

‐ Yes.
‐Yep.

This, hopefully,
will tell us two things.

Maybe it'll show us
what they were looking at,

or maybe it'll show us
the‐the level

that they were trying to reach
to examine something.

Got it.

When we first revealed
the amount

of rock that was in the front

of the box‐like structures,
the first thought

on everyone's mind was is it

some association
with the flooding system?

We don't know as of yet,
but we need

to continue to expose
the structure.

Because if you can prove
that the, uh,

old stories,

the‐the old reports
are accurate

there is a flood tunnel,
there is a box drain

that's huge.

Oh, look at that.

That's about three feet down.

Wow.

I wonder if that's part
of a platform.

‐Yeah.
‐Mm‐hmm.

‐Yeah. ‐Yeah, looks like
a pretty thick beam.

I can reach all in
through there.

A platform?

Could the shaft‐like
wooden structure,

possibly connected

to the island's
legendary flooding system,

be covering
a much deeper structure

than the team
previously thought?

If so,
how far down does it go?

And what could be lying
at the bottom?

Hey, Rick.

Hey.

That's the end of it?

No, this is a
this is like a platform.

We took another board out.

It would have been
over top of this.

If that's a platform,
they went deep.

What was the purpose
of the platform?

Well, in general, it was because
you had ladderways, right?

So, if it was a deeper shaft,

you come down to a platform

and then the next ladder segment
would take you down deeper.

You set the ladder that way
and that way

‐kind of thing.
‐Yeah. You got to wonder

how deep this goes
if they put a platform into it.

The whole point
of this bump out

in Smith's Cove
was to find things.

Well,
we certainly have done that.

There appears to be a working
platform we found in the box,

and, of course, we don't know
how deep the structure is.

But might they be
critically important

in terms
of the discovery process

as it applies
to the ongoing search agenda?

Absolutely.

So, I very much look forward

not so much to the days
that have come before

but the days
as we move forward.

The only problem is

this footprint keeps getting
wider and wider and wider.

Then we compromise our ability
to dig as we excavate.

I'll ask you, Laird.

Is there an importance for you
to dig this shaft?

Or should
we just leave well enough alone?

‐Yeah. ‐And then,
as this dig proceeds this way,

then, in conjunction
with the dig,

‐we excavate the shaft?
‐Yeah. I don't think

there's an urgent need
to do this,

‐to be honest.
‐Okay. So we got to stay focused here.

So, as interesting as it is,

we don't want to compromise
the whole area.

We have no idea what might be
here or there or there.

Although Rick Lagina is eager

to continue investigating
the mysterious log

and rock structure,

he is concerned
that fully exposing it

would require digging
a much wider and deeper hole,

one that would restrict
the team's access

to the bump out area.

At this point, I don't want
to get too aggressive.

We don't want to lock ourselves
out of getting

as close
to the sheet pile as possible.

So, the idea is to go dig
from north to south

and hopefully uncover something
that will tell us

what these structures
may or may not mean.

That's the hope.
We have to stay the course.

I think the best thing to do is

to start digging over there
and‐and dig this way.

Once we get to here, then we can

have a proper plan to do this

with archeological precision
and with

‐paramount safety in mind.
‐Yeah.

I'm sold. Let's do it.

Yeah.

One day
after the Oak Island team

halted their search efforts
at Smith's Cove,

Jack Begley, Dave Blankenship,
historian Doug Crowell

and geologist Terry Matheson
have resumed the team's

core drilling operations
in the Money Pit area.

Having recently found
a 19th‐century

searcher shaft,
known as Shaft Nine,

they are using its location,
along with archival maps,

in an effort
to find Shaft Two.

This was the searcher shaft dug
by Daniel McGinnis

and his partners in 1805,

while they were looking for
a back door into the Money Pit

that would allow them
to avoid the flood tunnels.

If they can find Shaft Two,
the team hopes

to finally pinpoint the precise
location of the Money Pit,

which has been lost
for more than half a century.

Shaft Two is really important,
'cause it's the first

‐searcher shaft that we know of.
‐SCOTT: Last night,

we come up with three possible,
uh, layouts of the shaft.

‐Yup.
‐ That's the whole idea.

We're trying to dial in
its exact location.

And we're gonna use
this information

to figure out where
the Money Pit should be.

‐It's gonna direct us
one way or the other. ‐Yeah.

Look at all the wood.
‐ Oh! Look at the wood!

‐So we're definitely on a shaft.
This is the edge of it. ‐Yeah.

One week ago,

Craig Tester and members
of the team drilled

into a wooden structure
some 33 feet deep,

while looking for the shaft.

Eager to confirm
that they have indeed found

the 200‐year‐old
searcher tunnel, the team

has begun drilling a number
of exploratory boreholes.

All right. We got
some good stuff here, guys.

Time to get dirty.

‐ What's our depth?
19 to 29.

I think this is gonna answer
some questions.

Hey. People, this is great.

Oh, that's a lot of wood!

This is really good.

We got a nice section
of wood here.

Wow. Oh, my.

And some square edges.

Oh, no way!

Look at that.
There's a cut end.

Look at that!

So, we might be hitting
the corner of something?

That's a box joint right there!

Look at that flat there,
flat surface.

Yeah!
‐ We're on a corner,

‐I think, gentlemen.
‐Yeah.

That's gonna really help
with our configurations.

If this is the corner
of the shaft, then

we should be able
to adjust all our data.

Oh, yeah.

Finding one
of the suspected corners

of Shaft Two is
an exciting development.

However, the team will need
to find at least one more wall

in order
to pinpoint the location

of the connecting tunnel
believed

to lead to the Money Pit.

Now that we have two
different points of the shaft,

it gives us a good idea
of where we need to go to locate

the other sides, but it's
looking like we're starting to

get a really good idea of where
this tunnel used to be,

and where the Money Pit

hopefully still is.

‐Hey, Rick.
‐Hey.

Great timing.
We tagged into the shaft again.

Okay. Explain where we are,
what, how deep.

So, we've got
a good solid intersection,

whether it's on a corner
or whether it's the wall

from 24 feet to 29 feet.

We're so close.
We're really dialing in

the orientation of the shaft.

But to go back to this then,

we're still not...

We can't be confident
of the orientation

‐even with that. ‐100%.
There's too many variables.

So, it's an easy call.
Keep drilling.

As long as needs be...

‐Yup.
‐...to come away

with high confidence
of the orientation of that.

‐ Absolutely.
‐ Because this is

absolutely necessary
to put "X" on the ground here.

And then we do whatever it takes
to find that tunnel,

and we drill it.

Good. Looking forward to it.
‐ Super.

If this is the shaft, it's

the point of beginning,
as all surveyors need.

You need a POB.

We know the shaft was
14 feet away

from the original Money Pit,

but now, the critical missing
piece of information is,

what is the orientation?

Because it will go
a long way towards

pinpointing the Money Pit.

I wish everybody good luck,

but I'm going to go down there,
and I hope to...

I hope to find something
to show you guys.

‐Good luck!
Thanks, Rick.

‐ See you later, Rick.
Thanks. You, too, Rick.

Everybody hold their breath.

This is getting so exciting.

After finding what they believe

to be one of the four corners
of Shaft Two...

Incoming sausage!

...members
of the Oak Island team

have begun drilling
a new exploratory borehole

in an attempt to locate
another wall of the structure.

I don't see any wood
right there,

but let's‐let's have
a better look.

Let's‐let's see what we got.

‐You just got shards there.
‐Yeah.

Yeah. Oh!

‐Whoa! Hello.
‐Oh.

Okay. Hold the phone. Wow.

Oh, yeah!
There we go! ‐Okay.

That looks like we got
something interesting there.

Oh, lots of wood.

‐This is good.
‐Yeah.

This could be the day.

That's a fairly
substantial plank.

We are right up
against the wall here.

‐So this is our third time.
‐ Yup.

We got three points now.
That can't be just one wall.

‐Yeah.
‐ So we've got two walls.

‐Yeah. ‐ This is great news,
gentlemen.

Because Shaft Two

is the oldest‐known
searcher site on the island,

and the one closest

to the original Money Pit,
finding evidence

of what appears
to be the shaft's second wall

is an exciting development.

If they can verify
their discovery,

and then locate a tunnel
running off of it

at a depth of 110 feet,

the team could lock in
an exact location

for the fabled Money Pit,

and, hopefully,
the Oak Island treasure.

We're now chasing a tunnel
from Shaft Two.

The best thing of all of this,
it's pointing to an area

that's never been searched,
so it's all virgin ground.

So, I think this becomes our
most important search to date.

It's looking really promising.

That makes me want to collect
dendro from this shaft.

‐Yup.
‐In order to confirm

that the wooden structure
they discovered

is, in fact, Shaft Two,
the Oak Island team will need

to submit wood samples taken
from the site

for dendrochronology testing.

Also known
as "tree‐ring dating,"

dendrochronology is
a scientific method

used to study the size
and pattern of growth rings,

which develop as a tree grows
over its lifetime.

The process can accurately
determine

not only the age of wood,
but when it was cut

for use in construction.

The tool that seems
to have worked the best

on the island really, as far
as precision and accuracy,

is dendrochronology.

So, now we have several
different samples,

and we need to test it.

And if it comes

back in a very narrow window,

this is
when the trees were used,

if it lines up
with that information, then

we know definitively
we've located Shaft Two.

We've got to pin the next hole.

So we're‐we're gonna move off
of this shaft.

We're gonna chase the tunnel.

Doug and I are gonna take off
to the Research Center.

‐I'm gonna put this data
into our 3‐D model. ‐Yeah.

I'll come back
and supply you guys with that.

So the quest for Shaft Two

continues
for at least one more hole.

‐That's right.
‐At least. Yeah. ‐Yeah.

If we're lucky enough
to go into a tunnel, we might

just chase the tunnel as far
as we can, actually, so...

‐Oh, yeah!
‐That's the plan.

‐Yup. ‐All right, we're gonna go
pin the next hole.

Super. Thanks a lot.

‐ Hey, Craig.
Craig!

‐Hey, Craig.
‐Hey, guys. ‐ Hey.

One week after sending

wood samples collected
at the Money Pit area

off for scientific testing,
Rick,

Marty and members of the team
gather in the w*r room.

They are eager to hear a report

on the structure they hope
can be verified as Shaft Two.

Guys, my favorite kind of
w*r room is about to commence.

And‐and this is a favorite
of a favorite because

what has worked best for us

as analysis tools has been
dendrochronology on, uh,

the logs, and we got a bunch
of results coming in.

‐All right!
‐Got good info for us?

I've got the data
from Colin Laroque

for the dendro
from the Money Pit area.

It was from, uh,

98.5 to 103.5 feet deep.

‐Yup.
‐Um,

but the age he's coming up with
is 1796.

‐ Wow.
‐That's good.

Yup. So,

in 1805 was the year
Shaft Two was put in.

So it fits great.

So we're in the right spot!

‐Success.

The results
of the test indicate that

the wooden structure
the team has unearthed

at the Money Pit site
is most likely Shaft Two.

They should now be able
to pinpoint the exact location

of the mysterious Money Pit
treasure shaft

first discovered
by Daniel McGinnis

and his friends in 1795.

That's perfect, don't you think?

Yeah, it's perfect.

No, that's great.
That's your there's your

‐There's your test.
‐There's my test.

Yeah. Look, that's stunning.

I‐I'll be honest.

I'm a bit
What is it, Gary?

‐Gobsmacked?
‐Yeah, gobsmacked.

Yeah.

You couldn't get
better results than that.

‐Once again...
‐It's a good thing.

‐...a right‐on number.
‐Very good.

That's fabulous.

‐Yes.
‐Fantastic information.

That's great.

I'll tell you what's refreshing.

How many times have we
sat around this table

and some data comes in, says,
"Well, could be, might be"?

I think we found Shaft Two,
which means we...

we are very close
to the original Money Pit.

Yep.

And now we're talking about
the Money Pit's

right in this small area.

‐Yeah. ‐14 feet away from
known points.

Yeah.

1796. What it does is
eliminate that shaft

from being anything
but Shaft Two.

I totally agree.

'Cause nothing's anywhere
near that old,

except that and
the Money Pit itself.

I think the Money Pit has
to be somewhere in about

a 20‐foot radius,
maybe even a little less.

I think we're close to
the original workings.

More so than at any other time.

If you accept Shaft Two
and 14 feet as valid

and I think Shaft Two
just became completely valid

it's the 14 feet
we're dealing with now.

The 14‐foot arc is, I mean,
that's‐that's zeroing in.

You know what the big
takeaway today is?

That the Money Pit
may no longer be lost.

‐Yes.
‐Hear, hear!

We're in the right time frame.
Late 1700s.

And we all believe
in the dendro.

‐Yeah.
‐ We're not done yet.

I'm really encouraged by it.
This is great news,

and we need to go
capitalize on it.

So, let's go do that.

For brothers Rick
and Marty Lagina

and the Oak Island team...

locating Shaft Two offers
the promise of a potentially

historic breakthrough.

One that suggests that

the end of their
decades‐long quest

could be just a few weeks away.

But if and when
they finally reach

the fabled treasure shaft,
just what will they find?

An ending to their search?

Or perhaps only another clue...

to solving a mystery that has,
so far,

taken more than
two centuries,

millions of dollars,

and six lives to solve.

Next time on
The Curse of Oak Island...

‐Wow, check that out.
‐Look at that.

‐That's the floor.
‐ We've got a shaft

and we've got a tunnel
coming off it to the west.

Oh, yeah, that is one
heck of a log, isn't it?

That's massive.

Puzzle pieces are
getting bigger,

picture's getting smaller.

If you draw the lines

to find the center,

this is the dead center
of the pentagram.

Right on the eye of the swamp.

The swamp dates

at around 1220 AD.

This is Templar, baby.