NARRATOR:
Tonight on
The Curse of Oak Island...
IAN:
There's no doubt at all
that somebody was digging here
‐a long time ago.
‐RICK: Wow.
Sir Francis Bacon did
experiments
in preserving documents
in mercury.
RICK:
We're gonna take this down
as deep as you can go.
TERRY:
See that, right there, Rick?
They're all hand‐hewn.
And that's 1769.
BILLY:
We struck something there,
Marty.
MARTY:
There's wood on the left
and it looks like a tunnel
going that way.
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.
♪ ♪
RICK:
Welcome back.
‐IAN: Good to be here.
‐Yeah.
Hopefully, you're about
to see something that you
not only are intrigued by
but can't explain. (chuckles)
NARRATOR:
It is a new morning
on Oak Island,
as the Laginas
and their partners are eager
to investigate
what they believe to be
another breakthrough discovery
in the mysterious
triangle‐shaped swamp.
Today they have
enlisted the help
of geoscientist
Dr. Ian Spooner,
whose previous efforts on
the island have convinced them
that the swamp is man‐made,
and was deliberately
constructed as far back
as eight centuries ago.
Hi, chaps.
Hey, Gary.
So, there's huge boulders
in here,
sitting on top
of what looks like
‐the so‐called paved area.
‐IAN: Right.
NARRATOR:
After draining
the area one week ago,
Rick and members of the team
along with fellow Oak Island
landowner Tom Nolan,
discovered a strange
circle of boulders
which had traces
of blue clay on them,
similar to that reportedly
found deep in the Money Pit
by searchers in 1804.
Even more intriguing
was the fact
that the largest of the stones
appears nearly identical
to the massive boulders
that make up the megalithic
formation on the island
known as Nolan's Cross.
I'm just gonna take a look down
there right now.
If we get anything,
it'd be in there.
And this is swamp mud.
We certainly have sticks.
You know what? I have to say,
it doesn't look much different.
‐What's that?
‐Doesn't look much different
than the paved area.
NARRATOR:
Over the past five weeks,
Rick, Marty and the team
have been gradually uncovering
a massive stone‐paved feature
beneath the muck and mud
of the swamp
that Dr. Spooner
has concluded was man‐made.
Could this formation
of boulders that the team
has discovered near
the so‐called Eye of the Swamp
also be part
of the stone‐paved area?
LAIRD:
Hey, guys.
Hello, mate.
Thanks for coming down.
‐What do we have?
‐IAN: You know,
I've seen boulder pavements,
but usually there's soil
or there's sediment
that's embedded
from 8,000 years of wind, and...
‐Yep. It's inevitable, right?
It has to...
‐Yeah.
‐Is that it?
‐T‐This was deposited
and then filled in by the swamp
‐relatively quickly.
‐Yeah, yeah.
RICK:
Wow, really?
LAIRD:
I know when I've examined
the filled‐in cellars,
it looks exactly like that.
It's very odd, and I can't find
a natural process that would
lead to this stratigraphy.
Yeah.
RICK:
So, some disruptive event
happened here?
IAN:
Yeah.
The level where there's going
to be activity evidence
‐is underneath this...
‐Yeah.
‐...this not yet
composted layer.
‐Yeah.
So, you can pull
that stuff back, right?
‐Yeah.
‐MARTY: Billy!
LAIRD:
We're talking about
‐taking this off.
‐RICK: Right.
BILLY:
Yeah.
Dr. Spooner made a‐a...
what I thought was an astounding
statement, and that is
that these stones
may have been placed there.
We're always looking
for corroborative evidence,
so hopefully it will render
some more information.
I just find it, incredibly‐‐
I hate to say it‐‐ weird.
Whatever the truths are
here in the swamp,
that's all that matters.
Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
NARRATOR: As Rick Lagina
and members of the team
continue their investigation
in the swamp...
some 1,000 miles west
of Oak Island,
at Mari Vineyards
in Traverse City, Michigan...
‐Hey, Mark. Good morning.
‐Morning, Marty. How are you?
NARRATOR:
...Marty Lagina has arranged
for an important telephone call
regarding the steel cofferdam
that currently surrounds
Smith's Cove
with Mark Monahan
of Irving Equipment Limited.
Thanks for taking the time,
because this is kind of just
a, uh, make sure we're on
the same page call, you know?
There's a lot of stuff
happening on the island,
‐as you know. (chuckles)
‐Absolutely.
NARRATOR:
Because the government permit
that allowed
the steel cofferdam
to be installed one year ago
is set to expire
in just one month,
the Oak Island team must
not only have it removed,
but in accordance with
environmental regulations,
they must also backfill
and restore the entire area
to its original condition.
Honestly, we would love
to keep the cofferdam
in place indefinitely.
‐Yep.
‐But we're running up against
that old enemy: time.
Our permit will expire
in about a month,
and the‐and the sheet piling,
the cofferdam has to come out.
‐Okay.
‐And so, can you do it?
Can you get that thing removed,
and what logistical issues
might we have, uh, to do that?
‐It's certainly
gonna be tight. Um...
‐Yeah.
We're gonna need, uh,
a good three weeks
to‐to get that, uh, that
cofferdam at a place off‐site,
loaded out.
Uh, we would take steps today
to‐to get moving,
to‐to mobilize the site,
to get set up so we can,
we can achieve that, uh,
‐that deadline.
‐Okay.
NARRATOR:
Because removing the cofferdam
will require Irving Equipment
Limited to stage a number
of massive cranes
and other heavy equipment
around the entire area
for several weeks,
Rick, Marty and their partners
will soon be forced to suspend
their search activities in the
Uplands and around Smith's Cove
for the remainder of the year.
Yeah, Mark, you know,
I'm pretty sure that all
of the Irving personnel
get invested in this.
This isn't just
the average job, is it?
You know, we're heavily,
heavily invested.
All right, well, then, I got
something to share with you.
As we came upland from the cove,
we dig one hole
with a long‐reach
excavator, okay,
and we get just an absolute
gushing flow of water.
‐Oh, really?
‐Yeah.
JACK:
Oh, yeah!
You can see it squirting up
‐like a geyser.
‐CRAIG: Oh, yeah.
JACK:
That's friggin' awesome!
NARRATOR:
One week ago, while excavating
in the area known
as the Uplands,
where recent seismic testing
had identified the presence
of a possible underground
tunnel, the hole the team was
digging suddenly filled with
water and began to cave in.
JACK:
Oh, wow, that whole edge
is about to go.
‐MARTY: Oh, man.
‐Yeah...
‐GARY: Yep, it's going.
‐MARTY: Yep.
NARRATOR:
Although the team's
excavation efforts
were temporarily halted,
they remain encouraged
that their discovery
may be evidence
that they did, at last,
locate the main flood tunnel.
MARTY:
The sheet piling
has to come out,
and it has to come out in an
environmentally‐prescribed way
so that we don't get silt
into the ocean.
We better find out what's
find out‐able
in Smith's Cove, because
we're running out of time.
It's gonna be
an interesting, uh,
dance of equipment
out there, but... (chuckles)
‐It's gonna be
a‐a busy site, so...
‐Yeah.
We got to meet that, Mark,
and I‐I appreciate
the can‐do attitude to do it.
We will. Absolutely.
Okay. Good deal, thanks.
All right.
‐Thanks, Marty.
‐MARTY: Cheers.
RICK:
Hey, Bill.
The plan is you're gonna take
this down as deep as you can go.
And then, if it's a tunnel,
‐that would be fantastic.
‐Yeah.
NARRATOR:
One day after learning
that their time to investigate
the Uplands of Smith's Cove
has nearly run out,
Rick Lagina and heavy equipment
operator Billy Gerhardt
are now focusing their efforts
on attempting to pinpoint
and shut off the believed
man‐made flood tunnel
that feeds seawater
into the Money Pit.
RICK:
We've got a lot of work to do,
so you keep going,
I'll station myself over there.
Yep.
‐Okay. Thank you.
‐Try it out.
NARRATOR:
This year, as last year,
the Oak Island team
has found impressive evidence
of numerous wooden structures
at both the Uplands
and at Smith's Cove...
What is that, mate?
It looks like a tunnel.
NARRATOR:
...some of which appear
to be from mid‐19th century
searcher efforts to intercept
the main flood tunnel.
JACK:
Oh, yeah.
NARRATOR:
After finding coconut fiber
inside a wood structure
just two weeks ago...
MARTY:
Wow.
NARRATOR:
...the team now has
good reason to believe
they are close
to achieving their goal
of locating the main
flood tunnel, and shutting off
the legendary booby traps
that are believed
to guard the Money Pit.
RICK:
There might be
a shaft wall there.
I can't tell if it's the boards
imprinting on the clay,
‐or actual wall.
‐Yeah.
It would be nice
if you could define the shaft.
BILLY:
Yeah. We'll expand everything
out a little bit,
and then we'll keep
cleaning that out.
RICK:
Okay.
Definitely shaft wall.
There's certainly
an intact wall on that side.
BILLY:
Yeah.
RICK:
I mean, look at that.
I have a great suspicion
this is not a tunnel.
‐Oh, yeah.
‐Hello, gentlemen.
Hey, Terry. How are you?
Not too bad. What have we here?
BILLY:
Just below that clean stuff
was all wood.
TERRY:
And you encountered wood
at approximately what depth?
‐Six feet below this point.
‐Okay.
We got a lot
of activity in here.
Very important to now
take another look at that
‐with a little more information.
‐Yeah.
NARRATOR:
Although the team
is encouraged
by the discovery
of yet another wooden shaft,
they must carefully
expose more of it
in order to find out for sure
if it was built by the people
who may have buried treasure
on Oak Island long ago,
or by searchers who came there
trying to find it.
‐Just put your teeth on that,
and hold it over.
‐Yeah.
‐Dig that so Terry
can take a look.
‐Yep.
TERRY:
Let's have at her.
NARRATOR:
As Rick Lagina
and members of the team
continue their investigation
in the Uplands area...
ALEX:
All right, let's see
how they're doing.
NARRATOR: ...Alex Lagina and
Peter Fornetti arrive on Lot 21
to check on the progress
of archeologist Laird Niven
and conservator Kelly Bourassa
as they continue
to investigate the site
that was once the home
of Daniel McGinnis‐‐
one of the three young men
who first
discovered the original
Money Pit in 1795.
ALEX:
How's the dig going, guys?
Excellent, actually.
‐Are we okay, here?
‐Yeah.
‐Yeah, just step
in between them.
‐Cool.
It's time to dig.
NARRATOR:
After obtaining
a government permit
two weeks ago,
Laird, along with Marty Lagina
and members of the team,
began to systematically dig
in three‐foot grids
known as test pits.
They are carefully
and forensically looking
for any important
artifacts or clues
that could indicate what,
if anything,
McGinnis might have found
on the island
during his decades
of searching.
Most intriguing
is a possible sub‐basement
beneath the foundation,
which was identified
by recent ground‐penetrating
radar scans of the area.
This development gave
further credence
to the theory recently
presented to the team
by author James McQuiston,
who believes McGinnis
didn't just happen upon
the Money Pit in 1795,
but that he had prior knowledge
of its existence,
due to his association
with freemasonry.
We have a feature.
‐Oh, yeah?
‐Where's that?
This is a wall.
ALEX:
So, this would be the wall
to what, I mean?
Well, actually, if you pass me
that notebook, I can show you.
We're lucky, uh,
on this site
that we have
lots of photographs.
Oh, yeah.
So...
here's the wall, and if you
stand at that corner,
and look over here,
you'll see this building here,
‐which is what I think we have.
‐Mm‐hmm.
Yeah, you've got the‐the wall
without the window
‐on that building right now.
‐Yep, yep.
So, this kind of physical
evidence,
this structural evidence
for us, it's,
‐it's a, it's a key, right?
‐Right.
‐We'll get one side of
the story from this, right?
‐Yes.
‐Potentially.
‐It gives us a place
to start, right?
PETER:
Absolutely.
And, hopefully,
it's the beginning of us
telling the whole story
of the McGinnis family and
‐their time spent on this lot.
‐Cool.
We will keep
our fingers crossed.
‐Mm‐hmm.
‐Yeah, absolutely.
And we'll get our trowels
in the ground.
‐Sounds good.
‐Perfect.
‐All right?
‐Thanks, guys.
‐See you.
‐See you guys later.
NARRATOR:
Later that day...
as Laird Niven
and Kelly Bourassa
continue their investigation
of the McGinnis Foundation,
and while digging continues
in the Uplands area
near Smith's Cove...
RICK: We have some laser
ablation results
from UNB and Professor
Chris McFarlane.
NARRATOR: ...Rick Lagina joins
Craig Tester and other members
of the team
in the w*r room to hear
an important scientific
report concerning the lead
artifact that he and Gary
Drayton discovered one week ago
on Lot 17
near the Money Pit area.
Doug, can you bring him up?
Certainly.
CRAIG:
Hey, Chris. How's it going?
‐Uh, hi, guys. It's going well.
‐Good.
NARRATOR: Joining the team
via video conference
is Dr. Chris McFarlane,
a professor of Geochemistry
at the University
of New Brunswick.
We've got a little bit
of everybody here today
to‐to hear the results
‐of this lead testing.
‐Yeah.
NARRATOR:
Using laser ablation testing,
a process which employs
a high‐powered laser
to take microscopic samples
of an object,
the chemical composition
of lead artifacts, as well
as their unique isotope values,
can be identified
to help pinpoint
their geographic origin.
Yeah, that's
a weird piece of lead.
(laughter)
The odd thing is that it...
it gave a big kick with
mercury and tin.
Wow.
What could make that happen?
Part of the ore body itself,
or has it been introduced?
Probably not from the ore body.
Mercury is one of
the most volatile elements,
so if you heat it up
to eight, 900 degrees
to smelt it,
that mercury would be gone.
So... that had to have
been introduced
by some other process.
I've never seen anything
like it, honestly.
NARRATOR:
Mercury?
Found on a lead artifact
in the Money Pit area?
We've had some theorists‐‐
specifically one,
Petter Amundsen‐‐
he talked about how
Francis Bacon had different
writings of preserving documents
in mercury.
Mm‐hmm.
NARRATOR:
Numerous researchers
and Oak Island theorists
believe that
Sir Francis Bacon‐‐
the English 17th century
scientist,
philosopher, and nobleman‐‐
was not only the leader
of a secret society
with ties
to the Knights Templar,
known as the Rosicrucians,
but that he may have
also orchestrated
the burial of priceless
treasures on Oak Island.
Perhaps even more incredible,
some believe that not only
was Sir Francis Bacon
the secret author of the works
attributed
to William Shakespeare,
but that the original
manuscripts,
which have been missing
for more than four centuries,
were also hidden on Oak Island.
Sealed in a vault
filled with mercury‐‐
a method
of protecting documents
that was detailed
in Bacon's scientific work,
Novum Organum.
Could the mercury
found on the lead artifact
be evidence to support
this audacious theory?
And might it also be related
to the pieces of parchment
and leather bookbinding
that the team has
discovered deep
in the Money Pit
over the past two years?
PAUL:
What about in document
preservation
with mercury,
uh, old documents?
CHRIS:
Uh, it'll certainly
prevent molds
and bacteria and any type
of, uh, organism
from attacking, uh...
pretty much anything.
DOUG:
I guess an obvious
question would be...
have you had a sense
of where this lead
came from in the world?
CHRIS:
That was, um...
Greek mainland,
Greek archipelago,
uh, Cyprus and Turkey.
Who do we know used to hang out
around those areas?
(laughter)
You're kind of saying
all the places
where the Templars have been.
JACK:
(chuckles) Yep.
It's friends of the cross,
in a sense.
This is unbelievable.
(laughter)
NARRATOR:
A lead artifact?
Scientifically traced
to Southeastern Europe
or the Middle East?
Could it be connected
in some way
to the 700‐year‐old lead cross
found two years ago
at Smith's Cove,
which was also proven
to have come from an area
in Southern France that
once served as a stronghold
for the Knights Templar?
RICK:
It's great if you're thinking
theory‐wise, I guess,
about Oak Island.
Those countries were
highly Templar‐influenced
regions.
I mean, we're both
big fans of history and...
it's a page of history
that we could help fill in.
Okay. Well, thank you very much.
And, we'll be talking
to you again soon.
All right, thank you, guys
and good luck.
RICK:
Thanks, Chris.
‐JACK: Bye, now.
‐RICK: Appreciate it.
NARRATOR: As a new day
begins on Oak Island,
and while the team rushes
to complete
their efforts to locate
the main flood tunnel
in the Uplands area,
before they are forced to
suspend their investigation...
Rick Lagina and Craig Tester
arrive on Lot 21
after being alerted by
archeologist Laird Niven
to a potentially
important discovery
near the foundation of the home
that once belonged
to Daniel McGinnis.
CRAIG:
Hey, Laird.
Hi, guys.
CRAIG:
What's happening?
Just working inside the...
be the second entrance to, uh...
to the root cellar.
You can see this is
the natural soils
coming up this way.
If they were digging a stair,
I think that would be gone.
‐Yeah.
‐So, I think
this is probably a trap door.
NARRATOR:
A trap door?
Possibly leading
to a secret basement
beneath
the McGinnis Foundation?
Could this trap door have
been a way for McGinnis
to hide something
of great value
that he discovered
in the Money Pit?
Well, here's the bottom
of the kind of the sill.
I mean, it was,
the cellar is quite...
You know,
was quite deep, really.
It wasn't‐wasn't
just a crawl space.
‐Mm‐hmm.
‐And it was just
loaded with rocks.
This is the first time
I've seen one with the...
you know, a trap door
kind of entrance.
But one thing
we found way down here
was this, uh,
bone‐handled Kn*fe.
Which is
probably the oldest
artifact we‐we have
from here.
I don't know if you can see.
These‐these are
bone‐bone scales
on the Kn*fe.
And, the tang would have
come down like this,
and the Kn*fe would have been
you know, probably that long.
And the‐the scales are riveted.
You know, fairly
elaborately decorated.
RICK:
So, what is the year of that?
LAIRD:
It's probably, you know, 1750s
to the end of the 1700s.
Oh, wow.
NARRATOR:
A bone‐handled Kn*fe?
Could it be something
Daniel McGinnis
brought with him to the island?
Or did he find it here?
So this is kind of like,
not an a‐ha moment,
but it was...
this is completely different
‐from what we're finding
in general.
‐Mm‐hm.
LAIRD:
I was really very excited
to find this.
Anyway, yeah, so
we're just finishing up here,
but the final part
turned out to be
‐one of the more
interesting ones.
‐RICK: Hmm.
LAIRD:
Yeah.
It's fascinating the more time
you spend in here.
RICK:
The most significant find
was the extent
of the size of the residence,
or the home.
The home is much larger
and the artifacts
are a bit older than Laird
had anticipated they would be.
NARRATOR:
Although Laird has found
a potential clue
that something of great value
might still lie hidden
beneath the McGinnis
foundation...
because it is
a protected heritage site,
the permit
he was able to obtain
from the provincial government
will not allow
a more aggressive excavation.
To do so will require him
to apply for an expanded permit
based on the evidence
he has collected,
which could take weeks,
if not months, to secure.
‐Any human activity,
it's all about the why.
‐LAIRD: Mm‐hmm.
It's part of the overall
Oak Island story,
and‐and, you know, we want to
‐make sure that
every page is written.
‐LAIRD: Yep.
This is one of those pages.
Yep. And this is someone,
you know,
directly connected
to the story, as well.
Mm‐hmm.
RICK: All very interesting.
‐Yeah.
RICK:
Anyway, good find.
‐LAIRD: All right.
‐Thanks, Laird.
LAIRD:
All right.
NARRATOR:
Later that afternoon...
TERRY: Down we go.
NARRATOR: Rick Lagina, along
with geologist Terry Matheson,
arrive at the Uplands area
near Smith's Cove,
where heavy equipment operator
Billy Gerhardt
continues to excavate
the mysterious wooden shaft
that they hope to be connected
to the main flood tunnel
leading to the Money Pit.
‐You can see the wall.
Can you see that?
‐I can see a wall, yeah.
I can see a wall.
‐RICK: It's well‐defined.
‐Yeah.
RICK:
So, Bill, if I direct you,
can you come across the top
of that wall or shaft wall
and dig into that bank,
and then we might
get a better idea
of how far that may go there.
Yeah.
TERRY:
That was
a pretty substantial beam
brought up directly
from the bottom.
See that, right there, Rick?
They're all hand‐hewn.
That's hit with an a*.
You see that a lot
in the, uh, U‐shaped structure.
And that's drilled
in the same fashion
and they're both
the same diameter
as those oak pegs
we, uh, saw down
‐in the U‐shaped structure.
‐Yeah.
It may be the same technology,
the same group.
1769.
NARRATOR:
a*‐cut wood?
And similar to that found
as part of the massive
U‐shaped structure
the team discovered buried
beneath Smith's Cove last year?
A structure which was
scientifically determined
to have been built
more than 25 years
prior to the discovery
of the Money Pit in 1795?
Could that mean that the team
is once again
on the verge of intercepting
the legendary flood tunnel?
RICK:
Okay, let's get this done.
Drop the bucket.
You're gonna have
to bring me over,
center me on the hole,
I'll take a look.
TERRY:
Softly, gently.
Further back, Billy.
RICK:
Right there. Stop!
Can you just go down
just a‐just a little bit more?
I want‐I just want to see
if it's wood or not.
TERRY:
That's getting to be
pretty nearly enough, Rick.
That stuff could cave
right in on you,
‐almost from there.
‐RICK: I can't tell
if it's wood or just clay.
You'd have to go
right to the bottom to tell.
TERRY:
Getting awful close.
There's something starting
to cave away!
There's something there.
‐TERRY: You're coming up, Rick.
‐Okay.
TERRY:
Right, Billy? Up. Up.
RICK:
When you're down there,
eyes and boots,
when you're in the moment,
you get a little different feel
for things.
Is there really a tunnel?
It certainly looks like it.
That'd be huge.
Look, any original tunnel
on Oak Island,
is probably the a‐ha moment
of the day.
Look, whoever this was,
if this is searcher
or original depositors,
they were highly motivated.
I‐I can't imagine digging,
timbering at those depths
‐with that material.
‐TERRY: No, no.
I was hoping we would get
to the bottom of that structure.
You know, we all want
easy answers.
‐There's not too many
easy answers on this island.
‐No.
‐But those answers
will wait for tomorrow, so...
‐TERRY: That's right.
NARRATOR:
Although Rick, Billy and Terry
have made great progress
in their attempt
to find the flood tunnel
connected to the Money Pit,
they are rapidly
running out of daylight.
They will have to wait
until morning
to continue their efforts.
RICK:
Oak Island is full
of little successes,
‐and we had some today.
‐TERRY: Absolutely.
NARRATOR:
As a new day begins
on Oak Island...
MARTY:
Whoa! You guys have been busy.
NARRATOR: ...Marty Lagina
and Craig Tester
join Rick and other members
of the team
as they continue their efforts
to intercept and shut off
the main flood tunnel,
believed to feed ocean water
into the Money Pit.
That looks like a big hole.
(chuckles) Geez.
NARRATOR:
Unfortunately, today
is the team's final opportunity
to make what would be
a historic breakthrough,
as tomorrow,
all search activities
in the area must end,
in order to allow
for the removal
of the massive steel cofferdam
surrounding Smith's Cove.
‐MARTY (chuckling):
What do you got there, Rick?
‐RICK: Look.
This came up about ten feet
above where we currently are.
‐This is cut.
‐MARTY: Oh, yeah.
RICK:
And then this is saddle
notched in a weird way.
MARTY:
Well, I'll tell you what,
in my opinion, that's old.
This is how you made stuff
a long time ago.
I'd say that's either
the turn of the century,
or else that's original,
because I don't know of anything
that was dug here
that is this old.
No workings this deep.
MARTY: Obviously,
we need to do analysis.
I mean, we're wondering
whether this might be original,
we can find out, we think,
with dendro.
‐Yeah.
‐That's a pretty unique piece,
right there.
‐RICK: They all are.
‐MARTY: Are there a lot
like this?
There are lot of logs.
Lots of them.
There's some
anomalous wood, very deep,
looks very old.
It looks like
the U‐shaped structure.
That's the positive stuff.
That's really exciting.
The U‐shaped structure
dated to 1769,
so prior to the Money Pit.
Could it be the flood tunnel?
Is that what we're seeing?
You know, it just makes you
want to dig.
Billy, are you sure
that you've gone deep enough
that there's no more wood
below that?
Certainly, with some eyes,
we could take, you know,
two or three more buckets,
and that would probably
tell the tale, really.
MARTY:
Well, we might as well do that.
‐Move on.
‐BILLY: Okay.
MARTY:
It's time to dig.
RICK:
I suspect that there are
structures in there
that we have not found.
(thuds)
BILLY:
We struck something
there, Marty.
That's it?
BILLY:
Yeah.
I'd like to know
if it's a rock or...
big wood in this corner. I think
it's a rock at the bottom.
Well, one of us should lean over
and take a look.
We need a harness, yes.
So, this harness
I'm gonna put on you
‐is a full arrest, right?
‐Yeah.
RICK:
I think we're all quite excited
that it could be
the so‐called flood tunnel
booby trap system.
Of course,
we're going to investigate.
We have to see
what it looks like.
MARTY:
That's amazing.
Two things. I'm gonna look,
but he's done.
He's undermining right there.
There's hardly anything left.
Aw, (bleep).
That's not good.
Where's your rock‐‐
over in that corner?
No, it was right... it was...
MARTY:
It was right here, right?
‐I heard you hitting on it.
‐BILLY: Yeah.
‐I'm pretty sure it was a rock.
‐I'll look.
Well, you basically
got a slit down below.
There's wood on the left.
Your left.
And it looks like
a tunnel, to me,
going that way.
But it's probably
15 feet off bottom, at least.
NARRATOR:
Has the Oak Island team
finally found
the main flood tunnel,
the one which searchers
have been trying to locate
and shut off
for more than two centuries?
MARTY:
This is obviously
not very stable.
BILLY:
Yep.
MARTY:
I don't like the looks of it.
All right, well...
maybe we should try
mounting the camera
on the side of the bucket
right now.
I think that's a great idea.
‐Can you rig that up, Scott?
‐Yeah.
The problem with doing this
the simple way, which‐‐
with a long reach excavator‐‐
is that we do not have
a stable hole.
I mean, if we had dug a big pit
with stable sides,
then we could go down
and look at it.
But it's not safe to do that.
So we're gonna lower a camera
on the excavator arm itself.
The object is to find out
what's going on here.
BILLY:
Tell me which way
you want to go.
MARTY:
Billy... in a little,
towards you.
Yeah. Now down.
Still on the wall.
He's got to go lower.
Okay, down.
RICK:
Look at that.
MARTY:
There's all kinds of wood
everywhere.
There is definitely structure
on the left wall.
RICK:
Yep.
He's got to go this way.
Stop!
MARTY:
Doesn't that look
like it's a hole?
RICK:
It's a hole, but is it a tunnel?
MARTY:
Well, it looks like it's
braced with wood to me.
RICK:
If it's a tunnel, it'd be great.
MARTY:
Well, I think it is.
Man, it doesn't look good
under there.
Let's get out of here.
I think we got
what we need to get, Billy.
Come on up.
MARTY:
All right, Rick,
we got the data.
We need to put
our heads together
and see what the heck
this means.
MARTY:
Let's convene in the w*r room
and discuss all this.
RICK:
Okay, pretty cool.
MARTY:
Real cool.
MARTY:
Gents, we're here
to talk about the Uplands.
And, uh, what we've done,
what it means,
where we go from here.
So I think we're gonna
start out with that
video that we took.
STEVE G.:
Here we go.
BILLY:
This is down 30 feet.
STEVE G.:
There's a lot of rock
in between those.
Yeah.
Let's pause that.
MARTY:
Okay, so, what are we
looking at?
What is that?
Is it a tunnel that's
been filled with rock?
PAUL:
Could've been a collapsed
tunnel or shaft.
That's what it looks like to me.
That's wood on either side,
and you have this,
this piece right here.
That looks like a beam.
I mean, you can see the wood
at the bottom coming out, so...
I'd say it's probably
a shaft or a tunnel.
MARTY:
Wow.
RICK:
You see the‐‐ that...
‐You can see the double
layer there, Rick.
‐The double wall.
MARTY:
That looks like a tunnel to me.
I mean, it goes in there.
It seemed like you followed
wood the whole way down.
How thick are those boards‐‐
two inches, plus?
RICK:
Yep. The ones on the right were.
The ones on the left were
a little bit narrower.
The ones on the right
were much more substantial.
‐Which one? This one?
‐RICK: No. To your upper right.
‐Keep going, yeah...
‐This, this one right there?
What I've got tagged this year,
we've got this little‐‐
you can see up on the screen.
Right here.
You can see it lines up.
Calculated by Craig.
CRAIG:
Purely going off
the U‐shaped structure,
assuming that
the U‐shaped structure
was put in there
with a specific purpose.
It looks more tunnel‐like
than shaft‐like.
Yeah, 'cause, like,
it's hard to picture that
being a searcher effort,
isn't it?
What I'm getting at is the 1769,
which means that if it comes
back old, it almost has to be
original works.
That's right.
The dendrochronology,
if it puts that...
wood that we got, if it says
that's, you know...
pre‐Money Pit discovery,
then, yeah,
then you pretty much have
to say it, geez.
Very good chance it's
part of the flood tunnel.
If that data comes back old,
we're right back at this thing.
RICK:
That's where
the bad news comes in.
We have to pull the sheet pile.
We have a timeline for that,
a very specific timeline.
But there's still great hope
for Smith's Cove.
I don't think we can put
an "X" through it.
So, you know,
Smith's Cove isn't done.
NARRATOR:
Although the team has
found promising evidence
of the main flood tunnel,
they are faced
with a disappointing
and unfortunate reality.
In less than 24 hours,
representatives
from Irving Equipment Limited
are set to arrive
and begin staging
heavy equipment
at the Smith's Cove area
in order to remove
the massive steel cofferdam.
Because this operation
will take several weeks
and will make working
at Smith's Cove
and the nearby Uplands
virtually impossible,
Rick, Marty, and the team
will now have to suspend
their search activities in the
area for the rest of the year.
Look... you know,
it's obvious, isn't it?
If‐if you have, uh,
undisturbed soil,
and then a bunch of wood,
and then undisturbed soil,
that sure sounds
like a tunnel to me.
It's about where the so‐called
flood tunnel needs to be.
We aren't going to give up
on something like that.
But having said all that,
our permits aren't gonna
allow us to do any more
excavation this year.
We're done.
Okay, guys, well,
here's what I heard.
Lots of interesting stuff,
but the key piece of data
is yet to come.
We're all keenly interested
in the dendro results
on the question mark shaft.
And, that could lead us,
well, it could lead us
just about anywhere,
but in the meantime,
I know, Billy, you got
a lot of work to do,
because that sheet pile
has to come out.
So, back at it.
Good meeting.
NARRATOR:
As another day
dawns on Oak Island,
one of Rick, Marty, Craig,
and the team's most extensive,
as well as historic,
investigations is,
for now, coming to an end.
RICK:
According to our permit,
uh, we have to remove
all the sheet, and
without the sheet pile
system in, um...
at least for now,
all of the work associated
with Smith's Cove
has to be terminated.
Well, guys,
he's made it in time.
Are you ready to pull?
JARDINE:
Yeah, that's the first one
coming out there now, so...
So, Mike, what's
the process here?
Are you gonna pull
from here all the way around?
JARDINE:
Yeah, we'll start here,
and we'll pull up to pretty much
where the power pack is because
the dirt from the pad is being
supported from the wall.
And then we're gonna go on
all the way around
over to that far corner.
RICK:
You know, as I stand here,
it's somewhat bittersweet.
Right? We're glad
that this project
is coming to an end.
It was a lot of work.
We found a lot of things, but...
there's that
little question mark,
as there is with everything
about Oak Island.
Did we go out far enough?
Did we find everything
there was to find?
And that's what keeps
drawing you back, right?
RICK:
Here we go.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR:
Although the removal of the
600‐foot‐long steel cofferdam
will allow for Smith's Cove
to once again be restored
to its natural setting,
it is nevertheless
a solemn moment
for Rick and Marty Lagina,
as it also marks the end
of a two‐year operation
that produced some
of the greatest discoveries
in the 225‐year
Oak Island mystery.
MARTY:
You find any Roman numerals
on that, Craig?
Yep.
CHARLES:
Yeah, there's the four
right there!
This is awesome!
NARRATOR:
From numerous wooden
structures...
RICK:
The slipway
at this point becomes
an area
of significant interest.
NARRATOR:
...one of which dated back
more than half a century before
the discovery
of the Money Pit in 1795.
CRAIG:
That sample came out
to be 1741.
Whoa, what the hell
does that fit with?
NARRATOR:
A concrete wall...
RICK:
It's very strange.
This is totally undiscovered.
NARRATOR:
...one of the five legendary
stone box drains...
‐Whoa!
‐MARTY: You hit a gusher.
NARRATOR:
...as well as evidence further
inland of the main
flood tunnel connected
to the original
Money Pit treasure shaft.
‐(beeping)
‐Another one here, Rick.
NARRATOR:
And, of course,
the find made two years ago
by Rick Lagina
and Gary Drayton that inspired
the entire operation.
Holy...
Holy schmoly, all right!
RICK:
It's a cross.
GARY:
That's a cross.
NARRATOR:
A lead cross
scientifically verified
to be more than 600 years old
and from a region of Southern
France that once served
as a stronghold
for the Knights Templar.
At considerable
expense and effort,
we revealed what was revealable.
That's‐that's
a successful operation.
I find it significant, I do.
RICK:
Hopefully, with all the work
that was uncovered,
we can make sense of it.
I think the Smith's Cove work,
certainly for now, is
maybe not at an end,
but we certainly
‐gave it everything we had.
‐Yeah.
NARRATOR:
For Rick, Marty,
and their Oak Island team,
a mystery that began
225 years ago
with the discovery
of the Money Pit
has proven to be much bigger,
more complex,
and more expensive
than they could ever
have imagined.
And with each new,
exciting clue
the brothers find,
comes yet another in a series
of new and equally
puzzling questions.
Just what was it
that was so precious,
so significant, or so dangerous
that it had to be
so elaborately
and ingeniously hidden
more than 100 feet deep
underground?
And guarded by
a deadly curse that warns
that seven must die
before its secret
can at last be revealed?
Next time on
The Curse of Oak Island...
RICK:
Now, we've got
the largest can possible.
VANESSA:
So, it's a little bit
bigger this year.
‐Yeah, much bigger, wow.
‐IAN: The cores show
high lead and mercury
at the base.
The eye was excavated
to extract clay.
WATSON:
We have two anomalies here.
It's like treasure chest
anomaly.
We got five different experts
saying this is man‐made.
‐Wow!
‐VANESSA:
We're gonna start slamming can.
‐MARTY: It's time to dig!
‐Here we go.
RICK:
Does this one come
with a guarantee?
Oh, 100% treasure
guaranteed, yep.
‐Okay!
‐(laughs)
07x17 - To Boulderly Go
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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.