Narrator: Tonight on
The Curse of Oak Island...
- Gary: This is the day!
- Swamp dig, day one.
Jack: Whoa!
See the woody material there?
That's the structure.
This is old.
Gary: 1700s, baby!
- (gasps) -you've got to be kidding me,
mate!
- Does that have a hole in it?
- Gary: Yeah, it has.
Jack: You'd have
something like that if you were
digging shafts!
Craig: That sample
came out to be
1320 to 1440.
-What? -Wow. -There is a date
- that it does match.
- Zena's map?
- Yes. The knights templar.
- Holy smokes.
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: It's going to
be an exciting day.
Ian: Oh, yeah.
For me, it's a big day,
at least, because
- we're investigating into the swamp.
- Yup.
Narrator: As another
morning dawns on oak island,
brothers rick and marty lagina,
along with their team,
are about to begin what they hope
will be a revealing
and historic exploration
of man-made workings in
the triangle-shaped swamp.
Uh,
I've never seen a feature like this under,
you know, 12 inches of mud.
And it's unique enough that it's
a feature of fairly
significant purpose.
Mm-hmm.
I mean, the archeologists
are... Aaron was talking to me.
He said,
"I want to look at this.
- I want to see this."
- (laughs)
you know, so,
when archeologists get excited,
you know, I do, too, you know?
(tapping)
- do you hear that? - Yup.
- There's rock here. - (tapping)
- that could be it. - Yeah.
Narrator: Three weeks ago,
after conducting
a sonar operation
that revealed a
possible structure
beneath the muck and mud...
It's wide.
It's huge. (laughs)
- this was built with purpose.
- This is very interesting.
Narrator: ...Rick lagina
and geoscientist dr. Ian
spooner discovered
a massive flat surface
while probing the area,
composed of stone and measuring
some 20 feet wide
by 70 feet long.
It is dr. Spooner's speculation
that this feature might
be connected in some way
to the 16th century pine tar
kiln located on nearby lot 15.
A pine tar kiln that is
believed to have been utilized
in the construction of
the original money pit.
Today is an important
day in terms of
advancing our
understanding of the swamp,
specifically this feature.
Could it be connected to
the so-called treasure story
or-or the money pit?
That is a possibility.
But we need to come to
a firm understanding
of what this feature is.
Okay. Swamp dig, day one.
- Yup. - So here's my thought.
Uh,
I really do want to see how this is built.
- Yeah. - I'd like to see
- just a small area. - Yeah.
And the deal is here just
to go slowly at the start.
- Yup.
- Let's just sort of think about it...
This 15 feet towards shore.
Doesn't look like
much right now.
But when we get it cleaned off,
it'll...
Start telling its secrets,
I think, so...
Gary: And I'll search here,
and I'll search wherever
you dump the spoils, as well.
In terms of putting the spoils,
I mean, it's your call.
We'll swing it out of our
way as far as we can get it
out of the way,
for now, I think.
- Let's stick with that.
- Gary: And one other
important thing... where
we gonna put the treasure?
(laughs)
I feel that this
area is gonna be
the mother lode of artifacts.
- This is the day! - (laughter)
- rick: Okay. - Okay.
We're talking too much,
and not enough
- work is getting done, so...
- Yup.
...Let's get to work.
Narrator: Although
they intend to install
a massive steel cofferdam
around the southeastern corner
of the swamp later this year,
since they have
received the necessary
government permits to
drain and begin excavating,
the oak island team has decided
to pump the brackish
water out of the area,
so that billy gerhardt can
use a 16-ton excavator
to remove the dense
muck and reveal
exactly what this
stone feature is.
As billy's pulling
the dirt away,
what we're looking for is
some sort of framework.
There must be some
sort of artificial support
underneath the stones.
So,
we'll get a good look at the surface,
and then, hopefully,
billy can continue to pull back
and reveal the
possible connection
between the feature
and the upland.
Gary: Come on,
let's have a target.
It is interesting.
On this side,
it is really quite flat.
I wonder if those rocks
there are reflective
of a path going up.
Ian: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That sounds to
me the most logical.
Gary: Come on, billy.
Bring me a bucket of treasure.
Ooh, coal!
This is interesting!
- Yup. - Gary: What is that?
Old pottery!
(laughs): Oh, come to papa.
Look at that,
mate! We're getting coal,
and we're getting
blue glazed pottery.
This is fantastic.
Narrator: Coal and pottery
found near a stone
structure in the swamp?
Could these be important
clues that might help determine
not only that this feature is
man-made but perhaps also
who made it and when?
I shall have to keep an eye
out for pottery and other artifacts.
Yeah, no, for sure.
This is getting interesting,
billy.
Billy: Exactly.
Narrator: While
rick lagina continues
to oversee the excavation in
the triangle-shaped swamp...
- Here's marty now. - Oh, good.
Narrator: ...His brother
marty joins oak island historian
charles barkhouse and
geologist terry matheson
as they continue the
sonic core drilling operation
in the money pit area.
- Hey, marty.
- Hey, marty. -Terry!
- Well?
- And here we have the majestic
g-5.5.
- How many wells have you drilled?
- This is the ninth
in a detailed sequence
of well laid-out holes...
- Yeah... Where we
feel there's a strong
possibility there
might have been
migration and descent of
the vault or the
broken-up vault.
Narrator: Although the team
recently drilled a borehole
some 50 meters
north of this area,
where oak island theorist
erin helton suggested
they would find an approximately
1,000-foot-long corridor leading
to a treasure chamber on
the western end of the island,
no corridor was found.
Now that the covid-19 pandemic
has greatly reduced the time
that they have to
conduct any searching
in the money pit area this year,
the team has
returned their full focus
to drilling a number of
six-inch-wide boreholes
down to depths below 200 feet.
They are looking for
evidence of a massive cavity,
where they believe a
treasure vault may have fallen
because of more
than two centuries
of digging by
previous searchers,
along with a series of cave-ins
caused by an elaborate
system of man-made flood traps.
The theory is,
when the money pit collapsed,
it could have really
collapsed into a cavity.
So we're trying to delineate
and define the
extent of this cavity
because that's where it's
possible any treasure fell to.
So, basically,
here's the nine detailed
holes we've done
and the detailed
pattern in this area.
Here we are here on this hole,
g-5.5.
Anything in red,
we haven't drilled yet.
We're following a
systematic pattern
- so that we're not missing anything.
- Marty: Yeah.
When we find it,
it should be a relatively vertical,
open material,
and hopefully a few little
- coins of silver and gold.
- Something.
Or at least anything.
Broken-up chests.
Yeah, something like that.
That's what we're all hoping on.
- All right. Well, carry on.
- Very good.
- All right. Keep drilling.
- All right.
Take care.
Narrator: As charles barkhouse
and terry matheson continue
to monitor the
drilling operation
at the money pit site...
Gary: All roads
lead to the swamp.
Narrator: ...Rick,
jack and gary,
- along with dr. Spooner...
- Oh, perfect. Perfect.
Narrator: ...And heavy equipment
operator billy gerhardt continue
collecting evidence
of human activity
as they work to
uncover the mysterious
flat stone feature in the swamp.
Ian: It's kind of surprising
just how wide this is.
Rick: For me, it's all about,
how'd they build it.
- Ian: Yeah. - Gary: Rick!
Check these out, mate.
More coal and more pottery.
And whenever we've
seen this kind of pottery
around the money pit,
laird's always got excited
'cause this is the old stuff.
This is in the 1700s.
And to me,
this is exciting finding it here.
Narrator: Blue glazed pottery
dating back to the 1700s
and matching discoveries
made deep in the money pit area?
Could this pottery
be valuable evidence,
suggesting that
the stone surface
in the swamp is in
some way connected
to the original money
pit treasure vault?
More of the old
blue glazed pottery.
And this is old stuff.
You can just tell
it... That patina.
And this is cool.
I got to keep an eye on the spoil pile,
mate.
It's getting
interesting up there.
(soft beeping)
(beeping)
oh! Beautiful!
What the heck is that?!
Rick: What'd you find, gary?
Uh, I don't know what it is.
Narrator: While investigating
a large flat stone structure
in the oak island swamp,
metal detection
expert gary drayton
has just made what could
be an exciting discovery.
Look at that!
The heck is that?
Look at it.
It's, like,
blue. It's got the...
Rick: It's layered.
Ian: Can I see?
Um...
Rick: It's weird.
Gary: Yeah, that is.
Almost like it's
fractured or broken.
Ian: Wonder if it's a
jewelry of some sort.
Gary: You're right, mate.
It could be a piece of jewelry.
Just broken. Look at that, mate.
Reminds me of, like,
an old decorative brooch.
Narrator: A decorative brooch?
Found in the oak island swamp?
- Oh, my gosh! - (beeping)
- it's another bobby-dazzler! Look!
- It's a...
Narrator: Could it be
in some way connected
to the other brooches
that rick and gary
have found over
the last three years
on the eastern
end of the island?
One of which was not only
more than 500 years old
but also plated with gold.
I don't think we can do
much more over here.
It's just too lumpy.
Rick: 'kay.
But over there,
it gets... Quite flat.
Which is very interesting.
Again,
nature doesn't order itself that way.
You can start to
see these flat stones.
It-it doesn't look
like much right now,
but billy just can't do
much more in here.
Billy: Yeah, I-I think you need
to let it dry
maybe a little bit.
Then it would shovel easier.
Yeah.
Narrator: Although
the team has pumped
nearly all of the standing
water out of the swamp,
the thick muck covering
the stone structure
is currently too wet to
be completely removed.
Because of this,
the team will halt excavations for the day,
in the hopes that,
within 24 hours,
the mud will be dry enough
so the team can fully
expose the feature.
- Rick: Well, tomorrow, then.
- Gary: Yeah. -Billy: Yep.
Rick: We'll be hard at it.
Narrator: As rick and the team
finish up in the
oak island swamp...
Well,
what are we doing right now?
They're putting the gyro down.
Narrator: ...Marty lagina
checks back in at the money pit
for a progress report
on borehole g-5.5.
What's t.D. Of this hole?
Uh...
G-5.5 now complete to 230 feet.
- 230. - 230 even.
G-5.5 was okay,
but it was just another hole.
You get recovery?
We're getting very
good recovery.
That's what's in
front of you here.
You can see some bedded
sediments right here and...
Here and...
- Clay-rich material there.
- Yeah, but this doesn't look like stuff that
- stuff could move around in very easily.
- No.
Marty: So,
from a technical standpoint,
the drilling has gone very well.
They've been able
to reach total depth.
But, remember,
this is supposed to be a treasure hunt.
And I was hoping, as always,
that they'd bring up some
indication of treasure.
But I think the drilling
program in the money pit,
at any moment,
could reveal something dramatic.
Have you found any evidence
of the famous collapse
in these nine holes?
We haven't seen anything
that looked like a debris field, no.
Where the hell did that collapse go,
charles?
I don't know. I don't know,
marty.
It went somewhere.
It's down there. You
just haven't found it yet.
- Trust me. It's down there.
- (chuckles)
are any of them, charles,
where you would expect,
most likely to be, the collapse?
- Yes. Yeah. - Which ones?
Uh, the ones near rf... Rf-1.
We-we assume that
that's where the collapse is.
Marty: Have we
drilled those yet?
- Yeah.
- We've got a couple. H-6.5, I think,
is gonna be the next one.
We're gonna be
watching that one.
Look at that.
- Marty: Oh, yeah.
- See those two marks here?
I just wondered
if these two marks
are-are actual roman numerals.
Narrator: Last year,
while excavating
an eight-foot-wide
borehole known as rf-1,
the oak island team recovered
hand-cut timbers with roman
numerals carved into them
from a depth of
approximately 100 feet.
They also retrieved
ancient tunneling tools
and coconut fiber,
leading the team to speculate
that rf-1 may have contained
some of the collapse
from the original money pit.
Now,
having completed a series of boreholes
where the team's research
suggested the original
money pit might be,
they will now drill a
new borehole near rf-1
called h-6.5,
where they hope to finally
locate the treasure vault
people have been
looking for since 1795.
Well, we knew this was
gonna be a systematic process,
- so... - Terry: Yeah.
Well, carry on.
Terry: Very good.
Narrator: Later
that afternoon...
Rick: Every time we meet in the w*r room,
it's important.
Narrator: ...Rick lagina,
along with members of the team,
have gathered for a presentation
that oak island historian
doug crowell has prepared
regarding a recent
and curious discovery
on lot 15.
Also joining the meeting
are archaeologists laird niven,
miriam amirault
and dr. Aaron taylor.
We all know about the,
uh, mound up on lot 15.
And doug has done
some amazing research.
But I will say, you know,
in-in all fairness,
that I am a bit skeptical.
Because serpent mounds,
what little I know of them,
- are ancient. - Mm-hmm.
Rick: Doug,
if you want to make this presentation,
- I look forward to it. - Yeah.
Like any curiosity
on the island,
this thing just kind of was
a surprise to us this year.
- It didn't look natural. - Mm.
What is this thing?
Narrator: Two weeks ago,
doug crowell alerted rick,
marty and members of the team
to a mysterious snake-shaped
mound of earth and boulders
not far from the 16th
century pine tar kiln on lot 15...
Aaron: Sort of reminds you of,
uh...
A little bit like the
serpent mounds
- in ontario. - Yeah.
Narrator: ...A formation,
which, according to
archaeologist dr. Aaron taylor,
resembled a 2,000-year-old
ceremonial feature
located in keene,
ontario, canada,
known as the serpent mounds.
So,
as a curiosity on the island,
I think everything
has to be scrutinized
as to does it have any
importance to our hunt or not.
Right? So I've looked at the
history of serpent mounds.
I've looked at the history
of the symbolism of serpents
to see how it might play
into any of the theories
that have ever been
presented to us to follow.
So, if you don't mind,
I'm gonna share my screen here.
So, this is what I see,
an aerial view of what I
see when I look at this mound
and the mound
that's out in front of it.
This is where it
resides on the island.
It's to the east of the swamp,
up on the top of lot 15.
It's really almost on the
highest point of the island.
This is one that's in otonabee,
canada.
It's 189 feet long,
four to five feet high.
Ours is about four feet high.
And I measured
it... Roughly 134 feet.
There are individual mounds,
or cairns,
around the outside of the
ontario serpent mound as well.
So, just as a comparison,
they're all of stone
and soil construction.
They're all an average
of four feet high.
Located on prominent
hillsides overlooking water.
Nearby individual
cairns or mounds.
We have all that
in this structure.
Whether it's an
actual mound or not...
(chuckles) those
elements are present.
Rick: What I was most impressed
by was that the serpent mounds,
literally across the globe,
had rock cairns or
these stone features
in close proximity to them.
Well,
if this is a serpent mound,
we also have these
features in close proximity.
To me, that was impactful.
Doug: So now
I'm taking a look at
why it might be important
to different theories.
Actually, it's interesting.
In going through this,
I found this.
This is from 1885.
Scott, if you can unroll that.
This is all the major
religions of the world,
when they came into being.
Even before there
was sun worshippers
and christianity,
there was serpent worship.
Um, serpent worship,
just around 3000 bc,
was the predominant
religion in the world.
Now...
This is one of the seals
from the 12th century
of the knights templar.
One of their grand masters.
Abraxas.
He's a composite god
that has the legs and
feet of two serpents.
Ancient gemstones
had this image on them.
And it was said that a
lot of these gemstones
were in the
templar's treasuries.
Mm.
Doug: Serpents seem
to represent knowledge,
and knowledge is power.
If this mound that we're looking
at has any relevance to that,
it could have been created as
a symbol of the knights templar.
Island historian doug crowell
has just presented the team
with an incredible theory.
According to his research,
the serpent-shaped mound
recently discovered on lot 15
may represent an ancient
symbol for knowledge
connected to the
knights templar.
It looks man-made.
It doesn't look natural.
Then did it have a
purpose that's relevant
to what we're trying to
achieve on the island?
Craig: Just looking at it,
in general,
it-it's a massive site.
You know? So
something was going on.
Um, I do like the tie that,
you know, part of
its belief system
include the serpent.
I agree.
Well, I mean,
we've dubbed it the serpent mound.
Like you say,
that has yet to be proven.
Now, look at here.
This is from the freemasons.
Serpent and the cross.
"a symbol used in the
degrees of knights templar
"and knights of
the brazen serpent.
"the cross is a tau cross 't, '
"and the serpent
is twined around it.
"this is an important part of the
following masonic symbolism:
The 25th degree."
this is one of the
rites for the masons,
the serpent and the cross.
Rick: Wow.
Narrator: Ever since the
discovery of the money pit in 1795,
the secret society of builders
known as the freemasons
have been closely linked
to the oak island mystery.
Not only have
prominent searchers
such as daniel mcginnis,
m.R. Chappell
and franklin delano roosevelt,
who led a hunt for the treasure in 1911,
been members,
but many of the fraternity's symbols,
such as triangles,
the all-seeing eye
and the letter "g,"
representing the divine creator,
have been found on the island.
Numerous theories have also
been presented over the years
linking the predecessors
to the freemasons,
the knights templar,
to the original deposition of treasure
on the island.
But these ideas were
nothing more than
pure speculation.
That is,
until three years ago when
rick lagina and gary drayton
discovered the lead
cross at smith's cove,
a cross that not only
perfectly matched
templar carvings found
in southern France
but was scientifically
proven to have been made
from lead mined in that region
and more than 700 years ago.
Think about how many structures
we have uncovered to date.
We have the wharf.
We have the u-shape structure.
We have the serpent mound.
I mean, how did all these
very intensively
laborious structures
just rise up without
people noticing?
- Without some record?
- Those are just the reasons why
I think it's worth investigating
this particular mound
to see if it can
tell us anything,
particularly the
date of construction.
If we can determine
the date of construction
or perhaps its purpose,
- maybe it'll be helpful in our hunt.
- Mm-hmm.
Laird, your thoughts?
Laird: Well, I mean,
it-it's definitely a mystery.
Um,
I think it's worth pursuing it,
and, uh, yeah, hopefully,
the truth lies in the ground.
I agree. There's
really no other choice.
It's a mysterious island.
Who knows what lies beneath?
So, I think we have
a consensus that it
needs further investigation,
and that's sufficient
for-for this meeting.
I look forward to some answers.
Narrator: The
following morning...
Ian: I think we should
clear off to the right.
You'll locate the edge
'cause it'll just drop off.
- All right.
- Narrator: Rick lagina
along with geoscientist
dr. Ian spooner,
metal detection
expert gary drayton,
jack begley
and heavy equipment
operator billy gerhardt
have returned to the swamp.
They are eager to
resume efforts to reveal
the massive stone
feature recently discovered
in the southeast corner.
Okay, so,
we're starting to get into it.
Oh,
there's a little bit of rock.
Ian (chuckles): Whoa!
Great. Billy!
I think what we'll do
is we're just gonna try
to throw a piece of
plywood down there
and take a look at that edge.
Yeah.
Ian: Oh, yeah, that's perfect.
Hey, here, take a look at this.
And, so, here's...
Right off the bat,
this is kind of cool.
It's been piled up
on a little bit of an angle there,
right?
- That's... That-that's the structure.
- Jack: Yeah.
Ian: So, they built this
three stones thick.
Narrator: Piled stones,
three layers thick,
forming a pathway or platform
on the bottom of the swamp?
But for what purpose?
That's impressive.
Ian: Yeah, so,
it's not vertical.
It's-it's angled up.
This is nicely stacked.
Rick: It is beautifully stacked,
yeah.
Narrator: Could the stone
feature the team has uncovered
be connected to the
massive stone paved area
discovered last year and
which dr. Spooner dated
to as early as 1200 ad?
Rick: This feature,
it's certainly very unique.
Eerily similar to
the first paved area.
A little bit flatter would
be my assessment.
But they're eerily
strange and eerily similar.
(chuckles): So,
what is going on?
Billy: The difference of this
to the paved area,
though, is the paved area
had some big rocks and
looked like people built around it.
This is 100% built.
- Rick: Hard to deny that's built.
- Ian: Yeah.
Billy: Dr. Spooner,
is there any way that we can
date on top of when
these rocks were built?
It's on top of
material that we know
has got a date of
in the early 1700s.
We dated that layer.
We got a date. It's a good date.
1700s, baby!
(laughter)
or: In the oak island swamp,
rick lagina and
members of the team
are just beginning to uncover
the mysterious
flat stone feature
which geoscientist
dr. Ian spooner
believes to date
some 100 years prior
to the discovery
of the money pit.
Ian: What's critical here,
again, is they built this
on the swamp when
it wasn't a swamp.
They used three or
four courses of rocks.
- They built up here.
- Rick: Mm-hmm.
Ian: Disarmingly flat surface.
Tilts up towards the money pit.
Gary: That's good.
If it's going on an incline,
- straight towards the money pit.
- Ian: Yeah.
Let's just hope it
was a one-way road.
Ian: Yeah. The thing is
it's all that kind of stuff
that tells you it's a...
A-a structure and
not just a feature.
They needed some
kind of structure here
that was st... Uh,
that was stable.
And even with two
meters of water,
this high, you could move
quite a big barge, ship,
whatever you want to do.
The only reason you'd make
this is to make a platform
to do something else from.
Narrator: A road or platform?
Could it be a stone
wharf used centuries ago
for the purpose of
transporting something
out of the swamp
and to the money pit?
And if so,
could it also be connected
to the 200-foot-long anomaly,
detected two years ago deep
in the middle of the swamp
by seismic scanning,
which eerily resembled
an ancient sailing vessel?
Ian: So, no matter what it is,
it's built. But right now,
I have no idea what
the purpose of it is.
And I think we need
artifacts to figure that out.
So, what do you want to do now?
Ian: I mean, at this stage,
I think we've done enough.
I think it's time to bring
in the archaeologists
because they'll want
to look at this layer
down here and see
if they see anything.
So, this is the artifact layer
because this was built on this,
and so it's that layer that
things would fall down on.
Really,
what we need to do is find artifacts
to place this in
context of time,
and then we start
putting things together.
Start maybe thinking
there was something
happening with great purpose
going towards that location.
Rick: You know,
things are starting
to round to mid-to-late 1600s,
early 1700s,
well before the so-called
find of the money pit.
Almost a century before.
So, something's going on.
I'm impressed by this wall.
The next step is,
to ian's directive,
get the archaeologists in here,
render an opinion.
But before we go,
I wouldn't mind gary metal detecting this.
Gary: Yeah, I was thinking that.
I've got a great plan.
You guys get up here
- and let me down there.
- (laughter)
rick: Good day, everybody.
Narrator: Later that day...
Marty: We've got some more data
that, uh,
craig has for the team here.
Narrator: Brothers
rick and marty lagina,
along with their
partner craig tester,
have gathered members
of the team in the w*r room.
Craig,
I believe you have some data
regarding the serpent mound,
- correct?
- Craig: Yeah, I sure do. Uh...
There was two pieces of
charcoal that were found
that, uh,
we sent into beta analytical.
Narrator: One week ago,
while investigating
the mysterious
serpent-shaped mound on lot 15,
alex lagina,
along with archaeologists
dr. Aaron taylor
and miriam amirault,
discovered b*rned charcoal,
offering evidence
that significant human activity
occurred around this feature.
I'm gonna bag this and
run a carbon-14 date on it,
which will tell us
when it was b*rned.
Craig: Do you have
either of them with you?
Doug: We have the, uh, charcoal
from the cross
section of the body
along with the, uh,
nail that was found in that charcoal.
203? That artifact?
- Yes.
- Craig: Okay. That one had a date
of 1320 to 1440.
- Period? - Jack: What?
Wow. No-no brackets?
- No. - (laughter)
doug: There is another
date that it does match.
- Zena's map? - Yes.
It might be the knights templar.
Narrator: Charcoal found within
the serpent-shaped
feature on lot 15?
Dating back as early
as the 14th century?
This is virtually the
same time period
as a reported knights
templar map of oak island
given to the team four years ago
by the late author and
researcher zena halpern
as well as the lead cross
found three years ago
at smith's cove.
Could they all be connected
and be corroborating evidence
as to who is behind
the oak island mystery?
What do you say to that, aaron?
That changes the
history of the entire region
if that's true.
The only people we
know that were prior
to, uh, 1496
were the vikings.
I mean, if you find
a european object
dating back to that date,
um, I mean,
that puts history on its... On its head.
Marty: If that date is real,
you know, holy smokes.
Those dates tie with
a templar influence.
You know,
I've always been dubious
about those sorts of things,
but...
But here's science.
Craig: Obviously, anytime we get
such an outlier,
it's worth taking the
extra steps to make sure
- it's good data.
- Aaron: Incredible. If that date
comes back, that's one of
the most important, uh, features
in north america. I mean,
it changes everything.
And I don't use that lightly.
Rick: I mean, those are early,
early, early dates.
Would it be fantastic? Yes.
But then what happened here?
Is it activities over centuries?
And who was involved? I mean,
then it makes
the who, what, when, where,
why and how of this thing
even more interesting
and complex.
Well,
I don't know if it's just me,
but we're getting
all kinds of data
that just keeps pushing it back,
pushing it back,
and making this island
more and more significant.
So once again, uh,
to avoid analysis paralysis,
let's get back to work. Agreed?
- Sounds good.
- Thanks, everybody.
Rick: See you, guys.
- (saw buzzing) - narrator:
As another day begins
on oak island, rick lagina
and billy gerhardt clear
brush and small trees
from the southeastern
corner of the drained
triangle-shaped swamp...
So I'm gonna zigzag
in this direction
and see what we've got.
Narrator: ...While
metal detection expert
gary drayton and jack
begley begin investigating
the recently-discovered
stone pathway
for important clues that
could help determine
when it was made and
what it was used for.
All we need is one good signal.
It's a regular hive
of activity here.
- Jack: Laird, aaron. Hey.
- Hey, guys.
- Wow. - Hey, guys.
- Look at the structure. - Wow.
So what...
- What is this?
- We've just been
calling it "the stone feature."
maybe this is
some sort of a pier.
Maybe it's a road.
But it's definitely some
sort of a construction.
I mean, it does look like a roadway,
doesn't it?
- Gary: It really does. - Yeah.
- This is more impressive than the paved area.
- Yeah.
- It looks more well-built.
- Yeah.
Jack: But it's pretty obvious
to you guys, as well,
that we have a structure here.
- Oh, yeah, most definitely.
- Yeah. Yeah.
What's really... I think the interface,
so it's where...
Where this hits the land,
I think is gonna be
- pretty interesting, too.
- Yeah. -Jack: Mm-hmm.
Especially, you know, maybe
there are associated
structures that we can't see.
- Yeah. For sure. - Jack: Yeah.
Dr. Spooner had specified that,
from cores that he had taken,
he knows that that layer is,
like, 1700s,
- early 1700s. - Gary: Yeah.
- Right.
- But if this was some sort of a road,
then maybe they were
hauling something up there.
So,
gary and I... We're down here detecting
- to see if we could get any evidence, and...
- Yeah.
There's a lot of stuff
that can get lost in and
amongst those rocks.
I think this potentially is a
very exciting area, and we just
have to be slow and methodical.
What's really exciting, too, is,
because it's in an
anaerobic environment,
preservation is amazing.
- Yup. - Jack: It's gonna be in
- pristine condition, yeah.
- Aaron: Potentially, yeah.
Okay,
we'll continue metal detecting,
and hopefully flag
some good targets.
Laird: All right.
- Good stuff, guys. Thanks.
- Great.
- Keep in touch. -Gary: Okay, mate.
- Aaron: See ya.
You see the area,
the other side of the swamp here,
where the guys have
been cutting the trees...
Well,
all that is squashed down now.
So, I say we get stuck in, mate,
and do some metal
detecting just over there.
I've got high
hopes for this area.
- Coins or artifacts, mate.
- Mm-hmm.
- That's what we want. - Yeah.
(beeping)
good-sounding target just here.
Somewhere in that area, mate.
(jack gasps)
- you got to be kidding me, mate!
- Oh!
- It's a coin! - Gary!
- It's a coin, mate! - Oh, yeah.
- What is it?
- An oldie, as well!
- It's a british one! - (laughs)
that's crazy! Here's
an old british coin.
- What's that say? - "1919."
oh, man. It's not that old,
though.
- No. Yeah.
- Oh, it's not. Oh, no.
Oh, that's not a... Dang.
Beautiful coin that.
I was excited there.
But this... I just would
have loved it to be older.
Was not expecting that. That's crazy,
isn't it?
Oh, yeah.
There could be anything in here.
(beeping)
target here, jack.
Jack: I got some good
hopes for this one.
That is a hole.
(soft beep)
jack: I should've got it.
(beeping)
- jack: More? - Yeah.
- (beeping) -just take
that chunk out there, mate.
Might be more to it.
Jack: I sure hope so.
(beeping)
jack: Wow. Come on,
be something good.
Let me make sure.
What have we got here, mate?
- Oh, a nice old pin. - Oh!
- Gary: Look at that.
- That's great!
Yeah, that is old.
Narrator: While
investigating a mysterious
stone pathway in the
southeastern corner
of the oak island swamp,
metal detection expert
gary drayton and jack begley
have just made a potentially
significant discovery.
Jack: Does that
have a hole in it?
Gary: Yeah, it has.
Oh, man, that is cool.
It's been punched through.
That hasn't been drilled.
It's been punched through.
- Oh, yeah.
- 'cause, you see, round on that side
and oval on that side.
That is some kind
of specialty tool.
It's like a...
- (exhales sharply) - wow. Yeah.
- A plumb bob.
- Yeah, it's like a plumb bob.
- Yeah, because... - Oh.
...You'd have
something like that
- if you were digging shafts.
- And...
I believe you're talking 1600s,
1700s easy with that one.
Narrator: A plumb bob?
And possibly four centuries old?
Dating back to the
time of ancient egypt,
a plumb bob is a leveling tool
used to ensure that structures
such as wooden shafts
or stone buildings are
both vertically straight
and properly centered
during their construction.
Could it be that gary
and jack have just found
another key piece of evidence of
man-made workings on oak island
prior to the discovery
of the money pit in 1795?
If so, is it connected to the
mysterious stone structure
that the team has just uncovered
or something else
hidden in the swamp
that they have yet to find?
It is really, really cool.
It'd be interesting to see what
carmen legge thinks of this.
Yeah.
- Rick's got to see this.
- Rick, come here.
Gary: Get your eyes on this,
mate.
Rick: Hang on.
Tell us what you think this is.
I wish I could tell you
with any type of certainty.
Have a gander at that, mate.
It was filled in when
we first found it.
- I was thinking a really old spike.
- How heavy is it?
I... Oh, it's heavy,
mate. You feel that.
Look at that hole that's been
punched through the top, mate.
Jack: Yeah,
and if that's a plumb bob,
it's more evidence that they
were digging shafts and tunnels.
Yeah. Perfect plumb bob.
- I agree with that. - Yeah.
'cause you'd need a tool
like that to be able to measure
and not only just make sure
your shaft was straight but get
a proper measurement of depth.
Yeah, that's very cool.
(laughs) it is crazy.
Who knows? You know,
when you find a plumb bob,
there might be a shaft in this
area or some kind of tunnel.
- So, yeah.
- It's a window into time.
It is. It really is.
Carmen can put a-a use
to it and maybe a date to it.
Yup. That'll tell a tale.
We need certainly to
take a hard look at that.
I mean,
if you're gonna drive a shaft,
you certainly need a plumb bob.
You know, it's very plausible.
It's enticing. It's interesting.
What it says is there are
answers in that swamp,
and we need to get
to the bottom of it.
Whatever it is, it's bloody old.
- This is beautiful.
- Yeah. -Yeah.
I still think there's something
else in association with that.
- I... But we got to find it.
- Yeah.
Okay,
we got to get to the bottom of it.
You got to get
to the bottom of it.
- Good job. Good luck.
- Gary: Thanks. Cheers.
Jack: Well,
we'll find some more.
Narrator: After another week of
persistent and careful exploration,
rick, marty,
craig and their team
appear closer than ever to
revealing the secrets behind
the 225-year-old
oak island mystery.
Secrets that just may
be more incredible
and historic than anyone
ever thought possible.
Might the new discoveries
that they have made on lot 15
and in the oak island swamp
help to finally resolve
the burning questions
of who, what, when,
where, why and how?
Perhaps they have
just found the pathway
to the answers.
Narrator: Next time on
the curse of oak island...
Aaron: What's exciting is
it's like some sort of cribbing.
- Oh, yeah!
- And it keeps going.
Good find, mike.
- Look at that head.
- Laird: It could,
in theory,
go back to the early 1700s.
- Woo-wee! - You sound excited.
- It's an old coin.
(whoops) - jack: All right!
To me,
the money pit is related to the mound.
Marty: Maybe you're
looking at spoils from
- the original money pit.
- There you go.
08x09 - Rock, Paper, Serpents
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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.