08x14 - A Bend In The Road

[bunniefuu]

Tonight on
the curse of oak island...

What type of things
would this be used for?

Why put a ringbolt
in a rock here?

Working with block and tackles,
heavy cargo,

- heavy stuff. - Right.

Ooh.

That's nice. Musket decoration.

- It might speak to wealth.
- Yeah.

Which way do you think

we should chase this?

Everything is telling me

it's turning up
to the money pit.

Wow.

Look at this.

It's exactly what we hoped for.

We're heading to the money pit.

There is an
island in the north atlantic

where people have been
looking for an incredible treasure

for more than 200 years.

So far,
they have found a stone slab

with strange
symbols carved into it,

mysterious fragments
of human bone,

and a lead cross whose
origin may stretch back

to the days of the
knights templar.

To date, six men have d*ed
trying to solve the mystery.

And, according to legend,

one more will have to die

before the treasure
can be found.

Another historic day has
begun on oak island...

- Here we are.
- ...As brothers rick and marty lagina,

along with their
partner craig tester

and members of their team,

continue searching for clues
that they hope will soon reveal

the answers to a
225-year-old treasure mystery.

- Let's take a look.
- Yeah.

And in the artificially-made
triangle-shaped swamp

where a mysterious stone road
was unearthed several weeks ago

that may be connected to
the money pit treasure shaft,

rick lagina is eager to share
a potentially critical discovery

that was just made nearby

with fellow oak island
landowner tom nolan.

How's it going, gary?

Good.

Why-why don't you guys come over here and,
uh,

- show him what you found?
- Of course.

Look at the smile on his face.

It's a big top-pocket find,
for sure.

Feast your eyes on some
ancientness from the swamp.

Oh, look at that.

You've got yourself a ringbolt.

Yep. - Wow.

Is that magnificent or what?

Yep. That sure is.

The fact is, your dad did have
a map that showed a ringbolt

in this general vicinity.

- Yeah.
- You're looking at holding

something that your father
based a lot of his-his efforts.

Yeah. I can imagine
if dad was here,

he'd be quickly
plotting the location

of this and trying to tie
it into the other ringbolts

- to see, "okay, where do I go now?"
- yeah.

Back in the early 1960s,

tom nolan's father,
the late fred nolan,

approached m.R. Chappell,

who owned the
eastern end of the island,

to help him excavate
the fabled money pit.

However,
when fred's offer was denied,

the determined professional
surveyor purchased eight lots

across the center of oak island,
including the swamp,

and spent the next several
years investigating the property

and, incredibly,
made a number of compelling discoveries.

Among them were
two large iron ringbolts

that fred found
embedded in boulders

on the eastern edge
of the brackish bog.

Believing they might have
been used to anchor a ship

within the swamp at some time,
he drained the area in 1969

and was stunned to discover
not only wooden scuppers

but also part of a mast

belonging to a
large sailing vessel.

This led fred to the
theory that the swamp

was artificially created

to hide the wreck
of a treasure galleon.

Could this iron ringbolt,
found next to the stone pathway,

be more proof that
fred nolan's suspicions

of the swamp are true?

It's hard to believe I've
got one of these in my hand.

And probably one that
he didn't know was here.

- Yeah.
- It's, uh, it's quite a moment.

And hopefully it
takes us in the right direction.

- Mm-hmm.
- More questions, though, rick.

- Yeah. - Yeah.

- - yep. Absolutely.

Dad believed that
the answers to oak island

certainly laid in that swamp,
and to be able to do

what we're doing
here today is...

Hopefully it will bring
a lot of his dreams

and aspirations to-to light.

Carmen might be able to
enlighten us about the purpose.

- Yeah.
- You know, how old it is.

I think we all believe

Yeah.

And I'm c-certain we're
gonna find another ringbolt

if we keep following this road.

This is the highway to treasure.

Highway to treasure.

While, rick,
craig, tom and the team

continue investigating
the swamp...

Well, so far, so good.

Yeah. We had high hopes,
and so far

- we haven't been disappointed.
- Nope.

...In the money pit area,

project manager scott barlow,
charles barkhouse,

geologist terry matheson
and surveyor steve guptill

are supervising the team's
core-drilling operation

at borehole cd 8.5,

a borehole where they
believe that they've encountered

the so-called tupper shaft,

a 19th century structure
built by the truro company

that reportedly sits
just ten feet northwest

of the original money pit.

If the team can
verify the orientation

and dimensions of this shaft,

they could be one major
step closer to locating

the fabled money
pit treasure vault.

53 to the bottom.

All right.

It's still very soft.

Oh, yeah. This is loose.

Well... whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa.

- Look at that. Look at that.
- Hold it now.

- And then you get your encouragement.
- There we go.

So, we got wood again at 58 feet

- and 57 feet. - Yep.

And encouragement to carry on.

- We're still in the game.
- Yep.

That tells us
we're awfully close.

They need to know
the alignment of the shaft,

which will then allow
you to make a very

somewhat interpretive
u-understanding

of the alignment of the
money pit to the tupper shaft.

Unfortunately, again,
there's no cardinal direction.

It's incredibly
critical to our efforts,

because you could be off
by as much as ten or 15 feet.

You know, guys,
one of the problems that we face

whenever we're trying to
locate one of these early shafts

is we don't know
the dimensions of it.

I mean, we-we know the depth,

but we don't know...
Was it a ten-by-ten?

Was it an eight-by-eight?

Are they square?
Are they rectangle?

We don't know that.

So, this is important
to try to figure that out.

That's why
the truest information

you can get is
usually at the bottom.

And we'll have more
information to try and determine

where the heck all these
shafts are and how far they are

- from the money pit. - Yeah.

So,
we got some good stuff going on here.

Yeah.

While the
core-drilling operation continues

in the money pit area,

over on the eastern
end of oak island...

Wow, laird.

You've been busy.

- whoa. - We're trying.

...Marty
lagina arrives on lot 25,

where archaeologists
laird niven and liz michels

are conducting an
ongoing excavation

of the 19th century
property that once belonged

to former american sl*ve
turned wealthy landowner

samuel ball.

Although he was known to be
a hardworking cabbage farmer

shortly after buying this
single lot back in 1786,

what is unknown is how
mr. Ball became wealthy enough

to eventually own
nine lots on oak island

as well as several
more on the mainland

by the time of
his death in 1846.

One possible explanation was
printed in the 1870 publication

known as "the history of
the county of lunenburg,"

in which samuel ball is listed

as one of the three young men

who first discovered
the money pit in 1795.

Here's the question:

Nothing to link him
somehow to a treasure find?

The biggest questions surround
"why a cellar this big," right?

But it may be that he needed
to stockpile stuff in here.

Well,
he grew wealthy through hard work

and doing the right thing...

- Yeah.
- ...And not being cowed by adversity.

- That's clear. - Yeah. Yeah.

Uh, but he might also
have... got lucky.

- Yeah.
- So, what are the next steps here?

Uh, well,
we're gonna finish cleaning this out

and then probably
excavate it out in quadrants

to see what's underneath.

I'm keenly interested in this.

- Yeah. - Okay.

- All right. - Carry on.

Stay with it.

- I'm gonna go get gary.
- Oh, good idea.

This looks like a
fairly substantial house.

Indications that samuel ball
was one very successful man.

But did some of his wealth come

from discoveries on oak island?

Although the
foundation and surrounding area

is a protected heritage site
in the province of nova scotia,

because laird niven and
liz michels are present

and able to supervise any
disturbance of the grounds,

gary drayton has official
permission to metal-detect

for any important clues.

Let's go find something good,
gary.

Yep.

Oh.

- that sounds nice. - Yeah.

And it is just there
to the side of the tree.

Yes.

You might have got it out.

Yeah, you have.

Let's see what we've got.

It's in my hand.

Ooh, look at that.

Let's see what we got.

And we are looking

at a little pocketknife.

- Seriously? - Yeah.

On lot 25,

near the foundation of the house

that once belonged
to samuel ball,

metal detection expert
gary drayton and marty lagina

have just found what could
be an important discovery.

I'd say that's
copper or something.

Yeah. The ends are
copper. That's why we detected it.

They don't make them
out of that anymore, do they?

Not so much.

Yeah. It looks like half

- of a pocketknife. - Yeah.

And the blade
must still be in there.

That looks like a
fine gentleman's pocketknife.

So, you know,
we're hoping that it's valuable.

And I think samuel ball was
just a highly successful man,

and he may have had some
things we're unaware of.

Well,
we'll see what it looks like

- when it's cleaned up. Nice little find.
- Cleaned up.

This is a
great start. It really is.

It's an excellent start.

- Yeah. Let's keep going.
- Yeah.

I'm excited. Let's go

- find some more stuff. - Yep.

Oh. Not so good.

Yeah. That doesn't
sound as good to me.

No.

That sounds good to me.

That sounds good.

Just there.

Here we go.

- - oh.

We're on it.

I feel something there.

Oh! Yeah, that's nice.

What is it? A badge?

No. It's not a badge, mate.

Yeah. To me,
that looks like musket decoration.

Oh,
like you found with samuel ball on it?

Yeah.

That might clean up and
have some kind of design on it.

Or some letters or numbers.

For sure it has letters on it.

- I can see. - It has?

- Oh, yeah. - I was hoping.

It says "patent."

- It says "patent"?
- Mm-hmm.

- Now you can see it.
- Oh, yeah!

Look at that. That's nice,
isn't it?

- There ain't any doubt about that.
- Yeah.

A patent plate?

Possibly from an
old r*fle or musket?

During the 17th
and 18th centuries,

as firearm technology advanced

in europe and
colonial north america,

manufacturers placed engraved
"patent" plates on their muskets

as a way of protecting
the ownership

of any unique innovations,

such as the f*ring mechanism
or the w*apon's design.

Similar to a maker's mark,
a patent plate

could help reveal when and
where an artifact was made,

as well as possibly identify
who it once belonged to.

What do you think,
gary? How old is that?

With that design,
the way it's got that nice

old-style lettering,

I'd say that's period,
mate, for this lot.

1790. 1830s. Samuel ball era.

Yeah. I think it's period.

Yeah.

I'd bet a lot
that was on a firearm.

It could've easily have been on the,
the stock.

- Yeah. - Or the butt.

Maybe that's the way to
look for whatever this is.

- That's what I would do. I would start with g*ns.
- g*ns, yeah.

Uh, probably british armaments.

- Yeah.
- I mean, if you find out that

that was some kind of
nice sh**ting firearm,

- it might speak to wealth.
- Yeah.

The little "patent" thing
was really exciting, because

I view it as yet
another indication

that samuel ball had
a fair amount of wealth.

Gary, partner,
let's put it in the bag.

- Yep.
- And we'll go onto, hopefully,

- bigger and better things.
- Yeah.

And we'll tell laird about this.

Yeah. Cheers, mate.

- We found some cool stuff.
- Yeah.

While marty and gary
continue searching on lot 25...

Here we are.

...Approximately
50 miles north of oak island,

jack begley, tom nolan

and oak island historian
charles barkhouse

arrive at northville farm...

Hey, carmen.

...Where they are eager to
show blacksmithing expert

carmen legge the iron ringbolt

that was found in the
swamp one week ago.

How you doing?

Okay.

Charles and I brought
along a new face for you.

- Hi, carmen. Nice to meet you.
- Hi.

- Tom nolan. - Yeah. Good.

Well,
you can tell us what you think that is.

Um...

- Really? - Yeah.

Is this specifically
made for wood?

Okay.

The ones we have
pictures of on the island,

that were in the boulders,

seemed to be a
little bigger than that.

- Okay. - Yes. Yes.

You'd call it a wharf

or an anchor pin?

What-what type of things
would this be used for?

Do you see that
line right there?

Earlier this year,

while conducting a
sonar scan of the waters

just off of the south shore,
bordering the swamp,

alex lagina, diver tony sampson

and geoscientist dr. Ian spooner

detected what appeared
to be the remains

of a mysterious
square-shaped rock structure.

This might be evidence
of a human-made structure.

The remnants of an old
wharf. Something like that.

And one week later,

tony conducted a dive where
he confirmed that the formation

was not a natural feature.

Welcome back. Did
you find the square structure?

Um,
there were rocks in a square,

but maybe the remains
of an old cribbed wharf.

Is it possible
that this ringbolt

is connected to the
potential ship's wharf,

as well as the
stone-paved pathway

recently discovered
within the swamp?

And could it also explain
the 200-foot-long anomaly

that the team detected using
seismic scanning two years ago,

which eerily resembled the
shape of a large galleon ship?

We found it right
along that roadway.

- Yeah.
- In that southeast corner

dr. Spooner dated as
being a possible wharf.

So, you know,
based upon the structure, this is fitting.

This isn't the first ringbolt
we've recovered on the island.

My dad found at least three,

but, I mean,
one was found along the swamp.

Not terribly far from that one.

Wow.

That gives it away?

The date and-and the usage?

What's the earliest date that

you could date work
like this back to?

It definitely predates

the known discovery of the,
of the money pit.

To me, it's quite significant

finding that pin

on the stone road

and the fact that carmen
believes it's from a wharf.

I mean,
that just springs to mind

a number of theories

based on the fact that the swamp

on the eastern side could
have been a cove at one time.

And a treasure ship or ships
could have been brought in there

and off-loaded.

Well, thank you very much,
carmen.

It's always a pleasure.

Well, we love to show it to you.

- We'll try to keep digging it up.
- Yeah.

We'll be back soon.

- Thank you very much.
- Take care.

That was successful.

Yeah. Absolutely.

Hi, guys.

Welcome back.

Here comes the true believer.

After returning
from their meeting

with blacksmithing
expert carmen legge,

tom nolan and charles
barkhouse join rick

and marty lagina,
along with doug crowell,

to share the report
on the iron ringbolt

discovered in the swamp.

This is exciting.

Carmen was very
impressed with this.

I'm impressed with that, too.

This is not a pin that
would go in granite.

This is a pin that
would go in a wharf.

- Why the split?
- So it doesn't pull out.

- Yeah.
- Do that at the other end, and that way it locks it

- into the timber. - And he said

they stopped doing this in 1760.

Here.

And you're telling
me the youngest this could be

is 1760?

But he said 1600s.

Yeah. 1600s to 1760.

Wow.

So,
begs the question: Was that dropped

in the swamp,
or did all the wood rot away?

- That didn't float in.
- No.

- We can be sure of that. - Yes.

The fact that it's splayed
suggests it was used. Right?

It wasn't just dropped.

Either way,

it was found on top
of the stone feature.

Do you know
what that suggests to us?

That stone pathway
was falling out of use

in at least 1760, because

soil started to accumulate on top of it,
right?

- Yeah. - Yep. That's true.

So,
that means that stone pathway was...

- Predates that.
- Yeah. Predates that.

Yep.

Is it possible,

as oak island historian
doug crowell is suggesting,

that the iron ringbolt
could actually predate

the discovery of the money pit
by as much as two centuries?

If so, could it also be a key

to dating the stone
pathway it was found on?

As well as what the
pathway's purpose was?

What comes to mind for this ringbolt,
its function,

is that there could have
been a-a wooden wharf

in what was then
an inlet from the sea.

Certainly deep
enough for a vessel

that goes back and
forth to the big ship.

This thing could
have been driven into it

and it would be an anchor point.

So...

Highly intriguing and old.

I mean, that fits what we
were hoping for the swamp.

And maybe helps
explain the road.

And also is
exciting in terms of,

okay,
what are you off-loading here?

- And where were they taking it?
- Yeah.

We're gonna follow that thing

Yeah.

What would your father say?

This all sort of
fits in with his theory.

I'm not just sure what he
would have thought of it.

Except that, "I told you so."

- - there you go.

I-I'm gonna kinda
say that myself.

All right, well...

As much as it's a beautiful
day to sit right here, isn't it?

- There's work to do.
- There's work to be done.

There's work to do. Yeah. Okay.

Let's do it, then.

Yeah.

Later that afternoon...

We're gonna carry on to 110,
easily.

- All right? - Sounds good.

...While the drilling operation
continues in the money pit area,

in the uplands near the
eastern border of the swamp,

archaeologists dr. Aaron
taylor and miriam amirault

continue their efforts

to track the path of the
massive stone feature.

So,
if we can get these cleared off.

- Mm-hmm.
- And hopefully see where the road ends.

And then maybe it'll tell
us where it starts to turn up.

Yeah.

If you find any stones

that don't look like
they're in place,

like this, this blue slate...

Does that just look
out of place to you?

Yeah. Maybe a bit.

Hey, craig!

Yo!

Can I bother you for a second?

Sure.

- Let's go have a look. - Yep.

Look at that.

Hey, guys.

- Hey. - Good day.

This is the area where
the ringbolt was found.

Mm-hmm.

So,
I came down on this blue-y slate

that looks out of place.

It doesn't look like it
really belongs there.

And if you come closer...

To me,
that just looks like it's been pecked

or a circular piece has
been punched out of it.

I don't know,
but it doesn't look natural.

But why don't we
get dr. Spooner over

and see if he can explain.

You know,
maybe there's a natural process.

It just looks too
human-made to me.

Okay.

Dr. Spooner,
you come over and take a look at something?

On my way.

What do you got?

I came to this slate and, to me,
it just looks out of place.

- Right. - And it's got

an unusual circular piece.

You can take it right
out. That'd be fine.

- Right.
- Does that look natural?

Let me pick up
my little whisk here.

Well, you know,
with the ringbolt being here

and then this circular feature,

it doesn't quite look
like what I'd expect.

To me,
usually when these rocks break,

it's just an edge like that,
but to,

to have that little indent,

is kind of, kind of odd.

We should take a look at these
stones a little more carefully,

see if there's any
attempt to make a hole

- in any of these stones, but...
- Yeah.

The question begs,

why put a ringbolt in a rock,
in a hole, here?

I think it suggests working
with block and tackles.

Or, you know,
it's like heavy cargo.

- Heavy, heavy stuff. Right?
- Right.

I can buy it if this was just,
you know,

Sunday groceries coming
down the road here,

- you don't need ringbolts.
- Yeah.

Although this
ringbolt found in this area

is believed to have
once been embedded

in a wooden ship's wharf,

is it possible that
this piece of slate

was connected to
the other ringbolts

found several decades ago
in this area by fred nolan?

Ringbolts that were
embedded in rocks.

And if so, could they have been

part of a chain
and pulley system...

As billy gerhardt
is suggesting...

To haul some kind of
heavy cargo or chest

out of the swamp and
along this stone pathway?

Given all those facts,

that the road appears
to be turning upland,

you have the ringbolt...

It could be some sort of support

for a pulley system

or a way to assist in hauling

large cartloads of something.

It's too early to tell.

It's unequivocal
we've got a road...

And a road built to last.

It's really quite
a nice little road.

Yeah.

All hidden under swamp.

And why?

To me,
it's a big problem that needs to be solved.

- Well, I'll take this down...
- Okay, I'll...

...And see what's
going on there.

Okay. Good.

We'll see
what's in store for us.

Another day
has begun on oak island,

and near the eastern
border of the swamp...

- Hey, bill. - Hey, rick.

- You've made some progress, I see.
- Yep.

...Rick lagina and craig tester

have just been
alerted by billy gerhardt

to another potentially
important discovery

that he believes may be
connected to the stone pathway.

It's got to be good news

with billy using that shovel.

Yeah,
trying to figure out what's going on here.

And? Your thoughts?

Well,
we thought it might be end of the road.

But just in the last few buckets,
again,

it's starting to get a
little bit interesting.

- We got this high rock.
- Right.

And we got a rock
right there in front of you.

At first,
we just thought it was all jumble,

so we dug a little
test hole here,

but look in the test
hole. We got cobbles.

That's a rock down there,
too? Cobble?

We have cobble here.

This is the base of
the cobble right there.

So,
it looks pretty suspiciously like the road.

But if this is a turn,

well, then, we have to try
to figure out what's going on.

Another possible
section of the stone pathway

running along the eastern
border of the swamp?

If so,
just how far does it extend...

And where is it leading?

Hey, gary.

I was standing here,

looking where this road leads.

It seems to be winding
towards that direction.

Uphill to the money pit?

Yeah.

The stone pathway

possibly turning
in a new direction...

Toward the money pit?

If so,
could it actually lead the team

to the location of the
fabled treasure vault?

- Hey, steve.
- Hey, guys.

- Hey, aaron. - Hey.

Well, if we can take elevations
off of these boulders here.

Sure.

This is about two
feet above sea level.

So, I would say,
based on elevation,

that this is part
of the roadway.

But what about that?

All right, so...

Oh, wow.

Yeah. This is all organic.

So, these stones were placed
into this organic material.

Then you've got these...

These pieces of
wood at the bottom,

which is what we're finding
in the other stone features.

So,
they put these pieces of wood down

as a matting and then
put the stone on top.

So it's definitely man-made,
aaron?

I would say so. Yes.

Let's assume this is a road.

We're almost to that decision point,
though.

Whether we turn left,
turn right, or go straight.

Which way do you think
we should chase this?

Straight ahead to
some unknown location

or uphill to the money pit,
possibly?

Everything's telling
me it's turning up.

That has always
been the thought,

that this was just

a easier way to
get to the money pit

with an extremely heavy load.

Um... Is that being borne
out here? I don't know.

Is that wood?

I would say so. Yes.

I think there's hope

that we're finally gonna

further the understanding

of the purpose of this road.

Well, I think we've got

about six or eight
more feet to take this.

The logical way is to keep
going the way we're going,

because if it's a
turn in the road,

we should find it soon.

We ain't never getting out of here,
are we?

While rick
lagina and craig tester

continue to oversee
the investigation

of the stone pathway
near the swamp...

- It's 98 at the bottom.
- 98.

...Steve guptill has joined

charles barkhouse and
geologist terry matheson

in the money pit area

as they have now drilled
to a depth of nearly 100 feet

in borehole cd 8.5.

A borehole that has intercepted

what they believe could be

a 19th century
searchers' structure

known as the tupper shaft,

which was built just
ten feet northwest

of the original money pit.

That's damn loose.

This is what's interesting.

- Yeah.
- We have wood right there.

Oh, yeah. Lots of wood.

Oh, yeah.

Hey, scott.

- Guys.
- We got wood, scott.

I like the look of that.

There's where our faith
came in to stick with it.

- Yeah. Always does.
- Yeah.

You know,
we should see the bottom of the shaft

if we are in the tupper shaft,

because that bottom
few feet is usually in place.

That'll really help us
pinpoint the dimensions of

where that wall sits.

It's gonna tell us a lot.

It is the team's hope

to verify the
orientation of the shaft

so that they will know which
direction to move the drill rig

and, with any luck,

locate the fabled treasure vault

that has eluded searchers
for more than two centuries.

- What do we got?
- 103 and a half.

103 and a half. You guys
got us a beam by the look of it.

That looks like a piece of
wood or something, right there.

Geez. Oh, my lordy.

So,
we got some good information from mike.

103.5. He thinks he's out.

Okay. Well, that would...

That would be about where
we thought the bottom was.

And we might be out
of the bottom here.

That's a great beam.

Oh, yeah. We have lots of wood.

Yeah. We're still in wood.

There's the a* cut there.

There's the wood grain.

And the a* cut is there
and back that way.

That ridge is where they cut.

- That's hand-hewn.
- We've got a side,

we've got a wall
and we've got a floor.

Hey, rick. - Rick: Hey, steve.

I've heard, uh,
it's pretty exciting up here.

Well, we're... we were
successful in the first hole.

That's a vertical
piece of wood right there.

That's a timber.

You can see where that was cut by an a*,
right?

The dip in it here?

- Wow.
- That's hand-hewn lumber.

That is incredible.

Look at this.

That's fantastic.

That's a really
interesting piece.

So close to the bottom.

While drilling
in the money pit area,

rick lagina and members
of the oak island team

believe they have
obtained evidence

of a 19th century searcher shaft

that could help point
them in the direction

where the fabled treasure
vault may be located.

We believe we have
delineated the wall of the tupper shaft,

but it's critically
important to try to find

the proper orientation
of the tupper shaft,

because that's the information
that we're hopeful will lead us

to what they found, I.E.,
the original money pit.

So, our last hole, rick,

- we've just come out of cd 8.5.
- Yeah.

And based on what we're seeing,
it looks like we might be going

right down the
center of a shaft.

We-we think now...

...So if this is a wall,

then-then the money pit would
have to be over here or here.

Because this is
relatively not investigated.

How confident are you that
the orientation is this way?

That's the next step.

This-this hole we're
in should really help us

confirm or deny
this orientation.

My thought would be, we need

all the information
possible to really be certain

of the orientation of that.

Let's just see what
another rod looks like.

If you can define two walls,
you're good.

- You're golden. Right?
- Yeah.

Well, that's the decision.

End of day,
we'll know exactly where we are.

- Yep.
- And then we'll make a decision based on that information.

That'd be great.

Anyway, my hat's off to you
guys for-for sticking with it.

- Good luck.
- All right. See you later.

Okay. We
got our marching orders.

The following morning,

just as drilling gets underway

in a new borehole
dubbed bc 8.5...

Well, gentlemen, this is...

Probably one of the most
important meetings of the year.

...Oak island
historian doug crowell

has requested a meeting with rick,
marty, craig

and members of the team

after making an
important discovery

in the files of the
late dan blankenship,

which he believes could be
critical to the continued search

for the location of
the original money pit.

But a decision has to be made,

and I think it has
to be made today.

So, there's some new information

that doug has
found in dan's files

regarding the money pit.

So, uh, with that,
I'm gonna turn it over to doug,

and then we'll have a
discussion about what we do next.

So, I'm gonna share a
presentation here with you.

We've been compiling the
data from the historical record.

Craig's drilling has
revealed that the tupper shaft

sits right about here.

It should be contained
within that circle.

This shows the caisson oc-1.

It was between those two
shafts that we were pretty sure

the original money pit must set.

Which would mean that
the money pit would be here.

And what we know
about that area is

that this is where we
found the wood dated 1706.

The oldest wood
that we've brought up

out of the money pit so far.

Last year,
while drilling the borehole known as oc-1,

the team obtained
evidence of a wooden tunnel

some 150 feet underground
that was dated to 1706,

nearly 90 years before the
discovery of the money pit.

This find led the oak
island team to believe

that the original treasure shaft

and the fabled vault

would most likely be
located in that area.

I think we would
have been hard-pressed

for someone to convince
us that we didn't find

the original zone
for the money pit.

But we have some
diagrams from the 1890s,

and this revealed the
tupper shaft in relation

to the money pit that they
were working in at the time.

"a" is the tupper shaft.

And the money pit is over here.

This is kind of exciting
because being able to delineate it

has given us a whole new
place to look for the money pit.

We've been looking to
the east of the tupper shaft.

And that diagram suggests
that the money pit's to the west.

Wow.

T we wouldn't even know

where the hell the money
pit is after all those holes?

Yeah.

I mean, we've put in

close to 400 holes since I've been here,
and...

- God. - ...That's sonic holes.

It would explain
a lot if we have been

looking in the wrong spot.

The troubling thing is,

is it possible
that for 200 years,

people have not looked in the
correct area for the money pit?

The historical records

that we're using to try
and refine our search

for the money pit are
the same sort of thing

that happens all
over oak island.

They're great,
they're very helpful,

and they're
maddeningly difficult

and perhaps inaccurate.

And so, we're trying to weed
out what's useful and what isn't

by trial and error, I guess.

Well, what's the decision?

I'd be willing to
sacrifice a sh*t

at the eastern
location to be confident

that we fully explored
the western location.

- Right. - So, my vote's

to go for the site on the west.

Do we only have time for one?

We don't have
a ton of time left.

- I'd go for both.
- We have to start somewhere,

so we need a priority.

- Okay, west. -

And the interesting thing is,
c-1,

if that's where the
money pit actually is,

c-1 did present that
shiny gold object.

C-1 hit some shaft and it
could be part of the money pit.

Yeah.

So, I like the west side.

Ever since rick, marty,

craig and the team
first drilled borehole c-1

five years ago at the suggestion

of oak island historian
charles barkhouse,

it has remained a
tantalizing mystery.

Not only did it encounter a void

measuring some 20 feet
deep by ten feet wide...

Here we go.

...But when cameras have
been placed down inside,

three different gold-colored
objects have been seen

embedded in the walls.

It looks
metallic. The hell is that?

Although numerous
dive operations over the years

have failed to determine
just what they are...

Going down.

...Is it possible

that the information
doug crowell has found

means that c-1
might be connected

to the original
money pit after all?

Okay, well, rick,
you haven't said anything.

You want to do the west?

Yeah. Yep.

You have to go west. You have
to chase the historical context.

Yes.

- Otherwise, why are we here?
- Yeah.

One ace in the hole

we may have is,
we know there was a shaft in c-1.

That's about

as most enthused I've heard you,
man.

Everybody is very
optimistic and excited about this.

So hopefully it leads
to something good.

Well, there you have it.

So,
it's just a matter of establishing a grid

and, uh, putting steel downhole.

The question is,

where is the money pit?

That has always
been the question

regarding any of the work
over the last 225 years.

I mean,
we've drilled exhaustively.

It's almost a
foregone conclusion

that we've been looking
in the wrong places.

We can't drill the
entire money pit,

at least certainly
not this year.

And, thus, we need to remain
focused on the c-1 location.

Okay. I say make it so.

That's my vote.

- Agreed. - Yep.

- I'm in. - I'm in.

- Definitely. - Yeah.

Well, let's dig the west and
call this w*r room adjourned.

Absolutely.

All right. Thanks, guys.

- See you.
- See you, guys.

As another productive

and surprising week comes
to an end on oak island,

rick, marty,
craig and the team remain unwavering

in their efforts to solve
a 225-year-old mystery.

Will their new drilling
strategy in the money pit

finally help them close in
on a legendary treasure vault

that is believed to contain
everything from gold,

jewels and priceless documents

to possibly even
sacred religious artifacts?

One thing is certain.

They are now following a
path that could soon reveal

the ultimate secrets
of this storied island

in the north atlantic.

Just where

will that path lead them?

Next time on the
curse of oak island...

Yeah. Look at that.

- The top of a keg. - Wow.

Holy schmoly.

Well, how about that?

Rick? Come look at this.

- We just found this. - Wow.

That's the most
significant artifact we have.

- Hey, guys.
- What do we got, gentlemen?

That is incredible.

Debris field, baby.

It might actually
be the money pit.