09x11 - A Boatload of Clues

[bunniefuu]

Tonight on
The Curse of Oak Island

Are you ready to put some coil
to the soil, mate?

- I'm ready.
- Let's go for it.

Oh, what have we got here?

- Oh, yeah.
- Ooh! Look at that, mate.

- Is that something?
- Wow.

That is spectacular.

- Why does it have these angles?
- Does it cry "ship"?

It could easily
be part of a ship.

Well, how about that?

- Hey, Craig!
- I think they might have it.

- There it is.
- Oh!

What the...? Check that out!

That's a phenomenon right there.

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...

man-made workings
that date to medieval times,

and a lead cross whose
origin may be connected

to 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.

A-13 is underway.

Hoping to connect into the
same structure that gave us

- all that compressed air.
- Yep.

An especially hopeful day

has begun on Oak Island

for brothers Rick
and Marty Lagina,

their partner Craig Tester

and members of
their team as they

begin drilling a
borehole known as A-13.

Game on, Charles.

- Game on.
- A chamber

- could lay beneath.
- It is their belief

that they may be
within striking distance

of something that
has eluded searchers

for 227 years:

the legendary Money
Pit treasure vault.

That was good.

We are very close
to where we started

to get all that air eruption
from what we thought was

a subterranean chamber.

- I-I think it's got to be a chamber or something.
- Sure.

Something man-made.

It's quite possible.

But the only way we're gonna

find out, we drill
down and get to it.

Yeah.

So, what we've got
here on the screen...

These, I'm almost very certain

that they are some
sort of a tunnel.

Interesting.

One week ago,

geophysicist Jeremy Church

presented the team

with seismic data...

So, if we go right in...

that revealed a possible
underground tunnel

extending through the area

that the team has
dubbed the C-1 cluster.

It has to be from some sort

of human activity.

It has been in this same area

that they recently detected
evidence of both silver and gold

in numerous boreholes.

The other thing is

this low-density cave-type
feature right here.

I call it "the structure."

However, Jeremy also noted

a second compelling discovery.

What size is that structure?
Just approximately.

12 feet by 12 feet tops.

Oh! Oh!

- Oh!
- Holy cow.

We've never seen that before.

- That's unusual.
- Blowing water up.

When the team drilled a
borehole known as AB-13

in the hopes of
locating the structure...

- Oh, boy.
- At a depth of some 60 feet,

massive amounts of air

suddenly began
sh**ting up to the surface.

Okay, guys.

- Explain the air to me.
- Okay, so,

there's a cavity.

The mysterious burst of air

offered evidence of
something Marty Lagina

has long suspected.

And this same
phenomenon would occur

- for the famous offset chamber, wouldn't it?
- Exactly.

A so-called offset chamber

constructed away from
the original Money Pit

where the elusive treasure
vault has been safely hidden

for more than two centuries.

We got a core coming.

Now as the team
drills Borehole A-13

just two and a half
feet to the north...

48.

- 48.
- Thank you.

If they can penetrate
the mysterious void

or chamber once again

and recover evidence

of anything
valuable inside of it,

they will dig a massive
ten-foot-wide steel-cased shaft

in an effort to finally solve
the Oak Island mystery.

The presence of air
trapped underground

at relatively shallow depths

indicates some
sort of cavity, cavern.

Something that can trap air.

So, that's kind of
what we're looking for.

We're getting loose already.

I wonder if it's gonna
be loose enough

for us to run into a
chamber or a cavern.

What it merits is

some delineation,
some more drilling

around this air pocket
to see what the heck it is.

Mother Nature's finest.

That's how loose
I want to see it.

Is that just indication
we're close to a chamber?

Well, if there's an opening,

that opening is
partially full of air,

partially full of water.

And that looseness
that's created

is gonna soften everything up

and make everything
all the more saturated

- and could lead to a chamber or a cavern.
- Okay.

Next two or three
cores will tell the tale.

All right. Continue on.

While the drilling operation
continues at the Money Pit...

There's the first spicy
meatball coming up.

Near the southern edge of
the triangle-shaped swamp...

- We should pull up some interesting stuff.
- Yeah.

We'll, uh, we'll get in there
with you and keep an eye out.

Metal detection
expert Gary Drayton

along with Rick and Marty's
nephews Peter and David Fornetti

search alongside heavy
equipment operator Billy Gerhardt

for important clues that may
lie buried in the muck and mud.

This is, like, the...

the main triangle of
activity in the swamp.

I'm hoping that Billy and
this long-range excavator

is the difference
this year in this area.

- Mm-hmm.
- And that's what we're doing.

Getting boggy with it.

Over the past several years,

while searching this
area, which is just west

of the potentially
ancient stone ship's wharf,

the team has discovered
compelling evidence

that the swamp was
not only man-made

but ingeniously designed

to hide something
of great importance

and possible value.

These include pieces
of wooden cargo barrels,

fragments of a ship

and even seismic data

that identified a
200-foot-long object

resembling the size and shape

of an ancient treasure galleon.

Every time we do dig,

we find things.

We found the stone road.

We found the stone path.

We're now digging in the
edge of the swamp road,

and we're finding artifacts.

We can start putting the
puzzle pieces together,

and hopefully, we'll
finally, once and for all,

understand what
happened in the swamp.

What've you got, Pete?

- Is that something?
- Oh, yeah.

Wow, that is spectacular.

Definitely an
unusual-shaped piece.

No idea what it is.

Perhaps part of a tabletop.

And look, you can see where
this has been beveled a little bit.

This was... Had a specific use.

You'd assume that something
like this would have been

maybe inside a ship.

- Yeah.
- Not part of an outside.

But very, very cool piece.

I love the shape.

There's a trapezoid piece
of wood from the swamp

that's absolutely, positively,
clearly shaped by human hands.

There's no doubt.

Who knows what it was,

but it might have been
from a bigger ship.

We need to test this thing.

I'm convinced something
happened here.

Something pretty big.

So, this is just another
piece that corroborates that.

Piece just came out of
the bucket there that's cut.

Oh, yeah, I see it.

Good eye, Billy.

Yeah, it's tough to
tell whether it's a piece

of planking. I...

If it was a barrel stave,

it would be more curved but...

Could have been
like an oar or a paddle.

- Part of an oar?
- Could it be connected

to ancient ship-related activity

and offer more evidence

that the swamp was
once an open harbor?

- Another one for the collection, for sure.
- Yeah.

Good eye, Billy.

We'll put it with the rest

- of the interesting wood.
- Sounds good.

Here we go. Next bucket up.

As the investigation
continues at the swamp...

How we doing?

Not bad. How you doing, Scott?

Back in the Money
Pit area, Craig Tester

and members of the team

are approaching
their target depth

of approximately 60
feet in Borehole A-13,

where they hope to encounter
a mysterious cavity or chamber.

Starting to look maroon-ish.

- Yeah.
- Anyway,

it's pretty... It's
maroon till, but...

where's our indication
of an open cavern?

Hey, Craig!

Might have it.

Hey, Craig! There it is.

- It's coming?
- I could see air coming out.

While drilling Borehole A-13

in the Money Pit area,

the team has just encountered

a burst of air at the surface,

offering evidence that they
have once again penetrated

a mysterious cavern or chamber

some 60 feet below ground.

It's almost like

there's a bladder
effect there or something

where you're
pushing the water in

and it's compressing the air.

When you break the rod,
it pushes it back out again.

- It shouldn't do that.
- Yeah.

Well, you can't compress air,

so maybe we got our
cavern, which is our bladder.

Yep.

We certainly have an interest

in the air bubble
phenomenon around Shaft 12

indicating the possibility

of an offset
chamber in that area.

But there was definitely air
coming out when I was threading

- on that last joint.
- Okay.

If it is and we confirm that,

that may be the beginning
point of all the features

that we see around
the C-1 cluster.

That's a phenomenon right there.

It's got to be a void.

I would keep going.

I mean, 'cause what's
in the core barrel

is probably more
important to us.

Just drive ahead till
you hit something hard.

Okay.

Is it possible

that the team has drilled

into an offset chamber connected
to the original Money Pit?

And if so, could they have
finally pinpointed the source

of the silver and gold they
detected earlier this year

in the so-called C-1 cluster?

- 78, two.
- Oh, really?

- It's going in?
- Yeah.

- Going... Oh, going
in there? Okay. Yeah.

Empirical data like this
is what's gonna drive us

to the Bravo Tango call

where we succeed,
where we are completely

and utterly successful
in understanding

who, what, when, where,
why about the Money Pit.

Here it comes.

82.

Bottom is at 82.

Well, we got some fairly
dense material at the bottom.

- I see that.
- But a lot of slush and murk

up here in our recovery.

I don't think that
anything can open this up

in a natural sense.
This has to be people

with a will to dig
and open up a space.

Oh!

There we go.

Ladies and gentlemen,

what the heck?

Here's another one right here.

It almost looks like grass.

Maybe eelgrass or
something washing in.

Eelgrass?

Found in the mysterious void
some 60 feet underground?

Back in 1850,

when members of
the Truro Company

discovered the five stone
box drains at Smith's Cove

which converged into
a single flood tunnel

leading toward the Money Pit,

they found the drains covered
by layers of coconut fiber

and eelgrass.

These durable, organic materials

worked as a natural
filtration system

to keep sand and
debris out of the drains.

Is it possible

that the mysterious void
the team encountered

was not the long-sought
treasure chamber

but instead a flood tunnel
ingeniously designed

to protect it?

There is no aquifer at 55 feet.

We hit some sort
of loose material

that carried air,
and it wasn't cribbed.

That sort of sounds
like a flood tunnel to me.

Baffling, that's for sure.

Baffling all the way
around, no question.

Although the team
is disappointed

with the results
of Borehole A-13,

the fact that they
have already detected

treasure in this area

and may have just
encountered a flood tunnel

gives them hope that
they could still be close

to the ultimate breakthrough.

You know, we're not
done exploring the area,

but I think, you know,
we need to keep digging.

- See what else is there.
- Sounds good to me.

Let's get going.

The following morning...

Yeah, baby.

While the drilling operation

in the Money Pit continues...

- I think today's gonna be good, mate.
- No doubt.

At the southern edge

of the triangle-shaped swamp,

heavy equipment
operator Billy Gerhardt,

metal detection
expert Gary Drayton

and treasure hunter Michael John

continue their
search for more clues

and hopefully valuables.

All right, Billy.

We'll get stuck in,
mate. We'll keep our eyes

and the metal
detector to the ground

- and see what we pull up.
- Yep.

- All right, mate.
- Good luck.

Here. What we got here?

What's that?

- Ooh, yeah. Look at that.
- Wow.

- That is definitely shaped.
- Yeah. No doubt.

And I don't think
it's a barrel stave.

The heck is it?

To me, it looks like
probably a-a piece of oar

- or a paddle or something.
- Yeah.

Another piece of a possible oar?

Could this artifact

and the similar object found
one day ago be connected

to the ship-related discoveries

- the team has recovered in the swamp?
- We recover

a wide variety of pieces
of wood out of the swamp.

Are we getting closer to
finding that ship in the swamp?

One thing for sure,

it's definitely been
shaped by man.

- Does it taper?
- Yeah, it tapers. - Yeah.

All right, mate. We'll
put this to one side

- and let you keep scooping, mate.
- Yep.

We have found a number

of what we believe
to be nautical items.

We could possibly
infer that there might be

or might have been at one
point a ship in the swamp.

It's hard to think that
it's mere coincidence.

That's a little bit of
dimensional lumber here.

Yeah.

Yeah, you see
those little scrapes

that are taken out? There's
a little concave area?

That means it was
cut with an adze.

Uh, to me, it looks
like it's a piece

- of, like, decking even.
- Yeah.

Another possible
piece of ship decking?

And potentially
shaped by an adze?

Oh, look at that.

- Four weeks ago...
- Is it an old adze?

- Could be.
- While searching Lot 4

on the western
side of the island,

Gary and Rick Lagina

discovered one of these
ancient cutting tools.

One that Carmen Legge dated

to between 1620 and 1740.

This looks like it was adze-cut.

Could that ancient tool

have been used to
shape this wooden object?

So, we've got the piece of
wood which was adze-cut,

- and we've also found the adze.
- We have... Yeah.

It's brilliant. You
know what, mate?

We got so many
fascinating pieces of wood

- out of this area. I'm gonna text Rick.
- Mm. Okay.

- Get Rick over here, check all this out.
- Check it out. Yeah.

I mean, this is getting
interesting now,

- isn't it?
- Yeah.

- Hey, guys. - Hey, Rick. How you doing, mate?
- How're you doing, Rick?

At the southern
edge of the swamp,

Rick Lagina arrives
after being alerted

to several new and
potentially important discoveries

and joins Gary Drayton,

Michael John and Billy
Gerhardt to search for more.

Because you're not dancing,

I'm assuming you haven't
found you-know-what.

No, mate. Unfortunately, I
haven't got a wood dance yet.

If I did,

it would be over some of these.

If you had a wood
dance, you'd be exhausted

- by now, Gary. Come on.
- Yeah. I'll show you want we found.

We found some really, really
interesting pieces of wood.

Check some of these out, mate.

This, to me, was one
of the-the cooler ones.

Almost looks like a piece
of decking or planking.

And look, you see that?

- Yeah.
- Almost like it had been hit

- by an adze.
- Yeah. Yeah.

- Yeah.
- And remember, mate, we found the adze

- on Lot 4.
- Yep.

This... I mean, it's heavy.

If you feel the heft of that,

- it's a hard wood by
the feel of it. Mm-hmm.

And then there's this one.

That's a little mystery object.

- Hey, Bill.
- Hey.

Look at all these.

It kind of looks like a
barrel stave to me with that.

Well, we thought barrel stave,

but even if it was a
top, it goes in so thin.

It's tapered like an oar.

You know an oar
is tapered like that?

Like a broken paddle.

Oh, a paddle.

Yeah, that could be.

Our only methodology
here is C-14 testing,

so I would suggest this one.

This one because
this is functional.

This was designed
to-to serve a purpose.

- Yeah.
- And this one,

this one because of
noticing the adze marks.

- Yeah.
- We have

such a quantity of wood
finds from the swamp.

As we look at the items
that have been found,

any piece of wood that
is obviously shaped,

whether there be dowels
or holes or saw marks,

it demands for us to
find a consulting expert

who can come in and tell us,

"This is important
for this reason."

The hope is that we

maybe not find the
reason why it was used

but really what is it

and why is it there?

I'm hoping,

Rick, that you guys can get

a shipbuilding expert.

Well, we do have a marine
archaeologist coming.

Dr. Spence.

World-renowned, world-class.

So, we're gonna do
exactly what you suggest:

round up all the
things that even have

a bit of suspicion that
they're maritime-related,

present them to him and
see what he has to say.

Excellent.

And this is the type of
stuff that hopefully will

lead us to some of those
round things that I like.

They've got to be here.

Yeah.

Keep it all, wash
it, catalog it.

- And then the only thing to do is keep going.
- Yeah. Okay.

Okay. Let's do it.

- The following morning...
- Did I tell you

that when we get close to
50, we got to give Craig a call?

- No, no, I heard that. Yeah.
- Just to be...

while the drilling operation

continues at the Money Pit...

So, gentlemen, we
welcome Dr. Lee Spence.

- Very esteemed in marine archaeological work.
- In the w*r room,

Rick, Marty, Craig and
other members of the team

are meeting with
underwater archaeologist

and author Dr. Lee Spence.

The reason for
Dr. Spence's visit

to the... to the w*r room,
of course, is these are

items that have been
found, uh, this year.

Now, they're not
necessarily nautical,

but we thought you
might like to take a look.

But before you get into that,

if you could just
tell Marty and Craig

a little bit about
your background?

Well, it's something...
something I've done all my life.

- I started finding shipwrecks when I was 12.
- Wow.

I became one of
the early pioneers

of modern underwater
archaeology.

And I say "modern
underwater archaeology"

'cause the first
underwater archaeology

that I'm aware of was
actually in the 1700s.

You describe yourself
as a marine archaeologist

more so than a treasure hunter.

Well, that's 'cause the
objective is the history.

I absolutely love history.

It's very real to me.

I think it's very important.

With a career that has so
far spanned six decades,

Dr. Spence has discovered
more than 100 shipwrecks,

including two American
Civil w*r vessels,

the SS Georgiana

and the HL Hunley,

a Confederate submarine
that was considered by experts

to be one of the key
underwater archaeological finds

of the 20th century.

His exploration
of sunken galleons

that dated to between
the 16th and 19th centuries

has produced more
than $50 million

in recovered
artifacts and treasure.

The reason why
Dr. Spence was invited here

was simply because he
has a lifetime of experience

diving on wrecks.

We've never had
that type of experience

to underwater archaeology

that Dr. Spence
brings to the table.

We have assembled here

what we think are the more
ship-like, I'm gonna say,

or more nautical things...
least to our untrained eye...

- that we pulled out of the swamp.
- Okay.

And we'd really
like your opinion.

And you could start
wherever you like.

Let me start with
this one right here.

You've got three holes here

that probably once had
nails going through them.

And I can think of...

Maybe at one point, there
was a board right here.

You have this curved edge
here like you would on a paddle,

and it's-it's starting to
make the curve back up.

So, it wouldn't have had to
have been much wider than this.

And they nailed this in,
attached a handle to it.

- That's likely a paddle, then.
- To make

a paddle.

Lee, take a look

at this one. This was,
uh, clearly a worked piece.

We did radio
carbon-date this one,

and the results are right there.

So, this came off the
swamp, found by Billy.

This is man-made.

And they came up with some
real interesting possibilities

as far as the dates go.

I find this amazing.

It dates between 1520 and 1674.

I'm impressed with it.

But does it cry "ship"?

It could easily
be part of a ship.

Very easily.

- Does it cry "ship"?
- It could easily be part of a ship.

Very easily.

In the w*r room,

world-renowned underwater
archaeologist Dr. Lee Spence

has just corroborated

that a piece of wood
planking recently found

by the Oak Island
team in the swamp

and which was carbon-dated
to the 16th century

could be part of a
large sailing vessel.

Such an early piece
that you're finding,

I think this was worked.

I'm sure you didn't find

the oldest piece of
worked wood on the island.

And yet look how
old this probably is.

- Right.
- Interesting.

- I'm impressed with it.
- So, it... Really,

to me, the most interesting item

- is right here.
- Yeah.

I think that could be,
like, a belaying pin.

If that's what it was,

it would be for a
very small sailboat

'cause you wouldn't
have big line on it,

and you would lace it
around to hold it in place.

Or it reminds me of a fid.

It can be spelled
P-H-I-D or F-I-D.

- Mm-hmm.
- One with this diameter

would be used for working

a real heavy rope.

You know, like anchor cable.

- Oh.
- Either way,

- it looks nautical to me.
- Okay.

That's what I was trying to ask.

What does it do to a rope?

For a fid, you're using
it to pry the line apart.

- You know how you have
the rope twisted? Mm-hmm.

And it's real tight,

and you take it, and
you stick it between,

and you separate the line

so you can stick
another piece in

- to splice it.
- I see.

If this was a fid...

and it... and it is rather large
at the end... it would've been

- a large line.
- Yes, it would be.

Yes, and I think
it's more likely a fid

- than it is a belaying pin.
- Mm-hmm.

Okay. Well, that's interesting.

When-when did it come into use?

About as long as
they've had rope.

So,

- thousands of years.
- Wow.

A possible fid? A tool designed

for maneuvering large
ropes on sailing vessels?

Could this artifact be connected

to the other
potential ship pieces

and the massive stone wharf
that were found in the swamp

and also help explain

the 200-foot-long
galleon-shaped anomaly

detected by seismic scanning

back in 2018?

This would've been
used on a big rope,

which implies big ship
visiting at some point.

- And to me, that's the
most likely. Mm-hmm.

The so-called fid...

I thought that was
very interesting

because that
instrument has been used

for a very, very long time.

What is a piece of
a sailing ship doing

in the swamp? I don't know.

I do know it's worth continuing
investigating this area.

- Now, let's see this.
- This one?

This was in the swamp

near swamp road,

and it was around ten feet deep.

When I look at this,

something that immediately
jumps to my mind...

Why is... Why does
it have these angles?

This piece is broken off here.

This is not a nice cut.

This is where it broke,

and so this probably
continued on down farther.

- Sure.
- I can also see

this as a step,

and you have a block
of wood down here,

and you're nailing the
remainder that's broken off here.

You're nailing it
in. At some point,

- this broke off.
- Broke. Mm-hmm.

And that would explain
why there are no nails.

- Yes, it would.
- Yeah.

Which of these would
you carbon-date?

I probably would do-do that,

but the bad thing about that

- is we really don't
know what it is. Mm-hmm.

But it's clearly worked by man,

so if it came back to 1200 AD,

- that would be meaningful.
- Yeah. Yeah.

It's certainly gratifying
that Dr. Spence feels

that several of the
items on the table

are nautical in appearance.

He says, "Yes, this could
be from a ship. This is even..."

I think he might have even
said "likely from a ship."

We need to test this
thing more, though,

because it could
have more information

based on what cultures did this.

We need to follow
this one a little bit.

Found it very interesting.

Well, Lee, look, thank you.
That was extremely informative.

It's a fresh impression

on things we just
didn't think about,

and that's always very valuable.

So, I thank you again
on behalf of the team.

Thank you for inviting me here.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

As Rick, Marty and Craig

finish their meeting
in the w*r room...

So, you ready to put
some coil to the soil, mate?

I'm ready. I'm ready.

Metal detection
expert Gary Drayton

and treasure hunter Michael John

arrive at Lot 32.

Different lot, different
treasure hunting prospects,

- mate. All the time.
- Yeah. Exactly.

They are eager to search

for new and hopefully
valuable clues and artifacts.

I expect there's
gonna be some signs...

- Yeah.
- Of wharf activity

- in this area.
- Yeah, that's right. Exactly. Yeah.

And this could be a
golden opportunity for us.

That's right.

What have we got here?

- Just one week ago...
- Look at the size of that.

Working with Marty Lagina,

Gary uncovered a large spike

that may date back
three centuries or more

and which blacksmithing
expert Carmen Legge believes

was used to anchor ships to
large boulders on the beach.

Oh.

And it was also on Lot 32

that, one year
ago, the team found

not only a large wharf spike

but also a lead cargo bag seal.

With there being a wharf here

and the artifacts we've
already recovered, mate,

- I want to know what they were unloading here.
- Yes.

And what connection this
area has to the Money Pit.

I got a good feeling about
this lot, especially having

- so many flags to go for.
- Yes.

- All right, mate. You ready to get stuck in?
- I'm ready.

Let's go for it.

We have made some
significant discoveries

on Lot 32. Uh, close
proximity to the ocean.

One could suggest or speculate

that people were in that area

carrying a load on
and onto a wharf.

If we find that they're
headed in a certain direction,

we can draw that line.

So, every little
clue is important.

Ah, mate. Another good
two-way repeatable signal.

- Oh, still in the hole, I believe.
- Yes, it is.

Unless it's on the edge.

Come, baby. Be in there.

Oh, look at how deep

- that is, mate. Yeah.
- That's deep. Yep.

Like I always tell you, Michael.

- Yeah.
- Deeper it is, the older it normally is.

- Well, mate, we'll see if we got it out.
- Sure.

You have got it
out. I did. Yeah.

There we go.

Oh, I always get excited
when you see this edge.

- You see that nice, round edge there, mate?
- Yes.

Is it a coin? Or is it a button?

- You see that nice, round edge there, mate?
- Yeah.

Is it a coin? Or is it a button?

- Let it be a coin.
- It's a coin,

- mate! It's a coin!
- Yes! Yes.

- Look at that.
- Oh, my gosh.

On Lot 32, just
west of the swamp,

metal detection
expert Gary Drayton

and treasure hunter Michael John

have just made a
potentially valuable discovery.

Now, I don't know how old, mate.

And it is always tempting

just to-to rub it,

- but we can't just in case we damage it.
- Yeah. No.

Get this to Kelly in the
archaeology trailer, mate.

He'll do his business on this.

- Mm-hmm.
- But why I'm excited

about this coin, mate. It
looks like an old British copper.

And it wasn't that long ago

when it was Rick, Marty,

uh, Dave and I.

We were on that ridge on
the other side of the swamp.

We pulled two coins
up. British coppers

- from the 1600s, mate.
- Yeah. Oh.

That's Charles II.

- Come on.
- Yeah, that's Charles. And I can see a carolus.

Four years ago

on Lot 16

in the same area where
the team has found evidence

of cargo being transported

between the swamp
and the Money Pit...

- That's way too early for people to be here.
- Gary,

along with Rick, Marty
and Dave Blankenship,

discovered two
17th-century British coins.

- It means something!
- That is fantastic.

This has been taking a dirt nap

for a very long time.

Although the team
has found evidence

dating as far back
as the 14th century

of both French and Portuguese
activity on Oak Island,

could this coin offer
possible evidence

that a British operation
to hide valuables here

took place sometime later?

Perhaps in the 17th century?

I can't believe how
thin the-the coin is, man.

Which is great for
us. The thinner it is,

- the more chance that it's an older coin.
- Yeah.

- Dang, mate. This is brilliant.
- Yeah.

Oh, fantastic.

- You can't b*at it.
- Yeah.

This is the reason
why Michael John and I

came back to Lot 32.

The chance

of holding a beautiful old
coin like this in our hands.

Uh, this has got
1700s written all over it,

and I'm fairly certain when
this coin is cleaned up,

there is gonna be a king on it.

Oh, beautiful. Love it.

You can't b*at it.

What a sloppy mess, eh?

While operations
continue at both the swamp

and the Money Pit area...

Every day could
be the day, Charles.

- Afternoon, guys.
- Hi, guys.

- Hello, guys.
- Rick and Marty Lagina,

along with their
partner, Craig Tester,

have gathered
members of the team

in the w*r room to
hear a scientific report

on two of their most
recent discoveries.

These two items that we
have here, both, I think,

we found quite interesting.

They were retrieved

from roughly ten feet
down in the swamp.

The first of these artifacts

was found one week ago

near the southern
edge of the swamp.

The second, discovered
in the same area this week,

was identified as possibly
being part of a ship

by renowned underwater
archaeologist Dr. Lee Spence.

Marty, you are well aware
of the items in front of us.

We have a little
one. It's the one

that Tom Nolan mentioned
had a rope burn on it.

Yeah. Yes, I'm quite aware. Yes.

And then we have
this trapezoidal piece

that we thought was very old,

and I think that was
really the impetus

for sending it in
for C-14 testing.

But we have those results,

and Dr. Spooner's
intrigued by them,

I believe. So, he's gonna
tell us what his thoughts are.

So, the swamp is critical.

Uh, as I've said so
many times before,

the swamp is a book.

Because every time we dig there,

there's something very
important that we might find out.

Not just about artifacts

but also about what's
gone on in the past.

You know, so, we have two
pieces in front of us. Two...

Two wood pieces that
I was very interested in

and because Billy found
them at significant depth.

So we know it's in an
early chapter in the book.

Um, both of them look
like nautical pieces to me.

And the trapezoidal piece there,

it dated out at,
uh, 1683 to 1735.

The trapezoidal
piece, it dated out

at 1683 to 1735.

In the Oak Island w*r room,

geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner

is presenting a carbon-14
report on two wooden artifacts

recently found in the swamp

that he believes could be
parts of an ancient sailing vessel.

- Let's stop on that one for a minute...
- Yeah.

'cause I just want to say
something with that piece.

We looked at that
with Dr. Spence

in a... in a w*r room,

and it reminded me of something.

So Scott and I
took a-a road trip,

and we went to the Maritime
Museum of the Atlantic.

And this is what
it reminded me of.

It's one of the longboats

that you would bring
provisions and whatnot in

from a bigger ship to shore.

And inside that

is this.

It's like a bulkhead.

- Bulkheads of the boat.
- Yep.

That's what I think that is.

- Yeah, I'd agree 100%.
- So, that makes it really interesting

- because it is something nautical...
- Right.

In our swamp. Or-or
it would appear to be.

So, does that mean
that people are bringing

small boats into the swamp?

This may lend

a little bit more credibility

to that story.

A fragment of a bulkhead

or cargo hold from a
small sailing vessel?

And dating back
to as early as 1683?

During the colonial period

between the late 15th
and 18th centuries,

massive sailing vessels

that were too big to
be docked at shore

were often anchored
in deeper waters

as smaller boats were utilized

to carry cargo to
shipping wharfs.

Since the team has
unearthed the stone wharf

in the southeast
corner of the swamp,

could Doug and
Dr. Spooner be correct

that this artifact is evidence

of such an operation
being conducted

in the 17th century
on Oak Island?

The dates that seem to be
relevant more and more are

mid-1600s to the late 1600s.

Human beings were at
that level doing some work,

some endeavor to hide something,

save something, store something.

I believe we must continue
to do the work necessary

to come to a further
understanding

of what the swamp can tell us

in terms of what the original
depositional work was.

How about the other one?

The second sample, I've
never seen that before.

I don't know what it is.

- But there's a rope burn on it.
- Yeah.

- Mm-hmm.
- So, again, we have

dates that range
from 1680 to 1740.

Hmm. Interesting.

I'd say that those two
are very, very similar age

but pre-searcher.

Oh, absolutely.

So, that's sort of
where my story ends.

The swamp is still a
very important place.

I know we've done a lot
of looking and searching,

but there's still areas that we
haven't really touched too much.

Well, for my part, the
dates are wonderful.

They raise all
kinds of possibilities.

And, okay, there
was a lot of activity

between 1680 and 1750.

Well, who were those people?

Were they here looking
for something themselves?

Or were they depositing,

which would be more exciting?

The swamp is more of a
mystery than it's ever been.

We found all kinds of
things that seem out of place

and several pieces of wood

that could have
been used on a ship.

Now we have hard science

from many different
methodologies

that something significant
happened here in the late 1600s.

The swamp continues,
really, to be enigmatic

and a real puzzle.

How about you, Rick?

Mine is simply this:

that, you know, you're
always looking for science

to provide overlap information,

and I think we
have it here today.

I think these dates are

interesting
evidence of activity,

- but I-I want to know the why, obviously.
- I do, too.

So, that's where I'm at.

But we have to take every lesson

we learn in this room
and apply it out back,

you know, with
the eyes and boots.

This has been very informative
and-and, uh, and enlightening,

so we appreciate it, certainly.

Good.

- Works for me.
- Okay.

- See you later.
- See you the next time.

At the close of
another incredible week,

Rick, Marty, Craig
and their team

have more scientific evidence

that something of great
importance took place

on Oak Island long before
the discovery of the Money Pit.

But perhaps more importantly,

they have evidence
that something

so valuable was brought here,

it inspired the
creation of a swamp

to hide the evidence

and a burial site so
ingeniously engineered

that it has eluded seekers
for more than two centuries.

The question now is

how much longer
can it elude Rick,

Marty and the
Fellowship of the Dig?

Next time on The
Curse of Oak Island...

- Today could be the day.
- We got a core.

Oh, man. That's cool.

Were there certain boxes
that would have that type

- of sheeting on it?
- Only for valuables.

- Gary, what do you make of this?
- Oh, yeah.

We're looking for a ship.
That's the type of find

- you want to be pulling up.
- We know

that Phips found silver
on the Concepción,

and I believe

some of the treasure
from the Concepción

- was secreted to Oak Island.
- Wow.

That is remarkable.