12x08 - A Bead on the Target

[bunniefuu]

NARRATOR: Tonight on
The Curse of Oak Island...

RICK: We're now gonna move
to the swamp.

- See this log here?
- Yeah.

IAN: Somebody built this
with purpose.

RICK:
What in the heck is going on?

I think I found
something kind of cool.

No way, Moya.

We came across
a really interesting artifact.

It's Venetian.

So that feature is much older

- than we thought.
- Yeah.

- We got wood.
- Wow.

I think we have found
the Money Pit.

- That's amazing.
- It's all coming together.

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,

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 died

trying to solve the mystery.

And according to legend,
one more will have to die

before the treasure
can be found.

♪ ♪

CHARLES: Here we go.

Let's do it.

You know, we've done a
lot of survey work out here.

We've done a
lot of drilling trying

to just figure out what's
going on underground.

This is one of the few
boreholes where we get to say

that there's a potential
for treasure coming up, uh,

- without it being an accident.
- Yep.

NARRATOR: It is the start
of a potentially significant day

on Oak Island for brothers
Rick and Marty Lagina

and their team, as the answers

to a 230-year-old mystery,

as well as a vast
cache of treasure

may finally be
within their reach.

So today we've
moved a little north

of where we've been
drilling, uh, D.25-6.75.

And the goal today
is to hopefully slide

into the wall where-where
the original Money Pit was,

and go all the way
down to 150 feet

- where we're hoping to find the vault.
- ALEX: Okay.

And the tunnel that
we hit last time is at...

It is at 109 to 117.

We could be very, very
close to the original Money Pit.

NARRATOR: One week ago, the team

drilled a borehole
known as E.75-5.6

in a region of the
fabled Money Pit area

where new groundwater tests have

identified high traces of gold

more than 100 feet deep.

This could be the bottom
of our tunnel right there.

NARRATOR: Incredibly,
as the coring drill reached

a depth of 109 feet...

There's a core.

It penetrated
what appeared to be

a mysterious
nine-foot-high tunnel.

TERRY: Okay, we got
a little bit of wood here.

- Oh, we got wood!
- Huge wood.

- Whoa, whoa, whoa! Absolutely.
- We got a lot of wood.

NARRATOR: But as
the team drilled deeper,

reaching a depth
of over 150 feet,

they may have encountered
something that has remained

one of the greatest Oak Island
legends for more than a century.

It looks like we have
two small beams

sandwiching a very large beam.

CRAIG: To me, this sounds like

the Chappell Vault.

NARRATOR: In 1897,

treasure hunters Frederick
Blair and William Chappell

drilled through a reported
seven-foot-high wooden chest

at a depth of 153 feet.

When they
extracted their drill bit,

they were astonished
to find it covered

with small flecks of gold,

as well as a tiny
piece of parchment

bearing the letters "VI."

Primary target today is a vault

at 155 plus or minus five feet.

Yeah.

NARRATOR: Today,

the team is drilling
borehole D.25-6.75,

located just a few
feet to the northeast

to confirm the existence
of the mysterious tunnel

at 109 feet deep,

and the Chappell Vault below
that, some 155 feet underground.

If successful,

they will install a
massive steel caisson

in order to retrieve
the legendary treasure.

RICK: The historical
narrative indicates

that there might be a vault

within this horizon, 150 to 160.

We have retrieved
wood from this depth,

so, there's every hope
that we will find a structure.

I think, the hope
today, Alex, is to...

to hit the vault, pull
up a coin, a jewel,

and then you can go
and put that in Rick's hand.

Fingers crossed on that.

So that's exciting.
Let's get going.

CHARLES: Here we go.

NARRATOR: As the core
drilling operation proceeds

in the Money Pit...

RICK: It's a pleasure
to see a full w*r room.

Because lately, we've been
extremely busy, all of us,

doing a bunch
of different things.

NARRATOR: Alex Lagina
and Steve Guptill join Rick,

Marty, Craig Tester

and other members of
the team in the w*r room

to discuss another
critical search operation

that they are about to begin.

We went scouting
today in the swamp, and

I don't know about anybody
else, but I smell swampish.

-[laughter] -And I'm
sure Marty misses that.

I'm certain of it.

- I do.
- So, at this point in time,

we're now going to move
the large-scale efforts

to the swamp,
because there's a lot

of opportunities
there yet, even after

all these years.

NARRATOR: For
more than a decade,

Rick, Marty and the team
have been investigating

the mysterious,
triangle-shaped swamp

based on the research
and past discoveries

of the late landowner and
treasure hunter Fred Nolan.

After unearthing potentially
ancient survey stakes

and pieces of a
large sailing vessel

in the brackish bog
back in the late 1960s,

Fred came to believe

that the swamp
was artificially made

in order to hide important clues

and possibly, valuables.

- This is really cool.
- It's impressive.

This is mondo cool, isn't it?

NARRATOR: And in recent
years, the team has uncovered

numerous artifacts and
structures in the swamp

that suggest Fred
may have been correct.

These discoveries include

a potentially


in the southeast corner,

an adjacent cobblestone pathway

that leads up toward
the northern border

and a massive,
stone-paved feature

near the center of the swamp

that geoscientist
Dr. Ian Spooner

has carbon-dated to
approximately 1200 AD.

Let's start by getting Steve
to bring up the permitted areas

that we applied for this year.

So we started off this
winter making plans

of what we wanted to
accomplish this year.

We have come up with four areas.

Permit area one to four, and

- let's start in permit area one?
- Sure.

SCOTT: Down in
the southeast corner,

we have the stone road.

We want to get back into that

and do some more work in there.

We go further up,

we have permit area two.

We have the paved area.

Hopefully, find an artifact
or something, and, you know,

get a real answer on who
may have built that feature.

Permit area three.

That includes the stone path,

which Rick is eager
to get back and do.

He loves being on his
hands and knees in the muck.

[laughter]

SCOTT: So, the
fourth permitted area

is what we call the north bog.

That's on the north
side of Tom's road,

and I know Tom is
eager to get in there

- and see what he can find.
- RICK: Yeah. 100%.

TOM: So, we've been
pumping the swamp now

for about two weeks.

You know, we've
managed to dry up the...

the northernmost part of it.

Once we can get in there,

we can start taking off
some of the surface cover,

getting down to what
hasn't been seen before.

SCOTT: Yeah. There's
a lot of work to be done,

but I'm confident we can do it.

We'll-we'll get it done.

MARTY: If I could just suggest
something for discussion.

Since the most underexplored
area is in something

my big brother's
been wanting to do,

oh, forever, is
north of the road,

what about starting there
and then coming back to this?

'Cause what I hear

is everything is dry,
everything looks good.

- Yeah.
- I, for one, would be

most disappointed if we
somehow didn't get to that.

Mm-hmm. There might
be a real "aha" there.

To me, the northern end of
the bog contains some secrets.

It's something that we
should devote time and energy

and resources to, to see
if something is still there.

I mean, it's a big area.
It's gonna take a lot of work.

It's gonna take a lot
of eyes on the target.

MARTY: All right, look,
this is exciting stuff.

Uh, I'd never thought
I'd say it, but I do want

to get out there and
see and feel and smell,

- along with you guys.
- [laughter]

So...

I think it's time to quit
talking and get after it, right?

When can we start?

As soon as we go
outside, we'll go at it.

- [laughter]
- Great!

Okay, I'm all excited
to get into the swamp.

JACK: Yeah. Let's go get dirty.

NARRATOR: Later
that afternoon...

TEDFORD: I think she's going in.

NARRATOR: while
the core-drilling operation

continues in the
Money Pit area...

GARY: There's got
to be something here.

We're really close to the shore

in an area with
a lot of history,

- and we know there's been a lot of activity.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR: Rick,
his nephew Alex,

metal detection
expert Gary Drayton

and Billy Gerhardt prepare

to begin excavating near the
mysterious, cobblestone pathway

in the northern
region of the swamp.

Which side are you
going to put the spoils on?

Probably over this way, I think.

Okay, mate. We'll
get ready for 'em

and count all
those silver coins.

All right, get
ready for the spoils.

Smells like treasure.

ALEX: That's how you know
we haven't dug here before.

GARY: Yeah.

RICK: It's important to
understand the swamp.

And there are some answers
in there. I truly believe that.

I mean, how do you deny
that there are some sort of

answers there that
will affirm the fact

that this may have been a
multigenerational attempt

to hide something on Oak Island?

RICK: What's that board there?

GARY: Is that an
old plank, Rick?

It looks like it.

RICK: Yeah, it's been notched.

Notched out right here.

That does not have
the look of a new board.

NARRATOR: A hand-cut plank?

Could Rick have merely uncovered
a piece of discarded lumber?

Or could it be
part of yet another

previously unknown structure

that was hidden long
ago in the swamp?

It's old. It's not
dimensional lumber.

You might want to haul that
out later and take a look at it.

Hold up, Bill!

See this log here?

GARY: Yeah.

RICK: And then there's

a couple more here
running this way.

Big ones.

ALEX/GARY: Yeah.

RICK: So somebody was
out here doing something.

It's curious.

And these are some pretty
big logs to haul down here.

ALEX: And even just
a couple inches down,

- that could last a long time.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR: While
investigating the northern region

of the Oak Island swamp,

Rick Lagina has just
uncovered what appears to be

a large wooden structure.

Somebody was out
here doing something,

and they-they installed that

- right on the subsoil.
- GARY: Yeah.

- Well, let's keep looking.
- Yeah.

BILLY: Yep.

RICK: These logs are massive.

There's a strong hint that
there are certainly some answers

or at least some clues
at the bottom of that bog.

And...

if it is associated

or can be associated
with original work,

it's incredibly important.

- See right there?
- Mm-hmm.

- There's a bunch of big logs going this way.
- I see that log.

- Yeah.
- That we should reveal

and see if Tom remembers
his father building

- something like that.
- Yeah.

If he doesn't, then that makes
that all the more interesting.

ALEX: Right.

- It's possible that it's much older than we think.
- Yeah.

- This-this log structure that we're uncovering here.
- Yeah.

ALEX: There's the bottom.

[scraping]

Lot of rocks there.

Boulder under that wood there.

Stone in there,
in amongst the...

RICK: Yeah, I see that.

ALEX: This is a lot like the
cobbles from the paved area.

- Same kind of rock.
- Yeah, same kind of rock.

Which you don't
really see on the beach.

Yeah, I don't know.

NARRATOR: A layer of stones

similar to the paved area
near the middle of the swamp

and which is believed to date
back to as early as 1200 AD?

If so, could the team
have just uncovered

another key clue that
could help them solve

the 230-year-old mystery?

That's right at the
edge of the swamp.

They may even have
introduced material there

to try to build a platform.

Yeah, no, this is...

curious.

Things are built
upon other things.

So did the cobble
represent an older path,

an older structure?

There's all kinds

of possible explanations
for these two things,

and we need to slow down and
take a real good look at them.

It might be a
platform, but that's...

Tom would have an
idea of what his father did

- or did not build out here.
- ALEX: Right.

Small cobble rocks are
interesting because...

we have seen that
on the stone road.

We saw that on the stone path.

We need to try to understand

what that may or
may not represent.

It's quite a collection
of rock though.

- Yeah.
- What have we found?

Well, we don't know. There's
that log embedded north-south.

And then there's some big
timbers running east-west.

Appears to be on top of it.

Right, and then also in
the corner down there,

there's all those rocks
on top of each other.

No material in between 'em.

I remember when Dr. Spooner
looked at the paved area,

he said that's not
common in nature.

I mean, there's a
lot of questions here.

Let's stand down and figure
out a way to-to take advantage

of what-what we might be seeing.

But first we need to
see what Tom says.

So...

Okay.

Let's, uh, stand down for now.

Stand down for now.

- But there's other work to do.
- BILLY: Yep.

NARRATOR: While the
investigation continues in the swamp...

over near the
shoreline of Lot 5,

on the western
side of the island...

FIONA: If you start finding
any artifacts or anything,

will you tell me?
'Cause I'm curious.

- Okay.
- Archaeologist Fiona Steele,

Jack Begley and other
members of the team

continue their investigation
of a large stone foundation.

A foundation where they have
made compelling discoveries

that include
Venetian trade beads

that may date back
to the 16th century,

a mortar-like substance
that matches soil samples

collected from over 100 feet
deep in the Money Pit area,

and several iron artifacts

that have been scientifically
linked to Sir William Phips,

the 17th-century English
politician and treasure hunter

who some believe buried a large
cache of Spanish gold and silver

in the Money Pit back in 1687.

-[scraping] -Well, it
certainly is the gravelly layer.

MARTY: We have a connection
through the soil chemistry of the Money Pit

and the construction
over on Lot 5.

I want to find something
that really helps us explain

what went on here.

RICK: It certainly suggests
that, uh, efforts made

by whoever inhabited Lot 5

had something to do with...

perhaps the construction
of the Money Pit.

MARTY: We're hoping
that Lot 5 helps us solve

the whole mystery here.

Oh.

Hey, Helen, Jack,

I think I found
something kind of cool.

What is it?

- I think it's a bead.
- HELEN: A bead?

- No way, Moya.
- Yeah.

And it's smaller than
the ones from last year.

HELEN: Oh, my
heavens, it's tiny.

- MOYA: Yeah.
- Wow.

The red's a very stark color

- against the...
- Let me see it.

Dirt.

HELEN: Look at it.

JACK: Do you think that could be

another Venetian bead?

HELEN: We need
to get it cleaned up

and have a really
good look at it.

JACK: Great find, Moya.

That's the third
bead that we've found

- on this lot.
- Yeah. And the other two were white.

- Remember, they were the Venetian glass with the stripes.
- With the red

- and the blue stripes, yeah.
- Yeah.

And this one is a solid red.

NARRATOR: A
possible Venetian bead?

In 1470,

specialized glass bead jewelry
was created in Venice, Italy,

and soon became a highly
valuable form of barter currency

along trade routes
throughout Europe, Asia,

and ultimately North America.

In 2023,

the Oak Island
team was astonished

when they discovered
two Venetian beads

in the round feature on Lot 5.

Laird, want to come and
see what Moya's just found?

NARRATOR: If they have indeed
discovered a third Venetian bead,

could it offer more evidence
that this feature was created

in order to hide valuables?

And if so, just what
else might they find

as they continue to dig?

Wow.

HELEN: Yeah.

LAIRD: Looks like
two colors, glass.

MOYA: Yeah. Looks like

- there's, like, a black ring on the inside.
- LAIRD: Yeah.

So it's either part
of the firing process

- or it's different glass in the interior.
- Mm-hmm.

But that looks to be a
Venetian bead to me.

Yeah. The other two we found

weren't too far from
where we're at right now.

LAIRD: The presence of
beads in the round feature

on Lot 5 can be a
really important find.

We're finding enough
artifacts that are...

enigmatic and intriguing.

Hopefully we'll find the
answer to what it was used for

and who was using it.

Perhaps the XRF will tell us

- and compare the beads.
- Mm-hmm. -HELEN: Yeah.

That'd be cool. Right?

- Good job.
- MOYA: Thank you.

HELEN: Fantastic
find of the day.

NARRATOR: As a new
day begins on Oak Island...

STEVE: If he can stay straight,
it's gonna be a good day.

NARRATOR: while the
core-drilling operation proceeds

in the Money Pit area...

- ALEX: Hey, Billy.
- Hey.

I brought reinforcements.

Well, I think we need
'em, by the looks of that.

Rick Lagina and fellow
landowner Tom Nolan

join other members of the team

in the northern
region of the swamp.

That long beam is the
first thing we exposed.

NARRATOR: Rick is
eager to have Tom examine

the mysterious wood
and stone feature

that was uncovered
just one day ago.

RICK: It's at least 14
feet, I would guess.

We never really found that end,

and we never
really found this end.

It's underneath a
substantial root structure.

TOM: I don't think

it was done by
us, uh, or my dad.

You know, to get
those size logs out here

is quite a... quite a job.

You know, uh,

I can't imagine how
somebody really did.

- RICK: Mm-hmm.
- BILLY: The other thing is

we got rocks in a row
underneath you here.

TOM: Yeah, that's
almost a perfect line.

BILLY: Yeah.

RICK: If you're saying
that probably not your dad's

and that he didn't know of it,

then it makes it
certainly very interesting.

NARRATOR: Now
that Tom has confirmed

that his late father Fred
Nolan did not build this feature

during his extensive
investigations in the swamp,

the burning questions
that remain are who did,

why, and might it be
another critical discovery

that will help the team finally
solve the Oak Island mystery?

Want me to take
a little off this end

so you can try to
find the end, or...?

Okay, but let's be
patient with the dig.

TOM: If you see anything here

beyond what we're
seeing here, call me.

- I'll come back.
- Okey doke.

Good luck, and we'll
see you guys in a bit.

- Thank you.
- [overlapping chatter]

RICK: There might be
something significant here,

so we need to go
slow, approach it

from an investigative process

and an intellectual process,

meaning, what is
the purpose of it.

[clanging]

- You can hear clanging on rocks.
- Mm-hmm.

RICK: Right now, there's...

Just in this little
area, there's one,

two, three, four,
five, maybe six logs,

just from here to here.

- Half a dozen more over there.
- ALEX: Yeah.

RICK: So, the hope is,

Billy just exposes it.

We may be able to see how
long and how big this thing is.

- Right, Billy?
- Yup.

RICK: It's very
apparent from the first log

we uncovered is that

it's well made.

Right here.

RICK: That's not
a small log there.

What in the heck is going on?

There are two parts
of the construction.

There are what I
call the "carry logs."

They are the support
of the structure.

And then there are what
I call the "platform logs,"

which sit on top
of the carry logs.

And there are
multiples of those.

There's one here,
running this way,

and there's another one
there, running that way.

And it was Alex who
noticed the cobbles

at the bottom of the dig.

An intentional layer of cobble
laid down for some purpose.

I don't know its relevance

to furthering our
understanding of the mystery,

but it's definitely quite large.

- This is a mystery.
- GARY: Yeah.

- RICK: And its massive.
- Yeah.

I mean, this would carry

a tremendous amount of weight.

LAIRD: I think you're right.

What do you make of it, Laird?

It's odd.

- RICK: That's not sufficient.
- [laughs]

LAIRD: We have
enough for Dr. Spooner

to make a pretty good
evaluation right now.

- ALEX: Yeah.
- LAIRD: I think

we get Dr. Spooner in, and

he can take these organic
samples that we can date.

This is unique.

But Dr. Spooner can maybe tell
us exactly what happened here

and what progression of time.

So, we're done for the day.

It was a cool day, though.

- Interesting day.
- Oh, yeah. -Yeah.

GARY: A new
discovery on Oak Island.

It's a great day.

NARRATOR: Later
that afternoon...

CHARLES: We have a core!

NARRATOR: in
the Money Pit area...

Maybe this will be 99.

Is this the core of interest?

CHARLES: It is.

NARRATOR: Charles Barkhouse,

Steve Guptill and
Jillian Parsons

continue monitoring the drilling

of borehole D.25-6.75.

- What do you got, Steve?
- 99.



NARRATOR: A borehole
that the team hopes

may be on course to pinpoint
the legendary Chappell Vault

and the source
of precious metals

that have been detected
below a depth of 100 feet.

STEVE: I thought we had
wood. We do have wood.

JILLIAN: How does it look?

- Oh, good.
- Yeah, we got wood.

JILLIAN: I mean, we
have wood here, here.

STEVE: Yeah.

- JILLIAN: There's a big piece of wood there.
- CHARLES: Ooh.

CHARLES: These are
some of the biggest pieces

- we've found in this borehole.
- STEVE: In this borehole,

and in particular, when we've
been looking for the Money Pit.

CHARLES: Yeah. I mean,
finding wood at this depth,

- in this hole, is amazing.
- STEVE: Yup.

We're in the right depth for the
original level of the Money Pit.

CHARLES: Finding wood at
this depth, in this hole, is amazing.

Well, you know what?
We're in the right depth

for the original level
of the Money Pit.

NARRATOR: It is a surprising

and thrilling moment
in the Money Pit area

for members of the
Oak Island team.

CHARLES: That's a good sign.

NARRATOR: Although
they were hoping to encounter

a mysterious tunnel
at a depth of 109 feet

in borehole D.25-6.75,
they have just encountered

a different wooden structure
at a depth of just 100 feet.

STEVE: You know
what that reminds me of?

- This borehole is close to caisson T-1.
- Yeah.

There's a reason we
keep drilling around T-1,

which is an old
caisson... it's from 2016.

You know, it's some
of the oldest wood

- we've ever found in the Money Pit.
- Yeah.

It dates back to the late 1600s.

Yeah.

RICK: X marks the spot.

T-1. Tester-1.

NARRATOR: In 2016, Rick,

Marty, Craig and the team

installed a 40-inch-wide
steel caisson

that was located less than five
feet to the south, known as T-1.

Although no treasure
vault was ultimately found

during that
excavation, at a depth

of 102 feet, a massive,
hand-cut timber was unearthed,

which was carbon-dated
to as early as 1670.

What if this is part
of the Money Pit?

We should actually take
that back sooner than later

- and get Emma testing it.
- CHARLES: Yeah.

NARRATOR: Is it possible

that the team has once
again found the same

potentially


which they believed could
be the original Money Pit,

less than five
feet north of T-1?

If so, could that mean

that they are now
finally on course

to pinpoint the
legendary treasure vault?

So, this is good news.

CHARLES: Very good news.

If this is the Money Pit,

then we got a good shot
at hitting the vault below.

Yeah.

- Hey, guys. -Hey, guys.
- Hey.

So I'm wondering if
you want me to push it

to at least till 150, right?

STEVE: Let's just keep on going.

- Okay.
- That's what we want, right?

That's the vault level, so
that's where we want to be.

Yeah. Okay.

RICK: The preponderance
of the evidence

is that the T-1 area is

the area of the
original Money Pit.

CHARLES: This one can go.

RICK: Based on the
water sample testing alone,

I think that the area
could be a possible

treasure location.

It's also the area
where the soils

from the Money Pit

have a significant
match to the clays found

in the Lot 5 feature.

So, for two reasons, this is
an area of significant interest.

So that wood that we
were holding in our hands...

that could have been part
of the original Money Pit?

Absolutely possible.

That's amazing.

We got another 50 feet,
and we're at target depth.

If there's a treasure
to be found, it's there.

NARRATOR: As the core
drilling operation advances deeper

in the Money Pit area...

MOYA: Thank you,
guys, for coming.

We've been working
down on Lot 5,

and we actually came across

a really interesting artifact.

NARRATOR: Rick Lagina

and other members of the team

meet in the Oak
Island laboratory,

regarding the small, but
potentially valuable bead

that was discovered
just one day ago

near the rounded
foundation on Lot 5.

ALEX: How the
heck did you find that?

I've been used to
finding, like, bricks

and red coarse earthenware,
so I kind of had an eye out

for, like, a red color,

- so I managed to find it.
- Mm-hmm.

But, yeah, it's tiny.

It's what we call a "seed
bead," for obvious reasons.

- I can see why, yeah.
- MOYA: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

- ALEX: Are they pretty durable?
- LAIRD: Yes.

- ALEX: They are?
- LAIRD: Mm-hmm. Yup.

They'll come out of
the ground looking like

- they just... they're brand-new.
- Mm-hmm.

So, it could have been
around for a long time?

Yeah. We have
the circular feature.

It was found in the
southwest exterior.

So this is coming from the yard.

- Hmm.
- Not from the fill.

So in terms of
context, this is coming

- from a much better context.
- Is it Venetian?

We did find two Venetian
glass beads last year

so I did run a
compositional comparison.

NARRATOR: Prior
to their meeting,

archaeometallurgist
Emma Culligan

scanned the small glass bead

using the X-ray fluorescence
spectrometer, or XRF,

a device that uses gamma
ray radiation in order

to not only identify
the elements

that make up an
object's composition,

but potentially help
determine when it was created.

EMMA: So, here are the Venetian

glass beads that
we found last year,

and it's in the same kind
of cluster, compositionally.

And that one is also
matching with the coloring

from last year's beads.

So, all in all,

it's coming from
a similar batch.

But it is, yes.
It's-it's Venetian.

So, for the red coloring.

So there's no selenium, no gold,

but there is copper, and
I think that is an indicator

that the red colorant is...

early 1700s and before that.

-Oh. -So early 1700s

- into the 1600s.
- And pre. Yeah.

That's pretty interesting.

Oh, pre... pre-Money Pit.

- Yeah.
- Mm-hmm.

Bingo.

That's fantastic.

EMMA: The red
colorant is early 1700s

and before that.

- Pre-Money Pit. -Yeah.
- Mm-hmm.

NARRATOR: In the
Oak Island laboratory,

Laird Niven and Emma Culligan
have just informed Rick Lagina

and other members of the team

that the glass bead
found one day ago

near the rounded
stone feature on Lot 5

is, in fact, the third
piece of Venetian jewelry

that they have
discovered in the area,

and may predate the
discovery of the Money Pit

by more than a century.

RICK: So how do we
explain that being there?

They could have
been trading from there.

This is another
piece of evidence

that dates from the
mid-1700s into the 1600s.

So it's kind of reinforcing
my gut feeling that we have

an earlier structure on-site

that was repurposed
at a later date.

JACK: And the 1600s date

- lines up with some of the wood we found in the Money Pit.
- ALEX: Yeah.

NARRATOR: Is it possible that the team
has now found more evidence on Lot 5

suggesting a connection
between the rounded feature

and the Money Pit?

Could that explain why
the team has uncovered

a mortar-like
material in the feature

that matches soils collected
from more than 100 feet deep

in the Money Pit area?

And if so, could that help
explain the wooden timbers

that were recovered in the
T-1 caisson back in 2016

that were dated to 1670?

Lot 5 is starting to play
a pretty significant role,

both in terms of the story
and perhaps the treasure

or the remnants of the treasure.

There's lots of evidence
of people being here

way before people from Europe
were supposed to be here.

So I want to keep investigating.

RICK: It surely gives us a clue

that corroborates your
intuition that that feature

is much older than the
current inventory of artifacts

- are telling. So...
- LAIRD/ALEX: Yeah.

Moya, congratulations.

- I would not have found that.
- Thank you.

- RICK: Thank you very much. Very interesting.
- LAIRD: All right.

NARRATOR: As Rick Lagina
concludes the meeting in the lab...

CHARLES: We have a core.

Back in the Money Pit area...

What do we got, Leighton?

That's 159.

Members of the team
anxiously monitor the progress

of the core-drilling operation
in borehole D.25-6.75,

which has now reached
a depth of nearly 160 feet,

the target depth where
they are hoping to encounter

more evidence of the
fabled Chappell Vault.

Here you are.

CHARLES: Great, thank you.

JILLIAN: That's a
pretty stark transition.

Sand?

CHARLES: Yeah.

It's a lot of sand.

- Hey, Charles.
- Hey, Steve.

That's about as sandy as
you can get right there. Look.

You know, obviously
we have backfill here

- and we have it here.
- Yeah. Yeah. -Yeah.

CHARLES: But I'm
not seeing any wood.

STEVE: No.

That's the depth we
expected to see something.

But we didn't hit the vault.
So we might be sliding back

into the old caisson.

Yeah.

This hole is
ticking all the boxes

that there's something
deep down there.

Unfortunately, we
hit caisson backfill.

It was just...

extremely disappointing for us.

Frustrating.

STEVE: With this sonic
drill, we're getting pulled

- to the path of least resistance.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR: Just when the team
believed that they were on track

for a major breakthrough,

what they discovered
instead is gravel backfill

from one of their previously
excavated steel caissons.

This means that an
obstruction, such as a boulder,

diverted the coring
drill off course

and to the side of
its intended target,

which in this case may have
been the legendary treasure vault.

STEVE: We didn't get
to where we wanted to be,

which was a straight hole

- all the way to 160.
- Yeah.

We are in the right location.

We are just pulled
in the wrong direction.

Right. 100%.

RICK: It's a bit disconcerting
to have all these clues

and all this data

that strongly hint that
this area is significant

but not having made
a proper discovery.

I have hopes that if there
is something to be found,

it is within this general area.

You don't give up.

You follow it to the end.

We've got to find a way
to get back into that vault

- without getting pulled into a caisson.
- Yeah.

- STEVE: Let's all head back to the research center.
- Yeah.

JILLIAN: Okay.

NARRATOR: The
following morning...

RICK: Figure it out yet?

Almost.

[laughs]: Yeah. Okay.

I'm pretty sure it's not
supposed to look like this.

[laughs]

while members of the team

plot the next course of
action in the Money Pit area,

Rick Lagina and
geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner

join Rick's nephew Alex,

Gary Drayton, and Billy Gerhardt

in the northern
region of the swamp.

They are eager to
have Dr. Spooner assess

the recently uncovered
wooden structure

that sits atop a
layer of cobblestones.

You seen anything
like this before, Ian?

No. No, I haven't.

And, uh, I haven't
seen a platform like this.

I wonder how it extends
back towards land.

RICK: Well, these
are the platform logs.

But if you see here...

IAN: Oh, yeah. Yeah.

RICK: So there's this one

- and then there's that one.
- Yeah.

And it looks like it keeps
on going into land there.

It's almost like this is a...

- a ramp, right?
- Yes.

Yeah, this is a ramp. I
have no problem with that.

RICK: The-the amazing thing is

how big this structure is.

- Yeah.
- This was meant to carry extremely heavy loads

or to be very stable for
something very, very heavy.

If you just wanted
access out here,

you're not doing this.

You know, for me, it's...
This is built with purpose.

But to what end?

There's a lot going
on here. I mean...

I think I'm more interested
in what's going on down lower

than up top. You know,

why is everybody so
interested to get out to this point?

There's something right here
that somebody was chasing.

- That's what I would say.
- RICK: Strangely,

it seems to point towards
the Eye of the Swamp.

ALEX: Oh. Yeah.

We're only about 60
feet away from the Eye.

- Yeah. Yeah.
- So...

IAN: I know the Eye is
a human-built feature.

Yeah.

It's entirely plausible

those same people
built this feature here.

♪ ♪

IAN: The Eye's right
there, which we know was

a man-built feature.

It's entirely plausible

that this was part of that same
interest in this environment.

Right.

IAN: You just don't
do this kind of stuff.

NARRATOR: In the northern
region of the Oak Island swamp,

geoscientist Dr. Ian
Spooner has just suggested

that a newly uncovered
wooden structure

and cobblestone pathway...

RICK: I have no
clue what this is.

May be directly connected
to another man-made feature

known as the Eye of the Swamp.

BILLY: It's the first thing
that we ever have found

that points directly to
the Eye in a structure.

And we have Dr. Spooner
that did work in that.

His cores show industrial
activity way back.

MARTY: This is a very
puzzling feature here,

this Eye of the Swamp.

- ALEX: Mm-hmm.
- The All-Seeing Eye.

NARRATOR: In 2019,
the Oak Island team

investigated a mysterious
circular formation

in the triangle-shaped swamp

where vegetation
would never grow.

GARY: Wow. That is massive.

That's-that's a big boulder.

NARRATOR: Incredibly,
after draining the area

and discovering a man-made
formation of boulders,

they dubbed it "the
Eye of the Swamp"

due to its eerie resemblance
to the Masonic symbol

known as the All-Seeing Eye.

This is quite a
provocative site.

NARRATOR: And after
analyzing organic materials

within the feature,

Dr. Spooner presented the
team with astonishing data

about when it
was likely created.

I'm very confident we're
looking at 1680 to 1700

that that disturbance
took place.

Really interesting.

IAN: I just want to
take a look at the stone,

at the bottom of it.

NARRATOR: Is it possible
that this wooden ramp

and cobblestone feature were
constructed at the same time

as the Eye of the Swamp?

But if so, by who
and for what purpose?

This kind of stuff
always intrigues me.

- See that rock?
- RICK: Mm-hmm.

IAN: This little rock here

was wedged between this
piece of wood here and that rock.

ALEX: So if we date
that lowest piece of wood

that's sitting
right on the rocks,

we know that the
rocks were put there

before the age of
that piece of wood.

- Yeah.
- If this feature

is the same age as
the Eye of the Swamp,

that lines up with the
William Phips theory.

Right.

We know that Phips found
silver on the Concepción.

NARRATOR: Since 2021,

the team has been
investigating the theory

that the 17th-century
English treasure hunter

and politician Sir William Phips

and his Masonic associate
Captain Andrew Belcher

buried a vast cache of
treasure in the Money Pit.

In 1687,

at the direction of
the English crown,

Phips conducted two salvages

of the famed Spanish
treasure galleon

known as the Concepción...

which sank in a hurricane
near the Dominican Republic

in 1641.

In a controversy
that bewildered many,

Phips delivered less than half

of the 100 tons
of silver and gold

that were recorded
on the ship's manifest.

Now, after previously
finding iron tools

in the round feature on Lot 5

that have been
scientifically matched

to the birthplace
of William Phips,

could the so-called
Eye of the Swamp

and perhaps these two
additional man-made features

offer more compelling
evidence that this theory is true?

ALEX: I would just
send these out for dating.

- Oh, we're absolutely gonna do that.
- Yeah.

And some of these logs are

- sufficient size to facilitate that.
- ALEX/LAIRD: Yeah.

RICK: Whole area seems
to have some sort of reason.

If you're moving through a bog,

you-you would have to have
a platform from which to work.

If it were 1680
dates or thereabouts,

you know, certainly one
of the possible theories

might be a Phips connection.

So, we got a plan.

I think we just keep
pulling down this line.

Yeah. And we start
finding some metals

and some bobby-dazzlers
and top-pocket finds.

- ALEX: Yes.
- Hopefully.

There are still
answers down there.

Yeah.

NARRATOR: Whatever
may lie deep in the Money Pit,

perhaps within a
seven-foot-high vault,

remains elusive.

At least for now.

But as Rick, Marty, Craig, and
their team unearth more clues

all across Oak Island

and keep zeroing in on
the original treasure shaft,

just how much longer

can the answer to this


stay buried?

Next time on The
Curse of Oak Island...

- GARY: What is it?
- ALEX: These are bricks.

BILLY: That's looking
pretty structure-like to me.

- What a perfect place to hide something.
- Yeah.

- [beeping]
- Ooh!

That has got a good chance
of being gold.

We see the CT scan.

Oh, my gosh.

LAIRD:
Imagine my surprise

when I saw that.

TEDFORD:
As I was going down,

there's definitely
nothing solid there.

Like, totally open?

- Yeah.
- That sounds like a void.

TERRY:
It could be

the treasure chamber.