12x22 - Knight After Knight

[bunniefuu]

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

Oh, my goodness!
Oh, look at this!

Oh, it's beautiful!

- Oh, my heavens.
- Whoa!

MARTY:
Whoa!

- See right there?
- Yup.

MARTY:
That's massive.

That's been in there
a long, long time.

- Yeah.
- That could be another vault.

- CORJAN: Welcome to Malta.
- ALEX: Wow!

- Look at this.
- RICK: It's quite amazing.

It's just absolutely incredible.

RICK:
That's stunning.

EMILIANO:
Is this blueish clay?

SCOTT: Blue clay was
one of the keys in working

- in the Money Pit.
- ALEX: This is evidence of

what happened on Oak Island.

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.

♪

MARTY: Couple of
objectives here for this group.

And this is a perfect
group because

we're gonna talk
about the swamp.

And we got the
players right here.

NARRATOR: As another brisk,
fall day begins on Oak Island,

brothers Rick and Marty Lagina
and their team remain hopeful

that before another harsh
North Atlantic winter sets in,

they will be able to finally
solve a 230-year-old mystery.

I'd like this group
to kind of decide...

You know, we don't
have much time left.

What do we want to accomplish?

Rick is off in Malta right
now, but when he comes back,

it'd be nice to give
him a happy surprise.

NARRATOR: With search
activities currently on hold

in the Money Pit area

as representatives from SB
Canada and ROC Equipment

prepare the site for the
team's deepest excavation yet

in search of a fabled treasure,

Rick Lagina and other members
of the team have traveled

to the European nation of Malta

to investigate an
incredible theory--

...that numerous treasure
deposits were made on Oak Island

between the 12th
and 17th centuries

by the medieval order
of the Knights Templar

and a related group known
as the Knights of Malta.

And while Rick is away,

Marty and Craig
are leading the effort

to search for possible clues
and valuables across Oak Island,

with a focus on the
triangle-shaped swamp.

MARTY: So, what are we gonna do?

CRAIG: Well, the big thing
we're looking for in the swamp,

at this point in
time, is artifacts.

Something that can
say who or when.

I'd like a "why," too, Craig.

- Yeah.
- MARTY: All this weird digging

and manipulating in a swamp

for what reason?

CRAIG: The north
area is where we found

- the vault.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR: In recent years,

the team has been astonished

to uncover numerous
man-made structures

throughout the swamp,

including a massive paved
feature near the center,

which has been dated
to as early as 1200 AD,

and a stone road in
the southeast corner

that is believed to be as
much as 500 years old.

RICK: Doesn't that
look like a vault to you?

NARRATOR: And this year,
after uncovering sections

of a mysterious
cobblestone pathway

in the northern region
of the swamp, incredibly,

the team uncovered an empty

brick and slate
vault-like feature

that may be more
than 300 years old.

Rick thinks, you know,
that vault is just one of many.

And it sure could be.

So, we've got a big area
that we could explore yet.

Steve, can you show
where we expanded to?

STEVE: Okay.

That area there.

NARRATOR: Now, the
team will expand their search

into the main body of the swamp

with the hope that
even more important,

and potentially valuable
secrets are still waiting

to be revealed.

So, we did dig in here...

...all the way up to the road.

Now, we can expand
westward, and we can do

- everything north.
- JACK: Hmm.

STEVE: I've already
staked this out.

It's a huge area,

and so, there's a lot
of ground we can dig.

MARTY: The swamp--

as much effort as
we've expended there,

and as much material
as we've moved,

we still probably only
looked into about--

I don't know-- maybe 20 percent.

That leaves 80
percent unexplored.

So, there's plenty of
room for more mysteries.

You know, I know
big brother Rick

would certainly be delighted

if we uncover another
one of those vaults,

with a clue or something in it.

Which might also help us
to understand why it's there.

- Yeah.
- MARTY: All right.

Billy, ask me what time it is.

- What time is it?
- It's time to dig. - [laughter]

MARTY: Let's go.

NARRATOR: As Marty and
Craig conclude the meeting

in the w*r room on Oak Island...

...more than 4,000
miles to the east

on the island nation of Malta...

ALEX: Wow. Look at this.

- EMILIANO: What a beautiful day.
- ALEX: Unbelievable.

NARRATOR: ...Rick Lagina,
along with his nephews,

Alex Lagina and Peter Fornetti,

and other members of the team...

EMILIANO: Hey, Matthew.

- How are you?
- Good.

NARRATOR: ...have arrived
in the capital city of Valletta

to visit the historic site
known as Fort St. Elmo,

a 16th century
structure that was built

by members of the
Knights of Malta.

Welcome to Fort St. Elmo.

This is just one

of the many historical
fortifications of Malta.

But this one is a
symbol for Malta,

because it proves the
building skills of the Knights.

And that's why today we're
here with Matthew Balzan,

who's an archeologist,

specializing in
Hospitaller studies.

He's going to give
us valuable insights.

NARRATOR: In the 12th century,
the order of the Knights Templar

was established by
the Catholic Church

to defend Christian
interests in Jerusalem

during the holy wars,
known as the Crusades.

With the military
and medical support

of a related group--
the Knights Hospitaller--

who later became
the Knights of Malta,

the Templars waged
many successful campaigns

for nearly two centuries

and built fortified strongholds

throughout the Middle
East and Europe.

Some with elaborate tunnels
and underground water systems.

The order also grew
incredibly wealthy

by establishing a
sophisticated banking system,

and were rumored to
have found a number

of priceless
religious artifacts,

including the Holy Grail,

the golden menorah
from Solomon's Temple

and the Ark of the Covenant.

Treasures that some
researchers believe

the Templars began
secretly transporting

across the Atlantic
Ocean around 1200 AD

and buried them on Oak Island.

But then, in the early 1300s,

the Catholic church
and the king of France

suddenly persecuted and
dissolved the Knights Templar

on controversial
charges of heresy.

Many were imprisoned
and ex*cuted,

but much of their
remaining wealth

and rumored religious
treasures were never found.

It has been speculated

that these valuables
were transferred

to the Knights of Malta,
along with secret knowledge

about an established
vault on Oak Island.

And curiously, it is known

that the Knights of Malta
had a presence in Nova Scotia

as early as the 17th century.

We brought some artifacts
with us from Oak Island

that we'd like you to take
a look at, if you would.

Is there a place we can do that?

Excellent.

- Thank you. - Yeah?
- Yes.

- Sounds like a great idea.
- Follow you there.

NARRATOR: Now, in Malta,

Rick and members
of the team are hoping

to learn more information

about possible
connections to Oak Island

that might explain the
mysterious structures

in the swamp,

and artifacts they have found,

including the 14th century,

possibly Templar-related
lead cross,

a button with a
starburst design,

which may be connected
to the Knights of Malta,

and a pickax recovered from
deep in the Money Pit area,

which scientific
analysis has suggested

could be of European origin.

The reason for any of our
research trips have been

for one single purpose,

and that is to try to
come up with answers

regarding the Oak
Island mystery.

We believe that
there was a trail

to be followed here in Malta,

hopefully associated
with the Knights of Malta.

We have a pick that we found.

This was found in
our Money Pit area.

We put down a caisson,

and the name of the
caisson was RF-1.

And this was found below


EMILIANO: Wow.

EMILIANO: When the knights

arrived here in the 1500s,

that was already in use?

NARRATOR: In Valletta,
Malta, at Fort St. Elmo,

a stronghold built by
the Knights of Malta

in the 16th century,

historian Matthew
Balzan has just suggested

that a pickax

recovered six years ago
by the Oak Island team

from deep in the Money Pit area,

is the same kind of
tool that was once used

by the Knights of
Malta in the construction

of their elaborate
tunneling systems.

Would a tool like that
be used in limestone?

Did they make use
of clay as a resource

as part of the fortifications,
or anything else that they did?

Okay.

Oh.

DOUG: We've brought
lots of broken pottery out

- of the Money Pit area.
- Sure have. - Certainly have.

NARRATOR: When the Money
Pit was first excavated down

to a depth of 90 feet in 1804,

searchers reported finding a
heavy, man-made clay substance

that had been used as a sealant
to keep water out of the shaft.

Curiously, the team has
found not only heavy clay,

but also small
fragments of pottery

during their excavations
in the Money Pit area.

The depth that we
found this on the island,

that's the type of material
that's down in the Money Pit.

Quite similar.

NARRATOR: Is it possible

that those substances,
as well as this pickax,

could be evidence that might
connect the Knights of Malta

to the Oak Island mystery?

RICK: It's incredible.

The Knights of Malta--

they were craftsmen
extraordinaire,

just like the Knights Templar.

Both organizations built
incredibly complex structures.

Is there some overlap

that the construction
techniques learned

by one were exchanged
with the other?

It's hard to believe
that each arrived

at their unique
abilities and talents

without some sort of cooperation

and some sort of interaction.

You know, Matthew,
we want to say thank you.

It is only through help
from people like yourself

that will allow us to
move this story forward.

My pleasure having you.

- ALEX: Thank you.
- PETER: Thank you.

NARRATOR: While
Rick and the team

continue their
investigation in Malta...

...back on the western
side of Oak Island...

HELEN: We're still
getting stuff in here.

- That corner is basically done.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR: ...Helen Sheldon,

Moya MacDonald and other members

of the archeology team
are searching for clues

in a mysterious round feature

near the shoreline of Lot 5.

Ever since Rick,
Marty and the team

began excavating
this structure in 2022,

it has yielded a number
of important discoveries.

These include varied types of
stone constructs in the feature

that suggest it was
used as a campsite

by a number of groups
during different time periods.

A mortar-like
substance matching soils

from over 100 feet deep
in the Money Pit area,

and the so-called
starburst button,

which researcher Judi Rudebusch

has potentially connected
to the Knights of Malta.

Doing good today.

RICK: The
archeologists have made

some very interesting finds

that suggest there were
multiple people here.

So, are there
connections between Lot 5

and the original
depositional work?

I hope that we can

get to the point where
Lot 5 will reveal its secrets.

Oh, nice.

- Look at this.
- JILLIAN: Whoa.

Whoa! Whoa!

- JILLIAN: Oh, that's so pretty!
- Look at that!

JILLIAN: That's amazing!

That's a great find.

Hey, Helen, come look at this.

- HELEN: You found something?
- ETHAN: Yeah.

Check this out.

Oh, my heavens. Look at that.

- It's huge!
- It's huge, yeah.

HELEN: Wow.

- So, that's a slipware-like decoration.
- Okay.

So, it's glazed, and
they put the slip on it,

and then they would
trail an object through it

to make that wiggly pattern.

These coarse earthenwares--

they have a wide date range.

It falls well within,
like, mid to late 1700s.

- You can also find it earlier.
- Hmm.

But it didn't change
that much over time.

The interesting thing is,

over there in that
pit, that's where

the starburst or the
sunburst button came from.

- Oh, that's right.
- Yeah. - JILLIAN: Right.

- This area is actually quite interesting now, so...
- Mm.

NARRATOR: A piece
of earthenware pottery

that dates to the 18th
century or earlier?

Could it be connected

to whomever left the
starburst button in this feature?

And if so, could it
offer more evidence

that members of
the Knights of Malta

might be linked to the
Oak Island mystery?

- Nice. Very nice.
- Awesome.

- Yeah.
- I'll keep digging.

- HELEN: Keep digging.
- [Jillian and Ethan laugh]

NARRATOR: As the archeology
team continues their investigation

on Lot 5...

GARY: Hey, Billy!

What is the plan?

We're gonna keep going
in this general direction?

We'll take slices
this way 'cause

we found the vault
right over there, and

we've never really
explored around here.

NARRATOR: ...Gary Drayton,

Billy Gerhardt, Steve Guptill

and Charles Barkhouse are
searching for more evidence

of man-made
workings, and valuables,

in the northern
region of the swamp.

Yeah. I'm hoping we
find another vault, as well.

That vault was really cool.

MARTY: When you find

something strange
and out of place,

like the square-shaped vault,

and it's on Oak Island, I
think it's a logical conclusion

that there might
be more of them.

Maybe there's
something inside it.

So, we need to look for them.

- Look at that.
- What do you see?

CHARLES: Look at
that timber right there.

- See right there?
- Yeah.

GARY: We've already
uncovered a piece of timber,

which is a great sign

because we have found some
incredible man-made structures.

Hopefully, we're
close to an old feature.

- Hey, Charles.
- Hey, Marty.

How we doing?

CHARLES: There's quite
a substantial log right there.

You came at a good time
'cause we're just trying

to figure out what this is.

MARTY: Yeah. Let's have a look.

- MARTY: That was a big log.
- CHARLES: Yeah.

BILLY: It does look like
there could be real potential

- that something might have been built up here, right?
- Yeah.

NARRATOR: Could Billy be correct

that the team
has just found part

of another man-made structure

buried under the
muck in the swamp?

If so, just what
might they reveal

as they uncover more of it?

There's another log right there.

- See that?
- BILLY: Yeah.

CHARLES: Little one.

BILLY: My view would be

that's been in there
a long, long time.

That's an important piece there.

CHARLES: Looks like
it's cut on that end, too.

MARTY: It's notched,
like a structure.

Hopefully, it's something
we could uncover here.

MARTY: It's notched
wood, like a structure.

Maybe you're
coming into something.

NARRATOR: In the northern region

of the Oak Island swamp,

Marty Lagina, along

with other members of the team

have just discovered evidence

of another man-made
wooden structure.

Okay, let's start with things
that are absolutely for sure.

For sure, somebody
built this to get out here.

I don't think there's
any way to argue that.

- No.
- The question is why and who.

Yeah. Were they looking
for the vault that we found?

Or did they know that one
was there because, they...?

There's another one.

A whole bunch of activity
occurred in the swamp.

The swamp was manipulated.

If not manmade entirely,
at least manipulated.

It would have been used for
something very, very important,

and very secretive, but
none of this is easy work.

Particularly long ago.

Why somebody would do
something like that remains a mystery.

Billy, we're only going
to find out by digging.

BILLY: Yup.

- MARTY: Let's dig!
- BILLY: And see what we see.

NARRATOR: The following morning,

while the team works to uncover
the mysterious wooden structure

in the swamp on Oak Island...

...more than 4,000 miles to
the east in Valletta, Malta...

Hello. Good to see you.

- How are you?
- Hi.

- Nice to see you again.
- Hey, Jean-Paul. - Hi.

So, guys, we are in
the heart of Valletta.

NARRATOR: ...researcher
Emiliano Sacchetti

has arranged for Rick Lagina

and other members of the team

to meet investigative
journalist Jean-Paul Mifsud

for a guided tour
of one of Malta's

most mysterious and
renowned features.

EMILIANO: Jean-Paul Mifsud

is going to be our guide today.

And we're going to go down

and take a look at the
underground part of the city.

The one who was built
by the Knights of Malta.

ALEX: Mm-hmm.

As a kid, this was
our playground,

you know, all these tunnels.

If you move back in
time over 400 years ago,

this was just, like, a hill.

The Knights took this hill,

Mount Sciberras,

and designed all
the fortifications

and the defense, but also,
in case of siege, tunnels.

Valletta is like a grid.

And there are tunnels
underneath each street.

These tunnels were
then used by the Knights.

- Wow.
- CORJAN: Incredible.

Be very careful walking
down, and your heads.

Have fun down there. I've got
an appointment at the archive,

so it's too close to that
appointment for me to go down.

RICK: Okay.

- PETER: All right, see you, Doug.
- DOUG: See you.

NARRATOR: In 1565,

after defending Valletta
from an attempted invasion

- by the Ottoman Empire...
- [man yelling]

NARRATOR: ...the
Knights of Malta

began a major
renovation of the city

to create a stronghold
for their order.

The new fortification
included a vast network

of underground tunnels

that were dug out of
the limestone bedrock.

These tunnels offered not
only a safe haven in times of w*r

for the Knights and
the citizens of Valletta,

but also served as
secure storage facilities

and featured elaborate
cisterns for collecting

and controlling water.

And according to
some researchers,

the tunnels may have also served

as a hiding place for
Templar-related treasures

before they were
transported to the New World.

It's just absolutely incredible.

RICK: As we are introduced
to this underground area,

it's massive.

It is a highway,
literally underground.

Various tunnels,
cisterns, chambers

were developed and
built to sustain a siege.

I think it was representative

of the skills necessary
to construct a chamber

or a vault or a room
that could hold treasure.

But these were
the original cisterns.

The function of
this was obviously

- for the water.
- RICK: Mm-hmm.

And it's two... cisterns.

So, there is a...
connecting arch there.

We'll go in. And
even further down,

- it's a bit deeper, also.
- ALEX: Mm-hmm.

And at the end,

there is a small
connecting tunnel,

which links both reservoirs.

So, this was done in 1570?

- JEAN-PAUL: That's the era.
- ALEX: The way I hear the story,

it was in response
to the Great Siege

- that they did all this.
- Oh, yeah.

Yes. Was direct response because

the Knights were convinced

that the Ottomans were
going to try another great siege.

- Mm-hmm.
- So, there's an acute threat.

- Yeah.
- We're looking for reasons

they may have taken an interest

in other locations, even
as far as Oak Island.

This is evidence that they might
have been thinking that way,

that they needed to
safeguard... things.

SCOTT: It certainly seems
to be the right timeframe.

By that time, they'd realize

that they'd be
susceptible to attacks here,

and it might be an idea that
we need to move what we have,

and we take them to Nova Scotia,

and they go... they deposit
something on Oak Island.

NARRATOR: In 1632,
the French sea captain

and Knight of Malta,
Isaac de Razilly,

led an expedition
to North America

in order to establish
France's colony of Acadia,

known today as Nova Scotia.

Curiously, the colony's
headquarters were at Fort Point

on the LaHave River, just


Is it possible that Isaac
de Razilly's expedition

was also related
to a secret mission?

One designed to
safeguard another cache

of Templar-related treasures in
the New World on Oak Island?

So now, let's go and
have a look at the tunnels.

- Let's go. - Perfect.
- ALEX: Okay.

After you, sir.

RICK: Everything that we've
seen regarding the efforts

of the Knights of Malta--
it's an incredible undertaking.

They needed
structures like these

to protect their possessions,
to protect themselves.

that's easily explainable
here, the "why."

On Oak Island, it's not
quite so easy to explain,

but perhaps some
answers lie within.

It's almost surreal.

JEAN-PAUL: In the Knight's era,

this would have
been the passageway,

which passes exactly
underneath the street up at the top.

You can really
see the difference

in the tools that they used.

JEAN-PAUL: It's a kind
of rock which you can

chisel away straight.

Is this clay?

It's grayish, blueish, it's
softer than the limestone.

The blue clay played
an important role,

because you have,
like, a natural sealant.

And you come across something

- similar on your island?
- SCOTT: Yes. We know

that waterproofing
with blue clay

had to be done in the Money Pit.

- Okay.
- SCOTT: Around

whatever they
were hiding in there.

EMILIANO: Is this clay?

It's grayish, blueish.

JEAN-PAUL: Did you
come across something

- similar on your island?
- SCOTT: Yes.

We know that
waterproofing with blue clay

had to be done in the Money Pit.

- Okay.
- Around

whatever they
were hiding in there.

NARRATOR: While exploring

an underground tunnel
system in Valletta, Malta,

that was constructed
in the 16th century

by members of the
Knights of Malta,

Rick Lagina and
members of the team

have just found a potential clue

that might be related to
the Oak Island mystery.

SCOTT: Waterproofing was one

of the keys in
working on the island,

because it was an island.

NARRATOR: Is it possible
that Rick and the team

have just seen a
waterproofing method in tunnels

that were created by
the Knights of Malta,

which matches
the reported design

of the original Oak
Island Money Pit?

We know, based on our
work in the Money Pit,

that blue clay was used
to waterproof things.

The shafts, in particular.
Perhaps the tunnels.

- ALEX: That's amazing.
- RICK: Mm-hmm.

Might it be replicated here?

Because we know that
they needed some way

to waterproof the aqueducts
and the underground cisterns.

So, it's quite
impactful to see it here.

ALEX: This kind of
limestone, you don't encounter

on Oak Island until
you get very deep.

- RICK: Yup.
- ALEX: The legend

tells of flood
tunnels on the island.

This speaks to the
capability of these people,

experience with tunneling.

And when we talk

about potential
suspects on the island,

like the Knights of Malta,

we're standing in the work

of a group of people
at the end of the 1500s.

I mean, they did it.

Yeah. You're standing on it.

The original description

of the original find
of the Money Pit,

where the treasure
would have resided--

you could see the same
things. There was no cribbing.

You could see the
strike marks on the walls.

It was that tightly
consolidated.

It was very competent ground.

Could this have been done
long ago on Oak Island?

I'd say it's definitive.

All of the things

that we see exhibited

of the Knights of Malta's
capabilities underground

certainly are exemplified
underground in the Money Pit.

We have limestone,
we have blue clay.

And someone found
a way to move water

from the ocean to the Money Pit.

So, is it possible that
this same type of work

by the same peoples,
might that have been used

to do the same type
of work on Oak Island?

It's possible.

And at some point,
that might be provable.

You have led us to a
place that affirms to us

some of the work on
Oak Island was known

and conducted
during the timeframes

that we have great
suspicion of: 1500s,

times of the Knights of Malta.

So, for that, we are
extremely grateful.

- Thank you very much.
- Well, for us,

there's more to see in Valletta.

So, let's resurface.

- PETER: Thank you.
- CORJAN: Thank you so much.

NARRATOR: As Rick Lagina

and members of the
team continue their search

for clues in Malta,

over 4,000 miles to the
west, on Lot 5 of Oak Island...

FIONA: Nice,
loose subsoil, isn't it,

- compared to what we had in the other pits?
- ETHAN: Yeah.

NARRATOR: ...Jack
Begley joins Helen Sheldon

and other members of
the archaeology team

as they dig for more artifacts
and potential valuables

in and around the
mysterious stone foundation.

- We just have to go slow.
- Yeah.

JACK: Lot 5 always just
keeps getting better and better,

and being able to dig on
the side of the feature today

where that Starburst
button was found,

I'm hoping we can find
some other related artifacts

to give us an earlier date.

ETHAN: Oh, wow.

Oh! Look at that.

Oh, look. Looks like
there's more here.

Oh, yeah. Oh, look!

- Oh, my goodness.
- [Fiona gasps]

FIONA: It's a few
shards together.

ETHAN: Yeah.
There's a lot of shards.

Oh, what a nice piece.

I bet you those
would fit together.

ETHAN: Yeah. Look at all this.

FIONA: It's everywhere.

- It's everywhere!
- [laughs]

This is great. That's
almost, like, a whole plate.

ETHAN: It is almost
like a whole plate.

Look at that. You've
got the foot ring

- that fits on there.
- Yeah.

It's the base.
Oh! This is great.

- ETHAN [laughing]: Yeah.
- There's tons of it here.

So, this looks like
creamware here.

- Yup. Creamware. So, that's pretty neat.
- Okay.

We're looking at something,
you know, from the late

- three quarters of the 1700s.
- Yeah. It's awesome.

NARRATOR: Pottery
from the late 18th century?

Because the team
has found artifacts

dating to as early
as the 14th century,

and a number from
the 17th century,

is it possible that they
are now finding evidence

of yet another period when
this feature was occupied?

- Somebody ate off that plate.
- [laughing]: Yeah.

NARRATOR: If so, who was it?

And what was their purpose?

FIONA: This feature has
actually been really interesting

and has been changing
our thoughts all along.

Initially, when we
started looking at things,

it looked like it could have
been perhaps a basic homestead.

- Do you want to start bagging it?
- [laughing]

- Because I think you've got the rest of the plate there.
- Yeah.

The rest of the plate.

- A whole plate here.
- I'll open it for you.

FIONA: But as we
started going along

and finding more
and more artifacts,

now I'm starting to think

that it could have been
multi-generational and

having some bit of conspiracy
to do with the Money Pit itself.

There's definitely some ties,

and it's really making
me rethink who was here

and what were they doing.

This is definitely
an artifact-rich layer.

If we're finding that, right
here, that much intact,

I'm excited to see
what else is in here.

Yeah, exactly.

ETHAN: Oh, my goodness.

- What have you got?
- Oh, look at this!

FIONA: Oh, it's beautiful!

FIONA: Oh, it's beautiful!

- I think this is a button.
- [gasps]

It's got a little
pattern on it, kind of.

FIONA: That
looks really fragile.

- Can I take a look?
- Yeah.

NARRATOR: While excavating
the mysterious stone foundation

near the shoreline on Lot 5,

archaeology
assistant Ethan Green

has just made a potentially
important discovery.

FIONA: Look, you've got
the shank and everything.

- It's fully intact.
- ETHAN: Yeah.

Hey, Helen and Jack,

you got to come check this out.

- JACK: Yeah.
- You got to look at this.

- What do you have?
- Ethan just found this.

- HELEN: Oh, my heavens.
- JACK: Whoa!

JACK: There's
something on there.

- That's not just a flat button.
- FIONA: Yeah, he...

He had good eyes.
He could see it, too.

- What do you think it is?
- ETHAN: Kind of looks

like a flower to me.

FIONA: I think the
fact that it's got any kind

of pattern on it is
going to be fascinating.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR: An ornate button

featuring a flower design?

Could Fiona Steele be correct
that it may bear a key clue

that might help
identify just who left it

in this feature on Lot 5?

A feature that the team
believes may be connected

to one or more operations

to hide something of
value in the Money Pit?

Keep in mind, we found

- the starburst button right over there.
- Yeah.

- JACK: Yeah.
- Like, we're talking a few feet away.

- HELEN: Yeah.
- FIONA: So, if this is anything similar,

- then that's pretty exciting.
- Yup.

There is that connection
between the starburst button

and the Knights of
Malta, so, who knows?

This new button we just found

could relate to that
starburst button.

It could have an insignia
or something on the face

of the button that could
give us more information

to whether or not the Knights
of Malta were on Oak Island.

We're going to have
to take that to the lab...

- FIONA: Yeah.
- ...and do some scans on it.

Emma will tell
us how old that is.

- Yeah. And exactly what it's made of.
- Mm-hmm.

- Yeah. Yeah.
- Ethan's on a roll.

HELEN: Yeah,
he is. He really is.

- Let's get back to sifting, Helen.
- Okay.

Let's get back to it.

- FIONA: Nice find, Ethan.
- [Ethan laughs]

NARRATOR: The following
morning on Oak Island,

as the investigations continue

in the northern
region of the swamp...

MARTY: We're
running out of time! Dig!

NARRATOR: ...and on Lot 5...

- This could probably still come down a bit.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR: ...some


off the coast of Malta...

CORJAN: From
one island to another.

- RICK: One beautiful island to another.
- ALEX: Yeah.

NARRATOR: ...Rick Lagina
and members of the team

are being transported
to the island of Gozo,

where the Knights of
Malta established one

of their strongholds in 1565.

- EMILIANO: We brought some of the artifacts.
-Yeah.

Because maybe we
can find some connection.

NARRATOR: There, the team
will visit the Citadel of Victoria

in the hopes of making
more possible connections

between the Knights of Malta
and the Oak Island mystery.

RICK: It's beautiful.

Even though the
beauty, the aesthetics

of what we are about
to see, we are focused.

We mustn't lose
fact of the magnitude

of the possibilities that we are
beginning to hopefully uncover.

- Is this the place?
- EMILIANO: Yeah. This one.

RICK: We are here in
Malta to, hopefully, prove

the connection between the
Knights of Malta and Oak Island.

- Hey, Denis. How are you?
- Hey. Hi.

How are you?

NARRATOR: Denis
Darmanin is a Maltese historian

and leading expert on military

artifacts and
buttons, and today,

Corjan Mol and Emiliano Sachetti

have arranged for Denis to
analyze the starburst button

that was found on
Lot 5 one year ago.

- Well, sir, I have a button to show you.
- Oh.

DOUG: Our archeologists--
they believe it has the potential

to be one of the oldest buttons
we've found on the island.

Let's see.

- There you go.
- That's all right. There it is.

Ah, well, the pattern is
more likely a Spanish pattern.

- Mm-hmm.
- DOUG: That's interesting, because

some members of the Knights
of Malta came from Spain.

Of course. And what
I can add to that is,

I did come across a
similar pattern here.

And according to the
sizes, they were either worn

on the waistcoat, or
else they were worn,

the larger sizes,
on their coats.

I would date it to about


- Hmm.
- That's crazy.

That may indicate a period
of construction for that feature

- on Lot 5.
- Yup. Correct.

It's more than a hundred years,

before the discovery
of the Money Pit.

- Yeah.
- It's quite remarkable.

- Yes.
- Yes. I quite agree.

And this design was
quite, sort of trendy.

But the more elaborate, it
adds to the prestige of the owner.

- Okay.
- DOUG: So, we know,

in Nova Scotia in the 1630s,

- we had the presence of Knights of Malta.
- Yes.

DOUG: So, this
button may connect

- to the Knights of Malta?
- Yes.

That's quite remarkable.

CORJAN: Amazing.

DOUG: So, this button may
connect to the Knights of Malta?

- Yes.
- That's quite remarkable.

Amazing.

NARRATOR: In
the historic Citadel,

located on the
Maltese island of Gozo,

Rick Lagina and
members of the team

have just learned from historian

and button expert Denis Darmanin

that the button bearing
a starburst design,

which was found on Lot 5,

dates back to the 17th century,

and could be connected
to the Knights of Malta.

CORJAN: So, these uniforms

- were highly personalized.
- DENIS: Yes. Yes, they are.

- They would wear the fashion of the time.
- Yeah.

DENIS: These buttons were more
trendy with the aristocratic level.

So, the Knights would hold
their status in what they wear.

Yeah.

JUDI: So, we'd like
to show you a picture

of a uniform that
might have had a button

- like that with a swirl on it.
- Sure. Sure.

JUDI: Like to get
your thoughts on that.

Yes. It's a similarity.

Either it's a button
exactly like it,

- or of a larger size.
- Mm-hmm.

Because a coat button--
that would be larger

than, let's say, a vest button

- or a waistcoat button.
- Right.

So, with this starburst
button in particular,

there is a possibility that this
button would have been worn

by somebody, a member
of the Knights of Malta.

Oh, yes, I agree.

Well, that's a pretty
exciting possibility.

RICK: I find that to be

- very, very interesting.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR: If Denis
Darmanin is correct

that the so-called
starburst button

may very well have come

from the uniform of a
member of the Knights of Malta,

could it help prove that
the order was connected

to the Oak Island mystery?

And also explain the
mortar-like material

that was found in the
round feature on Lot 5,

that matches soils
from over 100 feet deep

in the Money Pit area?

We have the research
which kind of brought us here

in the first place that
really spell out Malta.

But then we have
this mysterious button

that seems to kind of be
tying everything together.

So, I think that's an
exciting possibility.

It's true.

RICK: We now have a visit

predating the discovery
of the Money Pit

by a significant amount
of time, but to what end?

This may be the
button that explains

what the Lot 5 feature
possibly represents.

You know, Denis, we can
only solve the treasure hunt

by looking to the past

in order to understand
what lies ahead of us.

- Yes.
- RICK: But you have certainly given us

great insight, and we
really, really appreciate it.

Well, my final comment
is, I'm always here to assist.

[laughter]

- RICK: Thank you very much.
- DENIS: It's an honor.

NARRATOR: Although
thousands of miles

currently separate members
of the Oak Island team,

their new discoveries
both on the island,

and halfway across the globe,

may have brought them
ever closer

to the answers they seek.

And now, as their long journey

to solve this mystery continues,

perhaps it is now
only a matter of time

before the ultimate revelation
is pulled from deep underground.