13x06 - The Heat Is On

[bunniefuu]

[narrator] Tonight on
The Curse of Oak Island...

[Ian] The metal
we're seeing in the water

- is in the solution channel.
- Absolutely.

There's metal underground
that isn't natural.

We found gold.

- [Gary] Got a signal.
- [metal detector beeping]

- Oh, it's here.
- [Peter] What do you got?

[Rick] What the heck
is that doing here?

[Peter] This right here is
a key to navigation,

but it might be a key for
the alignment of Nolan's Cross.

This road goes from the beach
to the Money Pit.

We just got to the bottom
of the solution channel.

[Marty] Where are you,
little gold coin?

- [Terry] You see it?
- Come on.

There you go.

♪ ♪

[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.

♪ ♪

- [Ian] Gentlemen.
- [Steve] Hello.

It looks like we just
touched bottom

of the solution channel here.

[narrator] While a new morning
is still fresh on Oak Island...

Now he'll go back down
and make another run after this

- just to make sure.
- Good.

[narrator] ...in
the Money Pit area,

the team's drilling operation
may be getting closer

to the answers
of a 230-year-old mystery.

All right, we are 178 to 208.
We hit bedrock at 205.

So, everything
in this core becomes

- highly interesting to us.
- Yeah.

[narrator] The current borehole
known as F-8.5

is located in an area where
previous underground water tests

revealed evidence
of gold and silver objects.

Okay. Let's have a look.

[narrator] And now the team
has collected a 30-foot core

of loose materials
in the solution channel.

You get a beep? Here.

Pick it right up.
Could be in that, too.

[Marty] Come on, baby.

Where are you, little gold coin?
Come on.

[beeping]

Oh, you got something there.

Oh. I think that is
something in there.

Let's see.

[Steve] Right there?

Where the hell did it go?

[Steve] I believe that
we can get Gary to come up

- with his big detector.
- [Marty] Might as well.

Let's get this.
Bring-bring this in, Doc.

Let's grab this.

[Marty] When the pinpointer
goes off

in the core that is from
the solution channel,

I'm very excited.

Very, very excited.

- Here's your go-to guy.
- [Gary sighs]

Now what are you up to?

- [Marty] All right, Gary.
- Hey, Gary.

- We had a phantom hit here.
- [Gary] Okay.

And so we're wondering
if you might...

see if it was really
phantom or not.

- Just...
- Okay.

There's no nails
in this table, so...

- Okay, great.
- [metal detector chimes]

[Rick] We are so intense
in that moment

wanting there
to be something there.

I just hope it's hiding
what we believe it's hiding.

- Uh, it sounds...
- She's clean, eh?

[Gary] Clean as a whistle.

[Marty] All right.

What the hell happened to it?

Regardless,
we'll take that section

- and bag it.
- Yeah.

[Ian] So, I want to send
that sample in

and see what's in there.

That's a good idea.

We got these pinpointer hits
right where we thought

the metals should have
fallen to, right?

And that's frustrating.

So I think it's right
to test the soils

for precious metals to see if
the pinpointer hit was real.

We're very close to two sites

we had, uh, amongst
the highest gold values

- in water.
- [Marty] Yep.

We had outrageous
silver numbers.

Maybe one of the things
that's down here that's creating

our gold and silver anomaly
is gold dust that isn't natural.

Yeah, Gary, if there was
gold dust in there

and it was in a little spot...

- Yeah.
- And I get a hit

and then I start moving it
around, would it go away,

or would you have picked it up?

I wouldn't have
picked it up with this.

Even though I'm in
the prospector mode

on the Manticore right now,

uh, I wouldn't have detected it.

[Marty] Okay. All right, well,

maybe there's some
actual gold in that bag.

Yep.

[narrator] Is it possible
that trace amounts of gold

from a buried treasure

have not only spread into
the water deep in the Money Pit

but also the soils
in the solution channel?

Although soil tests could take
several weeks to complete,

if Dr. Spooner gets
positive results,

it will offer
additional confirmation

that the treasure may be
in this area.

[Rick] If those results indicate
or confirm precious metals

or for high-metal values
in the... in the soils,

it would almost necessitate...
demand... a big dig.

Whatever was above,
we now believe

that it easily could've
fallen to these depths.

So, uh, look,
we just got to keep going.

Okay.

All right, well, let's get on
to the next one.

[narrator] Later that morning...

[Marty] Ladies and gentlemen,

we are here today
to feel the heat.

And what I mean by that is
I requested Steve,

working with Emma and Jillian,
to prepare a heat map.

[narrator] Rick, Marty and Craig

meet with other members
of the team in the w*r room.

[Marty] They were charged
with looking at

all the artifacts that have
been found over the island

over the years,
and that is, of course, a lot.

- Yeah.
- [Marty] And then...

put them on the map
of the island

by how likely they are old.

Yep.

[narrator] In recent years,

the team has found
numerous artifacts

that predate the discovery
of the Money Pit in 1795.

These include six Roman coins
found on Lot 5

that are as much
as 2,000 years old.

And just this year,
they were shown

a 14th-century
Portuguese silver coin,

one reportedly found
in the Money Pit back in 1849.

Marking the team's
oldest discoveries on a grid

or heat map of the island
suggests where even more

important clues
may be found next.

[Steve] So,
we've prepared a legend.

So I'm gonna throw a few out
so you can take a look

so you know what colors
you're looking at.

So, you'll see pink, blue,
orange and green.

Pink represents
possibility of a deposit

because it's 1725 and older.

And blue, which is 1800s to now,
which means it's searcher.

- Okay.
- [Steve] Everything else,

like the 1730s, '40s and '50s,

that orange color
starts to appear.

- All right.
- [Steve] Okay?

So, right now, the two hot areas

where depositors could have been

is Lot 5
with the archaeologists...

- [Marty] Yeah.
- [Steve] ...and the Money Pit.

We're obviously
still searching those areas,

but we have found
very old artifacts

in other places, as well.

What about the odd pink dots

over there on the head
of the elephant?

[Steve] That's Lot 15.

[Craig] Even in
the orange colors,

you're going back
to the mid-1700s.

- That could be depositor.
- Yep.

When you see those older ones
up there on Lot 15...

- [Marty] Mm-hmm.
- [Rick] ...I think there's

a lot more work to do there.

[Marty] Yeah. I agree.

Yeah, we got to get Gary
out there.

Yep.

[narrator] Located some


of the Money Pit area,
Lot 15 has produced

some of the team's
most intriguing artifacts,

including burned charcoal

that could date back
to the 14th century,

a Chinese coin that could be
more than 1,000 years old

and a piece of pre-17th-century
cannon stoneshot

that originated in
the Azores Islands of Portugal.

Seeing this cluster of finds
grouped on the heat map

makes Lot 15 a prime target
for fresh investigation.

[Billy] 'Cause I look
at the dots in Lot 15, and,

you know, we've barely
touched the surface, right?

- Yep.
- [Alex] It makes sense

- to concentrate there.
- Yeah, well... [sighs]

you ain't seen nothing yet.

We're gonna change these colors
to gold and silver, mate.

- [laughter]
- [Rick] We are now convinced

the mystery is island-wide.

You go back to where
you have been successful before.

So, I think it's highly
appropriate to start on Lot 15.

- Okay. Thank you very much.
- Yep.

[Rick] I say we get back at it.

[Alex] I agree.

[narrator] Following
their meeting...

[Gary] I'm gonna metal-detect
over the top of

this plowed area.

And we have a chance of finding

some great artifacts
on this hillside.

I'm excited to see
what you'll find today.

[narrator] Rick, Gary and Steve
begin searching on Lot 15.

- I'm expecting a good day.
- [Rick] Yep.

Having said that,
I say we get going.

Yep. Okay, mate.

- [metal detector chimes]
- Let's get stuck in.

[Rick] Okey doke.

[narrator] Before their arrival,

Billy used
a two-and-a-half-ton tractor

to pull a three-bottom plow
across the surface

to help them search
for artifacts.

[Gary] This idea of plowing
high-value areas on Oak Island,

this comes from my experience
metal-detecting

on farmland in England.

The farmers turn over
the fields by plowing,

and they bring older artifacts
closer to the surface

and make them more detectable.

[beeping softly]

Check this out.

Here.

Is that coal?

- [Steve] It's really light, eh?
- [Gary] Yeah.

If that's coal,
that would be well out of place.

- Looks like it could be.
- Yeah, one way...

one way to tell.

- [Gary] Oh, it is.
- [Steve] I'd say so. Yeah.

Hmm.

What the heck is that
doing here?

- [Gary] Very out of place.
- Mm-hmm.

It might be that kind of coal

that was found
on the stone road.

Yep.

[narrator] Because
the team found

pieces of coal
when they uncovered

the believed Portuguese
stone road in the swamp...

I'm going to put this
in the bag...

- [Rick] I would.
- [Gary] ...and give it to Emma.

[narrator] ...is it possible
that this discovery,

made where they have also found
Portuguese stoneshot,

could suggest a connection
between the swamp and Lot 15?

- Good find, Gary.
- [Steve] Good find, Gary.

[Gary] Yep.
Just on the top here.

- Right. Keep trucking in.
- [Rick] Let's find something.

[beeping softly]

[metal detector warbling]

- [Rick] There you go.
- [Gary] Yep.

- [Steve] That sounds good.
- [Gary] Yep.

It's right in there.
Rick, please.

Now, let me see
if I can pinpoint it.

[beeping rapidly]

What do we got here?

- Ooh, look at that.
- [Rick] Wow.

- [rapid beeping]
- [Gary] Ooh!

- What do we got here?
- [beeping stops]

Hmm.

See those facets?

[narrator] While
metal-detecting on Lot 15,

the team has just made
a curious find.

[Gary] I wonder if that
is a rosehead spike.

- Could well be.
- Could be.

They went back all the way
to the 1500s.

- [Rick] Wow.
- [Gary] Uh, we did find some

- in the Money Pit.
- [Steve] Yep. Mm-hmm.

[narrator] First made during
the 16th century in Europe,

rosehead spikes are
hand-forged iron fasteners

with hammered heads resembling
the petals of a flower.

They were commonly used
up through the 18th century

before machine-made nails
replaced them.

And the team has found
a number of rosehead spikes

both near the surface
on Oak Island

and more than 150 feet deep
in the Money Pit area

that have all been dated
to before 1750.

- [Gary] That's brilliant.
- [Rick] There you go.

- We'll bag it.
- Okay.

And this, I have no doubt
will be going on your heat map.

[Steve] It will be.
I hope so, anyway.

[Gary] We have seen
rosehead spikes

many times on Oak Island,

especially connected to
old features and old areas.

These are valuable finds.

We could have a connection here

between Lot 15
and the Money Pit.

[metal detector warbling]

That's diggable.

- [Rick] There you go.
- [Steve] You got something?

- Just there, mate.
- Center right there?

Yep.

♪ ♪

- [metal detector warbling]
- Hmm.

Now, let me see
if I can pinpoint.

[beeping]

[beeping]

Oh, what do we got here?

- [Rick] That's cool.
- [Steve] It is.

[Gary] Yeah.
A pintle was used for...

as a gate or a door hanger.

- [Rick] Mm-hmm.
- [Gary] And it could've easily

been used to hang a lantern
or even in the mines

when they were digging
the shafts for the Money Pit.

You need some light.

[Rick] This one does indeed

need to go to the lab.

It could be meaningful.

[Gary] I think this is
a really cool find

that could go way back.

All right. We'll put it
in the bag and put a flag in it.

[Steve] Good find, Gary.

Interested to see
where this iron comes from.

- [Steve] Ready?
- [Gary] Yep.

[Rick] Okay.

[narrator] The next morning...

[Terry] Gonna keep
our eyes peeled.

- We're going deep here.
- Far below.

- We're taking it to the bedrock.
- [Charles] Yep.

[narrator] As a new borehole
is drilled in the Money Pit area

and the team waits
for their soil test results...

[Rick] A big part of the year
is the swamp work.

- Yeah.
- And you look at this map,

and you realize why that is so.

[narrator] Having received
new permits

for exploration in the swamp,

Rick meets with Steve and Billy
in the research center

to plan their next phase
of digging

in the triangle-shaped feature.

Everything we have found
continues to amaze us.

And the hope is that
the new permitted areas

will help explain some of the
questions we have in the bog.

We've already completed

the so-called
West Hill location.

Steve, if you want
to bring that up.

Sure will.

[narrator] During
recent excavations

at the western border
of the swamp...

- [Rick] There's another one.
- [Gary] Geez. They're coming up.

What in the world is happening?

[narrator] ...the team uncovered

a series of hand-cut
wooden survey stakes

lining what they believe
to be a log road,

as well as a strange feature
made of cobblestones.

[Billy] On the edge, it looks
very similar to the stone road.

It looks very similar.

[narrator] But the most
compelling find

was a hand cannon
of European origin

that could date back
to the 13th century.

[Steve] And we picked
that area because

maybe the depositors
potentially would have

pushed and had a path
through the swamp itself,

because the road that we use
around the swamp didn't exist

- at that point in time.
- Correct.

[narrator] Now, having fully
searched that location,

the team must decide
where to move next.

[Steve] I think finding
the cobble platform

and finding the stakes
and what appears to be a road,

but not finding it north,

makes it that much more
important that we move south now

or southwest.

And we've done very little work
with the southwest.

You can see it
called permit area 25-1.

[Rick] Mm-hmm.

Well, in drier times, people
would've... would've walked

- through there, right?
- [Steve] Mm-hmm.

Surely, it should be a pretty
good spot for people traffic.

[Rick] You would think.

We've done nothing
through there.

So there's a whole big area
that we, you know,

maybe don't know much about
but we're gonna learn more

- in the next corner, right?
- [Rick] Yep.

There are very selected
areas in the bog

where people long ago did work.

As we moved our way north,
we didn't encounter stone.

The hope is that
as we continue to move

towards the southwest corner

we will find artifacts
and/or stakes

that may help provide
an explanation

as to the purpose
for these features.

It's a big, open area
that we need to take a look at.

But in order to do that, you've
got to get in the excavator.

- Exactly.
- Sounds good.

- All right.
- And your rubber boots.

And your rubber boots. Exactly.

- All right, thanks, Steve.
- [Steve] See you guys out there.

[narrator] Following
the meeting...

[Peter] Hey, Billy.

- [Billy] Morning.
- [Gary] Hey, mate.

- [Billy] Ready to jump in?
- Oh, yeah.

[narrator] ...the team
gets to work

in the southwest corner
of the swamp.

[Steve] We've got quite
a large area here.

It's gonna be one of our bigger
permit areas we've ever done.

You can see all the stakes.
Uh, we start here.

We head a couple hundred feet
north, along the bank.

Yeah. You know,
closer to the trees

- might be the most artifacts.
- Yep.

- Okay. Let's get to it, then.
- [Gary] Yep. Let's get stuck in.

[engine starts]

♪ ♪

All right, guys, I've got
a little bit of work to do,

- so I will be back.
- [Gary] Okay, mate.

[Peter] Sounds good.

[Rick] Obviously, uh,
the swamp has provided

some really unique discoveries.

And we have
very little understanding

of what they represent
in terms of,

is there any association
with th-the Money Pit mystery?

With the southwest corner,
I feel very hopeful for answers.

- [Peter] Lot of rocks.
- [Gary] Yeah.

♪ ♪

[Gary] It really does look like
a line of rocks along there.

[Billy] Not just big rocks.

- It's mixed in with...
- [Peter] Yeah.

[Billy] Gravelly stuff, right.

[Gary] Big'uns.

All those rocks here.

[Peter] Yeah.

What do you make
of all the rocks, Billy?

[Billy] Peter,
I'm surprised to see, you know.

- It's very road-like.
- [Peter] Yeah.

[Billy] They wouldn't normally,
you know, occur together,

so seems like somebody
might have threw them in there.

Yeah. I want to get
my Uncle Rick up here.

[Gary] Absolutely fantastic.

- [Rick] Hey.
- [Peter] Hello.

- [Gary] Hey, Rick.
- [Billy] Hey, Rick.

[Rick] Wow. Rock.

- [Peter] Lot of rocks.
- [Gary] Yeah.

[narrator] In the southwest
corner of the swamp,

Rick joins the team
after being alerted

to a potential new discovery.

Is this how a bog would develop?

How do you explain
the amount of rock in here?

[Billy] When you look
at the cobbles,

it has all the makings
of what we're looking for.

But that rock really shouldn't
be up in the till like that.

It should be deeper.

[Rick] So, you're thinking
some sort of effort

because they're sitting
on top of the...

Yeah, it just seems like it's...

it's possibly
land clearing or road.

I-I don't think that all
these rocks got put in here

other than by hand of people.

[Gary] Yeah.

This area reminds me
of where we were digging

and where we found
that potential cannon.

There's a heck of a lot
of rocks here.

This might be a way
to get from the beach

- to the upland, right?
- [Gary] Yeah.

If you're coming
around the island on a ship,

then you're gonna come
in this area here.

So I am expecting to find
some great finds here.

It'd be really something
if we found

another Portuguese-style road
on this side of the swamp.

Yeah.

[narrator] When the team
first uncovered

the believed Portuguese stone
road in the southeast corner,

it was speculated that it may
have been part of a ship's wharf

used to unload cargo
onto the island.

Is it possible
that the team has just found

a similar structure
in the southwest corner?

[Rick] We couldn't get
a nicer day,

so we might as well
put it to good use.

- Let's keep going.
- [Billy and Gary] Yep.

[Gary] Foggy with
a chance of artifacts.

[Rick] There you go.

[narrator] While the dig
continues in the swamp...

later that afternoon...

[Ian] Hey, Charles, Terry.

- [Terry] Hey, Ian.
- [narrator] Dr. Ian Spooner

joins members of the team
in the Money Pit area.

Water samples. I got to take
some water samples.

- So I could use a hand.
- No problem at all.

- Let's get at 'er.
- Okay.

[narrator] After
a disappointing few weeks

in which the team
has been unable

to find hard evidence
of treasure

while drilling
in the solution channel,

Dr. Spooner will collect
and test new water samples

to look for signs that the team
is drilling in the right place.

We did get
some samples last year,

and they were high metals.

And so, we got to get
more water samples

and send them in
and see what they show us now.

- Absolutely.
- [Ian] So, I'm gonna start

right with B-.5 and 11.

[Terry] I think
that's a good idea.

Great.

Yep. B-.5-11 right here.

So, if we have high metals

in these samples that we've
been taking, it could mean

that the metal that we're seeing
in the water

- is in the solution channel.
- Yeah.

So it follows
that the solution channel

may be moving metal
from the Money Pit.

- It's a conduit. Absolutely.
- It's a conduit.

It's a pathway. Yeah.

- Lot of water moving down there.
- Yep.

[narrator] Because the massive
underground solution channel

is full of moving water,

Dr. Spooner will take
water samples

from previously
drilled boreholes

where precious metals
have been detected in the past.

I'm gonna get you to hold that.

[narrator] Depending on
the test results,

he may be able
to determine where water

with the highest trace evidence
of gold and silver

is flowing from deep underground

and help the team pick
new drilling locations

in this area
to search for the treasure.

I'm going down to 110 feet.

- That's 105 right there.
- Yeah, and I'm just gonna

- let this fall on the ground.
- Okay.

[narrator] To collect
the water samples,

Dr. Spooner is dropping

a single-valve bailer
into the borehole.

As it descends, an open valve
allows water to flow through it.

Once the desired depth
is reached,

a metal ball drops into place,
securing the sample.

[Marty] There are metals
in the water

that the scientists say
those metals are not natural

that's still there.

And that's what keeps us
going to find it.

Hopefully, the water testing
will tell us

where to actually
find the treasure.

Hey. Look at that.

[Terry] Oh, my gosh.

There's the dye.

- That's pretty amazing.
- Yeah.

That's the dye we put in,
uh, last year

- in the Money Pit.
- Yep.

[narrator] In 2024,

Dr. Spooner and members
of the team

conducted a series of tests
to locate

the source of gold and silver
in the Money Pit area.

This involved pumping red dye
some 200 feet deep

into the solution channel
through several boreholes.

Dr. Spooner then resampled water

in other boreholes
across the area,

looking for remnants of the dye

to track the direction
of water flow underground.

Be very interested to see

- what metals this has in it.
- Yep.

[narrator] Now that Dr. Spooner
has just recovered water

with red dye
from just 105 feet deep...

Here we go.

[narrator] ...could that mean
that the water

in the solution channel
is flowing upwards

and into other locations
in the Money Pit area?

- [Ian] And that's all we need.
- [Terry] Yep.

- So, that's one down?
- That's one down.

And we'll send them in today
and see what we got.

Yeah.

[narrator] Compared
to soil testing,

which is time-consuming,
the new water samples

can be analyzed for signs
of precious metals

in just a matter of days.

Okay. Let's take this back
and we'll go get another sample.

Yep.

[narrator] As Dr. Spooner
and Terry continue

gathering samples
in the Money Pit area...

- [Peter] I really like this lot.
- [Katya] Me, too.

[narrator] ...Katya Drayton
and Peter continue

searching for clues on Lot 15.

[metal detector beeping]

- [Peter] Sounds good enough.
- [Katya] Yeah.

[metal detector warbles, beeps]

[Katya] Anything
in front of me is okay.

- [metal detector beeping]
- Oh.

- [Peter] Out?
- [Katya] Yep.

[pinpointer beeping]

[rapid beeping]

Oh, my gosh.

[Peter] What do you got?

Um...

Think we found ourselves
a button.

That's certainly a button.

[Katya] Looks to be green,
so it might be copper.

[Peter] What kind of button
do you think it is?

It's pretty big.

It's pretty big.
I think this would be

- more of a shirt button.
- Yeah.

[narrator] Is it possible
that Peter and Katya

found a clue that will help
identify who left the artifacts

previously found
by the team on Lot 15?

We don't see a design, but
there could be a design there.

Mm-hmm. Well, I'm excited
to get this one back to the lab.

[Peter] Yeah.
And your dad always says,

people who had buttons
had pockets,

and people who had pockets
had coins.

Exactly.

All right, let's bag,
tag it, keep going.

Yeah. Good start.

[metal detector beeping]

- [rapid beeping]
- [Katya] It's a little chippy,

but it's two-way...

- Mm-hmm.
- And it could be something

just really deep and on edge.

- We're here to dig it.
- Let's do it. Let's try it.

[pinpointer beeping]

- [Katya] Okay. It's out.
- [rapid beeping]

[Peter] What do you got?

[Katya] I'm not sure.

- [rapid beeping]
- [Peter] What do you got?

I'm not sure.

[narrator] On Lot 15,
Katya and Peter

have just unearthed
an intriguing metal artifact.

Do you know
what this looks like?

What do you think?

This looks like
a pin on a compass almost.

Oh. I can see that.

[Katya] What do you think?

Yeah, here's the top of it.

Might even... might have both
pieces for the navigation tool.

- Mm-hmm.
- Like this.

[Katya] That is so cool.

[narrator] A possible compass
found on Lot 15?

Dating back to the times
of ancient Greece,

a compass is
a drawing instrument

used to measure distances
on maps

and for designing the layout
of structures on land.

For centuries, it was
a standard tool of architects,

navigators, craftsmen
and astronomers.

And it makes sense...

- Yeah.
- Where we are.

We have the beach
just down here.

- Mm-hmm.
- Obviously, at some point,

boats came to shore.

And that could be used on a boat

- or on land.
- Mm-hmm.

Whenever my Uncle Rick's
talking and...

and we're talking
about Nolan's Cross...

- Mm-hmm.
- They're very precisely

put in place, and they're put
in place due to the stars.

- Yeah.
- Which is the same way

that people long ago
would travel across the sea.

So, to your point,
this could be nautical,

but it also could've been for
the alignment of Nolan's Cross.

Mm-hmm.

[narrator] If this is a compass,

could Peter be correct

that it may have been
the kind of tool

needed to create some
of the megalithic structures

that have been found
on Oak Island,

such as Nolan's Cross,

a feature that some
scientific experts believe

could date back
to the 13th century?

That's amazing.

[Rick] We have sought mightily
to create a timeline

of human activity
in the Oak Island mystery.

Where people work,
they drop things, lose things.

And in order to figure out

who, what, when,
where, why and how,

it begins with finding
artifacts that tell a story.

This... this right here is
a key to navigation,

but it might be a key
to Oak Island, as well.

I know we don't find many
nautical things on the island,

so this is something I really
want to take back to the lab.

- [Katya] All right.
- [Peter] Okay.

- Let's keep on going.
- [Katya] Keep going.

[narrator] As another exciting
day dawns on Oak Island...

[Gary] Let's find
some artifacts.

[Alex] Let's get going.

[narrator] ...Alex and Peter
join Billy and Gary in the swamp

as they continue to search
the southwest corner.

[Gary] I'm going in.

[Alex] We think we are
seeing signs of a...

a structure or a road

on the west side
of the swamp along the edge.

[Gary] Wow.
There's nothing in here.

This is quiet.

[Alex] But like everything,

we need to
investigate it further

and look for artifacts

to see if we can prove

one way or the other
what's going on here.

[Gary] Now we're getting
rockier, past the sand.

Mm-hmm.
There's this really dark stuff.

Can't tell
where it's coming from.

There.

[Peter] Organic stuff?

There's some organics in that.

There's a layer of rocks

that's more than one rock thick.

And in between those rocks

is swamp material,
sort of decaying plant matter.

In my head, the only way
that could be there

is if the rocks were added
to the swamp

after the fact deliberately.

In my opinion, there's
a chance that it's not natural.

It definitely looks
out of place.

[Peter] And if it is man-made,

the artifacts are gonna
help us date it.

- [Gary] Yep.
- So, that's what we got to do

- is find the artifact.
- [Gary] Yep.

All right, coming in, Billy.

♪ ♪

[metal detector warbling]

[Alex] There's a signal.

- [Gary] Got a signal.
- [Peter] Got something?

It's a good, strong iron signal.

Sounds fairly shallow.

Yeah. It's just there.
It's in that area.

All right,
see if I can pinpoint it.

Oh. Oh, look at that.

- [chuckles] Ox shoe.
- Oh, yeah.

[Gary] But look
how unusual it is.

- Look how long that body is.
- [Alex] Mm-hmm.

But, I mean,
I wouldn't imagine you'd have

oxen in the middle of a swamp,
so I think this is telling us

that either there's a road here

or, at this time,
this was passable.

[Gary] Yeah.

We find a lot of French
and English ox shoes

on the island,
but this is totally different

to any of those ox shoes.

[Alex] We're very close
to this road, if it is a road,

and finding an ox shoe here
kind of reinforces that.

That's where the draft animals
would be...

would be walking and,
you know, dragging a load.

So, hopefully, we can find out
when it would've been used,

why it might have been used

and who might have been
using it.

So, yeah,
we'll put it in the bag...

- [Peter] Yeah.
- And we'll find answers

- at the lab.
- That's right. Nice.

If it's a road,
there should be more,

but that right there is
a little bit of proof

that there is a road here.

Let's-let's leave it at this:

indications that it
could be man-made.

Dr. Spooner needs
to take a look.

[Peter] Yep.

- Nice work.
- [Gary] Good start.

- [Derek] Dr. Spooner.
- [Gary] Hey, Ian.

We've got another
head-scratcher for you.

Hmm.

[narrator] Now that the team
has unearthed

more of the strange rock feature

in the southwest corner
of the swamp,

Dr. Ian Spooner arrives
to examine it

for signs of human construction.

[Gary] You look
at this area here now.

The more we're digging,
the more we're uncovering,

the more rocks and boulders,

and they all seem to be
in, like, a...

a linear feature,

- like a road.
- [Ian] I agree.

This is... this is manipulated.

You know,
it's-it's pretty obvious.

Uh, it's what we call
in geology, it's "open work."

The air space
around those boulders means

that those boulders
aren't naturally in place.

There's no till
in between the boulders.

So they're moved.

[Billy] It's not
perfectly smooth like you

would expect to see
if it was done

- with more modern machinery.
- Right.

One thing to look at is that
this area here is elevated

somewhat above that side
and that side.

So, it has the look of a very
crude beginning of something.

The key thing is the age.

Any artifacts?

We did find one ox shoe
on the far end there.

- Yeah.
- Okay.

But it was actually
amongst the rocks.

[Ian]
Oh, really? Okay.

[Billy] Yeah.

Do you think all these
rocks and boulders

could've been
the start of the road?

Like, the foundation
before they put the cobbles on?

Yeah, possibly.

Maybe they were pushing stuff.

Maybe they were using oxen.
I don't know.

The reoccurring theme here is,
people were here with purpose.

[Billy] It has a purpose.
We just don't know

quite yet what that purpose is.

Yeah.

[narrator] If Dr. Spooner
is correct

that this stone feature
may have been used

to move heavy cargo,
just what kind of cargo was it,

and where did it end up?

[Ian] At this stage, what we
need to do is just excavate

- the length of it...
- Yeah.

[Ian] ...and see if
what we've got is some

beginning of something.

[Rick] There are answers
in the swamp,

but we only have
a limited understanding

of the possible interactions
between the work in the bog

and the work conducted
in the Money Pit.

The Money Pit was
an attempt to hide something.

What was the bog work about?

I don't think we have that story

close to being written
or understood.

The good news is
we got two directions to go.

Okay. Good. I'm gonna
head back to the lab.

[Gary] Okay,
we'll start digging.

[narrator] The following
afternoon...

[Marty] Ian, I understand
you've done some

work on the water samples
and you have some results

- you want to talk to us about.
- Yeah.

[narrator] While the results
of the soil tests

are being completed, Rick,
Marty and members of the team

meet with Dr. Spooner
in the w*r room

for an update
on the water samples

he recently collected
in the Money Pit area.

I think we've shown,
at least to our satisfaction,

that there's metal underground
that isn't, uh, natural.

And then, of course,
we found gold.

- The problem has been, "Where?"
- [laughing] Yeah.

So, we've got
some monitoring wells.

These samples are from
the west side, from your area

that you're drilling right now.

What's that one?

[Ian] Over here,
we've got the east side,

sort of near the Garden Shaft.

- Mm-hmm. Oh, this is the dye.
- It's dye.

Yeah, I see.

It's a rhodamine dye.

And last year,
we did a bunch of dye tests.

We put the dye in at depth
in the solution channel area,

or in the traditional
Money Pit area...

- Mm-hmm.
- And now it comes up

in wells near the Garden Shaft.

So it just tells us that water
can move that direction.

There's precious metals
in these samples.

So, where are the metals
coming from?

And what the dye has told us in
this little collection of wells

is that there's every
possibility it's coming

from the south,
from the solution channel,

through that conduit that
the dye traveled very rapidly.

[narrator] Dr. Spooner's
new test results suggest

that the traces
of precious metals

are indeed coming
from the solution channel.

You're saying that water
is moving south to north.

Yeah. So, the way that
the water is moving

from deep down in the solution
channel... uphill, basically...

is all the work we're doing
with all the drilling.

We're pushing down in one area,

and that's pushing water up
in another area.

And that's why we're getting
water moving uphill.

Almost as if there was a pipe

just connecting the two,
you know?

So, you know,
you're flushing water...

- And it's... and it, bam, down.
- Pushing it down, forcing it out

- and drawing it back.
- Yes.

- It's a giant plunger, right?
- Exactly.

It's like a plunger
in a toilet, yeah.

- Hmm.
- It's validating that we're

looking for the treasure
in the right area.

That's amazing.

[Marty] You think at this point,
given all the data,

that the source
of the metals are deep,

- down in the solution channel.
- [Ian] Yeah.

It's validating that
we're looking for the...

the treasure in the right area.

[narrator] Rick, Marty
and the Oak Island team

have just received encouraging
news from Dr. Ian Spooner.

After testing new water samples

collected from boreholes
all across the Money Pit area,

he has found evidence that
the water deep underground,

which contains the highest
amounts of precious metals,

is likely originating
in the solution channel.

[Marty] Well,
here's what I heard.

I heard that
your cumulative data

is consistent with
our prevailing theory this year.

- [Ian] Mm-hmm.
- [Marty] If, in fact,

a great treasure or even
a minor treasure fell down

into the solution channel,
it explains everything.

- Yeah.
- It explains what happened.

It explains why
people didn't find it.

It explains the metals
in the water.

Yep.

Where you're looking
is a good place.

[Marty] Yeah.
That's really good to hear.

- [Billy] Yeah. [chuckles]
- [Rick] What Dr. Spooner related

substantiates our belief,
currently,

that the treasure had fallen
to greater depth.

An area like the Money Pit
that has been so investigated

for 230 years, to still have
under-investigated areas

where the treasure
or treasures may still lie,

is really quite interesting.

And that's where we're going to
focus our efforts, justifiably.

[Marty] The solution channel
is the number one thing

that makes sense
with regards to where

the treasure might still be.

Everything I've heard
this year makes me want

to get back out there
and implement our plan.

Sounds like we're doing
the right thing,

and I hope we do focus in
and really do the right thing

- and actually solve this thing.
- Mm-hmm.

I think we've got a chance.

Let's define
that solution cavity

quantitatively
and qualitatively.

We have to find the place
in the solution channel

very in the conventional
Money Pit area

where it's wide open enough

to accept something
dropping from above.

[Rick] That's what
this has told us today,

that we are on the correct path.

Let's just keep moving forward,
and I appreciate the effort.

Well, we'll keep...
we'll keep on.

And I'm calling
the end of the meeting

- right there, okay?
- [laughter]

- Let's move on. Well done, Ian.
- [Ian] Okay, okay.

- Thank you.
- Yep.

[narrator] The true history
of Oak Island

remains a tantalizing secret,

but with every dig
and each scientific test,

Rick, Marty, Craig
and their team

find evidence
that something extraordinary

was buried here long ago.

So, as they peel back
new layers of this mystery,

just how much deeper
must they look for the answers

and finally break the curse
believed to protect them?