Tonight on
The Curse of Oak Island...
Here we go.
The special two-hour
season ten premiere.
- Smells like treasure.
- Slice her open.
There's a source
of gold in the Money Pit.
- Wow.
- And I think you have
a human gold deposit here.
- It's time to dig up some treasure.
- Yes.
We're hoping
that the sonic drill program
will be integral to finally
solving the mystery.
Ooh. Wow.
This could be
something special, mate.
It is not a modern
metal by any means.
- It's nonexistent.
- Yeah! -Quite exciting.
They were used for, like, coins.
Treasure coin, baby!
- There's the wood, right there.
- Wow. Look at that.
That's a bottom of a beam.
We're obviously in
a structure, for sure.
- Yep.
- It could be that we're close to
an offset chamber
that holds the treasure.
For the first
time, we will look at
a structure underground
in the Money Pit.
- What was that?
- You're starting to see something there.
- Right there. -Yep.
- This could be huge.
Yes. Wow.
There is an
island in the North Atlantic
where people have
been looking for
an incredible treasure
for more than 200 years.
So far, they have
found a stone slab
with strange symbols
carved into it...
man-made workings
that date to medieval times,
and a lead cross whose
origin may be connected
to the Knights Templar.
To date, six men have d*ed
trying to solve the mystery.
And according to legend,
one more will have to die
before the treasure
can be found.
Gentlemen!
- We're on our way back.
- Yeah.
I want to get to the
bottom of it this year.
Said it before, but this
year I mean it, okay?
We got to get it done, guys.
- We got to get it done.
- Absolutely.
I think it's gonna be a
good year, a very good year.
Summer has arrived
in Western Shore, Nova Scotia...
It's about time
to figure this out.
- That's for sure.
- And with it,
brothers Rick and Marty
Lagina, their partner Craig Tester
and their team have returned
with renewed determination
to solve the 227-year-old
Oak Island mystery.
This year, for me,
everything we do has
to be objective driven.
Like chasing the gold.
- Yes.
- Because everyone now believes
- that there's some treasure associated in the Money Pit.
- Yeah.
Ever since the
ingeniously designed booby-trapped shaft,
known as the Money Pit,
was discovered in 1795,
generations of searchers
have tried and failed
to find whatever may lie
buried more than 90 feet deep.
The depth of this one
might be a better chance
- for getting some silver, right?
- Okay.
However,
over the past two years,
the Laginas and their team
have obtained scientific
evidence of precious metals
deep underground all
across the Money Pit area.
Here's the bottom
line. It's got gold in it.
It's got gold in the water.
And if it's got
gold in the water,
the gold is coming
from somewhere.
I told you Bravo Tango
was coming at some point.
Land, ho!
Here she is, boys.
Now, after more
than a decade into their own search...
Here we come, island.
Can Rick, Marty,
Craig and the team
locate and recover
the believed valuables?
And will they finally be able to
solve the Oak Island mystery?
Like the old saying,
"From the human heart
hope springs eternal,"
there have been
other times in this quest
when I thought we
were really close
and our hopes were dashed.
But we dusted ourselves
off and started again.
Are we as close as I
thought those times?
Yes.
Because we now know
there's gold in the water
in the Money Pit area.
Okay, Rick, brother.
And so, I'm singularly focused
on chasing that gold
to where it's coming from.
Everybody's here.
- And so it begins.
- All right. -Let's go.
I have been fascinated
with trying to understand
the mystery in its totality.
Who, what, when,
where, why and how.
- Hey, guys. -OTHERS: Hey.
- Welcome back.
- Welcome back.
- Gentlemen! -Hey, guys.
Howdy,
howdy. Good to be back.
And I think we're on the cusp of
a discovery that will
ultimately lead to the solution.
I hate to say it, but
everybody looks a year older.
We all come at this differently,
and yet we all sit
at the same table
with the same goals in
mind, the greater good.
Trying to understand
this incredibly powerful,
incredibly complex mystery.
Thanks for everybody being here.
It's great to see
the same faces.
Absolutely.
It's nice to see
all of us sitting
around the table
and everybody remotely.
- There you go.
- Yeah.
The first thing
I want to talk about,
'cause it's what
keeps me coming back
with enthusiasm, is that
there is gold in the water.
The number one goal
is to trace that gold
in the water back to its source,
and then dig it up.
So, last year, we
had anomalous gold
in the water,
but our data set wasn't large.
It was based on 20
holes in the Money Pit.
So, this year, we
identified 50 holes
- to collect a bigger data set.
- Mm-hmm.
To that end, uh, Dr. Spooner,
as we drill all
these other wells
to chase the gold in the water,
how are we going to do it
and what have we done so far?
Yeah, uh, yeah, thanks, Marty.
I mean, what we're
trying to do, really, is
figure out where water travels
in The Money Pit,
how water moves.
We've been putting
in these wells
that'll help us track water.
So, then, when we do
find gold in the water,
we can get a bit better idea
- where it's coming from.
- Yeah.
All right, that's
the last sample.
One year ago,
geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner,
collected water samples
from numerous boreholes
that the team has drilled
over the past decade
in the Money Pit area...
and, incredibly, found
high trace evidence of
both silver and gold
in numerous locations.
This year, the team
has already begun
a new core-drilling
operation involving more than
50 planned boreholes
to not only look
for hard evidence of treasure
but also allow
Dr. Spooner to conduct
much more
sophisticated water tests.
By using a device
known as a level logger,
Dr. Spooner believes he
can determine the direction
of water flow deep underground
in the Money Pit area.
This would allow him to
also track where the evidence
of gold is coming from.
What's important to me
is, if we can isolate that gold
in the water down
to a specific location.
By specific, I mean
20 feet by 20 feet.
Then we know almost certainly
that the gold's been in place.
Fantastic. Find us that
20 by 20 box, okay?
We'll do the rest.
- We'll do our best.
- All right. Fair enough.
Okay. Rick, what's
the next topic?
I think the elephant in the
room is the muon technology.
Right. You know,
everything's in place.
- Everything's recording.
- Mm-hmm.
But we're not gonna
have data for months yet.
Over the last few months,
the Oak Island team
has strategically placed
muon tomography
devices in 14 boreholes
across the Money Pit
area, at the South Shore
and at the southern
border of the swamp,
that are detecting
subatomic particles
known as muons as they
penetrate the Earth's surface.
The collected data will
generate a three-dimensional map
of underground anomalies,
including tunnels, voids,
and large objects
such as a treasure vault.
However, the data
collection may take
the entire summer to complete.
What we could see
before too long is
if there's a big
treasure close to
one of the sensors,
it'll see that quicker.
Yeah, sounds good.
Instead of the big
dig, a big recovery.
Yeah.
Let's talk about
my friend, the swamp.
Just to bring
everybody up to speed,
we have spoken to
Mi'kmaw leadership.
We believe we've reached
- a cooperative relationship with them.
- Yes.
- But the standoff distances are still in place.
- Yes.
So we'll see how
that all unfolds.
One year ago,
while investigating a stone pathway
near the stone road
that the team unearthed
in the southeastern
corner of the swamp...
- What you got?
- Mi'kmaw pottery.
Archaeologist Laird
Niven discovered
Indigenous Mi'kmaw pottery
that could date back
as much as 2000 years.
This resulted in the
provincial Department
of Community, Culture,
Tourism and Heritage
restricting any
further searching
in a 200-foot-diameter
zone surrounding the area.
Although the team
is currently seeking
new permits from
the authorities,
it is their hope that
in the coming weeks
they can resume their
investigation of the swamp
where they have made
incredible discoveries,
including numerous parts
of ancient sailing vessels,
and a stone-paved
feature that has been dated
to as early as 1200 AD.
You know, contrary to me whining
about the swamp all the time,
I have to say every time we've
dug in there, we've found stuff.
- Right, Gary? Yeah.
- Yeah.
I think there's still some
story there to be understood.
- Yes.
- Okay.
And I see over
here on the right,
- with Helen, I see a new face.
- Yeah.
So we have a new member
of our archeological team,
Emma Culligan.
She's gonna be
running CT scanner
and the other equipment
that we're gonna
have on the island.
- Oh.
- Yeah, so I studied engineering,
um, as well as
archeology, kind of a niche
that I wanted to
create for myself. So...
Uh, yeah, I think you've
come into a pretty good niche.
We're gonna keep
her pretty busy this summer.
Excellent. Well,
welcome to the fellowship.
Well, that nicely brings
us to one of Rick's
favorites and that's research.
Because I will say that
what happened in Portugal
is a bit of an eye-opener.
I was surprised
how many potentially
relevant things you found.
- Oh. Good morning.
- Thank you.
Last fall,
during their investigative tour
of 12th-century sites
connected to the Knights Templar
throughout the
country of Portugal...
So, this symbol is definitely
on the 90-foot stone.
Rick Lagina and Oak
Island historian Doug Crowell,
along with Rick's nephews,
Alex Lagina and Peter Fornetti,
made a number of
intriguing discoveries.
- Right there. Yep.
- It's perfect.
The circle and the dot
in the center of the cross,
that's one of our symbols
on the H+O Stone.
These revelations
included ancient carvings
in a church constructed
by the Templars
that matched known
symbols on Oak Island,
such as the H+O Stone
and the fabled 90-foot stone,
reportedly discovered in
the Money Pit back in 1803.
The stone path
looks exactly like this.
Yeah, it looks
the spitting image.
They were also
shown a 2,000-year-old Roman road
that was nearly identical to
the one that the team uncovered
two years ago in the
southeast corner of the swamp.
We do have teams,
literally across the globe,
to look into archives
for information
relative to our search.
We have a team,
literally, in France.
We have people in Portugal.
We have people in the Azores.
We have people in Italy.
- Geez.
- Uh, we have people in London.
And they have done
astoundingly great work to date.
I have high hopes for it.
I-I think they might
have some clues
to our current understanding
of Oak Island and the mystery.
- Yep, sounds great. -Yes.
- Well, that's all good.
Then there's Lot 8.
Gary, last year we
found a lot of stuff there.
Yeah, some really
cool finds off that area.
Yeah.
When it comes to the surface,
metal detecting, is
you always go back
to where you've recovered
coins and artifacts before,
'cause you're gonna
find some more.
- Yeah.
- Okay, so that's Lot 8.
Sounds like we have
a pretty full schedule.
I think so.
I think it's gonna
be an exciting year.
I'm-I'm really
looking forward to it.
Okay. I think it's time
to get up from this table
and go do something.
The only more words
I want to hear are...
- Bravo Tango!
- Bravo Tango!
Let's go.
- It's exciting.
- Yep.
Here we are. K-15.5.
- Hey, Marty.
- Marty, Rick.
- Rick, how you doing?
- What's up?
Got the doubloons?
No?
Someday soon, Marty.
- Someday soon, man.
- All right.
Following
their meeting in the w*r room,
brothers Rick and Marty
Lagina arrive at the Money Pit
to check on the
core-drilling operation
in Borehole K-15.5...
The newest target
on their strategic grid
designed to help trace
both underground water flow
and hopefully the source
of the gold and silver
that has recently been
detected in the area.
- Where are we right now?
- Right there.
We're going to 158 to finish it
and deeper if we get interest.
Working once again
with representatives
from Choice Drilling,
the team is extracting
core samples every ten feet
in the hopes of finding
important clues or valuables.
If they encounter water,
they will then collect samples
for geoscientist Dr. Ian
Spooner to conduct further testing.
We have used the
sonic drill program extensively
to further our understanding
of the underground
in the Money Pit area, and
that continues to the day.
Let's follow the water
sampling process
and see if it leads
us to a location.
The greatest hope
of all, of course,
is that it encounters
some sort of treasure.
As we accumulate
all these data points,
we need to come to
a new understanding
of where we are and
where we need to go.
We need everybody to weigh in.
So, I'm grateful for everybody's
active and ongoing
pursuit of answers.
All right. I
think we need to do
another hole or two and
see what maybe it tells us.
The next few holes
is gonna prove it up.
All right. Keep going, guys.
Let us know if something
bizarre happens.
- We will keep you appraised.
- All right.
- Okay, guys.
- Take care now. See you soon.
As the core-drilling operation,
as well as water sampling,
continues in the Money Pit...
- Got it?
- Got it.
Later that afternoon...
We going to
find something today?
Oh, we are, mate.
Marty Lagina joins
metal detection expert
Gary Drayton on Lot 8,
located west of the
triangle-shaped swamp.
I've been looking forward
to coming back here.
And this is what
brought us here,
- this depression. Yeah.
- I love this tree.
- We found some cool stuff here.
- Yes.
Of Oak
Island's 32 four-acre lots,
Lot 8 has produced some
of the most significant clues
that could potentially
help the team solve
the 227-year-old
treasure mystery.
- Look at that.
- That is a bobby-dazzler.
It was here in
2017 that Gary and Rick Lagina
discovered a semiprecious,
red garnet brooch.
- We just found a jewel.
- That's gorgeous.
I know you keep referring
to it as a, uh, a brooch.
I have a different
possible interpretation.
However, one year ago,
the team was astounded
when 32nd Degree Freemason
Scott Clarke suggested that
the garnet may be connected to
one of the most sacred missing
treasures ever associated
with the medieval order
of the Knights Templar.
This garnet was
actually the perfect color, size,
and general shape
as one of the stones
from a Masonic Royal
Arch High Priest breastplate.
The breastplate was used
in a specific Masonic ritual
meant to mimic the retrieval
of the Ark of the Covenant
from a secret vault underground.
Wow.
- Oh, it's time to dig, huh, guys?
- Yep.
Following Scott's presentation,
Marty and members
of the team unearthed
a potentially man-made feature
constructed of large stones.
It's just a big layer of rocks
right across this whole area.
- I think we need to go that way.
- Okay, mate.
- We'll go straight line towards the ocean.
- Okay.
Now, Marty and
Gary are hoping to find clues
that might explain the purpose
of the mysterious stone feature,
as well as evidence that
something of great value
- could be buried in the area.
- Yeah, that's a diggable target.
It should be right there.
Try that.
You got it out.
Oh, look
at this. It's an ox shoe.
What the hell?
There was never any occupation
on this lot. -Yeah.
And it doesn't exactly
look like farmland.
Well, this may
be more substantive here
than perhaps elsewhere,
because if that spot
there has significance,
then hauling things
could've been occurring
between the water
and back there.
So it'd be good
to know, you know,
- what that thing tells us.
- Yeah.
Because Lot 8 was
never inhabited by farmers,
could Marty's assessment
be correct that this oxen shoe
may be evidence of an
operation to haul cargo
from the ocean to somewhere
in this area long ago?
If so, what kind of
cargo could it be?
- Good start, mate.
- Yeah.
- Okay. Bag it and let's keep going.
- Okay.
All right, continue the line.
- Proceed, partner.
- Yep.
- Yeah?
- Yep.
Small target or a deep target.
Just there, mate.
- There's a root here, Gary. Something.
- Yeah.
Have to sort of do it this way.
That will look like it
should broggle it out, mate.
Try that.
Ooh!
Is it a big piece of something?
I'm not sure. Come
on out, you little bugger.
It feels like a handle.
I got it! I got it.
Oh, my goodness.
What the hell is that?
- That's it?
- What is that?
I have no idea, mate.
We find some unusual
things, especially at this site.
Back in business on Lot 8.
- That was down a foot.
- Yeah.
It's a mystery find.
We could be
looking at corrosion.
Right? I mean, it
could be inside there.
Yeah. Oh, it
definitely is, mate.
I mean, this is a prime
candidate for the CT scanner.
It can see straight
through this.
That's why I
couldn't describe it.
When I got me hands
on it, and I'm like, "What?"
- Yeah, you said it feels like a handle.
- Yeah.
Yeah. 'Cause that's
how I pulled it out.
I put me hand around
it and I think...
- That was... Oh.
- I was thinking it was a p*stol. I was hoping.
- Well...
- My hope is that this is
somehow connected to the musket.
You know, Gary, it's possible.
- I mean, in just looking at this butt end here.
- Yep.
It's possible this is
portion of a p*stol.
A metal fragment
of a possible p*stol or musket?
One year ago, while
searching this same area,
Gary and Marty discovered
an iron flintlock from a musket
that may potentially date
back three centuries or more.
This end feels a little
lighter than that end.
Could this be another
part of that same ancient w*apon?
If so, just who left it here?
This is fantastic.
- It's cool, though.
- Bag it and tag it.
Put that in your top pocket,
you're gonna be bent over.
Yeah, something...
- Next lane, coming up.
- Yes, sir.
The following
day, at the Money Pit...
Ah, it's coming!
Oak Island historian
Charles Barkhouse
continues supervising the
drilling of Borehole K-15.5.
- Oh, yeah! Wood!
- Wood?
- 103 and a half.
- 103 and a half.
Yeah, there it is.
Right there.
I can see it in the bag.
Oh, yeah, baby.
Smells like treasure.
Nice little chunk
there for you, Charles.
Yeah. You got one up here, too.
- So, what depth is that, Mike?
- Uh, this is...
- top, bottom.
- 111.
- This is 103 and a half.
- Right. And this one?
- 111.
- 111. Okay.
I'm cutting it open. I
want to see this thing.
Oh!
It's a good beam.
You got a beam, too. Okay.
Part of a wooden beam?
Unearthed from between
103 and 111 feet deep
in Borehole K-15.5?
The question now is,
what exactly has the
team encountered?
A possible structure?
Or could it be some
kind of a container?
That kind of looks pretty
flat along here, doesn't it?
- Yeah.
- Right there, yeah.
That looks dimensional
lumber, doesn't it?
I'd say so.
Yeah, we're
obviously in a structure,
- for sure.
- Looks like it.
I'm gonna text
Rick to come down here.
Yeah.
Looks like
we've hit a structure, Rick.
Seems like I show up when all of
the interesting things
have already happened.
After being
alerted by Charles Barkhouse
that the team
from Choice Drilling
has recovered a
large wooden beam
some 103 feet deep
in Borehole K-15.5,
Rick Lagina has arrived
at the Money Pit area
to inspect this potentially
important discovery.
To me it goes horizontal,
'cause the way it's chewed
and the way it's all stacked,
but then it extends
over to this one.
- This vertical piece here.
- Oh.
And because
we're getting these long pieces,
I believe it's coming
down the side of a support.
It's exciting. It's
wood at an elevation
that indicates human
beings were at that level
doing some enterprise.
No nails or anything?
No. Well, I haven't
checked that one yet
'cause we haven't finished
cutting that one open.
But there's nothing in this one.
- Certainly quite loose.
- It is quite loose, yeah.
It's amazing.
It's that really
nice puddled clay.
Puddled clay, yeah.
Puddled clay?
When the original Money
Pit was first excavated
to a depth of 90 feet in 1804,
searchers reported finding
puddled clay at various levels.
The clay was believed
to have been used
as a kind of sealant to
keep water out of the shaft.
Is it possible that the team has
just made a similar discovery?
If so, could that mean
they have encountered
a structure connected
to the original Money Pit?
Hey, Charles. How're you doing?
- Hey, Terry.
- Hi, Rick.
Hey, Terry.
- Interesting times.
- Interesting times.
Mike, what's going on?
Uh...
As soon as I hit
103, it just dropped.
How far did it drop?
Eight inches,
something like that,
then I stopped, pulled it out.
Between this and that,
there's a void down there.
- Yep.
- Okay.
- Slice her open, let's see.
- Let's have a look.
Bring it over.
All right. This was
up against this.
Look at that. That's
the bottom of a beam.
Yeah, that was
right up against that.
So, that was the piece
that was right on the bottom,
and that's the top.
103 the crown,
and the base sitting
right here at 108.
There's a good
chance that this structure is
basically an open tunnel
or a partially open tunnel.
So, 103 to 108, that's
a nice five-footer.
Five-foot-high tunnel.
Yeah, five foot, you'd
have to creep a little bit.
You know, we-we've seen
documentation of tunnels
as high as two feet,
and we've seen them
as high as eight feet,
so, it goes to show
- there are everywheres in between.
- Yeah.
A possible
five-foot-high tunnel,
more than 100 feet deep
in the Money Pit area?
But if so, the critical
question becomes,
was it built by previous
treasure hunters?
Or could it have been
constructed by someone
from a much earlier time period
in order to conceal
something of great value?
It'd be good to see if
we can find some pieces in there
that have a milled
surface on them
and see if we can identify
what kind of saw cut it was.
We've looked
into the type of tools
to create lumber.
They range from,
you know, industrial-size
carbide blades
in the modern era to long
ago using axes and adze
to-to cut and shape timber.
What it speaks to is
the age of the wood.
There's a milled surface there.
Also, one here. Look at this.
- Look at the uprights here, eh.
- Yeah.
There's another
beautiful piece up there.
That almost looks like an adze.
It does, doesn't it?
You can see some bevels.
Believed to have been
invented more than 2,000 years ago
in Ancient Egypt, an
adze is a type of cutting tool
featuring a blade, which sets
perpendicular to its handle.
This design made them
ideal for the construction
of ships and finely-crafted
buildings up until
the 18th century, when
they were replaced
by mechanized tools.
Ooh, look at that.
One year
ago, while searching on Lot 4,
where the team also discovered
a fragment of a possible
ancient Portuguese cannon,
Rick Lagina and metal
detection expert Gary Drayton
unearthed one of
these very tools.
The adze proved to
be a valuable discovery.
So, with
this particular one here,
I would go way
back, um, about 1620.
That's cut with an adze.
You know, that
strenuously suggests age.
You can see
the chop marks right there,
Oh, yeah, for sure.
Definitely, you
can see the bevels.
Wow, that's a good indication
of something fairly old.
That's incredible.
If the team
has indeed found a tunnel built
prior to the discovery
of the Money Pit,
could it be a breakthrough
that will not only help identify
who was behind the
Oak Island mystery
but also potentially lead them
straight to the
fabled treasure vault?
This wood appears to be old.
It's quite blackened.
It has adze cut on it.
An adze, generally speaking...
Generally speaking...
Is quite old.
So this is certainly a prime
candidate for C-14 testing.
There's a bevel
there. It's really interesting.
It's not confirmation,
but it certainly is
somewhat supportive
that it is indeed a tunnel.
Is there any thoughts
of trying to determine
the trajectory of this?
Like, do more
drilling to try to see
- where this is coming from?
- Yep.
I'd chase this tunnel.
But, to me,
something this far out
would probably be tunneled
directly to the Money Pit.
- Agreed.
- Or, you know,
something that was
connected to the Money Pit.
If there's ever a chance
for water sampling,
- I think this is it.
- Oh, yeah. For sure.
This is eminently interesting.
I've got one thing to
take care of, but call me
- if anything new turns up, okay?
- Okay.
Turned out to be a
really, really interesting hole.
Very much so.
Later that afternoon...
- Carmen, how are you?
- Oh, not too bad.
- Yourself?
- Good.
At the Research
Center, Rick Lagina,
Jack Begley and Craig Tester
meet with blacksmithing
expert Carmen Legge
to get his assessment
of the mysterious artifact
found one day ago on Lot 8.
We've got a
bit of a puzzle for you.
That is this object right here.
My brother and Gary found
it. It was found on Lot 8.
And we have run some
geophysical investigations there,
and they're showing
some anomalous feature.
- Oh, okay.
- So, they found that.
Earlier today,
archaeologist Emma
Culligan ran the artifact
through the team's
state-of-the-art
SKYSCAN 1273 CT scanner.
The device emits
nondestructive X-ray radiation
that penetrates
encrusted materials
that build up over time
on an object's surface
to reveal a computer
image of its finer details.
Heavily encrusted.
That's why the CT
scan should help.
- That is what the CT scanner showed.
- Oh. Yeah.
- That helps you?
- Yes.
Interesting.
What would be their typical use?
Like hauling wood out
or also hauling
ground material up?
Lifting cargo?
A bunk hook?
Used for lifting and
hauling logs or heavy cargo?
Could Marty and Gary
have found more evidence
that something
of potential value
could be buried on Lot 8,
as theorists such as Freemason
Scott Clarke have suggested?
It's somewhat
of a unique design.
So, I've never seen
one in the modern era.
Wow.
In the research center,
blacksmithing
expert Carmen Legge
has just given his assessment
that the artifact found
one day ago on Lot 8
is potentially more
than 400 years old
and was designed for
hoisting heavy cargo.
Okay.
So, then, this is probably
older than 1795, then?
Personally, I can't come up
with any activity
that we know of
that would necessitate
a... a hook such as that.
Oh, wow.
Seven to eight tons is a lot.
What's this doing on Lot 8?
We'd expect something
on the East Drumlin like this.
How much hauling and work do
we know that was done on Lot 8?
Like, in-in our records of
- the history on Oak Island?
- We don't.
Whether it was from the
searchers or depositors,
I mean, that'd be a
useful hook to have.
But this was found, like,
in the middle of the lot.
Interesting.
I see.
I see.
We would have to
have this conserved
before it could go in the XRF,
since it's so heavily
encrusted with something.
We will definitely put a
notation on here and...
- Very interesting.
- That could date back quite old
and give us great
evidence for the Lot 8 area.
I mean, we've found some
weird things around there.
When you have an item
that, according to Carmen,
the design could be as
far back as the 1500s,
we know it was used for
extremely heavily loads,
why not try to gain further
understanding of not only
that particular item
but what other items
we might find on the lot?
There's only one
way to figure that out,
and that's to devote the
assets and the time necessary
to try to figure out what
that mystery might be.
There's more work to
do. It's an interesting item.
Certainly found on a lot we
don't know a whole lot about,
and we need to know more.
So thank you for
the information.
We appreciate your time,
appreciate your insight.
- Very good. All right, see you later.
- Thank you. Thank you.
- Thanks, Carmen.
- All right, appreciate it.
See ya.
The following morning...
- Got another core coming in.
- Yep.
Oak Island historian
Paul Troutman
and geologist Terry Matheson
monitor the core drilling of
a new borehole, M-16.25.
- What do we have, Colt?
- Hey, Colten.
- It's gonna be 89.
- 89, all right. -89, thank you
Located approximately
11 feet to the south of Borehole K-15.5,
the team is hoping to
obtain further evidence
of a possible wooden tunnel
at a depth of some 103 feet.
So, 102 to
108 feet for that, uh,
- wood intersection that was found in K-15.5.
- Yep.
- Hopefully we'll get on it with this hole.
- Yeah.
So once we get to
depth, if we find that void,
then we'll be able to
use the well camera,
get inside it, get a profile.
And even better to find
the direction of the tunnel.
'Cause the tunnel
came from somewhere.
It's going to somewhere.
- Yes. That would be ideal.
- Yeah.
We're hoping
that a six-inch sonic tube
will penetrate a
chamber, a void,
tunnel, and if it
has open space,
there is the possibility
that one can introduce
a small camera down
and take a look.
It gives you all
kinds of possibilities.
You're gonna have to go deeper.
Well, it's at 103,
which is the top.
And so you just
gotta poke it out.
If we hit the tunnel, and if
we can get down inside of it
and get the camera work
done, find the orientation.
Even just a hit gives
us better information.
Yes, and if it
gives us a direction
that we could actually
follow a little bit further out...
This is critical.
Here it comes, the
moment of truth.
Mike, Colten, what's the story?
- Hey.
- Okay, so...
- 102. We felt something.
- Right.
Broke through quick, like, four
inches or something like that.
- Just a thin layer.
- Boom. Right.
And then, I drove
my casing to 103.
Yeah, yeah, to get inside.
That's-that's... I would
say almost perfect.
- Yeah.
- So, we're busted in there.
Rods are out, and
it's open to 107.
- Okay. I guess...
- And casing's at 103.
- So, you guys got...
- Four-foot window.
Four feet to play around in.
For me, that's
mission accomplished.
I think we've gotten
into the tunnel.
We're gonna get
a better alignment.
And I guess the point
now would be, I think,
let's call Rick and
see what he says.
See if he can get down here.
Now that the team
has once again encountered wood,
followed by a four-foot void
and another section of wood,
could geologist Terry
Matheson be correct that
they've actually found
a man-made tunnel?
Hey, Rick. How you doing?
Rick, we've got some good news.
Really good. Listen, uh,
we got some good feedback
here from, uh, Mike and Colten.
I think we're into the tunnel.
How do you want to proceed?
I'll get one together right now
and go off and get it.
If it is a real tunnel,
it presents the possibility
of determining if it's open.
And if we get a real
picture of a real tunnel,
it would be the first time ever
that we take a picture of
a structure underground.
We have retrieved wood from
deep underground in the Money Pit.
We have never seen a
structure with our own eyes in situ.
So this could be quite huge.
We would like to see
underground around the Money Pit.
Something that could
help resolve the mystery
of where the heck
the Money Pit is.
So we're trying to figure
that all out, but it's exciting.
Okay, we'll be in the
process of setting up, okay?
Very good. Talk to you soon.
Bye now.
Well, thanks a lot, you guys.
Mission accomplished
for you guys, absolutely.
Thanks a lot.
- Let's get the camera going.
- Okay.
We have everything ready to go?
- Yes.
- Right on.
After being informed
by members of the team
that they've once again drilled
into a possible wooden tunnel
some 103 feet deep
in the Money Pit area...
Let's, uh, try to rig a
light on the end of this
so we can get a
better view down there.
Rick Lagina and Steve Guptill
join them to explore
Borehole M-16.25
with a specialized
underwater camera.
That light look
fairly centered on there?
- Yeah.
- That's good.
As the camera is
introduced into the hole,
I think we're all very hopeful
we'll have a real a-ha
moment, a real experience.
We'll have eyes on the
target and be able to realize,
in real time, what
we're encountering.
It's what we're looking for...
Confirmation in the Money Pit
regarding structures
underground.
All right, so
let's turn the light on.
Paul, you want to power us up?
Okay, we're powered up.
Okay. Let's roll.
So this is the
camera system that we have
that will go down and
give us a 360-degree view.
- That looks good.
- Super.
All right, Paul, you want
to start your descent?
Okay. Moving forward.
Let's dive in.
That's pretty cool.
Okay, so we're just
coming up to the water here,
seven meters.
So we're getting
close to the water.
You see that reflection,
that bright area,
reflecting the light from the
downward-facing camera.
There you go, splash zone.
Okay, we're plunged right in.
Eight meters. Target 102 feet.
Let's switch to
our horizontal view.
That is very sharp.
Yeah, that looks much better.
Okay, so
we're at 16.94 meters.
We're a little more
than halfway there.
We're coming
up to our depth here,
where we're gonna
come out of the casing.
Paul, you just
want to slow it down
a little bit there, so we
don't plop it too fast?
Almost a 100 feet, with
another 2 or 3 feet to go.
Another foot and we
should be peeking out.
31.15, we're getting very close.
- Right there. 31.94.
- There it is. Okay.
Paul, do you want to take
us down just a little bit further?
Let's get the camera
outside of the casing, first.
Just below.
Just right there, right there.
There you go.
There you can see the teeth.
- Can we, can we turn?
- Okay.
- It looks like a shark jaw.
- It is.
We got Jaws going on here.
- Woah!
- There's a timber there.
Yep.
Oh, wow, that's fantastic.
We are in the tunnel.
We saw broken timbers.
Certainly the bit was
coming down, vertically,
It had gone through a ceiling,
and then there was a void.
It's pretty amazing.
Look at that, that's
a 45-degree cut, right there.
You can even see the splinters
on the sides of that beam.
- For sure.
- That's a great image right there.
I think that-that,
to me, is almost
the-the ceiling of the tunnel.
Kind of looks like a
fastener or head of a bolt
- or something right there.
- It could be a dowel.
A possible wooden dowel?
In a tunnel found more than 100
feet deep in the Money Pit area?
Dating back to as early
as the seventh century AD,
wooden dowels are
fasteners used to connect
the timbers of large structures.
Because metal fasteners
were generally used
by treasure hunters who
built shafts and tunnels
after the discovery of
the Money Pit in 1795,
could a wooden
dowel offer evidence
that this tunnel predates
searcher activities?
If so, who built it, when,
and where does it lead?
Two things, it is
two separate beams,
or it's a collapse.
And that sure looks
like it suffered some sort
- of catastrophic break.
- Damage, yeah.
So, that would be my
guess that it went like that.
Well, guys, I don't know if
we're gonna see much more
than we have so far.
We got some great
images of those beams.
- Very interesting.
- Straight up.
But, you know, we
just don't have the light
to see further down into
that opening, you know,
to see where that tunnel may go
or what else may be in there.
We should definitely
send the video to Prohawk,
so they can clean the video up,
maybe get through
the sand and silt,
and we'll get a better
look at the structure.
But also just an
indication, an outline,
- of what it looks like, potentially.
- Yeah.
That's our next step, so
let's initiate that process.
- All right. -Super.
- Sounds good.
Marty needs to see this footage.
The following morning...
Hey, good morning,
Fellowshippers!
- Hey, Marty.
- Hey Marty.
Rick Lagina and
members of the team
meet via conference
with Marty Lagina,
who has been called
away from the island
on important business.
They are eager to share
the stunning footage
of their latest discovery
in the Money Pit.
So, this is one of
the most exciting days
we've had in the last... I
don't even want to count
how many years
we've been here now.
But, uh, for the first
time, we will look at
really hi-res photos
in a man-made
structure in the Money Pit.
- We'll share a screen.
- Yep, I'll share my screen.
That'd be great. It's exciting.
All right,
Marty. Here's the video.
- Okay.
- Can you see it?
Yeah, I can see it. Yep.
So, this is just a quick view
- of what we could see.
- Okay.
All right, Marty, so
we took that image
and this is the
enhancement from Prohawk.
Wow.
In order to enhance
the compelling video footage,
the team has commissioned
a company known as
Prohawk Technology Group.
Their revolutionary software
makes murky images
appear clearer and
in higher resolution.
Yeah, that's a broken timber.
We think the beam
has probably collapsed
as the-the casing
came down into it.
The original tunnel height
is about four to five feet high.
So, at this point, we found
a new undiscovered tunnel?
That's the hope.
That's really cool.
It's kind of an odd location.
So what is that tunnel?
Is that tunnel a
searcher tunnel?
Or is it original works?
It may lead to the
"True Money Pit."
I mean, we all feel we've lost
the location of the Money Pit.
So, it'd be good
information to...
You know, if we
can confirm what it is,
it'd help decide
where we need to go.
Could it be possible that,
after more than a decade of searching,
the Oak Island team
has finally discovered
a tunnel more than
100 feet underground
that may be connected
to the original Money Pit?
And if so, might it lead to
the source of silver and gold
that has been detected
through scientific testing?
I'm not an expert in
all of this stuff, okay?
But it could be the
fabled flood tunnel.
We don't know what it is,
but it's previously unknown.
So that's good.
That's clearly, by
definition, a find.
It could yield answers.
We should have a
proper discussion
- about what we do next.
- Yeah.
Considering we're fortunate
enough to have this open tunnel,
um, I think it's a good idea
that maybe we put
a sonar down there.
See how far it's open,
direction it's heading,
get a good image,
you know, underground,
- and we can learn a lot from that.
- Okay.
And test the wood.
Maybe this tunnel is
from the 1700s or older.
- Ultimately, you're right.
- It could be from depositor.
Right. The first
well drilled into the tunnel,
K-15.5, it's been sent
out for carbon dating.
Okay, good.
Here's my take on it.
- It's really cool and it's neat to see it.
- Yeah.
And the most exciting
is Jack's hypotheses,
which is that this is a
previously unknown,
perhaps, depositor tunnel.
That is really exciting if
that's what it turns out to be.
The most astounding
thing of all would be,
if we can make a
determination that this is original,
it's huge.
We would expend
the sufficient monies,
sufficient time,
sufficient energy
to follow the tunnel, literally,
to, hopefully, X marks the spot.
If this is original,
it's the one thing,
there's no question about it.
You know, maybe in front
of us we have the proof.
You know, here
we drilled all these wells,
all hundreds of them, and
we never hit this before.
And so, you know, it
kind of goes to your point
that there could be
stuff still within that matrix
that we haven't hit,
because we just did.
So, uh, that's-that's good.
Keep going. Good
info, guys. Appreciate it.
All right, we'll let you
know how it turns out.
- See you later.
- Appreciate it.
- Thank you.
- See ya.
As another
new day begins on Oak Island...
Okay, here's the sonar unit.
Rick Lagina, along
with members of the team,
have returned to
the Money Pit area
in order to conduct
a sonar operation
in Borehole M-16.25.
We're gonna have to
measure it out to 103.8.
A borehole where, two days ago,
the team recorded
video of an approximately
five-foot tall, man-made tunnel,
some 103 feet deep underground.
I'm gonna pull it
right to the end, Paul.
Right to the end. Make it tight.
And then we'll mark our spots.
My hope is that we'll see
enough to give Steve a line.
- Yeah.
- And then you can project the line, right?
Okay, Steve, I think
we've got it marked.
- Okay.
- All right.
Now, as they
await carbon dating analysis
on a wood sample
that they obtained
from their initial
discovery of the structure...
Hey, guys. You guys
all done? We're all ready.
It is Rick, Marty
and the team's hope
that by utilizing
a sonar device,
they can determine which
direction the tunnel may lead.
So, Paul, we'll see
this in real time, right?
Yes, as we're sending it
down it will scan 360 degrees,
and it'll give us a
profile of what it sees
outward from the sonar,
and it reflects back
for a sound signal.
And the data will record?
Data will record to the unit,
and we'll be able
to play it back
- in real time as well.
- Perfect.
Okay. Ready, guys?
All right. Yep, yep.
Recording the log.
Let's say this is original.
Then we follow it, no question.
If it's searcher era,
we're gonna want to know
the orientation, because
searchers were going
to X marks the spot,
where they thought
the treasure might be.
- Got 103-foot-eight, I believe, Steve?
- Yep.
We should be well
within the water right now.
If the sonar operates properly,
and if we get that orientation,
we can project those lines.
All right. Well,
that's interesting.
The excitement is palpable.
There's no question about it.
We're already starting
to see a profile...
Something rectangular.
We have green to red,
so red being the highest.
We're getting solid
dense material,
so those could be beams.
I would say it makes
sense logically,
because there's
a pattern to them.
They're integrally
spaced from each other,
and they seem to be
reoccurring at regular intervals.
- That looks fantastic.
- Also the shape of that
kind of gives like a little
bit of an elbow in that,
if it's a tunnel.
And we seem to be
right in the middle of that bend,
that slight crook.
We're just right about
here. It's kind of interesting.
Am I seeing that we're
going past the five-meter mark
- in that other direction?
- Yes.
20 feet out and it's about
15 in the other direction.
We've got about 35 feet
of tunnel there in front of us.
That's incredible.
That's quite the image.
I'm troubled a bit by why
it's not seeing anything here,
there's no
explanation like that.
I wonder if that's a
collapsed feature there.
And that's why it's
not seeing anything.
To Rick's point, it
does look like it's collapsed.
The other side is very square.
This one comes
to a conical point.
It kind of makes you think
that it could be collapsed.
I think it's
really quite something.
We've got 35 feet of
tunnel in front of us.
At least we have
something in front of us
that gives us a direction.
There's no
question that the sonar
is seeing an opening
and it can only be a tunnel.
But we have to derive
more data from this location,
and we have to connect
it with the other data.
We need to go and
further investigate it.
My cautionary tale would be,
let's wait until it gets
on the surveyor plan
- before we say it's going here, it's going there.
- Exactly.
Steve has the
skill set and the techniques
available to him to
properly plot this on a map.
- Absolutely.
- It's a tunnel.
Kudos to you guys for
persevering to follow this up,
um, but I'm not gonna
say anything about
what this may reflect
until I see it on a map.
I say we take
another scan or two,
- and then I'm gonna go draft it.
- Sounds good.
Today was a very
good day here on Oak Island.
Absolutely.
As Rick Lagina
and members of the team
complete their sonar
scans in Borehole M-16.25...
This area is one
of the last areas on Lot 7
that's been cleared,
and we haven't detected.
Well, lead the way.
Metal detection
expert Gary Drayton
and Jack Begley arrive on Lot 7,
just West of Lot 8.
This hasn't been
farmed around here.
-No. -So nothing's out of place.
Everything should be in situ.
- I love your enthusiasm, mate.
- Ah, I'm psyched.
I'm ready to get stuck
in in this area as well.
In light of the
potentially 500-year-old bunk hook
that Gary and Marty Lagina
recently found nearby...
All right, mate.
Let's get stuck in.
- Let's find some artifacts, Gary.
- Okay, mate.
The team hopes to
unearth more important clues
from the surrounding
area that could help identify
who may have visited
this part of the island
prior to the discovery
of the Money Pit,
and also if they left
anything of value behind.
- Whoo-hoo!
- Oh...
We have got a signal, mate.
- Nice.
- Just there.
- Mainly just roots.
- Yep.
Nice one, mate.
We can't be very
far away from it.
- You're on it.
- Yeah. I'm on it.
I'm going for it.
- Wow.
- Ooh!
You got it. What is that?
Check this out.
-Oh. -Sweet.
- Musket ball. Look at that.
- I love finding those.
Fantastic, mate.
This is an oldie as
well, by the look of it.
What time period is
musket balls, Gary?
They're black powder
weapons, so late 1500s
all the way into the
mid-to-late 1800s.
That could fit
in with Portugal, too.
Well, we still
haven't discovered
how old that
musket lock plate is
- that we recovered on Lot 8.
- Mm-hmm. Just nearby.
Yeah, so they
could be connected.
A lead musket ball?
Could it be related to
the potential 16th-century
musket r*fle flintlock that
Gary and Marty Lagina
found near this
area one year ago?
And might they both be
related to the ancient bunk hook
found on Lot 8 that was
designed for hauling heavy cargo?
Each musket ball is
- its own little piece of art.
- Yeah.
If so, could this musket ball
have been fired
in order to protect
something of great value?
When I think of musket
balls... we are in Canada,
North America... I got to
go back to colonial days
- on that, mid-to-late 1700s.
- Yeah.
Fantastic, mate. I love 'em.
- Yep.
- Let's see if it's got any friends in the area.
Ooh.
- That's a nice signal.
- Yeah, that's a nice signal, mate.
Just there, mate. That's
my best guesstimate.
- What, are you on a rock?
- Yeah.
That rock stopped whatever
it is from sinking deeper.
It's out, mate.
Shouldn't... Oh.
Is it that?
That's a rock.
Yeah, looks like a rock, but...
- -Is it?
- Because if this isn't a rock...
Oh, wow.
This could be
something special, mate.
On Lot 7,
near the border of Lot 8
on the western
side of Oak Island,
Gary Drayton and Jack
Begley have just made
a potentially
significant discovery.
When I first saw it...
'Cause I was the same
as you, "It's a rock."
Uh, but it isn't, it's metal.
- And, uh... Yeah.
- It's rectangular and flat.
- Yeah.
- It's rectangular,
and it's got some,
like, little markings on it.
- You think those are markings?
- Yeah.
I'd just be guessing what it is,
but that shape,
this could potentially
be, like, an old coin.
That's what it looks
like to me, mate.
- Oh, that'd be great.
- That's how they were made.
You'd get square ones.
You'd get oblong ones.
You'd get triangle
ones, and I'm not sure yet
whether it's copper or silver.
A possible coin?
And potentially made of silver?
If so, could it be
connected to the bunk hook
that Gary and Marty recently
found nearby on Lot 8?
Or perhaps the evidence
of precious metals
that have been detected
in the Money Pit?
I mean, look at that.
Look how it goes down
and to a point there.
It's just the
irregularity of it.
There's something
special about this.
Wow.
I'm seeing a
design on that, mate.
But we'd have to speculate.
All the finds go
back to the lab.
Put them under the CT scanner,
get those guys to
tell us what metal it is.
It's an interesting
find, that is for sure.
Yeah. I agree.
- Great find, Gary.
- Fantastic, mate. Good digging.
The following morning...
Hey, good morning!
Hey, Marty.
So, we have the sonar results.
- Yeah.
- Steve is gonna share a screen
and, uh, show everybody
what the sonar has shown.
Members of the
team have gathered
in the w*r room to
review the sonar data
they collected one day ago
in a mysterious tunnel
some 103 feet deep
in the Money Pit area.
All right, Marty, I have
the data up on the screen.
Oh, wow.
That's a tunnel, all right.
As you can see,
it heads off in a
northwest direction
and comes from a
south-southeast direction.
The sonar went down
Borehole M-16.25.
For its orientation, I'll
show you the whole map.
I'm gonna zoom into the area.
At M-16.25, we
had an open cavity
at 103 to 107 feet, and
that's where we put the sonar.
So for tunnel orientation,
we have K-15.5,
with that, we incorporate
our sonar data.
And there's what it
looks like underground.
Oh.
So, based on early
projections... and we still have
quite a bit of work to
do... it does point just west
a few feet of the Garden Shaft.
The Garden Shaft?
Okay, that would probably
be the outside wall there.
- Ten-four.
- A 10 by 10 shaft.
In 2017,
while attempting to locate
the original Money Pit
the team unearthed a
10-by-10-foot-wide wooden shaft.
At the time, they
believed it to be
a 19th-century structure,
built by previous
treasure hunters
in a failed attempt to
bypass the flood traps.
After constructing a rock
garden around it three years ago,
they affectionately dubbed
it, "The Garden Shaft."
But if the tunnel that the
team has encountered
is potentially
connected to that shaft,
is it possible that they
have made a discovery
that could help solve
the Oak Island mystery?
What about carbon dating?
What did that come up with?
- Do we have those results?
- Yeah, I sure do.
This is the post
- we brought up from, uh, K-15.5.
- Okay.
K-15.5 is 48.1%
from 1731 to 1806.
35.5% from 1640 to 1687.
- Wow.
- So, you know, 70 to 80%
is from 1640 to 1810.
The carbon dates
are pre-discovery
and post-discovery
of the Money Pit.
That's what makes
this endeavor so difficult.
This time frame
is quite confusing,
and we don't know
what to make of it.
This thing just keeps
getting more complex
by the... by the moment.
I see this as
kind of damning fact
that we found an
old tunnel finally,
and we found
something that can be
definitively substantial
and lead us on to something
that could be a
treasure chamber.
And, if anything,
I'd say this might be
the oldest tunnel
we've ever found.
I understand Jack's excitement.
- Yeah.
- The dates seem to suggest
it's something earlier, so...
that's something
to be excited about.
I love those early 1700s dates.
Could be some
really, really early gold
and silver coins in that
tunnel or in the Garden Shaft.
- We need more data.
- Yeah.
If we do drill into the tunnel
and we get more pieces of wood,
we'll just get more statistical
analysis of what makes sense.
Well, this is all intriguing
and of course, as
usual, it's a result
that leads to more
investigation required, so...
let's pursue this, let's
continue to pursue it.
- Yep.
- Well done, guys.
Okay.
We're not gonna do any
work sitting around this table,
so let's get back
to work, everybody.
Perfect.
Thank you, gentlemen.
- Bye, Marty.
- Bye.
- Laird.
- Hello. How are you?
Well, you tell me
how I'm gonna be
after I find out what this is.
Following their meeting
in the w*r room, Rick Lagina,
along with Jack Begley
and Gary Drayton,
join archaeologists Laird Niven
and Emma Culligan in the
Oak Island Interpretive Centre.
This is a-a little
piece that, uh,
Gary and Jack found on Lot 7.
Laird and Emma
have spent the last several hours
scanning the believed coin
that was found one day ago
on Lot 7 with the
SKYSCAN 1273 CT scanner.
Can you show us the edge, Emma,
- please?
- Yeah.
Right now, this is the CT scan.
It's a...
interesting-looking piece.
The edges are strange.
It looks like
whatever the metal is
was cut with shears.
Just cut like this.
Looks like it could
be something really special.
I was hoping that it
was some kind of coin.
I think
you might find what
Emma has to say
a little more interesting.
Okay. That sounds great.
Emma, do you want to...
- come up and, uh...
- Sure thing.
Tell 'em what you found?
Additionally,
the artifact has been scanned
with an X-ray fluorescence
spectrometer, or XRF device,
which can identify the
types of elements and metals
that make up an
object's composition.
So, what was really
interesting about this
is the actual
material properties.
This was the XRF analysis.
So, it's mainly copper,
which wasn't too surprising.
Then it had an
extremely high tin content,
which makes it bronze,
along with a really
high arsenic content,
which makes it an
arsenical bronze.
And that stands out to me.
What would be
the point of a metal
mixture like this?
It increases your
tensile strength,
and it also reduces,
- like, flaking.
- Yeah.
So, anything with, like,
a high arsenic content
has a low vaporizing point
that's lower than its
melting point of other metals.
So during, like,
forging or casting,
there'd be a lot of
arsen-arsenic gas in the air,
which would affect
your nervous system.
So there was this long
period of just it phasing out.
And because it is
a phased-out metal,
it is not a modern
metal by any means.
16th century onwards,
it's nonexistent.
They stopped making
- this type of metal in the 1500s?
- They stopped making it...
Yes.
- Yes.
- That is absolutely brilliant.
It is...
it is pretty old.
Yeah.
The possible coin found on Lot 7
potentially predating
the 16th century?
If so, could it offer
more evidence
to support the beliefs of
theorists like Scott Clarke,
that the Knights Templar
may have been behind
the Oak Island mystery?
It was common for coins.
But it was also used for
swords. It was used for statues.
But the shape...
really
reminiscent of a coin here.
- Yeah.
- Yeah, it is. I knew it!
It's quite exciting.
- Yeah, it is.
- Quite-quite-quite fascinating.
It's certainly interesting
enough. I-I think Marty
would like to know about
this. He's all about the data.
So let me... let me
see if he's available.
Hey.
Hey. Uh, we're here
in the lab with Emma and
Laird and Jack and Gary.
They found something. But
it's more than a something.
It's quite interesting.
Uh, Emma has run it
through the XRD and the XRF.
I'm gonna let her
tell you about it.
So, Gary and Jack found
this small rectangular object
that I ran through the XRF,
and the materials that
came out has copper,
tin, zinc and a pretty
high arsenic content,
which is a very unique
material composition.
Those exact material properties
indicate a metal
that was phased out
at least in the 16th century.
So,
it is a really unique piece,
and it really stands out.
No.
It's a very unique property,
'cause it did get phased out
because it's so
harmful to humans.
Yeah.
It's-it's quite unique.
There's no question about it.
All right.
We'll send Gary
and Jack back out.
- We will, for sure.
- All right, see ya.
Take care.
- Yeah. Bye-bye.
- Bye, Marty.
All right, well, it's
incredibly interesting,
as everyone has articulated.
But it's time to get back
out there and take a look,
see what else we can find.
- Yep, we can do that, for sure.
- All righty.
- See ya later. -See ya.
- See ya later, guys.
Thanks for the great news.
I had a feeling about that.
The following day...
All right, guys,
I'm excited about this.
Uh, we're gonna have
a session here today
about gold in the water.
Marty Lagina has
returned to Oak Island
and joins Rick, Craig
and other members of
their team in the w*r room.
We're gonna try and find
out what all that means
and how it affects
the treasure hunt.
They have gathered
to hear an important update
from geoscientist
Dr. Ian Spooner
regarding his
ongoing water testing
of boreholes in
the Money Pit area.
And joining them
via video conference
is hydrogeologist
Dr. Fred Michel.
Um, Fred, why don't you give
a little background of yourself?
Okay.
Most of my career has been spent
dealing with the physical flow
of groundwater
to try and identify lead
or zinc or copper or gold
in large areas.
Bit of a recap... last year,
we found the gold in the
water. That was a surprise.
So, the whole idea was
to put together a program
in which we could
both understand
how water was
moving in the Money Pit
and to test this idea
that there's a source
of gold in the Money Pit
and that's what's
creating the gold anomaly.
- Yes.
- 'Cause if it's naturally here,
has nothing to do with
humans, it shouldn't be a small...
area where it's concentrated.
That's really intriguing.
We've sampled wells
within the Money Pit area.
And we do have some
chemistry back from this.
We did do a series of
measurements of water levels
near the-the Garden Shaft,
um, heading south.
So, we're seeing
a general flow direction
that is sort of from
the north of the site
toward the south of the site.
We scooped up two samples
in the Garden Shaft,
sent those away.
And we found, uh,
gold in, uh, the Garden Shaft.
That's exciting.
We scooped up two
samples in the garden shaft,
sent those away
and we found
gold in, uh, the Garden shaft.
In the w*r room,
geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner
and hydrogeologist
Dr. Fred Michel
have just shared an incredible
report with Rick, Marty,
Craig and other members
of the Oak Island team.
Do you find the
Garden Shaft area, then,
the most intriguing
area right now,
- based on...
- Yeah. Absolutely.
There's something down there.
According
to preliminary analysis,
the water deep underground
in the Money Pit area
containing the highest
concentration of gold
appears to be
flowing from the north,
near the so-called Garden Shaft,
to the south,
in the direction of the tunnel
the team just
recently discovered.
Could this mean that the
fabled treasure could, in fact,
be located at or near the
bottom of the Garden Shaft?
This is really exciting to me.
You know, we've been sort
of... you know, we're feeling
our way around with all
these different methodologies.
- This is rigorous science.
- Yep.
It feels like...
this is the best thing
we have going to actually
find a-a deposit of treasure.
I mean, that's what
it feels like to me.
- Yes.
- It was everything I hoped for.
It seems like we're
on the right quest.
I think these
analyses and chasing
this gold in the water's
gonna lead us to the treasure.
Dr. Michel, what
are the next steps?
I think it's important
to continue measuring
for a little while to try and
confirm those flow directions.
And as we start to get
some results from the labs
on the chemistry, we'll
be able to say a lot more
about, uh, what we're
seeing in that area.
Yeah. Yeah, and so
we should probably
do a few more...
regional samples,
just to make sure,
right in the interval
we're interested in.
And if we get gold
through the roof, we know
- we're right there.
- Yeah, you're moving in on it, yeah.
- Yeah.
- Isn't the idea
that, after a certain
amount of time,
you look at all this data
and then you can say, "Okay,
"we need wells here,
here, here and here in order
- to try and trace this"?
- Mm-hmm.
When does that occur?
- Weeks.
- Perfect.
Although Dr. Spooner's
and Dr. Michel's
water testing operation
may take several weeks
or more to complete,
their initial assessment
of Rick, Marty, Craig
and the team's
efforts is extraordinary.
They are not only one
more major step closer
to proving that a vast treasure
really does lie somewhere
deep below ground on Oak Island
but may also be
one more critical
step closer to finding it.
Okay, well, listen,
that's the most exciting
thing we have going this year,
in my mind.
I want to put whatever
resources we need to,
whatever experiments
we need to do.
We're all gonna be
on board to do them.
But I think the
goal this year is to...
Is just... is to test
that hypotheses
and hopefully it comes back
with, "Yep, it's coming
from this area right here."
And then we'll-we'll
figure out how to go get it.
- Right.
- That's the goal.
This is exciting
to me. I think it is
to everybody. Uh, I mean,
we're talking about gold.
You can't get any better
than that on a treasure hunt.
It's time for us to figure
this whole thing out.
So, let's get this done
and let's get back to work.
Let's go look for some gold.
There you go.
- Morning, boys!
- Morning! -Hey, Colten.
Here's your first eight feet.
- First core of the day.
- Yeah.
Hot and fresh. Thanks a lot.
The following morning...
DN-12.5, Charles.
Brand-new hole.
Terry Matheson
and Charles Barkhouse
are monitoring the core
drilling of a new borehole
known as DN-12.5.
So, let's hope
we're gonna see some wood
and perhaps an indication
of the structure that seemed
to make all that mess
in the previous hole.
Yeah.
Located just 20 feet
west of the so-called Garden Shaft,
the team hopes
to not only obtain
more evidence of treasure here
but to also once again penetrate
a mysterious wooden tunnel
that may offer them an
access point to retrieve it.
Okay. Pretty regular.
Pad gravel.
- Sea horizon.
- Got some cobbles here.
Sea horizon.
Got to start somewhere.
I agree.
While Terry continues
to supervise the progress
at the Money Pit...
later that afternoon...
So, gentlemen,
research is every
bit as important
as digging, drilling, looking.
Rick, Marty, Craig
and other members
of the fellowship
assemble in the w*r room.
Gretchen Cornwall
has reached out
and said that she has
some information for us.
In light of the believed
pre-16th century discoveries
that were recently
made on the island,
one of the team's
European-based researchers
has asked for the chance
to make a presentation
that she believes could help
solve the Oak Island mystery.
All information is
good information.
And so, to that end,
Doug, if you'd be kind enough
to bring her up on the screen.
Good morning, Gretchen!
-Hello, Gretchen. -Good morning.
- Morning.
- Morning.
Thank you. I appreciate
being in the w*r room.
Currently residing in England,
Gretchen Cornwall is an author
and archaeological researcher
who has studied and written
about the medieval order
of the Knights Templar
for more than a decade.
We would, uh,
very much welcome your
informing us of your research
and-and its
relevance to our work.
Thank you.
I'm always on the
lookout for evidence
that the Templar
Knights, as an order,
went to Nova Scotia,
specifically Oak Island.
In 1119,
the Christian order
of the Knights Templar
was formed in France
under the endorsement of
the Roman Catholic Church.
Originally headquartered
in Jerusalem,
their stated mission was
to protect Christian pilgrims
and secure territories in the
Holy Land during the Crusades.
Within five decades,
their membership
greatly expanded,
leading to new strongholds being
established in the Middle East,
as well as in European
nations such as Portugal,
France and England.
After devising one of the
world's first banking systems,
the Templars became an
incredibly wealthy organization.
They are also believed by
some to have taken possession
of many priceless
religious artifacts,
including the Holy Grail
and the Ark of the Covenant.
Although the Templars
were disbanded
in the early 14th century,
when the king of France
fell deeply into their debt,
their vast treasure was
never accounted for.
And many researchers,
like Gretchen Cornwall,
believe some of their
most sacred valuables
were hidden on Oak Island.
I'm living here in
the UK, in England,
and there is a Templar
cave at Royston, England.
And this cave was
specifically carved
as a secret place
to hold ceremonies.
What do you think is so
relevant about the cave?
The...
carvings on the
wall are medieval.
And they are Templar-related.
And you will
recognize many of them
from the island itself.
You genuinely believe
that the symbols in Royston Cave
have a direct correlation
to Oak Island, somehow?
Yes.
I truly do.
In the w*r room, author
and researcher Gretchen
Cornwall has just presented
Rick, Marty and
members of the team
with her theory that a location in
England known as Royston Cave
may hold critical clues
connecting the Knights Templar
to the Oak Island mystery.
The iconography that
you can find on Oak Island,
you can find at Royston Cave.
The carvings are religious,
political, to mark events.
I think that the
same individuals
that were in Royston Cave
were aware of Oak Island.
This cave actually
proves the narrative
that the Templars
came to the New World,
specifically to Oak Island,
to protect their information
and their treasures,
whether spendable
or sacred or both,
you know, for the future.
Although Gretchen
is not the first to propose the theory
that the Knights Templar were
behind the Oak Island mystery,
could the clues that she
claims reside in Royston Cave
help explain the discoveries
made on the island,
which may date back
to the Templar era,
such as the paved
area in the swamp,
which has been dated to 1200 AD,
the recent finds
made on Lots 7 and 8,
the 14th-century lead cross,
which was verified
to have originated
in a Templar stronghold
in Southern France,
or even perhaps the high
trace evidence of silver and gold
deep in the Money Pit?
Here's what I read
from what you're saying...
That it-it's something that
needs to be experienced.
-Is that correct? -Absolutely.
That was how it was intended.
But I would like to
invite you
to England.
Meet me
at Royston Cave
and see for yourself,
see what you think.
Well, at-at the risk of
b-borrowing my brother's line,
"Eyes and boots time."
-That was good. -Absolutely.
A visit to Royston Cave sounds
very, very interesting.
Absolutely.
Great. This would be
a perfect mission
for Alex and I,
because we are
sort of the skeptics
about the Templar connection.
We're gonna plan a trip.
Splendid.
- Thank you.
- Thank you very much. We really appreciate it.
- And please stay in touch.
- Thank you.
You, too.
Should be
interesting. I look forward to,
um, what you learn.
Okay.
Royston Cave,
as described by Gretchen,
sounds very, very interesting.
It's clearly at a place
that has ancient roots.
I'd like to see that.
So it kind of sounds
like, if you figure out,
you know, all the
symbolism inside the cave,
that we can actually
find the Templar treasure
here on the island.
So, no pressure, Marty.
No.
Here's an opportunity
presented by a very
valued researcher,
to come visit a
very historic site,
which may yield some information
or may even take
my brother and Alex
from skeptic to believer.
You know, we spoke
about the importance
of doing research.
We have heard that
exhaustively over the years.
And so I would recommend,
if you find the time,
to meet with Paul Stewart.
- Uh, he's very knowledgeable.
- Yeah.
Very, very
accomplished researcher.
He's researched at the
British Museum at Kew,
looking for any
connections to Oak Island.
Yeah,
all right. Sounds good as well.
So it is written.
- So shall it be done.
- So shall it be done.
Let's get back to work, guys.
Okay.
A new year of
searching on Oak Island has just begun.
But for brothers Rick and
Marty Lagina and their team,
the gathering of new clues
and valuable discoveries
is well underway.
Might they have found
two potential gateways
to a vast treasure
composed of silver and gold
in the Money Pit?
But as they keep digging for
the ultimate reward on Oak Island,
could the truth of what
happened there long ago
be found in a cave nearly
3,000 miles across the ocean?
Although the team must
remain cautious of the forces
that have allowed this
mystery to persist for 227 years,
nothing will stop their
determination to find out.
This season on The
Curse of Oak Island...
This is the year.
We're going to throw
everything we've got at the island.
There we
go! Brilliant, mate!
We found a jewel on Oak Island!
- It probably is Roman.
- Boom, baby! -
I think the information
hunt will be integral
to finally solving the mystery.
This is a secret Templar chamber
commemorating a voyage
- to Oak Island.
- Wow.
We've got state-of-the-art
methods we're going to employ.
Wow. This could
possibly be the hatch.
- This is quite something!
- This construct
is unique to the island.
This construction
dated 1028 to 1172.
Templars, baby!
Aw, yeah!
The rods dropped ten feet,
almost like there's
nothing there.
- Like a void.
- Let's dig it up.
We'll be underground
in the Money Pit
- for the very first time.
- All right, here we go.
Some piece of information
is going to lead us
to the Bravo Tango moment.
- Whoa!
- How about that?
Treasure Island, baby.
10x01 - On Their Marks
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Follows brothers Marty and Rick as they search for the infamous treasure on Oak Island.
Follows brothers Marty and Rick as they search for the infamous treasure on Oak Island.