09x14 - Premier of the Dig

[bunniefuu]

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

This was
a really early bag seal.

T.E., Treasury of England.

How about that?

RICK:
The new premier of Nova Scotia

is coming for a visit.

- Let's go find the treasure.
- Get your shovels.

- [horn honks] - VANESSA:
We got an oscillator here.

Y'all are finally going big.

- ANDREW: Here we are now.
- RICK: Wow.

- It looks like a battleship.
- [laughs]

RICK:
Okay, let's make hole.

- Let's find it.
- It's exciting.

Probably the highest expectation

I've ever had because
the physical presence of gold.

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 d*ed

trying to solve the mystery.

And according to legend,
one more will have to die

before the treasure
can be found.

♪ ♪

DANNY:
Just bring 'em on up.

MICHEL:
Yep!

VANESSA:
Are we good?

ANDREW:
We're good!

Come on, pull.

Straighten it out.

Watch the other hook there, bud.

NARRATOR: Another exciting
day has begun on Oak Island

for brothers
Rick and Marty Lagina

and the members of their team
as they prepare

for the most ambitious
excavation ever conducted

in the fabled Money Pit,

in the hopes of finally solving

a 227-year-old mystery.

We're good right there, huh?

Good?

NARRATOR:
While truckloads

of industrial digging equipment

will continue arriving
on the island this week...

Yeah, just the bolt bin
and the casing.

Vanessa Lucido of ROC Equipment

and Andrew Beaulieu
of Irving Equipment Limited...

- Up.
- Are overseeing the preparation

of the ten-foot-wide
sections of steel caissons

that will be used to dig
up to four new massive shafts

across the Money Pit area...

Shafts where vast amounts
of both silver and gold

have recently been
detected through water tests

in previously drilled boreholes.

DANNY: You got to
boom down a little bit.

MARTY:
We're about to start

with the big ten-foot caissons
in the Money Pit area,

but this is gonna be
the most challenging because

we've done eight-foot
caissons before.

These are ten.

That doesn't sound
like that big a difference,

but it's 50% more per caisson.



That's a lot.

So I'm hopeful

that this time
we're gonna find some treasure.

Looks good.

For 227 years,
people have sought a treasure

in the Money Pit on Oak Island.

Now we have hard evidence
that there's gold

at depth in the Money Pit.

That's why I think a ten-foot
can is very important...

Because it will encompass
a large part of that area.

How long's the oscillator?

Well, so,
the oscillator is 35 feet.

- Perfect.
- Yeah.

- Slightly oversized.
- Yep.

NARRATOR: When the 58-ton
rotating oscillator arrives next week,

which is needed to drive
the caissons into the ground,

the Laginas and their team

will begin
excavating Borehole D-2...

A borehole where, following
their promising water tests,

they unearthed
metal objects containing gold

at a depth of some 90 feet,

as well as evidence
of a man-made tunnel

dating as far back
as the 15th century.

- VANESSA: Ready?
- MICHEL: Good.

MARTY: We're gonna dig
D-2 first because...

you just add it all up.

You have carbon dating

verified of very ancient wood.

You've got pieces of metal with,
absolutely, gold bits on them.

So, the caisson
that's going down over D-2

is really going down to perhaps
recover the treasure itself.

VANESSA: Is that gonna
be good with his boom angle?

- DANNY: Yeah.
- VANESSA: Okay.

NARRATOR: While
representatives from ROC Equipment

and Irving Equipment Limited

continue with preparations
in the Money Pit...

- MARTY: Billy.
- CRAIG: Hey, Billy.

BILLY:
Hey.

RICK:
Pull up a seat.

NARRATOR:
Rick and Marty,

along with their partner
Craig Tester...

Who is joining them
via videoconference...

Have gathered at the request of
Billy Gerhardt in the w*r room.

Well...

as you know, um,

we've had a recent election,

so there's been
a change in leadership.

Just wanted to let you know
that I was able to secure

a meeting with our new premier,
uh, Tim Houston.

The premier is essentially,

in our type
of legislative system,

the same as your governor.

- [laughs] That is unbelievable.
- Wow.

- Wow.
- BILLY: Yeah.

MARTY: That's as high
as it gets in the province.

That's as high as it gets
in Nova Scotia.

He is directly responsible for

CCH, archaeology, environment,
lands and forestry...

All the departments that Oak
Island has basically dealt with.

That's fantastic.

And I've explained to him
strongly

that I feel that Oak Island
has done a lot for our area

and offers a lot of good things,
and that if he'd like to come

and take a tour,
and then we would like

to tell him a few issues
that we have.

- Look forward to it.
- CRAIG: Yeah.

That's amazing.

Wow.

- LIZ: What you got?
- LAIRD: I have a piece of pottery.

LIZ:
Okay.

NARRATOR:
Earlier this year,

just after unearthing
a mysterious cobblestone pathway

in the southeastern corner
of the swamp,

which appeared to be leading
toward the Money Pit,

archaeologist Laird Niven

discovered several pieces
of indigenous Mi'kmaq pottery

potentially dating back


You know what the discussion
is related to,

the archaeological work.

NARRATOR:
The discoveries,

while not believed
to have been associated

with the construction
of the feature,

led to a shocking mandate from
the government of Nova Scotia.

Basically, Acadia First Nation

got hold of Community,
Culture and Heritage.

And the archaeologists
asked that we stop down...

where we were
finding the artifacts.

I see.

NARRATOR:
The order from the Department

of Community,
Culture and Heritage

not only restricted
the investigation

of a key area in the swamp...

STEVE G.: We need special
permission to be inside of the red.

But also instituted new
permit requirements for any digs

that the team wishes to conduct
outside of the Money Pit area.

Our ability to work,
function on our own island

is getting eroded
in leaps and bounds.

God, that's great, Billy.
And he's willing to come here?

Yeah, our legislature
is soon going back in,

so he'd like to come tomorrow.

- [chuckles]
- Wow.

Uh, really and truthfully?

That's great, Billy.

Well done, Billy.

Well connected. [chuckles]
No, nice job, Billy.

- I don't know about that, but...
- MARTY: No, nice job.

Seriously. It just
doesn't have much downside,

because we're proud
of what we're doing here.

There's n...
there's nothing negative

to talk about, really,

except that we need a little
help with moving forward.

We do have
some regulatory issues.

We do have some difficulties
with the search this year,

and perhaps we can express
these concerns with the premier,

and we can enter into a dialogue
with the, uh, powers that be.

I'm sure, I'm sure
he'll have the ability

to listen to your issues
and then bring them forward

to the right parties
who can implement change.

- MARTY: That's a good point.
- So...

I think his...
merely his presence here,

his willingness to engage
exemplifies

who he is as a leader,
and I-I applaud him for it.

- And I'm grateful that he's going to come visit.
- MARTY: Yeah.

Well, excellent job, Billy.
Much appreciated.

- Yeah.
- We'll make ourselves available for sure.

- Make it so.
- Yeah.

CRAIG:
Great, Billy. Appreciate it.

MARTY:
Well done.

NARRATOR:
Later that afternoon...

DANNY:
Just come up a little bit.

While preparations continue

in the Money Pit area...

GARY:
Right, last day, guys.

I think positive.

I believe it was
a heck of a lot of treasure

unloaded in this area.

NARRATOR: At the southernmost
edge of the swamp,

Billy Gerhardt has joined

metal detection expert
Gary Drayton

and other members of the team

to conduct their final search
of the year in the brackish bog.

So, this is the last day
we can dig in the swamp,

because we're gonna need
the water in the swamp

to use on the wash table
up at the Money Pit.

- Mm-hmm.
- Basically, it's a trade-off.

We're going
from looking for the ship

to looking for the treasure.

We need to put
that thing to work,

and we need to find some metals.

Yep. Well, we got one more day.

One more sh*t at it.

- So let's get to it.
- Okay.

NARRATOR:
This year, the team has made

a number of compelling
discoveries in the swamp,

including more evidence
of a stone wharf

and numerous pieces
of massive sailing vessels.

However, because they
will need a freshwater source

to wash the tons of spoils

that will soon be excavated
from the Money Pit...

All right, looks like Billy's
gonna be dumping spoils here.

They have stopped
running the pumps

that have kept the swamp drained
for the last three months.

It's bittersweet, uh,
to have to stop in the swamp.

Uh, it's-it's good, it's done,

it's, you know,
we've-we've done a good job,

but it's not concluded.

It'd be better
if we had more time

to continue
digging in the swamp.

- DAVID F.: Find anything good?
- GARY: No, not yet.

MARTY:
But it's time to refocus.

It's time to start

the massive excavation
up at the Money Pit.

DAVID F.:
Ooh. That reeks.

- MICHAEL J.: Yeah.
- GARY: Yeah.

- You ready?
- DAVID F.: Yes.

GARY:
Let's find some good stuff.

MICHAEL J.:
It is mucky.

GARY: Come on, I know
you're hiding in here somewhere.

What the heck is this?

Hey.

Look at that.

Wow.

GARY:
Hey, look at that.

Well, it's definitely
been shaped.

NARRATOR: At the southern border
of the Oak Island swamp,

Gary Drayton,
along with Billy Gerhardt

and members of the team,

have just recovered another
potentially important clue.

PETER: Do you think
it's modern, or it's...?

It's tough to tell.

I mean, it has
been in the swamp.

It's well-preserved.

It looks like
an handle to a tool.

PETER:
Mm-hmm.

I mean,
it is a small, little tool.

Maybe it was a,
like, a ship's wheel.

NARRATOR:
A wooden handle?

Potentially related to a ship?

It served a unique purpose,
by the look of it.

- Yeah.
- GARY: Yeah, first find from the first scoop.

- It's gonna be a good day.
- PETER: Yeah.

We'll set it aside.

- GARY: I'll put it in my pouch.
- Good find.

GARY:
Let's get out.

RICK:
The swamp just keeps giving

and giving and giving.

I've long believed that

there is some information
in the body of the swamp

that will help us
further the search agenda.

I don't know that
there's treasure in the swamp.

I don't know that there are
all the answers in the swamp.

But I do believe that
there's reason to pursue

a search agenda to try
to understand what the swamp

may mean in terms of
understanding this mystery.

GARY:
This is the scoop.

Here we go.

Whoa, look at that stake here.

- PETER: Yeah.
- GARY: That's massive.

That is one big wooden stake,
isn't it?

Look at that.

I mean, look at that.

You can see
that that's been axe-cut.

I would a-assume that
if it was more modern,

it would have been sawed.

Can you put that
to one side, please?

I'll grab it.

There's a lot of stuff in this.

A little piece of planking.

It's the same thickness as
all the other pieces of planking

or decking that we've found.

Wow.

There's a lot of wood
coming out of this hole.

That's brilliant.

Keep that to the side.

All right, I'll get out of here.

NARRATOR: Could all
of the mounting evidence

that the team has unearthed
suggest...

As the late landowner
and treasure hunter

Fred Nolan believed...

That an ancient sailing vessel

really does
lie buried in the swamp?

And, if so, could it explain
the 200-foot-long object

that was detected by
seismic scanning back in 2018?

GARY:
Hey, mate.

I want to know
what you found, Gary.

What have you found?

Yeah, we got off
to a good start.

- Do you want to show Marty?
- PETER: Yep.

Cheers.

So, this is the three pieces.
I mean...

- A couple of stakes.
- A couple of stakes.

And then this piece,

- which could be... Yeah.
- That's a shaped piece of wood, yeah.

I mean, there could be
an entire ship,

if it's spread out like this.

Yeah.

The wood that comes out
of the swamp

is-is pretty interesting because
it seems to be out of place.

We're getting pieces of wood
that just don't seem like

they should be in the swamp,
so we'll track it down,

we'll get C-14,
we'll have experts look at it.

Because much as I don't
like digging in the swamp,

some of the things
that were coming up

could have been clues to what
in the heck happened here.

- I guess, guys, this is our sort of last hurrah here.
- Yeah.

You look at this swamp,

and what did we just dig,
two percent of it, maybe?

- DAVID F.: Yeah.
- PETER: Maybe, yeah. And you think about

what we found, it's...
from eyesight,

and we're digging through muck,
how much more stuff we missed.

- Yeah, of course you missed stuff, yeah.
- Yeah.

But, hey, we got some
of its secrets.

- Yup.
- But for now,

we need to let it fill back up

'cause we're gonna need
the water at the wash plant.

Well, guys,
you done a great job.

And we're not giving up
on this swamp.

We'll finish up here,
and then we'll go up there

and find the real treasure.

I want yellow, shiny metal.

[laughter]

NARRATOR:
The following morning...

Yeah, yeah, you're good to go.

As preparations continue
for the team's

upcoming excavation in
the Money Pit...

outside the archaeology trailer,

Rick and Marty Lagina,
along with Billy Gerhardt,

welcome two very special guests
to Oak Island.

Welcome to Oak Island.

How are you?
Happy to be here.

Welcome, Mr. Premier.

NARRATOR: Tim Houston,
the newly-elected premier

of Nova Scotia,
and his wife Carol.

- This is my wife Carol.
- Hi, Carol. I'm Marty.

- Hi! Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you. Pleasure.

NARRATOR:
They have come at the request

of their friend Billy Gerhardt
to discuss

how Premier Houston may be
able to offer assistance

with the search restrictions
that were recently imposed

by the Department of Community,
Culture and Heritage.

- You've made some progress.
- Well, we think so.

And we'd actually like
to show you a bit of that.

- Yeah, that's what I'm looking forward to.
- Fantastic.

- Let's go find the treasure.
- MARTY: Yeah, let's...

- Get your shovels.
- [laughter]

RICK:
This is a real big deal for us.

You're talking
to the premier of Nova Scotia.

He's willing to take time

out of his busy day
to come visit the island.

- Okay. Yep.
- Onwards and upwards! - Yay!

RICK: What I hope to
come of this meeting is

that the premier will listen to
our perspective of our issues,

our concerns,
how do we cooperate

with the regulatory agencies
to-to make it beneficial

for all parties involved.

- MARTY: Here's the famous swamp.
- CAROL: Yes.

MARTY:
You know, the stinky swamp.

This is kind of
an amazing thing right here.

So, this is the stone road,
a very big find.

Completely underwater.
I mean, what you see there,

that was completely invisible.

And yet
somebody built a stone road,

- a very structurally-sound stone road.
- CAROL: Very.

And when right there
is upland...

- CAROL: Yeah.
- There'd be no reason to do this

- unless you wanted to hide it.
- What's the purpose of that?

- Yeah.
- MARTY: What's the purpose?

And why build it through a swamp

- when it's right there?
- Yeah.

CAROL:
That's a significant road.

- BILLY: Oh, yes.
- TIM: Absolutely.

Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.
It's really fascinating.

- CAROL: It's fascinating.
- TIM: Yeah, yeah.

BILLY:
This is only part of it.

It goes along the swamp


- 580 feet?
- Now, we don't really know

where it starts
and where it begins,

but with permitting,
we-we couldn't look.

MARTY: Right here
is the off-limits area

right now, which doesn't seem...

- So, you can't do any other work here right now?
- We can't do anything here.

- No. Uh...
- TIM: Really?

MARTY: Right over
here is where we found

some First Nations stuff...

I mean, to get to one
of the issues...

And ended up just sort of,
more or less, immediately,

with a 40-meter-radius
"don't touch" spot around it.

Which, I mean, 40 meters

- is a pretty big radius.
- It's pretty significant.

- Yeah.
- Th-There's also a problem with,

you know,
we're-we're not citizens here.

So we're just trying
to do everything as right

- as we possibly can, you know?
- As right as you can.

Because we don't...
We-we know we have to be

better than,
than the norm, whatever.

You're-you're already
holding yourselves

to a very high standard.

We're... But we got to.
We have to. We get that.

This is important
because we are getting to be

highly noticed
and highly regulated.

And we want to do
the right thing.

We always have.

We want to follow the law.

I'm a perpetual optimist.

I-I think there'll be
a-a reasonable outcome.

Would you like
to see the Money Pit?

- I would love that.
- You would like to see it?

- I would love that.
- Well, then, we're doing it.

[laughter]

MARTY: Yeah, let's
get to the fun stuff here.

MARTY: This is the fabled
Money Pit, which looks

- way different than when Rick and I first got here.
- It does.

[both laugh]

NARRATOR:
Following their tour

of the Oak Island swamp,

Rick, Marty and members
of the team

arrive at the Money Pit area

with the newly elected premier
of Nova Scotia, Tim Houston,

and his wife Carol.

- CAROL: Wow.
- MARTY: Those are something, aren't they?

- [laughter]
- TIM: A little big.

MARTY: We've got enough
to go 180 feet here this year.

And we're pretty excited
about what we might bring up.

- CAROL: Yeah? - TIM: Yeah?
- This is Vanessa.

- She runs all this giant stuff.
- Hi. - TIM: Hi. Tim Houston.

- BOTH: Nice to meet you.
- MARTY: This is Carol Houston.

- Pleasure to meet you.
- Nice to meet you guys.

Quite a buzz around the next,
uh, phase of the operation.

VANESSA: There is, right?
All of our casings are here now.

So we'll be here
to hopefully help them

- uncover some history.
- Yeah, I hope so.

So this should be a piece
of cake for you, then, right?

- This is gonna be easy...
- Except Oak Island...

- It is Oak Island. Yeah.
- Always-always throws its hook at you.

MARTY:
Premier Houston, I think,

is suitably impressed with
the scale of our operation here.

And being able to talk

to the-the new premier
is wonderful.

He gets a sense
of what we're doing.

We get a sense
of his philosophy.

But if even once
we can get through to him

and say, "Look, we have a real
issue, could you help us,"

that's what's gonna be
the most valuable today.

It would be so much easier
to reconcile the issues

that we are now under
or contending with,

if we felt that we had done
something wrong.

- Yeah.
- That you missed something, a mistake... whatever, right?

- Yeah.
- In fact, we've exceeded,

by magnitudes, everything.

I mean, we have done everything
that we felt was necessary,

- and thus the oversight is...
- MARTY: Right, and to prove it,

I could say that I haven't
always agreed

- with Laird's decisions.
- [laughter]

LAIRD:
I read a quote once, but...

"If you have everybody angry
at you,

you must be doing
something right."

- [laughter]
- Something right, yeah.

TIM:
I think the thing is,

is that there's
no shortcuts in life.

That's the lesson that this,
that this drives home.

And there's none being
taken here on this project.

And anything that's worth doing
is worth doing right.

- Agreed.
- And, uh, you guys

- are doing it right.
- We're trying very hard.

Yeah. I feel that way.

It's always a balance, right?

It's a, it's a balance,
and-and it's-it's making sure

that you don't have,
on one side of the equation,

"Well, we have to be, you know,
we have to be cautious

and respectful,"
and all that stuff,

but that can't go so far
that common sense is lost.

So the things that
you're-you're talking about,

I can see both sides of it.

But now the job
is to find the common sense

that is that respectful balance,
and-and, you know,

I'm hopeful
that-that that can be found.

And I think there's a,
there-there's a will

to find that balance
and that common sense.

And I think when people
start talking...

- Yes.
- And listening to each other

and learning from each other

- and understand the concerns...
- Yeah.

That's when you'll find
the balance.

And-and that's what
I'd be an advocate for.

MARTY:
I think

Premier Houston's reaction

to what we're saying
is very favorable.

I think he very much understands
what we need to function here,

and is willing to try and bring

the right parties together
to resolve

these sort of no-dig areas.

NARRATOR: For Rick,
Marty, Craig and the team,

this meeting could not come
at a more critical time.

As they prepare to excavate up
to four ten-foot-wide shafts

in the Money Pit,
their hope is to find

what their treasure trove
license

entitles them to recover.

However, if they should
happen to unearth something

similar to what caused
the restrictions in the swamp,

the entire effort to solve
the Oak Island mystery

could be in jeopardy.

It's a big thing
that's happening here,

and I think it's gonna have
a happy ending.

- I hope so.
- [laughter]

MARTY: Okay. Well,
thank you for coming.

TIM:
Thank you. Thank you, guys.

Laird, thank you.

NARRATOR: As Rick, Marty
and members of the team

conclude their meeting
with Premier Tim Houston

and his wife Carol...

ALEX:
Looks a little different.

Yep. It's all been cleared.

NARRATOR: just west
of the swamp, Gary Drayton,

along with Marty's son
Alex Lagina,

are hoping to find both clues
and valuables on Lot 32.

Okay, so how has this been
working this year?

It's been working
absolutely fantastic, mate.

- Mm-hmm.
- This has turned into a really hot little area

with all the artifacts.

I brought all my positive
energy today,

- so let's see if that works.
- All right, mate.

- But let's get started.
- Okay.

- All right, mate. First one up.
- [clears throat]

GARY:
What have we got here?

NARRATOR:
Over the past two years...

Look at the size of that.

Lot 32 has produced

some of the most promising
discoveries

for Rick, Marty and the team.

In addition to evidence
of a ship's wharf on the beach,

they have also found ox shoes,
suggesting an operation

to move cargo onto the island,

British coins
and m*llitary buttons,

and even a lead bag seal

that archaeologist
Laird Niven believes

could date back


Lot 32, I mean, you can't deny
the artifacts that we found

are very old
and they're hard to explain.

The bag seal, lots of coins,
lots of old stuff.

And so, we're really excited.

It's, uh, a great place to go
back with the metal detector.

- Let's see what this sounds like.
- [beeping]

- It's just there, mate.
- Okay.

GARY: I was hoping it
was maybe an ox shoe.

- Could be.
- That would be great.

Especially if we believe
there is a wharf here, mate,

and there was loading
and unloading in this area.

[beeping]

- Pretty big.
- Um...

it could be.

- Nope.
- Maybe not.

GARY:
It's not an ox shoe...

- No?
- But it is a square ox shoe nail.

- ALEX: Oh, yeah?
- No mistaking that.

- ALEX: Yep.
- And I believe Michael John

and I recovered an ox shoe
just up the hill there.

- So that might have fallen out of it.
- Yep.

GARY: Someone was
using oxes in this area.

- And this ain't farmland.
- No.

So, more than likely,
something to do with hauling,

- especially connected to that wharf.
- Mm-hmm.

GARY:
This is a nice ox shoe nail.

It's in great condition,

but it's out of place,

because this wasn't farmland,
which begs the question,

what were people hauling
in this area back in the day?

[beeping]

That sounds very, very good.

- It's just there, mate, yeah.
- Right there? Okay.

And I would not have
been able to detect that

- if the guys hadn't cut that tree.
- Yeah, the tree's right there.

ALEX: Didn't you tell
me a long time ago,

there are good finds
at the base of trees?

Yeah, I always love it
when I get a signal

next to a base
of a big old tree.

Because old coins and artifacts

are often pushed closer
to the surface

- by the roots of the trees.
- Oh.

All right.
Let's hope that happened here.

[beeping]

- You have got it out.
- Yep.

A nice two-way
repeatable signal.

Come on. A coin or a button.

It's out, mate.
And I know what it is.

- Do you?
- I can feel it.

The weight of it.

- What is it?
- A musket ball.

- Oh. that's pretty cool.
- It really is, mate.

- ALEX: Nice.
- Look at that.

- That looks like it's been fired.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR:
A fired musket ball?

Found near the site
where the team

has previously discovered
evidence of a ship's wharf

and a possible operation
to unload cargo?

Is it possible
that this musket ball

is somehow related
to those discoveries?

And if so, could it have been
fired in an effort to protect

what the team will soon begin
digging for in the Money Pit?

GARY:
We don't find many fired lead

musket balls on Oak Island,
but this is what we've got.

It's from the time
of black powder weapons.

And I would say
that this is anywhere

from the late 1500s
to the mid-1800s.

We've also found some
m*llitary artifacts out here.

Yeah, for sure, mate,
and you'd have to associate

that, in this area...

- Mm-hmm.
- With the m*llitary

for whatever was
being unloaded at that wharf.

- And lost a few musket balls, or at least one.
- Yeah.

Yeah. I'm hoping
they lost some gold or...

- Yeah. Me, too.
- Silver coins as well.

Absolutely.

That's really cool.

- We're rolling again, mate.
- Mm-hmm.

- Onto the next one.
- Fantastic, mate.

Good find.

GARY:
Okay, mate.

Go find some more treasure.

NARRATOR: The day that
Rick, Marty, Craig and the team

have been waiting for
has finally arrived.

- Morning, Andrew.
- ANDREW: Morning.

- How are you guys doing this morning?
- Good.

- VANESSA: Morning, y'all.
- RICK: Morning, Vanessa. How are you?

- DAVID F.: Morning.
- I'm much better.

We got an oscillator here.

[laughter]

NARRATOR:
After more than three months

of drilling for clues
in an effort to pinpoint

a legendary treasure buried
in the Money Pit area,

the final piece of heavy
digging equipment has arrived

that will help them
attempt to recover it.

The 58-ton rotating oscillator.

So, what do you think,
this year?

I'm excited as all get-out.

Every year I'm like,
"Let's go big, let's go big,"

- and y'all are finally going big.
- [laughter]

- ANDREW: Here we are now.
- PETER: Oh, yeah.

Wow.

We're all highly anticipating

getting this project started,

so to see the oscillator
arriving is exciting.

I want to find the answers.

DANNY:
Good right there, straight back.

RICK:
Let's get the party started.

It's good right there, brother.

Perfection.

RICK: So what is the
difference between this one

and the 2.5?

VANESSA:
It's gonna have more power.

It's going to be a heavier
machine, because when

you're starting to get bigger
cans, you want more weight

to ground it, so this machine

is more powerful, heavier,
bigger in diameter.

NARRATOR: Designed to
apply up to 1,185 tons of torque,

the oscillator will drive
the ten-foot-wide sections

of steel caissons
down Borehole D-2

to a depth of as much
as 170 feet.

This will allow
the 21-ton hammer grab tool

to excavate up to 11,000 pounds
of earth per scoop,

along with any valuables
buried within.

Coming down.

NARRATOR:
As the tons of spoils

are removed from the D-2 shaft,

they will be hauled down to
an industrial-grade wash plant,

where they will be cleaned,
sorted according to size

and then sifted
for any tangible evidence

of the gold and silver
detected earlier this year.

DANNY:
Ready? Okay.

DAVID F.:
Ooh, here we go.

DANNY:
Make it happen.

Bring it on up.

Up.

Here it comes.

Good right there, brother.

Just come up a little bit.

You got it. He's clear.

Up. Up a little bit.

RICK:
That's pretty big.

It looks like a-a battleship.

It does.
Yeah, no, I'm with you on that.

DAVID F.: You can feel the
excitement up here at the Money Pit.

Uh, it's been a while
since we were able to dig,

and this year
we're going bigger than ever.

- DANNY: Coming back.
- I, personally,

have never been part
of a Money Pit dig before.

So, to be able to be part of
this process is really exciting.

DANNY:
Here it comes.

Two more feet.

Just touch down. It's good.

Give us about an hour,
and we're gonna be, uh, flying

over that first can,
so if you guys want to...

- Really? Wow.
- Yeah.

Okay. All right, well,
I'm gonna go get the boys going.

- All right. Thanks.
- Okay. Thank you, Vanessa.

So, let's let the team
do their work.

- Sounds good.
- All right.

NARRATOR: While
representatives from ROC Equipment

and Irving Equipment Limited
continue the setup

for the excavation
of the D-2 shaft...

RICK: I'm very interested
in looking at probably

the most interesting
but most confusing,

the so-called bag seal that Gary
and David found off of Lot 32.

Thus, we reached out
to Dr. Brosseau,

who kindly agreed
to take a look.

- Okay, great.
- NARRATOR: brothers Rick and Marty Lagina,

along with their partner
Craig Tester

and members of the team,
have gathered in the w*r room.

Based on their recent
discoveries on Lot 32

related to a possible ship's
wharf

and an operation
to move cargo onto Oak Island,

earlier this week
they sent the cargo bag seal

discovered one year ago
in the same area...

Hi, everyone.

NARRATOR: to chemist
Dr. Christa Brosseau

for her analysis.

I'm excited to learn

what you may be able to tell us
about the lead bag seal.

CHRISTA:
Yeah, sure, so,

that's such an interesting piece

because it really speaks
to history.

So, bag seals were used

for large, uh, bundles of cloth.

How big were these sacks?

- Really large.
- Yeah, they were quite large.

My understanding, yeah.

It's-it's a large bale of cloth.

How do you know it's cloth?

How do you know
it's associated with cloth?

Uh, that style's
associated with cloth.

- Okay.
- CHRISTA: Yeah, that's right.

So, bag seals were popular

from about 1450, and then,
after about 1730, waned

in terms of their usage.

So this is really an old piece.

Well, that's pre-searcher.

Perfect.

Yep.

CHRISTA: As you know,
the-the lead bag seal has

- really nice markings on it.
- LAIRD: Yeah.

They're really
interesting-looking markings.

There's a stylized 4,
and it's flanked by initials.

Which would be the person
who produced the fabric.

CHRISTA: Yeah, it would've
been an important indication

that it had been inspected
and was a-approved

to go out for trade.

So, the initials are a little
bit hard to make out.

Uh, the left might be a "T,"

and on the right
it does look like an "E."

Um, maybe Treasury of England,
T.E.?

Wow.

CHRISTA:
The initials are T.E.

Maybe Treasury of England.

Wow.

NARRATOR:
In the Oak Island w*r room,

chemist Dr. Christa Brosseau
has just presented her opinion

that the cargo bag seal

discovered one year ago
on Lot 32

is more than 300 years old

and possibly connected
to the Treasury of England.

CHRISTA: Of course, Canada,
Nova Scotia, is a colony,

so there would have been
a lot of transported goods

from England, for example.

And so, we would probably expect

lots of cloths, uh,
being in trade.

But to an island?
A small island...

- Yeah, that's what's weird, right?
- In Mahone Bay?

RICK: I mean, that
just doesn't seem...

That's the most exciting thing
about it, I think.

- Mm-hmm.
- It's not something people carry around.

- [laughter]
- When you open the bale,

off goes the-the seal.

- Okay.
- NARRATOR: Could Dr. Brosseau

be correct
that the lead bag seal

might be more than
three centuries old

and related to goods belonging
to the Treasury of England?

If so, how did it end up
on an island

that, beginning
in the 18th century,

was known only to be inhabited
by local farmers?

Could it be connected
to a secret operation

to bury a vast cache
of silver in the Money Pit?

I've found, I believe,
significant information

that really strengthens,
uh, the idea

of there being silver
in this area.

Interesting.

NARRATOR:
Two weeks ago,

Scott Clarke,
a 32nd-degree Freemason,

presented his theory
that the 17th century

English merchant and nobleman
Sir William Phips

was behind the construction
of the Money Pit.

SCOTT C.: Many
people are actually familiar

with William Phips's discovery
of the Concepcíon back in 1687.

We know that Phips found
silver on the Concepcíon.

Well, there's no question
about that.

NARRATOR:
In 1687,

William Phips discovered
the wreck

of the Spanish treasure galleon
known as the Concepción

near the Dominican Republic.

After salvaging nearly


he transported it
across the Atlantic Ocean

to the sponsor of his mission:

the English monarchy,
led by King James II.

However, later that year,

Phips conducted a second mission

to salvage more of the
Concepción's sunken treasure

with a Freemason
named Andrew Belcher.

But this time he reported
much different results.

SCOTT C.: So, in September


to the wreck of the Concepcíon.

And during the second expedition
of the treasure,

Phips brought back to England
what was only valued

at £10,000.

He literally found 1/20
of what he found the first time.

NARRATOR: According
to Scott Clarke's theory,

Sir William Phips
and Andrew Belcher,

who owned land near Oak Island,

used the English Crown's
support and resources

to steal a great portion
of the Concepción's treasure

and hide it deep
in the Money Pit.

Is it possible that the lead
bag seal found on Lot 32,

which Dr. Brosseau believes
could bear the markings

of the Treasury of England,
might offer evidence

that Scott Clarke's theory
is true?

If you're off-loading
a huge quantity of material

that rendered a...

the necessity of using
a lead bag seal,

it was a massive amount
of merchandise.

Now, one has to ponder greatly,
why this type of material

in this quantity
on a tiny island?

RICK:
And Sir William Phips

retrieved an enormous fortune
in silver.

And the bag seal fits
well within that range.

So, is it possible?
It's certainly interesting.

CHRISTA:
I'm gonna allow you to see

some of the elemental analysis
that I did,

and this does confirm
that this is pure lead.

But it's important
because some bag seals

were made of pewter.

The lead does not contain
any contaminants.

There's no arsenic,
there's no antimony.

And so, it's-it's
really quite pure.

Does the fact that
it's pure lead and not pewter

and doesn't have
contaminants in it,

does that date it
earlier or later?

I would say it probably
dates it earlier.

Because later on,

more impure lead was used
or lead became recycled.

MARTY: This bag seal
is a very important artifact

because everyone
who's looked at it,

including Dr. Christa Brosseau,

who doesn't get too worked up
about things generally,

thinks it's very old, thinks
it was phased out around 1730.

In other words, phase...
At least that old.

So it's significant,

because that much predates
the Money Pit.

Dr. Brosseau,
thank you very much.

And, uh, your time
is appreciated,

and your analysis and your
advice, so thank you very much.

Sure, you're welcome. Good luck.

- Have a great day.
- ALL: Thank you.

RICK:
Let's get back to the Money Pit.

MARTY:
Okay, great. Let's do that.

- This is it.
- We're about ready to dig.

The more we dig,
the more we find.

NARRATOR: Following their
meeting in the w*r room,

Rick Lagina and members
of the Oak Island team

arrive back
at the Money Pit area.

RICK:
Just about ready, are we?

Yep. We're chomping
at the bit, mate.

NARRATOR: Now, with
the rotating oscillator in place,

the team's first large-scale
excavation of the year

in the hopes of recovering
a vast cache of silver and gold

is about to begin.

All right, guys, you are safe.

- Okay.
- Danny's ready for you.

RICK: So, this is probably
the most promising location

we've ever had,
for all kinds of reasons.

You know, we talk about
the Fellowship all the time,

and we're all here
for the greater good.

We're all here
trying to understand

what this place,
this tiny island, means

in-in terms of history.

I think we all believe
there-there's something here

that is somewhat historical.

So, to that point, Doug came up
with a great idea.

I think we should name the can
"The Fellowship 1."

TF-1. But I also want
everybody to sign it.

So...

I don't look

at Oak Island
as a succession of failures.

There have been
some incredible people

in search of answers here.
They moved the dial.

In the face
of all kinds of adversity

and-and difficulties,
they persevered.

Well done, Billy. Well done.

The hope is that we can,
of course, solve this.

But we follow in some
incredible footsteps.

I think it's for each of us...
Meaning the Fellowship

and those people
who continue to be intrigued

about the mystery...
It's for each of us

to decide what our role is.

The Fellowship 1.

- [applause]
- But-but one more thing.

One more thing.

Me, personally,

I'm fascinated and humbled
by the fact

that we get to involve ourselves
in a... an enduring mystery

that has lasted almost
as long as the United States

has been a country.

When you think about that,
it's hard not to appreciate

the unique opportunity
that has been presented to us,

to solve the mystery completely.

"In memory of those

"who have come before,

we say thank you
with respect and honor."

And I think
that is very appropriate,

because, you know,
we have learned so much

from the people
that have come before.

And I'm gonna...
put a kiss there.

[applause]

- Okay. Let's make hole.
- I'm ready.

MARTY:
Well, I'm hopeful.

TF-1 is probably the highest
expectation I've ever had

because of the physical
presence of silver and gold.

We've never had that before.
I mean, it's exciting.

We've been at this
for a long time.

We've had our ups and downs.

I don't want to get too excited,

and I want to do
expectation control,

but, yeah, we could be close.

VANESSA:
Who's doing the honors?

Who's starting this
thing for us?

- Rick.
- Rick.

- All right, sir.
- Okey doke.

So, first you're gonna
turn our oscillator on.

[whirring]

All right, now you're gonna
go ahead and oscillate.

[applause]

There you go.

NARRATOR:
For more than two centuries,

determined men and women
have invested their time,

their resources and,
in some cases, their lives,

trying to recover a legendary
treasure on Oak Island.

Many did so based on the faith

that extraordinary secrets were
hidden within the Money Pit.

And now, having found
scientific evidence

of silver and gold deep below,

Rick and Marty Lagina,
along with their team,

are making the boldest attempt
yet to fulfill that faith.

The wait is over.

The dig has begun.

And the answers
they all have sought

may finally be within reach.

Next time on
The Curse of Oak Island...

MARTY:
Bring it, baby.

RICK: There's hard
evidence that there is treasure

- in the Money Pit.
- MARTY: Oh, boy, look at that.

- That could be part of a tunnel.
- MARTY: We understand you have

- some results for us?
- It's French lead.

Would that apply
to our friend the cross, too?

- Most definitely.
- No kidding?

ALEX: We can scan
the area for any sign

of the stone road
as it heads out of the swamp.

Look at that.
I think we might have found it.

- A lot of wood coming out.
- Yep.

GARY:
We got a good signal here.

Ooh. Look at that.

That's beautiful.