10x17 - A Well of Secrets

[bunniefuu]

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

RICK: We're following
the trail of the gold.

MARTY: There's a highly
unusual source of gold here.

- Hey, look at this.
- Nice.

If you can get a date off of
that, you could date this wall.

We're talking about


RICK: Come on in, Bill.

We're digging up a hidden well.

-[beeping] -Oh, look
at that. That's fantastic!

There's definitely higher
counts of gold here.

- That's exciting.
- Yeah. - Yeah.

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.

♪ ♪

- MARTY: Hey, guys.
- RODNEY: Hello, Marty.

NARRATOR: As a new day begins

on Oak Island for brothers

Rick and Marty
Lagina and their team...

MARTY: Okay, Rod, Paul,

I see you have us set up
with camera. That's great.

NARRATOR: the
belief that they are close

to a groundbreaking discovery

in the Money Pit area
has never been stronger.

Rod, where are we
currently with the dig?

- We're just putting in our set now at 50... roughly 56 feet.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR: Working
with representatives

from Dumas Contracting Limited,

they have reached a
depth of nearly 60 feet

with the reconstruction of
the so-called Garden Shaft,

a dilapidated,


that may not only be related
to the original Money Pit,

but might also hold the keys

to solving a 228-year-old
treasure mystery.

We want you to do
something here, Rod.

Uh, when you were
drilling your holes,

Rick had you hand over
some of those wood samples.

Well, it turns out that
we had those tested,

and there's gold in those.

RICK: Drill's going in now.

- All right, bud. We're in business.
- Yup.

NARRATOR: One week ago...

ALEX: If we get
lucky, this'll tell us.

NARRATOR: after conducting
exploratory probe-drilling

from within the shaft
at a depth of 55 feet,

the team had archaeometallurgist

Emma Culligan test
a sample of wood,

taken from the original feature,
for signs of precious metals.

From this one, I detected gold.

- Wow.
- 0.11%

Isn't that like a big number?

This is huge.

MARTY: We're gonna
want to take more samples.

And while your guys are down
there, can they cut a section

of that tight lining
and get us a piece?

Yeah. Yeah.

NARRATOR: Now, while Dumas

completes the final
eight-foot sections,

or sets, of the Garden Shaft...

Hello, Dan. Do you got a copy?

NARRATOR: down to
a total depth of 80 feet...

MACKENZIE: What's going on?

Can you take out a piece

of the tight lining
and send it up?

- No problem at all.
- Thank you.

NARRATOR: the Oak
Island team will continue

testing samples of
the original structure

in an effort to pinpoint just
where the ultimate source

of the gold may be located.

I bet you wouldn't have thought
there'd be gold in that wood.

I would never have thought
there'd be gold in that wood.

Well, there is. I don't
know what to make of it.

- We're trying to figure it out.
- RODNEY: Okay.

- There's our sample. I'll go grab it. Yeah.
- Good deal.

MARTY: If we find gold
at this 50-foot depth,

then we have two alternatives.

The source of the
gold either went deeper,

or it was actually emanating

from the Garden Shaft
and is much closer.

So, there could be something
like an offset chamber,

shallower than we realized,
and that would be great.

Well, those ought to do.

Those are some
pretty good chunks.

Should be good enough
for a sample size off of that.

- Oh, I think so, yeah.
- PAUL: We have all those gold areas

that are in the water
over here on the corner.

So there must be some
communication somewhere.

Whether it's further below,
in deeper caverns and tunnels

that extend out
into the Money Pit.

- But somewhere there's a contact point.
- Yeah.

Okay, well, look, these are
the samples from 58 feet, right?

- Yeah.
- We're gonna want more, I guarantee it.

So, stay tuned, all right?

Especially after we
get the results of this.

- Perfect.
- MARTY: Yup, okay. Thank you, guys.

- RODNEY: Thank you.
- PAUL: All right.

NARRATOR: While
the reconstruction

of the Garden Shaft continues
in the Money Pit area...

RICK: Gentlemen,
I'm glad we're here.

I was speaking with
Tom the other day,

and he's come up with an idea:

developing a new search agenda

based on your
father's work, of course.

NARRATOR: Rick
Lagina, along with fellow

Oak Island landowner Tom Nolan,

gather in the w*r room
with members of the team

for an important meeting
regarding the decades

of documented search activity

conducted by Tom's
late father, Fred Nolan.

I think we're all going
to find it very interesting.

So, Tom, I'm going
to turn it over to you.

Well, in the early '80s,

my dad started to compose a
book of his work on the island.

And it was never published.

But it does give, you
know, a really good read,

of his work over the
years on the island.

NARRATOR: From the early 1960s

until his passing in


a professional surveyor
from Halifax, Nova Scotia,

made some of the most
important discoveries

in the history of the
Oak Island treasure hunt

on the six lots that he owned.

These include numerous
parts of a large sailing vessel

that he found in the
triangle-shaped swamp,

as well as the megalithic
formation of six boulders

that came to be known
as "Nolan's Cross."

Back in the 1970s,

we were working around
the outer edge of the swamp,

and we got into a well.

It had been filled
in and buried.

As I recall, I'm going to
say it was ten feet deep.

But one of the odd things was,

when we got to the... what we
assumed was the bottom of it,

we came across a tremendous
amount of broken pottery.

- Wow.
- Like somebody had just taken everything they had

and smashed it and thrown
it to the bottom of this well.

We didn't know
what to make of it.

Filled it back in.

But it's interesting where you
guys have found this well on 26.

- You just might want to have a look at that.
- Yeah.

- I'd be happy to go out there and take a look at it.
- Yeah.

- Yeah.
- TOM: We can come up with some answers

as to why this
thing was put there.

I mean, I-I think

it's certainly worth our
time to investigate it.

RICK: Well, I mean, I
see no reason not to dig it.

- Uh, me personally.
- Yeah. - Yes.

TOM: So, there is another
thing. My dad discovered,

in the early '90s,
something that we refer to

as "the quadrilateral."

He found it using some
sort of an offset sightline

of the cross.

It's within, oh,

a couple hundred feet
of the top of the cross

on the north side of the swamp.

When they did get into the
site, and they cleared it off,

they brought in a small backhoe,

and they did a little bit
of light excavation work,

and what they
found themselves in

was some sort
of a boulder field.

And it definitely

didn't look natural once
they started to uncover it.

This is the section in the
book that was dedicated

to the quadrilateral.

As you can see what...

What are the diagrams?

So, here are his pictures

of how he sketched
out the quadrilateral.

You can see it's...

On its long side, it's
probably 32 feet long.

Runs about ten feet deep

with three layers
of large boulders.

RICK: That's intriguing, right?

- Very intriguing.
- TOM: No farmer

working the island
would have done this.

It-it has another purpose.

- Mm-hmm.
- Is the whole thing dug out?

Or are we able to do
some sort of an excavation?

TOM: He partially
back-filled it.

So, I mean, yeah, it could
certainly be re-excavated.

Well, I'll tell you what.
Here's what we'll do.

And I think this is
exceedingly interesting.

And we need to
explore this further.

But I would advocate
to explore this well

that you're referencing first

because the well is in the
northern end of the swamp,

- and we know the swamp was manipulated.
- Yup.

RICK: The well on
Tom's property...

It's interesting
for two reasons.

One, it's a hidden well.
That's how Fred described it.

There are other
wells on the island.

They're all open.
They weren't filled in.

The quadrilateral is a
unique geometric figure,

and we will look
into it further.

First, let's dig the
well out properly.

Well, I think we all
want answers here.

So, we better get at
it and get out there.

- Right? -Yeah.
- Let's do it.

RICK: Let's try
to figure this out.

NARRATOR: Later
that afternoon...

- RICK: Come on in, Bill.
- [mechanical beeping]

ALEX: Probably about here.

BILLY: All right.

NARRATOR: Rick and Alex Lagina,

along with Billy
Gerhardt, arrive on Lot 11,

near the northern edge of
the triangle-shaped swamp.

I'd work from the outside in,

- so we don't tear it up.
- BILLY: All right.

NARRATOR: Having
been given the location

of a reported buried
well by Tom Nolan,

they are eager to excavate
the feature and look for clues

that might help solve
the 228-year-old mystery.

Another little mini
treasure hunt for you, Gary.

Ooh, wow.

As you well know, Fred did
not have a metal detector.

- No.
- He wasn't, you know, a proponent of that.

So, we may find something here.

- Okay.
- First, let's figure out

the extent of the well
and then go from there.

- ALEX: Yup.
- BILLY: Yup.

NARRATOR: As Billy Gerhardt

removes muck and earth in
an effort to uncover the well,

Gary will scan the
spoils for signs of artifacts

and potential valuables.

Going in.

Ooh!

GARY: Ooh. Look what I see.

I see something old.

I just about sweep over
it with my metal detector.

ALEX: Oh, yeah.

NARRATOR: Just north
of the Oak Island swamp...

It's an old spike.

NARRATOR: while helping
Rick Lagina and members

of the team uncover a mysterious

stone well, Gary
Drayton has just found

a potentially important clue.

GARY: Ooh! It's our
friend, the rose head.

It's a beauty, as well. Look!

- These are old.
- ALEX: Yeah.

Look at that. Look
at the head on it.

Mm-hmm, yeah, it's
a rose head for sure.

GARY: Imagine the last
person to touch that before us.

It might have been the
person who dug that well.

- GARY: Yeah.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR: A rose
head spike, meaning

that it was hand-forged some
time prior to the discovery

of the Money Pit in 1795?

But if so, how might it be
related to the buried well

that Fred Nolan discovered
here more than four decades ago?

GARY: Brilliant. Oh, my God,

that's a thing of
beauty, isn't it?

- ALEX: And in the top couple feet, too.
- GARY: Yeah.

Question is, what
would you be doing here

- to necessitate using that?
- Yeah. -Yeah.

It is a really old
iron fastener.

BILLY: It's not
only is it a fastener.

- It's a big fastener, right?
- GARY: Yeah. No.

It's-it's... You'd think
tunneling or shafts.

Yeah. Yeah.

A beautiful find.
I'm gonna bag it,

and I'll recheck
the spoils here,

- see if we got anymore.
- Perfect.

RICK: I don't know what to
make of the rose head spike

that's in close proximity
to the hidden well.

We have found
those in the Money Pit.

We have found
those in Smith's Cove.

We know for certain have
been highly manipulated

by the hand of man.

So, that's interesting and
intriguing in and of itself.

Nothing yet.

So are there other
structures in proximity?

There may be.

To what end, we
don't know quite yet.

[beeping]

GARY: I think there's
a piece of iron here.

Looks like it could
be modern, though.

-[rapid beeping] -Oh,
maybe I am wrong about that.

It's singing.

Oh-ho! Look what we got.

Look at this!

A hook.

An old hook, as
well, by the look of it.

Maybe it was a hook connected

when they were bringing
the water out the well.

ALEX: Yeah.

- Yeah, that could be.
- GARY: Yeah. -Yeah.

GARY: That looks really old.

That's an hand-forged hook.

- Yeah, you can kind of see the striations on the tip.
- Yeah.

ALEX: The point.

We have found a...
another hook on the island.

- Remember that bunk hook?
- Mm-hmm.

That Carmen ID'd as from 1600s?

Same date range would
be nice or even older.

Mm-hmm.

MARTY: Oh, my goodness.
What the hell is that?

NARRATOR: Earlier this year,

while investigating Lot 8,

less than a quarter
mile to the west,

Gary and Marty Lagina unearthed
a 17th-century bunk hook...

A tool specifically designed
for lifting heavy cargo.

- Another good candidate for the lab.
- Yeah. Yup.

NARRATOR: Is it possible

that Gary has found
a similar artifact

near the reported buried well?

And of course, we'll
show it to Carmen Legge,

- and hopefully, he'll know...
- Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

GARY: what this was used for.

- All right. I'm gonna bag it.
- RICK: Absolutely.

- Yeah. Yup.
- I say keep digging, Bill.

[mechanical squeaking]

RICK: I just don't understand.

Tom said, "You'll
see the stones."

The problem is there's no rock.

- ALEX: Yeah.
- There's just... there's no rock.

- There doesn't seem to be a well.
- [laughing]: No.

ALEX: To me, this
looks like backfill stuff.

RICK: There's not
a stone to be found.

No.

- Nothing on this side at all.
- Okay.

We're done.

So, I think what we'll do is

bring Tom in and
see what he says.

- Mm-hmm.
- BILLY: If there's a well, I think, unfortunately,

it might be... It
could be deeper.

But we're-we're below
Tom's two feet now.

All the more reason
to stand down

and see if Tom has some answers.

We have to get more
information from Tom.

- Yup.
- Yup.

- Back at it when Tom gets here.
- RICK: Yup. -GARY: Yup.

RICK: You got to be
patient in this place.

GARY: Yup.

NARRATOR: The
following morning...

AL COUTURE: All
right, Rods, going down.

NARRATOR: as the team
from Dumas Contracting Limited

continues to reconstruct
the Garden Shaft...

MACKENZIE: Good.

MARTY: Peter Romkey is here.

He is an expert in
trees and forestry.

NARRATOR: at
the research center,

Rick and Marty Lagina, along
with other members of the team,

meet with forestry
technician Peter Romkey.

- We went out to the wall where we excavated.
- Yes.

- Let's bore a tree.
- MARTY: Okay.

NARRATOR: One week
ago, Peter took a core sample

from an adult oak
tree that had grown up

through the mysterious
rock wall on Lot 26.

A wall that sets
less than 50 feet

from a 900-year-old stone well

where the team
has recently found

high-trace evidence of silver.

Now, Peter has returned

to report the age
of the oak tree,

which, if it pre-dates the
discovery of the Money Pit,

will prove that the stone
wall's construction did, as well.

So, what did you find out?

We can look at the numbers here.

So, if we talk about
the second bore first,

based on the number of
rings that we could count,

it ended up coming
out at, uh, 240 years old.

What's your plus
and minus on that?

My plus and minus
could be 20 or 30 years.

So, 260 years. But
you have to remember,

what's difficult with these

were that once we get
in a certain distance,

the wood went rotten, in which
case, there's no rings to count.

The missing rings could be
a lot older, a lot tighter, right?

- A lot tighter, yeah.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR: Because
the oak tree dates back

240 years or more,

could that possibly mean that
the stone wall might be related

to the nearby


If so, what other clues
or potential valuables

does the wall contain that
could help the team determine

just who built them and why?

So, it could be much older.

- Right. -Yeah.
- BILLY: Right.

You'd have to add quite a
number of years, in my opinion.

So, the question is, what
were they using the wall for?

RICK: If the wall
was constructed

for a specific purpose,
other than a boundary,

which it just to me does
not appear to be a boundary.

It was used for some
reason, in some capacity.

Absolutely.

RICK: It's now at this
point, you have to look at it

as an island-wide story,
not just a Money Pit story.

Something happened
here long ago,

and I continue to be intrigued.

MARTY: It is pretty cool

and interesting to
look at those and think

that that tree, at least,
was growing in that wall

when the Money Pit
was first discovered.

Anyway, great data,
Peter. Thank you.

- Thank you, Peter.
- Appreciate it.

ROMKEY: No problem.

LAIRD: It's just
odd. No artifacts.

ALEX: Yeah. Nothing.

We have to find artifacts.

- Okay, get on that.
- [laughs]

NARRATOR: Later that afternoon,

following Peter Romkey's
report, Alex Lagina,

along with archaeologists
Laird Niven and Miriam Amirault

return to Lot 26

to continue investigating
the stone wall.

[Laird laughs]

LAIRD: I think we'll
get a good profile.

- MIRIAM: Mm-hmm.
- ALEX: Okay.

MIRIAM: It's looking good.

LAIRD: I think we're getting
down to these bottom stones.

ALEX: Mm-hmm.

So I guess just, like,
the question is, is this

the bottom, or is this on
top of something else?

ALEX: Mm-hmm.

LAIRD: That's a good question.

I don't remember us
encountering these base rocks.

Yeah. Those rocks are different.

- LAIRD: Yeah.
- ALEX: These are bigger.

LAIRD: Yeah.

LAIRD: Nice.

- Wow. See that?
- Oh, yeah.

- This is exactly what Craig wants us to find.
- All right!

LAIRD: That's
certainly intriguing.

- MIRIAM: Yeah.
- ALEX: Cool.

- LAIRD: That's charcoal.
- MIRIAM: That's a cool find.

ALEX: That's pretty interesting.

- We got a nice, uh, burnt twig basically.
- ALEX: Nice.

NARRATOR: While investigating

the mysterious
stone wall on Lot 26...

- This is exactly what Craig wants us to find.
- ALEX: Right.

NARRATOR: archaeologist
Laird Niven has just discovered

an important clue.

You think we can get, you
know, a good date off of that?

Well, I mean, if you can
get a date off of that, you can

- sort of try and date this wall.
- Right.

At least say, like, it was
not here before this time.

- Right.
- Finding at the bottom here.

- LAIRD: Yeah.
- So, this is the bottom of the wall.

Yup.

ALEX: The great
thing about charcoal is,

it's not a root that
grew under the wall.

With charcoal,

the only way for a piece of
charcoal to be under the wall is

if it was b*rned before
the wall was built.

Hey.

- How's it going? -Good.
- RICK: Hey, guys.

- MIRIAM: Hi.
- I see they brought in the heavy hitter.

- Yeah.
- So, have you figured it out?

LAIRD: In this area,
they had more of a...

they're more... well,
almost a series of flat rocks.

But the good thing is,

under the layer
of rocks in here,

we got a really nice
charcoal sample.

CRAIG: Oh, great.

LAIRD: Like a little twig.

- Yeah.
- RICK: Oh, okay. And you think

that context, the... perhaps
the beginning of this wall.

- MIRIAM: Mm-hmm.
- Oh, yeah. There's no doubt.

Yeah.

- I like that verbiage, no doubt.
- Yes. Finally.

- RICK: But no other artifacts?
- Nothing.

- But a good sample.
- CRAID: Yet.

- Yet.
- LAIRD: Yet.

What's your take on this?

I still find that it's
too strongly built.

It was trying to support
something higher.

I mean, to me, it's very
baffling what they used it for.

And I'm curious what the
date is on that... that charcoal.

- Like, I think that will tell us a lot.
- Yes, absolutely.

I guess my-my brain is going
to, "I hope it affirms my belief."

Because my belief
means this went...

this is part of the
original mystery.

- LAIRD: Yeah.
- RICK: I think we should

send it off ASAP.

But what is the
status here now then?

What do you want to do?

LAIRD: I think we have
a little bit more to do.

- We're on the sea horizon here, now.
- Mm-hmm.

We just need to
follow that down.

We'll look for more
artifacts, obviously.

- More would be better.
- Sure. -Yeah.

And find a coin under the
next rock that you turn over.

- LAIRD: Okay. I will.
- Make it a lot easier.

- [Laird laughing] -Okay.
- RICK: All righty.

- CRAIG: We'll let you finish up.
- Yup. Take care. -LAIRD: Okay.

- ALEX: We'll keep looking.
- CRAIG: Okay.

- LAIRD: See you later.
- MIRIAM: See you guys. -RICK: Good luck.

NARRATOR: Later
that afternoon...

RICK: Bill, you ready?

- BILLY: I'm ready.
- RICK: Okeydoke.

NARRATOR: Rick and Alex Lagina,

along with Billy Gerhardt,
Gary Drayton and Tom Nolan

begin a second
excavation on Lot 11,

just north of the swamp.

GARY: Excellent.

NARRATOR: Now
with Tom's guidance,

they hope to pinpoint
the exact location

of a mysterious stone well

that Tom's father, Fred Nolan,

first discovered more
than four decades ago.

There's nothing
there, that's for sure.

You want to go
deeper here, or...?

Yeah, we're just gonna have
to keep scraping to find it.

Yeah, that's what I think,
and if we take a little more

- on the other side...
- TOM: Yup.

That will maybe help
us narrow it down.

Okay, let's go.

NARRATOR: Having
uncovered the steel casings

that Fred Nolan left
behind when he conducted

a drilling operation in the
well a number of years ago,

the team is now confident

that they will soon
locate the stone feature,

and hopefully, determine

just how it may help them
solve the Oak Island mystery.

Ooh. I see a nice bit of
pottery there, peeking out.

Look at that.

- Ooh.
- Oh, yeah.

That's nice.

- That blue-glazed pottery.
- Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

That is really nice.
It's got to be old.

It's thick, as well.

- Show it to the guys.
- Show it to the guys.

- Okay.
- RICK: What'd you find?

GARY: A piece of pottery
out of the last bucket load.

You remember seeing
anything like that, Tom?

Ah. That looks
very familiar, Gary.

That is the type of thing
that we were hauling out

of the bottom of the well.

- RICK: A plate, it looks like.
- Mm.

TOM: Everything
was about that size.

That's definitely the pottery.

RICK: The hope, of
course, is to find artifacts.

How old it is

remains to be seen.

Okay, Bill.

And that's why the
archaeologists are involved,

so I am hopeful
that we will continue

to find these artifacts,
and they will tell a story.

- Is there a stone there?
- This is a stone.

Yeah, but is there
more stone over there?

TOM: I think
you're getting into it.

[laughs]

Not a stone to be found.

Keep digging. It's here.

I don't know, Gary. Why
don't you come down

- and see what you can do?
- Yeah, of course.

Come on, artifacts.

[beeping]

Seems to be in that
area there. [sniffling]

Ooh.

- See if it's out.
- Yup. See if it's in.

Yup. It's probably out.

[beeping]

Here we go. What
have we got here?

Fantastic!

- GARY: Mm. Oh.
- ALEX: What's that?

It's made of iron.

It's got a heck
of a curve on it.

NARRATOR: Near
the northern border

of the Oak Island swamp...

Almost kind of
like, digging tool-ish.

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

NARRATOR: while continuing
their efforts to uncover

a mysterious buried well,
members of the Oak Island team

have made another
curious discovery.

TOM: Could that
be part of a pick?

- GARY: Yeah.
- ALEX: Could be.

TOM: That's what
it reminds me of.

Something you'd use to dig.

- GARY: Yeah.
- ALEX: Well, I think we have one right up here.

- GARY: Yeah.
- Right here.

- TOM: Yup.
- GARY: See the way it fans out.

TOM: Well, if you're gonna
dig a well, you need a pick.

- ALEX: Mm-hmm.
- GARY: Yeah. That's cool.

You never know. It
might be original people

who built the well.

RICK: I never anticipated

finding the kinds of artifacts
that have been recovered.

We came here

simply for one purpose.

Excavate the well

and get a really good
view of the construct.

Where are we at then?

Is there stone there?

TOM: I think
you're getting into it.

If you can get down in there,

we'll dig a little bit
and see what you think.

RICK: I'm interested and excited

to put eyes and
boots on the target.

Who knows what we'll find.

- It's like being a little kid, playing in the mud.
- [laughs]

TOM: But just,

everywhere I hit this
shovel, all I hit's rock.

RICK: There's certainly enough
water being generated, right?

- TOM: Well, you'd make a well here, no problem.
- Mm-hmm.

RICK: I need to probe it.

Rock around there.

I think the diameter is...

I think it's like this.

It goes around, around, around

to that side, and then, it
comes around here like this,

and comes back to there.

And that's about the size
I remember it as being.

RICK: Look at the
amount of water coming in.

I don't think you're gonna
expose it, like I'd like to.

Really, what this would
demand is a hydro-vac truck.

I think you're right...
A hydro-vac truck.

RICK: The next thing to do
with the well is to hydro-vac it,

and you literally
vacuum up the material.

And that will clean up the area.

So, tomorrow,
we'll be back at it,

and then, continue
the excavation.

That's all we can do.
So, you know what?

- It's a good day.
- It's a good day.

- Now let's get out in one piece.
- Yes.

Let's get out of this hole.

NARRATOR: The
following morning...

ROB HATFIELD: Now the fun.

NARRATOR: as representatives

from Clean Earth
Industrial Services

arrive with a hydro-vac truck...

I'll vac up some
of this water first.

NARRATOR: and begin
clearing water and mud

away from the buried
stone well on Lot 11...

GARY: Carmen, mate,

- thanks for coming out.
- No problem.

NARRATOR: Gary
Drayton and Billy Gerhardt

meet with blacksmithing
expert Carmen Legge

at the research center to get
his analysis of the iron hook

that was recovered from
the area two days ago.

We were excavating, uh,

this area where there's an old
well at the side of the swamp.

This is one of the artifacts
we found. It's a hook.

But it's, like, unusual, the
way it's long and closed in.

And, hopefully, you can
shed some like on that, mate.

BILLY: It kind of reminded
me of a block and tackle.

- You know, it's a long...
- Yes. Yes, that's right.

You can see how it has
a fairly long shank here.

You're right, Billy... this
is from a block and tackle.

The reason why they
had a long shank is 'cause

- it would hang naturally down from a block and tackle.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR: Originally invented

by the Greek scientist
Archimedes in 250 B.C.,

a block and tackle
is a pulley device

used to manually raise and
lower large, heavy objects.

This was made in such a
way that it would come off easy

and go on easy so it was a
fast operation happening here.

- Lowering and raising something.
- GARY: Well, it is a well.

Would it have been a hook for
lowering a bucket into the well?

- Up and down?
- No, this was for something heavier.

- This is much heavier.
- GARY: Oh.

No, yeah, you wouldn't
use something like this.

And I could sort of see how
thin it is down at the bottom here,

so that indicates
it had a lot of use.

- Yeah.
- A lot of use.

It might have drug something

over the ground and then
raised it and lowered it.

Any idea on an
age of this artifact?

Ah, it-it is very old, Gary.

Hooks in the later time period

were more rounder,
not elongated like that.

- Yeah.
- So a hook like that used

in a block and tackle,
we're talking about

uh, 1650 to about


Wow, that's brilliant.

NARRATOR: A hook
used for lifting heavy cargo?

And dating to more
than a century prior

to the discovery of
the Money Pit in 1795?

GARY: Wow. That is massive.

That's a big boulder.

NARRATOR: Three years ago,

while investigating
a curious formation

of boulders at the so-called
"Eye of the Swamp,"

which is located
less than 100 yards

from the site of the
reported buried well,

the team uncovered
back-filled organic materials

that Dr. Ian Spooner
dated to 1680.

- GARY: Yeah, that's some history in that well.
- CARMEN: Yep.

NARRATOR: Is it possible
that the well was built by

the same people who were
digging at the Eye of the Swamp?

And if so, could this
hook offer evidence

that the well may have been used

to hide cargo of great
importance, or value?

CARMEN: There was some
activity that involved that well.

And at one time, it was
used in that well area.

GARY: That's
brilliant, isn't it?

BILLY: Yeah, I
know. That's great.

Yeah. Talking about hooked,
that's got me hooked up, mate.

All right, mate.

Thanks for coming out.
We really appreciate it.

CARMEN: Very
good. See you later.

- GARY: All right, mate. Cheers.
- BILLY: Thanks, Carmen.

NARRATOR: Later
that afternoon...

Oh, it's looking pretty good.

I think they moved quite a bit.

NARRATOR: while
the reconstruction

of the Garden Shaft continues

in the Money Pit area...

- TOM: Isn't this a nice way to dig a hole?
- MARTY: Yeah.

- Standing up here, yeah.
- Yes.

NARRATOR: Rick and Marty
Lagina along with Tom Nolan

and Billy Gerhardt arrive at
the northern edge of the swamp

as the hydro-vac operation
to clear mud and water

away from the mysterious
stone well is nearly complete.

I think what you're
looking at there

is definitely part of the well,

that's the way it
was constructed.

You had big rocks

and then your little
ones putting it together.

Almost every rock down
there has a flat face.

TOM: Yeah, I do see that.

It seems like it's right there.

You can see by the
amount of rock right here,

it's not natural.

RICK: But what
that does look like,

it doesn't look like
the other wells here.

The small stones.
Irregular shape.

HATFIELD: Can
you see it, right here?

It almost looks
like it was stacked.

I'm confident that that
well is like the Lot 26 well.

And those are the only
two on the island like that.

Yeah. You can certainly
see the stacked stones.

- There.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR: On Lot


of the triangle-shaped swamp,

Rick Lagina and
members of the team

have just made a
potentially historic discovery.

- That's the side of it, right there.
- RICK: Yeah.

NARRATOR: They have
uncovered a stone well

that Tom Nolan's father
first discovered in the 1970s.

However, it is Rick's belief

that it could match the design

of the well located on Lot 26.

A well, which has been dated

to as early as the 11th century

and has yielded high-trace
evidence of silver.

There are enough remnants of it

to indicate that the construct

is exactly the same
as the Lot 26 well.

It's the same smaller stones,

no large, round
granite boulders.

TOM: I think that's as much...

No matter how much
we suck out of this,

I don't know if you're
ever going to see

a perfectly round well here.

Okay, so what are we gonna do?

Well, you can pull a foot off
the top here with the excavator.

- Yep.
- If you want to expose more, I'm fine with that.

We could take a little
out of the center of it.

- Yep. -RICK: Right.
- All right, let's do that.

- So, you guys can come on out.
- Yep.

RICK: And just stand by,
we're going to excavate.

- Perfect.
- All right.

The eight other wells
that we have found

across the width and
breadth of the island

are 100% different.

TOM: If you were
looking for a well,

to put it here, with
the swamp right there,

- you know you're going to get water.
- Oh, yeah.

RICK: The two wells that are
of the same type of construct,

it can't be a coincidence.

It has to be relevant in
some way, shape or form.

There's your well. Right there,

- you're on it.
- MARTY: Yeah.

TOM: I'm thinking
you're outside of it.

- MARTY: For sure.
- TOM: Yeah.

And then you throw into that mix

that they are on opposite
ends of the island,

one's on the north,
one's in the south.

To me, they both are impactful

in terms of the body of
the work that was done,

i.e., the treasure
depositional work.

For me, I-I think, I've
seen enough to recognize

the similarity between this
construct and the one on 26.

There's flat stone in
there. Small stone in there.

Irregular shaped stone.

Exactly like the Lot 26 well.

MARTY: Oh, yeah.

NARRATOR: Could
Rick Lagina be correct

that this well at
the northern border

of the swamp may be related

to the 900-year-old well

located over a quarter
mile away on Lot 26?

If so, could it offer
more physical evidence

that the origins of
the Oak Island mystery

stretch further back in history
than anyone ever knew?

Okay. What are we gonna do here?

I don't think you can
get down there any more.

The problem is, you're
getting to the depth

- where you're not allowed down there without permits.
- Yep.

Okay.

NARRATOR: Although the team
would like to continue excavating this area

to see just how deep the
well extends underground,

and also determine
just what it may contain,

because of its close
proximity to the swamp,

additional permits will be
required for them to proceed.

MARTY: Getting permits to
dig deeper right here in this area,

that would be the next step.

Actually seeing things
is always the best data

because the well on 26,
which we think is very old,

by comparison, we might say

that this well is also
of comparable age,

which would mean that
somebody was working

right around the swamp
a very, very long time ago.

At the end of the day, I think
we met the objective of it.

Yeah.

We came looking for
the well. We found it.

And we did find some pottery,
which I thought we would.

- We've made progress.
- MARTY: Yep.

TOM: So, I mean...

at this point, I think
that's all we can do with it.

- All right.
- Okay.

TOM: This is just
our first peek into this.

RICK: Yep. First peek.

NARRATOR: Following his
successful investigation on Lot 11...

CRAIG: So, Laird,
what do you have for us?

We've got some results from wood

- from the Garden Shaft.
- CRAIG: Okay.

NARRATOR: Rick
Lagina and Craig Tester

arrive at the
Interpretive Center

where Laird Niven and
Emma Culligan have just

completed new scientific
tests on wood samples

that were collected from the
Garden Shaft earlier this week.

It's from 58 feet down
but on the crane side.

CRAIG: So, the
opposite side of where

the piece with
the gold was on it.

- LAIRD: Yep, yep.
- Well, that'll be good to-to see.

- I-I mean, we need more data.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR: The wood
sample was scanned

with an X-ray fluorescence
spectrometer, or XRF.

The device emits gamma
rays in order to detect elements

or metal alloys that may be
present on the wood's surface

resulting from sustained
contact with metal objects.

One week ago, Emma performed
an XRF scan on a wood sample

taken from 55 feet deep
within the Garden Shaft

and detected high-trace
evidence of gold.

EMMA: Yeah, so, I
do have some values.

So, the... the first piece
that I brought to you guys,

that was from the
opposite side of the crane.

I was reading .13%.

So when I scanned
the crane side,

the counts of gold are getting
higher as you go deeper.

RICK: That is incredible.

EMMA: It's increasing,
in quantities.

There's definitely a
fluctuating amount,

or quantities, which
is what we want to see.

- Yeah. That's good.
- EMMA: Yeah.

NARRATOR: In the Oak
Island Interpretive Center,

archaeometallurgist
Emma Culligan

has just confirmed that
a new wood sample,

taken from a depth of 58
feet in the Garden Shaft,

has yielded high-trace
evidence of gold.

How did these
values compare again

with the values from
the 55-foot depth?

It's more.

- Great.
- Oh, it's exciting.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

RICK: Here in front of
us, this piece of wood

is exhibiting gold values
substantially higher

as we go to a deeper depth.

On the wood of a shaft

in the location that we have
high hopes and interest in.

It's fantastic.

This is highly
informative, you know,

and we'll see at different
elevations what it turns into.

We'll start comparing
it to wells we've drilled

and see, you know,
where in the entire

- Money Pit area, how the gold varies.
- Mm-hmm. Yep.

Hopefully, it's rich in
the Garden Shaft area

and-and minor in-in other areas.

- So we know where to focus.
- Mm-hmm.

Yeah, so, Emma and
I will work on a routine,

- so we can have consistent results.
- Mm-hmm.

So we can have
more rapid results.

- That would be great.
- LAIRD: Yeah.

MARTY: The gold is the
most encouraging thing, I think,

that has happened out here.

You know, scientists
trained in this methodology

tell me it's highly unusual.

Well, that implies that
there's a highly unusual

source of gold here still.

That's exciting.

So, I think, I
think this is, uh,

perhaps an indication that

we're following
the trail of the gold.

- Mm-hmm.
- RICK: I mean, that-that's good news.

Right? But we need
to do more work.

Yep. We've got lots to do.

Yeah.

- RICK: Okay.
- CRAIG: Let's get going.

NARRATOR: As another week
comes to an end on Oak Island,

the hope for Rick, Marty,
Craig and their team

that they are closer than ever

to solving a


has only grown stronger.

While they proceed
to scour the island

for more critical clues
that may soon reveal

the true story of what
happened here long ago,

are they now also
zeroing in on a treasure

that will rewrite the
history of the world?

One thing is for sure.

They will dig however
deep it takes to find out.

Next time on The
Curse of Oak Island...

The gold concentration is
getting higher as we go down.

- SCOTT: Oh, wow!
- RODNEY: X marks the spot.

RICK: We're going to
dig the great quadrilateral.

This clay should not be here.

There's something at
the bottom of that clay.

- That's a big something.
- GARY: Oh, wow! -ALEX: What is that?

- GARY: That is sweet.
- ALEX: Whoa.

This is Portuguese.

It's 1474 to 1638.

- RICK: Wow. It's incredible.
- No way.

[laughter]