10x20 - A Barrel Full of Clues

[bunniefuu]

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

SCOTT: Oh, wow.

No matter what
we’re into in this area,

whether it’s wood
or water or soil,

we’re getting gold.

- [beeping]
- [both gasp]

- Oh, what have we got, mate?
- That’s awesome.

This comes from Sardinia,
off the coast of Italy.

MARTY: Whoa.

It’s the trail of the Templars.

This thing could have
a worldwide impact.

- Oh, definitely.
- MARTY: Yeah.

EMILIANO: It’s a game changer.

The source of an
astonishing revelation.

♪ ♪

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.

♪ ♪

- CHARLES: Hey, Paul.
- COTE: Hey, how’s it going?

- CHARLES: Good. How are you?
- All right.

- You’re grabbing again?
- Yeah.

- Back at her. -Okay.
- Good.

Why don’t we go
in under the tent

- and have a look at the camera?
- COTE: Yeah, sure.

Let’s go. Get out of the rain.

NARRATOR: Despite the
chilly North Atlantic weather,

another exciting morning
has arrived on Oak Island

for brothers Rick
and Marty Lagina

and the members of their team.

How deep is the
grab there right now?

Somewhere around 73 feet.

SCOTT: So, how
deep will you go now?

COTE: Uh, close to 80 feet.

NARRATOR: In the
fabled Money Pit area,

representatives from
Dumas Contracting Limited

are now cleaning out
and preparing to refurbish

the final ten feet of a
mysterious structure

known as the Garden Shaft.

Although the decaying feature

is only 82 feet deep,
it has provided Rick,

Marty, and the team with
a number of stunning clues

that suggest it may be related
to the original Money Pit.

These include the dating
results from wood fragments,

which indicate the
structure may have been built

as early as 1735.

But even more astonishing

is the fact that
scientific analysis

conducted on both
wood and water samples

taken from more
than 50 feet deep

have revealed high
trace evidence of gold.

So, Charles, we were down
there and you could see that

that north corner is really
sunk down significantly.

They must’ve had
some softer ground there.

That stuff that wouldn’t
hold together too, too well.

CHARLES: Yeah.

So, we have this hole
over beside you, DN-11.5.

It’s one of the three
holes that we’ve had

consecutive wood
hits there, you know,

for a tunnel depth
of about 95 feet.

And then that tunnel
that’s there seems to be

trending towards the
north corner of the shaft.

COTE: Yeah.

TEDFORD: Oh, man.

Broke through something.

NARRATOR: One month ago,

the team was conducting
a core drilling operation

approximately 20 feet
west of the Garden Shaft

in an area known
as the Baby Blob.

It is here where
geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner

and hydrogeologist
Dr. Fred Michel believe

the Money Pit treasure vault

may be buried between 80
and 120 feet underground.

This DN-11.5

really seems to line up
DN-12.5 and DN-13.5

all in that east-west alignment.

NARRATOR: Incredibly, the team
encountered a tunnel at a depth of 95 feet

that not only contains
high trace evidence of gold

but also appears to be heading

almost directly beneath
the Garden Shaft.

We’re all excited.

Every day, this
shaft goes deeper,

and to us, you know,
it’s one step closer

to a better understanding
of where this gold

- is coming from.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR: Is it possible that

when the reconstruction
of the Garden Shaft

is completed several
weeks from now,

the team will finally be

within reach of the
legendary treasure

people have been
looking for since 1795?

MARTY: What I’m really after,

and what the
team is really after,

is what’s at the bottom
of that shaft. [chuckles]

What is directly at the bottom?

What is five feet
below the bottom?

What’s ten feet
below the bottom?

What’s off to either side of it?

That’s what we
want that shaft for,

’cause there are
a lot of things that,

that point to that area
being in the treasure zone.

SCOTT: Now, we-we’ve done a
lot of work in the Money Pit area.

This area has our
interest right now because

it seems no matter what
we’re into in this area,

whether it’s wood
or water or soil,

we’re getting gold.

I’ll let you know
when I find it.

- [all laughing]
- As long as you do.

NARRATOR: As the reconstruction
of the Garden Shaft continues...

JACK: Oh, wow. There’s
some sort of a feature here, too.

- LAIRD: It looks good, eh?
- JACK: Yeah.

NARRATOR: in
the northeast section

of the triangle-shaped swamp...

LAIRD: We’re looking
for the edge there.

So it looks like it falls off.

Rick Lagina, Craig Tester,

and other members of the team

are investigating
another man-made feature

that they believe could help
solve the Oak Island mystery.

Do those rocks seem to
be in place pretty firmly?

These ones? Yes.

These ones are solid.

NARRATOR: After
receiving the data

from a recent
magnetometer survey

conducted by geoscientist
Jeremy Church,

which identified a number of
potential metallic anomalies,

the team drained the swamp
and began excavating an area

in the northeastern region.

Although no metal objects
have been found as of yet,

Rick and members of the team
were stunned when they uncovered

a ramp of stones...

LAIRD: Do you
see the white tops?

Yeah, that’s a lot of cobble.

That they believe
could be connected

to the so-called paved area...

A massive stone feature that
was first uncovered in 2019

and which was scientifically
dated to 1200 AD.

♪ ♪

- We’re starting to see some stuff.
- LAIRD: Yeah.

It does have a nice, gentle
slope, though, doesn’t it?

NARRATOR: Now, the team
is hoping to find more clues

that will help determine not
only the feature’s purpose

but also if it is related to
something of great value.

RICK: We all have
interest in the swamp

to lesser or greater
degrees. [chuckles]

But we are very interested
in conducting the work.

[grunts]

RICK: There’s every bit

of, certainly, logic
and some sort of hope

that there’s some connectivity
between the EM data

Jeremy has interpreted
and this inclined rock feature.

I believe the swamp
still has some answers.

It still has some
significant reveals.

- Hey.
- Hey, guys.

I’m gonna have to leave

- and go do some permitting work, but...
- MIRIAM: Okay.

LAIRD: This is what
they call the ramp.

It’s sloping slightly
up to the stone path,

- which you know...
- Okay.

- Way too intimately, right?
- Yeah.

LAIRD: We have some nice
consolidated rocks in here.

MIRIAM: Yeah.

Craig’s finding some
evidence of disturbance in here.

- CRAIG: Yeah.
- MIRIAM: Okay.

All right. Good luck, guys.

I’m still on the
structure right now,

even though I’m under
the mud, I’m on firm ground,

and there’s rocks at a slope
right here, so it keeps going.

MIRIAM: This definitely
needs to be cleared off

before we can do any
sort of actual excavation.

So it would be great if
we could take all of this off

- and actually get a good look at it.
- RICK: Mm-hmm.

I agree with you.

Until we get down,
eyes and boots,

hands and knees,
we’re not gonna really

understand it.

Okay. Let’s keep digging.

CRAIG: Okay, sounds good.

NARRATOR: While
operations continue

in the Money Pit area
and in the swamp...

GARY: Love it. Back on Lot 5.

JACK: Oh, yeah.

NARRATOR: Jack
Begley has joined

metal detection
expert Gary Drayton

at Lot 5 on the western
side of the island.

Let’s find everything we can.

All right, mate, you ready
to dig some history up?

JACK [chuckles]: Always.

- [musical beep]
- GARY: Okay, mate.

NARRATOR: This year,
after purchasing Lot 5,

Rick, Marty and the team

quickly made some of
the most historic finds

in the history of the
Oak Island treasure hunt.

These include a stone structure

that may date back
to the same era

as the Garden Shaft,

tools that may be more
than four centuries old,

and half of a Roman coin

that has been dated
to as early as 300 BC.

GARY: Bit of a
choppy signal, but...

MARTY: I think it’s beyond
question that the acquisition

of Lot 5 was a wise
thing for the fellowship.

Gary’s finding
artifact after artifact.

It has already,

during the short
period we’ve owned it,

produced definitely some of

the oldest finds on Oak Island.

- It’s a big old square nail.
- Yeah.

This one would be
maybe late 1700s.

MARTY: Lot 5 could maybe

fill in a piece of the puzzle

as to where the people
were who built the Money Pit.

Maybe they were on Lot 5.

Those dots have certainly
not been connected yet.

That’s why we
need to keep looking.

All right, next target we
ain’t got to go very far for.

Thanks.

[both chuckling]

[intermittent beeping]

So yeah. Just dig a hole, mate.

JACK: Mm-hmm.

GARY: Dang.
You’re a beast, mate.

[grunts]

[sniffles]

♪ ♪

JACK: It’s still in there.

Try and find it.

[beeping rapidly]

It’s in my hand.

Let’s see what we’ve got.

[steady beeping]

[gasps]

[laughing]

GARY: What have we got, mate?

GARY: What have we got, mate?

- That looks like an old coin.
- Yeah. You see that?

That nice and round shape?

Please, please,
please, be a coin.

I’m gonna pull it out.

Look how round it is.

Ooh...

It’s lead.

NARRATOR: On Lot 5 on
the western side of Oak Island,

Gary Drayton and Jack
Begley have just unearthed

a potentially
important artifact.

Well, it’s so ornate for lead.

GARY: Yeah, it’s
got a scalloped edge.

That is really,
really unusual, mate.

- Can I see it?
- That is unusual.

[blows]

GARY: It’s nice
and heavy, isn’t it?

- JACK: Oh, yeah.
- GARY: But why would anyone

make something like that?

Now, it could be
like a token, mate.

That is nice.

I mean, I’ve found tokens

that go all the way
back to Roman days.

I’ve actually found
Roman tokens.

And we have found a Roman
coin right here on Lot 5 behind us.

JACK: Mm-hmm.

NARRATOR: A possible lead token

found on Lot 5?

Originating more than 2,000
years ago in Ancient Rome,

trade tokens were
coin-like objects

made with various kinds of metal
and even nonmetallic materials

that were issued
by private entities

rather than official
governments to be used

in place of sanctioned currency.

Although many cultures
have issued their own forms

of trade tokens
throughout history...

Now we’re adding
to the lead database

’cause this is special.

NARRATOR: could
Gary Drayton be correct

that this believed trade token
is related to the Roman coin

found on Lot 5
earlier this year?

But if so, who brought
them to Oak Island?

Whenever we find
lead, mate, I get excited

’cause sometimes you get
some pretty amazing results.

And I like the
rare, unique finds

- because they tell us more information.
- Yeah.

I say we take
this back to the lab

and get the archaeologists

checking this out
and working on it.

JACK: I agree.

GARY: All right, mate.

This could be a very
important artifact.

NARRATOR: Following
their discovery on Lot 5...

- GARY: Gentlemen.
- LAIRD: Hey.

- RICK: Hey.
- GARY: Hi, chaps.

Back from Lot 5

with another find.

Smiles round the table.

Yeah, wait till you see this.

NARRATOR: Gary and
Jack meet with Rick Lagina,

Craig Tester and
archaeologist Laird Niven

in the interpretive center.

Okay, let’s see it.

Yeah, this is a
nice piece of lead.

- RICK: Mm.
- GARY: And we’ve never seen it before.

- Highly decorated...
- Oh.

GARY: scalloped
around the edges.

JACK: It looks like there’s
two holes punched through.

Seems to be two
holes, and it’s brittle, too.

- JACK: Yeah.
- It’s an old piece.

Yeah.

LAIRD: Fancy design
here, but nothing...

- seemingly on the face, right?
- JACK: Yeah.

And you’re certain
that’s intentional?

The scalloping?

Yeah, definitely intentional.

- Would have been molded, right?
- Yeah.

Poured into a
mold, I would expect.

GARY: Yeah, we thought
maybe it could be a token.

But, why put all that
fancy design around it?

LAIRD: No, that bears
looking into, for sure.

And I know it’s
made of lead, mate,

but can we do any scans on it?

LAIRD: Yeah, so
we can clean it gently,

see if there’s anything
we can bring out on it.

And then I would think XRF.

Yeah.

NARRATOR: After
Laird cleans the artifact

in order to determine
its composition...

- Can I take a look?
- Yes.

NARRATOR: he will perform
an extensive 24-hour scan of it

using the team’s X-ray
fluorescence device.

By emitting
nondestructive radiation,

the XRF machine can
identify the elements

that are present in the object.

This object has the
potential to be quite revealing.

It’s singularly unique...

We’ve not seen this item before.

But we need to
continue to persevere

in trying to
understand what this is.

There’s only one
thing left to do.

That’s to go find more

- on a very promising Lot 5.
- Yeah.

- RICK: Let’s go.
- JACK: Go find more, yeah.

- LAIRD: See you later.
- GARY: See you later, guys.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: The next morning...

COTE: Going down.

NARRATOR: as
the reconstruction

of the Garden Shaft continues...

RICK: So everybody
around the table

knows how important
I think research is.

NARRATOR: Rick and Marty Lagina

have assembled
members of the team

in the w*r room for a meeting
with researchers Judi Rudebusch

and Emiliano Sacchetti.

Welcome you both.

I think I’m gonna find

today’s information
highly, highly relevant.

NARRATOR: In light of recent
discoveries made on the island,

such as the stone ramp

that may be related to the


in the swamp,

and the stunning
artifacts from Lot 5...

Emiliano Sacchetti,

who really leads
the team in Italy.

NARRATOR: Rick
has arranged for Emiliano

to personally present
new information,

which he believes

may be able to help
explain their true origins.

Emiliano was tasked initially

with a very specific request,

and that was to look
into Zena’s material,

i.e. the Cremona Document,

the deposition by
Ralph de Sudeley

about his voyage
to the New World.

NARRATOR: In 1970,

an astounding
manuscript was discovered

in the archives of
a medieval church

in the town of Cremona, Italy.

Consisting of maps,
ciphers and journal entries,

the so-called Cremona Document
is believed to have been created

in the late 12th century

by Ralph de Sudeley,

an esteemed leader
of the Knights Templar.

According to his
firsthand testimony,

de Sudeley and others in
the Christian m*llitary order

discovered priceless
religious treasures

in Jerusalem
during the Crusades,

including the golden menorah

from King Solomon’s
original temple

and the Holy Grail

that were then smuggled
to Seborga, Italy,

before some of them
were eventually transported

across the Atlantic
Ocean to the New World.

To that point, Emiliano, Judi,

if you want to take over,

really look forward to the day.

So I will try to

tell you about the
last six months,

seven months of research

we carried out.

You know, of course,

I read the Cremona
Document, um...

Seborga was an
important principality.

- Mm-hmm.
- EMILIANO: Not on the sea.

It’s up in the hill on
a border with France.

DOUG: It wasn’t far
off to the Templars’

- pilgrimage route, though.
- EMILIANO: No, it was not.

It was right on that route.

I think that it was

not unlikely that Templars
brought back relics

from the Holy Land.

- MARTY: Yeah.
- ALEX: Mm-hmm.

- Yeah.
- JUDI: Well, in the story,

Ralph de Sudeley
comes to America.

EMILIANO: Oh, definitely.

What I think is
that the Templars,

they had access to information

from meeting voyagers,
sailors, and meeting people,

listening to, you
know, travel voyages.

And they had probably
also the interest

to sail across the
Atlantic to North America.

DOUG: The Cremona
Document does say

during their trip here
to the New World,

they stopped at
an island of oak.

If the Templars came
over to the New World,

I’d say it’s, you know, this
would be probably where

one of the places they stopped.

But that happened 1178.

Templars’ histories
has 150 years more.

In the beginning
of the 14th century,

Templars in that very
time were fleeing Europe...

Because the France
king witch hunt...

Were able to once again
sail across the Atlantic.

NARRATOR: In 1307,

after more than 150 years of
serving the Catholic Church,

Pope Clement V
conspired with King Philip IV

to disband and persecute
the Templar Order.

Although the charge was heresy,

many believe the true
reason for the betrayal

centered on an attempt to
seize their holy treasures.

Many knights were arrested,

tortured and ex*cuted.

However, it is believed
that some escaped

and fled with the remains
of their vast treasure

to various European nations,

including Portugal,

Scotland, England, and Italy,

before possibly returning
to North America.

Templars had a massive
amount of money that went missing

- around their fall.
- Yeah.

And if they did sail across

the Atlantic Ocean
over to America,

what would the point have been?

Were they taking

that treasure as far away
from Europe as they could,

all those religious treasures,

and transport them
across the Atlantic

and deposit them here?

Right.

ALEX: That kind of
reinforces the idea

that maybe the
Templars did this, right?

Because if they were fleeing,

then all of a sudden the idea
that you’re going somewhere

is not as scary ’cause
you can’t go back.

Yeah.

EMILIANO: If this is true,

we have two Templar
voyages to America

between the 11th
and the 14th century...

About 150 years before Columbus.

♪ ♪

MARTY: Fantastic.

EMILIANO: If this is true,

we have two Templar voyages

to America between the




NARRATOR: In the w*r room,

Italian researcher
Emiliano Sacchetti

has just presented Rick, Marty,

Craig and members of the
team information suggesting

that the medieval order
of the Knights Templar

may have made multiple journeys

to Oak Island for
the purpose of hiding

their accumulated treasures.

So until now, there was
no evidence that anyone...

Outside Scandinavian people...

Knew about America
before Columbus.

- Mm-hmm.
- EMILIANO: I say until now

because last summer,

an Italian professor
managed to find

a manuscript.

A manuscript that is dated 1340

and was written by

a Milanese friar called
Galvano Fiamma.

According to the manuscript,

in the beginning
of the 14th century,


Columbus voyage,

people knew about America.

The manuscript
contains maps as well.

Does the manuscript have a name?

Yeah, it’s called
Cronica Universalis.

So what I asked myself is,

where the author found
the information about this?

So he managed to find

one of the greatest
cartographer of that era,

John of Carignano,
who was in touch

with sailors, with
merchants, with clerics,

with pilgrims,

even Templars
because he was there.

So what we can conclude

is that the Italians
and the Templars

knew about America
way before Columbus.

You’re quite sure, though, that

the capability in terms of
the ships and the knowledge

of the Americas was known...

- Yeah.
- Long before

conventional historians agree?

Well, this again
is an ongoing work

and I really hope
that we can bring

more evidences in
the next few months.

We have immense respect for
what Zena helped bring to the fore.

And I mean, she would be...

Judi, she would be ecstatic
about that find, correct?

Pre-Columbian voyages
to the New World.

-That was her... -That was
her, that was her first love.

RICK: I do believe
that on the island

work was done at different
times, but to one agenda.

Because we have carbon dates
from late 1100s, early 1200s,

up to the 1600s, 1700s.

The work could have
been done in, in stages.

But if this thing
becomes proven,

would sort of have
a worldwide impact.

I am quoting the exact word
of this professor when I say

that he refers to this
manuscript as, uh...

the source of an
astonishing revelation.

NARRATOR: Is it really possible

that members of
the Knights Templar

were behind the
Oak Island mystery?

Could that explain some
of the ancient discoveries

that the team has made,

like the 12th century
paved area in the swamp,

the Roman half coin, or
the 14th century lead cross?

If so, then just what
might be the source

of all the high trace
evidence of gold

that has been detected
deep in the Money Pit area?

My next move is to fly to Milan

and try to take a look
at this manuscript.

And then another
good news is that...

I just received confirmation

that I am admitted into
the Vatican archives.

Can you imagine what that
will bring to our research?

- Mm-hmm.
- Per year.

♪ ♪

It’s a fabulously
unique opportunity.

I think Zena
Halpern, in particular,

would have been ecstatic,

over-the-top giddy
with that information

because the focus of her work

was pre-Columbian
voyages to the New World.

We need to continue to pursue

not only that work but
all the research activities

we are currently conducting.

There is certainly
information out there,

and we couldn’t move
this forward without you.

So thank you very much.

Thank you, guys.

- You’re welcome.
- [overlapping chatter]

Thanks for the information.

Thanks for the hard work.

We look forward
to more discoveries.

RICK: Really appreciate it.

Thank you.

NARRATOR: Later
that afternoon...

LAIRD: Here it is.

All right, here we be.

Yeah.

NARRATOR: Rick,
Marty, and Alex Lagina

had been asked to join

Laird Niven on
Lot 5, near the area

where the lead token and
the Roman coin were found.

Here, they will inspect
a mysterious structure

that Laird recalls being
shown nearly two decades ago

by the late Robert Young,

who was the property’s
previous owner.

What is this, Laird?

LAIRD: So I got a
call from Robert Young

over 20 years ago to
come out and look at Lot 5,

and he did show me this,

but I thought it was something
like the cellar for a barn.

-Oh. -Hmm.

MARTY: It’s almost
perfectly circular.

LAIRD: I know. [chuckles]

NARRATOR:
Although little is known

about the history of Lot 5,

it was used as farmland
in the early 19th century,

shortly after the discovery
of the Money Pit in 1795.

In 1996, Robert Young purchased
it from his friend Fred Nolan,

and over the
following two decades,

he reported finding a
number of historic artifacts,

including 14th century coins,
before his passing in 2020.

Is it possible that this
circular stone feature

was simply created by


Or might it predate the
discovery of the Money Pit

and perhaps be related to
the other ancient discoveries

recently made in this area?

We do know that Robert
Young found quite a bit of things,

quite a bit of significant items

on Lot 5.

But I thought he would have
picked it cleaner than he did.

There seems to
be a lot of stuff left.

And Lot 5 could be...

it could be a piece of the
puzzle that we were missing.

Well, that brings us to
the obvious question...

What happened on this lot?

LAIRD: The first record we have,

I think Allen said, was 1819.

We’ve often been puzzled
by the inconsistency

between massive works over here

and no evidence of
the people who did it.

Maybe this lot will give
us some of those answers.

RICK: It’s a unique structure
found on a lot that has

presented all kinds
of unique finds.

We have found artifacts

that predate the
discovery of the Money Pit

by half a century or more.

This possibly could
be depositional work.

MARTY: Are you
gonna do a pit in here?

- Oh, yeah, absolutely.
- MARTY: Okay.

Yeah, we can do that.

If nothing else,
just cut it a section,

see if we can determine
what it used to be.

MARTY: Right. I think this
lot still has some secrets...

Relevant secrets.

Does it have anything
to do with the activities

on the eastern drumlin
and the Money Pit?

Hopefully we’re gonna find out.

- MARTY: We’ll get after it.
- LAIRD: Time to get to work.

NARRATOR: As a new
day begins on Oak Island...

- RONNIE: Hello, Rick.
- RICK: Hey.

- RONNIE: How are you doing today, buddy?
- Good, you?

- Oh, you got the whole g*ng with you.
- You bet.

- Good to see you again.
- CRAIG: Good to see you.

NARRATOR: Rick
Lagina, Craig Tester

and Oak Island operations
manager Scott Barlow

arrive at the Money Pit area

for an update on
the reconstruction

of the Garden Shaft.

- How’s work going?
- Good, we found something this morning

- you guys might be interested in.
- Oh, yeah?

- You want to go grab it for him?
- Yeah, sure.

Crane operator got ahold of us,

and he had a chunk
of wood in there,

and we went over
and took a look at it.

Looks like it might be
a barrel or something.

- Oh, nice.
- Oh, really?

Round-shaped barrel.

Really?

Here, Rick.

SCOTT: Oh, nice.

RICK: Yeah, wow. Barrel hoop.

So it’s actually the band?
Yeah, I thought you meant

he has a couple of staves.

Yeah.

You guys find anything
like that before?

- No.
- No, we’ve found barrel staves.

We’ve never found hoops.

Okay.

Especially wooden ones.

BERTRAND: Yeah,
this is wood. Yeah.

RICK: But that’s a big barrel.

You’re talking about...
something that size.

It could be.

What’s that doing
down that hole?

You know, I remember
a couple of years ago,

we took a couple
of the tops of casks

from the swamp to Carmen,

and they were fairly old, too.

RONNIE: Interesting, right?

Very much so.

RICK: Hey, look at that. Cask.

NARRATOR: Two years ago...

GARY: Oh, that’s
what that is, mate.

Bottom of a keg.

NARRATOR: While
investigating near the stone road

or possible ship’s
wharf, in the swamp...

IAN: Holy crow.
That’s very important.

NARRATOR: Rick and
other members of the team

found pieces of
wooden cargo barrels.

And when blacksmithing expert

Carmen Legge examined them,

he believed they could
predate the discovery

of the Money Pit
by four centuries.

It’s very cool. Very cool.

NARRATOR: Is it possible
that this barrel hoop,

found nearly 70 feet
deep in the Garden Shaft,

could be as old as those
found in the swamp?

Or, perhaps, even older?

RONNIE: Probably be happy
in the next couple of buckets,

if we find the other
half of that, eh?

- Yeah.
- NARRATOR: If so,

what kind of cargo

did it once contain,

and is it still
waiting to be found

deeper within the structure?

RICK: We’ve found tops of kegs,

we’ve found barrel staves.

However, this being
found in the Money Pit

is most interesting.

RICK: What-what do you think?

- Carbon dating?
- Yeah.

SCOTT: Did you... did you notice

any of the staves come
out? Was, uh, I wonder...

- No, no, that’s-that’s all we got, yeah.
- SCOTT: Just-just this?

But now, it’s all the more
important to keep an eye

because there might
be something deeper.

He’s always keeping an eye.

Any piece of wood there,

he’s got us running up there.

Good. Great find, though.

RICK: Very interesting.

SCOTT: It’s a great find.

Yeah. You’re the eyes
and boots of that operation.

You see something, please,

let us know.

- We will.
- For sure, yeah.

RICK: All righty,
thank you very much.

SCOTT: Nice job, guys.

NARRATOR: As the reconstruction

of the Garden Shaft

continues in the
Money Pit area...

CRAIG: Well, I think we’re
ready to take the next step here.

NARRATOR:
Craig Tester arrives

in the northeastern
region of the swamp

with Jack Begley,

Gary Drayton, Laird Niven,

and Billy Gerhardt.

CRAIG: We know out
just a little bit is where

the paved area was uncovered,

so, you know,

this may be part of the ramp.

And then, as we’re
pulling this way,

hopefully we find a boundary.

If you can find artifacts,

that’d be fantastic.

- That’s ideal.
- CRAIG: Yes.

The great news is
that the paved area

seems to be rather large.

GARY: I bought plenty of bags

with me today. I’m
expecting a good day.

Okay.

- A lot going on, so let’s get after it.
- Yep.

NARRATOR: They are eager
to continue their investigation

of the stone ramp that was
discovered one week ago,

and which the team
believes may be connected

to the 800-year-old
stone paved area.

RICK: We think we
found the ramp area,

which is an
inclined rock feature

that led from the paved area,

towards, at least,
the stone path.

I guess we’re
going to really hear it

before we see it, aren’t we?

- The rocks? Yeah.
- Yeah. When it comes down.

RICK: Preliminarily, if one
had to make an assessment,

you could say there’s

a direct correlation
between the paved area

and the stone path

vis a vis this ramp,

and maybe it leads
to the Money Pit,

but we need to
expose it further.

CRAIG: If it is a
ramp leading up to

the stone path,

that’d be amazing.

Yeah.

RICK: Hey, guys.

LAIRD: Hey, Rick.

What’s up?

We’re starting to see rocks now.

Okay.

LAIRD: Ooh.

JACK: Oh. Is that
a piece of wood?

JACK: Hey, this is cut.

JACK: This is cut.

Doesn’t this look
like a saw edge?

NARRATOR: While investigating

the mysterious stone ramp

in the northeast
section of the swamp,

Jack Begley has just discovered

a curious and
potentially important clue.

It’s sawed. I agree with you.

Definitely hand-sawed.

NARRATOR: A possibly
hand-cut piece of wood?

Over the past five
years, the team has found

not only pieces of
believed cargo barrels,

but also wooden fragments
of large sailing vessels.

Is it possible that Jack Begley

has just found another
clue on the stone ramp,

and near the


that could help
the team determine

why they were constructed?

CRAIG: Any time
we’re finding wood,

we’re constantly
looking for pieces

that we might be able to date.

Cut pieces of wood.

What is it cut
with? Is it an axe?

Is it a saw?

Saw cuts are quite straight.

That usually tells us
it’s an older method.

What ancient
story does it fit into?

That’s what we’re here
for. We’re here to find out

what actually was going on.

We’re excited and we hope
that we can find answers here.

JACK: That looks like C-horizon.

RICK: There it is.

Just C-horizon.

Yep.

CRAIG: Well...

RICK: I think we’ve
got the border there.

- CRAIG: Yeah.
- RICK: Actually, I think

we’ve learned as much
as we’re going to learn.

Yeah, I do, too.

NARRATOR: Because
the team believes

that they have
reached the C-horizon,

or the natural
layer of ground soil,

it appears they
have found the border

of this section of the
mysterious stone ramp feature.

I don’t see any paved area here.

I think we need to go...

- Yeah.
- CRAIG: So that we can try following

the one area we did find,

whether it’s a ramp or
not, follow it up that way.

GARY: I agree.

Might as well move.

We keep following that ramp.

The swamp is an
incredibly difficult

environment to work in,

but you have to
be patient with, uh,

with all the excavation
work in the swamp.

Follow the process,
let it run out,

and then, hopefully, at
some point, we will find it.

- So, I think fill this hole back in.
- Yeah.

CRAIG: We’ll call
this area for now.

RICK: Okay.

NARRATOR: Later that afternoon,

while operations continue
in the Garden Shaft...

We’re gaining, though.

RON: That’s gaining.

MARTY: So, we’ve got
some more information,

- I guess?
- RICK: Yep.

NARRATOR: Rick and Marty Lagina,

along with Craig
Tester and Jack Begley,

meet in the interpretive center

with archaeometallurgist
Emma Culligan.

CRAIG: This is what
they found on Lot 5.

So, what do you think it is?

CRAIG: I mean, we
don’t think it’s a button.

It’s got holes in it, but
they’re not centered.

Gary was thinking
gold coin, wasn’t he?

JACK: We thought token.

MARTY: I’m just wondering

if it’s really old,
corroded away.

Emma’s got more information.

- Okay.
- CRAIG: That’s what

we are understanding, so...

NARRATOR: Now that
Emma has completed

an extended X-ray
fluorescence scan

of the mysterious lead disk

that was found two
days ago on Lot 5,

she is prepared to share
her preliminary analysis

on the object’s content and
potential geographic origin.

MARTY: Let’s let
the machine speak.

- RICK: Emma?
- Hello.

- What have you got?
- MARTY: What you got, Emma?

EMMA: So, you’ll
see two different tones.

There’s a white layer... A
light layer, and a dark layer.

JACK: Oh.

EMMA: So I did
two long point scans

on each of those layers,

and what came out
was that the light layer

is about 99.96% lead,

pretty pure, with a
.02% copper and iron.

The dark layer does
have some iron content,

about .41% and about .4% copper

and .2% silicone.

But both those leads

are naturally occurring
leads, like you can ore them.

So, that one is of
interest because

you don’t see
something like that.

It gained my
curiosity even further.

So I did an XRD scan afterwards.

The initial mineral that I
found that it matched to

is a sample found
in the mines of Iran.

But when it matches a sample,

it doesn’t necessarily mean
it comes from that exact mine,

but anything that lies on

the same geological belt,

which goes across Italy,

near France, Spain.

So there is a sample
off the coast of Italy,

and it’s matching those results.

So this comes from
somewhere in that region.

EMMA: So this comes
from the mines of Iran

or Sardinia, off
the coast of Italy.

NARRATOR: In the Oak
Island Interpretive Centre,

archaeometallurgist
Emma Culligan

has just shared an astonishing
scientific report with the team.

The lead artifact

discovered two days ago on Lot 5

may have originated
in the Middle East

or several regions of
Europe, including Italy.

Nothing like that exists in
the North American continent?

No, it doesn’t occur
in North America.

MARTY: What about age?

Shed any light on that?

EMMA: It’s hard
to date this lead.

Um, it’s really pure,

- so it can be old.
- Mm-hmm.

But the fact that I am
getting a hit from Sardinia,

which, you know, there
is Roman mines there.

NARRATOR: Is it possible that

the lead artifact
discovered on Lot 5

could have originated in Italy?

If so, could it be related
to the Roman coin

that was found
earlier this year,

and also support the belief

of researchers such
as Zena Halpern

and Emiliano Sacchetti

that members of
the Knights Templar

were connected to
the Oak Island mystery?

The fact that this type of ore

stretches across,
uh, Southern Europe,

it’s the trail of the Templars.

Could this artifact be
associated with that?

It could,

but there’s a lot
of work to do yet

before you make that statement.

But it is on the trail
of the Templars.

So, once again, we
have an unknown item

coming from places it
shouldn’t come from. How’s that?

Yeah. [laughs]

Based on where it was
found, we think it’s very old.

Appearance and shape might
mean something to somebody.

- Mm-hmm.
- MARTY: So we get it out there.

Somebody’s going
to know what that is.

- MARTY: Yeah, I would think so.
- There’s no question about it.

MARTY: I’m keenly
interested in this.

It has scalloped edges,

and it has a peculiar shape,

and it has peculiar
holes in the center of it.

So our hope is that it
might be rather significant.

Okay, so we dig
the heck out of Lot 5.

- Agreed.
- So, look, I’ll follow up

on all this, and as soon as

any data at all comes
in, I’ll let everybody know.

Okay, let’s get that done.

Emma, thank you very much.

MARTY: Thank you,
Emma. Stay on it.

EMMA: All right.

NARRATOR: At the end of another
successful week on Oak Island,

Rick, Marty, Craig
and their team

are more encouraged than ever

that the discoveries
they continue to unearth

may soon reveal the answers

to a 228-year-old mystery.

But as they dig deeper,

could they actually
be closing in

on a treasure of
biblical proportions?

Perhaps it’s just
a matter of time,

and their ability to
avoid a deadly curse,

that will tell.

NARRATOR: Next time on
The Curse of Oak Island...

ALEX: Wow.

- We’re at 13 feet across.
- LAIRD: Wow.

ALEX: That is the
exact same dimension

as the Money Pit.

To me, it changes everything.

- Oh, look at that.
- Oh, look at that.

That’s nice. Fantastic!

That’s got to be
the oldest metal artifact

ever to come out the swamp.

It’s the oldest
I’ve seen in Nova Scotia.

It’s Roman from 5th century.

JACK:
Oh, no way.

- How sure are you of this?
- I’m 100% sure.

- Wow.
- Wow.