10x21 - Roman Around

[bunniefuu]

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

- Wow. We're at 13 feet across.
- Wow.

ALEX:
That is the exact same dimension

- as the Money Pit.
- To me, it changes everything.

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

That's nice. Fantastic.

That's got to be
the oldest metal artifact

ever to come out of the swamp.

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

SANDY:
It's Roman

from fifth century.

- [laughter]
- JACK: Oh, no way.

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

- Wow.
- Wow.

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.

♪ ♪

SCOTT: Hey, Paul.

[chuckles] How's your day going?

Ah, it's going, it's going.

- Steady. Steady.
- Good.

Where's the dig currently at?

I'd say 78 feet.

-78. -78, really? Okay.

NARRATOR: An exciting new day

in the quest of brothers Rick
and Marty Lagina and their team

to solve the 228-year-old
Oak Island mystery

is well underway.

So, your next stage, you're
gonna lower your staging now?

Yeah, so, the guys
are gonna go down.

- They're gonna grout first.
- Okay.

And then they're gonna
put another set in after.

- Okay.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR: And in the fabled

Money Pit area,

the anticipation of a
breakthrough discovery

has never been higher,

as representatives from
Dumas Contracting Limited

work to complete
the reconstruction

of an 82-foot-deep feature
known as the Garden Shaft.

So, Paul, when do you think

you're gonna start
the probe drilling?

Well, we have, uh, maybe
a couple of sets to put in.

Grout first...

- Yep.
- And lower the staging.

I told the guys that, to
make sure you take, uh,

a little extra time
to keep an eye out,

with what we're
pulling out or anything

that looks out of the ordinary.

Yeah, I mean, it is an
anomalous area all around here.

I mean, we have
a tunnel out here

that we don't know
anything about.

We seem to have
the water flowing

in this general direction.

And now we've-we've since tested

two pieces of wood
out of the shaft...

- Yeah.
- And have gotten, uh, gold detected on them.

We have wood from DN-11.5

that has gold in
the wood as well.

Yeah.

NARRATOR: Although
the Garden Shaft

was originally thought
to be nothing more

than a 19th-century
searcher construct,

when Rick, Marty and
their partner Craig Tester

had wood samples
scientifically analyzed

at the beginning of this year,

they were astonished to
learn that it may have been built

in 1735,

meaning that it might be
related to the original Money Pit.

So, you guys gave me these.

TERRY: Right.

NARRATOR: Subsequent testing

on additional wood samples

that were taken from 55

and 58 feet deep
in the structure

revealed even more
shocking results.

- I detected gold.
- Wow.

EMMA: 0.11%.

Isn't that, like, a big number?

This is huge.

Right now, we know we
have a shaft right here.

- We have a shaft behind you.
- Yeah.

- We still have this whole area that's yet to be explored.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR: While the
team is eager to find out

just what lies buried at the
bottom of the Garden Shaft,

they recently learned of
another potential opportunity

it may offer them for an even
greater breakthrough discovery.

While drilling in a


known as the Baby Blob,

where geoscientist
Dr. Ian Spooner

and hydrogeologist
Dr. Fred Michel

believe the Money Pit
treasure vault could be located

between 80 and 120
feet deep underground,

the team encountered a
tunnel at a depth of some 95 feet

that is heading almost directly
underneath the Garden Shaft.

The Garden Shaft has
a whole bunch of things

that point to it being,
uh, very important.

We've got the gold in the water,
we've got tunnels leading to it,

we have wood samples with gold.

All kinds of mysteries
around the Garden Shaft

that we have to figure out.

SCOTT: When we get to that
bottom, when we find that bottom,

we'll have a better
understanding of where

that tunnel is
and why it's there.

And then we can figure out
what angle we need to drill on

and how far we need to drill
in order to reach that tunnel.

Yeah.

RICK: There's lots of reason
to believe that the Garden Shaft

may allow us to answer the
questions regarding the mystery.

But you have to be very
careful, because we know

the incredible amount of work
that was done underground

in the Money Pit.

So, the first thing to do
is stick with the hard data.

The hope is that
it leads to treasure.

We're excited to get
down to the bottom,

but we'll let you
get back to it.

I know you've got
a lot of work to do.

Yep. We're anxious to
get to the bottom, also.

- SCOTT: All right, sounds good.
- PAUL: Sounds good.

PAUL: We'll check
in with you later.

- Thanks, Paul.
- Yeah, thanks.

NARRATOR: While
the reconstruction

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

- GARY: Hello, Rick.
- RICK: Gary. Morning.

- RICK: Morning, Bill.
- Morning.

Rick Lagina, along
with Billy Gerhardt

and metal detection
expert Gary Drayton,

prepare to continue
another major operation

in the northeastern region
of the triangle-shaped swamp.

To me, the most interesting
thing about today is,

we have to reaffirm
the ramp area up.

- Yeah. Yeah.
- If we can dig that,

then you'll have your
answer about whether or not

these stones are associated

- with the paved area itself, right?
- Right.

RICK: Right there.
There's something hard.

NARRATOR: Two weeks ago,

while searching for a
possible metal object

that was recently identified
during a magnetometry survey,

Rick and members
of the team uncovered

what appeared to
be a stone ramp.

IAN: Just see the white tops.

STEVE: Yeah,
that's a lot of cobble.

NARRATOR: A ramp
that may be connected

to the mysterious paved area,

which has been dated
to as early as 1200 AD.

I think this little spit of land
here might hold some secrets.

And the only way
to do it is to dig, so...

- Yeah. Let's get diggy with it.
- [laughs]

Let's get diggy with it.

- Okay, Bill.
- BILLY: Yeah.

NARRATOR: Now Rick, Billy
and Gary are hoping to determine

if the ramp really is an
extension of the paved area,

and also, if anything of
value may be hidden nearby.

GARY: It does smell
like treasure, doesn't it?

I don't remember
it quite this sloppy.

Uh, yeah, I do.

Look, the stones are coming up.

- Two stones over there.
- Yeah.

GARY: They look like two
stones off the paved area.

I don't know if
this is gonna work.

GARY: He's just
fighting the water.

I think the ramp obviously needs
to be thoroughly investigated.

But right now, it's so wet,

we would have to get
a pump and dewater

in order to do a proper dig.

We will do that as
soon as possible.

How do you want to do this?

I don't remember
it being this wet.

BILLY: Yeah, I-I don't know.

There's certainly
a lot of water.

The swamp doesn't want
to give up its secrets, right?

That's the long
and the short of it.

RICK: Time and weather
are conspiring against us.

We don't have a
whole lot of time.

-No. -What I would do is,

get it dry enough
and then maybe dig it

- a little bit that way?
- Yeah.

And I think we
continue to explore

the possibilities of what
that ramp is suggesting,

that there's a connection
between this paved area

- and the upland.
- Yeah.

- GARY: All right, mate.
- All right.

Thanks.

I love the swamp.

NARRATOR: Later
that afternoon...

MARTY: Ladies, gentlemen,

today we welcome Sandy
Campbell back to the w*r room.

Sandy is... I'm
sure you all know...

- Is a coin expert.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR: Rick
joins his brother Marty,

along with other members
of the team in the w*r room

for a highly anticipated meeting
with numismatist Sandy Campbell.

MARTY: Specifically,
we're gonna talk about a find

that Gary and Jack
made on Lot 5, correct?

Yeah.

NARRATOR: One week ago,

a mysterious lead disc
was discovered on Lot 5

in an area where the team found

a nearly 2,000-year-old
Roman coin earlier this year.

EMMA: This comes from the mines

of Iran or Sardinia,
off the coast of Italy.

It's an enigmatic piece.

I've never seen
anything quite like it.

- Nope.
- Rick has it here in his hands,

so, um, let's proceed.

- RICK: Sandy, here you go.
- Great.

So, this is a-a bit exciting
for me for a few reasons.

So, when Emma sent me the email,

I immediately identified
what this probably was.

-Mm. -I have a history

with a very similar piece.

Uh, about ten or 12
years ago, we handled

a collection of ancient
and historical money,

and there was a
piece, y-you know,

it-it looks like a twin to this,
that was in that collection.

- No way. [chuckles]
- Yeah.

SANDY: And i-it's...
it's really bizarre

that this has shown up
on the island, in one sense,

but in another sense, it's
not, and I'll tell you why.

It probably was some
sort of barter piece.

This is probably
from, you know...

fifth century.

- [laughter]
- Wow. Really?

SANDY: Yeah.

And a similar piece was found
on a Roman site in-in the U.K.

- Wow. Wow.
- [laughter]

GARY This is fantastic news.

SANDY: This is exciting
for me for a few reasons.

A similar piece was found
on a Roman site in the U.K.

- No way.
- Yeah.

MARTY: Wait a minute.

How sure are you of this?

I'm-I'm 100% sure.

- Geez.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR: In the w*r room,

coin expert Sandy
Campbell has just presented

an astonishing
assessment of the lead token

found one week ago on Lot 5.

- Wow.
- SANDY: And-and again, the coincidence here

is beyond, you know,
what you'd normally...

[laughs]: Yeah.

NARRATOR: He believes
it not only dates back

to the fifth century
AD, but just like the coin

that was found in the
same area this year,

is also of Roman origin.

I even have some...

a printout from
the British museum

that shows a very similar piece.

I'm gonna pull out the-the
documents I have here.

This is a special find.
It is absolutely amazing.

I knew it was old.

MARTY: This thing, apparently,

with very, very
high, uh, reliability,

is a fifth-century
Roman artifact.

That is incredible.

What is it doing buried
two feet under the ground

- on Oak Island?
- SANDY: The piece

that-that I documented

goes back to a Roman
site, you know, in the U.K.

This says "Cambridge shire."

Is that how you say
that? Cambridge shire?

Yeah. Cambridge shire.

- Is that where it was? Yeah.
- MARTY: Yeah.

"Stone-Stonea Grange"?

- Ring any sort of bells?
- Uh, no,

- but Cambridge shire does.
- Yeah.

Y-You know, it-it
looks like a twin to this.

That looks identical.

It's the same
size, too, isn't it?

- SANDY: I-It's-it's...
- It says three centimeters.

- It's bizarrely identical.
- Yeah.

- Roman, baby.
- [laughter]

MARTY: What the hell
happened on Oak Island?

I mean, once again.

GARY: I'm gonna see how far

this find location
is from Royston.

The Royston Cave.

That'd be worth a look.

It's 13 miles from Royston Cave

- to Cambridge, yeah.
- Wow.

RICK: Wouldn't be
anything for the legion

to march that, or for Templars

- to ride it.
- Yeah.

Whoa.

GRETCHEN: Welcome to a Templar

initiation chamber.

NARRATOR: Earlier this year,

Marty and Alex Lagina,
along with Charles Barkhouse...

- CHARLES: Wow.
- Traveled to Royston, England,

where researcher Gretchen
Cornwall arranged for them

to visit a mysterious site
known as Royston Cave.

ALEX: The size of it is incredible
for something that, I assume,

was dug by hand, right?

GRETCHEN: Yes. Absolutely.

Dug by hand. Like Oak Island.

CHARLES: Good point.

NARRATOR: Although this area

was once part of
the Roman Empire

more than 1,500 years ago,

between the 12th
and 14th centuries,

it was also known
to be a stronghold

for the Knights Templar,

the Christian m*llitary
order who some believe

buried priceless religious
treasures on Oak Island.

Could this Roman token,

along with the half coin
that was also found on Lot 5

earlier this year,
offer further evidence

that this incredible
theory could be true?

If you can't get excited about
such a singularly unique find,

time to go home.

Look at that item,

from a Roman
encampment from a certified

fifth-century settlement, and
we have one here on Oak Island?

What does this all mean?

What an amazing piece.

We need to go back to Lot 5.

Carpe diem, baby.
We've got seize the day.

- Yeah.
- MARTY: Say, a year ago,

if somebody had said,
"They're gonna start finding

Roman-era stuff on Oak Island,"

what chance would
you have given to that?

- Zero?
- [laughter]

- Negative zero.
- That's what's amazing about this.

- Yeah.
- RICK: There's a wonderful story here,

and I'm very,
extremely gratified that,

when I look at the
smiles and the interest

in the eyes of the
people around the table,

it's-it's immensely
gratifying to me,

and I'm most appreciative.

This island does
this to us every year.

Every year, it puts
enough in front of you

[laughs]: to make you come back.

I mean, it's just bizarre.

But that said, it is a fact.

- Let's keep going.
- Yep.

NARRATOR: The following day...

COTE: You kind of overlap in it.

NARRATOR: as the
reconstruction of the Garden Shaft

continues in the
Money Pit area...

COTE: Beautiful.

- ALEX: Okay.
- LAIRD: This-this is it.

What's the plan?

LAIRD: We're going to
put in a four-by-six feet unit

probably encompassing
those rocks.

- ALEX: Right along the edge?
- Yeah.

- NARRATOR: Alex Lagina...
- Let's do it.

And archaeologist Laird Niven

return to Lot 5,

located on the northwestern
side of the island.

- There.
- NARRATOR: In the same general area

of where the
believed Roman token

and half coin were found,

Laird and Alex are
continuing to investigate

a mysterious
circular stone feature

in the hopes of determining

if it was merely created
by 19th-century farmers

or if it was constructed
much earlier.

- ALEX: You like the alignment here?
- LAIRD: I think so.

RICK: I'm obviously intrigued

about the circular
feature on Lot 5.

- Cool.
- RICK: It wasn't properly exposed.

A proper profile
needs to be cut to con...

Take a look at the-the feature.

It presents some-somewhat
unique opportunities

to understand how Lot 5
relates to the Oak Island mystery.

The island has a mystery.

What is it?

LAIRD: We've got rocks

coming out here,
which is interesting.

It's a lot more rock than
I would have expected.

ALEX: Yeah, and
then, here. Look.

There's another one here,
more rocks, continuing.

ALEX: A piece of pottery here.

All right.

- LAIRD: Well, its creamware.
- ALEX: Creamware?

- LAIRD: That's good news.
- ALEX: Is that old?

LAIRD: 1770.

ALEX: Do you think that's
enough to say that this is

- from the 1770s?
- I mean,

finding the creamware on top,

it doesn't give
us a starting date

- for the occupation.
- Right.

It-it just gives us a-a date
after which it must date.

- Okay.
- Yeah. So, we want to find the earliest strata,

the earliest
occupation for this site.

From an archaeological
point of view,

it's an extremely
unusual feature.

For one, it's large,
uh, two, it's-it's round.

Uh, we don't come upon
round features very often

in our work.

And the date is a
little early, the 1700s.

So this site is the
first site that's giving us

that potentially early
evidence of occupation.

So that's the real mystery,
you know: who was here?

I wasn't expecting
this many rocks.

And see how... flat
and level they are?

I mean, this looks
like... right here, this...

- The way these are lined up...
- LAIRD: Yep.

Like, just like that, those two.

It really looks like they
did a ring, then a ring.

Maybe even just a
straight thing across.

If this is the whole way
around, that's-that's a big footing.

It's not coincidence.

This construction's
carefully done.

It's broad.

To me, I mean, it could
be a larger structure.

That's why we need to
find out if it travels around.

'Cause we have early ceramics,

and no record of anyone
being here during that period,

during the late 1700s.

Right. Is there any other
reason they would do this?

I mean, could this be
related to the treasure?

LAIRD: Any time you have

an undocumented, uh,
occupation, then sure.

I mean, if this is mid-1700s,
to me, it changes everything.

- Very odd, very intriguing.
- Yeah.

- That would make...
- What would it, what would it take

to determine this is a building?

Well, if we found this
on three sides, even.

- Mm-hmm.
- And you could find it probing.

You don't have to excavate.

I think it's gonna be a
surprise to a lot of people,

- to be honest.
- Well, great morning so far.

LAIRD: Yeah, I
agree. More digging.

- GARY: Back at the paved area.
- RICK: Yeah.

NARRATOR: While the Oak Island
team continues their operations

in the Money Pit
area and on Lot 5,

Rick, Gary, and Billy return
to the triangle-shaped swamp

to unearth additional sections

of the believed
man-made stone ramp.

So, I-I think what we'll do
is, let's try to follow this path.

If we can make a
positive relationship

between the paved
area to the ramp,

the ramp to the stone path,
then the next step would be

try to somehow connect
the stone path to something.

- Right.
- Let's start digging.

- [high-pitched beep]
- [whirring]

NARRATOR: Having
moved several yards northeast

from their previous
search location,

Rick, Billy and Gary are
digging in dryer ground

in the hopes of determining

if the ramp actually
does connect

the 800-year-old paved area
to the nearby stone pathway...

- RICK: Heads up.
- And also,

if it contains any important
clues or valuables.

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

Yeah, I didn't even take a step.

- Billy.
- Hold up.

Straight out of the bucket.

[laughs]: Ooh.

What have we got here?

The first sweep,
the first artifact.

Straight out.

It's an horseshoe, a
lucky horseshoe, I hope.

It's been in the
ground a long time.

- That's what I think.
- Yeah.

It wouldn't have that
much corrosion on there.

Yeah, it really is.

NARRATOR: A small horseshoe

found on the stone ramp in
the triangle-shaped swamp?

If so, was it simply
discarded here?

Or could it have been dropped

during the construction
of the feature?

And that is... is
it just misshapen

or is that side
smaller than that?

- Um...
- Is that broken?

GARY: I would
imagine it's misshapen.

I don't know. Hopefully,
Carmen Legge will be able

to shed some light on
that, and tell us how old it is.

But why in the swamp?

Um, if you're
coming to the island,

and, back in the day, by boat,

you would have had a
small horse on a boat.

You don't have
large horses on boats.

NARRATOR: Could Gary be correct

that this shoe
belonged to a horse

that came to Oak Island
on a large sailing vessel?

If so, might it be related

to the various
fragments of ships

that the team has
found in the swamp

over the past several years?

Or the pieces of cargo barrels

that were also
found in this area

which blacksmithing expert
Carmen Legge believes

could date back as
early as the 15th century?

There might be something
special about this horseshoe.

Brilliant start.

- RICK: A good start, that's for sure.
- Yep.

All right, we are
really hot to trot.

[chuckles] I knew
there was one coming.

After all these years, I still
believe the swamp has secrets.

GARY: Nope, that was it.

That was a good start.

RICK: And the only way to
uncover them, unfortunately,

is to dig.

And, uh, given the current
discovery conditions,

i.e. them being
wet, that takes time.

[clears throat] And all
these logs and sticks.

Hard to believe this
was always wetland.

GARY: Yeah.

I'd say that's down in
original swamp layer.

Kind of looks like it.

How far above the water are you?

BILLY: A foot.

I'll leave it up to you
to decide the width of it,

but I think...
probably that stone

and those alder bushes,
I wouldn't go any wider.

No, I-I think that's the
limit of the ramp anyway.

We'll see, but...

Let's keep digging.

BILLY: Yep.

NARRATOR: The
following morning...

COTE: Tight lining
coming down, watch out!

NARRATOR: as the team
from Dumas Contracting Limited

continues the final
phases of reconstruction

in the Garden Shaft...

GARY: Hey, Carmen,
mate. Thanks for coming out.

- You're welcome.
- NARRATOR: Billy Gerhardt and Gary Drayton

meet with blacksmithing
expert Carmen Legge,

in the research center.

Always like to see
you, 'cause that means

that we found something
really interesting.

Well, I hope I can tell
you something about it.

NARRATOR: They are eager
to get Carmen's assessment

of the horseshoe that
was recovered one day ago

on the stone ramp in the swamp.

- GARY: Look at that.
- CARMEN: Oh, well it's certainly a horseshoe, isn't it?

- Yeah.
- Let me have a look at this.

CARMEN: It's not
very corroded, so...

Um, you'll notice that
the, uh, top of the shoe

is quite thick and then it comes
down quite narrow like that.

Usually, when you see that,
it indicates a very old shoe.

Also, you'll notice that
the shoe is very short.

It's not a draft horseshoe.

It's more like a riding
horse or a cavalry, uh, horse.

This, I can say safely,

is the oldest horseshoe
I've seen so far.

- [chuckles]
- The plot thickens.

CARMEN: And it's not
consistent all the way around,

so it's an old handmade shoe.

I would go back to the...



GARY: Wow. Unbelievable.

-Wow, that's fantastic.

NARRATOR: In the Oak
Island Research Center,

blacksmithing
expert Carmen Legge

has just given an
astonishing assessment

that the horseshoe
found one day ago

on the stone ramp in the swamp

could date back
some four centuries

prior to the discovery
of the Money Pit.

But who-who would bring
a riding horse to an island?

GARY: Everything
came to the island

by boat, and there
would've had to have been

someone in charge
of all these constructs,

- and they would've been riding a horse like this, probably.
- Yeah.

Yeah, that-that's
certainly true.

The shortness of the
shoe, it makes the horse

- stand up prouder.
- BILLY: Hmm.

It was for a high-prestige
horse, you know,

something that you want to, um,

give a commanding presence
when you rode this horse.

BILLY: You know, this was found
along the edge of the stone path,

and some of the construction
techniques were similar

to stuff that the guys saw in...

- in Portugal.
- Yeah.

ALEX: The stone path
looks exactly like this.

NARRATOR: One year ago,

while visiting Alqueidão
da Serra, Portugal,

where the Knights Templar
were known to have maintained

a stronghold between the


It looks similar
to what we have,

- that's for sure.
- DOUG: Yeah.

NARRATOR: Rick Lagina
and members of the team

saw a Roman road
that was nearly identical

to the one that was uncovered
in the swamp back in 2020.

CARMEN: There is no known

recorded visits by horses here

in Nova Scotia before 1670.

- BILLY: Huh.
- Wow.

NARRATOR: Could
Billy Gerhardt's notion,

that this horseshoe
is potentially related

to the stone road, be correct?

If so, might it not only help
explain how the Roman coin

and token came to
be on Oak Island...

It does tell a story,
and is... it is very old.

NARRATOR: but
also be another key clue

in identifying just
who was behind

the 228-year-old mystery?

RICK: I am surprised that Carmen

has indicated that this
horseshoe represents,

uh, the stylistically,
uh, from the 1400s.

And for Carmen to say

something that
specific about something

he is very familiar with
is-is quite extraordinary.

CARMEN: If this is
from that time period,

then we have, uh,
rewritten history.

BILLY: Wow.

[both chuckle]

- That is our lucky horseshoe, mate.
- Exactly.



That's got to be the oldest
metal artifact ever to come

out of the swamp.

CARMEN: It's the
oldest horseshoe

I've seen in Nova Scotia.

And I've seen a lot of shoes.

- BILLY: Wow.
- Dang.

- We're making history, Gary.
- Yeah. We really are.

Thank you, Carmen.
All of this is amazing.

- Very good. Very good. Keep bringing stuff to me.
- GARY: All right, mate.

- BILLY: We will. Thank you.
- GARY: We will do, mate. Cheers.

NARRATOR: As Gary and
Billy conclude their meeting

with Carmen Legge...

LAIRD: I find this
really interesting.

More so than when
we came out here?

Absolutely. Absolutely.

NARRATOR: back on Lot 5,

archaeologist Laird
Niven and Alex Lagina

continue their investigation of
the mysterious stone feature.

The real thing we
need to look out for

- is something under these rocks.
- LAIRD: Yeah.

So why don't we
start with the probing?

Okay. Sounds great.

NARRATOR: In an
effort to determine

if more layers of stone

lie hidden beyond the
outer edges of the structure...

Try it a little bit.

NARRATOR: Alex
and Laird will probe

the perimeter with a steel rod.

Okay, you want to
just follow this along?

Let's start by
probing, like, here.

Yep.

- And that should be surface.
- That is a rock.

And then, and then
go the other way.

- So, confidently...
- Clear?

I can say there's rocks here.

Yeah. And you
can see rocks here.

It's-it's circular. I mean,
you can even see it,

- you know, from the trowel to this little tree.
- Yeah.

You can probably
probe down there, too.

Okay.

Oh, yeah.

- It's soil.
- Soil.

So, about a foot of soil.

- There might have been a rock at the end of that.
- Yeah.

- That would tell us that, you know...
- It's very old.

Yeah. And this is circular?

- Yeah.
- Circular doesn't make sense for a house.

ALEX: Mm-hmm.

But if this was another
feature, it's huge.

Right.

I think, uh... Why
don't we measure it?

Sure.

See if it conforms to
some sort of standard.

We'll do this part first
here. Just the, uh...

- Yeah, if you can...
- from the lip to the center.

ALEX: That's seven feet
basically right to there.

- Okay.
- Which I'm gonna call the inside edge.

Okay.

- All right, so you're lined up with the edge?
- Yep.

And here, we're at 13 feet.

- That's a bizarre measurement.
- That is the exact same dimension

as the Money Pit is
described as having.

Yeah. [chuckles]

I mean, what are
we looking at here?

[laughs]

I have no idea.

NARRATOR: On Lot 5,

located on the western
side of Oak Island,

Alex Lagina has just
made a startling observation

about the circular
stone depression.

ALEX: That's 13 feet
across. I don't know.

- [chuckles]: I mean, that's quite a coincidence.
- Yeah.

- If it is a coincidence.
- It is an odd measurement.

NARRATOR: This feature has
the exact same 13-foot diameter

as the original Money Pit,
which was first discovered

by Daniel McGinnis
and his two friends

on the eastern end of
the island back in 1795.

And curiously, that, too,
was initially described

as a circular depression
covered by a layer of stones.

ALEX: We don't know
the history of this lot.

Was it a recreation
of the Money Pit?

Is this like a...

like, a proof of
concept or something?

Or a first attempt, I guess?

[scoffs] I hadn't
even thought of that.

I hadn't even
thought "first attempt,"

but man, this is weird.

NARRATOR: Is it possible
that this feature was created

as a prototype
for the construction

of the Money Pit, located
more than half a mile away?

Or is it possible,
especially given discoveries

such as the Roman
coin and barter token

that were made nearby,

that this stone-lined
depression on Lot 5

may contain something
of much greater value

buried deeper below ground?

You know, Rick might
want to hear about this.

- I think so.
- So I'm gonna give him a call.

[line ringing]

ALEX: Uncle Rick.

I'm here with Laird,

and we're on Lot 5
investigating this pit.

So we just measured
it, and uh, you're...

You're not gonna believe
this, but the hole itself

is 13 feet across.

[laughs]: That was my reaction.

[both chuckle]

There's more stones
than we expected.

- And much more deliberately placed.
- Yeah.

RICK: The key is, can we make
an assessment as to a date?

Because if it's a
very early date,

say, pre-Money Pit discovery,

then it's, it may
be highly relevant,

and it may tell us
something about

the who, what, when and
where and why of Lot 5.

Okay, we'll keep
working on it and, um,

we'll call you if we
have any more info.

Yep. Bye.

This is a mystery.

LAIRD: Yeah, well, I mean,
the only way to get answers

- is to get back to digging.
- Okay.

- ALEX: Let's get started.
- Okay.

NARRATOR: The
following morning...

CHARLES: Hey, Roger.

- ROGER: Hey, Charles.
- I hear you're getting close to the bottom.

Yep. And, uh, we've
got a bit of a problem.

- It's something that we weren't anticipating on.
- Okay.

NARRATOR: Charles Barkhouse
arrives in the Money Pit area

after being alerted
of a concerning issue

regarding the reconstruction
of the Garden Shaft

at a depth of some 78 feet,

just four feet from the
bottom of the structure.

The timber, as you can
see on the picture here,

is bowed out pretty bad,

and the main timber on the
end plate is actually cracked.

Ah.

ROGER: Here is our main timber.

Rodney, right now, is
shining his light exactly

- on the cr*ck where the timber is.
- Wow.

So, at one time, there
was a lot of pressure

- on that timber.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR: Is it possible

that the fracture
in the original shaft

is related to the tunnel that
is believed to run below it

at a depth of some 95 feet?

A tunnel that originates
from the nearby Baby Blob,

or believed treasure zone?

ROGER: When we first identified
this cr*ck, we stopped all work.

The best thing to do,
safety-wise, is to install

this next set just
above this one here,

secure everything
real nice and tight,

- and then we can remove this damaged set...
- Yeah.

And then brace that damaged set

real tight with another timber
just below the other one.

NARRATOR: Although
the team from Dumas

will be able to secure
the new section, or set,

of the Garden Shaft

to ensure that the
structure won't collapse,

unfortunately, it means
they will be delayed

in finding out what
lies at the bottom

or in the tunnel that runs
just several feet beneath it.

RICK: This project is
now delayed by weeks.

They're doing
everything they can,

but time and weather close in.

We all want answers,
but at the end of the day,

the prime directive
is, as we, uh,

do with every enterprise
across the island: safety first.

ROGER: Well, the positive thing
about this is you're gonna have

one big solid shaft now...

- Yeah.
- To the bottom of 82 feet.

Well, you know, Rick often
says that, uh, no treasure

is worth somebody getting hurt.

- I agree.
- I'm gonna let you get back to work.

I got a couple
things to take care of,

but I'll check in
with you later.

Sounds good, Charles.

CHARLES: Okay, Thank you.

NARRATOR: While operations
continue in the Money Pit area...

RICK: So, everybody
knows the ongoing efforts

we have made,

making the information
hunt every bit as important

as the treasure hunt.

NARRATOR: Rick, Marty, Craig

and other members of
the team meet once again

with Italian researcher
Emiliano Sacchetti

via video conference
in the w*r room.

RICK: And so, to that end today,

Emiliano Sacchetti has come up

with some intriguing
information.

It was not unlikely

that Templars brought back
relics from the-the Holy Land.

NARRATOR: One week
ago, Emiliano shared research

supporting the theory
of the late Zena Halpern

that members of
the Knights Templar

made repeated
visits to Oak Island

between the 12th
and 14th centuries

in order to hide priceless
religious treasures

from Italy and other
European nations.

Doug is head of the
research committee.

NARRATOR: Now, after conferring
with Oak Island historian Doug Crowell,

and conducting follow-up
research in Italy himself,

Emiliano has prepared
what he believes

will be an even more
astonishing presentation.

EMILIANO [over video]:
I actually just finished

some scouting,
and I'd like to start

from a-a little town
which is close to Osimo,

in the northeast of Rome,

and on the-the
Adriatic coast of Italy,

uh, where I found
a-a very interesting

underground cave system.

That cave system was used

by the Romans, and
in medieval times,

also by the Templars.

I found some really
interesting symbolism.

Yeah, Steve's got a
picture of it, actually.

It-it's pretty amazing.

STEVE: You want me
to share that, Doug?

DOUG: Yes, please.

- MARTY: Look at that, Gary.
- SCOTT: Oh wow.

- MARTY: There it is.
- GARY: Yeah.

DOUG: It has a cave
as part of its system

that looks a whole
lot like our lead cross.

-GARY: What a spitting image,

- isn't it?
- [chuckles]: It is.

EMILIANO: That cave system,

uh, it's really impressive.

NARRATOR: In the w*r room,

Italian researcher
Emiliano Sacchetti

and Doug Crowell
have just informed Rick,

Marty, Craig and
members of the team

that a man-made cave
system near Osimo, Italy,

which was used by members
of the Knights Templar

between the 12th
and 14th centuries,

matches the exact design
of the 14th-century lead cross

that was found on Oak
Island back in 2017.

It's pretty amazing
how close they match.

Tell me about it.
Who'd have thunk it, eh?

Yeah. The head's offset.

RICK: Yep. And the arms are
even disproportionate a bit...

- Yeah.
- Just like the cross.

MARTY: Well, you know what?

We have information that
ties that shape to Templars

- because of your trip to France.
- Yeah.

RICK: We've found
representations

of the cross in Domme prison.

So to find this cave
system from so long ago,

it's remarkable.

They are certainly very similar.

To me, that's very interesting,
because the Templars

might be associated
with the work here.

I think there's a
lot to be learned.

DOUG: Now, the
interesting thing about this

- is everything colored there...
- MARTY: Mm-hmm.

Is part of the cave system,

I think, that's, uh,
accessible right now.

Wow, they were, they
were busy, weren't they?

Yeah. There are, there
are literally miles and miles

of caves under this town.

ALEX: Well, I think this

- is worth investigating.
- MARTY: Oh, for sure.

MARTY: What about
that coin, that Roman coin?

Could you find somebody
over there that could verify that?

- Yep.
- EMILIANO: I can definitely try

- and, uh, make arrangements.
- MARTY: Perfect.

And not just a Roman coin,

we've got that
serrated lead disc.

- Whatever that is.
- Which... Yeah.

There's quite a few things
you could take to Italy.

RICK: Oh, absolutely. I mean,

everybody around the table is

articulating that,
you know, a field trip

is-is worthwhile, and I know
you would like to go to Italy.

I would, but I was thinking,

I already got to go into
one cave system this year,

so, you know, I
would gracefully say

I could hold the fort
down here while you go.

Somebody has to, right?
We got a lot going on here.

We've got a lot going on.

- I'm gonna ask you if I can...
- [laughter]

if I can, if I can
take your son with me.

You don't need
to ask, apparently.

While we're delayed
on the Garden Shaft,

we need to be moving forward

on everything else we
can move forward on.

And for Rick,

I think Italy is a
prime candidate

to continue this
search in Europe.

Peter, would you be interested?

Oh, yeah. I'm in.

MARTY: Every time
we've sent an expedition

to Portugal, France,
England, Scotland,

any of those places, we've
come back with-with data

that sure appears to be
relevant to Oak Island.

I-I think maybe we should
reach out to Corjan Mol as well.

I know he has some research
he's been conducting in Italy.

MARTY: I agree.

- Let's, uh, let's do that.
- [taps table]

RICK: Well, then I think,
look, I think we're all in.

Perfect. I'll start
making arrangements.

Well, we'll see you
sooner rather than later,

so I guess for right
now we'll say ciao.

- EMILIANO: See you soon. God bless.
- Perfect.

- RICK: Ciao.
- Bye, everybody.

GARY: It sounds like
all roads lead to Rome

- and Oak Island.
- [laughter]

NARRATOR: For the
Laginas and their team,

the quest to solve the


is once again leading them

thousands of miles
across the ocean.

Will their journey
culminate in a revelation

that finally proves just
who visited Oak Island

centuries ago?

While the team
scours ancient sites

and archives for the clues,

the digs on the
island will continue

in order to find what those
visitors may have buried

deep underground.

Next time on The
Curse of Oak Island...

CHARLES: We're getting
gold and silver signatures.

This is where the real
Money Pit could be.

- Absolutely.
- EMILIANO: Welcome to Italy.

RICK: We're looking
for a possible Templar

- connection to Oak Island.
- Oh, Rick, have a look at this.

- CORJAN: Oh, look at that.
- Oh, wow. -Fantastic.

We're at the bottom
where the timber stop.

So we're about to boldly go
where no one's gone before.

RICK: There is a direct
connection to Nolan's Cross.

This is a very real
Templar connection here.

That's amazing.