Tonight on
The Curse of Oak Island...
This is the year. Let's do it.
...a special two-hour premiere.
That story can be finished,
and I'm committed
-to doing that.
-Amen. Let's go.
I want to throw every resource
we can at it this year.
So, this location's
where the treasure could be.
We're clearly into a collapsed
chamber of some sort.
The scientists say metals
are coming out of here.
That's a big enough box
for an offset chamber.
Marty.
-What do you think it is?
Could be a trapdoor.
-Wow.
-Yeah!
-It's a coin!
That is fantastic.
Good luck, Tony.
He's getting right down into it.
He's got his head
into something now.
Yeah.
Oh. No, that's not modern.
This is probably BC.
Holy smokes.
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.
Well, how does everybody feel
about being back?
How can you not be excited?
Yeah. I've had the feeling
that we're about to find
the treasure this year.
Jack, let's have
a little optimism here.
The most highly-anticipated
and potentially historic chapter
of the 228-year-old
Oak Island mystery
is about to begin.
I want to throw every resource
we can at it this year,
because
I think we're closer
than we have ever been.
We'll do whatever it takes
this year.
-There you go.
-Yeah.
Dating back to 1795,
generations
of determined searchers
have found startling clues
that suggest a vast treasure
could be buried
in a more than 100-foot-deep
booby-trapped shaft
known as the Money Pit.
And after spending
more than a decade
on their own quest for answers,
brothers Rick and Marty Lagina
have returned,
along with their team,
to fulfill the dream
they've shared
since they were just boys.
All right, there
she be, guys, in all her glory.
Oak Island.
As I drive up to the island,
my expectation is that this year
we will figure it out.
The main reason is that
the data supports that.
And a lot of data
points to gold and silver
in the water
in the Money Pit area.
So, I do feel in my heart
that this has to be the year.
Big brother, let's get 'er done.
Let's do it.
There's a wonderful mystery
here ensconced
within an island
in the North Atlantic
that has endured centuries long.
Okay, guys.
Let's go see the team.
And my expectation is...
...that we'll be able
to solve it.
That's my hope.
Hey, guys.
Gentlemen.
-Hey, guys.
-Hey.
We're back.
We are all together,
all of us, the whole team.
The fellowship is striving
to-to make that happen.
Well, welcome, everybody.
I see we have the rest of the
team up on the screen there.
Which has grown to be
quite a group. Some new faces.
And so, the purpose
of this meeting is to get us
all together again and get us
all on the same page.
-So, let's get to it.
Before we get too far
into talking about this year,
what about last year?
Well, that is a perfect segue,
because last year,
at the end, what happened, Gary?
Down at the bottom
of that Garden Shaft
and getting
those nonferrous hits,
and then having
to leave the shaft...
...I mean, oh, my God.
Although the 82-foot-deep
structure
known as the Garden Shaft
is not believed to be
the original Money Pit--
which was lost
in the 19th century
due to constant digging
by previous searchers--
last year, after wood samples
from the structure
were scientifically dated
to 1735
and water samples produced
high-trace evidence of gold,
the Oak Island team commissioned
a mining company named
Dumas Contracting Limited
to remodel the shaft
for further exploration.
Oh!
That's the best-sounding target.
-That's nonferrous.
Really?
-Yeah.
Just before
they were forced to halt
their search operations
due to the onset of winter...
That's a screaming
large hit, isn't it?
Yeah.
...Rick, Marty, and metal
detection expert Gary Drayton
identified nonferrous--
or precious metal-- targets
just below the bottom
of the Garden Shaft.
Now, once new permits
can be secured,
Dumas will return to deepen
the shaft by 20 feet,
with the potential
to construct lateral tunnels
depending on what
is encountered below.
Well, I'm hoping
we get down there again,
because we know those hits
are there.
Yeah, plans have been laid
for that.
-Right.
-So, I'd like to hear,
uh, Ian, from you.
I've been a big believer
in this methodology--
the gold in the water,
the silver in the water--
for a long time, and those seem
to be concentrated there, too.
-So, why don't you kind of
give us a recap on that?
Yeah.
You know, I'll pull Fred in--
he's the real expert here--
but, uh,
last year,
we were able to concentrate
and be very confident
in the Baby Blob area.
That's right.
All right,
that's the last sample.
Over the past two years,
geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner
and his colleagues,
including hydrogeologist
Dr. Fred Michel,
have been analyzing water
samples from numerous boreholes
that Rick, Marty, Craig
and the team have drilled
over the past decade
in the Money Pit area.
Incredibly, these tests have
identified evidence of gold,
silver and other metals between
depths of 80 and 120 feet,
with the highest concentrations
in a zone
they have dubbed
the "Baby Blob."
which sets just several feet
west of the Garden Shaft.
It is also within this zone
that the team has encountered
a believed tunnel
at a depth of 95 feet
that appears to run almost
directly below the Garden Shaft.
I think what's got us
particularly excited
is that we've got
the area of interest
narrowed down
to about a 20-foot radius
around the Garden Shaft.
-Well, that's a good start.
-Yeah.
Well, as some of the drilling
takes place this year,
and looking at the data
from last year,
I think we might be able
to narrow it down a bit more.
Right.
Well, that I consider
-very good news.
Yeah.
Okay, so,
we're gonna chase these metals
until they--
-we figure out what they mean.
We got that.
-Mm-hmm.
We haven't given up yet on
the sonic drilling, too, right?
Yes.
-Right.
-So, if we can continue
to narrow down this radius
that we've been supplied with
from Ian and Fred,
we can really narrow in
on the Money Pit.
While the team awaits
the return of Dumas
to deepen the Garden Shaft,
they will continue
with their strategic
core-drilling program
throughout the surrounding area.
If any new boreholes produce
physical evidence of valuables,
Rick, Marty and the team
will have exact locations
for where tunnels
can be extended
from the bottom
of the Garden Shaft
to hopefully solve
the Oak Island mystery.
Right now,
we've got the drill out there
waiting for us to pin
our first location.
And that's gonna give us
great information
to where we need to tunnel to.
Okay. Well, let's move on
to something that was exciting
last year.
So, Laird, why don't you
bring us up to speed
on what you've planned
this year, archaeologically.
And-and your team.
Well, we have lots
of new members.
We have Emma, of course.
Uh, in the middle,
we have Jamie Kouba
and to the left
is Moya MacDonald.
Up above, we have Helen,
who's come back.
And then Danny Hennigar,
who's a Oak Island historian.
You got enough trowels?
-We bought more trowels.
-More trowels?
Although the search
for the legendary treasure vault
remains focused
in the Money Pit area,
last year, archaeologist
Laird Niven and his colleagues
helped the team make
several stunning revelations
in other areas of the island.
These include Lot 26,
where the team
investigated a stone wall
that may be more than
five centuries old
and of Portuguese design,
along with a stone well
that could be
more than 800 years old,
and which also contains
trace evidence of silver.
However,
of all the recent discoveries
made by the team on Oak Island,
the most compelling
were unearthed on Lot 5,
which was purchased in 2022
from the estate of
the late Robert Young.
It was on these four acres
that the team
found half of a nearly
a 14th-century lead barter token
and a stone foundation
that could date back
to the same era
as the Garden Shaft.
-That's 13 feet.
-It's a bizarre measurement.
But the most curious structure
that was investigated on Lot 5
was a circular stone depression
featuring a 13-foot diameter.
A measurement
that is an exact match
to the reported description
of the Money Pit,
when it was discovered in 1795.
Where are you starting?
The circular feature on Lot 5.
-We're gonna expand that search.
-Mm-hmm.
And actually,
Danny's just recently brought
some photographs
that shed some light
-on the circular feature.
-Okay.
So, I have some pictures
from Laird and Danny.
-I'll share them.
In the photographs
that we, uh, received
from the Robert Young family,
it has an enormous amount
of rocks around the structure.
I don't think those rocks
came out of the feature.
This looks like the progression
of how it's being built.
Right.
Robert Young created
the stone circles
around the depression.
Wow. Look at that.
-Robert Young did all that?
-Yeah.
Yes, but he didn't dig
the depression.
It's like he thought this thing
was really important,
so he built this beautiful
apron around it.
Exactly.
And you find stuff--
lots of stuff--
from the earliest,
on the island, correct?
Yeah.
It's very clear, Robert Young
didn't build
that entire feature on Lot 5.
It was already there.
There's way too many
We're going
to carefully deconstruct
the piece he didn't build.
The hope is the feature
had something to do
with the deposit of treasure.
Okay, the next topic is,
of course,
my often nemesis: the swamp.
-But just about every time
we dig,
something comes up.
And some of it is
inexplicably old.
-Really old.
-Yep.
In recent years,
the team has found evidence
that the mysterious
triangle-shaped swamp
in the middle of Oak Island
is either partially
or completely man-made.
And within it, they have
unearthed numerous pieces
of ancient sailing vessels
dating anywhere
from the seventh
to the 18th centuries.
They have also uncovered
a stone road,
an adjoining cobblestone pathway
and a stone ramp
that all may be related
to the stone wall on Lot 26.
And finally,
a massive paved feature
that is believed
to have been created
as early as 1200 AD.
So, we have, currently,
four areas of interest
-that we've permitted.
They're in bright yellow
on your screen.
So, we have
the southeast corner,
the area off of Fred's peninsula
to the south,
and then
we have the paved area.
But I am positively fascinated
with the north side
of the swamp.
Yep. That side of the island,
maybe we should send
Tony Sampson
and have a look around.
Every time Tony dove
in the waters around Oak Island,
y-you know,
he's found something.
So, I, absolutely, am convinced
that a dive should happen.
Yes.
-I think we should do that.
Great.
It looks like
we have a very busy year.
Well, every area
we've talked about,
I'm excited to get into.
I just think there's so much
to learn yet on this island,
and hopefully, this is the year.
-Yep. Beautiful.
As I look
around this table
and I see the fervor
in people's eyes,
that story can be finished,
and I'm committed to doing that.
And I know
that all of you are as well.
Absolutely.
Amen. Let's go.
Okay, let's get going.
The mystery will get solved.
So, let's get to it,
big brother.
All right, here we go.
-Hey, guys.
Hey, Alex.
How you doing?
-Alex. How you doing?
-Good.
-Hey, Alex.
So, first hole of the year.
Yep.
-Absolutely.
Following their
meeting in the w*r room,
Alex Lagina joins other members
of the Oak Island team
in the Money Pit area
as they begin drilling a new
six-inch-diameter borehole
on their strategic grid
known as B5N13.
-So, we have the Garden Shaft,
which is right there.
-Yep.
So, this location's
really interesting
because Dr. Spooner and
Dr. Michel put a 20-foot radius
around the Garden Shaft
where the treasure could be.
-And we're right
into that location.
-Yeah.
Located between
the so-called Baby Blob
and the Garden Shaft,
it is the team's hope
that Borehole B5N13
will make direct contact
with the mysterious source
of gold, silver and other metals
that have been detected
in the area between a depth
of 80 and 120 feet.
So, this is gonna help us
gather more information
because the end goal
of this is, really,
dig the Garden Shaft deeper
and tunnel out.
So, we need a location
to tunnel out to,
and potentially,
this could be the area.
Yes.
The sonic drill program
is gonna be important
and informative.
The one evocative thought
from all of us is,
"This is the hole.
This is where we're gonna nail
this thing and this'll be done."
So, I'm very hopeful.
-It's looking good.
-Yeah.
Keep your fingers crossed.
We'll see what it brings up.
Absolutely.
As the core
drilling operation
continues at the Money Pit,
on Lot 5, located on
the western side of the island,
Jack Begley joins
archaeologists Laird Niven,
Jamie Kouba and their assistant
Fiona Steele to continue
investigating the mysterious
circular stone depression...
So, where are we starting?
-Over... Okay.
-Right here.
...a feature that is now known
to have been altered
by the late Robert Young,
but which is believed
to possibly date back
to at least
the mid-18th century.
The main goal is
to expose the bottom,
but also to look for the south
wall that we hope is there.
If this was a dwelling,
it should have
a foundational wall.
-Well, let's get started.
-All right.
So, did you have
any particular area
where you'd like to get started?
I was kind of thinking here...
-Yeah.
-...at this sort of point.
-Take that lump down.
-Okay.
Your goal is to expose
the top of the rocks.
Perfect. Okay.
-All right. Let's do it.
Yeah.
As Jamie and Fiona
carefully remove sediment
from the rock layer that
Mr. Young added to the feature
some 20 years ago,
Laird and Jack begin
sifting those materials
for any artifacts
that may help identify
who originally created it.
Jamie, look at this.
-Look.
What'd you find?
I'm finding
some red earthenware here.
That's exciting.
Hey, Laird.
You might want to come have
a look at this.
-All righty.
-That's incredible.
I think we found some redware.
Wow. That's cool.
Redware, which is a type
of earthenware pottery
made from fired clay,
was a widely used material
for the storage and transport
of goods in both Europe
and North America
between the 17th
and 18th centuries.
It's just that the glaze is...
...unusual.
It's kind of purple and black.
We see a lot
of coarse earthenwares,
a lot of redwares.
-Yeah.
-So when we can't recognize it,
we immediately wonder
if it's earlier.
-Okay.
-Right?
How early do you think
it could be?
Oh...
in general,
it can get into the 1600s.
Wow. Great find.
Yeah.
If there were people
settling here,
and-and it happened before
the discovery of the Money Pit,
uh, did they have knowledge
of the Money Pit,
and is there a reason why
they-they dug around this area?
-Right.
-I'm wondering if the answers
are deeper.
Oh, absolutely.
The further down we go,
the older the artifacts.
Yep.
All right.
I still have to screen.
I kind of like getting dirty.
- You got
Jamie's bucket?
-Sure.
-Okay.
-Why, thank you, sir.
I'm actually excited
about the round feature.
This is an indication
that there were people
living on the island
before the 1760s,
before the island
was divided up into lots.
So, this is a new and exciting
and unknown occupation.
Okay, guys.
Here's our hardworking
archaeologists,
and this is our playground
right here.
Good morning.
Morning.
Ladies, gentlemen, what's new?
We found a nice piece
of, uh, coarse earthenware.
One that I can't...
I don't recognize.
Really? Okay.
What is strange about
this piece of pottery?
Um, purple glaze on the rim
and the dark glaze
on the interior,
I just don't recognize.
Laird, if there's a piece
of pottery you don't recognize,
-it's likely to be older, right?
-Exactly.
-Yeah.
-Yeah.
What's the earliest
that could be?
What brings it back to 1600?
That's quite early.
This is utilitarian pottery,
so it doesn't change over--
much over time.
When Laird,
who is a pottery expert,
uh, says, "Guys,
this is an inexplicable find,
I've never seen
such earthenware before,"
I mean, how can you say
anything but "Wow"?
If Laird is mystified,
we certainly are.
Can Gary do a little perimeter?
He can if he wants.
-Oh, you know I want.
Go for it, Gary.
Get in there, Gary.
All right.
I remember last year, you said
it was really noisy in there.
Yeah, it is.
That means there's
a lot more to find.
There you go.
Yeah, there's a lot of iron.
Is that something?
-Yeah, it's iron.
It's a large piece of iron.
All right, well,
let's keep going.
Let's get out here
and see what we got.
Yep. Let's keep rolling.
Okay, Gary, it's all up to you.
-Right, uh, let's...
-Uh, are you gonna,
do you want to start
-some kind of pattern?
-Yeah.
Uh, let's grid this out.
Lot 5 is a complete mystery.
We're going to have Gary
metal-detect around
the circular feature
to see what other artifacts
might be found.
-I'm happy to screen for a bit
if you want to get down...
-All right.
-...and do some trowel work.
-Yep.
I'll find everything.
The Lot 5 feature
is extraordinary
because there's no record
of any habitation there.
Every other feature
we've found on the island,
we kind of know about.
Lot 5, there's no record
of anybody ever living there.
Look at this, Laird.
It's much thicker
than what we found before.
Oh, yeah.
And yet, we're still not
to the bottom of it.
It's a coarse earthenware.
So it could be older.
Neat.
-Yep.
That'll clean up nicely.
I couldn't stay away.
-You got a bucket
ready to go there?
Actually, we do.
Okay. Hand me
the bucket, let's go.
I'm gonna try one.
Okay. Now hold that.
-Yep...
-I'll do this.
We'll see if I can
find something, just for grins.
-All right.
Much easier.
Yes. Much easier.
-Marty?
-Yes, sir.
Remember the metal hit
Gary got here?
-I sure do, yeah.
-I think I have it.
-Really? What is it?
-It's big.
Is it? Good, I'll come
down there and have a look.
-Okay.
-Show me, Laird.
Wow.
Well, that's a good
CAT scan thing.
Yep.
-What do you think it is?
-I don't know.
Let me see it, Laird.
-I think Emma's gonna
be excited with it.
Yeah.
-It's pretty solid.
Yeah.
It looks like a latch, Laird.
This goes like that.
-I think it is a latch
of some sort.
Yeah.
Could be a cellar door.
Could be a trapdoor.
-Wow.
Yeah.
An iron latch?
Possibly from a cellar
or trapdoor?
Could it be related
to the pottery
that Laird believes
might date back
to as early as the 1600s?
And might it also be evidence
that this feature
was created
in order to hide something?
If so, what might the team
find deeper below?
That is rather unique, Laird.
Yeah.
-I would like to take that
straight to the lab.
-Okay. All right.
-Thank you, sir.
Find some more stuff.
See you later.
-See you.
While the investigation
continues on Lot 5...
We got a core, gentlemen.
This here is 88.
What've we got? 88?
-Yep.
...back in the Money Pit area,
members of the team
continue monitoring
the core drilling operation,
which has just reached
the believed treasure zone
between 80 and 120 feet deep.
-It's dense, eh, Charles?
It is very dense.
Yeah.
Look at that.
That's pretty soft material
right there.
-That's interesting.
-Yep.
You know, we hit a soft zone
in this borehole...
Onto the next core.
But oftentimes, a soft area
or a slushy area indicates
that you're close
to a structure,
or a void, if you will.
So, we're very excited
about this area.
-What you got, Mike?
Terry, what do you think?
Looks like we've hit
the soft zone.
This is saturated and loose.
So, maybe what lies beneath is
what caused this soft material.
So, here's a piece
of information:
only feet away is the Baby Blob.
-The Baby Blob's
just north of this hole.
Yep.
The highest source of the metals
is just feet from this
in one of our testing holes.
So, we're only about
two and a half to five feet away
from the source
of where we're getting
the highest precious metals:
gold, silver.
Suffice it to say,
we're in an interesting area.
Yes. We could be
looking at a change
in density
propagating out from a void
that's collapsed in and allowed
all the soil and earth around it
to become less dense.
Exactly.
Charles, are we still
feeling like...
like we might be close
to the original Money Pit here?
Because there's the story
of the collapse...
-Yeah.
-...which would create
an area like this.
I-It's certainly possible, Alex.
I mean, we don't know where
the original Money Pit was.
-It's been lost.
-Yeah.
For over 150 years,
it's been lost.
-Yeah.
-So, i-it's very possible
that that could be the tunnel
going from Shaft Six
-to the Money Pit.
-Yeah.
In 1861,
while drilling straight down
into the original Money Pit,
members of
the Oak Island Association
encountered what
they believed to be
two stacked treasure chests
at a depth of some 100 feet.
Because of a believed
booby-trapped flood tunnel,
they sunk an adjacent shaft,
known as Shaft Six,
down to a depth of 118 feet
and began tunneling laterally
toward the Money Pit,
hoping to recover
the treasure from below.
Unfortunately, just before
reaching their target,
the tunnel filled with seawater,
which soon caused a catastrophic
collapse in both shafts,
leaving the underground tunnel
full of broken timbers,
debris and possible
scattered treasure.
Well, this could be
the aftermath
-of a collapse like that.
Yeah. Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Could the Oak Island team
be close to locating the tunnel
between Shaft Six
and the original Money Pit?
-Gentlemen.
-Hey, Craig.
...and perhaps
the source of precious metals
that they have detected
in the area?
-What you got, Mike?
Uh, 119.
-119.
-Thank you.
So, this is an exciting moment.
What we're seeing today
could be the remains
of the Shaft Six collapse,
which would mean
that we've found
the original Money Pit.
But it could also
be the remains of
a more recent
collapsed searcher shaft.
So, that's what we're trying
to answer with this borehole.
That's pretty dry.
Yeah. This is relatively
firm material,
and it looks like, uh...
a mix of limestone
and sediments.
Fairly regular stuff.
We've moved out of the slush
zone probably about 114.
-We're into classic sediments.
Okay.
We need a firm target
to tunnel to.
Is this it?
At this point, probably not.
But it's a great borehole
to help define the area.
-Yeah.
-Yes.
The sonic drill program
is a huge asset.
The data that we are collecting
will provide information
in terms of
what directions to tunnel
at the bottom
of the Garden Shaft.
But we have to be patient.
I believe there's a very good
chance that whatever was
put in place at the depths
in the Money Pit
is still there,
and we're going to find it
and we're going to dig it up.
Okay, guys.
-We need to pick a new--
next location, so...
Yeah.
We'll get with Scott
and move the rig.
-Okay.
See you later, Craig.
See you later.
As a new morning
begins on Oak Island...
Hey, Marty.
Oh, yes,
-there's our artifact.
...Rick
and Marty Lagina,
along with Craig Tester,
arrive at
the Interpretive Centre.
So, it's substantial.
They are meeting
with Laird Niven
and archaeometallurgist
Emma Culligan
for an update on the iron latch
that was found one day ago
on Lot 5.
W-When you say
it's heavily encrusted,
-it's heavily encrusted.
-: Yeah.
So, I've just finished
a CT scan.
So we'll go over that right now?
Earlier this morning,
Emma examined the artifact
using the SkyScan 1273
CT scanner,
a device which emits
nondestructive X-ray radiation
that can penetrate
encrusted sediment
that builds up on the surface
of objects over time.
The process generates
clear images of artifacts
and their finer details.
So, that's
the reconstructed image.
It looks like a door knocker.
It's pointy.
So, I'd say it was made
to be driven into something.
Definitely been used. You can
see the top's been hammered.
Were you able to do
a data search, Laird,
to see what it is?
Any light on that?
The only thing I found
is that it was, um,
it was a river-raft spike.
But functionally,
you could use that for anything.
Have you been able
to do any analysis?
I've done an XRF map scan.
So, it's really high in iron.
Is there any manganese?
-No.
-So, it's pre-1840, right?
That's kind of our benchmark?
-Mm-hmm.
But what's really
interesting is that...
now that we have a database
and we've scanned
all these artifacts,
I can go and compare it
to the ones that we have.
Does it match any
of our other stuff?
No.
So, Laird,
-what do you make of this?
I think it's odd.
No, I-I mean...
But what was a lot more
interesting, early in the year,
I was contacted by a-a man
named Frank White
who, um, follows
the Oak Island story.
And he had some artifacts--
some, uh,
archaeological artifacts--
from the William Phips
birthplace in Maine.
And he asked if we would do
analysis on the artifacts,
so he sent them over.
Well, we all know
the William Phips story.
It's the Concepción theory.
And Phips is known to have
traveled in these waters.
So, the idea
is that his treasure
-was brought here to Oak Island.
-Right.
Scott Clarke did a fantastic job
of laying out the parameters.
Many people
are actually familiar
with William Phips's discovery
of the Concepción back in 1687.
We know that Phips found silver
on the Concepción,
and I believe
some of the treasure
from the Concepción
was secreted to Oak Island.
Two years ago,
Scott Clarke presented research
linking the 17th-century
English nobleman
Sir William Phips
to the Oak Island mystery.
In 1687, Phips located
the wreck of the Concepción,
a Spanish galleon that sank
near the Dominican Republic
in 1641
while attempting to transport
more than 200 tons
of gold, silver and jewels
back to Europe.
After recovering
nearly 100 tons of silver
during his initial salvage
of the wreck,
Phips returned to the site
one year later
with an assistant
named Andrew Belcher
who was also
a high-ranking Freemason.
However, after completing
this operation,
they delivered
a much smaller bounty.
During the second expedition
of the treasure,
Phips brought back to England
what was only valued
at 10,000 pounds.
He literally found one twentieth
of what he found the first time.
According
to Scott Clarke's theory,
Sir William Phips
and Andrew Belcher,
who is known to have owned land
near Oak Island,
buried a vast amount
of their recovered treasure
in the Money Pit.
So, Frank sent the artifacts
from the William Phips site,
and we did the analysis.
So, we're making
a comparison to that?
-Yeah.
It's matching to that.
So, it's matching really similar
to the-the William Phips
artifact.
-And-and nothing else?
But not ours?
Nothing else.
-Is it definitive?
That latch was 100% matching
to the William Phips site.
That's astounding, Emma.
A latch found
in the circular depression
on Lot 5?
An identical metallurgical match
to artifacts
directly related
to Sir William Phips?
Could that explain
not only the potentially
recovered from the feature
but also
the high-trace evidence
of precious metals
in the Money Pit?
Amazing.
So... I mean, even the fact
that it doesn't match
anything else...
Mm-hmm.
-Yeah.
You don't get too many
I'm excited about it.
Yeah, it's cool.
It's very cool.
-Yeah.
All right, well, we need him
to go back out there
-and keep digging.
That's right. Yep.
-Right?
There could be all kinds
of more things in there.
-This is really interesting.
-Mm-hmm.
-So, thank you.
-No problem.
All righty. Thank you, Emma.
Thanks, Laird.
Thank you, Emma. Thanks, Laird.
Later that morning,
while the archaeological team
continues investigating
the circular stone depression
on Lot 5...
-Head in here.
-Okey doke.
...Rick Lagina and Gary Drayton
search the nearby area
for additional clues
and evidence of valuables.
We have flags here,
the potential of these finds
helping us try to understand
that feature,
it's-it's fairly elevated.
Earlier today,
in accordance
with provincial guidelines,
Gary identified a number
of metallic targets,
which Laird Niven
has now given him and Rick
permission to retrieve.
Okay. Let's get after it.
Little blippy signal.
Let's see
if it's in the surface.
-Uh-oh.
-Oh, yep.
That is more than likely
surface junk.
Okay, where's the next flag?
Uh, right at
the side of us, mate.
Oh.
Okay.
There we go. That's better.
Good-sounding target, mate.
Just there.
Wow.
-It's tough digging, isn't it?
I'm just gonna take the top off,
and you can kind of
pinpoint it, all right?
Yep.
Can't be that deep.
-It's in my hand.
Let's see what we've got.
Look at that.
Wow.
: I think we've got
a coin! Look at that.
That looks like a really,
really old coin, mate.
On Lot 5, located on
the western side of Oak Island,
Gary Drayton and Rick Lagina
have just unearthed
another potentially important
and valuable clue.
-That's a coin, mate.
And that could potentially
be really, really old.
-Look at that.
That's a beauty.
You know what that looks like?
Remember over here?
-Yep. That...
-That's what that looks like.
It was less than 30 yards
from this location
where one year ago...
Look at that!
-It's a coin, mate. That is old.
Just days after the team
purchased the lot
from the estate of Robert Young,
Rick and Gary discovered
the nearly 2,000-year-old
half Roman coin.
Is it possible that they have
just found another coin
of the same origin?
If so, how did they end up
on Oak Island?
And what could it mean
for Lot 5's significance
as it relates to the
Doesn't that give you
that hand-hammered look?
Yeah, it's got
that same vibe about it.
That looks like an head,
doesn't it, Rick?
You can see it, right there.
I see that hand-hammered look,
like the half Roman coin.
We have to bring it
back to the lab,
we have to have Emma
do the XRF and the CT scan,
hopefully, there's something
on the coin.
But it was a heck of a find.
That's a top pocketer there.
Imagine the look on their faces
-when we take that
into the-the lab.
Part of me would like
to go back to the lab,
but I don't think we should.
-We should just keep going.
-Yeah.
Keep going, mate.
We've got other flags.
Fantastic.
That's going in the bag, mate.
Lot 5 has presented all kinds
of unique opportunities
for metal detecting.
-Next target's over there.
-Okey doke.
There have been
a number of finds.
And so, the future of Lot 5
looks exceedingly bright.
Hopefully there's more.
Next flag, coming up.
Okay.
Another sharp signal.
Let's see where it is.
Let's see what we've got.
It'd be amazing
if it were another one.
-It's in your hand.
-It's in my hand.
Let's see what we got, Rick.
Big reveal.
-Ooh-hoo!
We got another coin, mate!
Hey!
That is fantastic.
-Look at that.
-I thought I saw something.
That's a coin.
-And another hand-hammered one.
Yeah.
You know what?
I think at this point,
we need to call my brother
and we need to call Craig
and see if they want
to come down.
I can't imagine they'll say no.
-Yeah.
-All right, I'm gonna
call them right now,
-see if they want to come down.
Hello?
-Hey.
-It's Rick.
-We're on lot... we're on Lot 5.
-Yeah?
-And I think you and Craig
want to come down here,
and I am not gonna tell you
the reason why.
Okay. I'm on my way.
-On my way.
-All right. See you both.
All right, take care.
Big Brother Rick
calls me out of the blue
and tells me I better
come see something, I'm excited.
He won't do that
for just anything,
so this is gonna be
something good.
All right, all right.
You teased us enough.
What do you got?
We're not gonna say anything.
No.
-But what I want is
your first impressions.
Here we go.
Hold your hand out, Marty.
There's your little reward
from Lot 5.
What's your first impression?
I don't know.
It's a very old coin.
Doesn't remind you of anything?
Maybe the Roman one, I guess.
I don't know.
Wait.
There's insignia on this.
There's some sort of cross
or something on that.
There's three loops of chain.
-See that?
Oh, yes. I do.
This coin is gonna
tell us something.
What do you got
in your other hand?
Uh, this is
a little prezzy for Craig.
See-see the hand-hammered look?
Yeah.
What-what's this...
what's this all about, Gary?
I have no idea, mate.
I'm gobsmacked.
Were they found together?
Not too far away.
I don't know what the hell
to make of this,
but I sure am intrigued with it.
What it's saying is
there is a real mystery here
and there is a real story here,
-and we will uncover it.
It... Yeah.
-Pretty cool, guys.
Yep.
We have a couple more.
Why don't you dig one?
-You pick one and you pick one.
-Craig, you dig one.
-Yeah.
-No, mine will be a,
mine will be
-a .22 shell.
-Oh, pick one. Come on.
Let's go
dig another one up.
That one.
My turn to dig.
My track record is poor, but...
from the human heart,
hope springs eternal.
Maybe this is mine.
-Yeah.
That sounds terrible.
Yeah, it's nothing.
I didn't even get anything.
Let's move on.
That ain't nothing.
Here you go, Craig.
-You got me b*at.
-Let's give it back
to the expert.
Show us how it's done.
Then it's Rick's turn again.
Honestly, Rick seems
to find the good stuff.
Jack. Jack and Rick
seem to find the good stuff.
-There we are.
-Is that it?
-Yes! A coin.
So, what's the score
at this point?
Not that we should be
keeping score,
but I believe it's, uh,
Big Brother Rick: 3,
Craig and Marty combined: 0.
Look at that.
You know how to do it.
-Come on.
What the hell?
Fantastic.
I think this is a record.
Three coins in one morning,
and all of them peculiar
and perhaps ancient.
These are potentially
major-league finds.
Yeah, no,
it's got that same patina.
Yeah, that's the same thing.
That's got to be
a really old coin, mate.
It-it-- it's like
the other ones.
-Yeah.
Pretty cool.
-You're coming around to it.
-Well, I-I...
I'm-I'm not ready to say
those are Roman.
-Exactly.
-Yeah, but they're old coins,
and they-- there's a story
going on here.
I know we don't
understand this story yet.
I know we don't understand
the complexity
that the mystery is,
but we know for certain
in our heart of hearts
that there's something here
to this mystery.
It has long endured. 228 years.
-Let's go to the lab.
-Yep.
Lot 5 just keeps giving it.
Laird.
-Hey.
-We've got some stuff for you.
In the Oak Island
Interpretive Centre,
Rick and Marty Lagina,
their partner Craig Tester
and metal detection expert
Gary Drayton
meet with archaeologist
Laird Niven
along with archaeometallurgist
Emma Culligan.
-Lot 5.
Yeah.
Just up from
where the feature is.
They are eager
to have Laird and Emma analyze
the discoveries that were made
earlier today on Lot 5:
three potentially ancient coins.
Uh, we'll let you
take a look at them
and tell us what
you believe these are.
Cool stuff, though.
Hmm.
-It's an oldie, isn't it?
It is, mate.
Almost the same patina
as the Roman coin.
There you go.
Yeah.
Right.
If you find one half-Roman coin,
which we did last year,
okay,
that's one half-Roman coin.
It's still amazing.
But three coins?
They're clearly very old.
They're patinaed.
I want to believe
that they're hugely significant.
What do these things mean
with regard to what happened
on Oak Island?
-What, should she do an XRF?
-Yeah.
Get a scan going?
I think so.
Emma, we want to know
exactly what this is,
when it was made,
and who dropped it, okay?
No pressure.
-And when.
In order to help determine
the possible origin
of the coins,
Emma will scan them
using an X-ray
fluorescence spectrometer--
a device that bombards objects
with non-destructive radiation
to identify
the elements and minerals
that make up their composition.
So, the XRF is done
for the first coin.
It's 94% copper
with about five percent silver.
-Copper and silver?
Yeah.
Normally, Roman coins have
tin and lead,
which I'm not seeing
in this one.
So, not Roman,
but it's not modern, either,
'cause it has
no modern coin alloys.
Okay. Want to look
at another one?
-Yeah.
Which one is this one,
the big one?
The itty-bitty one.
Ooh, that's a different metal.
It is?
It sure looks like it.
It seems,
it's a different color.
It's more brassy, bronzy.
Here, check that out.
Now tell me what you see, mate.
I see the stuff in the center.
It looks like a female.
Definitely looks
like a face, doesn't it?
-Let's have her run that one.
Yeah.
-Can we run this one
in the XRF, please?
Yes.
Finding these coins
from roughly
a very localized area,
that's certainly intriguing.
Why here?
We're really gonna have
to put our heads down
and try to figure out
what it means.
And maybe it will help us
as we move forward.
So the second coin I scanned,
we've got copper, silicon,
some lead, some tin.
So I'd say yeah, pretty good
candidate for Roman coin.
She matched it
to the Roman coins
in the database.
So, what were
the coins doing here?
Who brought them here?
Knights Templar, obviously,
is one of the groups
that jump into your mind.
Well, that... that one's
looking promising.
A second potentially
ancient Roman coin
discovered on Lot 5?
If so, were they brought
to Oak Island by the same people
who may have hidden something
of great value in the Money Pit?
In recent years,
members of the team
have found clues
possibly related
to the Oak Island mystery
at locations across Europe--
such as in Portugal,
England and Italy--
that were once part
of the Roman Empire...
What did you find, Pete?
I think something
pretty interesting.
It's the same as the H+O stone.
...but later, between
the 12th and 16th centuries
served as strongholds
for the Knights Templar--
a Christian m*llitary order
that many believe
hid a vast treasure
along with priceless religious
artifacts on Oak Island,
including the Holy Grail
and the Ark of the Covenant.
You get the H+O Stone.
And this symbol,
we've learned today,
means Templar-related relic.
And what have we found that
the symbol at the end means?
Some have interpreted it
to be gold.
Yeah.
Last year, while investigating
a medieval church
in Viterbo, Italy,
Marty's son, Alex, speculated
that a mysterious symbol
they found,
which was also discovered
on Oak Island in the 1920s
carved into a boulder
known as the H+O Stone,
may very well have
a Templar connection.
To put it all together, I mean,
there is a possibility
that the H+O Stone represents
"Here, Templar gold."
And then you can look
at the last one.
That's the one
with a lot of markings on it.
Yeah.
To me, it almost looks like
a woven pattern.
Almost looks like
some chain links.
Yeah. Why don't you
throw that one in?
Emma, here's the last one.
So right now, we have
one indeterminant coin--
which is weird--
which is very strange.
We have one coin
that could be Roman
based on the metallurgy.
And then we have
a yet to be determined,
while it's put in the XRF.
From metal detecting experience,
some of these features that
you're looking at on these coins
are ancient features.
This one is the last one.
And which one
are we looking at now?
Waffle coin.
From first look,
I've got brass...
...with iron, heavy manganese,
especially
with a brass coin... Oh.
No, that's not modern.
Why? What is it?
So it is technically a brass,
but the high calcium
and phosphorous,
I was looking
at where have I seen
such across-the-board
composition.
And that is the French denier.
I've scanned a French denier
-dated... 13th century?
-I think so.
-Just like the cross.
-Wow.
First minted during
the late 7th century
to replace gold coins
that were in circulation,
the French denier
was widely used
from the Middle Ages
up to the 17th century.
Is it possible that this coin
could be of French origin?
And if so,
could it be connected
to the French lead barter token
also found on Lot 5
one year ago,
a barter token that when
scientifically analyzed
proved to be
a compositional match
to the 14th-century lead cross
that was found
at Smith's Cove back in 2017,
and which is also believed to be
of possible Templar origin?
All three oddballs.
-Three unique coins.
-Yep.
Yep. This makes it
better for me.
I would rather have
these coins come
from different areas.
You know, it goes to trade.
You're going around,
you've got different coins
in your pocket
from different countries.
-I think this is great.
-Yep.
Emma, go ahead and do
your more comprehensive scans
and then let us know.
And we will get a hold
of Sandy Campbell.
-Yep.
And get him out here.
And we will go out
and find some more stuff.
All right. Have fun.
Talk to you soon.
See you.
See you later.
We will. Cheers.
Later that afternoon...
Hey, guys.
...Alex Lagina joins
other members of the team
in the Money Pit area
as the strategic core-drilling
operation continues.
So, where are we?
We're right in the middle
of the Baby Blob.
So, this is our
best guess right now
as to the source
of the metals in the water?
Exactly.
The current borehole
that is being drilled
is known as E5N-9.5.
It is located several feet west
of the Garden Shaft
in the so-called Baby Blob
where high-trace evidence
of precious metals
have been detected between
Okay, guys, this is it.
-How you doing Mike,
we go to 99?
-98.
-We picked up a rock around 97.
-Okay, very good. Thank you.
Let's slice and dice,
see what we got.
That is Mother Nature,
unfortunately.
There's a boulder in it.
Sadly, gentlemen,
this doesn't look good.
-Marty.
-Hey, Marty.
Hello, gentlemen.
It's a wet one.
It is a wet one.
Anyway, nothing so far, Marty.
This is not looking good,
we're at target depth
and we don't think
we see anything.
Show me, show me
where we are, please.
Steve's got a map there for you.
Okay. So we're right here.
You can see we are about
of the Garden Shaft,
and we are about
seven or eight feet
northwest of our tunnel
from where we hit last year.
Somebody got a pencil?
There's one right there.
Okay.
This is
the most interesting well.
That's our eight-foot void
or tunnel.
This one right here,
which is what number?
That is DN-11.5.
One year ago,
while drilling borehole DN-11.5,
some 12 feet southeast
from their current position
at a depth
of approximately 90 feet
the team encountered
an eight-foot-high void--
or possible chamber--
located just 20 feet west
of the Garden Shaft.
-There's some wood, Terry.
-Whoa!
-We've got wood
at the bottom here.
-Yeah.
Incredibly, they also recovered
a wood sample...
Oh, my gosh.
We're into something.
...that when analyzed
by Emma Culligan
contained high-trace
evidence of gold.
It shows gold.
-Yeah. It's there.
The scientists say
metals are coming out of here.
The only thing
that could be producing metals
is out of some
man-made something.
That's a big enough box
for an offset chamber.
I just want to put another one
right down, right down into it.
Marty, I'm with you,
if we go back
to DN-11.5, we should put
another well right next to it.
-Yep.
-And try to get back into this,
whatever it is,
tunnel or chamber.
Agreed.
Let me talk
to everybody else and see.
I'm gonna take off right now.
Finish this one up,
we'll get you some info.
-Thanks, guys.
-Okay.
See you, guys.
Gentlemen, here we go.
-Hey, Alex.
-Hey, guys.
How're you doing?
Alex, how're you doing?
Good.
So, just getting started?
Just queueing her up.
In spite of an ominous storm
that has enveloped Oak Island,
another hopeful morning has
begun in the Money Pit area
for Alex Lagina
and other members of the team.
-Where are we?
-DN-12. I've got a map.
Cool.
The man's got a map.
At the direction
of Alex's father Marty,
the team has just broken ground
on a borehole known as DN-12--
a borehole located within
the so-called Baby Blob,
or possible treasure zone,
that sets less than three feet
east of borehole DN-11.5.
It was there that a mysterious
eight-foot void was discovered
one year ago
at a depth of some 90 feet
containing high-trace
evidence of gold.
Based on all the information
we've had so far,
DN-12 is still our best target
to hope to get back
into that eight-foot chamber.
Right. And I'm with my dad.
I mean, he-he really feels
that, you know,
this is probably our best chance
to hit something meaningful
and with that eight-foot span
that we hit in a previous hole,
we could have found
an offset chamber.
Absolutely.
The site itself
is interesting because
I am a believer
in an offset chamber
as a likely repository
for any treasure
that might be here.
The good news
about this location is
it's close to the Garden Shaft.
So it's well within the range
of where we can
tunnel to from the bottom
of the Garden Shaft.
-Exactly.
-So...
I'm gonna run for a little bit.
I'll check back in later
if I can.
-No problem.
-Let me know
if anything happens.
Yeah, we'll be in touch.
Will do.
Thanks.
As the core-drilling operation
continues
in the Money Pit area...
Guys, you know we're
waiting on our swamp permit.
...Alex joins his father Marty
and his uncle Rick
along with other members
of the team
in the research center.
I talked to Tony.
He's available this year.
I thought we'd talk
about dive targets.
Yeah. Yeah,
the north end of the bog
has drawn Tom's curiosity
as it has every year.
Well, we intend to,
as part of our permit,
we intend to do
a dig there, but...
if there is this artificial wall
that Fred spoke of
quite earnestly,
then there had to be
some evidence of
some of that work offshore.
Big old log on there.
And we got a plank here as well.
One year ago,
fellow Oak Island landowner
Tom Nolan,
along with Rick
and members of the team,
unearthed evidence
of a mysterious wooden structure
just north of
the triangle-shaped swamp.
Wow. Look at this.
That could be like
an old iron pin.
I'd say it is.
They were investigating
a long-held theory
of Tom's late father Fred Nolan
that the swamp was
artificially created
centuries ago
by the installation of dams
on the northern and southern
boundaries of the island.
Incredibly, Fred's theory
was also corroborated
by a reported 14th century
map of Oak Island
that was given
to the team in 2016
by the late researcher
Zena Halpern--
a map which Zena believed
had been created
by members
of the Knights Templar
and featured numerous landmarks
including one in the northern
region of the island
labeled as The Dam.
As part of that exploration
on the north bog,
we should have an understanding
of what's out in the water.
Mm-hmm.
While the team awaits
a permit to conduct
a larger excavation
in search of the dam on land,
they are hoping that the waters
just off the island might
contain more clues to support
Fred Nolan's incredible theory.
The thing that was
most curious about that,
the northern end of the bog,
is we did do a dig there
with Billy,
and we found that spike.
It was only about yay long.
And Emma did her analysis of it
and it's possibly very old.
If Fred is right,
there may be evidence
of this artificial wall
or some other edifice out there
that we are currently
unaware of.
-Yeah.
-Yeah.
We should go out there
and do a dive,
and maybe, we know that Tony's
very good, right?
He takes a line
and he runs a grid.
Why not do it?
No, I think
you two guys should do it.
You young guys go out there
and do it, and report back.
And if there's something
really cool to see,
-then maybe I'll suit up.
Okay.
Solving the mystery
is all about
connecting the dots.
Well, we certainly have
some very interesting dots
at this point.
We've found, at the very least,
ancient-looking coins.
Is there something in the water
offshore of the swamp
that's related to the finds
in Zena's map?
It's possible.
-See what you can see.
-Okay.
We'll get in touch with Tony.
-Okey doke.
-I want a full report.
Okay.
Good luck.
Later that afternoon,
while the drilling
operation continues
in the Money Pit area...
Hey, Mike.
-Thank you.
-28. 28.
All right.
Let's add
to that ancient coin collection.
Next target's here.
...on Lot 5,
located on the western side
of the island...
It's there, mate.
Come on, Craig. One time.
...Rick, Marty and Craig
join Gary Drayton
to search for more clues
near the area where three
ancient coins were discovered
just two days ago.
He's going
full dung beetle on it.
Geez, look at him.
Keep looking, Craig.
-You might find it, yourself.
-Yeah.
There it is.
There it is, mate.
-You got it?
-Yeah.
What have we just found?
Iron?
Yeah.
It looks like a map of Ohio.
I haven't worked
with Gary very often
but when I have,
I've never had any luck finding
anything of importance.
I'd have to go
with "modern" on that.
My record stands,
zero good finds,
a whole bunch of junk.
Good find, Craig.
-Yeah.
I'm gonna
keep that in the pouch.
And the next flag is over there.
Treasure bound.
Yep.
All right.
In the valley.
It's good.
Right there, mate.
That's a good sounding target.
I'm gonna have to pry him
out of there.
All right, Gary. Try that.
Let's see what we've got.
It's underneath this pile.
We've got another one!
Look at that.
We've got another one!
That's a coin. Look!
It is a coin. All right!
-Another coin.
Look at that.
On Lot 5,
located west of the swamp
on Oak Island...
Wow. Look at that.
...Rick and Marty Lagina,
along with Craig Tester
and Gary Drayton, have just made
another potentially
important discovery.
Is it the same
as the other ones?
I don't see anything on it,
but it's about the same size.
Anything on the other side?
Thank you.
I don't see anything, Gary.
Oh, wait.
Is that a number?
There's some kind
of number or something.
If you can see stuff
with a naked eye on it,
-then there should be
some details.
-I think, I think I can.
Let's have a look.
Yeah. Look at that.
Some kind of
like squiggly design.
That is just like
those other ones.
Yeah.
-These are old.
That's brilliant, mate.
I'm flabbergasted.
We have a half a Roman coin
verified by experts.
We have four new coins.
That's five coins found on this
Lot 5 that are all inexplicable.
So, we're gonna get
Sandy Campbell.
He's been out here before.
He's a numismatic expert
and he is gonna tell us
all about these coins.
You can see
by the patina, I mean,
that's been
in circulation a while.
And, basically,
it's just change.
It's in awfully good shape.
Yeah.
-What a day on Lot 5.
Oh, yeah.
-Bag it and tag it.
Yep.
-Call it a day.
Put it in the bag.
Wow.
-Smell that ancientness.
That's unbelievable.
It's been a really good day.
Later that afternoon...
Okay, guys.
Here we are.
-I'm quite excited
to get down there.
-Right.
...in the waters
just north of Oak Island
Alex Lagina
and Jack Begley
join diver Tony Sampson
and underwater
imaging expert Ken Deboer
to search for clues
that might be related
to a possible buried dam
near the northern region
of the swamp.
So we're seven to eight feet
in the shallows, here.
Okay.
And we dropped down to about
-25 out here.
Right.
So that's shallow enough
that if we're looking
well in the past,
the water level
would've been lower.
So it's, it's plausible that,
you know, something here
may have been on dry land
-at one point.
-Yeah.
'Cause Fred Nolan thought
he had seen evidence
of a structure
on his beach here.
The one that correlates
with Zena Halpern's map.
Yeah. Exactly.
And you guys were
looking for the dam.
Exactly.
So it is possible
that any evidence
of that structure might be
out here in the water.
Yeah. Awesome. Okay.
I can't wait to
get on the bottom
and get my eyes on it.
Your eyes will be on it
-with the ROV up here.
Great.
So we need to get
the ROV in the water,
and I'm gonna get suited up
and go get wet.
-Let's get started.
-Beautiful.
All right. Here we go.
In order to further aid Tony
while he investigates
the possible man-made
feature underwater...
In she goes. Perfect.
...Ken will utilize
a tethered, remote-operated
vehicle or ROV.
Equipped with thrusters
and a high definition camera,
the ROV will act as a second
set of eyes for the team
to help direct Tony
toward any additional
targets of interest.
So, Ken,
we'll run a grid?
-We're going to run a grid.
-Okay.
-Just go back and forth.
-We'll follow the diver as well.
-Mm-hmm.
And we'll be
in communication with Tony
-the entire time.
Perfect.
Good luck, Tony.
-All right. Tony's in the water.
-Tony's in the water.
There you go.
All right.
Ready to rock and roll.
Surface to diver,
let us know if you see
any signs of a structure
or anything else.
Over.
He's got his head
into something now.
Yeah.
He's fanning.
Yeah. Fanning is what we can do.
Digging is what we cannot do.
Although Tony is allowed
to scan the seafloor
with a handheld
metal detector,
provincial regulations
prohibit him from removing
or disturbing artifacts.
Can you tell if there's
any more buried there?
Over.
However, if potential clues
or valuables
are identified,
the team can apply
for a special permit
to retrieve and further
investigate them.
Tony's getting a visual
on possibly hard-carved wood
which is actually a really
exciting find because...
we have evidence from Zena's map
that there's a dam somewhere
along the edge of the water
and that could indicate
that people were around
that north edge of the swamp
doing something.
Copy. How big?
Copy.
So that sounds like,
I don't know,
a little piece of plank.
I don't know what to make of it.
Yeah.
Copy.
Keep us posted. Over.
We're going shallower.
Yeah.
Tony's heading
towards a boulder there.
You can see him.
He's going right straight
for whatever that is.
What's that?
He's getting right down into it.
Mm-hmm.
We found a fair amount
of pottery recently
just from Lot 5.
-Maybe it's comparable.
-Right.
Is it possible
that the artifacts
Tony has found
are related to some
of the discoveries made
in the last year within
the two stone features on Lot 5?
Artifacts that may date back
to as early as the 17th century?
After we get this pottery,
I'm thinking there's
two possibilities here--
One is that the rocks
have trapped this stuff here.
And the other is
that it's sort of a deposit.
There's got to be
a source for these things.
Hey, Tony, we'd love to see
if there's any other artifacts
surrounding this boulder.
Over.
Those are some big boulders.
Yeah.
All right.
-There you go.
Wow.
All right.
Wow.
That's incredible, Tony.
That's awesome.
After finding pottery
and other artifacts
in the waters just north
of the Oak Island swamp...
Keep us posted. Over.
...diver Tony Sampson
has identified
a potentially valuable clue.
A possible coin?
Until the team
can present their evidence
to the provincial government
and hopefully obtain
a special permit
to remove and examine it,
unfortunately, this potentially
valuable discovery
will have to remain
on the ocean floor.
Copy that, Tony.
We'll see you on the boat soon.
Over.
All right.
I'd say that was
a successful dive.
Very.
What makes these
artifacts interesting
is they're similar
to the artifacts
that they're finding on land.
So either they came in on a ship
or maybe it's part
of a shipwreck
that was blowing up onshore.
Wow. That was cool.
Or maybe, it was
from people that were
on the island itself.
All right, Tony.
That was pretty exciting.
That was
a fantastic dive, buddy.
What about
that metal detector hit?
-What was it?
-So that was a disc.
Like a coin with a hole in it.
-No kidding.
-Yeah.
Initially,
I thought it was one of those
Chinese-style coins.
-Really?
-I'm not sure.
-Or something like that?
-Something like that.
Just right up on that hill
is where Gary and I found
an actual Chinese coin,
and that dated back
to possibly BC.
-Ooh!
-Oh! No way.
That's an old coin.
And it's got
that square hole in it, mate.
In 2020,
while searching between
the swamp and the Money Pit
on Lot 15,
Jack and Gary unearthed a coin
that, according
to numismatist Sandy Campbell,
is of Chinese origin
and more than 1,000 years old.
Is it possible
that Tony Sampson has just found
the same type of coin
in the waters
just north
of the Oak Island swamp?
If so,
could it and other items
he has discovered today,
actually be related
to an ancient dam feature
that is believed
to have been constructed
in order to help
create the swamp
more than 700 years ago?
Well, I was excited before
about the pottery
but, I mean, pipe stems
and maybe even
-a coin or something.
Yeah.
-Now I'm really excited.
Yep.
One thing I know it is for sure
is a concentration
of artifacts underwater.
It might be enough to get
some kind of a permit to do
further investigation here.
-Right.
That's what I'm thinking.
They're great finds.
I think the next step
would have to be
to get a proper permit
for actually retrieving
some of these items.
We may be able to understand
why they're there
and if they are
connected to Fred's wall
in the north end of the bog.
This area needs
a lot more investigation.
Yeah. Nice job, Tony.
-Well done.
Thanks, my friend.
Yeah.
Later that afternoon...
This is it.
This is the run.
This could be the one.
...in the Money Pit area,
Alex Lagina has joined
Craig Tester
and other members of the team
as the drilling operation
in borehole DN-12
is approaching the depth
where they hope
to once again encounter
an eight-foot void
and, hopefully,
the legendary treasure.
-How deep are we?
-88.
They're on something.
There it is.
That's the bottom of the run.
-What you got, Mike?
Three feet under.
There you go.
That looks fairly soft
there, Terry.
It's softish. Yeah.
The base of it though.
-Right? That's the bottom?
-Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Here's the top.
Thank you.
All right. Bring her in.
Is there wood there?
Feels like something there.
That's wood.
Bingo.
There's wood.
Oh, good.
Wood up here, too.
Yeah.
It's a fairly
significant beam, yeah.
It's very close
to 97 and a half,
right about there.
That's where we want to be
for this hole.
Yep.
I have a question,
is this our tunnel
or is this, is this the chamber?
I don't know because
we can't see the top.
But I'd say there's
enough loose material,
so it's a chamber.
-Chamber?
I'd say.
Yep.
Lo and behold, we do hit wood
in DN-12 at about 97 feet,
which is very close to exactly
where we hit wood before
in the Baby Blob
that we interpreted to be
a chamber or vault.
We're clearly into a collapsed
chamber of some sort.
So we hit what we wanted to hit.
We'll want a bunch
of samples of this.
We test the metals.
If it tests high enough,
this is it.
Yeah.
Yay!
This is a success
from a technical standpoint.
It worked.
No question.
So let's see what it says.
It's gonna tell us a lot,
one way or the other.
Following the potentially
historic discovery
in the Money Pit area...
Hey, Gary. Laird.
-Marty.
-Hey, guys.
-Hey, guys.
-We have Sandy Campbell
with us today.
Hey, Sandy.
How's it going?
-Good.
-Lots of work for you.
Yeah. That's what I hear.
Rick, Marty and Craig Tester
accompany numismatist
Sandy Campbell to meet
with Gary Drayton
and Laird Niven
in the Interpretive Centre.
With Sandy's
analyzing rare
and ancient coins,
it is the team's hope
that he can determine
the origin of
the four mysterious coins
discovered
earlier this week on Lot 5.
We had a heck of a week
on Oak Island.
-Let's have a look.
It's interesting.
This design goes back
to the 1500s, 16th century.
Which cultures
are you referencing?
British. This is Tudor period.
It's very obvious
that that's
a portcullis on there.
And it's used even today
on modern British coins.
Between the 5th
and 15th centuries,
heavy iron gates
known as portcullises
were used to protect castles
and fortifications
across Europe
from invading armies.
Beginning
in the late 15th century,
the portcullis was
incorporated into the design
of English coinage to symbolize
strength and resilience.
Is it possible that this coin
is related to the other
English artifacts
recently found on Lot 5,
such as those
potentially connected
to Sir William Phips
who is believed by some
to have buried a large cache
of silver in the Money Pit?
That's a, you know,
Tudor monarch period item.
I'm gonna have to try
and do a little more research.
Well, that wasn't
the only coin, mate.
We have been
roaming around on Lot 5
and we've got another
little bobby-dazzler
of a coin to show you, mate.
You are leading
the witness, Counselor.
Oh.
That's pretty obvious.
Okay.
Well, this here you can see
the pretty common design,
That's pretty obvious.
In the Interpretive Centre...
Well, this here you can see
the pretty common design,
a Roman coin.
-Roman, baby!
Is it?
-I knew it.
...numismatist Sandy Campbell
has just confirmed
that the Oak Island team
has found another
Roman coin on Lot 5.
What is it?
You said it was obvious. What?
What does that mean?
It's-it's a Roman coin
from probably...
...between 100 and 300 AD,
-if I'm allowed to use AD.
Wow.
My new best friend.
Over the past year
this is the second coin
found on Lot 5
that has been verified to be
more than 1,000 years old
and of Roman origin.
The questions now are when
were they brought to Oak Island?
And who brought them here?
Had somebody told me
that we would find this here,
I would have said no.
"No, we're not gonna find
Roman coins here."
No. No, but here we are
with number two.
Right.
But you are quite definitive
about 100 to 300 AD?
Yeah. Yeah.
Well, this is all great, mate.
But we got some more
candy for Sandy, mate.
We got more coins.
Sandy, I have the honor of being
the one who dug this coin up.
Of course, Gary found it
and that is unique because
I never find anything.
Well, it's... it's interesting.
I'm seeing things
that appear to be design.
But nothing that's giving me
feedback where I can identify.
What could that be?
-It could be Indian.
Indian like India?
India. Yeah.
You know, like
type thing.
-Sheesh.
-That's a box
we haven't ticked off yet.
-Yeah.
-Yeah.
We've found English coins.
We've found Spanish coins.
Now, we've found an Indian coin.
We've found a Chinese coin.
Who gathers all these
weird non-associated coins?
I'm just trying to make sense
out of something that doesn't
appear to make sense.
We've got another
little coin to show you.
-I hope that one's
just as interesting.
-Yep.
Very tiny.
Like, the detail for this type
of coin is quite pronounced.
-It is?
Yeah.
This is a clearly Roman design.
So, it is a Roman coin?
Absolutely, yeah.
-Two for two.
-Brilliant.
Remember when we were
out there, high-fiving?
-Yeah. Yeah.
Now we know why.
What do you see on there?
I-I think this is
a male portrait.
You got more of a pointed chin,
bigger nose.
And then on the, on the reverse,
you got two, two conjoined
people here, I think.
You know, this is probably,
you know, BC.
Holy smokes.
Is this 100%, Sandy?
It's 100%.
Absolutely incredible.
So this could be the oldest coin
ever found on Oak Island.
To unearth this
is pretty remarkable.
You know, the design
is very pronounced on a coin
that's more than 2,000
years old.
The puzzlement grows.
Three Roman coins
found on Oak Island.
It's possible that
if there's an ancient treasure,
it would have
ancient things in it,
including perhaps
a component of Roman coins.
You have to keep an open mind
because "facts,"
as Winston Churchill said,
"are stubborn things."
Here's a fact--
we found those coins
on Oak Island.
That's a fact.
I've always believed
there was a plan
properly ex*cuted over,
perhaps generationally,
perhaps over decades
or centuries.
It was that important.
Look, I'm a big proponent
of Zena's research, right?
That there was
transatlantic voyages
to the New World
long before it's accepted.
In 2016,
when Zena Halpern gave the team
a reported 14th century map
of Oak Island
that she believed
to have been created
by members
of the Knights Templar,
she also shared
a second believed Templar map
of Nova Scotia dating back
to the 12th century.
Since then, Rick, Marty
and members of the team
have visited numerous
sites around Europe
that served as strongholds
for the Knights Templar
between the 12th
and 16th centuries...
Whoa.
...including in England...
Up there, on one of the bricks
is literally carved "1347."
...Portugal...
It looks a lot more similar
to what we have.
-That's for sure.
Yeah.
...and Italy
that were also once part
of the Roman Empire.
We have seen this symbol before.
H+O Stone.
Yeah.
Right there.
It's perfect.
And in each of these locations
they have seen carvings
and structures similar to those
that have been found
on Oak Island.
Could Rick Lagina be correct
that the ancient Roman coins
unearthed on Lot 5
and the mysterious structures
found all around the island
offer evidence
that Zena Halpern discovered
the true origin of
the Oak Island mystery?
What this tells me is
there's a heck of a lot
of stories going on,
on this island,
from a long time ago.
I concur.
We've got to prove it.
Let's be metal detectives.
Get back to Lot 5.
-Yeah. Metal detectives.
Let's get going.
A new year of searching
has just begun
for Rick, Marty and their team.
And already, they have made
discoveries on Oak Island
and in the surrounding
waters that suggest
this 228-year-old mystery
is more complex
and profound than anyone
could have ever imagined.
As the research, expert analysis
and digging continues,
will they be able to shatter
the protective barrier
of a deadly curse
and finally recover a treasure
that could rewrite
North American history?
This season on
The Curse of Oak Island...
This is the year.
There could be some actual
treasure just below us.
You have to follow the clues
-where they lead.
Let's go!
Let's go deep.
We're very close
-to what we're trying to find.
-Right.
We need to get to the bottom
of the Garden Shaft.
We pushed a hole and
there's a long void in there.
It could be the offset
chamber that we seek.
There it is, guys.
-Seven or eight-foot tunnel.
This one is a mystery tunnel.
We found a structure
in the swamp.
Look at that!
It's the first time in 40 years
of fieldwork I've
seen something like this
buried.
The results of the muon
technology are in.
What we're seeing is
high-density anomaly 230 feet
below the surface
of the Money Pit.
We think it's Aladdin's Cave.
There is wood in that void.
It could be
a man-made structure.
That makes the cave even
that much more important.
We are not
leaving this island
without having a go
at this Aladdin's Cave.
I want to know what
this thing is.
This year,
we could get down there
and actually hold shiny
gold things in our hand.
11x01 - On the Money
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Follows brothers Marty and Rick as they search for the infamous treasure on Oak Island.
Follows brothers Marty and Rick as they search for the infamous treasure on Oak Island.