11x02 - Heavy Lifting

[bunniefuu]

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

TERRY: Here we go.

STEVE: There's wood. We got it.

TERRY: There it is, guys.

-Wow.
-We must be close to some type of a structure.

MARTY: There could be
some treasure just below us.

-Hey, Laird.
-Yeah?

JAMIE: This is definitely the
largest artifact we've found here.

-What?
-Come on. Be something.

Look at that. It's old.

Emma, what have we learned?

So, right now, I am finding

something that I
was not expecting.

NARRATOR: There is an
island in the North Atlantic

where people have
been looking for

an incredible treasure
for more than 200 years.

So far, they have
found a stone slab

with strange symbols
carved into it...

...man-made workings
that date to medieval times,

and a lead cross whose
origin may be connected

to the Knights Templar.

To date, six men have d*ed

trying to solve the mystery.

And according to legend,
one more will have to die

before the treasure
can be found.

♪ ♪

CHARLES: Here we go!

-ALEX: Core is up.
-TERRY: All right.

-Here we go.
-60.

Thank you.

-That's pretty firm stuff there.
-Yep.

There is a lot of room yet

-for something to show itself.
-ALEX: Yep.

NARRATOR: It is the start
of a new day on Oak Island

for brothers Rick and
Marty Lagina and their team.

One that begins with
renewed optimism

that they are
finally on the verge

of solving a


TERRY: I think it has
the possibility to intersect

the Garden Shaft tunnel,

-leading to or seeking -Yeah.

-the treasure chamber.
-Yeah.

It may put some answers
to that tunnel down there.

We don't have enough
information in the area.

We don't have a start point,

-we don't have an end point.
-No. That's right.

We as a group have not
explored much up here.

-This is a plausible location.
-Yes.

NARRATOR: Currently,
the team is drilling

a borehole on their strategic
grid known as D.5N-26.5.

Located several feet east

of the mid-18th
century structure

known as "the Garden Shaft,"

it is their hope that
this new borehole

will encounter a
mysterious tunnel

that they previously discovered

at a depth of 95 feet.

A tunnel which is
believed to run directly west

beneath the Garden
Shaft and into an area

that has been dubbed
"the Baby Blob,"

where water tests
conducted one year ago

revealed high-trace evidence

of silver, gold and other metals

between 80 and 120
feet below ground.

Last year we were
able to concentrate

and be very confident
in the Baby Blob area.

That's right.

NARRATOR: However,
when the team met

with geoscientist
Dr. Ian Spooner

and his colleague,

hydrogeologist Dr. Fred
Michel last week,

the two presented their
updated testing analysis,

which suggested
that the fabled treasure

could actually lie
buried anywhere

within a 20-foot
radius of the feature.

Nothing is dissuading
us from our opinion

that there's an area
around the Garden Shaft

where something's
been deposited.

Well, that I consider
very good news.

Yeah.

NARRATOR: Now, while
the team awaits a new permit

to deepen the Garden Shaft
by approximately 20 feet,

which will also allow them
to construct lateral tunnels

in order to reach
potential targets,

Rick, Marty and the team

are looking for any
evidence of valuables

more than 100 feet underground

that might be located
to the east of the shaft.

MARTY: The tunnel that
goes under the Garden Shaft

doesn't appear in the
literature anywhere,

doesn't appear in the records,

so that's the one I'm
most interested in.

So, we need to keep going.

That, perhaps, could
go off to a chamber.

Meaning, there could be some
actual treasure just below us.

And we're gonna
find that out this year.

STEVE: Hey, Mike.
What do we got?

-78. -78.



SCOTT: Anyone got a Kn*fe?

TERRY: I love this hole.

We are in the middle of all

of the very, very soft material.

And this to my eye
is relatively soft.

What do you think, Scott?

SCOTT: There is a
lot going on in this area,

I mean, that we really
don't know about.

-There's a lot of possibilities.
-Absolutely.

Yeah, we've seen that
whenever we're near a structure.

-Yeah.
-We could be coming down on the intersection

-of the tunnel here.
-For sure.

TERRY: Time is going to tell.

We are going to do the
work that's gonna find that out.

NARRATOR: While the
drilling operation continues

in the Money Pit area, on Lot 5,

located on the western
side of the island...

-JACK: Here he comes.
-LAIRD: Oh, yeah.

NARRATOR: ...Marty
Lagina joins Jack Begley,

archaeologist Laird Niven,

Jamie Kouba

and their assistant Fiona Steele

as they continue investigating

a strange, circular feature.

Okay, Laird. What's the mission?

LAIRD: All right.

We're going to do the
big rocks in the interior.

Show me.

-Oh, yeah. There are some big rocks in there.
-Yeah.

-MARTY: You want all that out, right?
-LAIRD: Yeah.

I-I don't know why
it's filled with rocks.

But underneath all those,

we think there's
that intact layer

that we want to get to.

-That will help tell us exactly what this feature is.
-Yeah. Yeah.

MARTY: Interesting.

Just keeps getting
more interesting.

-Yeah. Okay.
-Okay, I can do that.

NARRATOR: Since the Laginas'
and their partners' purchase

of Lot 5 one year ago,

Laird and his colleagues
have been mystified

by the unique construction

of this stone-lined,
circular depression,

especially when
it was determined

to have a 13-foot diameter,

which matched the description

of the original Money Pit

when it was first
discovered in 1795.

However, one week ago,

the team discovered
a piece of pottery

that could date back to as
early as the 17th century,

along with an iron latch.

A latch that when analyzed

by archaeometallurgist
Emma Culligan,

was determined to have
the exact same composition

as other artifacts
directly connected

to Sir William Phips,

the 17th century English
politician and privateer

who is believed by some

to have buried
treasure in the Money Pit

around 1687.

LAIRD: We have a big
rock here, right in the wall.

Maybe if you can
tickle it out a bit.

-Oh, I'm sure I can.
-[Laird laughs]

-FIONA: Yes.
-JAMIE: Nice.

MARTY: We've got
a very mysterious,

very old round rock structure

which is still being excavated,

but it's full of artifacts,

with no record of
human habitation.

Then Laird lets me know that

I can do something I am fond of,

which is to pull the
big rocks, at least, off

with the backhoe.

FIONA: Well, that really helps.

MARTY: And that is going to get

the ball rolling really fast

and so I'm eager to do it.

Yeah, that's it, right?

-LAIRD: Yep. That's good.
-Okay.

LAIRD: We're starting
to see a wall. Maybe?

There should be
another 90-degree corner

-somewhere over there?
-That's the hope.

So, ideally, we'd find the
base of a nice structure here.

MARTY: It's pretty
kind of hard to believe.

I mean, this is
massive and yet not...

not any reference to it.

-Yeah.
-It, yeah, it's very odd.

It was quite an occupation
for the time. Isn't it?

Yeah, it was a
substantial structure.

People weren't here for
just a month, were they?

-JAMIE: No.
-No.

I mean, we really
don't know what

this structure
was used for at all.

LAIRD: Not at the moment, no.

JACK: Because there could
have been some feature here

-that was older.
-Yeah.

That's why we need
to get rid of this stuff

and come down on the good stuff.

I think, Jamie, the
first thing you work on

is to the right where
the rock came out of.

JAMIE: Yeah, absolutely.

That's gonna be my first
area of att*ck for sure.

-Yeah.
-MARTY: Okay.

Well, I'm hoping it yields
some clues to what we're after.

-Carry on.
-All right, thank you.

-Thanks, Marty.
-Yeah.

JAMIE: Thank you.

LAIRD: All right. In we go.

The ultimate goal is to find

artifacts at the
bottom of the feature

and get a better idea

of when this
structure was built.

We know nothing about it.

We don't know who was there.

Uh, we don't know
why they were there.

And we don't know
when they were there.

So, this is a first step for us

to solving those questions.

Oh. Hey, Laird.

Yep.

You might want to
stop what you're doing

and come take a
look at this, my friend.

This is definitely the largest
artifact we've found here.

I can guarantee that.

What?

-JAMIE: How about that?
-LAIRD: Oh, wow.

FIONA: You think you can get it out in one piece?
-Oh, yeah.

FIONA: Oh, lovely!

JAMIE: This is incredible!

NARRATOR: While investigating

the mysterious
circular feature on Lot 5,

Jack Begley and
members of the team

have just made a potentially
important discovery.

JACK: That is a big
piece of pottery, isn't it?

LAIRD: It's coarse earthenware.

-We call it Anglo American ware.
-JAMIE: Okay.

LAIRD: So, it's
either from England

or it's from possibly
Pennsylvania.

Uh, would've been a
large cooking vessel.

When do you
think that'd date to?

So, very broadly,
second half of the 1700s,

-like maybe 1770s.
-Oh, wow.

NARRATOR: A
large piece of pottery,

that may predate the
discovery of the Money Pit

by more than two decades?

Was it left behind by those
who created this feature?

Or by someone who
found it already in place?

LAIRD: Cool. You have a bag?

FIONA: I do. It's
over in my knapsack.

All right. I'll go put it there.

-Thanks.
-Great find.

Okay, let's find
the rest of it now.

NARRATOR: As Jack Begley
and members of the team

look for additional clues

in the circular
depression on Lot 5...

-Away we go, mate!
-RICK: Okay.

NARRATOR: ...less
than 100 yards away

Rick Lagina and Gary Drayton

are searching an area

where they have made
some of the oldest discoveries

ever documented
not only on Oak Island

but in all of North America.

RICK: You're about
due for a coin, Gary.

I am, overdue a coin.

-Yay! It's a coin!
-[laughter]

NARRATOR: One week ago,

Gary, along with Rick,

Marty and their
partner Craig Tester...

SANDY: This is
clearly Roman design.

-[laughter]
-Roman, baby!

NARRATOR: ...unearthed
four ancient coins in this area,

making a total of five

that have been
discovered in the past year.

Incredibly, three of these coins

have been determined by
numismatist Sandy Campbell

to date between


and to also be of Roman origin.

RICK: Lot 5 is a
complete mystery.

It's a mystery in terms of
the man-made constructs,

uh, the kinds of artifacts

that have come
out of the ground,

it's mystifying.

GARY: It's got to come out,
'cause I don't know what it is.

-Right in the middle, mate.
-Okay.

GARY: Thank you, sir.

[detector beeping]

Sounds a little bit better now.

[beeping]

RICK: Come on, be something.

Some kind of strap.

And this looks
like it goes down,

like to a point there,
and then down there.

It's almost decorative.
Like a decorative strap.

RICK: Mm-hmm. Yeah,
it could be just something

broken off of something else.

Yeah, a lot of these straps
were around boxes, or chests.

-That would be cool.
-There you go.

I would imagine this has
something to do with whatever

that depression is over there.

NARRATOR: A strap?
Possibly from a box?

Or chest?

Could Gary be correct

that it might be related

to the nearby
circular depression?

Or might it possibly
be connected

to the numerous Roman coins

that the team has
found in this area?

GARY: That CT scanner
will give us a good view of this.

At that point, you no
longer have to speculate

as to what it is, you
speculate as to its purpose.

-Yeah.
-RICK: The information that Emma

and the, uh, CT
scan will provide,

might be very highly
revealing what it means

to the feature on Lot 5.

You can't argue
with the science.

It will be what it will be,

and hopefully that information

connects up to
the greater mystery.

GARY: Let's see if we
can rustle up another find.

[detector beeping]

[beeping rapidly]

We've got something
in this area.

Let me just brush the stuff away

and then take another
swing, all right?

[detector beeping]

Not sure what it is.
It's this side of that root.

[grunts] Wow.

It's not an easy one.

GARY: Huh.

[detector beeping]

Think it's out.

-Could be iron.
-[beeping]

It is iron.

Chunky iron. Look at that.

The heck is that?

No idea.

-Heavy?
-Oh, yeah. It's heavy.

Well, I believe this is
some kind of fastener

by the look of it.

-Mm-hmm.
-And it could be a rose-head type fastener.

It's old.

A lot of that old,
hand-forged iron

tends to be on the heavy side.

RICK: Well, we're close

to the most prominent
feature on Lot 5, right?

And if there was a structure,

what do you need to
put a structure together?

-The fasteners, right?
-Yeah.

RICK: Why are we
finding bits of iron

on lots where significant
finds are made?

It is very strange
given the fact that

iron was a valuable resource,

and you wouldn't just waste it.

So, what is the explanation?

As of yet, I don't
think we know.

And these are the type of
things that you show to Carmen.

And you never know, it could be

more than what we believe it is.

-Adding to the story on Lot 5.
-Yep.

Emma's gonna be busy.

NARRATOR: Later
that afternoon...

TERRY: This is
the one, gentlemen.

This could be the
one, right here.

-Hi, guys.
-Oh, hi, guys.

-Hey.
-What's going on?

Uh, we're just pushing
to 108 right now.

NARRATOR: ...Marty
Lagina and his son Alex

join Craig Tester and
other members of the team

in the Money Pit area.

-We're going from 98 to 108.
-Okay!

NARRATOR: ...as the drilling
operation in borehole D.5N-26.5

has now reached the target depth

where they hope to
encounter a tunnel

and evidence of buried treasure.

Now, this is really the money
stroke here from 98 to 108.

We'll pull that up.
I mean, right there,

that should have top to bottom

our intersection of the tunnel.

If there is a tunnel.

-What do we got, Mike?
-108.



Oh, here we go.
Another one right here.

There's wood. We got it!

-What?
-Really?

Right on. Excellent.

Wow.

-106 probably?
-Yeah.

Yep.

It's back up higher here.

There's wood there as well, yep.

CHARLES: Comin' in!

-Thanks, Mike.
-Thanks, Mike.

Perhaps another piece?

Wow. About 106 and a half,
we intersected that beam.

This does in no way resemble
soft, tight, dense maroon till.

This is very soft and slushy.

-Interesting.
-Terry, is that--

Is that another chunk?

Something there.
What's that? What's that?

SCOTT: Oh, yeah, that's
a nice chunk right there.

Another good
chunk of it right here.

TERRY: Wow.

SCOTT: Lots of
little flecks in here.

So, we see kind of a debris
trail here, coming down.

And we get bigger and
bigger as we come down

toward the chunk
at the bottom here.

There it is, guys.

We must be close to
some type of a structure.

And I'm guessing...

it's probably a tunnel.

TERRY: It's got to be a tunnel.

Is it the same structure?

-We're not sure.
-ALEX: It's possible.

NARRATOR: In the Money Pit area,

the Oak Island team
has just recovered

evidence of a possible tunnel

several feet east
of the Garden Shaft.

The question is:

could it be the same tunnel

believed to run directly
below the feature

and into the Baby Blob

where they have detected
high-trace evidence

of both silver and gold?

-Hi, Rick. How you doing?
-RICK: Hey.

Core is down at that end.

Go on down there.
Brief him, Scott.

Well, you can see in this
core we've been finding wood.

It really kind of
picks up here to here.

And you'll notice it's
on a pretty good line

with the Garden Shaft tunnel,

which we find over
on the west side.

Rick, that wood right there

matches pretty much exactly.

Yep. This could
potentially be our first hit

of the Garden Shaft
tunnel on this side.

MARTY: The reason
it's likely, in my mind,

that this wood we
just found is associated

with the tunnel underneath
the Garden Shaft

is because it lines up

with other hits we
have to the west

and it's at the proper depth.

This one is a mystery tunnel.

We don't know
where this one goes,

we don't know who did
it, we don't know why.

I think this thing is
proving to be very long,

-and it's-it's mysterious.
-Yeah.

I wonder if we couldn't
rush an expedited C-14 test.

-Yes.
-Yes.

The effort here is about
dating that structure.

Does it reflect original work,

or does it reflect
searcher work?

And if it's not searcher,
it could lead to anything.

It could lead to
an offset chamber.

Well, I mean, I
think this is a good...

a good discovery.

This is the first wood

we've gotten on the east side

of the Garden Shaft.

MARTY: Correct.
It's more verification,

which makes it really exciting

about what Dumas
is going to find

when they go down.

But we have to keep following it

because it could be a tunnel

to the offset
chamber that we seek.

NARRATOR: Could Marty
Lagina's assessment be correct?

Is it possible that when
Dumas Contracting Limited

is permitted to extend the
bottom of the Garden Shaft

they will encounter a tunnel

that may lead them
to the fabled treasure

that people have
been trying to find

for more than two centuries?

MARTY: We need to keep going.

And I'd jump pretty far
this time. Like ten feet.

Yep. We'll get more information

the closer we get to
the Garden Shaft itself.

-I agree.
-Okay. Good.

Let's follow it
and see what it is.

MARTY: Okay. Let's pick a hole.

STEVE: Sounds good.

NARRATOR: The
following morning...

IAN: They just pushed in, right?

CHARLES: Yeah.

He's got 30 feet of
core barrel on there.

NARRATOR: ...as the
drilling of a new borehole

known as D.5N-25.5

begins in the Money Pit area...

-RICK: There he is.
-CARMEN: How are you?

-Carmen.
-Hey, Carmen, how are you?

-Not too bad.
-NARRATOR: Rick Lagina

and members of the team
meet with blacksmithing expert

Carmen Legge at the Oak
Island Interpretive Centre.

As you see, we've got
a bunch of items here

that have been recovered
from a specific lot of interest.

I see that.

NARRATOR: Carmen
has been invited

to examine some of the
artifacts that were recently

discovered on Lot 5,

including a 17th century
iron latch that was unearthed

in the mysterious circular
depression one week ago.

CARMEN: Well, I'll
start with this one here,

because you can
see that it's a wedge

about four inches long
with a ring through it.

The thickness of it
indicates that it's very old.

I'd like to see the...
the scan of this,

uh, up on the screen for us.

Yeah, sure thing.

NARRATOR: In order to help
Carmen examine the artifact,

Emma Culligan is
presenting an image

that she generated using

the SkyScan 1273 CT scanner.

The device emits
X-ray radiation,

which can penetrate corrosion
and sediment on objects

to produce
three-dimensional images

of them and their finer details.

RICK: Does that help you at all?

Oh, yes, certainly does, yeah,

'cause you can see
down at the bottom there,

there's a certain amount
of wear onto it as well.

Hey, can you turn it
around so I can see the top?

Yeah, that looks like it
wasn't used for repeated use...

So it was inserted in
whatever it was into and left.

It would be nice to
be able to analyze

-the metal, as well.
-Emma?

So, the ring bolt's got
no modern indicators.

And it's got the potassium
and calcium content throughout,

consistently matching
with old context metal.

But the most
interesting thing about

this one is that it matched,



with artifacts from
the William Phips site.

Yeah, at least 17th century.

-Yeah.
-RICK: When William Phips recovered

gold and silver
from the Concepcíon,

the salvage of the Concepcíon,

there is, uh... a growing
body of evidence

that perhaps he came here.

We know that Phips found
silver on the Concepcíon.

And I believe
some of the treasure

from the Concepcíon
was secreted to Oak Island.

Very interesting.

NARRATOR: In 2019,



Scott Clarke presented
a stunning theory

to Rick and members of the team.

According to his
research, in 1687,

the English politician turned
privateer, Sir William Phips,

conspired with a
high-ranking Freemason

named Captain
Andrew Belcher to bury

a vast cache of
treasure in the Money Pit,

which they had salvaged
from the Concepcíon,

a famed Spanish
galleon that sank

off the coast of the
Dominican Republic

in 1641...

while transporting more
than 100 tons of gold,

silver and jewels.

I was contacted by Frank
White who had some

archaeological artifacts from
the William Phips birthplace.

NARRATOR: Since that
meeting, Emma and Laird obtained

and analyzed a
number of metal artifacts

that are known to have
belonged to Sir William Phips.

And, incredibly, the artifact
found in the circular depression

on Lot 5 is an exact
compositional match

to those objects.

JACK: What would
that be used for?

CARMEN: Well,

the wedge part could be used

for driving into wood or rock.

My guess is-is, it
was driven into wood.

It could be used
for many purposes.

-GARY: Wow.
-JACK: Yeah!

CARMEN: If you wanted to hoist
something or lower something

into the ground you would
use something like that.

Wow.

NARRATOR: In the Oak
Island Interpretive Centre

blacksmithing expert
Carmen Legge has just

informed Rick Lagina and
members of the team that

the metal latch found
in the circular depression

on Lot 5, and which is
believed to be connected

to the 17th century
privateer Sir William Phips

may have been used to place
heavy cargo underground.

We have the possible Phips
connection in the metallurgy,

though I'm not sure
what that tells us other

than that feature
continues to be interesting.

GARY: What I see
here is connections

to a certain story from 1795.

-[laughter] -Hoists,
block and tackles.

We do know he
was in Nova Scotia.

If there was an enterprise
conducted here on the part

of Phips, there would be
many more objects to find.

But we are not done with Lot 5.

So it may yet prove to
be a very interesting find.

Perhaps even significant.

What's next, Carmen?

Um, I think I'll go over
to this one here now.

GARY: I'll give you
a little bit of context

on that chunky piece of iron.

Found on Lot 5 and
when it first came up,

I knew it was old because
it's nice and heavy.

And it just had a feel like

it was some kind of broken
tool to me or a fastener.

It's very old.

This is much older.

Can we have a, uh, scan of that?

-I need to see the head.
-The head? Yep.

CARMEN: From what I
see there, on the head there,

it looks like it's a broken
end off of something.

-GARY: Yeah.
-JACK: It looks to me like it could be

-some sort of a chisel.
-Yes. This could be a, uh,

tool that could be used
for mining or tunneling.

Wow. And with the size that
you've got in your hand, mate,

how much bigger
would it have been?

CARMEN: Lengthwise, you'd
probably be looking at a foot.

If it's shorter than that,

again, it might not be
long enough to fulfill

the purpose of
what you want it for.

Could we see the
metallurgy, Emma?

Sure thing.

No modern elements.

Potassium and calcium.

So it's, it's an older metal.

So we've got a lot of
old fasteners and tools,

and more to come, mate.

Yeah. I'll go with
this one here next.

It looks like a bow tie strap.

-You can see how... Yeah, you can see the...
-You can see the bow tie.

-What's a bow tie strap?
-CARMEN: It was a decorative piece.

It added decoration to it.

It would be narrow,
wide, narrow, wide.

All the way around
to decorate a chest.

-Oh, so, specifically, chest decorations?
-Yeah.

-Wooden boxes and chest.
-Okay.

RICK: That's
exceedingly interesting.

Is there a cultural influence?

Yes.

-French.
-Really?

-CARMEN: Yeah.
-Wow.

NARRATOR: A decorative
strap from a chest?

One that is not only
possibly of French origin,

but may also predate
the 17th century?

If so, who brought
it to Oak Island?

We've found important
artifacts that have been French.

We can't forget, of
course, the lead cross

where the testing has
indicated that the lead came

from the southern
part of France, so...

Yeah. Doesn't get
any better than that.

It's curious that
this stuff is found

near an area on the Zena map

that is a French map,

that is a possible
location for a hatch.

NARRATOR: In 2016, the
late author and researcher

Zena Halpern presented
maps of Nova Scotia

and Oak Island
featuring French writing,

and what she believed
had been created between

the 12th and 14th centuries by
members of the Knights Templar.

This led Zena to
theorize that Oak Island

had been visited numerous times

by the Templars and
related organizations

such as the Freemasons
in order to hide

sacred valuables.

Is it possible

that the discoveries made

by Rick, Marty and their team,

such as the lead cross and
the numerous finds on Lot 5

that predate the
discovery of the Money Pit,

offer mounting evidence
that Zena's theory is true?

RICK: We have long
puzzled about the possibility

that these French
items, the lead cross

and Zena's map were associated

with some depositional work.

I have always
believed that this work

on Oak Island, the
original deposition work,

was started incredibly early.

We just have to fill in
the gaps more precisely,

more accurately,
more definitively.

But it's very interesting.

CARMEN: The artifacts
you've shown me over the years,

is very unique.

There's artifacts
coming out of Oak Island

that I haven't seen
anywhere else.

That's the reason for
this type of analysis.

What we are trying to do
is come to an understanding

of what the item
represents in terms of the...

complexity of the
story on Oak Island.

It's not a simple process.

GARY: Makes me
want to get back to Lot 5

-and find some more.
-Well, let's have at her.

That's why we have
a lot more to dig.

We have a lot more to excavate.

All I can say,
Carmen, is thank you.

Appreciate it.

CARMEN: See you later.

NARRATOR: As the team
concludes their meeting

at the Interpretive Centre...

STEVE: As long as this
borehole stays straight,

-we should hit the tunnel below.
-CHARLES: Sounds good.

NARRATOR: Surveyor
Steve Guptill, Oak Island

historian Charles Barkhouse

and geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner

continue monitoring
the drilling operation

in borehole D.5N-25.5.

He's got something else coming.

NARRATOR: A borehole

located several feet
east of the Garden Shaft

where they hope to
encounter a tunnel

at a depth of some 105 feet

and more evidence
of precious metals.

STEVE: The elevation of the
wood that we've been finding

in this area, matches the
wood that we found for the tunnel

that goes under
the Garden Shaft.

All I'm saying is I
hope we hit wood again.

-CHARLES: Yeah.
-STEVE: Got a core?

-This is 98 feet.
-OTHERS: 98!

CHARLES: Let's
hope it's a good one.

IAN: Thank you. Look at that.

-It gets soft right here.
-STEVE: Oh, yeah, you can feel it.

-You can see it.
-IAN: Yeah. You can see it.

You can take it and you
can just break it apart.

Different color, too.

What this means to me,

when you get those
different colors,

it's not standard gray till,

it is possible that you're
in disturbed ground.

To me it looks odd.

-It does look odd.
-IAN: Yeah.

CHARLES: Core coming out.

Let's go, guys.

Looks like they got a full run.

They've got a full run.

What've you got?

Uh, 104 and a half.

STEVE: This is just slush.

This would be the
depth of the tunnel.

So we might be inside of it.

Seeing any wood?

-We got a little bit.
-IAN: Are you sure?

There's a little bit,
just a little bit of...

wood debris at the bottom here.

IAN: Yeah. That-That's wood.

-What we've got here is a tunnel.
-Yep.

I would say we are
probably inside the tunnel.

-Right.
-Yep.

CHARLES: Very, very interesting.

STEVE: Well, we've got
Craig and Scott coming.

-Just in time.
-CRAIG: Gentlemen!

-STEVE: Hey, guys. How ya doing?
-Good.

You guys joined the
party at the right time.

NARRATOR: It is an exciting
moment for the Oak Island

team in the Money Pit area.

IAN: There's the
wood. If you look

around in there,
you can find little bits.

NARRATOR: Nearly 105 feet deep

in borehole D.5N-25.5,

they have once again
drilled into a possible tunnel.

A tunnel that may
lead to the source

of the precious metals,

which have been detected

at the same approximate depth

within a 20-foot radius
of the Garden Shaft.

STEVE: I do think
this is the tunnel

that goes under
the Garden Shaft.

-Everything lines up too well not to be.
-Okay.

Typically, we've been going
out the bottom of it at 106.

-Yeah.
-So I think the next drill,

if we hit wood, we
should have the bottom.

CRAIG: Potentially.

We'll see, we'll
see what comes up.

The way this
tunnel is positioned,

it is sure pointing
towards the Garden Shaft.

It's not one of the
searcher tunnels,

so is it an original tunnel
leading the way to a vault?

CHARLES: We got a core coming!

CRAIG: The water
chemistry is telling us

it's a very important area,

so we just need
to follow the tunnel.

STEVE: Here we go, fellas.

What've you got, Mike?

-111 and a half.
-111 and a half.

SCOTT: There you
go. There's our wood.

There's our tunnel.

-Right there.
-MIKE: Oh, yeah!

So let's get a measurement
on that then. See where we're at.



-STEVE: Roughly, that's the zone of interest.
-Right.

-So this is matching up well.
-Yeah.

Well, we definitely
have the tunnel.

I mean, this is a floorboard
or ceiling board that fell down.

But it's, you know,
it's definitely wood.

It's definitely at the
interval we want.

Yep.

RICK: We've hit this tunnel

in multiple locations.

I think we now have a certainty
at the elevation of this tunnel.

Right now, we have
suspicions of a target.

We don't have a
really hard target.

And thus the reason
to try to follow that line

of tunnel detection holes

to understand the direction
that the tunnel is taking.

Because we are going to
extend the Garden Shaft.

And then there's the
possibility that we could

put in our own tunnel
and maybe it will

help us find the treasure.

What about drilling another well

in this area?

Yeah. I think
that's the best thing

-to do at this point.
-Okay.

CRAIG: All right!

MIKE: That sounds good.

NARRATOR: The
following morning...

RICK: What are we
looking at and what

have we done, from a
scientific perspective,

to understand the importance

-of these finds?
-...in the Interpretive Centre

Rick Lagina meets
with archaeometallurgist

Emma Culligan and other
members of the team to receive

her analysis of two wood
samples that were collected

from different boreholes
during the past two weeks.

The first was obtained

from borehole DN-12,

which sets to the west
of the Garden Shaft

in the Baby Blob or
possible treasure zone.

While the second was
taken just several feet east

of the Garden Shaft in borehole

D.5N-26.5.

STEVE: So we've spent a
lot of this year in the Money Pit

looking for the tunnel that
goes under the Garden Shaft.

And we've been trying to find it
on the west side, which would be

this piece and the east
side, which is this piece

if it's the same tunnel.

And to add to that, too, I
mean, we know last year

whenever they were
digging in the Garden Shaft,

they were taking some
samples on the way down

and we saw some
gold in the wood.

We may see something
like that in this.

Something to indicate that
we're still close to that source.

And right now, we are
sort of at a stop gate.

We've drilled a lot on the
west side, in the Baby Blob.

And we're running out
of room on the east side.

So any piece of information
she can give us is gonna

help move this forward.

NARRATOR: Using a device known

as an X-ray fluorescence
spectrometer,

Emma has conducted
elemental analysis

on the two wood samples in order

to determine if either contain
evidence of precious metals.

Well, I think the next turn
of events is up to Emma.

-Right, Emma, what did we learn?
-Yep.

So you do see a lot of, uh,
the potassium and aluminum,

which is what we're
used to seeing.

-RICK: Mm-hmm.
-Um...

Unfortunately, no
gold or silver or tin.

But I am finding
points with palladium,

which is something
that I was not

expecting, especially
at that depth.

.39, which is pretty
high for palladium.

And the actual
geological association?

I think Moya would be
a better judge of that.

-Moya?
-Okay.

Palladium can be found

in gold and platinum deposits.

So, if there is
the gold treasure,

maybe the gold in the
treasure was sourced

from a gold palladium deposit.

NARRATOR: In the
Interpretive Centre, Rick Lagina

and members of the
team have just learned

that two wood samples
obtained from a believed

tunnel located more than 90
feet deep in the Money Pit area,

and which may run directly
below the Garden Shaft

contain high
traces of palladium,

a precious metal
that could be related

to the fabled Oak
Island treasure.

Is that for both pieces of wood?

Yeah, so there is
exhibit on both pieces.

-Okay.
-EMMA: Yeah.

Like, it's not what I
would be expecting.

Right.

MOYA: So there isn't

really a palladium deposit,

like, here on this island,

obviously, um, but
maybe there's, like, trace

palladium within the
treasure, if there is treasure.

NARRATOR: First
classified in 1803

by the English chemist
William Hyde Wollaston,

in modern times palladium

is commonly used to produce

hydro-carbon reducing devices

such as catalytic
converters for automobiles.

However, it has
often been associated

with jewelry made
of gold, silver

and platinum, dating
back to as early

as the Ancient Egyptian era.

It's not a common thing that
you find, especially around here.

-That's even stranger then.
-Yeah.

SCOTT: We should also
review the water data to see

if there's any indication of
palladium in the water data.

RICK: Palladium might be
associated with gold refining

or gold being in the ground.

That would be exceedingly
interesting to me.

We have a piece of
wood at an elevation

we have significant
interest in, so

it's not just a piece
of wood, it's a clue.

And this clue
needs to be followed.

STEVE: This is
great information.

We have a trace on both that
suggests it's the same tunnel.

I think we need to get it
dated, so C-14 carbon dating.

RICK: I mean, it's interesting
analysis, interesting breakdown.

But let's retest and see what
happens and then go from there.

We can learn
something from this,

and it may be
highly instructive.

Ultimately, data like
this will affect what

decisions are made
regarding the Garden Shaft.

Anyway, uh, thank you, Emma.

-Thank you, yeah.
-As always, appreciate it.

And I think the rest of
us need to go back out

and to our specified work areas.

Okay. Thanks, everybody.

ALEX: Yep.

NARRATOR: After another week

of surprising discoveries
on Oak Island,

Rick, Marty, Craig
and their team

have good reason to
believe that they are close

to the ultimate breakthrough
in a 228-year-old mystery.

And while the evidence that
they have unearthed shows

that the Money Pit is more
complex than anyone ever knew,

the mounting clues
suggest that they are

narrowing in on something
not only of great value,

but, also, incredible
historic importance.

But one looming
question still remains.

Will a deadly curse,
that has claimed the lives

of six men so far,

stand in their way?

Next time on The
Curse of Oak Island...

That is an unusual find!

But you see on the top right?

-GARY: Yeah. Ooh, yeah.
-We get those crazy Roman numerals

and the U-shaped structure, too?

TERRY: I got seven
and a half foot of tunnel.

-Yeah, that's nice, eh?
-STEVE: You don't build a tunnel like this,

-unless you are moving something important.
-Yep.

We want to take a
look down in that cavity.

There we go.

SCOTT:
Slowly. Whoa!