11x14 - Rick and Mortar

[bunniefuu]

Tonight
on The Curse of Oak Island...

It's catching on something.

Look at that thing.

There's something curious

- about this boulder.
- That's like

the Nolan's Cross boulder.

This soil is super compact.

This was constructed
for a purpose.

- Whoa.
- It's an almost exact match

to a Money Pit sample.

Wow.

The association
that could be made

is mind-blowing.

- What is that?
- Pretty solid chunk of metal.

That could be a piece
of the treasure vault.

Yep.

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.

Hey, Paul.

Morning, guys. How's it going?

Well, we're hoping
for an update.

So, we finished
drilling a couple holes.

- Good man.
- As a new day

begins on Oak Island

for brothers Rick
and Marty Lagina,

they arrive in the fabled
Money Pit area

to check on the progress
of an operation

that they hope
will finally reveal the answers

to a 229-year-old
treasure mystery.

It's getting close.

The first hole,
kind of seemed like

it was deflecting off a wall.

Where are we again?

So, that... it would be
the north side.

One week ago,

after extending
the mid-18th century structure

known as the Garden Shaft
down to a depth of 90 feet,

representatives
from Dumas Contracting Limited

used a coring drill to penetrate
a mysterious tunnel

located at a depth of 95 feet,

which is believed
to run due west

toward an area known
as the Baby Blob.

It is in this region
where water testing

that was conducted in
previously drilled boreholes

has detected high-trace evidence
of silver, gold and other metals

between 80 and 120 feet
underground.

There is a structure
of some sort down there,

a wooden structure of some sort,
and you're about

- to unearth that, right?
- That's right.

Okay. That's enough said for me.

So, today,
we put in the landing.

We're adding another set.

Now, after
unsuccessfully drilling

into the believed tunnel
for a second time,

over the course
of the next week,

Dumas will proceed
with constructing

the final level, or set,
to extend the Garden Shaft

down to a total depth
of some 95 feet,

where they hope to intersect
the mysterious passageway

and find out
what it may contain.

We've invested
a lot of time and energy

delineating this tunnel.

And I think
there's great anticipation

on everyone's part

to try to, well,
to not only put eyes on it

but to see where it may lead.

If the tunnel
predates the shaft,

it makes the tunnel
far more interesting

than just finding
a "previously unknown" tunnel.

- It's all good news.
- Yes.

I'm starting to get eager now.

- You've got my toes tickling.
- You're so close,

- you can smell it there now.
- Yeah, yeah.

All right, let's let him
get back to work,

because we're poised
to finally do this.

Okey doke.

- Let's go, guys.
- Yep.

- Thanks, Paul.
- Okay, thank you.

Thank you, Paul.

As the operation

to deepen the Garden Shaft
continues...

- Here we are.
- Yep.

- We're back at it now.
- Yep.

- H-8.
- H-8.

Approximately 60 feet

to the southwest,

geologist Terry Matheson

and Oak Island historian
Charles Barkhouse

are monitoring a new core
drilling operation

in Borehole H-8,

a borehole that was previously
excavated in 2017.

This turned into a very,
very interesting hole.

- For a number of reasons.
- My goodness.

What is this?

After initially
recovering pieces

of parchment
and leather book binding

with a six-inch-diameter
core barrel in H-8,

Rick, Marty
and their partner Craig Tester

speculated that
they may have encountered

the fabled Chappell Vault,

a seven-foot-tall treasure chest
encased in concrete

that Frederick Blair
and William Chappell

reportedly drilled into
back in 1897

and recovered not only
evidence of gold

but also, a piece of parchment
bearing the letters "V-I."

Come on, baby.

Make hole!

Incredibly, when the team
expanded H-8 by installing

a 60-inch caisson
in the fall of 2017,

a large object was encountered
at a depth of 170 feet.

He's on something.

He thinks it's perfectly flat.

Wood?

He thinks wood.

Unfortunately,

as the team drove
the H-8 caisson deeper,

in the hopes
of breaching the vault,

the plug, or earthen spoils
inside of it, fell out,

pushing the potential
treasure chest

somewhere deeper below ground.

Anyway, today, we're going
back down this hole

all these years later.

We did not finish that dig.

So, it's possible
that it broke the vault open.

So, this is gonna be a look

at the sediments,
or pieces of the plug.

Maybe pieces of treasure,
Charles.

Yeah.

Now, after recent water tests

and subsurface scans
in this area

have offered more evidence
of potential valuables,

it is Rick, Marty
and the team's hope

that if they can pinpoint
the possible location

of the vault,
they will arrange to excavate

a much larger diameter caisson
in order to recover it.

The material that fell out
of the H-8, caisson

had to have migrated somewhere.

The possibility certainly
exists that this is an area

to which the Chappell Vault
has fallen.

It could be deeper,
and we'll certainly press on.

So anyway, whatever...
We-we're in it to win it.

We got to exhaust
all possibilities.

Cross your fingers
that we hit the right section,

and maybe the best section.

And hopefully today
we'll find out where it went.

Exactly.

While the excavations proceed

in the Money Pit area,

in the southeast corner
of the triangle-shaped swamp

located near the center
of Oak Island...

- This is a great day.
- Yeah.

That is impressive.

- That should go the distance.
- Yeah.

Metal detection
expert Gary Drayton,

Jack Begley and Billy Gerhardt

are about to conduct
a new large-scale dig

in a region of the brackish bog

near the potentially


So, we're gonna be digging

in the deepest part

- of the swamp.
- Yeah.

We haven't really done
a whole lot of work

in this particular area,
and it's surrounded

by really great finds, so...

Yeah. With the stone road

and stone path,
this was a work area,

so we got to keep
our eyes peeled for anything.

- Right.
- Excellent.

Well, should we get stuck in?

Yep.

Of the many
remarkable discoveries

that the team has made over
the past decade in the swamp,

the stone road,
or possible ship's wharf,

may be a critical key to solving
the Oak Island mystery.

Look at how
beautifully constructed.

It is not only
a near identical match

to a road that Rick Lagina
and members of the team

saw in 2021 in Alqueidão
da Serra, Portugal,

where the Portuguese sect
of the Knights Templar

maintained a stronghold

from the 12th
to the 17th centuries...

This looks old.

- That does, yeah.
- Yeah.

But it is also
in an area of the swamp

where they have unearthed
numerous clues

such as a heavy chain
with a hook,

suggesting the road was created
in order to off-load

some kind of cargo
onto Oak Island.

All right, first bucket
of opportunity is coming up.

Now, it is the team's hope

to find more clues
that will help explain

the true origin
of the stone road,

and hopefully,
evidence of valuables.

Gosh.

Smells like treasure.

The southeast corner of the bog

is the most interesting location
for one simple reason.

We want to understand the reason

for the construct
of the stone road.

- Hey.
- Hey, Rick.

And if it had something to do

with the original
treasure story,

then that whole area
is of significant interest.

Stinky.

You guys get back to work,
I'm gonna poke about

in the pile, try to...
see what I can find.

- Okay, mate.
- Okay?

Come on. Where are you?

Nothing.

Look, I've said this many times.

I hate that swamp
'cause it stinks.

But every time we've dug in it,

we've recovered
interesting stuff, clues,

and I don't think we've dug
ten percent of it,

so we're not done.

No targets yet?

Not yet, no.

Wow, he's catching on something.

What is that?

Look at that.

Rious a,

unlike other ones in the swamp.

It's like it's sitting
on top of the peat, right?

Which it shouldn't be if it's,
if it's glacier, right?

So it was moved before.

Yeah. I-I agree.

Near the stone road

in the southeast corner
of the swamp,

Rick Lagina
and other members of the team

have just uncovered
a massive boulder

that may have been
purposely placed into position

by someone, but if so, by whom?

And for what purpose?

Can't believe how easy
I can move it.

The other thing
that's interesting here is,

see how it's,
it's a row of rocks?

Yep.

We got this big flat rock
and it's like a

giant set of stone stairs
almost here coming up the bank.

- Hard to say.
- Yeah.

Maybe they were doing work
around that boulder.

Yep. We know the road is there,

we know the path is there,

we know the Money Pit
is right there.

The opportunities are limitless

as what could have went on
right in this very spot.

Absolutely. Yep.

Let's just GPS it
and keep digging.

A row or staircase of stones?

Leading to the massive boulder

in the southeast corner
of the swamp?

Could this feature
have been constructed

as some kind of symbol?
Or marker?

And could it be related
to the stone road

and perhaps created

in order to hide something
of great value?

I'm not going any deeper.

It's as though

there's some
sort of rock platform here.

So it's not well-seated
in the organics

and the inference is
that it was placed there

and not deposited by a glacier.

That makes it interesting.

Look at that.

And so my first thought
really is

we need to find a way
to take a look at it.

That's a board.

How deep do you think it was?

- Two feet.
- Yeah.

Two feet. It's out there though.

This is definitely
a shaped board.

That is thick.

Hey, check this out, Rick.

Look at the thickness of this.

Now this is in good condition,
so it's got to be a good wood.

That looks like it could be
ship's decking or planking

'cause of the thickness of it.

That's a big one.

But there was
no metal ringing off of it?

No. I checked it for fasteners.
No fasteners.

It was two feet down
and it was out there.

The planks they are finding

could be called ship's planking.

We've found boards that we think
might be associated with a ship.

That very near vicinity,
of course,

one of the most enigmatic
finds we've ever made

is the ship's railing
from 600 or 700 AD.

So that area, hopefully,
will yield some answers.

It's worth bringing back,
washing it off, take a look,

see if there is anything on it,
nail holes or anything.

All right, mate.

We're finding
more questions in the swamp.

Every time we've
undertaken draining it

and digging somewhere,
we've found something.

And some meaningful somethings.

But no one knows why
these things are in the swamp.

It's swampy.

So, yeah, would I like
an answer to that?

Yes, I'd like an answer to that.

Simple answer would be,

I'm hoping
for whatever is, is there.

Any metal is gonna stand out
in this stuff.

That would be something.

All right. Let's see
what we can get done.

Later that afternoon,

as the excavation
and the drilling operations

continue in the Money Pit area,

near the shoreline on Lot 5,

located on the western side
of the island...

Wow, you guys have done
a lot of work

since I've last been here.

I bet it looks different,
doesn't it?

A lot different.

Jack Begley joins members

of the archaeology team

as they continue
their meticulous excavation

of a mysterious
stone foundation...

A foundation that was
discovered earlier this year

buried beneath
a circular depression.

So, what's going on over here?

When we first expanded westward,

we thought that this stone line
feature was gonna continue.

- Yeah.
- And we assumed that this was where

the house structure sat
and that was just a basement.

But it is starting to curve in,

which is bizarre.

- It doesn't make any sense.
- Yeah.

But it's too big to be a house.

It's an occupational
spot for sure.

In the past year,

the team has made
significant discoveries

in and near this feature
that suggest

it may have been occupied
by multiple groups

during different time periods.

These discoveries include

a 14th century
lead barter token,

which is a compositional match
to the lead cross

that was discovered
at Smith's Cove in 2017,

two Venetian glass beads,
which were not only

once considered a form
of valuable currency

but which could date
to between 1500 and 1650,

and several metal tools,

which have been
scientifically linked

to the birthplace
of Sir William Phips...

The English politician
and privateer who some believe

buried a large cache
of Spanish treasure

in the Money Pit back in 1687.

So the plan today
is to make sure

that we define
this edge really well.

Well, we've been finding some
really good stuff around here.

I can't wait to see
what else we dig up in here.

All right.
Well, let's get to work

and see if we can figure out
what's going on here.

While the archaeologists
remove spoils... or earth...

From the foundation,

Jack is sifting them
through a screen

for clues that might explain
how this feature

may be connected
to the Oak Island mystery.

Based upon the different dates,

I'd say this starts
to speak more and more to

people being on Lot 5 earlier.

Bits of brick
and pottery and glass.

That's pretty cool.

Hopefully, we continue
to have more finds

and figure out
who exactly was here

and is it related
to the Money Pit story.

- Thank you.
- You girls are digging quickly.

Let us know
if we are swamping you

- and we'll give you a hand.
- No, no, no.

You're fine. I'm keeping up.

Good God.

Okay.

This is kind of
getting interesting.

This soil over here
is super compact.

It's not like the stuff
that was over there.

I may have found mortar.

Whoa.

- This is strange.
- Like concrete.

It's really strange.

- Hey, guys.
- Hey.

- We have another surprise.
- Cool.

I can't wait
to hear your take on this.

Near the shoreline of Lot 5

located on the western side
of Oak Island,

archaeologist Laird Niven
arrives

at the mysterious
stone foundation

after being informed

of a potentially
important discovery.

All of a sudden,
I hit this stuff

that's got a lot of ash
mixed into it,

crushed-up shale and stuff.

You can hear it.

It's, like, a-a grayish color

and it reminds me of, like,
a crude mortar or cement.

The mortar looks an awful lot

like the mortar that I found
when I was washing through.

- Money Pit material.
- Really?

Over the past several years,

the Oak Island team
has discovered

different forms of concrete

in several
of the massive caissons

they have excavated
across the Money Pit area.

A prime example was in 2019,

when this type of substance was
recovered in the spoils of RF-1.

A ten-foot-diameter caisson

located just a few feet
northeast of H-8,

which was also excavated
in the hopes of locating

the reportedly
concrete-encased Chappell Vault.

We could compare this sample
with the Money Pit sample.

See if they come
from the same source.

I would love to do that.

If you could get me a sample,
I'll take it right back

and, see what Emma has to say.

Okay, yeah, that sounds good.

This is a really difficult
feature to get answers from

because we don't quite
understand the structure.

So we're not exactly sure
what we're looking for.

It's important for us
to take a sample of this soil.

It would be interesting
to see if it corresponds

with the Money Pit.

And if it does,
it would suggest that

those areas were
operating at the same time

and were related.

Excellent.
You are doing a great job.

I like this.
I like what's coming up.

I don't know what it is,
but I like it.

We're trying
to figure that part out.

Okay. I'll take this
back to the lab...

Perfect.

And check in on you later.

All right.

I need to get back to sifting.

The following morning...

- Ready?
- Yep.

While representatives
from Dumas Contracting Limited

continue their efforts
to deepen the Garden Shaft

in the Money Pit area...

Are we getting our core?

- Here it comes, right now.
- Right now.

Several feet to the southwest...

God, I hope
something good is in this.

Marty Lagina and his son Alex

join other members of the team
at Borehole H-8

where they hope to find
evidence of the Chappell Vault

somewhere below
a depth of 180 feet.

It's a long one.

Get ready to slice and dice.

We know we had
the canister H-8 go down,

and it hit something big

that moved around underground
and went somewhere.

We're sure of that.

Yeah, there's a lot
of water in there.

It is possible that H-8

is very near
the original Money Pit.

So, we have to look deeper.

How deep are we, Adam?

We're at 211.

- 211?
- It's gonna be a mess.

Let's get our hands dirty,
gentlemen.

Ready?

This is the silt and the clay

and there is a few
little clumps of material

that might have
fallen from above.

There's a little chunk
of wood, right there.

It's just below
all our silt and whatnot.

And this sits
just on top of bedrock.

Start right there, Charles.

Come on. Be something.

You got something.

I've got something right here.

Excellent.

Want me to wash it down?

- Okay, guys.
- What is that?

A pretty solid chunk of metal.

That could be a piece
of the treasure vault.

My goodness. Cool.

This material to here,

that could be part of the plug.
No question.

The plug
could have disintegrated

and fallen off to one side.

- And all that stuff.
- That's right.

The plug that fell out was nine
feet or a little over nine feet.

- Right.
- And they chewed down one side of it

so we could still get
a significant size plug

- on one side or the other of the vault.
- Yep.

If the team has found
a portion of the plug,

or the spoils, that may have
pushed the Chappell Vault

deeper underground
when the H-8 caisson

was originally
excavated in 2017,

could that mean that they
are close to pinpointing

the legendary chest
of valuables?

- Hey, Rick.
- Hey, Rick. - Hi, Rick.

- How are you doing?
- Hey.

How deep are we?

Well, we are at 211 down there.

But here's the thing,
that little bit

could have been our plug.

Because if there
was a plug in there,

it probably didn't stay intact.

It probably broke up.

Well, that and probably
slid the vault

to one side or the other.

Slid to one side
or the other, right.

So, we need to move the rig
and come down

in another location.

I do believe

that material, whatever
was contained within it,

has fallen to
a far greater depth.

To what side and what cardinal
direction, we don't know.

I think at this point

the only way to exploit
this possible clue

is to continue
to do some drilling.

Okay, we need to figure out
where the next hole is.

Okey doke.

Sounds like a plan.

- Yep.
- Thanks, guys.

Later that afternoon...

Hey, Roger. How are you doing?

Soggy but otherwise good.

Come on in and sit down, guys.

Rick and Alex Lagina,
along with Scott Barlow,

join Roger Fortin in the Dumas
trailer in the Money Pit area,

where they are about to receive
a carbon dating report

regarding a wood sample

that was obtained one week ago

from the possible
treasure tunnel

located below the Garden Shaft.

I'm going to call
Craig and my dad

and get the info
right from Craig, so...

These guys from Dumas
bought into this process.

This is not a job to them.

They're excited, they're
interested, they're invested.

I want to see that somebody's
been down there a long time.

They have a right to know

what the fruits
of the labor has been.

So, I hope the results
are informative.

- Hey, Alex.
- Hey, Craig.

Um, I got Rick,
Scott and Roger here

and my dad's on the other line.

So, we are looking forward
to the carbon dating results.

Wow.

That's exciting.

Wow.

It is a potentially
historic moment

for Rick, Marty, Craig
and the Oak Island team.

That is, yeah,
that is something.

Yep.

A carbon dating test

that was conducted
on a wood sample

collected one week ago

from the possible treasure
tunnel below the Garden Shaft

has indicated that
the seven-foot-tall structure

could be nearly 400 years old.

So, there's a chance

this is connected
to the original Money Pit.

Right.

Incredibly, this is
the second wood sample

taken from the mysterious
tunnel this year

that has been dated
to as early as the 1600s.

This means that it
was likely constructed

more than a century
before the discovery

of the original Money Pit.

The dates are well,
well before any searcher

should have been
in this area tunneling.

I think that's in everybody's,
you know, vision right now

to deepen that Garden Shaft
and find out what's down there.

You have a tunnel,
previously unknown,

heading in the direction

where these high metal values
are being derived.

So, if this is original work,

then you're a small step closer

to the ultimate solution.

We have every reason
to continue the process

of trying to understand
what this tunnel represents.

- We have to get down there.
- No, absolutely.

And that's pretty well our next
step, where we're at right now.

Just getting to it, exposing it.

I think it's going
to answer a lot of questions

that we-we have right now.

- Yep.
- These results tell me you need to work faster.

Yeah. Yeah.

Okey doke. We'll let you
get to work, Roger.

- Thanks, Roger.
- Very good.

Thank you very much, gentlemen.

Great news.

The following morning

as representatives
from Dumas Contracting Limited

continue deepening
the Garden Shaft

in order to breach the tunnel

at a depth of some 95 feet...

- Hey, Billy.
- Hey, guys.

Ready to keep rolling, mate?

Keep rolling, Gary, I think.
Yep.

Got a lot of water in the hole,

but we can see the rock
a little better now.

Jack Begley
and metal detection expert

Gary Drayton join Billy Gerhardt

in the southeast region
of the swamp,

just north of the potentially


What is the swamp
battle plan today?

We'll go a little more
back towards the road.

And do the same thing,
we'll reach out,

and then continue back
towards the peninsula.

All right.
We'll get ready to get stuck in.

- Okay.
- Hopefully not literally.

Billy, Gary and Jack are eager

to confirm the potential
breakthrough discovery

they made two days ago

of yet another man-made
stone pathway in the swamp,

which appears to be leading
toward a massive boulder.

This is where
the real fun is, Gary.

Yep.

See if we get lucky.

We have found
all of these structures.

They imply purpose, intent.

To me, there's only
two trains of thought here

to try to explain the why
of the structures

found in the swamp.

One, they were ancillary
to other work,

whether that be
in the Money Pit or elsewhere.

Or two, there was depositional
work in the bog proper

and these facilitated that work.

Let's see.

I think we've got
a bit of planking here.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, definitely planking.

Look, it's got that like tongue
and groove effect going on it.

- Yeah.
- Wooden planking or siding.

- That looks intentional to me.
- Yeah.

- More bits of the ship.
- Yeah. For sure.

Good eye, Gary.

Look how deep it came out of.

Look on the other side, too.

- Yeah.
- Tongue and groove.

Does that go back
quite a long time?

Yeah.

All right. I'll set it aside.

Okay, mate.

We're finding a lot of decking
or planks,

which is very interesting

because we are actually
way out in the swamp.

Are these planks, these decks
part of a mystery ship

waiting to be found
in the swamp?

That would be
absolutely unbelievable.

It's still sloppy.

I hear clanging.
Is he hitting rocks?

Yeah. He's got a rock
in his bucket.

Yeah, it's a lot of rocks
in line with that big rock

and the shore,
but to the side there's none.

Yeah.

If you watch
where I put my bucket,

to this side

you know,
it's-it's nothing there.

But in here...

Yep.

I think it could be
some type of ramp,

leading up around here.

- Yeah.
- It could be you're right.

A ramp for something big.

This is gonna be good.

- Hey, guys.
- Hey, Rick.

- Anything?
- Billy feels like

he might have found
some other structure.

It's just hard
to see underneath the muck.

Yeah.

Billy, why don't you tell him

what you feel like you can feel?

It's a lot of rocks
in line with that big rock.

But as we move this way,
there's no stones at all.

Yeah.

After being alerted
that more of a possible

stone ramp, which may be
connected to a large boulder,

has been uncovered in the
southeast corner of the swamp,

Rick Lagina joins
Billy Gerhardt, Jack Begley

and Gary Drayton
to help investigate

the curious feature.

A little bit
of mud on top of them,

but they're
most definitely there.

Yeah.

And this boulder
is about the size

of some of those
other Nolan's Cross rocks.

Yeah. Definitely conical shape.

A cone-shaped boulder
in the swamp?

And similar
to those in Nolan's Cross?

First identified in 1981

by the late Fred Nolan,

Nolan's Cross
is a perfectly symmetrical,

megalithic formation
of six boulders

near the center of Oak Island.

Over the years,

numerous researchers
have speculated

that the cross
is a symbol indicating

that the hidden treasure
includes

priceless religious artifacts,

such as the Holy Grail.

Nolan's Cross may lead us
to a Money Pit location

and where the treasure might be.

And others,
like architect Brian Pharoah,

believe the feature represents
a treasure map

which points to the location

of buried valuables
in the Money Pit area.

You've got to dig on that side
of it and this side of it.

Because then we can
shovel it off and take a look.

Yeah.

Could this cone-shaped boulder

and the possible stone ramp

be related to Nolan's Cross?

If so,
might they represent clues

that are connected to high-trace
evidence of precious metals

that have been detected
in the Money Pit?

Or could it be related
to valuables that are buried

in the triangle-shaped swamp?

I would like
to know definitively

that the constructs
within this body

of the bog are related
to the mystery.

Is it perhaps associated
with original depositional work?

My hope is that
as we excavate the ramp

in association
with the stone road,

we will hopefully

find some artifacts that will
help with that explanation.

It fits all the parameters.

It's big enough to step on

and it's right
at the interface between

the muck and the water.

I mean that's like
a Nolan's Cross boulder there.

Yeah. We may have
discovered something

really important there, mate.

Just got to work on it,
clean it off.

There's no question
it's pretty unique.

When you see all the digging
we did today, there's

something going on there, so...

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

If there's a ramp, you know,

there's a possibility of

defining it
and looking for artifacts, so

that might be an "aha" moment.

Yeah.

So keep digging
and see what we see.

Okay.

Later that afternoon...

- Thanks, Jack.
- Come on in.

At the Interpretive Centre...

- How's it going, Laird?
- Hey.

Hey, how are you?

- You called?
- I did.

Rick, his nephew Alex, Jack

and Scott Barlow meet
with archaeologist Laird Niven

and archaeometallurgist
Emma Culligan for an update

on the concrete-like substance
that was unearthed

two days ago in
the stone foundation on Lot 5.

So, this is a soil sample.

Soil that Jamie
thought was mortar.

And it was

important enough we thought
to compare it to some

- of the mortar that we are getting in the Money Pit.
- Yeah.

And Emma has the results
of the comparisons.

Great.

In order to analyze

the believed concrete
from Lot 5,

Emma has scanned it with
an X-ray diffraction device...

Or XRD... which uses X-rays
to determine

the chemical composition
and physical properties

of materials.

So, I compared it to mortar
samples that I have on file,

and it did not match,
so it's not mortar.

And it had some differences to

other soil samples
collected from Lot 5.

So I ran a comparison to

the entire soil database
that I have so far.

And on the screen, you can see

a cluster diagram that I have

of the main soil samples.

And our sample in that grouping,

it's an almost exact match

to a Money Pit sample
at a depth of 104 feet.

Wow! That's great.

So, which borehole did this
come out of in the Money Pit?

So there's a few.

C-28, C-18.5,

and also the Garden Shaft.

- Okay, great!
- Wow.

Amazing.

That's close to our tunnel

below the Garden Shaft.

Explain that.

This soil sample taken
from Lot 5 matches with...

Money Pit soil samples
found near the Garden Shaft.

- Okay, great! - Wow.
- Amazing.

It is a potentially
critical moment for Rick Lagina

and members
of the Oak Island team.

I should point out
that the little,

tiny piece
we thought was mortar,

it's not natural.

So it's not naturally occurring.

So it must have been replaced
there is what you're saying.

- Yes.
- Exactly.

Archaeometallurgist
Emma Culligan has

determined that a mysterious
type of artificial soil,

which was recently unearthed
in the stone foundation

on Lot 5, matches others
that have been collected

by the team some 100 feet deep

in the Money Pit area.

And in the same region as
the possible treasure tunnel

located several feet
below the Garden Shaft.

We're always looking
for a connection between.

Lot 5 and the Money Pit.

Didn't think we'd get it
from the XRD.

- Yep. Well, this is an exciting possibility.
- Yeah.

And if we think about
the interpretation

that we are most interested in,
that would be

somebody physically transporting

the same soil
from one to the other.

- It doesn't matter which way.
- Yeah.

Yes.

Then this might show
that the Lot 5 feature

was somehow related
to the early excavations

- or the deposit of the treasure.
- That's the hope.

Yeah, that's one thing we've
been looking for on the island

is evidence of people staying
here while they did the work.

- We haven't found that at all.
- Yeah.

We know that the last reports
that we've got on

the wood samples
from the tunnel,

there is a strong possibility

that it was pre-searcher
from the 1600s.

- Which would be huge.
- Which would be huge.

- Yeah.
- Those dates

do work pretty well
with the Phips theory.

Abso-Absolutely.

Phips was in the area.

Yep.

In early 1687,

the English Naval Captain
and politician William Phips

recovered approximately 34 tons

of treasure in the Caribbean Sea
from the famed Spanish wreck

known as the Concepción.

Later that year, King James II
of England knighted Phips

for his achievement

and ordered him
to conduct a second operation

to recover
the nearly 65 tons of valuables

that were believed
to remain on the wreck

according to its manifest.

Phips made the journey
with the help of a Freemason

from Nova Scotia
named Andrew Belcher.

But curiously,

they returned with less
than two tons of the riches.

I see it as a possible link
between Lot 5

and the Money Pit and I think
we should try to prove it.

Yeah. Absolutely.

Could Alex Lagina be correct

that the matching soil samples

from the foundation on Lot 5

and the area around
the potentially 17th century

tunnel beneath the Garden Shaft
offer evidence

that Phips hid
the majority of his discoveries

from the Concepción
on Oak Island?

Here we have
a very interesting connection.

I can't deny it.

With these specific timelines

and the significant interest
in Lot 5

one could make the association

to the salvage
of the Concepción.

And it could change
the way we perceive

the relationship
between Lot 5 and the Money Pit.

But until we get

to the bottom of the excavation,

I think every possibility

is on the table at this point.

That's why it's incumbent
on us to

figure out
what this structure was.

- Yeah.
- Absolutely.

The association
that could be made

is potentially mind-blowing.

Let's just stay the course
and move forward.

- Okay. Thanks, Laird.
- All right.

- Thanks, Emma.
- Thank you, Laird.

- Thank you.
- See you later.

After more than a decade

of tireless work
and perseverance

through numerous
unforeseen challenges,

Rick, Marty and their team

may be closer than ever
to unearthing the answers

that many before them
were unable to reach.

As they dig deeper
into the swamp

on Lot 5
and below the Garden Shaft,

will they finally reveal
not only

what lies hidden on Oak Island,

but also the truth behind

this 229-year-old mystery?

Or could
the next major discovery

that they make
unleash a deadly curse?