11x18 - May the Norse Be With You

[bunniefuu]

Tonight, on the
curse of oak island...

We found these
in the garden shaft.

It's very old.

It definitely wasn't used
to put together structures.

It could be off boxes
from the treasure.

There's a wall in the swamp.

It could be related
to the stone road.

That red stuff is what's
underneath the stone road.

That will place that wood
structure further back in time.

Vikings had knowledge
of North America

with contacts to early templars.

They could have had
knowledge of this area.

That's correct.

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, guys.
- Hey.

- Hey.
- Hey, guys.

I can't wait to
show you guys this.

Let's flip the plastic off.
We'll show these guys

what we've got.

It's amazing what you
guys managed to get

- out of the garden shaft there.
- Yeah.

It is the beginning

of another hopeful
week on oak island

for brothers Rick and
Marty lagina and their team

as they continue
a quest to solve

a 229-year-old mystery.

We did a lot of work to get
these timbers out of there.

First thing I'm gonna say

is this is the strangest thing

that I think we ever could
have encountered down there.

We cannot find any
sign of walls or a ceiling.

However, in the money pit area,

what appeared
just a few days ago

to be a major discovery
some 100 feet deep

at the bottom of the


known as the garden shaft,

has only left them
with more questions.

It's strange. It seems
to be collapsed.

So, who knows what
happened down there?

Look at that. Right there. Wow.

Those are big beams.

Last week, after nearly
two years of tireless work,

representatives from
dumas contracting limited

were finally able to expose

what the team believed to be a
seven-foot-high wooden tunnel.

If this is original depositor,
there's a good chance

that there may be treasure
at the end of this tunnel.

Yep.

A tunnel

that the team had
previously drilled through

on several occasions
and determined

that it ran due west into
the so-called baby blob

where high-trace
evidence of precious metals

have been detected between


Every one that we pulled out,
we did a visual look underneath

to see if we could see the
wall timbers hanging down.

There was nothing.

It's like somebody
just removed them

and left the floor intact.

However, after removing a number

of large, hand-cut
wooden timbers,

as well as two iron artifacts,

the team was stunned to realize

that the section of
the believed tunnel

that they exposed
beneath the garden shaft

has either collapsed or
was partially dismantled

sometime in the past.

We found part of a tunnel,

but the rest of the
tunnel is missing.

So, that's disconcerting.

But I think we could learn a
lot from these pieces of wood

because this could
really be the first time

we found a depositor
tunnel underground.

And if it is original works,
where was it going and why?

And as you can see,
there are some beautiful...

- Yeah.
- Handwrought, square nails there.

This one here is loose.

You can see the head right here.

Now, while dumas
works to uncover more

of the mysterious tunnel

in the hopes of finding
an intact structure

that may lead to the
source of the valuables

that have been
detected nearby...

- There you go.
- Look at that.

The team will be
carbon-dating the wood timbers

and analyzing metal
fasteners found inside of them

in an attempt to confirm

that it was built
prior to the discovery

of the original
money pit in 1795.

- What do you think of that, laird?
- Yeah.

That's what I'd want to see.

- So...
- Yeah. The handwrought nails.

It's a Rose head.

How old?

See how nice and slim it is?

I would put that
in the 1600, 1700s.

You've got to admit this is
one of the most promising finds

we've had so far on the island.

It is exciting.

It feels like we're
getting closer.

It is a total collapsed feature

and we were hoping
there would be evidence

that it was partially open.

But all information
underground in the money pit

is incredibly
valuable information.

So, I absolutely
hope that this leads us

to finding the treasure.

Let's learn as much as we can

from the items we
have retrieved at depth.

Look, kudos to everyone.

This might be a pivotal moment

in the oak island treasure hunt.

So, the nails:

I think we should
pull all of them,

and the boards as well.
Take multiple samples.

Set them aside.

There's a lot of work
to do. So, let's get going.

- Sounds good.
- All right.

While the operation continues

in the money pit area

later that afternoon...

- Hello, guys.
- Hi, Marty.

- Hey.
- Hey, Marty.

So, gentlemen, we
have a guest today:

Dr. Doug symons.

Rick and Marty have
gathered members of the team

in the w*r room to hear a
highly anticipated presentation

from Dr. Doug symons, a
retired professor of psychology

from acadia university.

I find it very intriguing
about the possibility

of viking-templar connections.

Doug, if you want to give us
a little background and then...

Sure.

Dr. Symons and I met
through Dr. Spooner, actually.

We had discussions
in the evenings

over those provocative
dates in the swamp

of around 1200 ad, and
the stone piles on lot 15

- were likely created after Nolan's cross.
- Yeah.

One week ago,

Italian archaeoastronomer
professor adriano gaspani

presented the team
with his scientific analysis,

and belief

that the megalithic
stone formations,

which have been found
on the surface of oak island

known as Nolan's cross,

the stone triangle
and five stone piles,

located on lot 15,

were all constructed
in the 13th century

by members of
the knights templar.

And, curiously, in recent years,

the team has found
two lead artifacts

that have been scientifically
traced to scandinavia.

Dr. Symons has delved
deeply into that subject.

Now, based on these findings,

Doug crowell has reached
out to Dr. Doug symons,

who published his
research in may of 2020

suggesting that
the templar order

and the medieval
Scandinavian culture,

known as the norse, or vikings,

may both be connected
to the oak island mystery.

So, Dr. Symons,
if you'd be so kind.

Thank you.

So, I became interested
in the European voyages

that could account for
these oak island finds.

You've got Nolan's cross

and also the swamp itself
dates back to 1200 ad or so.

And my research took
me to this time frame.

The 1000s to 1200s.

So, vikings, they
settled the Faroe Islands,

Iceland and Greenland.

And St. Anthony, new found land.

And I'anse aux meadows,
new found land, around 1000 ad.

Which gives them
knowledge of the area.

It is well documented

that members of
the viking culture

explored and built
settlements in North America

as much as ten centuries ago,

reaching as far south
as I'anse aux meadows,

a location in modern-day
new found land, Canada

that is approximately 625
miles northeast of oak island.

However, it has been speculated
by many academic researchers

based on the


known as "the viking sagas"

that they may have visited areas

much further to the south.

Now, what becomes important
about I'anse aux meadows,

was from I'anse aux
meadows, it's easy

to sail down the west
coast of new found land

with land in sight.

I don't think it's unreasonable
to say oak island was explored.

Certainly, mahone bay
would've been explored.

The trips are described
as going to the southwest.

So, I'm gonna tie early
templars to vikings.

So, was anything else
interesting happening

in the world in 1100?

- The crusades?
- The first crusade.

In 1099, Jerusalem is
taken by the crusaders.

Some of them are the
original knights templars.

Here is the taking of Jerusalem.

Many people feel that
they spent their time

exploring underground and
looking for religious artifacts.

For several years,
Rick, Marty and the team

have been researching the
order of the knights templar

and their possible connection
to the oak island mystery.

It is known that
the templar order

established their headquarters
on the temple mount in Jerusalem

during the early 12th century

while defending Christian
interests in the holy wars

known as the crusades.

They amassed a great fortune

by establishing the
world's first banking system.

However, some
believe that they also

found a number of
priceless religious relics,

including the holy grail

and the ark of the covenant.

The templar order would
eventually be disbanded

by the catholic church in 1307,

but their believed treasures
have never been found.

Could there be any evidence

that the templars
transported them

to oak island with
the help of the vikings?

According to the sagas, in 1107,

there was a king sigurd
of Norway who decided,

"let's make a pilgrimage
to the holy land."

So, sigurd gets together


and then they are
off to Jerusalem.

While they're in Jerusalem,

they tour the temple mount,
they interact with knights

who would form
the knights templar

eight years later.

And then what happens?

King sigurd returns to Norway,

and he leaves many of his men,

and all of their
boats in Jerusalem.

We've got many vikings
left in the holy land, 1110.

We don't know what
happened to them

or when they would've left.

So, what's
interesting about this?

They could have had
knowledge of this area

prior to the need to flee...

- Correct.
- Or hide something.

So, templars used

vikings for
transportation to come to

the promised land.
North America.

- Wow.
- Wow.

- Wow.
- That's cool.

So, templars used
vikings for transportation

to come to North America.

- Wow.
- So, here's a summary.

Vikings with knowledge
of North America

and how to get there.

Vikings in the holy land
with seaworthy ships.

Vikings with contacts
to early templars.

I see all those things as facts.

In the w*r room,

researcher Dr. Doug
symons has just

presented his incredible theory

that members of
the viking culture

intermingled with
the knights templar

during the 12th century
crusades in the holy land,

and then helped them
transport priceless

religious treasures
to oak island.

From what you've shown,

there was a relationship
between the vikings

and the templars, especially
around the crusader times.

- Yes.
- And if anything was found in Jerusalem,

to make a voyage and take
it all the way to Nova Scotia,

it actually is plausible.

- Yeah.
- Yeah, I think that

it could have been done.

The remaining questions are:

- Did they do it?
- And why.

- And why.
- Yeah.

And you've got significant finds

in the same time
frame as the story's.

In the 1000 to 1300 ad range,

you've got the
stick in the bottom of

the man-made
well that is on lot 26.

You've got the paved
area of the swamp.

The platform.

The paved area also might have
been a landing area for boats.

That's interesting, because
if that was open to the sea,

it would be smaller
ships like that

that could probably come in,

and perhaps that was a dock.

Right.

Viking ships would be

small enough to
fit into the swamp.

Yeah, and you've got
Nolan's cross construction

in the same time frame.

That's right.

That fits right in.

Wow.

In addition to Nolan's cross

and the other megalithic
stone formations

on oak island's surface
that are believed to

have been created
in the 13th century,

the team has also
obtained evidence

that a stone well
located on lot 26

and a massive, paved area

that was uncovered in the swamp

may have been constructed
more than 800 years ago.

All I know is I'm
running out of ways

to be skeptical
about the templars.

Could Dr. Doug
symons' incredible theory

that these formations
were all created by

members of the knights templar

with the help of
the vikings be true?

If so, might that
also explain how

the two recently
unearthed lead artifacts,

which have been
traced to scandinavia,

ended up on oak island?

The connection that
has been presented

between vikings and templars,

obviously, we're going
to continue to pursue that.

It's a line of investigation

that may be very
important to us.

In terms of depositional
work on the island,

here is where cultural
context means a lot.

It is amazing how far back

knowledge of the,
of North America

was a lot more widespread
than what I learned

in history in,
say, grade school.

I found this really interesting.

- Yeah.
- I agree with you.

We should look further into this

possible viking/templar
connection

and what it may mean in terms
of advancing our search agenda.

- So, thank you very much.
- Thank you.

Until next time, gentlemen.

Later that afternoon,
while the investigation

of the possible treasure
tunnel below the garden shaft

continues in the
money pit area...

- Hey, Billy.
- Hey, Billy.

Hey, guys.

I'm ready to kick some
swamp butt again, mate.

Find some good finds.

Rick lagina, metal
detection expert Gary drayton

and Billy gerhardt
are searching for clues

at the southern border of

the mysterious
triangle-shaped swamp.

I figure it's like old
home week, right?

We came back home
'cause we never finished this.

Not quite. We were close.

In a way, we know
what we're looking for.

We're definitely looking
for more pieces of

- what we found earlier.
- Yep.

- Yep.
- We found wood from ships.

- Yep.
- For that reason alone,

it's worth looking at.

Is that a piece of
cut wood there?

Is that cut wood or not?

I'll go get it.

In recent years...

- Look at that.
- The team has found

a number of ship-related
artifacts in the swamp...

That's beautiful, actually.

That have been dated to between

the 15th and 18th centuries.

Here's another piece of it.

- Look at that.
- Look at that.

However, in 2020,

they unearthed a
piece of ship's railing

right near the southern border

that was carbon-dated to
as early as the 8th century.

We're off the end
of the road, right?

Man, would it be
something nice if we found

something that really
told us who was here

- and when they were here.
- I hope so.

- All right, mate.
- All right.

Now, in light of
Dr. Doug symons'

incredible theory about
the medieval viking culture

potentially being connected
to the oak island mystery,

they are eager to see

what other possible
clues they may uncover

in this area.

This is new stuff here.

Smells like treasure.

Whoa. Whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa.

What did you see, Rick?

Wood.

Is that anything?

Good eye, Rick.

Is it cut?

Yeah.

Looks like it's got
a hole in it, Rick.

There's no metals in there.

But it's definitely shaped.

Think so?

Yep. And it looks like
it could come off a boat.

We found something,
bill. Check this out.

It's an interesting
piece of wood.

Any ideas?

Well, I'll tell you what
it looks like to me.

See how it curves up?

- Yeah.
- When you have a wooden boat,

you put little runners on

that were used along the shore.

Like the keel of a boat.

Yeah, so, say you
had a big boat here

and you were bringing
your little one to shore,

they'd put these little ribs
on because they would wear

rather than wear the
bottom of your boat out.

We would call them runners.

Yeah.

- Maybe it hit the rocks...
- Yeah, exactly.

- Right there.
- And got broke off.

Good insight, Billy. I'll
be putting that in the bag.

Is it possible that
the oak island team

has found more evidence of
a sailing vessel in the swamp?

If so, just how old could it be?

And who were the
visitors that left it here?

I need to go back.

I got to check on a few things

for the money pit drilling.

So, keep digging, keep after it,

and I'll try to get
back as soon as I can.

Yep.

- Okay?
- Okay, mate.

- See you later.
- All right, thank you.

I believe that this is
a very old mystery.

We have dates from 700
ad with the ship's railing.

We have the 1200
dates in the swamp.

So, there are strong
suggestions that there was activity

very early on. But to what end?

That's what makes
this so interesting.

- Hey, Gary.
- Hey, Steve.

- How're you doing?
- Good. Perfect timing, mate.

Billy's just repositioned.

We're digging. You never
know what's gonna come out.

- That's true.
- Here we go.

There it is. It's solid.

- Look at what we got here.
- Wow.

- Yep. That is shaped wood.
- That's interesting.

While excavating near
the southern border

of the oak island
swamp, Billy gerhardt,

Gary drayton, and Steve
guptill have just made

another potentially
important discovery.

Gary, this looks like it
could be an old ship part.

Yeah.

We found the ship's railing

just right over here,
and this, to me,

- has a similar finish on the top.
- Yeah.

It's about the same
size and weight.

And, look,

it has a place where you'd
put a nail or a fastener.

Yeah, that's
definitely a hole, mate,

from a fastener.

Could be another
piece that dates as old

- as that ship railing.
- Yeah.

Hand-shaped wood?

Found in the same area

where the team unearthed
a piece of ship's railing

in 2020

that was dated to as
early as the eighth century?

This has for sure
been in man's hands.

If Steve guptill is
correct that this artifact

may be from the same era,

could it represent more
evidence to support

Dr. Doug symons'
belief that vikings

may have visited oak island

approximately 1,000 years ago?

In terms of artifact
recovery in the swamp,

the ship's railing and these

very early, early,
early carbon dates,

they have to be telling a story,

and you have to come
to an understanding

of what they may
or may not represent.

Well, you know what?

- It's worth taking back.
- You're right, mate.

Yeah.

We're taking any interesting
pieces of wood back

- because of that ship's rail.
- That's right.

Piecing the ship together
one piece at a time.

Yeah. This is good.

While Billy, Gary, and Steve

continue digging for
clues in the swamp,

and as the operation

to uncover the possible
treasure tunnel proceeds

beneath the garden shaft...

- Hey, everyone.
- Hey, hey.

Hi there.

On this side... Have you
reached the bottom yet?

This is at the bottom, here.

- That is almost.
- All right.

In the northern region of lot 5,

located on the western
side of the island

I'll go back to sifting.

Jack begley joins
archaeologists laird niven

and Helen Sheldon where
they continue investigating

a mysterious
rectangular foundation.

Sub all the way
to the bottom now.

Since Rick, Marty,

and Craig tester's
purchase of lot 5

one year ago, the team has made

a number of intriguing

discoveries in
and near this site,

including pottery and pipe stems

that have been
dated to the same era

as the 18th-century
garden shaft.

However, just several
yards to the south,

the team discovered
three Roman coins

dating back to between


Not at sub here yet.

- Yeah.
- Now, laird and Helen are carefully

removing soil from the
bottom of the feature

so that Jack can
sift the materials

for potential clues that
could help determine

who created it and when.

I think we've got
something here.

What's that?

I don't know.

- Ooh, wow.
- Ooh, yeah.

We have a coin. Look at that.

My gosh.

- Nice.
- It's copper.

You can see the
bit of green patina.

A copper coin?

Although the team has made
discoveries in this feature

that have been dated
to the 18th century

could this coin, which was found

in a deeper layer
of the foundation,

be older and also help identify

who originally created it?

- Really good find, Helen.
- This is the type of thing

that Marty's gonna
want to see. So, let me

- send him a text.
- Good stuff.

Yeah. Definitely.

As we work away
with our excavations,

it's more and more
evident to us that it is

an older and perhaps
much more important feature.

So, it's really exciting.

We're finding lots of
artifacts, and we can't wait

to get down to
the bottom of this.

- Okay.
- Hello.

- Hey, Marty.
- I'm here at my favorite pastime.

Anything new?

Yeah. We've just
popped out a coin.

- Yeah. So...
- I like that.

Any dates?

It's not in very good shape.

It's copper because you can see

the green patina on it.

At the moment, I would say,

it's a George III half penny.

- It's the same size, same metal.
- Yeah.

- Yeah.
- Same sort of weight,

which is like 1780s.

Nice. That's excellent.

- Right down there in the black stuff?
- Nope.

It was actually up
here on the side.

- On the edge.
- Yeah.

Now, I'm actually getting
down to the bottom.

I took all that out yesterday,

and what I found was that

this jumble of rocks
continued further down

and very few artifacts at all.

So, what does that suggest?

I still think it's
an infilled cellar.

- From when?
- Well, it was filled in the 1780s.

- So, before then.
- Excellent.

Because archaeologist
Helen Sheldon believes

that this possibly


is an indication of
when this foundation

was purposely
infilled, or buried,

what this coin discovery
ultimately suggests

is that the feature
predates that time period.

So, the burning questions

surrounding this
feature on lot 5 remain.

Who built it? When?

And for what purpose?

Maybe there was
some sort of structure

at the rectangular feature,

and then it was
intentionally buried.

If we could get
a definitive date,

it could be very,
very interesting

as to who was here first
and what were they doing.

Well, that's fabulous.

Who knows where that might lead.

And we also have this

funny piece of metal
that's sticking out,

which I don't
know what it is yet.

How solidly is it in there?

It's in there pretty...
It's in there pretty...

Ooh, no, maybe it's wiggling.
That's weird. Here you go.

- Look at that.
- All right.

Well, how about that?

What about that
big piece of iron?

If I can pry this out.

While investigating

the mysterious rectangular
stone foundation on lot 5

on the western
side of oak island,

Marty lagina, along with
other members of the team

have just found another
potentially important clue.

Wow. I think we've
got something here.

A spike?

Looks like it to me.

Is it square? Rose head?

It's square.

Nicely pointed.

Here, let me have a look.

Thank you.

- That's huge.
- Yes.

Way too big for a house.

That's a nice example
of a very old nail.

- It's the biggest one we've seen.
- It's big.

Goodness. Wow.

That's definitely forged.

Yeah, it is, isn't it?

A hand-forged iron spike?

Embedded in the wall of
the stone foundation on lot 5?

Because
archaeologists laird niven

and Helen Sheldon believe
that it would not be the kind

of fastener used in the
construction of a house,

could it be an important clue

that might help the
team determine just why

this feature was created?

It's incredibly gratifying,
all the things we're finding,

and the fact that this is
bigger than we thought.

This is something different
than a domestic structure.

Maybe we're finding the camp

that would've been necessary,

for such a big operation as
what happened at the money pit.

- For its length, it's very slender.
- It's thin. It is.

And then, of course,
we'll test the metallurgy.

Normally, they're more
hefty when they're this long.

Interesting piece.

All right. Find some more stuff.

See you, Marty.

You're like a good luck charm.

Yeah. This time, yeah.

The following morning.

I know one thing, Gary
is quite excited, right?

Yep. Pulling metal out
of that tunnel that deep.

Brilliant.

Rick lagina,

Gary drayton, and other
members of the team

meet with blacksmithing
expert Carmen legge

in the oak island laboratory.

Well, without further ado,

here we go, top
pocket finds, yeah.

Here you go, mate.

There's the two finds.

They are eager to have Carmen

and archaeometallurgist
Emma culligan

examine the two metal artifacts

that Gary discovered
one week ago

within the possible
treasure tunnel

that sets below
the garden shaft.

How heavy are they?

This one is light, and,
this one's a bit heavier.

Looks like it's shaped,

but I think that the
tips have fasteners

and the rest of them are
underneath the boards.

Carmen, what do you see there?

What's your first
impressions, Carmen?

From looking at
this from all angles,

i-i-i have no clue what this is.

And that's why we found
it really interesting as well.

It does, yeah.

Emma, can you run
a preliminary scan?

So, the xrf on this one
'cause it's more exposed,

and I'll do a ct
scan on this one,

and it shouldn't take
long 'cause it's so tiny.

- Great.
- All right.

In order to provide analysis

of the two metal artifacts,

Emma will scan the smaller one

using the sky scan


a device which
emits X-ray radiation

that can penetrate corrosion
and sediment on an artifact

to produce a three-dimensional
image of its finer details.

She will concurrently
scan the larger object

using the X-ray
fluorescence spectrometer.

This device emits
nondestructive radiation

to reveal the elements that
make up an object's composition,

which can potentially
help determine its age.

Okay, so I did what I could.

- Is that the bigger piece?
- Yeah.

Right there, you can
see that. That's a snap.

So, more than likely a fastener.

Yeah.

Would it have been
a box? A chest?

Excellent. That's a little bit
more motivation to get back down

in that tunnel.

A metal fastener

found in the tunnel
below the garden shaft

that was possibly used
for hanging a lantern

or potentially
related to a chest?

If so, has the team
found evidence

of an operation to deposit
valuables deep underground

in the money pit area?

So, this is the smaller one.

Is it square?

I would say it is. Yeah.

- It looks... yeah.
- Yeah, it's tapering. It is handwrought.

So, from the grain
structure, it is wrought.

Nice.

Very old.

- Why-why do you say that?
- How... yeah.

That tells me
it's very, very old.

When you say "very old,"
can you put a time period?

For "very old"?

- I would say late 1400 to...
- Mid-1700s. - Wow.

- Mid-1700s.
- Wow.

Small spike.

Very old.

I would say late


- That's definitely pre-searcher.
- Yeah.

In the oak island laboratory,

blacksmithing
expert Carmen legge

has just informed Rick lagina

and members of the team

that a metal artifact retrieved

from the possible
treasure tunnel

located below the garden shaft

could date back to as
early as the 15th century.

Could it be later
than the mid-1700s?

- Not in my opinion, no.
- Okay.

- That's hugely significant.
- Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, that matches
the dates that we're getting in...

In the tunnel.



Wow.

Four weeks ago,

the oak island team
received a carbon dating report

that the tunnel just
below the garden shaft

may have been constructed
as much as 150 years prior

to the discovery
of the money pit.

And while the team's
water testing analysis

that has been conducted
over the past two years

in previously drilled boreholes

has indicated that there could
be numerous treasure deposits

buried across the
money pit area,

is it possible that
they are narrowing in

on when at least one of them
was hidden on oak island?

A lot of dates

strongly suggest some
earlier level of participation.

But they are so distinctly
different timelines

that it makes this puzzle
all the more complex.

But it also opens the door

to a lot of other possibilities,

perhaps possibilities that
we are currently unaware of.

The hope is, as
the work continues,

we will get more clarity.

I will see if I can
get a hold of my dad.

Hey.

So, there's a bunch
of us here in the lab.

And two pieces of iron
came out of the garden shaft.

And, Carmen, do you
want to tell him how

what the-the age range was?

Just looking at the
structure of the nail

and the size of the nail,

I would say late


With the lack of manganese
and the high content of sulfur,

it could indicate yet
an older iron source.

Boom, baby! There it is.

- Yeah.
- I agree with Emma.

This tends to be, um,
indicative of older metal.

- Yep.
- Absolutely.

Yeah.

For sure, mate.

Okeydoke.

- All right.
- Fair enough.

We'll keep you posted. See ya.

This is different.

This is a different
moment we are at.

On some level, it's a
very pivotal moment.

I've got tunnel
vision right now.

Later that afternoon...

This is it, mate.

I love this spot.

So we'll really have
to keep our eyes open.

All right.

Gary drayton, Steve
guptill and Billy gerhardt

continue excavating
for important clues

near the southern
border of the swamp.

I'm always excited
to get in the swamp,

especially in the
southeast corner,

because we have already
recovered some amazing artifacts

from this area.

If we can find more
parts of that ship,

it will be a great
day on oak island.

What's happening, Billy?

Just got a little
wood here, and I

what kind of wood?

Somebody's dug down
in the swamp, and there

we got a bunch of
horizontal and vertical boards.

There's a wall of a...

Shaft, retaining
wall, something.

Maybe it's what Fred probed.

So you think it could be

potentially what Fred was
probing when he thought...

Well

- he hit the wall?
- There's-there's potential of that.

A possible wall

buried at the southern
border of the swamp?

While investigating this
area more than 30 years ago,

the late treasure hunter and
oak island landowner Fred Nolan

reportedly discovered
a wooden wall or dam.

A dam that Fred believed
represented evidence

that the swamp was
an artificial feature

that had been
created centuries ago

in order to hide
something of great value.

Is it possible that
the team has found

a section of that
same construct?

And if so, could it be related

to the potentially


of ship's railing that the team
found nearby back in 2020?

I think we're onto
something, mate.

I think we got to
get the guys here.

Looks like somebody was digging
down in the depths of the swamp.

- You make a good point, Billy.
- I mean,

it's really close, I would
say feet off of the stone road.

Yeah.

So I think it could be really
important and maybe related

- to the stone road.
- For sure. - Yeah.

Let's get back to
base, tell the guys.

Good eyes, Billy.

Somebody was doing work
in the body of the swamp.

Yeah, that's a good point. So...

This is a little more
curious, in terms of

did somebody excavate here,

put that in in
modern times or...

- Is it older?
- Right.

After a mysterious wooden
structure was discovered

at the southern
edge of the swamp

just one day ago...
You probably want

- to take a look.
- At some point, yeah.

Rick lagina has invited
geoscientist Dr. Ian spooner

to inspect the feature.

What interests me is it's
down into the sediment.

I really want to see the context

of that and the
sediment around it.

Yep.

We can see this red stuff here.

That red stuff is
what's underneath

- the stone road.
- Right.

Just to the west

lies the potentially


or ship's wharf,

a feature that may date to
roughly the same time period

as the wooden tunnel
below the garden shaft.

If we start seeing
that red stuff within

and around that wood structure,

that will possibly place
it further back in time.

Yeah.

Is it possible that this feature

may be related to
the nearby stone road,

as Dr. Spooner is speculating?

And perhaps also to the
possible treasure tunnel

in the money pit area?

This was always
the area that I...

Was really interested in.

In terms of trying
to find something

that connects the stone
road to something else.

Right.

We know it had to be
used for something else,

and they were going
somewhere and doing something.

Yeah.

If this is as old
as the stone road,

could this have been
some sort of a loading

and unloading platform?

That's kind of interesting.

You tie something
to it, the cargo,

swing it off, unload,
load, unload, load.

- Sure. They'd pull the big boat up.
- Yeah.

They'd unload their goods.

Yeah.

And they could have built
other structures as well.

Yeah.

There's precious little known

about the southeast
corner of the swamp.

I wish I understood

why we're making these
discoveries in the swamp

that has endured
over two centuries.

I think there were
activities conducted here,

maybe not by the same persons

but maybe by a
same group or entity

over generations,
perhaps even centuries.

This wood here
is interesting, too,

because it's round on
the edges, flat on the top.

That's pretty old.

I think the desire
on all parts is to dig

and expose the
structure in its entirety

so we can come to a real good
understanding of its purpose.

And hopefully there's
an artifact or two

that might tell us
what its purpose was.

Somebody put a huge effort
into installing something,

and, like, we have to be
careful, is all I'm saying.

Okay.

I think that's-that's
pretty cool.

- Yeah.
- Yep.

Okay. For right now,

- let's call it a day.
- Yeah.

- Okeydoke.
- Okay.

- All righty. Thank you.
- Yeah.

All right. Good job.

- Thanks, Billy.
- Yep!

For the laginas and their team,

the complexity and intrigue

of the 229-year-old oak island
mystery continues to grow.

Could it truly have originated

more than a thousand years ago

with a secret deposit
of priceless holy relics?

And could there have been
a generational conspiracy

that followed in order
to protect and add to

those treasures?

The evidence and research
suggest that it's possible.

And perhaps the
ultimate question now is,

can Rick, Marty and
their team prove it?

Next time on the
curse of oak island...

This is the secret of secrets.

The message being
conveyed in code

is that the ark of the
covenant is on oak island.

- You can put "x" on the spot?
- Correct.

- Holy cow!
- Wow!

Is it truly silver?

It is silver.

About 90%.

Yes!

In 40 years, I can't
remember a piece of silver.

Is that it?

I see it, mate.

Underneath that Boulder.

Look at that!

What the heck is that?