12x14 - Sinking In

[bunniefuu]

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

- GARY: We've got wood.
- ALEX: That's a lot of wood

- we're bringing out.
- MARTY: Roman numeral three there?

- Yeah.
- It's the oldest-looking wood we've found.

ALEX:
We're close to something.

I've got a hit.

JACK:
That sounds good.

- Here it is. It's right on top!
- [gasps]

Whoa.

The book states
that some biblical treasures

link to Oak Island.

EDWARDS:
The feature on the map

is outlined exactly
like the stone feature

found at the north end
of the swamp.

JACK:
This is big.

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 died

trying to solve the mystery.

And according to legend,
one more will have to die

before the treasure
can be found.

♪ ♪

ALEX: The caisson's
advancing pretty easily.

- KATYA: It is.
- Look at that,

look how much it drops
when they, when they turn it.

KATYA:
Good progress.

NARRATOR: A day of
unrivaled hope and anticipation

has begun on Oak Island
for brothers Rick

and Marty Lagina and their team.

Vanessa.

What's going on?

JARED: The pressures
are starting to drop.

It's definitely loose now.

Like we went through something.

NARRATOR:
And that is because,

in the fabled Money Pit area,

they are conducting
a massive excavation

that may soon reveal the answers

to the 230-year-old
treasure mystery.

ALEX:
Hey.

- Hey. What's up?
- So, uh...

- The dig is at 95 feet.
- ALEX: Mm-hmm.

- Right on.
- So, about three feet away from that target area.

- The first of, the first of many.
- Yes.

NARRATOR:
After breaking ground

- one week ago...
- VANESSA: Nice job.

- You're oscillating.
- [cheering, applause]

NARRATOR: under the
supervision of Vanessa Lucido

and her company ROC Equipment,

along with representatives
from SB Canada...

MARTY:
This is great.

- Let's dig.
- [cheering]

NARRATOR: a
seven-foot-diameter steel shaft

dubbed "True Believer 1,"

has reached a depth
of nearly 100 feet,

and is believed,
for a number of reasons,

to be located within
the original Money Pit.

First, it is in this area
where recent groundwater tests

have revealed high traces
of precious metals

below the 100-foot level.

Second, it is near that depth

where the team
has retrieved remnants

of a mysterious wooden tunnel.

This looks like the vault.

NARRATOR:
And third, it is where

a previous core-drilling
operation this year

recovered possible evidence,
approximately 150 feet deep,

of the fabled Chappell Vault,

a seven-foot-high container

that was first reported
by treasure hunters

Frederick Blair
and William Chappell

back in 1897.

Really interesting,
for the last four feet,

the casing has gone in
ridiculously easy.

- Oh, really?
- So, we are not oscillating.

- That casing is just going in.
- ALEX: It's just dropping?

- It's just dropping.
- Yes.

What do you think it might be?

VANESSA:
This would either mean sand

or easy, soft soil.

- Mm-hmm.
- Two, a cavity, right?

VANESSA: Some void
or something like that,

that we are just
installing it through.

TERRY: We're still only
about three and a half feet away

from our very first
target horizon.

And that is 98.5 to 99,

we hit the top of what
we think might be a tunnel.

- Right.
- So, we'll watch what the grab's bringing up

and what that material is.

Yeah, that-that's gonna be
an imperative, right?

Yeah.

NARRATOR:
As the TB-1 shaft

advances deeper towards
the possible tunnel,

an 18-and-a-half-ton tool
known as a hammer grab

is being used
to bring the spoils,

and hopefully,
evidence of man-made workings,

to the surface.

But at the end of the day,
it's what comes out of the hole

that probably tells
exactly what we're into.

- ALEX: Yep.
- Patience will ultimately carry the day.

TERRY:
For sure.

NARRATOR:
As the excavation proceeds

in the Money Pit area...

later that morning...

BILLY: I'll cut this down,
you can dig that way

a little bit, maybe,
and see what you see.

Yep.

NARRATOR: Alex Lagina

has joined Katya Drayton
and Billy Gerhardt

in the northern region
of the swamp.

We're right on the edge
of the stone path.

Yeah.

I'll just pull off
a couple inches and then

hope for something good.

NARRATOR: They are
searching for additional sections

of a mysterious
cobblestone pathway

that was unearthed in this area
several weeks ago,

and which was bordered
by a number

of wooden survey stakes.

We are really close to that
brick and slate structure here.

Yeah.

NARRATOR: And what was
most curious about the pathway

was that it led them

to a mysterious
vault-like feature

made of brick and slate.

A structure which archaeologist
Laird Niven believes

may have been created
prior to the discovery

of the Money Pit in 1795.

- KATYA: Is that pottery?
- ALEX: Yeah.

ALEX:
Look.

Looks like maybe
the handle to a jug?

Beautiful.

ALEX: There is the potential
that this pottery was just used in,

you know, the domestic
occupation and everyday life.

- All right.
- And then there's the potential

that this was used by somebody

hundreds of years ago
who may have put treasure here.

This could be pretty important
to the search.

Here's more of that
lighter pottery.

KATYA: Ooh. We're
finding a lot in this area.

You never know what
the littlest finds could be.

Hopefully,
this could be the first clue

to finding a new structure
in the swamp.

NARRATOR: Now, as the team
finds more evidence of human activity,

they are hoping
to also uncover new sections

of the pathway,
and perhaps additional vaults

that may still contain
something of value.

ALEX:
Hey, Billy?

Why don't we do this side?

There's rocks in here.

I think,
if we take another scrape,

it'll be obvious
if it's a structure.

BILLY:
Yep.

At this point, we're really
just trying to follow

this stone path where it leads.

As far as it pertains
to the treasure hunt,

to me, the most useful
information is where it goes.

But this is on the edge
of the permitted area,

and we didn't expect
to find anything like this here.

So, hopefully more artifacts
will bring it to light.

I think that is undisturbed.

Those don't look
like stacked rocks to me.

BILLY:
Yeah.

- We can go deeper, though.
- Yep.

NARRATOR: While the Oak
Island team has the freedom to dig

as much as they choose
in the Money Pit area,

because the swamp is a wetland,

they must obtain
separate permits

from the provincial government
to explore its numerous regions.

- KATYA: Hi.
- Hey.

What have we found?

Uh, we got some pottery...

KATYA:
So far, lots of pottery.

ALEX:
But no more of the path.

RICK:
Okay.

I-I do think we're done here.

We're at the end
of the permitted area?

Pretty much, yep.

RICK:
Unfortunately,

we're not finding cobbles
in this northern area.

We're at the limits
of our permit.

I think we need
to expand our permit

to do more work in the area.

We know for a fact the swamp
was heavily manipulated.

I don't think we yet have
even a competent understanding

of what the swamp is hiding.

Perhaps something associated
with where X marks the spot is.

There's still
a lot of work to do.

We've got to puzzle-piece
what we think happened here.

And I think that there is
still more to find.

Yep.

KATYA:
Sounds good.

NARRATOR: After concluding
the dig in the swamp...

MARTY:
Hey, big brother.

You always ask me
about Bravo Tango.

Is this Bravo Tango?

MARTY:
We'll see.

NARRATOR:
Rick and Alex Lagina

return to the Money Pit area
as the hammer grab tool

is about to begin
removing materials

from some 100 feet deep
in the TB-1 shaft,

which is just above the team's
target depth of 109 feet.

ALEX:
So, the material

at the bottom of the can
is very soft.

It does kind of speak

to a void somewhere.

SCOTT:
Well, that's interesting

because we knew that we had
a zone of interest here.

Anything could be
in this caisson.

It could be something
that is highly significant.

We're approaching
the depth of the tunnel.

You should encounter
a lot of wood

if it is indeed a tunnel.

There's a top, there's a bottom,
there are sidewalls.

So, my hope is that this
will be very definitive

in supporting the idea

that there was a tunnel
at this depth.

MARTY: Whenever we the fellowship
are watching the hammer grab,

we really have high hopes

that the very next scoop,
every time,

is gonna be something
hugely meaningful.

GARY:
Ooh! Look at that.

- MARTY: Wood, baby.
- ALEX: Yeah.

ALEX: Well, we're at about


which is the very end
of our first zone of interest.

And that's a lot of wood
we're bringing out.

GARY:
And it's all short timbers.

- Kind of like a tunnel.
- Yeah.

ALEX: I agree, Gary,
it looks like a tunnel.

GARY: Let's see if there's
anything in that tunnel.

ALEX: That's a lot of wood
we're bringing out.

- Gary, it looks like a tunnel.
- GARY: Yeah, it does.

Let's see if there's
anything in that tunnel.

NARRATOR:
In the Money Pit area,

upon reaching a depth
of nearly 110 feet

- in the TB-1 shaft...
- That's clean.

NARRATOR:
the Oak Island team has

just recovered evidence of
a mysterious wooden structure.

GARY:
What's interesting to me is

we ain't found
any metal fasteners in there,

which leads me to believe

- that it's an older construction.
- ALEX: Yeah.

TERRY:
Look at this, my friend!

What do you got, Terry?

TERRY:
Pretty sure that's a dowel.

[chuckling] Yeah, it is.
It looks like it's broken.

- In place. Yeah.
- Look at that.

Wow, this speaks
to relatively old material.

GARY:
Yeah.

Does it go through
to the other side?

We'll have to wash it up
and we'll have a look.

- Okay, mate.
- I think we're going

- to show this to Marty.
- Good catch.

There's more wood.

GARY: This is definitely
an older style of construction.

They're using dowel pegs

and when we get
this wood tested,

maybe it's original timbers

from the construction
of the Money Pit,

which means we're getting
closer to finding treasure.

♪ ♪

- Hey, Terry.
- What do you got?

Found an interesting
piece of wood, mate.

- Yeah.
- It's got grooves and...

Look at that.

- Let's show it to Marty.
- All right, mate.

What do you think
of that, Marty?

- There's an interesting...
- Yeah, that's marked.

- TERRY: Yeah.
- MARTY: Roman numeral.

Number three there?
Is that what that is?

TERRY: That looks like
a pretty distinct three to me.

And look,
we've got a dowel there.

MARTY: Same
as the U-shaped structure.

It implies
the same construction.

MARTY: Same construction
methodology, for sure.

- I think that's really cool.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR: In 2018, Rick,
Marty and the team excavated

Smith's Cove in an effort
to uncover the remains

of the legendary
flood tunnel system

believed to feed seawater
into the Money Pit.

During the dig, they uncovered

a massive wooden feature
that was first discovered

by Dan Blankenship in 1971,

which he dubbed
the "U-shaped structure."

You got a Roman numeral?

If it is, it's a seven. V-I-I.

NARRATOR: A structure
that not only featured

carved Roman numerals
and wooden dowels

but is also believed
to have been built

as part of the booby trap system

by whomever buried valuables
in the Money Pit.

Is it possible
that the carved Roman numerals

and the nearly identical
wooden dowel offer evidence

that the team is, in fact,

digging
in the original Money Pit?

So if this is that old,
then that means we are

very close
to the Money Pit, right?

Which we've been
suspecting forever.

It's basically the oldest
looking wood we've found.

Could be the cribbing from
the depths of the Money Pit.

MARTY: I think we've
been fairly convinced

that the TB-1 area is roughly

the site
of the original Money Pit.

There's a lot of evidence that
there is still something here.

We're zeroing in on possibly
finding the treasure.

ALEX:
Hey, Vanessa.

- VANESSA: Hey.
- Hey, Vanessa.

I got some new numbers
for you, guys.

- What do you got?
- We just took a measurement.

We're at 117 with the dig.

And then,
what we're really chasing is

the treasure vault below
at 150 feet.

NARRATOR:
In the spring of 1897,

Frederick Blair
and William Chappell

reportedly drilled
into a seven-foot-tall vault

that was encased in concrete
at a depth of some 153 feet.

After extracting
their drill rod,

they were astonished to find
traces of gold on the bit,

and an ancient piece
of parchment

with the letters V-I
written on it.

These discoveries have made
people wonder

if the Oak Island treasure
may include,

not only objects
of great value but also

important historical documents.

We're picking up now.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible

that the Laginas and their team

might soon be able
to finally reveal the truth?

All right. Keep digging.

- Okay.
- MARTY: Yeah, full speed ahead.

TERRY: Let's hope we
come up with the goods.

NARRATOR:
The following morning...

as the excavation
in TB-1 continues...

RICK: First of all,
I'd just like to say welcome

to Scott Clarke
and John Edwards.

I think all of us will learn
some very impactful things.

Thank you very much, Rick.

NARRATOR:
Rick Lagina has gathered

members of the team
in the w*r room

for an important meeting
with researcher John Edwards,

as well as author and 32nd-
degree Freemason Scott Clarke.

You all are well aware of them

coming here before
and their areas of interest.

And today, they are going
to enlighten us further.

So, gentlemen, we look forward

- to your presentation.
- EDWARDS: Thank you very much.

Last year I came to Oak Island,
Rick, as you know,

to present some books
I had acquired in Israel,

um, in 2019.

And what interested me
about the books mostly

was the hand-drawn images,

ciphers and Masonic symbols

and Crusader symbols
as well as references

to biblical treasures
from Jerusalem.

I've acquired two ancient books,

one was The Whole Genuine Works
of Flavius Josephus.

The publication date was 1812.

And then, the second book has
a publication date of 1763.

NARRATOR:
One year ago,

when John first
presented the team

with these books,
which he purchased

from a private collector
in Israel,

it was due to his belief
that they may be connected

to the Knights Templar...

a medieval
Christian military order

who some researchers claim

buried a vast treasure,

including religious artifacts,

on Oak Island between
the 12th and 14th centuries.

According to John,
these books are part

of a five-volume series,

one of which contained
an image of Oak Island

and codes that John believed

pointed to a buried
treasure cache

in the northern region
of the swamp.

I can feel the rocks
under my feet here...

NARRATOR: When the
team investigated the area,

they did not find
buried valuables

but instead, a man-made feature
composed of boulders

that may have served as a marker

to indicate that something
could be buried nearby.

EDWARDS: So what was
interesting about the books

supplied to me by the seller

when I acquired them,
is it has a map

of Oak Island.

And I felt
that these were significant

to solving
the Oak Island mystery.

And maybe even finding
a treasure here on Oak Island.

So what's really interesting...

the map shows a square-like
structure or a vault

that actually points
to a place on Oak Island.

That place seems to be
at the north end of the swamp.

And what's interesting
about the map,

as soon as Scott and I
both saw it...

we both immediately remarked,
it looks like

the vault-like feature found
at the north end of the swamp.

JACK:
Whoa!

That's pretty spot-on.

RICK:
That's pretty cool.

The vault-like feature
in the map is outlined

exactly like the vault-like
feature found

in the swamp to a T.

JACK:
All right!

NARRATOR:
In the w*r room,

researcher John Edwards,

along with 32nd-degree
Freemason Scott Clarke

have just presented
the Oak Island team

with a potentially
critical clue.

RICK:
That's pretty cool.

NARRATOR: An image
from a mysterious book

containing
secret codes and ciphers

related to the missing
sacred treasures

of the Knights Templar.

A book which also features
a map of Oak Island

and a possible image
of the brick and slate vault

that the team recently uncovered
in the triangle-shaped swamp.

I think the map

and the book definitely suggest
something is going on.

CLARKE:
Somebody went

to a lot of trouble
to encode these books.

If someone was trying
to hide something,

they would definitely want
to encode it.

You just have
to figure out "who."

EDWARDS:
Absolutely.

So we started to do
a deep dive in the books.

Within the books are clues
that are encoded

using a process
of underlining specific letters

to spell out words,
phrases and names.

One of the names is that
of John Easson.

CLARKE: John Easson was
a longtime Freemason

in Annapolis Royal,

which is the oldest lodge
in all of Canada.

And this was a lodge where,

again, the clues all seem
to point directly to Oak Island.

NARRATOR: Located 62
miles northwest of Oak Island,

the city of Annapolis Royal was
originally established

by French settlers in 1605

and became home
to the first Canadian lodge

for the secretive
fraternal organization

known as the Freemasons in 1738.

So what's interesting
about the name John Easson...

we see a lineage
in his family of Masons.

John Easson's great-grandson,
Thomas Easson Ritchie, was also

a member
of the Annapolis Royal lodge

from at least 1818 onwards.

The Masonic lodge was held at
a place called the Sinclair Inn.

So in the Sinclair Inn,
there are painted murals.

There is one particular,
uh, painting

of what many people think is
a Crusader tent.

Some people are calling it
a Templar tent.

It looks very much

like the tents used
during the Crusades

and later adopted
by Freemasonry.

Yeah. And we know
the Crusader tent was used

when the Ark of the Covenant

- and other holy artifacts were traveling.
- Yeah.

The books seem to suggest

that there's biblical treasures

connected to Crusaders
going to Nova Scotia.

FIONA:
So, what may be here

on Oak Island is those types
of religious treasures?

Oh, yeah.

When we consider the image

of the Sinclair Inn,
could be a Crusader tent,

when the Templars were
officially disbanded in 1312,

their assets were given
to the Knights Hospitaller.

The Hospitallers eventually
became the Knights of Malta.

And they actually
continue to this day, um,

as the Knights of Malta.

NARRATOR:
In 1312, Pope Clement V

and King Philip IV of France
dissolved and persecuted

their own military order known
as the Knights Templar.

The Church claimed that
the Templars, who had fought

for Christian interests
during the holy wars

known as the Crusades

had become corrupt
and committed acts of heresy.

However,
some researchers believe

that the true reason
for the disbandment

was because the Templars had
come to possess a vast treasure,

which included sacred artifacts
such as the Holy Grail,

the menorah
from the Temple of King Solomon

and the Ark of the Covenant.

Many Templars
were arrested and ex*cuted.

But others escaped,
and their sacred treasures

have never been located.

While some believe
that a group of Templars

fled to North America
and hid a portion

of the priceless valuables
on Oak Island,

it is speculated by researchers

such as John Edwards
and Scott Clarke

that a large collection
of the sacred artifacts

were entrusted
to related organizations

such as the Knights of Malta,

a secretive fraternity
with links to the Freemasons,

who are known to have had
a presence in Canada

dating back
to the early 17th century.

CLARKE: So, people may
not realize that the colony

of Acadia,
which is now Nova Scotia,

was actually founded by a member
of the Knights of Malta.

So, his name
was Isaac de Razilly,

and he was a Knight Commander
of the Order of Malta.

EDWARDS:
Yeah.

So, the five books
also had several depictions

of this Solomon's Temple
menorah.

The cross shown
above the menorah

is an eight-point cross.

It is associated, modern day,
with the Knights of Malta.

So, if you look at the page
I have marked here in the back,

you can clearly see
the location in the book

of the Malta cross
is intentionally placed

referencing
both the Temple of Solomon

and the Temple of Jerusalem.

CLARKE: And it literally
mentions the word "Malta"

- right below it.
- Yep.

SCOTT: We definitely
believe that the books show

it is a multigenerational
endeavor

linking biblical treasures
to Oak Island.

EDWARDS:
And we're finding

actual correlations with things

found here on Oak Island,
like Lot 5,

and the stone-like structure
or vault out in the swamp.

So, I'm pretty excited
that we're actually finding

physical evidence to match
what the books are telling us.

- Interesting.
- NARRATOR: Could John Edwards

and Scott Clarke have actually
uncovered critical clues

suggesting that different groups
connected to the Knights Templar

have made repeated visits
to Oak Island

in order to hide and protect
sacred religious treasures?

If so, could that explain
the vault-like structure

in the northern region
of the swamp,

a mysterious round feature
on Lot 5

where the team
has found artifacts

dating to between
the 14th and 18th centuries

and perhaps
even the Chappell Vault,

believed to be buried
in the original Money Pit?

RICK:
It has always been my thought

that this was
a multigenerational attempt

to focus on one
singular objective,

and that is to hide something
of significance on Oak Island.

It may have started
with Templars,

and then some
of these participants

were actually endeavored
to keep it hidden

for later generations
to come back and find it.

So, there is now an imperative
to try to understand, uh,

the possibility
of the Knights of Malta

having something to do with
the work done on Oak Island.

The books have become
increasingly important.

I think the Knights of Malta are

an incredibly complex
organization.

They survived
the Templar expulsion,

they inherited
what the Templars had,

they were represented
in Nova Scotia,

they survive to this day.

We might have
a possible connection

to who, in terms of the who,
what, when, where, why and how.

All of us have
a lot of homework to do.

John, Scott, thank you very much
for your presentation.

- Thank you.
- Appreciate it.

RICK:
Having said that,

we need to go to work.

NARRATOR:
Later that afternoon,

as Rick and members of the team

anxiously monitor
the excavation of TB-1

in the Money Pit area...

- ALEX: Okay. Let's take a look.
- KATYA: Awesome.

NARRATOR:
on Lot 5,

located on the western side
of Oak Island...

[device beeping]

MARTY:
Hey, Gary, I like that sound.

GARY: Yeah, having
a beeping good time.

NARRATOR:
Marty Lagina has joined

metal detection expert
Gary Drayton

and Jack Begley
to investigate an area

near the rounded
stone foundation.

JACK: There's a lot
more flags around here.

Okay. Let's do it.

NARRATOR: A stone foundation
where the team has uncovered

not only man-made mortar
that matches soil samples

from more than 100 feet deep
in the Money Pit area

but which archaeologist
Laird Niven believes

may have been constructed
and modified

during different time periods
prior to the 19th century.

Let's see

- the spoil piles down there.
- Lead on.

NARRATOR:
Following the team's meeting

earlier today with John Edwards
and Scott Clarke,

Gary detected and marked

a number of mysterious
metal targets

buried near the surface.

Now, after receiving permission
from Laird Niven,

Gary, Marty and Jack
are eager to find out

just what they could be.

GARY:
I'll go on one side of this.

MARTY: There were at least
two different occupations here.

The main one, that they keep
finding artifacts about,

in the mid-1700s,
but perhaps a much earlier one.

We're hoping Lot 5
can shed some light

on the story of Oak Island.

- [device beeping]
- GARY: Ooh.

Great hit.

- Is that, is that nonferrous?
- Yeah.

GARY:
Yep, it's right there.

Brilliant.

[device beeping]

Ooh, ooh, something good
coming up here.

Yeah, there's a lot
of rocks here,

and stuff sticks to them.

- [device beeping]
- There it is!

- It's right on top.
- JACK: What?

- Where do you see it?
- I don't even see it.

- Right there.
- [Jack gasps]

GARY:
Nice and round.

- What we got?
- JACK: Whoa!

GARY:
There it is! It's right on top.

- Wow.
- Whoa, I thought it was

a coin or a button
from the top of it.

That's a nice copper nail.

NARRATOR:
On Lot 5,

located on the western side
of Oak Island,

Marty Lagina,
Jack Begley and Gary Drayton

have just made a potentially
important discovery

near the mysterious
stone foundation.

GARY:
Yep. That's a copper nail.

I have found
a few of these nails

on the treasure coast beaches
of Florida,

connected to 1600s
and 1700s shipwrecks.

These were from the inside

- of the ship.
- Mm-hmm.

NARRATOR: Due to their ability
to resist corrosion in salt water,

copper nails were commonly used
in the construction

of European sailing vessels

dating back
to as early as 3500 BC.

If this copper nail made its way
to Oak Island on a large ship,

could it be an important clue

that might help identify
who constructed

or later modified
the round feature on Lot 5

prior to the discovery
of the Money Pit?

GARY: All right,
got another pile here.

MARTY: As often occurs on Lot


On shore, you have no real
reason to use a copper nail,

so this very much suggests

a maritime, uh, influence
of some sort, a ship.

So, Lot 5 could be a big part of
figuring this whole thing out,

and what went on
over at the Money Pit.

Oop. I got a hit.

- Sounds good.
- Yeah, it sounds...

- Could be right, just right there.
- Yeah.

Let's see if I can pinpoint it.

- [device beeps]
- Ah.

- [rapid beeping]
- In your hand.

- It's another...
- [gasps]

It's another one.

Well, this is
a little bit different.

- It's small.
- It's smaller, but it looks like it's the same make.

Is that copper, too?

GARY:
Yeah, small copper nail.

This is 100% boat-related.

JACK:
I'm really hoping

that the metallurgy
or just the overall style

will give us a definitive date,
because that round feature,

it looks like it was built
at an earlier time

than most of the artifacts
that we found.

So, it could give us
the original date

- when that was built.
- MARTY: Yeah.

Well, here's the thing:

both copper nails
speak of, uh, ships.

- Yeah.
- And that's kind of new here.

We still don't know
what the hell this is

and who made it...

- Yeah.
- And, uh, that may be a clue.

So, we need to get back
to the lab and find out

what they say about it.

- Let's go.
- Okay, mate.

- JACK: Great day.
- MARTY: Yeah, that was good.

NARRATOR:
The following morning...

TERRY:
Today is treasure day.

GARY:
Yeah, you got that right, mate.

STEVE:
So, we're at 147.

NARRATOR: as the
excavation in the TB-1 shaft

proceeds toward a target depth
of some 150 feet...

- CARMEN: Hey, great to see everybody.
- EMMA: Hey.

LAIRD:
Hey, Carmen.

NARRATOR:
Jack Begley

and other members of the team

welcome blacksmithing expert
Carmen Legge

back to the Oak Island
laboratory.

CARMEN:
What do you got for me?

JACK: We recovered
these two nails on Lot 5.

NARRATOR: They are
eager for Carmen to examine

the two copper nails
that were recovered

one day ago
near the round feature

and determine if they could
predate the discovery

of the original Money Pit
in 1795.

Well, with this one here,

it has a very, uh,
large head onto it.

Flat-topped,
underneath is sloped

- to the shaft.
- Yeah.

Square-tapered nail
all the way down,

except for the... right
underneath, the head is round.

Fortunately,
I know what these are,

and they're copper
sheathing tacks, or "clouts."

These nails
are very typical for...

fastening the sheathing sheets

- to the underside of the boats.
- JACK: Yeah.

Now these could've
been used for other purposes

if they had a bunch on the ship.

But its main use

is for sheeting along
the hulls of ships?

The underside of ships, yep.

These were major seagoing ships.

I would like to know

if there is any lead or
arsenic content in these nails.

That would help me
date it for you.

Those sound
like questions for Emma.

NARRATOR:
Earlier this morning,

archeometallurgist Emma Culligan
scanned the copper nails

using the X-ray fluorescence
spectrometer, or XRF,

a device
that identifies the elements

in an object's composition

to help determine
when they were created.

EMMA: So, it is a copper
alloy, so it's a pure bronze alloy.

There is lead content.
So, they're consistent in lead.

So, it looks like
there's arsenic.

In my opinion, this is 1700s,

somewhere between 1720 to 1760.

JACK:
Wow.

CARMEN: In my opinion,
this is 1700s.

Somewhere between 1720 to 1760.

Wow.

NARRATOR: In the Oak Island
laboratory,

blacksmithing expert
Carmen Legge

has just given his assessment

that the two ship-related
copper nails,

found one day ago on Lot 5,

could predate
the discovery of the Money Pit

by as much as 75 years.

So, why was it there
in that area?

It could be evidence of

who created the feature on Lot 5

and where they were from.

Well, is there
any other people or, um,

persons that could be related
to that time period?

Yes. Could be
the Knights of Malta.

- Oh, really?
- JACK: Mm-hmm.

- Wow.
- More intrigue.

NARRATOR:
Could Jack's notion be correct

that these copper nails
offer evidence

to support the theory

that members
of the Knights of Malta,

who were known
to have been connected

to the medieval order
of the Knights Templar,

may have visited Oak Island

decades before
the discovery of the Money Pit?

JACK: There is a lot of
speculation as to the relationship

between the Knights Templar
and the Knights of Malta.

We know that they
were in the area.

They were in
the Nova Scotian area

during the early 1700s.

Maybe they were actually
following the steps of Templars.

And maybe they were helping
to make a deposit of their own.

Any artifact that predates
discovery of the Money Pit

is really something special,

because this was left

possibly by the depositors
of the treasure.

So, this gives me hope

that we're zeroing in
on a whodunnit.

Yeah.

Thanks for coming by, Carmen,
a-and weighing in your opinion,

because it really helped.

Yep, I'm glad I could
help a little, you know?

I wish you good luck

- and anything I can do to help, I will.
- All right.

We'll give you a call
when we find some more.

CARMEN:
Very good.

NARRATOR: As the
meeting concludes in the lab...

JARED: Those pressures
are getting pretty high right now.

We're on something.

NARRATOR: an intense
situation is developing

in the Money Pit area.

Uh, what depth do you think
the teeth are at right now?

I would say 160.

NARRATOR:
Upon reaching a depth

of 160 feet in the TB-1 shaft,

where the team
hopes to encounter

a concrete-encased chest,
known as the Chappell Vault,

the steel caissons have hit
a mysterious obstruction.

VANESSA:
Is she cutting through it?

JARED:
She's trying to. Come on.

NARRATOR: As eager
as the team is to find out

what they may have discovered,

it could take some time
for the caisson

to breach the obstruction,

and allow the hammer grab
to bring more spoils,

and potential valuables,
to the surface.

We want to get to depth.

So, we've got to get down there.

JARED:
Ah, we'll get through it.

NARRATOR: Meanwhile,
near the wash plant,

located several hundred feet
to the east...

Hey, Marty.

Let's go over there and you can
show me what you found today.

NARRATOR: Charles
Barkhouse and Marty Lagina

are inspecting artifacts
that were found

in the recently unearthed
TB-1 spoils.

Got a few things
to show you here, Marty.

- MARTY: More leather.
- CHARLES: More leather.

You think that's shoe leather
or a glove?

Hard to say.

The stitching is
quite broad on those.

Yeah. It's more like
shoe leather, isn't it?

Yeah.

- Well, it can all be carbon dated, so...
- Yeah.

That could help solve something.

And we found this,
and it might not be anything,

but it kind of looked to me
like concrete.

MARTY:
Look at that.

Yeah.
It looks very like concrete.

Yes.

NARRATOR:
A piece of possible concrete?

The same material
that reportedly encases

the legendary Chappell Vault?

- MARTY: Good job.
- Thank you.

NARRATOR: Is it
possible that this concrete

could be a major clue
regarding the obstruction

that has just been encountered

approximately 160 feet deep
in the TB-1 shaft?

Keep up the good work.

Go on, we'll feed you
plenty of material.

Okay. Sounds good.

- We'll find it.
- MARTY: Oh, yeah.

NARRATOR:
While Charles Barkhouse

oversees the operation
at the wash plant...

later that afternoon...

VANESSA:
Our pressures are dropping.

So, that means whatever we're
cutting through is hard at first

- but we're cutting right through it, so...
- TERRY: That's great.

VANESSA:
My dig is at 160 feet.

NARRATOR:
Marty Lagina has joined Rick

and other members of the team
in the Money Pit area.

Now that the caisson
has breached

the possible obstruction,

a breakthrough discovery
could be just moments away.

- ALEX: Dig's at 160.
- Yeah.

It could be the treasure vault.

We're about to get into
totally new territory.

- ALEX: Mm-hmm.
- Yep.

So, the normal high intensity
is heightened in this case

because we're very close
to the vault.

Now we're thinking, hey,
the next thing is gonna be

a handful of doubloons
or something.

You know? A chalice, something.

We really are thinking that.
You can feel it.

[rumbling]

Are you feeling those tremors
occasionally?

- No.
- I just did.

Really?

[machinery whirring]

[rumbling]

[metal clanking]

- RICK: That ain't good.
- It's caving!

Hey, stop.
It's [bleep] caving in.

[hydraulics hissing]

Holy [bleep].

♪ ♪

JARED:
Hey, stop! It's caving in.

NARRATOR: It is a critical
moment in the Money Pit area.

VANESSA:
Yeah. We're caving.

NARRATOR: As representatives
from ROC Equipment and SB Canada

are inspecting a potentially
catastrophic cave-in

beneath the TB-1 caisson.

- Hey, Vanessa.
- VANESSA: Hey.

- MARTY: We got a problem?
- We're having caving.

- What does that mean?
- VANESSA: This place

has been Swiss-cheesed, right?
And we tried to, you know,

make it as comparable
as we could

before we started drilling,
so I did expect

some sort of caving
around things.

This one's a little bit bigger
than I'm comfortable

with moving forward
at the moment.

NARRATOR: After
more than two centuries

of previous
treasure hunting activities...

Let's go look.

NARRATOR: which
have left abandoned tunnels

and backfilled shafts buried
across the Money Pit area,

the ground surrounding
and beneath TB-1

suddenly starts to collapse.

MARTY:
This is a huge deal.

This is how disasters occur.

If you want to look up in there,
you can see

- it's starting to cave.
- Oh yeah.

Oh, my God, yeah.

MARTY: There's only
a certain amount of iron

that's supporting
that very massive oscillator.

And that is sitting
on the ground.

And if the ground
is caving away,

the whole thing can cave away.

I am very concerned about this.

This is not good.

JARED: It's 30-feet
drop all the way right here.

RICK:
Holy... That is huge.

- It's a lot of material.
- JARED: Yeah.

It suggests there's
something down hole

swallowing all that stuff.

As I'm peering down,

the situation appears
somewhat grave.

Something's happening
underground

that is taking
an enormous amount of material

and swallowing it.

Will we be able
to advance the caisson?

Let's just decide
what we're gonna do.

RICK: Is this becoming
unsafe to the point

where we have to remove
the oscillator?

We have to move off
of this area?

Which is our priority target,
number one.

So, there are
a lot of issues going on.

MARTY: Is it likely we are really
going to advance this casing?

We'd like to proceed,
if it's safe.

We're far from quitting
right now.

- Yeah.
- VANESSA: Yeah.

- So, we're going to backfill that area.
- STEVE: Sure.

VANESSA: And then
we're going to be monitoring,

you know, every couple feet,
making sure

we're not having any caving.

But, um...

it is setting us back
a little bit.

We keep losing the material.

I can't guarantee
we are going to keep advancing.

[machine beeping]

MARTY: If that stabilizes and
we can do it, we'll keep going.

Just see what happens.

- ALEX: Yeah.
- Yes.

NARRATOR:
Just as the team

may be closing in on answers,

and a fabled treasure vault,

their most ambitious operation
to reveal both

is now in jeopardy.

Will Oak Island
prevail once again

and keep hold
of its precious secrets?

Or can Rick, Marty,
Craig and their team

outmaneuver a mystery

that has lasted for more
than two centuries?

Next time
on The Curse of Oak Island...

GARY: I've got a signal.
Oh, look at that.

- CRAIG: Oh, yeah.
- Isn't that amazing?

This I would actually
date mid-1700s to late 1700s.

That could be pre-searcher?

- This could be pre-searcher.
- [laughter]

It demonstrates wealth,
nobility.

- MARTY: Wow.
- JACK: Some prominent person

was on Oak Island,
pre-Money Pit.

- Yeah.
- CRAIG: That's great.

- MARTY: Where's the gold?
- RICK: Whoa!

We could have just pierced
the tunnel or chamber.

It could be a treasure vault.