13x24 - Overseaing the Dig

[bunniefuu]

[Narrator] Tonight on
The Curse of Oak Island...

[Rick] Wait, what's that?

It's similar to what
we have on Oak Island.

This is from 2000 BC.

- Really?
- [Fiona] We're starting to find

- a hidden wall.
- [Marty] Whoa.

This would be an ideal place
to deposit treasure.

- [device whining]
- [Katya] That sounds great.

- [Marty] Wow.
- Oh, my gosh.

- This is huge.
- Amazing.

This is very, very,
very significant.

If that was part
of the treasure,

the rest of it is
still in the Money Pit.

Absolutely.

[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.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[Josh] We're getting there.

Trying to level it out
right now.

[Narrator] As a new fall day
begins on Oak Island...

They do the grinding,
we do the finding.

The team is currently repairing

a section of unstable ground

in order to begin the final
massive dig of the year,

where unnaturally
high traces of silver

have been detected
some 200 feet underground.

As the work proceeds...

over 2,000 miles
to the southeast,

on the island of Terceira
in the Portuguese Azores...

[Corjan] Welcome to Nossa
Senhora da Conceição,

Our Lady of the Conception.

Rick and members of the team,

along with local historian
Francisco Nogueira,

arrive at a 15th century church

connected to a sect
of the Knights Templar

known as the Order of Christ.

[Corjan] Founded around 1474

by Ouvidor de Omen,

this church is the crossroads
of a number of great stories

that might tell us
what came from the Holy Land

through the Azores,
uh, towards Oak Island.

-Yeah. -And I think
it's wonderful, so...

- let's go.
- [Rick] Perfect.

[Narrator] After
discovering a number

of believed Portuguese medieval
artifacts on Oak Island,

such as a hand cannon
and stoneshots,

along with structures
such as a rock wall on Lot 26

and a stone road in the swamp,

Rick and members of the team

have come to research the theory
that the Templars

and their descendant
organizations

may have stored
sacred treasures in the Azores

before taking them to Oak Island

between the 13th
and 17th centuries.

It is also their hope
to find clues

related to the 14th century
silver Portuguese coin

that was reportedly extracted
during a drilling operation

in the original Money Pit
by James Pitblado back in 1849.

[Corjan] At first glance,

this looks like
an ordinary church.

A beautiful but ordinary church.

Wow.

[Corjan] A few years ago,
we were underground

in Camerano, Italy,

looking at a altar, uh,

which had this image here.

The goose paw.

I think you'll agree that
it's, at least, very similar.

[Alex] Yeah.

[Narrator] The goose paw
is a symbol

that was created
by the Knights Templar,

which they carved at locations
of sacred importance

throughout the Middle East
and Europe

between the 12th
and 14th centuries.

The team saw a similar carving
just one week ago

at a nearby church

known as the Igreja
de São Sebastião.

And in recent years,

they have also seen goose paws

carved at former
Templar sites in Italy...

as well as
in Liverpool, Nova Scotia,

less than 50 miles
from Oak Island.

Any treasure
that was on this island

would have been in the realm
of this church.

[Narrator] Could Corjan
be correct

that this goose paw carving
is a clue

that Templar-related treasures

were once safeguarded
in the Azores?

If so, might that also suggest

that the goose paw found
near Oak Island

is evidence that those treasures

were taken to that area
at a later time?

[Rick] The goose paw.

It was an interesting connection
that he made.

What better place...
an isolated island

in the middle
of the open ocean...

to safeguard a treasure?

And then, perhaps,

an attempt to move it
even further west.

One thing I'm noticing,

just looking at this,
is we have the goose paw,

but then we also have
an elongated cross,

using the, the stem of the "H."

It's elongated
just like Nolan's Cross.

[Corjan] Yes.
The symbology is endless.

[Rick] I do believe
there is some

religious component
to what was done on Oak Island.

There's so much
encoded information

associated with Templars
and the Knights of Christ

related to significant
religious artifacts

that we have found
in Europe and Oak Island.

This is incredibly intriguing
and interesting,

as the whole story
of Oak Island is.

It's very, very cool.

It's all fascinating.

[Corjan] We should move
to the next location.

- [Peter] That'd be great.
- Let's go.

[Narrator] As Rick and the team

continue their investigation
in the Azores,

back on Oak Island...

- [Marty] Hey, Katya.
- Hey, Marty.

I hated to see you
not have a digger, so I am here.

Marty Lagina joins Katya Drayton

several yards south
of the Money Pit area on Lot 18.

[Katya] I just wanted
to go over these spoils.

Oh, the spoils from Dunfield.

Yeah, I am ready to dig
if you find something.

Let's find it.

[Narrator] In 1965,
treasure hunter Robert Dunfield

used a 70-ton crane

to dig a 100-foot-diameter
crater in the Money Pit area.

Unfortunately, upon reaching
a depth of 143 feet,

the ground around
the hole collapsed

as seawater rushed in
and flooded it.

Mr. Dunfield hastily
filled the hole

but left massive piles
of spoils off to the side,

which were never searched
for possible clues or valuables.

Now, because the team is about
to sink a much deeper shaft

in the area encompassed
by Dunfield's dig,

Marty is curious
to try the team's luck

by metal-detecting
those old mounds of spoils.

[device beeping]

Ooh, that's different.

That sounds really good.

[device whining]

Right in there, and it's small.

That's why it
kind of sounded choppy.

Hmm. Okay. That makes sense.

- Try that.
- [Katya] Let's see.

- Got it? It's out?
- Ooh... It's out.

[device whining]

Oh, man. That sounds great.

Mm... Ooh.

Oh, we got it.

It's in your hand?

- [Katya] Oh, my gosh.
- Yeah.

Oh, you know what, Katya?
I've seen this before.

- [Katya] Oh, really?
- Yeah.

Hang on, I'm pretty sure
I've seen this before.

It's shaped like
the fleur-de-lis almost.

Yeah. You are dead-on,

-because you know what this
looks exactly like? -Hmm?

[Marty] I am positive
your dad found something

exactly like this, and he was
sure it was a French cap badge.

[Katya] Why is there a French

cap badge in the Money Pit?

Well, here's the thing.

The short answer is:
we're not sure.

- [chuckles]
- But here's the cool thing.

It was found on the...
complete opposite side

of the island.

Oh, my gosh.

Which implies a greater presence
than we thought, right?

-Oh, my... -I mean,
why over here and over there?

[Jack] What is that?
That's got some designs on it.

- [Gary] Yeah, that has.
- [Narrator] In 2018,

while metal-detecting on Lot 21,

located on the western side
of the island...

This reminds me
of, like, a cap badge,

a military cap badge.

Gary, Jack and Peter

found an identical
artifact fragment.

Is it possible
that Marty and Katya

have discovered
a directly related clue

that was removed
from the Money Pit

more than 60 years ago?

[Marty] There are
several leading theories

that involve the French
in a very significant way.

The Knights of Malta,

Isaac de Razilly,
which had a settlement

just down the coast here
in the 1600s,

was apparently here
associated with the French

or under French orders.

[Narrator] In 1632,

a French military officer
named Isaac de Razilly

established a fort
in LaHave, Nova Scotia,

just 15 miles south
of Oak Island.

Curiously, De Razilly was also

a prominent member
of the Templar-

and Order of Christ-related
group

known as the Knights of Malta

and is believed
by some researchers

to have possibly visited
Oak Island.

That is a great find.

Boy, the, uh,
the Draytons strike.

[both laugh]

We don't know exactly where
these Dunfield spoils came from,

but nobody's gone through them.

I would never have guessed
this would show up over here.

And so I think
this is evidence of

human activity deep underground
in the Money Pit area,

and potentially
some of the depositors.

This is a great indicator

that something's
still down there.

Look, honestly,
it is so significant.

-Thank you. -Of course.
I'll find you another.

Great find.

[Josh] I got a lot
of passes to lead.

And I probably got
a couple nights' work still.

[Narrator] While work continues
in the Money Pit area...

[excavator beeping]

[Fiona] He's just dying
to dig, isn't he?

[Narrator] ...Marty joins
members of the team on Lot 5

to dig for new clues

several yards from
the rounded stone foundation.

Okay. Talk to me.

What-what are we
looking at right now?

[Fiona] Well,
as we started uncovering

this lovely ring of rocks
and got a little further down,

there's something
starting to present itself,

and it looks like a-a nicely
stacked area of rocks,

which potentially
could be another feature.

- [Gary] A hook. A hook.
- [Marty] It's a hook.

[Narrator] Four weeks ago,
the team

began investigating
what they believed

was a 20th century stone well.

However, after finding
an iron hook

inside of it that may date back
three centuries or more...

Fiona and Laird began to
carefully excavate the feature

and have found evidence
that it may not

only be older than they thought

but is perhaps
not a well at all.

[Marty] Okay,
so what do we want to do?

What's the next step?

Why don't we take off
that top layer where the rocks

are on the outside,

scoop up that, and it gives us

-a-a start on a test pit
that we can do. -Okay.

I love this
excavator archaeology.

You can do some real
metal-detecting with this baby,

- can't you?
- [laughs]

[Narrator] Now Fiona and Laird
want Marty to dig a trench

beside the feature so that they
can carefully expose more of it

and hopefully determine
just what it actually is.

[Marty] It's still too early
to say what it is, but

it sure as heck
wasn't a 20th century well.

Fiona, more? Or closer?

I think you can do another one
in here. I'd go for more.

[Marty] It's necessary
to find out what this is

because it's Lot 5,
it's close to activity.

Could be maybe associated
with the round feature

and is one of the things
that probably

happened a long time ago.

We need to do more
investigation of it.

It hasn't really told
its secret yet.

[Fiona] I think
that's good, Marty.

That gives us
a really nice trench zone.

-I think that gives us
a really good head start. -Good?

- [Fiona] Yeah. I think so.
- All right, and just call

-when you need, you know,
big scoops taken. -Yeah.

Your team is chomping
at the bit over there.

- [laughter]
- I say we turn 'em loose.

- Let's get after it.
- [Fiona] Thank you.

[Marty] All right, I'm gonna
get this thing out of here.

[Laird] All right.

[Narrator] As the archaeologists

continue their investigation
on Lot 5...

back on the island
of Terceira in the Azores...

- [Emiliano] Hey, guys.
- [Rick] Francisco. Felix.

Thank you for welcoming us.

-Nice to meet you. -Appreciate
it. -Hey, how are you?

Rick and other members
of the team...

- Morning.
- Morning.

Meet with historian
Dr. Felix Rodrigues

at Grota do Medo,

a site of mysterious
megalithic stone features

which are believed
to have been built by someone

before the Portuguese
settled the Azores in 1439.

For over 15 years,
Professor Rodrigues studied

the place we're going today
to date some of the features

that are here. We know that
the, uh, Portuguese arrived

here officially
in the early 1400s.

You... We will see, uh, traces

that someone
in the Middle Ages was here

and might have used the Azores
as a stepping stone

to sail to-to North America.

Right, which is basically
the halfway point

between the European mainland

- and North America.
- [Emiliano] Yeah.

You're always looking
to incrementally

build the database

brick by brick by brick
or stone by stone by stone.

Uh, with, uh, Felix's, uh, work,

we have to have an ability
to get from

east to west.

[Alex] Right.

That-that possibility
that there was

a, uh, a group here

prior to the conventionally
accepted date

is kind of the thing
that I'd like to investigate

while we're out here
because that implies

sort of a secret visit.

- Oh, yeah, yeah.
- If this can support that data,

then I believe that
is the intent of our trip here.

- [Emiliano] Yeah.
- [Doug] Gentlemen,

I've got some business
to take care of back in town,

so I'm gonna excuse myself.
Nice to meet you, Professor.

- All right. See you, Doug.
- See you, Doug. -See you.

- Let's go. -Let's go.
- Okay, yeah.

[Rick] I believe that the point
of beginning on Oak Island

was in the 1200s...

[Corjan] Let's go find
some data points.

Because of the paved area
in the swamp.

-[Alex] We'll get our exercise
today. -[Corjan] Oh, yeah.

It significantly predates
the discovery of the Azores.

[Emiliano] Up there, no?

[Rick] There is a belief
that the Templars

and the Order of Christ
knew of this place.

Is there a early habitation
here in the Azores?

This is what we seek
to find out.

Hey, guys. Hold up. Look.

- Yeah.
- Look at that.

This is exactly the way
the Lot 8 boulder is, right?

A space and this and a space.

- Oh, it is.
- [Narrator] A rock formation?

Similar to
the boulder feature on Lot 8?

Which sat above a series
of evenly spaced stones?

Come on down.
Take a look at this.

[Narrator] Could Rick
have found a stone structure

built with
the same kind of design?

Felix, I-I was just walking by
and I just noticed this.

It's kind of similar to a rock
that we have on the island.

Very interesting.

Does anybody have a photo
of the Lot 8 feature?

- Yeah, I think I do, here.
- Do you?

I'll show you.

So, this is... it's-it's zoomed
in, but it's a giant boulder.

-There's a support rock and then
a space. -[Felix] Space.

[Alex] And then a support rock
and then a space.

And it looked very deliberate.

Yeah.

[Rick] Incredible.

[Alex] It's a giant boulder.

So, this is...
it's-it's zoomed in.

-There's a support rock and then
a space. -[Felix] Space.

[Alex] And then a support rock
and then a space.

And it looked very deliberate.

Yeah.

We don't know why.

[Narrator] At the megalithic
complex known

as Grota do Medo in the Azores,

the Oak Island team is examining

a stone feature that is similar

in design to placed rocks in
the boulder formation on Lot 8.

Felix, what is that?

[Francisco] Astronomical, yeah.

Oh. Has an archaeoastronomer
looked at this

and been able to date it
through the use of alignments?

Stellar? And what are the dates
here? Do you, do you know?

Really?

Really?

That is compelling.

What I noticed is the same thing
I noticed on Lot 8.

The spacing of the stones
that surround the Lot 8 feature

and the spacing of these cuts
in the stone were so similar.

We're trying to find
real connections

between the Azores
and Oak Island.

This structure represents that...
that possible connection.

I-It's very curious
to see that here.

It's quite interesting.

But obviously,
this feature is very old,

so was the work here on
Oak Island done by descendants

of the original people
who occupied the Azores

or something different?

Really?

Then I would ask you to proceed

because I'm very interested.

More to see.

[laughs] Turns out,
that's just the beginning.

[Rick] We're only
partway to the site

that he deems to be,
uh, important.

O-Of course we're all excited
to go see it.

[Peter] Gorgeous.

[Rick] It's stunningly
beautiful.

These megalithic structures
represent, for us,

this belief that once
this landmass was found,

it was used over centuries

as a stepping stone between
the Old World and the New World.

[Rick] But I'm looking
for a timeline, a date.

Constructions and clues

that connects directly
to Oak Island.

Something that will perhaps

change history
as we have come to know it.

[Peter] Oh, look at that.

Mm-hmm.

[Rick] So, is that

hand-carved or-or...

[Rick] So, this is not

a functional watering hole?

It's probably ceremonial?

[Rick] And it was?

- [Peter] Oh, wow.
- [Rick] Really?

Pretty cool.

[Peter] Mm-hmm.

- [Alex] Yeah.
- Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Comparison here is, uh,
to the Lot 26 well, right?

-[Alex] Yeah. Yeah. -Small
diameter. -[Peter] Yeah.

More than a few people
on the island have mentioned

that the Lot 26 well
could be ceremonial.

[Peter] Oh, yeah.

[Narrator] In 2022,

the team began investigating
a mysterious stone well

just yards from the believed
Portuguese wall on Lot 26.

So, this is the location.

[Narrator] When
Dr. Ian Spooner analyzed

organic materials taken from
the very bottom of the feature

in order to date it,

the team was stunned
by the results.

The date I got on the twig
at the bottom was 1028 to 1172.

[whistles]

[Peter] Well, I mean,
if this was used in 1100,

it could have been
a stopping ground...

- Well, yeah, like...
- before going to Oak Island.

Yeah.

- [Peter] Mm-hmm.
- [Alex] Mm-hmm.

[Rick] 100%. And that is

really so critically important.

The 1100s is 300 years
before the current understanding

of when the Azores
were discovered.

Everything we have learned
to date would indicate

that these islands
were known during the zenith

of the power and influence
of the Templars.

It fits perfectly
into what we believe

could be a scenario
under which a treasure

would have been brought here
to be safeguarded,

and then perhaps an attempt
to move it even further west.

So perhaps there is
some association here

with Oak Island.

[Alex] So it's checking off
lots of the boxes

as it pertains to Oak Island.

[Rick] Right.
So, to both of you,

we thank you for your efforts.

- [Alex] Incredible.
- [Corjan] Amazing.

[Rick] Pretty cool.

[Narrator] The following
morning, back on Oak Island...

- [Fiona] Hi.
- [Laird] Hello.

This looks
quite a bit different.

[Narrator] ...Marty returns
to Lot 5 for an update

on the investigation of
the mysterious stone structure.

[Fiona] Oh, you got
to check out this progress.

Come and see. You've got
a good angle over here.

Oh, my.

[Fiona] The rocks are really
well stacked down below.

They just look a bit more

- jumbled on the top.
- [Laird] Yeah.

What we're seeing
with the structure of the rocks

and the, uh, direction
that they're going,

I-I do feel that this is a wall.

-A foundation wall,
just to be clear. -Yeah,

like a foundation wall, yeah.

That-That's what I think.
And it's quite thick as well.

Yeah. That, to me, looks buried.

It's not natural accumulation.

-[Marty] Oh, on purpose.
Hidden, hidden. -Yeah. Exactly.

[Marty] It looks
pretty substantial to me.

- [Fiona] Yeah.
- Hit-hit me upside the head

with a 2x4,
but this is looking identical

to what went on over there

in the original round feature.

-[Laird] I know. -[Fiona] That's
what we were saying.

[Laird] It does look
almost exactly as

the original round feature did.

And then we have
this-this rock-filled structure.

[Marty] I mean,
this whole business on Lot 5

started with the ring
of modern-placed rocks

surrounding a depression

that turned out
to be hiding something.

And that turned into
a very, very substantial

archaeological feature.

Well, this is a smaller version
of the same thing.

I mean, it's crying out
for more exploration.

Even the construct,
at-at first initial glance,

is very crude and very similar

to what we have
over there as well.

Well, but over there
you suspected

- at least two occupations.
- Oh, definitely. Definitely.

The later occupation
was better built

than the earlier, and this-this
matches the-the earlier. So far.

I wouldn't be surprised
if it was the same era.

It's like déjà vu.

A really good sign, Fiona.

[Laird] It does look
almost exactly as

the original round feature did
when we first saw it.

[Fiona] I wouldn't be surprised
if it was the same era.

[Narrator] On Lot 5,

Fiona Steele
has uncovered evidence

suggesting that
the stone feature

previously thought
to be a 20th century well

is a much larger structure
and may be related

to the nearby
rounded foundation.

That's a strange thing,

to put a structure
this close to the ocean,

especially back then.

[Fiona] You know,
but I did question

the proximity as well.

This would be an ideal place
to put something

if you were doing some
sort of activity that involved

- bringing things in from boats.
- Maybe.

[Fiona] Lot 5
is a prime location

in the sense
that you could be hidden there.

It's on the back end
of the island,

closer to the shore,
and it hadn't been settled.

So you could easily hide a ship.

It's not that far
from the Money Pit as well.

I think that would be
very enticing for anybody

who's gonna want
to deposit treasure.

[Marty] Old Man Winter
is breathing

down our neck right now.

We are running out of time.

- Yeah.
- Uh...

You know, we want to know
as much as we can.

[Fiona] I agree. The fact that

there could be another,
third feature on Lot 5

I think is absolutely amazing,

so, no, we're-we're hungry
to get at this, so...

Okay. I know you're already
working like, you know, dynamos,

but go to double dynamo, okay?

- We're so excited about this.
- That was a pep talk.

We're gonna be gre... aggressive.

- We're gonna really go for it.
- All right.

Curiouser and curiouser.

Lot of unknowns here.

So we're gonna
let you get back to work

- before the weather closes in.
- Thank you.

All right, let's go for it.

[Narrator] As work continues
on Oak Island...

back on the island
of Terceira in the Azores...

[Rick] Usually,
a discussion like this

would happen in
the w*r room on Oak Island.

Alberto Silva from Porto

is a numismatist,
a world-class coin collector.

[Narrator] ...Rick
and members of the team

meet with renowned Portuguese
coin expert Alberto Silva

at the Luís da Silva Ribeiro
Public Library

and Regional Archive.

[Rick] Alberto has kindly
offered his services here

to look at
the so-called Pitblado coin.

[Narrator] After
previous analysis

by coin expert Sandy Campbell

suggested that
the 14th century silver coin

was extremely rare,

worth thousands of dollars
in today's value,

and connected
to the Order of Christ,

the team is eager to hear
Alberto's perspective.

[Doug] Alberto,

what we have here
to show you today is a coin

that was passed down
generation to generation,

believing it came from
the Money Pit on Oak Island.

And, uh, this is that coin.

Above the shield.

It is minted between...

[Doug] That right there helps us

because so far we believed

that it was minted somewhere
between 1367 and 1383.

So if it was minted

no later than 1371,

- that shortens the window...
- Yeah. A lot.

On the time
in which it was created.

[Narrator] Dating back
more than 2,000 years,

a die is a metal tool
used to stamp a specific design

into a coin
during the minting process.

When damaged,
coin dies were often replaced

with new,
slightly different stamps

in order to trace
the manufacturing of a coin

to a specific date and time.

Are there
many surviving examples

of those coins?

[Alex] Wow.

Mm-hmm.

[Narrator] King Ferdinand I,
who was reported to be

a great supporter
of the Order of Christ,

ruled Portugal from 1367
until his death in 1383.

In 1372,

attempting to expand his power,

he declared w*r
on the Kingdom of Castile,

which is now part
of modern-day Spain.

The effort was unsuccessful

and led to a series of conflicts
known as the Fernandine Wars,

which nearly bankrupted
the royal treasury,

caused instability
across Portugal,

and threatened the strongholds
held by the Order of Christ.

- Mm-hmm.
- [Doug] You're telling us that

there was a large number
of these coins produced

and yet there's only
about a hundred

- known in the world.
- Yeah.

[Alex] Because there's so few
of those, maybe there's a reason

that, uh,
they weren't circulated.

-Right. -Because the bulk
of them were somewhere else.

- Okay.
- [Rick] Here's the question

that we have asked ourselves

in search of answers
to the Oak Island mystery,

and that question is:
where are the coins?

- Yep.
- If the treasure had been found,

there would be more
than a hundred in circulation.

- That's almost a guarantee.
- Yeah, that would no longer

- be a rare coin.
- Exactly.

- [Alex] Yeah.
- That means,

if that was part
of the treasure,

it is still in the ground.

- Right?
- Mm-hmm.

The story that has been
laid out here today,

to me, is more impactful

because the whole point
of the trip here

is to try to understand,

might a treasure be associated
with the Order of Christ

and found its way to the Azores
and thus to Oak Island?

So, either way,
this is all good news.

If coins of this type
are that valuable,

then why aren't they out
in the real world?

Why are there
less than a hundred?

And why do we still have
a very significant source

of silver expressed by the water
sample testing in the Money Pit?

To me, it says definitively

that the treasure
still remains in the depths

and the confines
of the Money Pit.

It makes the trip back
all that much more exciting

because we have another chance,
with the last caisson,

to perhaps find the very thing
we presented to Alberto:

a coin of... that might be
that significant.

The story corroborates
the water testing,

and the water testing
corroborates the story.

[Rick] Correct.

We still have a chance to find
the very thing we're discussing

-because the caisson work
continues. -Mm-hmm.

And having said that,
we do need to get back.

Let's go find one
of those for ourselves.

- [Alex] Yeah. Absolutely.
- One?

[laughter]

[Rick] The experience we had
in the Azores was amazing.

It certainly has made an impact.

And for that we say obrigado.

Thank you, Alberto.

- Thank you very much.
- Appreciate it.

[Alex] It is back
to the island for us.

♪ ♪

[Marty] Our wandering voyagers
have returned.

We want a download on your trip,

what you found,
what was exciting.

Everything. Tell us everything.

[Alex] We went there
looking for evidence

that treasure
passed through the Azores.

And a logical place
to keep something safe

before sailing to North America.

-[Marty] Right. -There's a lot
of connections there.

It's a logical place that you
would take something valuable.

I 100% believe that.

As part of our agenda,
we wanted to get a look

at structures
constructed on Terceira

because there were suggestions
that the technique they used

on the island was also
used here on Oak Island.

[Doug] It wasn't hard
to find stone walls.

And so these are some walls.

[Rick] There was rubble
in the wall

that absolutely mimicked

- Lot 26 walls.
- [Marty] Really?

[Doug] The important thing is,
though, it could go

all the way back to the 1400s
and perhaps earlier.

[Alex] But the next site here

is one that could
potentially support

those early dates in structures
we have here on the island.

[Marty] Mm-hmm.

It looked very similar
to the Lot 26 well.

- [Jack] Oh, no way.
- Again, it's just a similarity,

there's no proof,
but it's very curious.

So, people sailed to the Azores
in at least the 1300s.

At that time, they would have
been capable of sailing

to North America as well.

It's possible that these people

could have made it
to Oak Island.

- We brought a lot of artifacts.
- Okay.

[Doug] This artifact was maybe
the biggest surprise.

[Marty] Which one?

- [Doug] The nail.
- The-the spike. The nail.

Of all the things
we brought, this was

the one piece that I didn't
think he equivocated about.

[Alex] It's a nautical-type nail

that we found on Lot 5.

[Doug] That's the exact style
of a Portuguese nail

-that would be used
in a caravel ship. -[Peter] Yes.

They became prominent
in Portuguese seafaring

- in the 1300s.
- Mm-hmm.

- Exactly.
- [Marty] All right. I like that.

I like that a lot.

[Doug] I want
to raise a point here

because we talked to, uh,
a coin expert from Portugal

by the name of Alberto Silva,

and we showed him
the Portuguese coin.

[Rick] Alberto looked
at that coin

and he said there are less than
a hundred of these in the world.

[Alex] He also said

there's way more out there.

There's a good indication
that a lot of those were minted.

And yet there's only a hundred
in collectors' hands today.

-Oh, so the others are
hidden away somewhere. -Yeah.

So, to me,
it speaks emphatically

and-and almost definitively
that the treasure still remains

to be found in the Money Pit.

[Marty] I distinctly remember

Sandy Campbell saying
it's worth about $20,000.

That's one coin.

If this really is
a Portuguese treasure

and it was something
big enough to be worth

the construction
of the Money Pit...

would there be
ten of them? No.

Hundred? No. Thousand?

Perhaps 100,000 coins.

So, you know,
I mean, the hope is,

we're digging for something
worth billions.

[Marty] Well, look,
I'm just gonna say this...

that I-I find myself very rarely

on the more believer side
than my brother,

but, I mean,
it all makes sense to me.

- Sounds like a great expedition.
- Mm-hmm. Yeah.

[Marty] All right,
we're eager to tell you

what happened here
on the island.

We did a lot of digging.

I had heard a lot
about this so-called

sand road in the swamp.

This is not a modern road.

I got a picture here
which made me a believer

because not only did Billy do
a fabulous job of excavating it,

we also had a oxshoe nail

from under the sand...
right, Billy...

- but on top of the rocks.
- Right.

[Marty] And lo and behold,
we absolutely found

that the sand
and the structure underneath it

was continuing up
towards Center Road.

So that leads us to say,
maybe the path from Lot 5

to Center Road was the path
up to the Money Pit.

And if you project this road
on farther across the swamp,

it hits what we have
now recently started

calling the Portuguese Road.

Basically, Steve, right,
it hits right at the base of it?

It does. Yep.

So it's ridiculous,
really, it's crazy.

The other major thing...

You know, you talk about walking
by something for 15 years.

The so-called modern well
on Lot 5,

but Laird does not think
it's a well.

Fiona thinks that it is
a new discovery,

but there's an extensive
archaeological search

going on there right now.

Those are the big digs
we did while you were gone.

- It's a good week.
- Yeah, I think so.

[Marty] And they were
getting ready

to put in the last caisson
up in the Money Pit,

- and it's about ready to go.
- [Craig] That's good news.

-[Alex] Yeah. -[Marty] Anyway,
that's it. That's my report.

[Rick] So, to me,

there's always been concern
in this room

that the treasure
had been found.

But you think about it,
if this really is

a treasure coin from
the depths of the Money Pit,

then where are they?

- [Marty] The Money Pit.
- In the Money Pit.

That shows it, right?

[Marty] Well,
let's go find something

very special.

The sky's the limit.

- Let's go look.
- [Craig] All right, okay.

[Marty] Let's get to work.

[Terry] In the heart
of the Money Pit.

[Steve] Hey, Rick.

- Hey.
- [Peter] Hey.

- New hole, fresh start?
- Fresh start.

[Narrator] In the Money Pit
area,

Rick arrives as representatives
from SB Canada and ROC Equipment

are about to break ground

on the team's final shaft
of the year... Money Pit-1.

[Peter] This last hole...
Money Pit-1...

might be one of the best chances

to get deep in an area where
we haven't explored at depth.

So, Steve,
can you put us on the map?

Yes, we're dead center
between these three caissons.

And that's where
we've had all the success...

the bottom
of the solution channel,

where it's showing
signs of silver.

And we're not far
from those areas.

[Narrator] The MP-1 shaft
is located

less than ten feet
from the Karma-1

and Top Pocket Find shafts
that were dug several weeks ago.

During those excavations,

where the highest traces
of silver have been detected

more than 200 feet deep
in the solution channel,

artifacts and pieces of wood

that may have been related
to the original Money Pit

were brought to the surface.

This is a very good location.

We have... stand every
good chance to be successful.

- Yep.
- We don't want metal finds.

We want to find treasure.

- Oh, yeah.
- And answers to the mystery.

-Brilliant. -If we're gonna
find the treasure, to me,

- this is our best chance.
- I hope you got your boots on,

Rick, 'cause we're gonna be
knee-deep in artifacts.

Everything we found this year,

everything we found
in all the previous years

indicates that this
could be the spot

where the treasure fell
into the solution channel.

This is our last caisson
this year

but also the best shot.

What say you guys?

- Hey.
- This looking like a good spot?

- It is.
- I love it.

Wouldn't be anywhere else

but right here,
going through Money Pit spoils.

- You're having fun.
- Oh, it's brilliant.

[laughs]

[Rick] We have silver
in the water

that is consistent with
the 14th century Portuguese coin

that almost certainly
came from the Money Pit.

I think we are building
a very excellent case

that old-world treasure

that is deemed to be at depth
in the Money Pit is still there.

And now, in MP-1,

we are on the cusp
of proving it to the most...

how shall we say...
hardened skeptic.

I really want to know
what's way down deep.

[Terry] Here we go. Showtime.

[Rick] Marty has said many times

that the story of Oak Island
started in the Money Pit

and it will end
in the Money Pit.

Why not name it Money Pit-1?

Let's find this.

[Gary] Ooh, I like the look
of that material.

Treasure on deck.

- [Billy] Yep.
- Let's get stuck in.

[Marty] I'll go join 'em
for luck.

[Alex] Okay.

[Rick] Keep
your fingers crossed.

[Narrator] So far this year,

the team has unearthed
discoveries on Oak Island

and made revelations
across the ocean

that suggest a valuable
and potentially sacred treasure

was buried long ago
in the Money Pit.

Now they are digging

where all of this
compelling evidence is pointing.

Others have searched here

only to be thwarted by forces

that are perhaps beyond nature.

But for the Laginas
and their team...

a different destiny
may be waiting...

below.