07x23 - Timeline

[bunniefuu]

Tonight on
The Curse of Oak Island

‐It's definitely a void.
‐We're gonna see right now if we get a full scoop.

We're hoping we'll find
the Chappell Vault.

It's the exciting
season finale.

The dates are rather
extraordinary.

‐Wow.

We have a definitive date

when the swamp was built.

‐It's a coin!
‐That's proof positive.

‐That tells quite a story.
‐That might be the find of the year.

We may have a real whodunit.

And we've got an artifact
you can hold in your hand.

‐Medieval.
‐Medieval, baby!

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,

mysterious fragments
of human bone,

and a lead cross
whose origin may stretch back

to the days
of 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.

The hope is, today, that...
Yeah.

...we find everything
there was to find,

‐because the time, the window is closing.
‐Yeah, that'd be huge.

Weather's closing.

After a year that saw
the Laginas and their partners

make a number of groundbreaking
discoveries in their quest

to solve a 225‐year‐old
treasure mystery,

Marty, Craig, Rick and members
of their incredible team

are nevertheless determined
not to leave the island

without making at least
one more historic breakthrough.

But to do so,
they will have to work fast.

It is already November,
and only a matter of days

until another harsh North
Atlantic winter will force them

to suspend all operations
on the island

for the rest of the year.

Once November rolls around,
your days are precious.

So we need to accelerate this
final location that we're on.

‐Gentlemen.
‐Morning, Craig.

‐Good morning, Craig.
‐So, what's the plan for the morning?

Last night when we left, we had
about 12 feet up in the can.

So, when we come back
this morning,

we took the hammer grab out,
and we measured it,

‐and it was at seven.
‐Oh, five‐foot move.

‐Good morning. Hi.
‐Pretty good news, eh? At least to start.

Yeah. So, we'll know here
in a minute if it's

hopefully, it's still loose.

But the fact
that it moved is great.

Yeah.

One week ago,

while digging
in the eight‐foot‐wide shaft

known as RF‐1...

...a large mass, or object,

became lodged
inside the steel caisson

at a depth of some 170 feet
underground.

Broke the whole shear off.

Boy, it's disconcerting.

In order to dislodge it,

the team
from Irving Equipment Limited

has spent
the past few days resting

the 26‐ton hammer grab tool
on top of the obstruction,

in the hopes that the sheer
weight would push it forward

so that it can be retrieved.

We're hoping, when RF‐1
gets down to where we push

the plug ahead in H8,

we'll try and bring up
what's in it.

The one thing
or maybe several one things.

Luckily, the team's strategy
appears to have worked.

But what was the nature
of the large obstruction?

Could it have been
the legendary Chappell Vault,

first reported
by searchers in 1897?

So, this is the one time
when it would be good

to see wood coming up
in the spoils.

If there really was
a wood interface,

at this depth, that would have
to be the one thing.

‐Wow.
‐It would be that important.

Yeah.

A void, nearly 200 feet deep
in the Money Pit area?

Is it possible
that the large obstruction

was once again
pushed out of the way?

Where are we at, Vanessa?

We are at 202,

‐but we definitely had a void.
‐Mm‐hmm.

Full grabs each time,

but for him to have
only pulled up two grabs

and us advance seven feet and
we're still at the same marker?

That means there's a void below
that the material is going into.

Well, this is good. Good job.

All right, well... Hey, Rick!

202. And guess what?

There's definitely a void.

Oh, wow.

Rick and I have always been

really interested in that,
because voids would be

a strong indication
of a man‐made tunnel.

In the Money Pit,
there are extensive tunnelings

and/or voids created
by the hand of man.

So if it's a void,

that's significant.

That's the bucketfuls we like.

That's a bucket. Yeah.

We'll move right along
with buckets like that.

‐ It's all clay, though, isn't it?
Yeah.

Some gravel.

‐Yeah.
‐The vast majority on the top

‐is the‐the gravel...
‐Yeah.

‐...or whatever material that...
‐Yeah. Yeah.

And it's all crushed.

‐It's not natural materials
from here. No.

I'm concerned the material
on the backside of H8

is falling down

‐into this hole.
‐ Yeah.

Gravel, from nearby H8?

Could it be the same gravel
the team used last year

to shore up a dangerous
sinkhole in the ground

beneath the drilling equipmen?

‐Hello. Hello.
‐Hey, Vanessa.

‐Well...
‐So, what do we think this is?

This last hammer grab, to me,
that's all that came up,

was backfill material.

Okay.

If it's It's got to be coming
from H8, in my mind.

I can't think of any other one.

This looks serious.

Yeah. That's the concern.

That's what it looks like.
The collapse, probably.

‐Um...
‐If it's falling down from H8 again,

we may have the same problem.

Obviously, this could mean
another cave‐in,

like happened last time.

Where are we right now?

So, we're eight inches
below the can.

So, that puts us at, like,
203 and two inches.

What's happening underground
in the Money Pit is dangerous.

Material is moving and
it's moving quite aggressively.

Where are you in terms
of a safety issue?

Because safety
has to be paramount.

Yeah. So, what we're seeing,
which is backfill

from the shafts
we've dug in the years past

start coming up in the can.

Obviously, whatever solution
channel we're in,

there's something moving

that we're getting
our own backfill back.

That's concerning to me.

That's kind of
an all‐stop for me.

Too much of a safety issue.

I mean, you could start
losing equipment and then,

God forbid, people or anything.

‐So...
The bottom line is safety

has to be the driver of this.

And if you're concerned,

now you have to be
seriously concerned, right?

I don't know.
My‐my call would be...

terminate the hole.

Despite the team's belief

that a historic breakthrough
may be just mere feet away,

the dangerous condition
beneath the drill rig

has forced Rick,
Marty and Craig

to end their digging operations
at the Money Pit site.

RF‐1 remains a very frustrating

adventure for me,
because we didn't get

to the bottom ten feet.

RF‐1 told me that

there's a collapse feature
in this area.

Now, that demands
further exploration.

How we do that, I'm not certain.

I'm grateful for you believing
in it, for you believing in it.

Not only you but your people
and your companies.

Thank you. Thank you.

We appreciate all the hard work
and all the effort, but...

for now, we're done.

The following day...

I'd like to get those stones
out of here, maybe...

...Rick and Marty
decide to shift

their team's attention to the
massive stone‐paved formation

that was recently discovered
at the bottom

of the triangle‐shaped swamp.

Hey, Billy? You think
you can get your bucket

and pick up those stones?

Yep.

So, this is it, with the swamp?

Yeah.

‐Oh, look.
‐ What is that?

Within the past few weeks,

the team has discovered
a number of artifacts

which support the theory

that a large sailing ship,
or galleon, was at one time

sailed between what was once
two separate islands;

then, after a cofferdam
was constructed, b*rned, sunk

and then buried in what is now
the Oak Island swamp.

Even more intriguing is the
fact that one of the features

of the swamp is a circular
stone construction

known as the Eye of the Swamp,

which geoscientist
Dr. Ian Spooner believes

could date back
to the late 17th century.

There's all kinds of data
adding up in the swamp

that that area was used
for some sort of wharf,

some sort of shipping,
some sort of docking point.

Maybe that's what
the, uh, paved area is.

I mean, it leads
to all kinds of conjecture.

And as Rick has pointed out
many times, that's conjecture.

But something happened here.

Hold up a minute.

We've got company.

Doug and Dr. Spooner.

‐ Hey, guys.
‐Gentlemen.

Welcome back.
‐What you guys got going?

Well, so do you
remember that squished stick,

smashed by the rock?

‐Mm‐hmm.
‐We got the date.

And so, we just got
them back yesterday.

The dates are
rather extraordinary.

We kind of rushed down here.

It's gonna,
I think, be important.

While investigating
the stone‐paved area this year,

Dr. Spooner discovered
a number of tree branches

embedded within
the layers of rock.

This stick will tell me
when that stone was placed.

If you date the stick,
you know when that happened.

So this is the paved area,
which was

a disturbed area, you know,
disturbed by humans.

Right.

There's the dates we're getting.

‐Wow.
‐Yeah.

‐What are they?
‐Around...

1200 AD.

‐Medieval.
‐Medieval, baby!

1200 AD?

More than 800 years ago?

And nearly six centuries
before the Money Pit

was discovered in 1795?

‐That's consistent with the first one.
‐That's for the paved area, yep.

Well, to borrow an expression
from Gary,

I'm gobsmacked by this date,

because I can't really fit
that into anything.

That's big, okay,
but I don't know as I sit here

right now what the heck
to make of it.

We now have two puzzles, i. e.,

we have a swamp story
and a Money Pit story.

I hope that they are related,
but, boy, right now

as we sit here, it's hard
to put the two together.

Unbelievable! That's what
comes to mind unbelievable.

When we get this much data
that's so awe‐inspiring

and so difficult to digest, it's
time to head for the w*r room.

‐Yeah.
‐And kick this around amongst the whole team.

This was great, Dr. Spooner.

‐Thank you very much.
‐Oh, you're welcome.

Well, let's go figure it out.

The next day,
and still excited

by the results of Dr. Spooner's
impressive research,

Rick, Marty, Craig
and the Oak Island team

gather for what is, perhaps,

this year's final meeting in
the w*r room.

‐Hey, guys.
As preparation for the meeting,

Rick and Marty have also
arranged for Charles Barkhouse

to place this year's most
significant finds

along with several others
in a kind of timeline,

one which stretches all the way
back to the 12th century.

Quite an amazing display
and we're gonna get into it

in a little bit because we have
a lot to discuss today.

I want to thank Charles.

Uh, Rick and I
asked him to do this,

to set these things up
in this order,

‐sort of by year...
‐Yes.

...and that's obviously
what you did.

By a hundred years.

Yeah, there's,
that's just the point.

Isn't it, Dave?

Look how many years are here.

Way before 1795.

‐That's‐that's...
‐We're down here around 1100s.

The timeline puts it
all in context,

particularly regarding,
if you look at

to scale let's say,
from 1795 to present

is about this big,
but from 1795

back to where we're
finding data is that big,

so it's just amazing to see it

spread out on
the table like that.

‐Yeah.
‐I mean, when I came on this island

with Rick, I thought
there was a good chance

that nothing would be
found before this line.

‐ Right.
‐I really did.

I thought perhaps that,

you know, this is all just...

‐collective madness.

But we have a lot of data here.

The finds...

I wish they could talk because

there is certainly a story here.

And the hope is that,
as part of this process,

we'll be able to mine
some of that story

and also see where
we are in terms of the...

the process, the search agenda,

the investigation,
unraveling the mystery.

‐Absolutely.
‐Yes.

Well, the Dr. Spooner date
of 1200 for the swamp.

I mean, the cross...

1300 are we really
now surprised

that Dr. Spooner dates
the swamp back to 1200?

‐Yes. ‐Yes.
‐We've actually

I'm not, because
we've got an artifact.

‐Yes.
‐And I feel like the Templars

had something to do
with Oak Island.

This would have been
a useful place for them and

they might have seen it
as a place to store some wealth.

Yeah, we've got a date
and we've got an artifact

you can hold in your hand.

And we have
a massive paved area.

The paved area is far
bigger that what we've,

I've even shown you guys,
so, today...

‐Why‐why do you say that?
‐I can tell you now,

based on just the strategic
digs that we've done,

the paved area, I checked
before we came in here,

is 80 by 170 feet.

‐Really?
‐Yeah.

And when you connect the dots,

they form an 80 by 170 foot,

not a perfect rectangle, but...

Mm‐hmm, that's
almost half an acre.

That is just in,
in a sense, isn't it?

That data's just in.

‐I didn't know it was that big.
‐Mm‐hmm.

I think it probably, uh...

Dr. Ian Spooner said that
there was an open channel.

I think it probably,
if you go back to the 1200s,

it probably connects
to that open channel.

‐Was an open channel.
‐Was an open channel.

‐Yeah.
‐ What I enjoyed

most about Ian Spooner and the,

uh, paved area was
the fact that he...

was reluctant to play
into the timeline.

He‐he was kind of fighting it
and fighting it,

relying on the evidence,
and this is what came

out of the hard
scientific evidence.

‐You buy it, too?
‐Uh, obviously, I don't think

‐You can't dispute it.
‐No, I‐I'm asking, yeah.

It's not disputable.

‐Wow.
‐And I would have

It's the last thing I would
have expected

‐in the swamp.
‐Mm‐hmm.

And to have him say
it's‐it's man‐made...

‐was significant.
‐Not just him.

‐Yeah, yeah.
‐Also you, also him.

‐Yeah, yeah.
‐Yes. Yeah.

‐A whole bunch of experts.
‐ You know, when we started

this year, I mean, you weren't

the biggest fan of the swamp.

No, I'm still not, Tom, sorry.

And I said,

I said going in, I said,
something happened there.

Man had a hand in that swamp.

You said, if there's
something to be found,

there's‐there's, uh,
answers in the swamp.

‐Yeah, so what do you think now?
‐Yeah.

At 1200, really?

And‐and somebody as hard
to move as Laird

sitting over there saying,
yeah, it's for sure,

it's man‐made,
everybody agrees,

and there's twigs
that date it to that.

It's amazing.

No, you were, you were right.

Rick was right, um, there were,

there were answers in the swamp.

We just don't know
what the questions are.

We don't know what
the question was. (laughs)

Yeah.

Well, you know, Dad spent

a lot of time in that bog
and I mean, you

you know, we probably
found as much as he did

in his years in there,
but it's, you know,

it's‐it's nice to see that
it wasn't all for nothing.

Maybe the Money Pit, you know,
and the bog is tied in.

I don't know,
but there's, something

‐happened there a long time ago.
‐ Yeah.

There's something about
that bog that ties this

maybe this whole thing together.

Gary, there's quite a lot of
things that we've been told

can be used in tunneling.

Do you think there
might've been tunneling

outside of the Money Pit area?

Yeah, I do.

I mean, why would we be finding

picks at the back of the swamp.

These swages on Lot 21.

Yeah, it's possible that

tunneling could have been
done in other parts

‐of the island.
‐Yep.

Now look at that
that is a really old pick!

For generations,
treasure hunters have believed

that an elaborate
tunneling system

exists deep below Oak Island.

This year, in addition
to finding an 18th century

pickax near the so‐called
Eye of the Swamp...

Feel how heavy that is, Rick.

‐Wow! Wow!

...the team found
two metal swages,

which were used
to sharpen tunneling tools.

They also found
an iron chisel on property

which once belonged
to Daniel McGinnis,

one of the three
young men who first

discovered the original
Money Pit in 1795.

‐Wow.
‐ Even more incredible

is the fact that these objects
were dated to be as much

as 600 years old.

To me, the most significant
finds are the tools.

These are the tools of the trade
of the people that was working

on Oak Island, from the swages,

the hand‐point chisel,

even these things that
we're not sure what they are.

I mean, we're finally pushing

this story back so far, much
further back than I thought.

I thought it was,
like, a pirate operation.

Now look at these tools going
back to the 14 and 1500s.

The problem is the dates
don't match up with that.

The paved area, you say,

is 1200s to 1400s, these are...

They‐they could be that old,
I suppose.

Mm‐hmm, they match up more
with the Eye of the Swamp.

‐Yeah.
‐Which they're calling

‐late 1600s, which is still...
‐Right.

‐...long before this timeline.
‐Right.

We know during specific dates,

large amounts of work
went on on Oak Island

in at least
two different clumps of time.

You know, you've got the 1600s,

which it fits
with the Rosicrucians

and the Francis Bacon theories.

You've got the 11 to 1400s,

which fits right in
with the Templar theories.

‐Yes.
‐And...

we have dendro information
from the slipway

that someone was there
doing a lot of work

‐before searchers.
‐That's right.

After installing a
6,000‐square‐foot extension

or "bump out"
to the steel cofferdam

surrounding Smith's Cove,

the team unearthed
a massive log structure

while looking for
the end of the slipway

that they discovered last yea,

and which was dated to 1769.

Incredibly, after using
dendrochronology,

or tree‐ring dating,

this new structure was found
to be significantly older.

It's a little head scratcher.

Uh‐oh.

1741.

Whoa!

That significant structure

was being used
for quite a long time.

Was it for finding this
treasure? I don't know.

Um, it could have been
but, you know,

once the searchers started,
that we call searchers,

I don't think any of them
found it because, you know,

there's no record of anybody

‐becoming rich.
‐ No, no.

‐Not a great treasure, yeah.
‐OTHERS: Yes.

All of this changes the mystery
as we know it, though,

because it was supposed to be
an uninhabited island...

‐Yeah. ‐...in 1795, when the treasure
hunt began as we know it.

But this has shown us
that there was a story,

and there was activity going on
here much earlier.

And on possibly a very
continual basis,

whether it's the same group
or not.

And as Craig remarked
a little earlier,

‐there's a lot converging on the late 1600s.
In that area.

I think, looking
at the artifacts that are here

and the dates that are,
are given,

I think there isn't
a theorist out there

that isn't gonna be happy with

what we have on the table
here now.

Everybody's gonna see something
that they, uh

pertains to their theory.

You know, I think that's
probably right.

Y‐You look back here

at earlier Templar theories.

We've got dates that come back
to the 1300s.

We have an artifact
that is 1300,

or possibly even earlier that
linked back to France and Dome.

The thoughts about, uh,
Nolan's Cross and the‐the swamp.

I mean, something happened
in the swamp.

Yes.

We have empirical evidence
of that now,

and we have science
that is dated

to the time period
in which it occurred.

So the prevailing theories,

they've all been
enhanced by this, in a sense.

I would say more or less,
Marty, yes.

Yeah. And a lot of
those theories

rely on inscribed stones.

We've got a hand‐point chisel,
and it could have been used

for inscribing
on a lot of those stones.

‐Yes.
‐Yeah.

By the way, I have something
in my pocket...

Oh, I know what this is.

Yeah, you do.

That also is
actually tells quite a story.

But‐but this happened...

And it belongs at that end
of the table.

It belongs way over there, yeah.

This is a...

a rather ordinary toonie.

But guess what.
That's my toonie.

That's the one I put down H8.

Two years ago,

after drilling a six‐inch‐wide
borehole known as H8,

the Oak Island team made a
number of shocking discoveries

that included ancient pottery,

pieces of parchment
and leather bookbinding,

and 17th century human bones.

Believing that they may have
finally found

the original Money Pit,
but concerned that the contents

of the fabled treasure vault
may have drifted over time,

Marty Lagina decided to
try an experiment.

Here's the test: are we gonna
find this or not, right?

Into the six‐inch‐wide
borehole,

he tossed a $2 Canadian coin,

otherwise known as a "toonie."

He was hoping that if he ever
located the coin

during a future dig,
he would be able to see

if it had drifted, and if so,
by how much.

‐Just there.

Incredibly, one week
ago, while searching spoils

retrieved from over
200 feet deep

in the nearby RF‐1 shaft,

Marty and Gary found the coin.

Hey, did you hear
that little clink?

Ooh, it's a coin!

Oh! Frickin' modern toonie!

Geez.

Not in very good condition,
either.

Put it in your pocket.

Not what we're looking for.

Keep going.

Hey, Gary, wait a minute.

Let me see that.
Let me see that toonie.

‐Oh, the toonie.
‐Yeah.

It's modern, mate.

I know. Let me see it.
I'm having a thought.

It's not old.

Yeah, but, Gary,
this has been in the dirt

for quite some time.

Look how it's encrusted
with it.

I think me and that toonie
have been acquainted before.

‐Is that...?
‐That's my toonie, buddy.

If you think about the center
of that plastic pipe

to the center of RF‐1
is probably what?

‐Probably ten feet?
‐Probably ten feet, so that toonie

traveled ten feet underground
in that solution channel.

It could have made that distance
in a day. Literally.

It could have fallen out
the bottom when I dropped it,

and that's why we didn't
find it. In fact,

it's likely it traveled the
first year, right?

‐Yeah.
‐Or we probably should have got it.

So, I mean,
that's proof positive

that metal objects, at least,
can move quite readily.

Rick was saying, "I wish
these things could talk."

That one's talking.

Could the discovery
of Marty's toonie

in the spoils recovered
from RF‐1

be evidence that
the original contents of H8

could have, like the elusive
Chappell Vault,

been swept not only
deeper underground,

but also several feet away?

It's for sure that stuff is
moving around horizontally

as well as vertically.

Well, that's good because
it might explain why

nobody's been able to find
this elusive treasure.

It's bad because it explains why
no one's been able to find

this elusive treasure;
it's gonna be difficult.

So if there is a treasure,

now, how far could this treasure
have possibly moved?

With all of the
activities and tunnels

and shafts
and the water movement,

it could very definitely
drop down.

The density of gold is
19 times greater than water.

It has a specific gravity
of 19 and some and change.

Well, that would drop
straight down to the bottom

of that Money Pit.

And I'm not surprised
that there might be

a vertical movement.

But to have eight feet of

‐Was it eight, or...?
‐At least.

Ten.
‐Ten feet of lateral movement,

that speaks to currents
down there.

So with all of the...

banging and pumping that's
gone on through the years,

the Money Pit area is nothing
like what it would have been

at the time of any
potential emplacement.

We were looking for signs
of a deep collapse

in what we believed to be
the original Money Pit area.

We found signs of deep collapse.

And we've always looked above
160 feet, basically.

Now we know we have to
move deeper.

Well, we have to think of this
in context of something

having been here once,
and then maybe

recovery efforts
when you see all this.

And maybe recovery successes.

So having framed it that way,

does the fellowship
still think that

there's something here to find?

Yes. Definitely.

‐Yeah.
‐Yeah.

Does everybody?

‐I do.
Yes. Absolutely.

I agree with Doug.
I think we‐we have

‐a new mystery here to discover.
‐Yes, we do.

But yes, there's treasure here.

You just haven't found it yet,
but it's here.

I think it's still here.

Dad thought that there was
something here. I believed him.

‐Okay.
‐And I still do.

Like Charles, we haven't looked
in the right spot.

Well, that I'm sure of.

We're running out of
real estate, though,

‐in some places.
‐

‐And perhaps money and time and...
‐Yeah, yeah.

Well, based on some
of the things

we've uncovered
in the swamp this year

I mean, I know
it's all about treasure.

‐Gold. Spendables, Dave.
‐That's right.

But how do you put a price
on something

that might change history,
or rewrite a bit of history?

Because this stuff is old.

I mean, it's‐it's just
it shouldn't be there.

You know, my dad spent
almost a lifetime here

looking for this thing,
whatever it is.

And‐and so did Dan.

So for their sake,
I'd like to think

that there is still
a treasure here to be found.

Right.

I can see Laird thinking

from here he's thinking.
He's thinking,

‐"What am I gonna say?"
‐"Oh, no, it's my turn."

Yeah.

Well,

if we look at the science
and the archaeology, um...

something happened.

We have hard
scientific evidence for that.

Whether it involves treasure,
I couldn't say.

Um, but something significant
happened, and...

it's really,
it seems to be worth pursuing.

It's obviously worth pursuing.

Dan Henskee,
what's your thoughts?

Is there treasure still here?

And of course,
I can't say definitively

one way or the other.

If you had to put an odds on it?

I'm an odd guy
but not an odds guy.

How about, let me
try it this way.

Is it worth continuing
to search?

Well, the‐the sneaky way out
is to say,

just to be able to get together
is worth it,

even if we don't find
the treasure.

‐ All right, I can live with that.
‐That's a good one.

Yeah.

So...

is there a great treasure here?

Uh, I think there's
a good chance there was.

Because...
because there's a lot of stuff.

You know, I can't help it
I'm a numbers guy.

Maybe, like, 40%
that there was something here,

and maybe half that
that it's still here.

But that's way farther
than I ever was before.

My leading theory when I first
came on this island is that

it was just collective madness.

So there
that's where I'm at.

‐It's still...
‐ Well, you can't disagree

‐with what's in front of you, Marty.
‐Yeah, but I don't see treasure

‐in front of me, Dave.
‐No, I agree with you 100% on that I don't, either.

Right. Exactly.

To me, it says a huge amount
of work was done on the island.

And then you take this
little block from 11 to 1400.

You want a "aha moment"?

Well, there's your "aha moment."

It doesn't speak to treasure.

These, in their totality,
to me, speak to treasure

or some activity,
which was conducted

to hide some sort of secret.

But this, this is your
"stand up and take notice."

This is amazing.

‐Yes.
‐That's where I'm at.

It's one thing to look
at the dates by century

1100, 1200, 1300, 1400.

But think about what happened
during those centuries.

Context it with all the things
that have gone on in the world.

It's quite amazing to think
that some of these activities

that we believe have happened
here on the island

were during the Crusades
to the time of Charlemagne.

From Templars to
world‐shattering events

across the globe.

Certainly, on the continent.

On this tiny little island,
long ago,

during the time of wonderment,
in terms of history.

Something happened here
on this tiny little place.

So, having said all that,

are there opportunities
to advance the search

and/or move the dial,

because I've always said
that the story here

is remarkable and,
and it deserves an ending.

Well, this is gonna
shock you, but...

‐Great. Super.

I think, like Laird said,

the potential for the paved area
to be man‐made

in the swamp and date back
to the 12 to 1400s...

if we're going to do something
in the swamp,

that's a no‐brainer.

Looking for a smoking g*n,

actually confirming that that is
what we think it might be,

‐is potentially a big discovery.
‐Yeah.

Because if you're gonna
find something,

it's gonna be from
a paved area towards the ocean

along the side of the island,

'cause that's where you would
have had to load

or unload things.

And that's gonna be the hardest
part of the swamp to get into.

Because it is deep there.

So, if there's something there,
maybe that's why it's there.

‐Yes. ‐Yeah.
‐Yeah.

But this whole thing
started with the Money Pit.

Without the Money Pit,

all of this doesn't say
there's treasure here.

‐Yes.
Right. To me,

if you don't do it,
I'm coming down

‐on the weekends to...

...to finish.

And it's only this year
that I've realized, you know,

seeing that toonie,
we're chasing it.

The treasure in the Money Pit,

we're just tantalizingly close
every time.

Yeah, but you know what?

I think I already know
if we proceed in the Money Pit,

it's not gonna be cheap.

Yeah.

You know, the next step
in the Money Pit,

if we are really considering
a big dig,

is not just millions,
it's tens of millions.

Mm‐hmm.

So, that's a‐a very
sobering number.

And with our new discovery
of your coin,

‐you're kind of questioning...
‐ Mm‐hmm.

I hate to hear myself say this.

The coin argues a bit
towards the big dig.

How quick can we do it?

It could take as long
as three years.

But that's quite a commitment.

That's not something
you enter into halfheartedly.

You set foot on that field,
you better bring your pads.

And you better buckle up.

Over the past decade,

the Laginas and their partners

have researched a number of
methods that would allow them

to excavate a 100‐foot‐wide
area of the Money Pit

down to a depth
of some 250 feet.

One of these methods
would involve constructing

a massive concrete shaft

around the entire
Money Pit area,

so that access to the vault

would be unhampered
by flooding.

Another, also known
as the "freeze ring method,"

would involve digging dozens
of 250‐foot‐deep boreholes

in a giant
100‐foot‐wide circle.

The holes would then be filled
with a chemical such as glycol

that would literally
freeze the ground

and allow for
an unfettered excavation.

The "big dig" has been kind of
hanging out there

for a long time.
You know,

it's almost kind of a...
like a child's dream.

The science
is relatively simple.

It's just basically trying
to make a solid ring

around the Money Pit,
and then plug the bottom of it,

and then excavate that.

It's enormously expensive
from a financial,

commitment of time
and resources,

but you know,
at the end of the day,

if you dig an 80‐foot or
a 100‐foot‐diameter circle,

we all believe that we know,
within that

resides the original Money Pit.

I think it's ultimately
the only way

to really get to the bottom
of what happened here

on Oak Island.

This is no small adventure

we're on at this point,
given, given this.

It's quite a story
laid out here before us,

and I think I've always felt it
goes beyond treasure,

the recovery of spendables.

Would that be a cool thing?
Yeah. Absolutely.

But it's beyond that now.

To me, this is a bloody success.
This is fantastic.

These are artifacts
going back to the Middle Ages.

And we're talking about
Oak Island!

‐I think Gary wants to stay.

Yeah, I do.
I'm not leaving.

‐ I‐I think

I will, uh, propose
we close this meeting

of the Fellowship of the Dig.

And thanks to all.
Respect to all.

It's been a good run. Let's see
what the future brings.

Cheers to everybody.
‐ Hear, hear.

Thank you.
‐You're very welcome.

Following their meeting
in the w*r room,

and before they depart
the island

for the long winter...

the Laginas and their team
have gathered

at the 10‐X drill site
to pay tribute

to their late friend
and partner, Dan Blankenship.

Okay, we're all here in honor
of Dan Blankenship

and the island, of course,
was a big part of Dan.

Dan is a big part
of all our lives.

Rick did this beautiful plaque,

and it's all made from,
basically, the island.

Along with Dan's son,
Dave Blankenship,

and daughter, Linda Flowers,

they have placed Dan's
old drilling rig

as a memorial to him,

at the site of
what Dan considered

his greatest breakthrough
in the 50 years

he tirelessly worked to solve
the Oak Island mystery:

Borehole 10‐X.

It's the end of the year,
and before we completely

close things up
here on the island,

we felt that it was appropriate
to honor Dan

for the work that he did
on the island for 50 years.

Dan Blankenship led the way
in a lot of ways.

It's a measure of respect.

It's built out of rock
from the island,

pipe from his drill program.

It just seemed
like appropriate

to honor his memory in that way.

I think it's, uh,

borrow from Lincoln,
"altogether fitting and proper"

that we do this little ceremony.

And I don't think he would've
wanted a whole bunch of words

here today, because he wasn't
that sort of guy.

‐Uh, I think he would...
‐Few, few words.

Few words, yeah.

Dan was a big part
of our lives, uh, for,

gosh, the last 15 years or so.

I mean, the first role
he played,

he was sort of this enigmatic,

you know,
almost like a superhero

to Rick and I years ago
when we'd read about things.

We came to appreciate him
on so many levels.

You know. A friend, a partner,

but it was,
it was more than that.

We call ourselves
a family here,

because at the end of the day,
you know,

that's what this is about.

I would think that my father
would feel like

we are all family.

We're the Oak Island family
right now.

I think he would be happy.

It's a happy day today
to see this plaque

and to know that
he's gonna be remembered.

Hopefully, when people
visit the island in the future,

they will look at that sign

and remember the man,
the individual.

A very unique,
one‐of‐a‐kind individual

that will leave
a lasting legacy here

on Oak Island and‐and indeed,
in all of our lives.

So, for that we thank him
and we thank you.

Like I always say, Rick,
there's a right way,

the wrong way,
and there's Dad's way.

‐There you go.

We‐we kind of learned that.

‐ We are treading

in Dan's footsteps
in the sense that

he went after
the same things we did.

Where his footsteps
seem prudent,

we're trying to follow
and extend them.

It's been a great year.
Thanks for all the hard work.

But for Dan,
I really thought this year

we'd have Dan's breakthrough.

Well, we didn't.
We didn't do that,

but we, we sure have come up
with a lot of information.

In a year that saw some
of the most amazing discoveries

ever made...

from medieval tools
and artifacts

to incredible new evidence
that something of great value

could very well lie buried
in the fabled Money Pit,

in addition to extensive
man‐made structures

in the swamp, dating back
as much as eight centuries...

Billy! Come on, man.
Give me a hug.

...Rick, Marty and Craig

have not only validated
more than a decade of hard work

and personal sacrifices...

‐Oh, Henskee.
‐Oh, my God, you're too strong.

...they have now come
closer than ever

to revealing the truth
behind Oak Island's

incredible mystery.

Charles, my man.
Keep the faith.

‐I know you will.
I never lost it. I never will.

Theirs is a story
that will surely change history

as we know it,

just as it has changed
their lives,

and the lives of everyone
around them forever.

You know, 1200 AD?

People working
in a swamp on Oak Island?

It's crazy.

There's a wonderful story
written here.

I've always wanted
to turn the last page

on Oak Island, and, uh,
it's certainly not there yet.

We're but chapters in,
after all this time.

‐We're just beginning.
‐Oh, yeah.