08x12 - Digging Their Heels In
Posted: 01/22/22 11:00
Narrator: Tonight on
The Curse of Oak Island...
- Marty: Wow.
- Charles: This is the tupper shaft,
- which was ten feet away from the money pit.
- Great, guys.
Ian: I think we're sort of on
to something right in here.
- There's a lot of rocks.
- Yeah, they're fitted.
- Ian: Oh, yeah. Something was built here.
- Yeah.
- Oh. - What is that?
- Alex: That's leather.
- Dan h.: Looks like
- a heel from a shoe. - Yeah.
Something like that
could be a breakthrough.
Craig, what do we got?
95% sure, 1492.
How about that?
Medieval, baby!
(laughter)
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,
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.
♪ ♪
- rick: He's digging this edge?
- Craig: Yeah.
Craig: Just taking it on
down. Looking for the rocks.
Just working his way back,
so we'll be starting from out here.
Narrator: Another exciting
day has just begun on oak island
as brothers rick
and marty lagina,
their partner craig tester,
and members of their team
continue excavating one of
the most intriguing features
ever discovered in
the 225-year-old hunt
for a legendary treasure:
A massive stone pathway
in the southeast corner
of the triangle-shaped swamp
that is also heading
into the uplands,
possibly toward
the fabled money pit.
Liz: All right, well,
we've got this kind of dip here,
so I think if we start here
and we'll just work back up
to where it comes back up.
- How deep do you want to go?
- Not too deep.
I think we want to keep
all the rocks in place
if they're larger
than a softball.
- Okay.
- Just get all the dirt out in between them.
Rick: You know,
the archaeologists are-are quite excited
about finding this stone road.
I think, as non-archaeologists,
we're chomping
at the bit to move this
forward a bit more aggressively,
but if it is as unique
as they attest,
we have to be patient
and do this appropriately.
(device beeping)
now,
that's an old piece of glass.
(clears throat) rick,
in that last scoop,
I found a really
old piece of glass.
- Craig: Oh, really?
- Definitely an old piece, yeah.
Hopefully there's
some more parts of it.
Could have a seal on it.
That's an old piece.
Check it out, mate.
You can tell with
the iridescence on it.
And look at that thickness there,
and it goes down to thin.
Craig: Hmm.
- Nice. - Yep.
- Craig: See the air bubbles?
- Rick: Good eye.
- Oh, yeah.
- Beautiful, isn't it?
- Lot of air bubbles. - Yeah.
Gary: It was like one of
those old pirate bottles,
the dutch onion bottles.
This is probably
anywhere from 1600
to late 1700s.
Narrator: A potential
pirate bottle?
And possibly dating
back as far as the 1600s?
Invented by the english
privateer sir kenelm digby
in the 1630s,
so-called dutch onion
bottles were commonly used
to contain wine, rum,
or other refreshments
and featured a thick
design for durability
on the rough, high seas.
Is it possible that this bottle,
perhaps just like the
1652 spanish maravedi coin
found in the swamp
seven years ago,
might be a critical clue as
to who made this stone road
and when?
If you could bag and tag it,
that would be great, liz.
Yeah, sure.
I'll keep an eye out for more.
- Rick: Got it? - Liz: Yep.
That was an hand-blown bottle.
Okay, I'll get back to business.
Narrator: While the excavation
in the swamp continues,
at the wash table
near borehole 10-x...
One, two, three.
...Marty lagina's son alex,
along with his
cousin peter fornetti,
treasure hunters dan
henskee and michael john,
are carefully searching the
spoils that were excavated
last year in the money pit area
from the eight-foot-wide
borehole known as 8-b.
These spoils are still of interest to rick,
marty
and the team
because 8-b is located
just ten feet southwest
of borehole oc-1,
where last year they
discovered evidence
of a wooden tunnel some
150 feet underground
that was dated to 1706.
Now, if you see something
that doesn't belong underground,
we should set it aside
and have somebody
- take a look at it anyway.
- Sure. Okay.
Dan h.: This looks
like a little piece
of planed wood.
Sure does.
Dan h.: That's
usually a good sign
if it was in situ when it was,
uh, excavated.
Mm-hmm.
Dan h.: A little more wood.
More red rocks, quite a bit.
Alex: Oh.
Yeah, what is that?
Alex: What do you think this is?
- Careful there.
- Yeah, I don't want to...
- Looks like leather almost.
- It...
For sure looks like leather.
- Like a heel. - Or a heel?
- Yeah, it could be a heel.
- Heel?
Narrator: A possible boot heel
found in the spoils
of borehole 8-b?
Could it be connected in some
way to the tunnel found in oc-1?
And perhaps a deposit in the
fabled money pit treasure shaft?
Hey,
dan. What do you think this is?
Dan h.: Oh,
more of the same or less of it?
Yeah.
Looks like a heel from a shoe,
for sure.
Maybe a piece of footwear from the 1400s,
maybe?
- (laughter) - I don't know,
but this is exactly
the kind of thing
that we're looking for.
I mean,
the... I don't know how old it is.
But this, we keep it separate,
if we bag it separately,
we might be able to
determine how old this is,
when it was made,
when it would have been used.
So, something like that
could be a breakthrough.
All right, guys,
let's clean this one up
and then let's go
check in with the guys.
Peter: All right.
Narrator: Later that afternoon
in the money pit area...
Hey, terry. It looks like
we've got some wood here.
- Terry: Oh, yes.
- ...A core-drilling operation
designed by craig tester
continues in the hopes
of tracking the path
of a possible tunnel
discovered in borehole oc-1.
Brennan: Is it
something substantial?
Well, it looks like it has
all the appearance
of a shaft in an area
where we have no real records.
So it's an unknown shaft.
Okay.
Narrator: Currently,
the team is drilling borehole c-9,
where they have just
discovered what appears to be
a wooden shaft some
95 feet deep underground.
The question now is,
was it built by a
previous searcher
trying to reach the money pit,
or could it be the
original money pit itself?
Terry: We got something
pretty new and interesting here.
We've got a solid
section of shaft wall.
Which shaft?
This is unusual.
Brennan: A lot of wood there.
- Craig: Hey, guys.
- Terry: Hey, guys. How you doing?
- Wood, wood, wood.
- Wood, wood, wood. It looks like
this is a shaped piece.
We've got a good
section of shaft wall.
This is a piece we hit at about,
say, 95-ish feet,
and you can see
it's been shaped,
and it was at 45 degrees
to the run of the drill.
So that says you're in some
kind of an interesting support.
Some crosspiece or something,
I would say.
Charles: Let's do
dan blankenship's test.
Do you have a bucket?
- Right over here.
- Let's do it.
Charles: One of the
things that dan blankenship
taught us, whenever we find
wood a-at depth on oak island,
you put it in water. If it sinks,
it's old.
If it floats, it's much newer.
Here we go.
Right to the bottom.
That's been down
there a long time.
Well, what is it?
Craig: Let's bring
the next ones up.
Narrator: Could it be possible
that the oak island team
has finally discovered
the original money pit?
If so, could it also mean
that they are finally close
to discovering what people have
been searching for since 1795?
Brennan: So, that's the
deepest part here. This one here.
That's 108, 98 to 108.
Pretty dense.
Oh, little chunks of wood in it.
Rick: Here's a good
piece right here.
- Look at that piece.
- Terry: Oh, yeah.
There's another angled piece.
Charles,
you want to test that one?
Charles: Yeah.
Narrator: Because
the team feels certain
that they may have
obtained evidence
of a potentially
ancient structure,
charles barkhouse is now
checking the core sample
with a handheld metal detector
to see if they might
have also recovered
- anything of value. - (beeping)
got something here.
(beeping continues)
charles: God, please be a coin.
It's right here.
(beeping)
terry: That's an enigma.
Rick: We should call gary,
have him come down.
- Terry: Hi, gary.
- Gary: How you doing, mate?
- We've got an enigma here.
- Yeah.
Narrator: After
retrieving a core sample
from a depth of 95
feet in borehole c-9
that contains not
only possible evidence
of the original money pit
but potentially
something of value,
the team has called in metal
detection expert gary drayton
to scan the spoils.
So,
maybe you could try with your pinpointer,
- but it was r-right in here.
- Okay, mate.
- Right there.
- (detector beeps twice)
and I've got this on
maximum sensitivity.
Charles: If you go down
too close to the table,
- you will pick up the screws, though.
- Yeah. I'll go
all the way down the line.
No, not getting anything.
(detector beeping)
(rapid beeping)
yeah, there's iron in here.
Here that rapid vibration?
Definite iron in there.
- Cool. - So if you split that
and see if the shank
of the nail is square,
that means it's an old nail.
If it's round, it's more modern.
- (beeping) -
let's see what it is.
Keep that separate.
Bust it open.
- (beeping) - yeah.
It's that piece there, mate.
- Oh, it's in that piece of wood.
- Yep. It's inside the wood.
Yeah.
Let's see, craig.
Right in there is
where I thought it was.
Here?
Yeah.
Rick: Gary?
(beeping)
- rick: Where is it?
- It's not in there.
- That means it's fallen out.
- (beeping)
- terry: Aha. - (rapid beeping)
gary: Hmm. Interesting.
I would say that...
- Square. - ...Is, yeah, square.
That's the end of a square nail.
That's fantastic.
So you're in the
1700s with this.
Charles: Wow.
Just a little piece of
iron like this can be
- a valuable clue.
- It's amazing... Oh, my gosh, I guess.
Narrator: A square nail?
Possibly predating the
discovery of the money pit?
Every such clue
not only validates
that craig tester's
drilling program
may be zeroing in on
the original money pit
but perhaps also
something of incredible value.
I...
Was shocked as anyone
to find the little piece
of nail within the core.
I think we were all shocked.
- Square nail. - Gary: Yeah.
Well, what are the dates?
Uh...
Anytime from...
(exhales): Roman
days all the way
to the late 1700s.
Terry: I would say, yeah.
Hand-crafted.
- We nailed it, mate.
- (laughter)
nailed it.
- There's a full drayton.
- Yeah.
Craig: Okay, let's continue.
Terry: All right.
- ♪ ♪ - (wind whooshing)
narrator: The following morning,
while the investigations
continue in the swamp
and in the money pit area...
In the w*r room...
Rick: Hello, everyone.
Hey, everyone.
Narrator: ...Rick
and marty lagina,
along with members of the team,
have gathered
for a meeting via
video conference
with chemistry expert
dr. Christa brosseau.
She has an important
update on a rose-head spike
encrusted with a kind
of concrete material...
Hey, jack, check this out.
- Whoa.
- ...That was found two weeks ago
in the oc-1 spoils.
Look at that head.
Narrator: A spike which
has already been determined
to predate the discovery
of the original money pit.
Rick: So, this is one of our
favorite w*r rooms, when...
The science can be brought
inside of the w*r room
and test results are given.
We are grateful
that dr. Brosseau,
again, at our request,
has, uh, done some testing
of the so-called oc-1 spike.
Yes, I have the spike with me.
And so we looked
at the spike already,
and then you asked me to look
at the sort of aggregated
material that was on the spike.
When I did the
elemental analysis
of this cement-like layer,
what I found is that the
calcium content in particular
is very low.
Which means this is
inconsistent with either...
A natural or portland cement,
which would typically have
a calcium content
greater than 30%.
Usually,
40% to 60% is more typical.
So when I look at
everything together,
this looks more like
a low-calcium fly ash cement
or coal ash cement than...
A natural or portland cement.
Rick: Wow. That cement
is associated with
the chappell vault,
the oak island
treasure company vault.
And that's important. I mean,
it's been...
- Sought after since they first found it... Encountered it.
- 1897. Yeah.
Narrator: It was in
the summer of 1897
when treasure hunters
frederick blair and william chappell
drilled into what
they reported to be
a seven-foot-tall wooden
box in the money pit
at a depth of 153 feet
that was encased
in a kind of concrete.
When they
extracted their drill bit,
they were stunned to
discover not only traces of gold
but also a piece
of parchment paper
bearing the letters v-I.
Unfortunately, as they began
to dig in an attempt to retrieve
what came to be known
as the chappell vault,
the shaft flooded and caved
in from what was believed to be
a man-made booby trap.
Is it possible that
this rose-head spike
found in borehole oc-1
might be connected to
the actual treasure vault
believed to be buried deep
somewhere in the money pit area?
Marty: The finding
of this fly ash material
is consistent with
several stories.
I mean, if you buy the whole
concept of the money pit,
it was designed to be flooded
by somebody who wasn't
supposed to be there. Well...
Whatever you
have deposited there
you don't want to get wrecked.
So you would construct a
waterproof vault of some sort.
Let's say wood with, say,
a coating of this fly ash mortar
and then coated with clay,
it could make a box that
would be waterproof for...
My guess is thousands of years.
Dr. Brosseau, do you have the
data from the rose-head spike?
I-I'm just curious.
Yep, I do.
So, the rose-head spike...
So, the spike that is part
of this conglomeration...
Came back as: Iron's clean,
no manganese.
Style of the spike is
sort of pre-1790.
The lack of manganese
indicates pre-1840.
And the iron does have some phosphorous,
about .5%.
So about 60%
of iron ore coming
out of the u.K.
Has about... Greater
than 0.2% phosphorous.
- Hmm.
- So that's sort of a central area
where phosphoric iron
tends to originate from
throughout history.
Narrator: The rose-head spike?
Dating to before the
discovery of the money pit?
And possibly of british origin?
Earlier this year, rick,
marty and the team
investigated a stone structure
some 200 yards north of
the money pit on lot 15...
Well,
this is historically important.
...That archaeologist
david macinnes believes
could be a 16th century
british m*llitary pine tar kiln,
one that he and fellow
archaeologist laird niven
also suspect might be connected
to the construction of
the original money pit.
Could this discovery be evidence
that the team is not only close
to locating the
long-fabled treasure vault
but perhaps also identifying
who was behind the
oak island mystery?
I feel like we're playing a
really difficult game of clue.
- (laughter) - You know? You know,
I mean,
it's just, just mind-boggling.
Dr. Brosseau,
we thank you very much, as always.
Christa: Yeah,
for sure. It's my pleasure.
Hopefully it's helpful to you.
Excellent. Thank you very much.
Christa: Bye, everyone.
Rick: Thank you.
Take care. Bye-bye.
Ter their meeting
with dr. Brosseau...
(chuckles): This better be good,
charles.
...Marty lagina arrives
at the money pit area
after receiving news
of a potentially
important development
in borehole c-8.5.
It is in this area where,
just one day ago,
the team discovered
possible evidence of
the original treasure shaft.
Terry: Look what
we've intersected.
That-that appears to be
a rounded piece of wood,
which speaks to something older
as opposed to
dimensional lumber.
Marty: Show me where
this... what well are we on?
Terry: Right here. C-8.5.
This came up, though,
at only 40 feet?
Terry: Yep.
Marty: Is it oak?
Terry: Well,
take a look at the grain in it.
I think it might be.
Let's wash her up. Sure.
Charles: We're pretty
excited about this find, marty.
We believe,
both doug and I strongly believe
that this is the tupper shaft.
Narrator: In 1850,
the truro company,
including anthony vaughn,
who,
along with daniel mcginnis and john smith,
had discovered the
original money pit in 1795,
made the second major
attempt in oak island history
to retrieve the
fabled treasure vault.
Because the money
pit began flooding
when they dug down
to a depth of 98 feet,
adams tupper,
the company's mining engineer,
excavated an adjacent
shaft ten feet to the northwest.
Upon reaching a
depth of 109 feet
in the so-called tupper shaft,
the team began tunneling
laterally toward the money pit
in the hopes of
retrieving the vault
from below its
believed resting place.
Unfortunately,
seawater soon rushed into the tunnel,
bringing the operation
to a devastating end.
Charles: We have never found this before,
other than...
- A couple drill holes.
- Marty: Yeah, this one just showed up
on craig's last hole, right?
- Yes. Yes. - Yeah.
And this is a completely
unexplored area that we're in.
Narrator: Is it possible
that the oak island team
has indeed found the
so-called tupper shaft?
If so,
could it be another potential key
to helping the team pinpoint
the original money pit?
The question is, marty,
where do we go from here?
Do we chase this thing?
Should we define the shaft more,
or-or basically go by
what we have now?
- Put on paper what you have now, charles...
- Okay.
...And let's let...
Let's let the fellowship
- have a look at it. - Sure.
I agree with you
guys. It needs...
It needs analyzing
and kicking around.
We thought we had
our theories and targets
kind of rounded
out for the year.
Well, guess what,
uh, in-in the future,
I see a lot more investigation,
probably drill proving
over in this area.
Okay, guys. Well,
that's... This was a fun little deal,
and I'm glad we're at
least finding something,
because this drill
program hasn't been
quite as rewarding as the swamp.
But may-maybe
right here it will be.
Let's fish a
doubloon out of here.
Sounds good to me.
Narrator: While the drilling
operation continues at the money pit...
- I love this section of halifax.
- Yeah, me, too.
...Charles barkhouse
and fellow oak island
historian doug crowell
have traveled some 50
miles northeast of oak island,
where they arrive at
the dawson print shop
in halifax, nova scotia.
Hi, joe.
Hello.
As promised, we are back.
Narrator: They
have come to share
two recent finds
with rare manuscript conservator
and leather expert joe landry.
One being the
potential boot heel
discovered one day ago
in the spoils of borehole 8-b
and the other a large
piece of mysterious leather
that was found earlier this
year in the spoils of borehole 8-a.
Have a couple interesting,
uh, pieces here.
- Okay.
- What we're doing is we're processing
what we call the spoils,
all the material
that came up out of the
caissons from last year.
- Mm-hmm.
- We had so much of it,
we didn't get it all washed
before the cold weather set in.
These two pieces of material
came out of separate caissons
but look surprisingly similar.
So, we're wondering if you think
they are from the same object
or associated in some way.
Okay. Sure.
Oh, yes.
Doug: Of course,
the question on our mind is,
could it be part of
a-a bookbinding?
Joe: No, it's not likely.
It's not the way we
attach leather onto a book.
From what I'm seeing here,
the weight of the leather
and-and the holes punched
along these two sides
sort of in-indicate a...
More of a-a garment,
uh, use for this.
You can see the... All
these very fine holes.
Again,
in a... in a... In a less expensive item,
you know,
the holes would be further apart,
so the person isn't spending
so much time sewing.
This is quite a fine, uh...
Quite a fine stitch.
Doug: These companies
and individuals
that were pursuing
the treasure hunt,
they were hiring
laborers to dig their shafts
and-and the tunnels,
in search of the treasure.
So you don't picture that they'd
be wearing anything high-end.
- You know, they'd be wearing work clothes.
- Yeah.
So, to find something that
could be high-end garments,
then that could
speak to something
prior to the discovery
of the money pit,
perhaps even during the deposit.
Charles: Here's the other one we have,
joe.
Quite a substantial piece there,
so...
It is.
Oh, yes, this is a heavier,
uh, piece of leather.
You can see by the shape h-here
that this-this was likely
used for the sole of a...
Of a boot or a, you know, a-a...
Or a heavier, uh,
pair of shoes, perhaps.
Charles: Is there any way
to tell from the thickness
whether that would
be like a high-end item,
as opposed to more of
a... More common item?
Joe: Weight of the leather
and the... and the, uh, finish
on-on the shape and such,
it's-it's quite likely
they were made for a...
For a somewhat more wealthy,
uh, customer.
Or a sea captain or
someone of stature?
- Yes. Yeah. - As opposed to,
you know,
common laborer or, you know,
- a regular seaman. - Exactly.
Narrator: Could it be
that this leather artifact
is also connected
to other recent finds
such as the dutch onion bottle
found on the stone
pathway in the swamp,
which has been speculated
to possibly lead
toward the money pit?
And, if so,
could it also be connected
to the original depositors
of the fabled treasure vault?
It's, uh, beautifully shaped.
The leather isn't quite as
heavy as it would have been
in a, you know,
very heavy work boot.
Um, you can see the leather
has even been folded
over here on the edge.
It gives it a-a
very nice finish.
So,
the captain of the ship obviously
- is gonna have a-a finer pair of boots than the, uh...
- Right.
- Charles: Common sailor.
- Yeah. Mm.
So,
both of these samples are-are,
in your estimation,
are more-more high-end,
because of the thickness
or-or because of the shape
in the... in the
type of leather.
Yeah, and the sewing and such on this one,
it, uh...
You know,
it indicated a finer finish, I think.
-Yeah. -Very interesting. -Yeah.
- We've got a lot of theories that involve sea captains.
- Charles: Oh.
Spanish, portuguese, I mean...
Or the french, too.
But leather,
that-that can be carbon-dated, right?
That's an organic.
Charles: Yeah.
I think it begs testing.
Yeah.
Well, thank you very much.
- You're welcome.
- You've been... you've given us more work to do.
(chuckling)
doug: Hope to see
you again soon.
♪ ♪
narrator: Meanwhile,
back on oak island,
rick lagina, craig tester,
dr. Ian spooner
and heavy equipment
expert billy gerhardt
gather at the eastern
bank of the swamp
to continue their investigation
of a mysterious stone pathway
in the southeastern corner.
In my mind, the rock isn't
gonna continue on forever, right?
They'd just use the soil.
But what we
should try to do is...
Right about here,
just do a trench.
So we can walk down into it
and see if we see that hard pan.
But cut it right
straight across,
from the stone.
If we don't hit it,
then cut it... Cut one
downhill from there.
Yeah.
Narrator: In order to help trace
the borders of
the stone feature,
as well as attempt to
uncover more evidence
of any other
man-made structures,
billy will continue
excavating a shallow trench
along the eastern
edge of the swamp.
Rick: The idea is to
see if the stone feature,
the stone road,
may lead into the upland
or it may turn to the north.
The only way to discern
that is to crosscut it
and look for some sort
of working by humans.
My hope is that
there's something here.
I mean, sure would be nice.
Point you in the right direction,
right?
Anyway, it's...
- This should prove interesting.
- Yeah.
Narrator: As billy
excavates the trench,
metal detection expert
gary drayton arrives
to scan the spoils
for any potential clues
or valuable artifacts.
Nothing yet?
Nothing.
Didn't even see any pottery.
Ian: So, what the hope is,
where it goes from
orange to brown,
it's in that horizon
that we're gonna see
something that might
help us identify the road.
Definitely rocky.
(scraping)
- ooh. That's a boulder.
- Ooh, that's a big boulder.
I think it's all rocks here.
Craig: There's a lot of rocks
- right in the next foot though.
- Billy: Yeah. Just...
- Just to that one point.
- Yeah.
Ian: I think we're
sort of onto something
right in here.
We'll just clean
it off. Take a look.
Okay.
(grunts)
little bit disturbed down here.
All the way down there.
Yeah, big stones here.
Like, see how these rocks,
the-the mud around them,
it's not sea
horizon... It's a soil.
And they're close-fit together.
So,
that in and of itself is pretty important.
Something is built here,
as far as I'm concerned.
Narrator: The stone pathway,
curving up and running along
the eastern border of the swamp?
Or has the team just uncovered
another completely
separate stone pathway?
If so, what was its purpose?
And just where does it lead?
Coincidence or not,
it's definitely different
above the road than
what it is over there.
- Rick: Yes, it is.
- Deeper, different material,
more... all the
rocks at the bottom.
I guess, if we go a little further,
that may tell.
Rick: The orientation
of this stone road
seems very strange to me.
It appears to
rather curve towards
the north and west,
obviously well away
from the money pit.
And so I don't know
what to make of it.
Is there some sort
of connection there?
Again,
the need to further the investigation
and further the scope of the area,
uh, worth investigating.
(beeping)
got a signal here, rick.
(beeping)
well, that definite ring,
ring, ring
means it's iron.
And it's small.
What the heck is that?
- Rick: That a key? - (beeping)
that's what it looks like,
doesn't it?
Narrator: While metal
detecting the spoils
that have been removed
from the mysterious stone
pathway in the oak island swamp,
gary drayton has just
made what could be
an important discovery.
It's got a square hole there.
It's not looking like a
key anymore though.
No,
it looks like some kind of a little latch.
What we just found, to me,
looks like an handle or a lever,
even maybe used on a barrel,
maybe a keg key.
I'm not sure what this is,
but it looks a nice old shape,
because it's got
a square hole in it.
- It's pretty crudely made.
- It is, yeah.
I notice even the
square hole's a bit off.
- Is it iron?
- Yeah, it's definitely iron.
Looks like some kind
of like a... A little lever.
Like you would see on a cask.
Narrator: A possible lever
off an iron cask or barrel?
Could it be key evidence
of cargo being transported
along this stone road in
what has been determined
to be a man-made swamp?
If so,
what kind of cargo was it?
And why was all evidence of
the operation so carefully hidden?
Mm. Yeah, that's a tough one
to tell whether it's old or new.
We won't know
till it's cleaned up.
This lever or key confirms
why surface metal
detecting is so important
to the swamp work, because
it's telling the story of
what went on in the swamp,
and helping date this feature.
So, the key question is,
no matter what this is,
does it have a direct connection
to the treasure
story? The mystery?
I got to believe it's connected
to the treasure story.
That was big, you know,
and you've got
the rocks down here,
it gets bigger,
then you... A road
through here. I mean,
you're talking a
massive amount of time.
- Right.
- And people to do this.
And then I go to
what's the chances
at this time period of there
being two massive things
- going on oak island at the same time.
- True. Very true.
Marty: The whole thing with
this very enigmatic stone road
and the path that leads from it
is,
what's its purpose? Where is it going?
It might go off into the swamp,
maybe towards the eye,
or it might swing to the right
and go up the hill
towards the money pit.
So, anything we might find
there could be highly relevant
and kind of exciting.
Rick: Where does it go?
That's the question.
Let's hope this is the
offramp to treasure.
(laughing): Yeah.
That's why we got
to keep shoveling.
Ian: Yup.
Gary: There's so much
going on in this area.
Craig: Yeah,
who knows what else there is.
Narrator: The following day...
He's just going to clear a
little ways ahead and then
- do a very disciplined dig.
- Okay.
Narrator: ...Rick lagina,
craig tester,
billy gerhardt and metal
detection expert gary drayton
continue their investigation
of what appears
to be a second stone pathway
in the triangle-shaped swamp.
I want to follow that
rock feature there.
Right.
Billy: Just an early observation
- to your, uh, left there...
- Craig: Oh, yeah.
- Gary: The big flat stone?
- Billy: ...Is a flat rock,
which pretty well lines up.
- Oh, yeah. Right in line here.
- Yeah.
Rick: I don't know.
Maybe our best bet is just,
- we have a feature, let's just follow it.
- Yeah.
Rick: This stone road and
this stone path are mystifying.
What is the reason
for a road in a bog?
What is the reason for a stone
path along the edge of a bog?
Where does it go?
At the end of this,
is there possible treasure?
That's why we're here.
So, my hope is that we
are on... No pun intended...
That we are on the right path
towards solving
this treasure mystery,
but there's work to do.
Craig: It's more like dirt
than swamp at this point.
Rick: Yup.
Rick: There is black dirt.
You want to poke in it a little?
Yeah.
(thudding)
a few rocks.
Craig: Yeah. It
sure seems like a lot
cutting right in
that corner there.
(thudding)
I think that might
be it right there.
Rick: Hey, steve!
Do we have the rocks?
Craig: Yeah, right here.
Steve g.: Oh. We might have 'em.
Rick: Well,
we'd like to know the elevation
of where they're working...
Is it similar to this one?
Craig: The little rocks. Yeah.
- Steve g.: The small ones?
- The small feature. Yup.
- Okay, I can give you that.
- Narrator: In an attempt
to determine if this grouping
of stones is an extension
of the newly discovered stone pathway,
some 40 feet away,
surveyor steve guptill will
take precise measurements
of their respective elevations.
It's the same.
You're two feet above sea level here,
which is consistent
to those rocks. So,
the top here is the same there,
and the elevation at the bottom,
on the cobble, is the same.
If you're saying that that level
- is precisely this level...
- Mm-hmm.
...Then maybe, just maybe,
there's some sort of connection.
But then it comes down to,
where does it go and why?
- Yeah. - Rick: It seems like
oak island always
throws a curveball.
Well, now we've got a feature
that may be an association
with some type of construct
for possibly a wagon
or a cart to move,
but it's moving away from the money pit,
so,
where are we headed now?
It's very strange, very strange.
I think the key is, uh, timing.
- Yeah. - Does this line up
with the stone road,
in terms of when?
- I agree.
- One way or the other,
we-we will come to some sort
of understanding of what this is.
Thanks, guys.
Narrator: Before
another productive day
on oak island comes to an end...
- Hey, gentlemen!
- Hey, everybody.
Narrator: ...Brothers
rick and marty lagina
gather in the w*r
room with members
of their team for a new report
on the leather recently
discovered in borehole 8-b.
- Hey, guys. - Rick: So, craig,
we have the piece of
leather here in front of us,
but you have the results,
and we're hoping for good news.
Yeah, this was the, uh,
sample from caisson 8-b.
Marty: So,
we know where this came from,
we've analyzed the results.
Talk to us,
craig. What do we got?
I've got two time periods,
but there's such a
small gap between them,
it's basically one time period.
95% sure this is
what it is...
1492 to 1662.
- 1492? - Isn't that amazing?
- Holy crap. - 1492 to 1662.
This is overwhelming
information.
- These are dramatic numbers.
- They're interesting numbers.
- You bet they are. - I mean,
columbus could have been
- wearing this shoe.
- (laughter)
gary's word again.
I'm gobsmacked.
I can't believe it.
So, this is indeed old,
very old.
I don't have to comment
on the 1492 date.
Everybody knows what that one means,
and...
But 1660 is equally amazing.
Look,
that's a hundred and... 40 years or so
before the discovery
of the money pit.
Yet, it's underground.
What's going on?
A 95% chance this
thing is way older
than we thought it was.
Yup. This is no way
is this searchers.
It's got to be the
original people.
Alex: Pretty good odds.
Yeah.
We initially thought
it was just rubber.
But, doug,
you brought this to joe landry, correct?
Charles and I did, yes.
Surprisingly,
he had an opinion on it,
an observation that
we weren't expecting.
He said that it was from a
refined or dress type of boot.
Not a work boot,
not the type of thing you'd expect
a worker or a searcher in
the money pit to be wearing.
- A dressy item.
- Rick: We shouldn't
- grab this... - Laird: Yeah.
...Unless we have gloves, but
that is the item
we're referencing.
Marty: Look, this is what
I've been looking for for years.
What do you make of it, laird?
Yeah. No, I wasn't expecting...
- 1492 for some reason.
- (laughter)
are you starting to believe
there might be treasure here?
Laird: Well, as we said before,
- it's difficult to argue with the science.
- Yeah.
- No. You can't argue with science.
- Yeah.
Marty: You can't pick
and choose your data.
This is gigantically impactful.
Craig: Yeah.
Marty: I don't know
how else to say it.
And you got that right,
mate. 1492, this piece of leather
would be significant
anywhere in north america.
- Marty: Yes, it would. - 1492!
- Yeah, you're right.
- That's true.
He is right. The fact is,
even at
the least old age, it way,
way, predates the finding
of the money pit,
by a long ways.
By several generations,
is a good way to look at it.
- More than that.
- Yeah, that's a lot of generations,
- particularly back then.
- Yeah, yeah.
So, it's just getting to be too
many dates that say something
very significant happened,
and now in... Directly
in the money pit area,
you know, not the swamp,
and not smith's cove,
directly in the money pit.
Very significant.
- It's-it's a dramatic find.
- Yes, it is.
It could change, could change
our understanding
of the money pit.
I think this is a
very big victory.
- I agree. - I agree.
Gary: Medieval, baby!
Narrator: For a year that began
with the grim prospect
that new discoveries
on oak island might
be an impossibility,
rick, marty,
craig and their devoted team
have, so far,
been able to realize more good fortune
than ever in their quest to
solve a 225-year-old mystery.
But from the incredible finds
being made in the swamp
and the money pit area,
how close might they actually be
to uncovering the island's
carefully guarded secrets?
As they press forward
toward that ultimate revelation,
like so many in the
past have attempted,
just what kind of
fortune awaits them?
Narrator: Next time on
the curse of oak island...
Billy: Ready for a bobby-dazzler,
gary.
Look at that! This is probably
- one of the eye bolts.
- Wow. -(laughing)
- colton robinson: 28!
- Terry: Wood at 24.
- Wow!
- That's what we want to see.
It's completely virgin ground.
I've got a signal, guys!
Ooh, we've got a lock.
Hey, what's a lock
doing in here?
This is part of a lock.
I'm going to say it's for a box,
or a trunk, or a heavy chest.
The Curse of Oak Island...
- Marty: Wow.
- Charles: This is the tupper shaft,
- which was ten feet away from the money pit.
- Great, guys.
Ian: I think we're sort of on
to something right in here.
- There's a lot of rocks.
- Yeah, they're fitted.
- Ian: Oh, yeah. Something was built here.
- Yeah.
- Oh. - What is that?
- Alex: That's leather.
- Dan h.: Looks like
- a heel from a shoe. - Yeah.
Something like that
could be a breakthrough.
Craig, what do we got?
95% sure, 1492.
How about that?
Medieval, baby!
(laughter)
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,
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.
♪ ♪
- rick: He's digging this edge?
- Craig: Yeah.
Craig: Just taking it on
down. Looking for the rocks.
Just working his way back,
so we'll be starting from out here.
Narrator: Another exciting
day has just begun on oak island
as brothers rick
and marty lagina,
their partner craig tester,
and members of their team
continue excavating one of
the most intriguing features
ever discovered in
the 225-year-old hunt
for a legendary treasure:
A massive stone pathway
in the southeast corner
of the triangle-shaped swamp
that is also heading
into the uplands,
possibly toward
the fabled money pit.
Liz: All right, well,
we've got this kind of dip here,
so I think if we start here
and we'll just work back up
to where it comes back up.
- How deep do you want to go?
- Not too deep.
I think we want to keep
all the rocks in place
if they're larger
than a softball.
- Okay.
- Just get all the dirt out in between them.
Rick: You know,
the archaeologists are-are quite excited
about finding this stone road.
I think, as non-archaeologists,
we're chomping
at the bit to move this
forward a bit more aggressively,
but if it is as unique
as they attest,
we have to be patient
and do this appropriately.
(device beeping)
now,
that's an old piece of glass.
(clears throat) rick,
in that last scoop,
I found a really
old piece of glass.
- Craig: Oh, really?
- Definitely an old piece, yeah.
Hopefully there's
some more parts of it.
Could have a seal on it.
That's an old piece.
Check it out, mate.
You can tell with
the iridescence on it.
And look at that thickness there,
and it goes down to thin.
Craig: Hmm.
- Nice. - Yep.
- Craig: See the air bubbles?
- Rick: Good eye.
- Oh, yeah.
- Beautiful, isn't it?
- Lot of air bubbles. - Yeah.
Gary: It was like one of
those old pirate bottles,
the dutch onion bottles.
This is probably
anywhere from 1600
to late 1700s.
Narrator: A potential
pirate bottle?
And possibly dating
back as far as the 1600s?
Invented by the english
privateer sir kenelm digby
in the 1630s,
so-called dutch onion
bottles were commonly used
to contain wine, rum,
or other refreshments
and featured a thick
design for durability
on the rough, high seas.
Is it possible that this bottle,
perhaps just like the
1652 spanish maravedi coin
found in the swamp
seven years ago,
might be a critical clue as
to who made this stone road
and when?
If you could bag and tag it,
that would be great, liz.
Yeah, sure.
I'll keep an eye out for more.
- Rick: Got it? - Liz: Yep.
That was an hand-blown bottle.
Okay, I'll get back to business.
Narrator: While the excavation
in the swamp continues,
at the wash table
near borehole 10-x...
One, two, three.
...Marty lagina's son alex,
along with his
cousin peter fornetti,
treasure hunters dan
henskee and michael john,
are carefully searching the
spoils that were excavated
last year in the money pit area
from the eight-foot-wide
borehole known as 8-b.
These spoils are still of interest to rick,
marty
and the team
because 8-b is located
just ten feet southwest
of borehole oc-1,
where last year they
discovered evidence
of a wooden tunnel some
150 feet underground
that was dated to 1706.
Now, if you see something
that doesn't belong underground,
we should set it aside
and have somebody
- take a look at it anyway.
- Sure. Okay.
Dan h.: This looks
like a little piece
of planed wood.
Sure does.
Dan h.: That's
usually a good sign
if it was in situ when it was,
uh, excavated.
Mm-hmm.
Dan h.: A little more wood.
More red rocks, quite a bit.
Alex: Oh.
Yeah, what is that?
Alex: What do you think this is?
- Careful there.
- Yeah, I don't want to...
- Looks like leather almost.
- It...
For sure looks like leather.
- Like a heel. - Or a heel?
- Yeah, it could be a heel.
- Heel?
Narrator: A possible boot heel
found in the spoils
of borehole 8-b?
Could it be connected in some
way to the tunnel found in oc-1?
And perhaps a deposit in the
fabled money pit treasure shaft?
Hey,
dan. What do you think this is?
Dan h.: Oh,
more of the same or less of it?
Yeah.
Looks like a heel from a shoe,
for sure.
Maybe a piece of footwear from the 1400s,
maybe?
- (laughter) - I don't know,
but this is exactly
the kind of thing
that we're looking for.
I mean,
the... I don't know how old it is.
But this, we keep it separate,
if we bag it separately,
we might be able to
determine how old this is,
when it was made,
when it would have been used.
So, something like that
could be a breakthrough.
All right, guys,
let's clean this one up
and then let's go
check in with the guys.
Peter: All right.
Narrator: Later that afternoon
in the money pit area...
Hey, terry. It looks like
we've got some wood here.
- Terry: Oh, yes.
- ...A core-drilling operation
designed by craig tester
continues in the hopes
of tracking the path
of a possible tunnel
discovered in borehole oc-1.
Brennan: Is it
something substantial?
Well, it looks like it has
all the appearance
of a shaft in an area
where we have no real records.
So it's an unknown shaft.
Okay.
Narrator: Currently,
the team is drilling borehole c-9,
where they have just
discovered what appears to be
a wooden shaft some
95 feet deep underground.
The question now is,
was it built by a
previous searcher
trying to reach the money pit,
or could it be the
original money pit itself?
Terry: We got something
pretty new and interesting here.
We've got a solid
section of shaft wall.
Which shaft?
This is unusual.
Brennan: A lot of wood there.
- Craig: Hey, guys.
- Terry: Hey, guys. How you doing?
- Wood, wood, wood.
- Wood, wood, wood. It looks like
this is a shaped piece.
We've got a good
section of shaft wall.
This is a piece we hit at about,
say, 95-ish feet,
and you can see
it's been shaped,
and it was at 45 degrees
to the run of the drill.
So that says you're in some
kind of an interesting support.
Some crosspiece or something,
I would say.
Charles: Let's do
dan blankenship's test.
Do you have a bucket?
- Right over here.
- Let's do it.
Charles: One of the
things that dan blankenship
taught us, whenever we find
wood a-at depth on oak island,
you put it in water. If it sinks,
it's old.
If it floats, it's much newer.
Here we go.
Right to the bottom.
That's been down
there a long time.
Well, what is it?
Craig: Let's bring
the next ones up.
Narrator: Could it be possible
that the oak island team
has finally discovered
the original money pit?
If so, could it also mean
that they are finally close
to discovering what people have
been searching for since 1795?
Brennan: So, that's the
deepest part here. This one here.
That's 108, 98 to 108.
Pretty dense.
Oh, little chunks of wood in it.
Rick: Here's a good
piece right here.
- Look at that piece.
- Terry: Oh, yeah.
There's another angled piece.
Charles,
you want to test that one?
Charles: Yeah.
Narrator: Because
the team feels certain
that they may have
obtained evidence
of a potentially
ancient structure,
charles barkhouse is now
checking the core sample
with a handheld metal detector
to see if they might
have also recovered
- anything of value. - (beeping)
got something here.
(beeping continues)
charles: God, please be a coin.
It's right here.
(beeping)
terry: That's an enigma.
Rick: We should call gary,
have him come down.
- Terry: Hi, gary.
- Gary: How you doing, mate?
- We've got an enigma here.
- Yeah.
Narrator: After
retrieving a core sample
from a depth of 95
feet in borehole c-9
that contains not
only possible evidence
of the original money pit
but potentially
something of value,
the team has called in metal
detection expert gary drayton
to scan the spoils.
So,
maybe you could try with your pinpointer,
- but it was r-right in here.
- Okay, mate.
- Right there.
- (detector beeps twice)
and I've got this on
maximum sensitivity.
Charles: If you go down
too close to the table,
- you will pick up the screws, though.
- Yeah. I'll go
all the way down the line.
No, not getting anything.
(detector beeping)
(rapid beeping)
yeah, there's iron in here.
Here that rapid vibration?
Definite iron in there.
- Cool. - So if you split that
and see if the shank
of the nail is square,
that means it's an old nail.
If it's round, it's more modern.
- (beeping) -
let's see what it is.
Keep that separate.
Bust it open.
- (beeping) - yeah.
It's that piece there, mate.
- Oh, it's in that piece of wood.
- Yep. It's inside the wood.
Yeah.
Let's see, craig.
Right in there is
where I thought it was.
Here?
Yeah.
Rick: Gary?
(beeping)
- rick: Where is it?
- It's not in there.
- That means it's fallen out.
- (beeping)
- terry: Aha. - (rapid beeping)
gary: Hmm. Interesting.
I would say that...
- Square. - ...Is, yeah, square.
That's the end of a square nail.
That's fantastic.
So you're in the
1700s with this.
Charles: Wow.
Just a little piece of
iron like this can be
- a valuable clue.
- It's amazing... Oh, my gosh, I guess.
Narrator: A square nail?
Possibly predating the
discovery of the money pit?
Every such clue
not only validates
that craig tester's
drilling program
may be zeroing in on
the original money pit
but perhaps also
something of incredible value.
I...
Was shocked as anyone
to find the little piece
of nail within the core.
I think we were all shocked.
- Square nail. - Gary: Yeah.
Well, what are the dates?
Uh...
Anytime from...
(exhales): Roman
days all the way
to the late 1700s.
Terry: I would say, yeah.
Hand-crafted.
- We nailed it, mate.
- (laughter)
nailed it.
- There's a full drayton.
- Yeah.
Craig: Okay, let's continue.
Terry: All right.
- ♪ ♪ - (wind whooshing)
narrator: The following morning,
while the investigations
continue in the swamp
and in the money pit area...
In the w*r room...
Rick: Hello, everyone.
Hey, everyone.
Narrator: ...Rick
and marty lagina,
along with members of the team,
have gathered
for a meeting via
video conference
with chemistry expert
dr. Christa brosseau.
She has an important
update on a rose-head spike
encrusted with a kind
of concrete material...
Hey, jack, check this out.
- Whoa.
- ...That was found two weeks ago
in the oc-1 spoils.
Look at that head.
Narrator: A spike which
has already been determined
to predate the discovery
of the original money pit.
Rick: So, this is one of our
favorite w*r rooms, when...
The science can be brought
inside of the w*r room
and test results are given.
We are grateful
that dr. Brosseau,
again, at our request,
has, uh, done some testing
of the so-called oc-1 spike.
Yes, I have the spike with me.
And so we looked
at the spike already,
and then you asked me to look
at the sort of aggregated
material that was on the spike.
When I did the
elemental analysis
of this cement-like layer,
what I found is that the
calcium content in particular
is very low.
Which means this is
inconsistent with either...
A natural or portland cement,
which would typically have
a calcium content
greater than 30%.
Usually,
40% to 60% is more typical.
So when I look at
everything together,
this looks more like
a low-calcium fly ash cement
or coal ash cement than...
A natural or portland cement.
Rick: Wow. That cement
is associated with
the chappell vault,
the oak island
treasure company vault.
And that's important. I mean,
it's been...
- Sought after since they first found it... Encountered it.
- 1897. Yeah.
Narrator: It was in
the summer of 1897
when treasure hunters
frederick blair and william chappell
drilled into what
they reported to be
a seven-foot-tall wooden
box in the money pit
at a depth of 153 feet
that was encased
in a kind of concrete.
When they
extracted their drill bit,
they were stunned to
discover not only traces of gold
but also a piece
of parchment paper
bearing the letters v-I.
Unfortunately, as they began
to dig in an attempt to retrieve
what came to be known
as the chappell vault,
the shaft flooded and caved
in from what was believed to be
a man-made booby trap.
Is it possible that
this rose-head spike
found in borehole oc-1
might be connected to
the actual treasure vault
believed to be buried deep
somewhere in the money pit area?
Marty: The finding
of this fly ash material
is consistent with
several stories.
I mean, if you buy the whole
concept of the money pit,
it was designed to be flooded
by somebody who wasn't
supposed to be there. Well...
Whatever you
have deposited there
you don't want to get wrecked.
So you would construct a
waterproof vault of some sort.
Let's say wood with, say,
a coating of this fly ash mortar
and then coated with clay,
it could make a box that
would be waterproof for...
My guess is thousands of years.
Dr. Brosseau, do you have the
data from the rose-head spike?
I-I'm just curious.
Yep, I do.
So, the rose-head spike...
So, the spike that is part
of this conglomeration...
Came back as: Iron's clean,
no manganese.
Style of the spike is
sort of pre-1790.
The lack of manganese
indicates pre-1840.
And the iron does have some phosphorous,
about .5%.
So about 60%
of iron ore coming
out of the u.K.
Has about... Greater
than 0.2% phosphorous.
- Hmm.
- So that's sort of a central area
where phosphoric iron
tends to originate from
throughout history.
Narrator: The rose-head spike?
Dating to before the
discovery of the money pit?
And possibly of british origin?
Earlier this year, rick,
marty and the team
investigated a stone structure
some 200 yards north of
the money pit on lot 15...
Well,
this is historically important.
...That archaeologist
david macinnes believes
could be a 16th century
british m*llitary pine tar kiln,
one that he and fellow
archaeologist laird niven
also suspect might be connected
to the construction of
the original money pit.
Could this discovery be evidence
that the team is not only close
to locating the
long-fabled treasure vault
but perhaps also identifying
who was behind the
oak island mystery?
I feel like we're playing a
really difficult game of clue.
- (laughter) - You know? You know,
I mean,
it's just, just mind-boggling.
Dr. Brosseau,
we thank you very much, as always.
Christa: Yeah,
for sure. It's my pleasure.
Hopefully it's helpful to you.
Excellent. Thank you very much.
Christa: Bye, everyone.
Rick: Thank you.
Take care. Bye-bye.
Ter their meeting
with dr. Brosseau...
(chuckles): This better be good,
charles.
...Marty lagina arrives
at the money pit area
after receiving news
of a potentially
important development
in borehole c-8.5.
It is in this area where,
just one day ago,
the team discovered
possible evidence of
the original treasure shaft.
Terry: Look what
we've intersected.
That-that appears to be
a rounded piece of wood,
which speaks to something older
as opposed to
dimensional lumber.
Marty: Show me where
this... what well are we on?
Terry: Right here. C-8.5.
This came up, though,
at only 40 feet?
Terry: Yep.
Marty: Is it oak?
Terry: Well,
take a look at the grain in it.
I think it might be.
Let's wash her up. Sure.
Charles: We're pretty
excited about this find, marty.
We believe,
both doug and I strongly believe
that this is the tupper shaft.
Narrator: In 1850,
the truro company,
including anthony vaughn,
who,
along with daniel mcginnis and john smith,
had discovered the
original money pit in 1795,
made the second major
attempt in oak island history
to retrieve the
fabled treasure vault.
Because the money
pit began flooding
when they dug down
to a depth of 98 feet,
adams tupper,
the company's mining engineer,
excavated an adjacent
shaft ten feet to the northwest.
Upon reaching a
depth of 109 feet
in the so-called tupper shaft,
the team began tunneling
laterally toward the money pit
in the hopes of
retrieving the vault
from below its
believed resting place.
Unfortunately,
seawater soon rushed into the tunnel,
bringing the operation
to a devastating end.
Charles: We have never found this before,
other than...
- A couple drill holes.
- Marty: Yeah, this one just showed up
on craig's last hole, right?
- Yes. Yes. - Yeah.
And this is a completely
unexplored area that we're in.
Narrator: Is it possible
that the oak island team
has indeed found the
so-called tupper shaft?
If so,
could it be another potential key
to helping the team pinpoint
the original money pit?
The question is, marty,
where do we go from here?
Do we chase this thing?
Should we define the shaft more,
or-or basically go by
what we have now?
- Put on paper what you have now, charles...
- Okay.
...And let's let...
Let's let the fellowship
- have a look at it. - Sure.
I agree with you
guys. It needs...
It needs analyzing
and kicking around.
We thought we had
our theories and targets
kind of rounded
out for the year.
Well, guess what,
uh, in-in the future,
I see a lot more investigation,
probably drill proving
over in this area.
Okay, guys. Well,
that's... This was a fun little deal,
and I'm glad we're at
least finding something,
because this drill
program hasn't been
quite as rewarding as the swamp.
But may-maybe
right here it will be.
Let's fish a
doubloon out of here.
Sounds good to me.
Narrator: While the drilling
operation continues at the money pit...
- I love this section of halifax.
- Yeah, me, too.
...Charles barkhouse
and fellow oak island
historian doug crowell
have traveled some 50
miles northeast of oak island,
where they arrive at
the dawson print shop
in halifax, nova scotia.
Hi, joe.
Hello.
As promised, we are back.
Narrator: They
have come to share
two recent finds
with rare manuscript conservator
and leather expert joe landry.
One being the
potential boot heel
discovered one day ago
in the spoils of borehole 8-b
and the other a large
piece of mysterious leather
that was found earlier this
year in the spoils of borehole 8-a.
Have a couple interesting,
uh, pieces here.
- Okay.
- What we're doing is we're processing
what we call the spoils,
all the material
that came up out of the
caissons from last year.
- Mm-hmm.
- We had so much of it,
we didn't get it all washed
before the cold weather set in.
These two pieces of material
came out of separate caissons
but look surprisingly similar.
So, we're wondering if you think
they are from the same object
or associated in some way.
Okay. Sure.
Oh, yes.
Doug: Of course,
the question on our mind is,
could it be part of
a-a bookbinding?
Joe: No, it's not likely.
It's not the way we
attach leather onto a book.
From what I'm seeing here,
the weight of the leather
and-and the holes punched
along these two sides
sort of in-indicate a...
More of a-a garment,
uh, use for this.
You can see the... All
these very fine holes.
Again,
in a... in a... In a less expensive item,
you know,
the holes would be further apart,
so the person isn't spending
so much time sewing.
This is quite a fine, uh...
Quite a fine stitch.
Doug: These companies
and individuals
that were pursuing
the treasure hunt,
they were hiring
laborers to dig their shafts
and-and the tunnels,
in search of the treasure.
So you don't picture that they'd
be wearing anything high-end.
- You know, they'd be wearing work clothes.
- Yeah.
So, to find something that
could be high-end garments,
then that could
speak to something
prior to the discovery
of the money pit,
perhaps even during the deposit.
Charles: Here's the other one we have,
joe.
Quite a substantial piece there,
so...
It is.
Oh, yes, this is a heavier,
uh, piece of leather.
You can see by the shape h-here
that this-this was likely
used for the sole of a...
Of a boot or a, you know, a-a...
Or a heavier, uh,
pair of shoes, perhaps.
Charles: Is there any way
to tell from the thickness
whether that would
be like a high-end item,
as opposed to more of
a... More common item?
Joe: Weight of the leather
and the... and the, uh, finish
on-on the shape and such,
it's-it's quite likely
they were made for a...
For a somewhat more wealthy,
uh, customer.
Or a sea captain or
someone of stature?
- Yes. Yeah. - As opposed to,
you know,
common laborer or, you know,
- a regular seaman. - Exactly.
Narrator: Could it be
that this leather artifact
is also connected
to other recent finds
such as the dutch onion bottle
found on the stone
pathway in the swamp,
which has been speculated
to possibly lead
toward the money pit?
And, if so,
could it also be connected
to the original depositors
of the fabled treasure vault?
It's, uh, beautifully shaped.
The leather isn't quite as
heavy as it would have been
in a, you know,
very heavy work boot.
Um, you can see the leather
has even been folded
over here on the edge.
It gives it a-a
very nice finish.
So,
the captain of the ship obviously
- is gonna have a-a finer pair of boots than the, uh...
- Right.
- Charles: Common sailor.
- Yeah. Mm.
So,
both of these samples are-are,
in your estimation,
are more-more high-end,
because of the thickness
or-or because of the shape
in the... in the
type of leather.
Yeah, and the sewing and such on this one,
it, uh...
You know,
it indicated a finer finish, I think.
-Yeah. -Very interesting. -Yeah.
- We've got a lot of theories that involve sea captains.
- Charles: Oh.
Spanish, portuguese, I mean...
Or the french, too.
But leather,
that-that can be carbon-dated, right?
That's an organic.
Charles: Yeah.
I think it begs testing.
Yeah.
Well, thank you very much.
- You're welcome.
- You've been... you've given us more work to do.
(chuckling)
doug: Hope to see
you again soon.
♪ ♪
narrator: Meanwhile,
back on oak island,
rick lagina, craig tester,
dr. Ian spooner
and heavy equipment
expert billy gerhardt
gather at the eastern
bank of the swamp
to continue their investigation
of a mysterious stone pathway
in the southeastern corner.
In my mind, the rock isn't
gonna continue on forever, right?
They'd just use the soil.
But what we
should try to do is...
Right about here,
just do a trench.
So we can walk down into it
and see if we see that hard pan.
But cut it right
straight across,
from the stone.
If we don't hit it,
then cut it... Cut one
downhill from there.
Yeah.
Narrator: In order to help trace
the borders of
the stone feature,
as well as attempt to
uncover more evidence
of any other
man-made structures,
billy will continue
excavating a shallow trench
along the eastern
edge of the swamp.
Rick: The idea is to
see if the stone feature,
the stone road,
may lead into the upland
or it may turn to the north.
The only way to discern
that is to crosscut it
and look for some sort
of working by humans.
My hope is that
there's something here.
I mean, sure would be nice.
Point you in the right direction,
right?
Anyway, it's...
- This should prove interesting.
- Yeah.
Narrator: As billy
excavates the trench,
metal detection expert
gary drayton arrives
to scan the spoils
for any potential clues
or valuable artifacts.
Nothing yet?
Nothing.
Didn't even see any pottery.
Ian: So, what the hope is,
where it goes from
orange to brown,
it's in that horizon
that we're gonna see
something that might
help us identify the road.
Definitely rocky.
(scraping)
- ooh. That's a boulder.
- Ooh, that's a big boulder.
I think it's all rocks here.
Craig: There's a lot of rocks
- right in the next foot though.
- Billy: Yeah. Just...
- Just to that one point.
- Yeah.
Ian: I think we're
sort of onto something
right in here.
We'll just clean
it off. Take a look.
Okay.
(grunts)
little bit disturbed down here.
All the way down there.
Yeah, big stones here.
Like, see how these rocks,
the-the mud around them,
it's not sea
horizon... It's a soil.
And they're close-fit together.
So,
that in and of itself is pretty important.
Something is built here,
as far as I'm concerned.
Narrator: The stone pathway,
curving up and running along
the eastern border of the swamp?
Or has the team just uncovered
another completely
separate stone pathway?
If so, what was its purpose?
And just where does it lead?
Coincidence or not,
it's definitely different
above the road than
what it is over there.
- Rick: Yes, it is.
- Deeper, different material,
more... all the
rocks at the bottom.
I guess, if we go a little further,
that may tell.
Rick: The orientation
of this stone road
seems very strange to me.
It appears to
rather curve towards
the north and west,
obviously well away
from the money pit.
And so I don't know
what to make of it.
Is there some sort
of connection there?
Again,
the need to further the investigation
and further the scope of the area,
uh, worth investigating.
(beeping)
got a signal here, rick.
(beeping)
well, that definite ring,
ring, ring
means it's iron.
And it's small.
What the heck is that?
- Rick: That a key? - (beeping)
that's what it looks like,
doesn't it?
Narrator: While metal
detecting the spoils
that have been removed
from the mysterious stone
pathway in the oak island swamp,
gary drayton has just
made what could be
an important discovery.
It's got a square hole there.
It's not looking like a
key anymore though.
No,
it looks like some kind of a little latch.
What we just found, to me,
looks like an handle or a lever,
even maybe used on a barrel,
maybe a keg key.
I'm not sure what this is,
but it looks a nice old shape,
because it's got
a square hole in it.
- It's pretty crudely made.
- It is, yeah.
I notice even the
square hole's a bit off.
- Is it iron?
- Yeah, it's definitely iron.
Looks like some kind
of like a... A little lever.
Like you would see on a cask.
Narrator: A possible lever
off an iron cask or barrel?
Could it be key evidence
of cargo being transported
along this stone road in
what has been determined
to be a man-made swamp?
If so,
what kind of cargo was it?
And why was all evidence of
the operation so carefully hidden?
Mm. Yeah, that's a tough one
to tell whether it's old or new.
We won't know
till it's cleaned up.
This lever or key confirms
why surface metal
detecting is so important
to the swamp work, because
it's telling the story of
what went on in the swamp,
and helping date this feature.
So, the key question is,
no matter what this is,
does it have a direct connection
to the treasure
story? The mystery?
I got to believe it's connected
to the treasure story.
That was big, you know,
and you've got
the rocks down here,
it gets bigger,
then you... A road
through here. I mean,
you're talking a
massive amount of time.
- Right.
- And people to do this.
And then I go to
what's the chances
at this time period of there
being two massive things
- going on oak island at the same time.
- True. Very true.
Marty: The whole thing with
this very enigmatic stone road
and the path that leads from it
is,
what's its purpose? Where is it going?
It might go off into the swamp,
maybe towards the eye,
or it might swing to the right
and go up the hill
towards the money pit.
So, anything we might find
there could be highly relevant
and kind of exciting.
Rick: Where does it go?
That's the question.
Let's hope this is the
offramp to treasure.
(laughing): Yeah.
That's why we got
to keep shoveling.
Ian: Yup.
Gary: There's so much
going on in this area.
Craig: Yeah,
who knows what else there is.
Narrator: The following day...
He's just going to clear a
little ways ahead and then
- do a very disciplined dig.
- Okay.
Narrator: ...Rick lagina,
craig tester,
billy gerhardt and metal
detection expert gary drayton
continue their investigation
of what appears
to be a second stone pathway
in the triangle-shaped swamp.
I want to follow that
rock feature there.
Right.
Billy: Just an early observation
- to your, uh, left there...
- Craig: Oh, yeah.
- Gary: The big flat stone?
- Billy: ...Is a flat rock,
which pretty well lines up.
- Oh, yeah. Right in line here.
- Yeah.
Rick: I don't know.
Maybe our best bet is just,
- we have a feature, let's just follow it.
- Yeah.
Rick: This stone road and
this stone path are mystifying.
What is the reason
for a road in a bog?
What is the reason for a stone
path along the edge of a bog?
Where does it go?
At the end of this,
is there possible treasure?
That's why we're here.
So, my hope is that we
are on... No pun intended...
That we are on the right path
towards solving
this treasure mystery,
but there's work to do.
Craig: It's more like dirt
than swamp at this point.
Rick: Yup.
Rick: There is black dirt.
You want to poke in it a little?
Yeah.
(thudding)
a few rocks.
Craig: Yeah. It
sure seems like a lot
cutting right in
that corner there.
(thudding)
I think that might
be it right there.
Rick: Hey, steve!
Do we have the rocks?
Craig: Yeah, right here.
Steve g.: Oh. We might have 'em.
Rick: Well,
we'd like to know the elevation
of where they're working...
Is it similar to this one?
Craig: The little rocks. Yeah.
- Steve g.: The small ones?
- The small feature. Yup.
- Okay, I can give you that.
- Narrator: In an attempt
to determine if this grouping
of stones is an extension
of the newly discovered stone pathway,
some 40 feet away,
surveyor steve guptill will
take precise measurements
of their respective elevations.
It's the same.
You're two feet above sea level here,
which is consistent
to those rocks. So,
the top here is the same there,
and the elevation at the bottom,
on the cobble, is the same.
If you're saying that that level
- is precisely this level...
- Mm-hmm.
...Then maybe, just maybe,
there's some sort of connection.
But then it comes down to,
where does it go and why?
- Yeah. - Rick: It seems like
oak island always
throws a curveball.
Well, now we've got a feature
that may be an association
with some type of construct
for possibly a wagon
or a cart to move,
but it's moving away from the money pit,
so,
where are we headed now?
It's very strange, very strange.
I think the key is, uh, timing.
- Yeah. - Does this line up
with the stone road,
in terms of when?
- I agree.
- One way or the other,
we-we will come to some sort
of understanding of what this is.
Thanks, guys.
Narrator: Before
another productive day
on oak island comes to an end...
- Hey, gentlemen!
- Hey, everybody.
Narrator: ...Brothers
rick and marty lagina
gather in the w*r
room with members
of their team for a new report
on the leather recently
discovered in borehole 8-b.
- Hey, guys. - Rick: So, craig,
we have the piece of
leather here in front of us,
but you have the results,
and we're hoping for good news.
Yeah, this was the, uh,
sample from caisson 8-b.
Marty: So,
we know where this came from,
we've analyzed the results.
Talk to us,
craig. What do we got?
I've got two time periods,
but there's such a
small gap between them,
it's basically one time period.
95% sure this is
what it is...
1492 to 1662.
- 1492? - Isn't that amazing?
- Holy crap. - 1492 to 1662.
This is overwhelming
information.
- These are dramatic numbers.
- They're interesting numbers.
- You bet they are. - I mean,
columbus could have been
- wearing this shoe.
- (laughter)
gary's word again.
I'm gobsmacked.
I can't believe it.
So, this is indeed old,
very old.
I don't have to comment
on the 1492 date.
Everybody knows what that one means,
and...
But 1660 is equally amazing.
Look,
that's a hundred and... 40 years or so
before the discovery
of the money pit.
Yet, it's underground.
What's going on?
A 95% chance this
thing is way older
than we thought it was.
Yup. This is no way
is this searchers.
It's got to be the
original people.
Alex: Pretty good odds.
Yeah.
We initially thought
it was just rubber.
But, doug,
you brought this to joe landry, correct?
Charles and I did, yes.
Surprisingly,
he had an opinion on it,
an observation that
we weren't expecting.
He said that it was from a
refined or dress type of boot.
Not a work boot,
not the type of thing you'd expect
a worker or a searcher in
the money pit to be wearing.
- A dressy item.
- Rick: We shouldn't
- grab this... - Laird: Yeah.
...Unless we have gloves, but
that is the item
we're referencing.
Marty: Look, this is what
I've been looking for for years.
What do you make of it, laird?
Yeah. No, I wasn't expecting...
- 1492 for some reason.
- (laughter)
are you starting to believe
there might be treasure here?
Laird: Well, as we said before,
- it's difficult to argue with the science.
- Yeah.
- No. You can't argue with science.
- Yeah.
Marty: You can't pick
and choose your data.
This is gigantically impactful.
Craig: Yeah.
Marty: I don't know
how else to say it.
And you got that right,
mate. 1492, this piece of leather
would be significant
anywhere in north america.
- Marty: Yes, it would. - 1492!
- Yeah, you're right.
- That's true.
He is right. The fact is,
even at
the least old age, it way,
way, predates the finding
of the money pit,
by a long ways.
By several generations,
is a good way to look at it.
- More than that.
- Yeah, that's a lot of generations,
- particularly back then.
- Yeah, yeah.
So, it's just getting to be too
many dates that say something
very significant happened,
and now in... Directly
in the money pit area,
you know, not the swamp,
and not smith's cove,
directly in the money pit.
Very significant.
- It's-it's a dramatic find.
- Yes, it is.
It could change, could change
our understanding
of the money pit.
I think this is a
very big victory.
- I agree. - I agree.
Gary: Medieval, baby!
Narrator: For a year that began
with the grim prospect
that new discoveries
on oak island might
be an impossibility,
rick, marty,
craig and their devoted team
have, so far,
been able to realize more good fortune
than ever in their quest to
solve a 225-year-old mystery.
But from the incredible finds
being made in the swamp
and the money pit area,
how close might they actually be
to uncovering the island's
carefully guarded secrets?
As they press forward
toward that ultimate revelation,
like so many in the
past have attempted,
just what kind of
fortune awaits them?
Narrator: Next time on
the curse of oak island...
Billy: Ready for a bobby-dazzler,
gary.
Look at that! This is probably
- one of the eye bolts.
- Wow. -(laughing)
- colton robinson: 28!
- Terry: Wood at 24.
- Wow!
- That's what we want to see.
It's completely virgin ground.
I've got a signal, guys!
Ooh, we've got a lock.
Hey, what's a lock
doing in here?
This is part of a lock.
I'm going to say it's for a box,
or a trunk, or a heavy chest.