NARRATOR: Tonight on
The Curse of Oak Island...
BILLY: I'm ready for a bobby‐dazzler,
Gary.
Look at that! This is
probably one of the eye bolts.
‐Wow. ‐(laughs)
‐STEVE G.: 28! ‐TERRY:
There's wood at 24.
‐Wow! ‐This is
what we want to see.
It's completely virgin ground.
I got a signal, guys.
Ooh,
it's a lock! What's a lock doing in here?
This is part of a lock.
I'm gonna say it's for a box
or a trunk or a heavy chest.
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: What do you think?
What is that?
RICK: That's the proper question
to ask: what is that?
That is not something
that should be in a swamp.
NARRATOR: As another exciting
morning begins on Oak Island
for brothers Rick and Marty
Lagina and their partners...
TOM: That is absolutely
amazing to see in a place like this.
You would never think
this would be here.
RICK: I mean, it's just awesome.
They continue to uncover two
of the most incredible
discoveries ever made
in the 225‐year search
for a legendary treasure.
Massive stone pathways
that have been unearthed
in the southeast corner of
the triangle‐shaped swamp.
One of which may
be leading directly
toward the original
Money Pit treasure shaft.
RICK: You've got a stone road
in the middle of a bog.
‐Why this? ‐Why this?
And why here?
I can't come up with an answer.
What do you think your
father would make of this?
He'd love to see
it. I know that.
He was such a big
proponent of the swamp.
‐Yup. ‐And
felt it played such a big role
in whatever happened here.
To see something like this now,
I just don't know what he'd say.
"I was right. I told you so!"
(laughing)
I kind of say that
to my brother.
Yeah.
NARRATOR: For Rick and Marty,
these discoveries represent
more credible evidence
that something of great value
really does lie
buried on the island.
But for fellow landowner
Tom Nolan‐‐ who happens
to be the son of the late,
legendary treasure
hunter Fred Nolan‐‐
it offers validation for
the more than 50 years
of tireless work Fred
spent here trying to prove
that the swamp was an important
key to solving the mystery.
Dad believed that the answers
to Oak Island certainly
laid in that swamp.
And hopefully,
it will bring a lot of his dreams
and aspirations to light.
Whatever this is,
you got to get some answers.
Let's go down and talk to Aaron.
‐See what their
thoughts are. ‐Yeah.
NARRATOR: To ensure
that the continued
investigation of the swamp
is conducted as completely
and as carefully as possible,
they have enlisted the help of
archaeologist Dr. Aaron Taylor.
Tom has some questions for you,
and he'd probably
like to hear your opinion
to date as to what
you think this might be.
Sure. Uh,
if I had to give you my opinion
of what it is, right now,
I'd say it's a road
leading up to the Uplands.
And then we have
sort of a rubbly pathway
‐all the way down
to here. ‐Yeah.
Possibly they had
built a little harbor,
somewhere to unload things.
And it was a road that would've
taken a lot of work to build.
TOM: This is an
incredible discovery.
‐I've never seen
anything like it. ‐Yeah.
Question is: what's
keeping the stone up?
And we're finding
pieces of wood.
So we're thinking, possibly,
some cribbing underneath.
‐Yeah. ‐So that's what
we've got right now.
RICK: What's that? Right there?
There's no wood or anything.
Aaron, you thought there
might be some wood here, right?
‐Some timbers? ‐Yeah.
Yeah, so...
Or some sort of cribbing.
There's another layer of stone
underneath this one, though.
Right here. It's really...
‐Careful. ‐It's
really firm right here.
Feel how firm that is.
AARON: Yeah.
‐RICK: Here's a stone here. ‐Yeah,
and then you've got that
real thick whatever‐it‐is.
A cut stake.
That's very interesting.
Yeah,
there's some sort of cribbing or support.
NARRATOR:
Another layer of stones
and wood cribbing?
Has Rick discovered another
feature in the construction
of this stone road in the swamp?
Or could it be another
structure below it?
If so,
just what is it and why was it built?
RICK: That might be something
Spooner wants to look at, eh?
AARON: Mm‐hmm.
‐RICK: It's cut.
‐AARON: It looks cut.
Definitely not natural.
And it's running right
under that big stone there.
So we'll take that, sample it,
and see if we can
get some testing.
Ooh, look at that chunk.
Coal?
‐Yeah. ‐SCOTT: Nice. ‐TOM: Wow.
So that's the
coal we're finding.
Yeah,
we've found some pieces fairly large.
We have pounds of it now.
TOM: What would coal
be doing down here?
SCOTT: Well, coal doesn't float.
‐So it's not like it came in
here floating in the water. ‐No.
No, somebody left it here.
I'd say whoever did this.
Yeah. That shows that
there was a burn event.
‐Yeah. ‐NARRATOR: Charcoal,
found on the stone
pathway in the swamp?
‐Yes. ‐MARTY: Really?
GARY: That's what we're
looking for in the swamp.
NARRATOR: One year ago,
metal detection expert
Gary Drayton discovered
a badly b*rned strap identified
by blacksmith Carmen Legge
to have come from an
early 18th century ship.
NARRATOR: This
offered compelling evidence
of a long‐held
theory by Fred Nolan
that at one time Oak
Island was two islands
and that a treasure galleon
had been sailed in between them,
unloaded of its precious cargo
and then b*rned and sunk
in a man‐made swamp.
Could the discovery of
charcoal on this stone pathway
be corroborating evidence
that Fred's theory is true?
The only time we know
coal was used in any volume
on the island,
at least as far as the search goes,
was 1860 or beyond.
There's no need to
burn coal on that island,
in the search, until then.
So what's the coal for?
Another mystery.
Here's another one.
AARON: Another piece.
So we're finding these
stakes that are cut stakes.
Well,
something would have to hold all this up,
you know, in a bog.
‐Yeah. ‐SCOTT: You get excited
about all these things we find,
and we're just left
with more questions.
‐TOM: Yeah,
bigger questions. ‐(laughter)
RICK: Well,
it's a mystery. That's for sure.
TOM: Absolutely.
NARRATOR: Later that afternoon,
while the investigation
continues in the swamp...
RICK: Well,
guys. We have a little metal find.
An item that was found as
part of the drilling program
in the Money Pit.
NARRATOR: Rick gathers
with his nephews Alex Lagina
and David Fornetti,
along with Jack Begley
and other members
of the Oak Island team,
in the w*r room for an
important scientific report
on a recent discovery.
Doug, if you could bring
Dr. Brosseau and Craig up,
of course Dr. Brosseau will
tell us what she has found.
‐Hey. ‐Hi, Craig.
Hi, Dr. Brosseau.
‐Hi, guys. ‐Hi, everybody.
NARRATOR: Joining the
meeting via videoconference
are Rick and Marty's
partner Craig Tester
as well as Dr. Christa Brosseau,
a professor of chemistry
at Saint Mary's University
in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
RICK: So, Craig,
if you could bring us up to speed
about the item, where it was found,
the provenance.
You were there at the drill
table when it was found.
CRAIG: Okay.
Yeah, it was, uh,
well number, uh, C‐9.
There was that new shaft that,
uh, we found,
and found quite a bit of wood,
and then, uh,
Gary found that piece of metal.
So hopefully,
looking at this piece of metal,
we can, uh, get a‐a rough date,
to see if it's possibly
the Tupper Shaft.
(device beeping)
GARY: Hmm. Interesting.
I would say that's the
end of a square nail.
CHARLES: Wow.
NARRATOR: One week ago,
while conducting a
core‐drilling operation
in the hopes of finally
locating the original Money Pit,
the team obtained a square
nail from a depth of 95 feet
in Borehole C‐9,
which they believe
could be connected
to the so‐called Tupper Shaft,
a shaft named for Adams Tupper,
a member of the Truro Company
who constructed a
wooden shaft in 1850
just ten feet northwest
of the original Money Pit
in a failed attempt to retrieve
the fabled treasure vault
from below while avoiding
the man‐made flood tunnels.
It is the team's
hope that if this nail
could be part of
the Tupper Shaft,
it could mean they are
within striking distance
of locating the Money
Pit treasure vault.
So, what can you tell us,
Christa?
All right, well, I'm gonna share
my screen and show you the data.
So, what you'll see is that
this square nail does contain manganese,
at about .68%.
So that's right in the .1%
to one percent manganese,
um, that we use as a‐a
marker for more modern iron.
So,
I would say this is most likely
a post‐1840 wrought iron nail.
‐That's great. ‐Yes.
RICK: That's an aha moment.
Uh, that... it's stunning,
actually.
Because the
relationship was known
between the Tupper
Shaft and the Money Pit.
That means that if we
find the Tupper Shaft,
then it's a simple hop,
skip and a jump to the Money Pit.
So we've got some work to do,
but it's definitely exciting.
Dr. Brosseau's analysis
has affirmed that
what we are doing
in terms of our drill program
right now is appropriate.
So, we're very appreciative.
And it could be, Dr. Brosseau,
that we are close
to the Money Pit.
And if that be the case,
we would certainly like you to
come out and celebrate with us.
Oh,
that's my pleasure. I'm glad it's helpful.
RICK: Well, i‐it certainly is.
We thank you. Till the next time,
Doctor.
‐Absolutely. Take care.
‐Bye‐bye. ‐GARY: Bye.
DOUG: This is a very
good thing for our hunt.
‐GARY: Yeah.
‐RICK: Let's get after it.
Following the meeting
in the w*r room...:
TERRY: So, Steve,
have you, uh, got a number?
We are actually on this one,
Terry.
CD 8.5.
NARRATOR: Geologist
Terry Matheson
along with surveyor
Steve Guptill
and project manager Scott Barlow
are supervising the team's
core‐drilling operation
in Borehole CD 8.5,
where they are hoping to
confirm that they have located
the Tupper Shaft,
a searcher shaft
constructed in 1850
that sits just ten
feet northwest
from the original Money Pit.
We want to look
for anything loose.
Any sign of, you know,
timber. Anything like that
to tell us we're either
in or near a shaft.
‐Yep. ‐Possible collapsed shaft.
‐Yep. Uh... ‐So,
if‐if something does come up of interest,
we‐we may want
to pursue it deeper.
And try to find the definition
‐of the physical bounds
of all the walls. ‐Yeah.
Looks like we got ten
feet of core over there.
STEVE G.: I'll go grab it.
Okay, good. Thank you.
Eight to 18.
‐18? ‐Just that one.
‐That's to 18? ‐Yeah, that's 18.
‐You got wood. ‐Oh, yeah.
We've been... That
whole thing's wood.
‐So, 18 here. ‐Yeah.
‐And then what's
the one? ‐That's 24.
‐Okay. ‐That one's 28.
18, 24, 28.
MARTY: If this is
the Tupper Shaft,
it's made hope spring.
It's made hope spring
from our hearts again
about the Money Pit.
Great.
MARTY: That maybe
they left sufficient tracks
that we can find it.
So that's what I'm hoping,
because this is a
pretty good possibility.
TERRY: Some wood at 24.
There's some loose,
disturbed material already.
From the looks of it,
there's a lot of wood there.
TERRY: Wow!
‐This is what we want
to see. ‐TERRY: Wow.
That's a significant
intersection
of stacked timber.
We're into the wall already.
NARRATOR: The possible wall
of the so‐called Tupper Shaft?
If the team can verify
the orientation
of the structure,
they may be able
to finally pinpoint
the location of the
original Money Pit
and the fabled treasure vault.
That's gold.
Because that helps us to
determine the shaft, right?
If‐if we can stay in
it right to the bottom.
TERRY: So,
we're going to the bottom on this one,
‐probably. ‐SCOTT: Yes,
sir. It'd be great.
It'd be nice if we can
come out of the wall
and walk down the
inside so we get...
‐so we get the floor.
‐TERRY: Agreed.
Let's‐let's get
more confirmation.
Let's go right down
the center and find out...
be sure of the bottom.
‐I like that. ‐There we go!
Things are going
according to plan.
NARRATOR: Later that day...
‐DOUG: Hey, Carmen. ‐SCOTT: Carmen,
how we doing?
Oh, lookee here.
NARRATOR: Oak Island
historian Doug Crowell
and project manager Scott Barlow
have traveled some 50
miles north of Oak Island
to Northville Farm in Centreville,
Nova Scotia,
to meet with blacksmith
expert Carmen Legge.
So, what brings you here today?
Well,
we've got an artifact we'd like you
‐to take a look at. ‐Oh,
one of those days.
‐DOUG: Yeah. ‐I really
look forward to that.
Let you have a look at it.
CARMEN: Oh,
we'll have a look‐see.
(clears throat)
Very interesting.
DOUG: Lot 13,
so that's a swamp lot.
That is a large piece of iron.
NARRATOR: Two months ago,
while searching on Lot 13,
located near the eastern
edge of the Oak Island swamp,
Rick Lagina and Gary Drayton
made an unusual discovery.
GARY: You know what this reminds me of,
actually?
It's like a cabinet drawer lock.
‐It's not big enough
for a door. ‐Yeah.
Wonder what it's doing out here.
NARRATOR: Now,
after having the item cleaned and conserved
by Laird Niven,
they are hoping Carmen
can shed more light
on just what it is
and also what it might
have been used for.
CARMEN: Well, this is, uh,
a latch or a part of a lock.
And you can see
it's double‐bolted.
So, this is for a very
secure door or lid for a box.
You can see that there's, uh,
some little inserts
that go in there.
You can see these,
uh, e‐embedded
‐into the iron plate
there. ‐SCOTT: Yes.
CARMEN: This is
a higher‐end lock.
It was more secure.
I'm gonna say it's
for a box or a trunk
or that sort of thing.
NARRATOR: A double‐bolted lock,
used to secure a trunk
or possibly a chest?
Look at that.
Wow. That's bloody brilliant.
It might be, actually, gold.
NARRATOR: Two weeks ago,
Gary Drayton discovered a shiny,
gold‐colored knob
in the mysterious
triangle‐shaped swamp,
which, according to rare coin
and artifact expert
Sandy Campbell,
may be a critical piece
of the Oak Island puzzle.
SANDY: Could be some kind of a,
a knob
from a jewel chest.
NARRATOR: Could
these two discoveries
be connected?
If so,
what happened to the chest
and whatever it contained?
And you can see
that it's quite elaborate
on the inside of this mechanism.
And the, uh, center rivet
holding the two parts together.
So there's o‐other
parts that go with this.
So, as it was turned,
both bolts came‐‐
‐extracted around the
corner. ‐DOUG: Right.
Well, that's interesting.
It's a very typical heavy chest.
You want something
that's gonna be
really, really secured.
Not a simple traveler's trunk.
DOUG: Well,
we really appreciate your thoughts on this.
We find out exactly
where this came from
and, uh, see if we can go back
there and take another look.
Well, we'll get out of your way
'cause I know you're
busy making things.
See you soon, I hope.
‐CARMEN: Very good. Yep. ‐SCOTT: Thanks,
Carmen.
CARMEN: Have a good day.
NARRATOR: Later
that afternoon...
IAN: So, Rick, we're gonna start
working our way down here.
NARRATOR: after
returning to Oak Island,
Scott Barlow joins Rick Lagina
and geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner
as they continue uncovering more
of the second
mysterious stone pathway
recently discovered
in the swamp.
IAN: I‐I should actually jump
down and help you with that.
(grunts)
RICK: A lot more wood in here.
‐And no rock. ‐IAN: Right.
But my guess is, it goes...
That way?
Yeah.
Well, then,
maybe we should get Scott to...
Yeah, I would, I would agree.
Scott, could you peel this away?
Give it a little pull.
MARTY: When you
see the stone road,
what immediately
springs to mind is:
where does it go?
If this is hidden and massive
and used for some, uh,
arcane purpose,
we need to know where it goes.
There's probably the wall,
right there.
IAN: This curve was with purpose,
too.
(Ian laughs)
Somebody was notching
out a ton of wood here.
There's chips from
axes everywhere.
RICK: Yeah, it's everywhere.
NARRATOR: Chipped
pieces of wood,
hand‐cut by someone using an a*?
But for what purpose?
And so they were cutting the,
the heck
out of something here.
Whether it was cribwork or...
But, again,
that was underneath that rock there.
RICK: Hey, Scott.
Just that‐that
chunk right there.
Billy might be able
to get that better
from that side because
if I pull this way,
I'm gonna pull up into the rock.
IAN: Okay. We'll let him do it.
Look at all those
layers of sticks there.
IAN: Right here.
Wow.
RICK: There's something.
IAN: That's very important.
Holy crow.
IAN: Hey,
here. Take a look at this.
‐That's cut wood. ‐RICK: Wow.
They were able to build the
stone road because of this.
NARRATOR: In the
Oak Island swamp,
Dr. Ian Spooner and Rick
Lagina have just discovered layers
of hand‐cut wood
used as a foundation
for the massive stone pathway.
All the woodchips that we see
are from them cutting
all this‐‐ these saplings,
throwing them down on the swamp,
so they could put the
rocks on something
when they built the road.
NARRATOR:
Confirming that this wood
is actually part
of the stone road
could provide the team
with a critical breakthrough:
a timeline for when it
was actually constructed.
Basically we can
date any of this
and get a bit of an idea of
how old that stone road is.
RICK: I think this is really,
really old.
200, 300 or more years old.
Oh, absolutely.
MARTY: That is a buried,
hidden, well‐constructed,
massive road.
RICK: It's not just the
one‐day effort by one person.
It's multiple human beings,
some sort of engineering
principles were involved.
There's interior framework,
some sort of cribbing
to carry the weight.
This is very complex.
It's a very strange a‐area
worthy of further investigation.
It's a feature that
no one knew about
and‐and it's providing some
very interesting possibilities.
‐IAN: Yep. ‐RICK: Tomorrow,
then,
we have to follow
up on these clues.
IAN: Absolutely.
NARRATOR: The
following morning...
BILLY: Do you think we
should pull this out and pile it,
Craig,
or put it in a pile in here?
Yeah,
I think it's gonna be easier here.
Yeah.
NARRATOR: Craig Tester,
along with
metal detection
expert Gary Drayton,
join Dr. Aaron Taylor
and heavy equipment
operator Billy Gerhardt
in the southeastern
corner of the swamp
to continue investigating the
two mysterious stone roads.
CRAIG: That sure smells good,
Gary.
‐(laughter) ‐AARON:
Ugh. Fresh baked bread.
(device beeping)
I got a signal.
A clear, two‐way repeatable.
‐Right on the surface,
or...? ‐Yeah, just there.
Ooh.
It's this, whatever this is.
Something in here.
Should I break it‐‐ ooh,
it's ch‐‐ uh, is it a chain
or is it a lock?
NARRATOR: A possible lock
found near the stone
road in the swamp?
Could it be in some
way connected
to the double‐bolted
latch discovered on Lot 13,
or perhaps the gold‐colored knob
that possibly came
from a jewelry chest?
AARON: That's very interesting.
CRAIG: Yeah.
Yeah,
what's a lock doing in here?
Yeah. Yeah.
GARY: Might be
old. You never know.
Well, we'll get it cleaned up.
Okay, mate. Thanks.
CRAIG: Nice find.
NARRATOR: Later
that afternoon...
RICK: Are you hitting
rock down here or...?
Yep, for the most part.
I just don't want to
get too aggressive.
No, you'll feel it.
NARRATOR: while Rick Lagina
works with members of the team
to expose more of the second
stone pathway in the swamp...
CRAIG: Hey, Marty.
Oh, hey, guys.
NARRATOR: Craig Tester meets
with his stepson Jack
Begley and Marty Lagina
in the w*r room to
discuss the current progress
of their drilling operation
at the Money Pit.
Anyway,
what's going on out in the field?
I want to show
you where we're at.
Because of these
deeper woods finds,
we decided to go ahead
and drill CD 8.5 right here.
And it appears that
we've hit the Tupper Shaft.
Mm‐hmm.
CRAIG: And, uh,
we either want to go
southeast towards OC‐1
or west towards C‐1.
And we think we can get a better handle by,
uh,
one,
drilling in this area to define the shaft‐‐
‐how big is it‐‐ that
may help us. ‐Yeah.
NARRATOR: Although the
team has been encouraged
that they have located the
19th century Tupper Shaft,
because of its close proximity
to the original Money Pit,
they have had
difficulty confirming
the orientation
of the structure.
CRAIG: We don't know where
in the Tupper Shaft we are.
I mean, if it's ten by ten,
we can be
‐at one end or the other. ‐Yeah,
okay.
Well, couple comments.
Number one: I'm so
sick of finding wood.
(laughter)
I'm really sick of finding wood.
But th‐the real question
you're asking me is:
should we go this way first?
Yes. We're limited on
time. We really think,
to know which direction to go,
we really feel
we need to define this.
Yeah, define it for sure.
If it is the Tupper Shaft,
then we're zeroing in,
yet again, on the,
uh, Money Pit.
‐JACK: Yeah. Mm‐hmm.
‐MARTY: That seems to be
‐dodging us all the time.
‐That's really exciting.
It is. So which way
do you want to go?
CRAIG: Well, the next one
we want to look for
the shaft is right here.
So,
just moving a little bit off this last one
where we found the edge of it.
To try to find out, you know,
if we're in the heart of it
and how deep it is.
That's the key, Craig.
Of all the things you‐you said,
the one that
resonates with me is:
we‐we never had a landmark
that close to the Money Pit.
So I would say we go out there,
we delineate this thing,
and then if the historical
data supports the delineation
that this is the Tupper Shaft,
then we're within ten
feet of the Money Pit.
‐Yep. ‐Well, that would be big.
‐(chuckles): Yeah. ‐Well,
look, I'm on board with that.
‐Okay. Okay. ‐Let's chase it.
MARTY: Here's what I am
excited about on this
so‐called Tupper Shaft.
As we've been trying to zero
in on the original Money Pit,
man, has it been elusive.
We keep having dimensions‐‐ like,
from Shaft Nine,
I think it was 90
feet or something.
Well,
that's a big arc and a lot of territory.
So,
if we're within ten feet of the Money Pit,
yeah, we're zeroing in on it.
JACK: Looking at this map, too,
if this is the Tupper
Shaft up here,
‐that would leave a lot of area
around it for exploration. ‐MARTY: Yes.
It would explain why
we haven't found it
with this spaghetti
mess down here.
Yep.
From the human heart,
hope springs eternal.
I'm on board.
Why don't you guys go find Rick?
I'm totally on board.
‐Let's do it. ‐CRAIG: Okay.
Great. Thanks for the update.
Appreciate it.
As another new day begins
on Oak Island... ATOR:
MARTY: Gonna be
real curious to see
what Laird and
company have got going.
NARRATOR: Marty
Lagina and his son Alex
arrive at the old
homestead of Samuel Ball,
who owned this
property on Lot 25
from the late 18th to
the mid‐19th century.
‐Hey, Laird. ‐LAIRD: Hey, guys.
‐How are you? ‐Good.
NARRATOR: Due to a number
of compelling discoveries
that the team has recently
made in and around the swamp,
such as the gold‐colored knob,
as well as the
metal lock and latch
also believed to have
been part of a chest,
Rick,
Marty and Craig have directed
archaeologist Laird
Niven and his team
to help them look deeper
into one of Oak
Island's most intriguing
and controversial
historical figures.
MARTY: This is not the foundation central,
right?
LAIRD: No, no.
This was a stone‐lined pit.
Lots of organics in it.
Not a huge number of artifacts.
Some handwrought
nails and some pottery.
Samuel Ball had
quite an estate here.
ALEX: Yeah, he did.
NARRATOR: In 1765,
Samuel Ball was born a sl*ve
on a plantation in South Carolina.
However, at just 11 years old,
he bravely escaped
and made his way north,
eventually achieving his freedom
when he joined British forces
during the American Revolution.
At the w*r's end,
he would once again make a brave journey,
this time to Nova Scotia, Canada
where he would buy
Lot 25 on Oak Island
for a reported eight pounds.
Although he was
known to his neighbors
as a simple cabbage farmer,
Samuel Ball would
mysteriously become
one of the wealthiest
landowners in the province,
owning a total of 36 acres here
and several more
on the mainland,
leaving many to
wonder over the years
if he discovered something
of great value on Oak Island.
‐Liz has a really interesting spot over
here. ‐MARTY: Let's go look at that.
NARRATOR: Because the surviving
foundation of Samuel Ball's home
has been designated as
a protected heritage site
by the Canadian government,
Laird Niven has
obtained a special permit
allowing for an official
archaeological excavation
of the area.
MARTY: Hi, Liz.
‐Hi, guys. ‐ALEX: Hey, Liz.
What have you
found? What is this?
LIZ: Well,
we've been getting a
lot of artifacts out of here.
Which have been nice.
Um, we got, like,
this piece here.
It's a really nice piece of,
uh, of redware.
It's almost a
tortoiseshell design.
MARTY: Oh, yeah.
ALEX: Oh yeah, I see it.
‐On the inside. ‐Yeah,
right there.
LIZ: I haven't seen
too many of those yet.
That's the first
one out of here.
‐Age? ‐Uh, eight‐‐
end of the 18th
into the 19th century.
MARTY: Mm‐hmm.
There's a lot of stuff hiding around here,
right?
LIZ: There's a really
good assortment
of pottery here, so we know he had,
uh, quite a few pieces.
Which is a form of wealth at that time,
right?
I mean, to have a lot of stuff?
LAIRD: The variety? Yeah,
the variety's surprising.
Some things I've
never seen before.
‐Yeah. ‐And it's all solidly
within Samuel Ball's life.
NARRATOR: Although
it is generally reported
that the discovery of
the Money Pit in 1795
was made by three young
men named Daniel McGinnis,
Anthony Vaughan and John Smith,
according to an alternate
version of the story
from an 1870
publication entitled
History of the
County of Lunenberg,
it was McGinnis,
Smith and Samuel Ball
who found and first excavated
the legendary treasure shaft.
Is it possible that Samuel
Ball really did discover
part of the fabled
Oak Island treasure?
If so,
could there still be evidence,
or possibly valuables,
on his former property
to prove it?
What about last year?
We were looking for the end
‐of that tunnel on the other
side of the foundation. ‐Yeah.
‐Did you ever find
that? ‐I believe we did.
‐Oh, you think so? ‐Yeah. Yeah.
There's an opening here, Gary.
‐What is that? Like a little
tunnel? ‐(laughs): Yeah.
NARRATOR: Last year, while searching
just outside the stone foundation...
RICK: I mean,
if this is a tunnel,
it's an aha moment.
The team uncovered
what appeared
to be a large drain
or, potentially,
a narrow tunnel.
DEREK: We're getting
jammed right now.
‐MARTY: You're stuck
right there? ‐Yeah.
NARRATOR: But, unfortunately,
when they ran a pipe
inspection camera inside it,
they encountered a large
stone blocking their path.
I find Samuel Ball to be
an incredibly
interesting character.
Does it have anything to
do with treasure? It might.
Because some of
the old stories say
he was one of the ones
who found the Money Pit.
He might have a role to play.
ALEX: Do you have
‐any better idea
what it is? ‐LAIRD: No.
I might put in a‐another
test pit offset by a meter.
And we'll find that out
once we get this cleared out.
LAIRD: Once
everything's cleared out.
This is just the very,
very start.
Okay. Well, find the vault where
he hid the gold that he found.
‐LAIRD: Yeah. ‐(laughter)
Positive start so far.
NARRATOR: While Marty and Alex
continue working with
Laird and Liz on Lot 25...
‐(machinery whirring)
‐TERRY: Here we go.
NARRATOR: and while
the core‐drilling operation
in the Money Pit continues...
BILLY: Gary,
can you check over here
‐for a little bit? ‐GARY: Yep,
I can.
CRAIG: Yeah,
find something in there for us.
NARRATOR: Craig Tester,
along with Gary Drayton,
Steve Guptill
and Billy Gerhardt,
are searching the Uplands
on the eastern edge of the swamp
for evidence of which direction
the mysterious stone
pathway may be heading,
as well as for any
important clues or valuables.
(device beeping)
‐(chiming) ‐Oh!
Yeah, it's iron.
(device chiming)
It's right in there, Craig.
There it is.
Yeah, you got it out.
The moment of truth.
What the heck is that?
I don't know.
CRAIG: Let's get
Aaron over here.
Aaron... can you come here?
It's not big enough to
be some kind of shackle.
What do you got?
I dug it out of this
hole right here.
It's broken.
It's iron.
But it was way down there.
It's got to be old, right?
AARON: Oh,
it's really interesting.
GARY: That is unusual.
Wow.
About it. got a clampl
That's how it fits together.
NARRATOR: In the Oak Island swamp,
Gary Drayton has just made
what could be an
important discovery.
GARY: I was thinking it's some kind of,
like, a iron
bangle bracelet‐type thing.
AARON: It does
look a little bracelet‐y.
GARY: Or even some
kind of decorative handle.
Well made by the look of it.
NARRATOR: A decorative
handle or possible bracelet?
Could it be yet
another part of a chest
found in the swamp
near the stone pathway?
Or could it be a
piece of treasure
that the chest once contained?
And when that's cleaned
up and they can connect it
and then we see the shape and...
I think we'll be able
to tell what it is then.
Excellent. So we potentially
have got an artifact.
‐Oh, yeah. ‐Got that old feel about it,
this has.
A bit of oldness here,
mate. That's what that is.
Bag it and tag it.
GARY: Well, this is a fancy,
scrolled, ornate iron artifact.
To me,
this would look in place at the Money Pit.
Maybe this is a connection
between the Money Pit
and the swamp.
It's got a very old
feel about it for sure.
I wouldn't be surprised
if this is from the 1700s.
Yeah,
we can send that off to Dr. Brosseau.
She can test that.
And I'd wager money
that that is pre‐1830s.
I'm gonna tag that location
while we have it open.
Right here.
I'm gonna call it "C Wall Iron 2,"
Aaron, for your bag.
I'll be right back. I
got to go move the rig.
‐All right,
mate. ‐I'm gonna go see
‐what they're doing over
here. ‐See you in a bit.
‐Yep. ‐Okay.
‐So I'm going over there now,
Billy. ‐Yep.
I'm ready for a bobby‐dazzler,
Gary.
Oh, long overdue.
(device chiming)
(inhales deeply)
Ooh, good target.
That sounds fantastic.
Yeah, Billy,
you might want to come see this, mate.
This sounds really, really good.
‐Let's see. Yeah. ‐(chiming)
This could be what
we're looking for.
A clear,
two‐way repeatable signal.
Sounds like a coin.
Definitely got something here,
mate.
BILLY: I hope so.
(device trilling)
Now I'm getting
a rapid vibration.
This is iron.
I think there it is, Billy.
Oh, I can feel it. (grunts)
Look at that.
It's an anchor, right?
GARY: This is really old.
I wonder if this is
one of the ringbolts.
This is fantastic.
Yeah, looks like a ringbolt.
We could have found a ringbolt,
mate.
I've always wanted to see
what one of these looked like.
This was probably in
a boulder in this area.
And you can just
tell the weight of this.
This is hand‐forged.
A piece of Oak Island history.
NARRATOR: After purchasing eight
lots across the middle of Oak Island
in the 1960s,
Fred Nolan,
who was a surveyor by trade,
mapped his entire property,
taking note of
numerous man‐made markers,
such as the megalithic
boulder formation now
known as Nolan's Cross.
He also discovered
three iron ringbolts
embedded in large rocks.
It was Fred's suspicion
that these ringbolts
had been used to
anchor a treasure galleon
on what is now the eastern
edge of the man‐made swamp
so that its precious
cargo could be unloaded.
Is it possible that Gary has
found another such ringbolt,
used during the
deposit of a vast treasure
on Oak Island centuries ago?
‐Everybody's gonna be
excited about that. ‐Yeah.
CRAIG: What are you guys doing?
That looks huge.
Yep. We made a fantastic recovery,
Craig.
Wow.
One of the missing ringbolts.
‐Oh, really? ‐Yep. ‐We figure.
Well, it's a good find. Uh,
I'm gonna give Rick a call.
‐Yeah, definitely. ‐For sure.
GARY: I know this was on
Rick's "to find" list for sure.
RICK: I always used to judge
the quality of the find
based on Gary's
Cheshire cat grin.
(laughter)
I just wish I had a
bigger top pocket.
In the Uplands on the eastern
edge of the Oak Island swamp,
Rick Lagina and Laird
Niven have just arrived
after being alerted to a
potentially important discovery.
RICK: Wow.
(laughter)
GARY: Oh, wow, indeed.
RICK: That is incredible.
DOUG: Where'd you find that?
Just here. In situ.
‐It's amazing. ‐Yeah.
Laird, what do you make of it?
I mean, it's old.
‐GARY: Yeah,
you can tell. ‐Yeah. Yeah.
GARY: It's definitely pre‐1830.
I have no problem with
it in the 18th century.
It's well made.
Be interesting to
see where this turns.
‐Right. ‐Yeah.
‐(laughs) ‐(indistinct chatter)
I know that my
brother's a proponent of
‐"if you dig,
you find something." ‐Yeah.
Well, you dug and you found something,
so let me see
if he's available.
(phone line ringing)
MARTY: Hello?
Yeah, you know, we're,
we're out here in the swamp.
Hang on one second.
How you doing, Marty?
We've just made a
heck of a discovery.
We found one of the ringbolts,
the famous ringbolts,
and it is magnificent.
Oh, it's hand‐forged.
This is a nice
old piece of iron.
Even Laird's going back
into the 18th century.
Actually, the next person I'd
like to have look at it is Tom.
Yup.
Yeah.
‐Yeah, potentially. ‐Yeah.
‐You're welcome. ‐Cheers, mate.
‐Good find. ‐Great find.
RICK: The swamp,
it continues to be the keeper of secrets.
Will we be able to unravel or
to come to an understanding
of what those secrets are
and how relevant they are
to the Money Pit work
or the Money Pit story?
I don't know.
That's yet to be determined.
But get down and
dirty every day,
you'll eventually figure it out.
Beautiful piece of old iron,
and maybe it has a story to tell.
‐Yep. ‐Great day, everybody.
‐Yep. ‐Thank you.
GARY: We've just got to
keep digging in the swamp.
NARRATOR: For Rick,
Marty, Craig,
and the Fellowship of the Dig,
the path they are following
in the hopes of solving
a 225‐year mystery
continues to reveal promise
that soon a vast
treasure will be found.
And the many faithful
searchers who came before them
and those who
may have discovered
more than anyone ever
knew also play a critical role
in how the epic
story of Oak Island
may finally come to an end.
A story that, once fully told,
could rewrite the
history of the world.
Next time on The
Curse of Oak Island...
What type of things
would this be used for?
Why put a ringbolt
in a rock here?
‐Working with block and tackles.
Heavy cargo, heavy stuff. ‐Right.
Oh,
that's nice. Musket decoration.
‐It might speak
to wealth. ‐Yeah.
Which way do you think
we should chase this?
‐Everything's telling me it's turning
up to the Money Pit. ‐That's great.
‐TERRY: Wow. ‐Look at this.
TERRY: It's exactly
what we hoped for.
We're heading to the Money Pit.
08x13 - The Fellowship of the Ringbolt
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Follows brothers Marty and Rick as they search for the infamous treasure on Oak Island.
Follows brothers Marty and Rick as they search for the infamous treasure on Oak Island.