05x03 - Obstruction

[bunniefuu]

-Sweet! -Holy smokes.
-GARY: s.

Yes, this is really cool.

I've never seen you so excited.

It means something!

Here's hard evidence people
were on this island

years before the discovery
of the Money Pit.

RICK:
The drill bar is stuck.

-RICK: We've hit an obstruction.
-MARTY: This is so serious.

This is the first step in
shutting down the whole island.

NARRATOR: There is an island
in the North Atlantic...

where people have been looking
for an incredible treasure

for more than years.

So far, they have found
bits of gold chain...

...a stone slab with strange
symbols carved into it...

even a th century
Spanish coin.

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.

As a new day begins
on Oak Island...

Hey, Terry.

...Oak Island partner,
Craig Tester--

along with his stepson,
Jack Begley--

check in with geologist,

Terry Matheson on
the morning's progress.

-Which well are we on?
-EF- . .

-EF- . . -EF- . , we've moved
a little north and east

and we're down feet.

NARRATOR: In their determination
to pinpoint the exact location

of the original Money Pit
treasure shaft...

the team is employing
what is referred to as,

"the Geo-Tech system."

This will involve the drilling
of as many as

six-inch wide boreholes
to depths of up to feet

in a carefully
marked grid pattern.

To date, Brewster Drilling
has completed ten holes--

but there is still no sign

of the centuries-old
treasure vault.

-Okay, this will be H- . .
-Yeah.

And the main thing

we're looking here is
a potential debris field.

So, if the Money Pit
was over there

when the collapse happened,
there was a tunnel

and the treasure could have sh*t
into that tunnel.

We know a lot of debris
went into the tunnel,

we know wood went
into the tunnel.

So we know a lot of stuff

from the original Money Pit
went in there.

Did the treasure?
We don't know,

so that's what
we'll be looking for.

But we'll take it down;
I mean, we don't know what,

-what might be down deeper.
-That's right.

-We'll see what happens.
-Yup, so, okay, sound's good.

NARRATOR:
As each borehole is drilled,

the soil, clay and debris
taken from the hole

is collected and deposited
onto a shaker deck.

These so-called spoils are then
carefully examined by hand,

and methodically recorded.

Then, after the drill
reaches bedrock--

at a depth of
approximately feet--

the metal casing in each hole

is replaced
with plastic PVC pipe

to prevent the hole
from collapsing.

This will also allow for
later inspection of the holes

with a metal detection device.

It is the team's hope

that after the drilling program
is complete,

one or more holes
can be identified

that would serve as targets

for a much more thorough
investigation.

That's moving right on down now.

TERRY:
Yup.

CRAIG:
Okay, sound's good.

NARRATOR: As the Geo-Tech
operation continues...

MARTY: All right, Gary,
today's the day.

Let's find something.

NARRATOR:
Rick and Marty Lagina--

along with Dave Blankenship
and metal detection expert

Gary Drayton-- head to Lot .

They are hoping to find--
not necessarily treasure--

but evidence of who might
have been on the island

during the years
before the Money Pit

was first discovered
back in .

GARY:
And this is a good sign,

anywhere that's difficult
to get in,

that's a good place
to go metal detecting.

RICK: Really, Lot
is highly relevant

because it's a spoils pile,
really.

Right through the Dunfield era,
it was a place where spoils

from the Money Pit workings
were deposited.

GARY: I'd really like to go over
this because this is basically

-one big spoil pile, isn't it?
-Yup.

NARRATOR:
When treasure hunter,

Robert Dunfield, attempted
to find the Money Pit in ,

he did so by digging
a massive -foot wide

by -foot deep hole.

But when the hole collapsed
due to flooding--

the disappointed
treasure hunter left behind

a massive spoils pile--

one that he never
had the time to examine.

Now, some years later,

Dunfield's spoils
have aged to look like

little more than hills
surrounding the Money Pit site.

Hills that
Rick and Marty Lagina hope

could contain
valuable information

that will help them
in their quest.

MARTY:
Where are you headed anyway?

GARY: Just here--
there's a clearing just here,

it's a good place to start.

MARTY: David, you're gonna
bring us good luck.

We've been metal detecting
without you.

-This time we got you.
-Exactly.

-Yeah. -Find something, Gary,
shiny and gold.

MARTY:
Good, let's see if it works.

RICK: Whenever you're in close
proximity to the Money Pit,

you have no idea the possibility
of what you might find.

GARY: Come on, baby,
sing to me. (chuckles)

RICK: So, I think we're all
very excited to see

what might come of today.

(detector beeping)

A target, guys,

should be directly under
the center of the search coil

and it's reading six inches.

MARTY:
It's out.

DAVE:
Yeah, it sounds like it.

MARTY:
Reveal your secrets.

GARY:
I think this is probably...

...a bloody modern nail.

A broken one as well.
That's even worse.

That means there's
another piece here.

Well, quit finding that (bleep),
Gary, and find something good.

I say we move away
from this dastardly area.

DAVE: Come on, Gary, we ain't
going to be here all day now.

-You haven't found anything yet?
-That's right.

-GARY: Not yet.
-RICK: Come on now.

It takes longer than that.

Let's just cover
this little area.

(detector beeping)

I think I'm picking up
your shovel, Rick.

No, I'm not.
I've got a target.

(detector whining)

Well, mate, just there.

-GARY: Rick takes no prisoners.
-You've got a root there, Rick.

-(detector beeping)
-Well, whatever it is, it's out.

Pinpointer time.

DAVE: Right down here,
something shining.

GARY:
Ooh...

I see round.

Wow, look at that.

Is it a button... or a coin?

Hey, how about that?

Wow, David, you are lucky.

GARY:
I got another target, hang on.

Certainly,
roundness in the hole.

Ooh! Another one.

Is that a button or a coin?

-DAVE: Wow.
-It's a coin.

Ah! I'm seeing
"Britannia" on it.

It's definitely some kind of
English coin.

I see a " ."
I see a "one" and a "six."

DAVE: Looks like it's got
a head on it.

GARY: Yeah, look who I see,
that's Charles II.

-Come on!
-Yeah, that's Charles.

This isn't George.

Look, that's the back
of his head; there's his face.

And I can see a "Carolus."

-Wow.
-Definitely.

(all laughing)

Fantastic.

NARRATOR:
In --

following an era of
strict Puritanism

under Oliver Cromwell--

the British monarchy was
restored under King Charles II.

To celebrate,

coins of all denominations
were minted

in the likeness of the king,

along with the words "Carolus,"
Latin for Charles,

until his death in .

We definitely haven't found
any of these, I mean...

DAVE: Well, Marty,
maybe I am good luck.

-You're goddang right
you're good luck. -(laughs)

RICK:
I see -something...

-MARTY: Looks like .
-GARY: Holy shamoly.

DAVE:
Way to go, Gary!

NARRATOR:
Coming up...

I can't believe it, honestly,
that's pretty cool.

NARRATOR: While searching
the Dunfield spoils

on Lot , Rick, Marty,
Dave and Gary

have just made a pair
of significant discoveries.

There's a date on this one, too.

Right down at the bottom. !

Keep looking, Gary,
find us a third one.

Look at David,
he's pretty excited.

DAVE: Right, baby!
It means something!

And these aren't even
spendables here.

That's right,
it means something!

GARY:
That is fantastic.

MARTY:
That's a real big deal to me,

the coins.

Historically, this would not
have been a significant island

in the late s.

It would have been just
a nondescript nothing.

-Charles II, yeah?
-Yup, Charles II.

That's way too early
for people to be here.

That's years before the find
of the Money Pit, for sure.

GARY:
Yup.

NARRATOR: Could finding these
th century coins offer proof

that the stories of pirates
frequenting the island

are true?

If so, could they
hold the key to solving

the -year-old
Oak Island mystery?

Whoa, I believe this is a coin.

NARRATOR: And, could they also
have a connection

to the th century
Spanish maravedi

found in the swamp
nearly four years ago?

MARTY:
So, the Spanish coin was .

-This is very contemporaneous,
I mean close. -Mm-hmm.

So, you got the Spanish and
the English on this island?

I didn't think
they liked each other.

MARTY:
Not at all.

You know, late s,

that's the time of Captain Kidd.

NARRATOR:
Captain Kidd--

the infamous th century
privateer?

The notion that
Captain William Kidd

frequented Oak Island--

and possibly buried treasure
there-- is not a new one.

In his book, Captain Kidd
and his Skeleton Island,

first published in ,

author Harold Wilkins
included what he claimed

was a faithful reproduction
of an authentic treasure map--

a map that depicted
a destination

with a striking similarity
to Oak Island.

Although Wilkins claimed
his book was fictionalized,

Oak Island treasure hunter
Gilbert Hedden

was not convinced--

and spent years trying
to find treasure

using the map as his guide.

Let me re-check the hole.

NARRATOR: But could finding
a number of th century coins

from different countries...

rekindle the notion that
the men behind

the Oak Island mystery really
were pirates all along,

as Dan Blankenship
has long suspected?

So, we will come back,

ut let's go show Dan
those two coins. -Yeah.

Those are probably
the most significant thing

-in a couple of years.
-See what your dad says.

Okay.

NARRATOR: After their
breakthrough discovery

on Lot ...

Rick and Marty Lagina--

along with Gary Drayton
and Dave Blankenship--

head to the home of veteran
Oak Island treasure hunter,

Dan Blankenship.

Hello! Daniel!

Oh, Marty!

MARTY:
How are you doing, man?

Stay down, you're all set.
We'll come over there.

-Partner.
-How you doing?

I'm okay, Daniel, how you doing?

It's important to show
the coins to Dan for,

I'd say, two reasons.
One is 'cause he's our partner.

But more significantly,
Rick, to a huge extent,

wants to be the guy who places
something in Dan's hands

that validates his life's work.

So, Dan, we were out
metal detecting today,

up by the eastern side
of the swamp.

I'll let David say
how exciting it was.

Show 'em, show 'em
what it was, Gary.

-And even Dave was excited,
jumping up and down. -Yeah.

GARY:
It's two coins.

MARTY:
This is English, .

-DAN: That's very interesting.
-That's King Charles II.

We're sure of it.

DAN: That confirms that
the English were here

in the neighborhood of .

-Yes.
-Oh, yeah.

When I first got involved here
in ' ,

the main thing I wanted to,
to establish was authenticity,

-you know. That's what I was
looking for. -Oh, yeah.

-This is part of that.
-Yeah.

It gives credence
to the history of it.

-Yes, to the Money Pit.
-Right.

There's no question about that.

Hopefully, this is just
the beginning of these coins.

MARTY:
The beginning!

-Good luck. -Good luck.
Perfect. Dan, thank you.

NARRATOR:
Later that afternoon...

KYLE FETTERLY:
How deep is your casing?

IVAN GOUGH:
, . Something like that.

NARRATOR: ...the team returns
to the Money Pit site

to check in
on the day's progress.

-So, what are we looking for?
-The vault!

We're looking for the vault.

CRAIG:
That'd be the main thing.

RICK: The reason why we
picked this hole is it's,

it's an odd location,
if you will.

It's actually a hole in between
the Hedden and Chappell shafts,

right in close proximity

to where William put his
drilling platform in .

Where they encountered

the, the... the vault.

NARRATOR:
In --

after drilling to a depth
of approximately feet--

treasure hunters
William Chappell

and Frederick Blair discovered

what they believed was
a seven-foot-tall wooden vault

encased in a substance
similar to concrete.

When they extracted
their drill bit,

they were astonished
to find traces of gold...

and a tiny piece of paper on
which were written the letters,

"V-I."

They kept drilling.

And at a depth of feet,

they encountered
what appeared to be

an impenetrable metal plate.

A plate which, they suspected,
could have been put there

to protect something
of incredible value.

-DAVE: How deep are they now?
-RICK: .

-You hit bedrock yet?
-No.

-It is hard?
-KYLE: Yeah, it's a lot harder

than what we drilled through
so far on this hole.

CRAIG:
What depth are we at?

-KYLE: Somewhere in
the to range. -Okay.

KYLE: Taking a little while
to chew through it.

-Okay. -JACK: Part of me
is anxiously waiting

-to see it just start spilling
gold coins out. -Yeah, me, too.

CRAIG: He said this wood's
drilling a lot harder

than any of the wood
they drilled before.

So, I'm not sure
what that means...

He's found something.

-Wow.
-Maybe it wasn't hardwood.

Maybe it was steel.

Chunk of metal.

RICK:
Pretty bright and shiny.

DAVE:
Where'd that come from?

At what depth are we,
right here? To get that?

TERRY:
That was at .

NARRATOR: Metal? Has the team
hit the same obstruction

that Chappell and Blair
first encountered in ?

Well, he said right now, too,
he's having a real hard time

going through whatever
they're at, right now.

Well, if he's going
through metal, no wonder.

MARTY: You get that little
frisson of excitement,

the flash in the pan.

So, great, you know, maybe we're
getting into something,

you know? And we're gonna
drill through a metal plate,

we're getting into the vault,
you know? Your hopes rise.

DAVE: Got a bigger piece
there now, Rick.

KYLE:
It's not a hardened steel,

but it's not soft either.

Okay.

-Getting bigger pieces.
-(laughter)

MARTY:
Wait, what do you think that is?

-And do you think it looks
modern? -I don't think so.

MARTY: It just kind of blows me
away, these bits of metal.

I don't know
what to make of that.

We'll get it tested.

NARRATOR: The Geo-Tech operation
has been forced to stop.

Whatever object
the drill has encountered,

it cannot be penetrated

without doing further damage
to the drill bit.

Okay, so we'll have to abandon
the hole or come up,

put a new shoe on,
and go down through.

Yeah, I get it. Decision?

I'd say we run the PVC pipe
right here as deep as we can.

-We're going to drill closer
to this area again anyway. -Yes.

I'm all for that.

I'm not dismayed at all.

That's the reason
for the grid, you know?

We may find it
in the first hole;

we may find it
in the th hole.

We'll find it.

We're done here, Kyle.
We're all set.

-Run the plastic.
-Sounds good. All right.

Thanks, guys.

NARRATOR:
Coming up...

-sounds, sounds kind of serious.
-Yeah, it does.

NARRATOR:
The next morning,

while the Oak Island team
waits for a new drill bit

to arrive...

Marty Lagina and his friend
and partner, Craig Tester,

head to the home
of Dave Blankenship,

for what promises to be
an important meeting.

Rick got a letter
from Heritage and Culture

that he wants to talk about.
It doesn't sound good.

When did this arrive?

Last day or something, I guess.

MARTY:
I get a text from Rick

that there's something needs
serious attention right away.

This is ominous, okay?

I mean, Rick doesn't usually
react that way.

Hello?

Something's up,
something not good.

All right,
what's this all about?

You ain't gonna like it,
'cause I don't like it.

-Really?
-Yup.

MARTY: Well, okay,
I see what you mean.

This isn't sounding good.

"Metal detecting of the island
has the potential

"to impact existing
archeological sites

"and resources.

"And as such, would need to be
part of a larger

"archeological survey
methodology.

"Metal detecting and noting
any hits with GPS photos, etc.

"And sharing that information
with CCH..."

That's Culture and Heritage,
I assume?

-Community Culture and Heritage.
-"...is acceptable

"as long as we are very clear
this does not include

excavation or removal
of objects."

"You would definitely need
to carry out this work

under a Heritage
Research Permit."

We'd have to file a permit
on every one of them.

That's what this says.

Well, if that sets a precedent,

then it means that
everywhere on the island,

that will be a requirement.
That's my concern.

MARTY:
I think... this is really...

This really is upsetting.

-Mm-hmm.
-MARTY: It's unworkable.

I mean, you'd think
this was a joke.

-DAVE: Yeah.
-Totally agree.

MARTY:
This is really bad.

This is the first step
in shutting down

-the whole island.
-The whole island.

NARRATOR: After acquiring
a partnership stake

in Oak Island Tours in ,

brothers Rick and Marty Lagina,
along with their partners,

petitioned
the Canadian government

to grant them the right to look
for treasure on Oak Island.

Passed in ,

the Oak Island Treasure Act
allows the team's corporation,

Oak Island Tours,
to actively search

on all areas of the island

not considered
cultural landmarks.

Chiefly,
the Samuel Ball Foundation,

and the McGinnis Foundation.

Also heavily regulated are
the waters around the island,

as well as
the Oak Island swamp.

The metal detection
has provided lots of clues

to what might
have happened here.

And it's continuing to.

So, we're very upset.
Very upset about this.

The clue that we need could be
out there to be metal-detected,

and we'll never find it
under this protocol.

It's not just the concern
they've expressed.

They've given us parameters

under which we can no longer
proceed, in our opinion.

So, it's very chilling to the
exploration efforts out here.

We just don't get it.

All the Canadian government
agencies we've worked with

have been great.

-Mm-hmm. -And we have been
very respectful,

and you, you know,
I've praised you before.

We've been % compliant.

We've crossed every "T,"
dotted every "I,"

obeyed every rule
and regulation,

and to have restrictions
on what we can and cannot do,

I find it to be
counterproductive,

-at the very least.
-Yeah.

So Rick,
what is this all about?

Because it doesn't
make any sense.

RICK:
Here's the backstory.

-We all know we had to turn
over the artifacts. -Yeah.

-We did. -We found a lot of...
And we did.

We found a lot of artifacts
last year on Lot .

One of the Samuel Ball lots.

-Holy smokes.
-Look at these.

Wow.

NARRATOR: Last year,
while searching near the site

of what was once the home
of former th century

American sl*ve turned
British loyalist, Samuel Ball,

the Oak Island team
unearthed a number

of th century British coins,

and a brass tag on which
was engraved the name: Ball.

But could finding
this simple artifact

have ignited
such intense concern

on the part
of the Canadian authorities

that the entire
search operation on Oak Island

could be all but shut down?

I know when the treasure
trove license was passed,

the archaeological community

didn't want Oak Island
having an act.

Maybe they're getting a lot
of heat from that community.

If they're really worried
about archaeology,

we're doing archaeology
for free for them.

It doesn't make any sense.
We're turning everything over.

I mean, papers have been written
by the archaeological community;

Oak Island is just a junkyard
of some years of search.

MARTY: I never thought
that this treasure hunt

would lead
to archaeological interest,

for the simple reason

that it's been so destroyed
by years of search.

But the way it's evolved,
I never pictured.

Stuff could be
near the surface

that is archaeologically
significant,

but how are we gonna find it
under this protocol?

DAVE: And if we don't find it,
they don't get it.

MARTY: This is so serious to us
and so devastating

to our efforts
that we have to...

you know, we need to have
a face-to-face meeting.

NARRATOR:
Coming up...

CRAIG:
We didn't do anything wrong.

NARRATOR:
One day after being informed

that their treasure
hunting operations

would have to shut down,

Craig Tester and members
of the Oak Island team

gather at a nearby pub.

DAVE:
They're government,

and they can change
their frickin' mind.

If we add on an extra
step for every single dig,

-that slows us down
even further. -Yup. Exactly.

NARRATOR: They are anxiously
awaiting news

of Rick and Marty Lagina's

scheduled meeting
with representatives

from Nova Scotia's
Department of Community,

Culture and Heritage.

CRAIG:
They can stop roads,

they can stop buildings,
they can stop anything.

JACK:
They can do what they want.

-Government never backs down.
-Yeah.

Hey, guys.

-Hey.
-Hey, how you doing, Marty?

-Hey, guys.
-Hey.

We're here.

So, we did meet

with the Ministry
of Culture and Heritage,

and, um...

you know, it started
out a little tense.

-ALEX: Can we dig?
-Not yet.

MARTY:
But where we are is,

we have a letter that would
be severely restrictive,

and we're trying
to make progress

in a mutually agreeable sense.

It's not gonna be totally
logical from our standpoint.

MARTY: The agenda going in
was to find out why.

Well, we found out why,
and it appears, to me,

likely that they're
getting pressure

from the archaeological
community.

I think because of what's
happening here on this island,

more people are
paying attention.

Our proposal is we would hire
an archaeologist.

-More money.
-(chuckles)

That that archaeologist would
get a one-time Heritage permit,

not for every dig.

And then, the idea would be that

what we're gonna
try to get sold

is that you could
metal-detect all you want.

But any time there was a dig,

the archaeologist
would have to be present.

Yeah.

MARTY:
There would be an archaeologist

basically tagging
along with you.

Right. I mean,
I've already contacted Laird.

So we can use the archaeologist
we had before.

-Yes.
-He's acceptable to them?

He is acceptable.

And he's a reasonable guy, so.

-I agree.
-Yep.

NARRATOR:
Archaeologist Laird Niven

has been working with
and advising

the Oak Island team ever
since helping them obtain

their treasure trove
license seven years ago.

It was Laird whom, last year,

was brought in to evaluate
the team's findings

of what appeared to be
a mysterious "hatch"

located on the western end
of the island.

Have you ever seen
anything like this?

-That's exactly what
I was going to ask. -No.

No. That's not natural.

NARRATOR:
Laird was also instrumental

in helping the team evaluate

an elaborate arrangement
of rocks and boulders

found buried beneath
the waters of Smith's Cove.

Laird, I'm gonna put you
on the spot now.

Man-made?

LAIRD:
I believe so, yeah.

-Wow.
-Yeah.

Culture and Heritage,
as part of our process here,

has mandated that
an archaeologist be involved

with any digging,

and we already have
a relationship with Laird.

He brings a lot to the table. So
yes, we like working with him.

It's a compromise.

MARTY: Absolutely. You know,
if you think about it,

they're winners in this and,
I guess, to some extent,

so are we.
Hey, look.

Being as we're the emissaries,

we think we did a hell
of a great job.

Don't we, guys?

(laughter)

NARRATOR:
The next day,

in the wake of their
critically important meeting

with Canadian officials...

-Hey, Laird. -Good morning.
-MARTY: Hello, Laird.

NARRATOR: Rick, Marty
and Craig Tester have invited

area archaeologist
Laird Niven,

to meet with them in person.

MARTY:
So, here's the deal.

We got a letter
from Culture and Heritage

-that says, "Stop.
-RICK: Mm-hmm.

"Stop metal detecting.
Stop digging.

Stop doing..." basically,
what we're doing. I mean,

yeah, we felt like, "Uh, oh,

this is the first
step in shutdown."

So, we had a face-to-face.

Apparently,
what they really wanted

was an additional layer
of supervision.

They need to show

that the correct archaeological
things are being done.

-Right.
-Okay. Enter you.

You know, if you'll take on
this task.

Basically,
be an advisor to us, too.

I guess that's
what I'm trying to say.

And regarding that, as this
story becomes much wider,

we felt that it was appropriate
to tell the story,

as it evolves,
i.e. the things that we find,

the artifacts just
now encompassed

within this building and
we'd like to show it to you.

-Wonderful.
-We're kind of proud of it.

-Yeah.
-(chuckles)

Oh. Very nice.

NARRATOR:
Two years ago,

in response to the incredible
public interest

generated by their
treasure-hunting activities,

Rick, Marty, Craig
and their partners

decided to build
a visitor's center

and museum on Oak Island.

Dubbed
The Interpretation Center,

it is a place where thousands

of visitors can come,
gather and examine firsthand

the growing
number of artifacts

and evidence of buried treasure

that the Oak Island team,
and their predecessors,

have discovered
over the past years.

You can make
this story come alive.

-Mm-hmm. -I mean, that's really
what archaeology is.

It's a very high
priority for us.

And, thus, we need your help.

'Cause it's our hope

that the story of Oak Island,

really should come back
to Oak Island,

to be told here, on site.

MARTY: Okay, so,
do you want to do this?

Yeah, I've always been
impressed at how seriously

you take the stewardship
of the island,

no matter what delays it causes,
what pains there are.

So, that's one of the reasons
I'd really like to work here.

-I'll apply for the permits.
-Yep.

Get that done. I think
they'll expedite it quickly.

-Then we can get started.
-Okay.

Great, Laird.
Now, we're hoping

the things we find next
will make this look boring.

-Right?
-(laughter)

Looks pretty good already.

MARTY:
Good to have you aboard.

NARRATOR:
Coming up...

GARY:
Oh, yeah.

NARRATOR:
One day after inviting

area archaeologist Laird Niven

to join the Oak Island team...

So, this is the hot spot
over here, huh, Gary?

Uh, further down the hill, yeah.

NARRATOR: Brothers Rick
and Marty Lagina

along with metal detection
expert, Gary Drayton,

head to Lot ...

-Wow!
-...where, last year,

the team found a number

of potentially significant
artifacts

related to Samuel Ball.

I think this is the sweet spot,
this area here,

because there's
been so many coins

and some other interesting
stuff coming out of here.

-Right. -I figure if you guys
could move these tree trunks,

what would you use,
like, a backhoe?

-Not using this.
-(laughter)

GARY: No, no, definitely not.
When those stumps come out,

we're gonna be able
to detect places

that's never been detected,
underneath the stumps.

-Exactly.
-And hopefully,

there will be some more stuff
that helps identify...

-RICK: Right.
-...the site.

All right, well,
let's do it, then.

-Up with the roots. Okay.
-GARY: Yeah.

MARTY: I'm gonna
go get the machine.

All right.

(beeping steadily)

Gary, here's your first chance
to get beneath the tree,

right over here.

All right, sweet.

RICK:
The metal detector,

it's an extension of
Gary's arm and his brain.

That's how good he is.

(beeping)

GARY:
That's a really good sound.

We might take a spade-full
out of here.

RICK: It was very impactful that
we must search exhaustively,

and we mustn't give up.

I should be able
to reach it now.

Well...

Come on, baby.
Be something good.

(rapid beeping)

(rapid beeping)

Ooh!

Look at this!

-That's sweet.
-RICK: What is that?

I would imagine
it's a spoon bowl.

-And that's exactly what it is.
-LAIRD: That's a little one.

-MARTY: Oh, look at that cute
little thing. -GARY: Ooh.

That's a little beauty,
look at that.

-That's an oldie as well,
isn't it, Laird? -LAIRD: Yeah.

-MARTY: Mm-hmm.
-How old, Laird? Do you think?

- th century. -RICK: Yeah.
- th century?

-Yeah. -That's a little beauty
that is, isn't it?

-It's probably copper.
-MARTY: That is really cool.

GARY:
That is a sweet find.

-The first tree?
-MARTY: Yeah.

All right, well,
let's keep going.

First thing I'll do
is check this.

-(beeps)
-It's a chirpy piece of iron.

Come on, something big here.

-(beeping)
-All right.

-Actually...
-RICK: That's a good one.

GARY:
That's a good one.

There's definitely
something here.

It's just so tough
to tell what it is.

(beeps)

Come on, be something good.

(rapid beeping)

See, I got a feeling
that's actually something.

I don't know why.

(rapid beeping)

GARY:
What the heck is that?

MARTY:
What do you got?

I'd like to say it was gold.

MARTY:
Oh, my.

GARY: Well, that was worth
all the digging.

That's a big chunk of something.

MARTY:
Is that a rock?

No, it's iron.

RICK:
Every piece that Gary finds

are all important clues.

We're trying to puzzle together
this story,

and we're hopeful

that some of these artifacts

will give us
a lot of information

as to its relevance
to Oak Island, the mystery.

MARTY:
What is that?

So, it's an iron strapping.

It could be, like, a door hinge.

MARTY: I told you
it was something in there.

It's kind of indicating
that there was a house here,

-wasn't there?
-Yeah.

I think that might be it.

MARTY: Well, we might as well
pull a few more of these, then.

GARY:
Yep.

That's it.

GARY:
What the heck is that?

I think we have to stop.

I think we have to stop.

NARRATOR: While searching
for artifacts on Lot ,

Rick and Marty Lagina,

along with metal detection
expert Gary Drayton

and archaeologist Laird Niven,
have just made

a potentially significant find.

You can see the obvious
concern we have.

-What's that?
-See the rocks?

You think that's
foundation or something?

I don't know.

I don't know...

MARTY: Laird took one look
at the bottom of that stump,

and he said,
"That's it, we're done. Stop."

He was quite sure he
was seeing something

he calls "cultural,"

some sort of evidence of human
something going on there.

So we were done.
We were done just like that.

NARRATOR: If the formation
they have discovered

is, in fact, man-made,

it is one that has,
up until now,

escaped decades of searches

by previous treasure hunters
and historians.

But what could it be?

A hiding place,
for one of four treasure chests

believed to be hidden
on the island

by the noted pirate
and privateer

Captain James Anderson?

Or could it be a gateway?

One that leads
to the Money Pit's

mythical treasure vault?

You think those are
stacked stones, Laird?

-LAIRD: Um, I don't know yet.
-MARTY: Oh, okay.

LAIRD: The rocks,
there are a lot of rocks,

and they're larger rocks,

which we haven't really
encountered before.

They're roundish, too,
aren't they?

-Yep. Yeah.
-Mm-hmm.

It could be a wall,
it could be a foundation.

-If you strongly suspect
this is an artifact... -I do.

-Yeah, I do. Yeah.
-Wow.

GARY: So, we would never
have known that,

so it's a good job Laird's here.

MARTY: Yeah, get in there
and metal-detect something.

-Okay.
-(chuckles) But don't dig.

I won't dig.

(beeps)

I see where there's all rocks
packed in here, as well,

-inside the roots.
-Mm-hmm, yeah.

It almost looked
like bricks in there.

I'm gonna have a little
proggle around here.

That's the last one,
right on top.

(rapid beeping)

Ooh, got a signal in the roots.

-I can pull this out,
can't I, Laird? -LAIRD: Yeah.

(rapid beeping)

GARY:
I have no idea what it is.

Hmm.

Interesting.

I know what that is,

and I love saying it as well.

RICK:
What is it?

It's not gold,

-it's pewter.
-Is it?

GARY: Yeah, I think
this is pewter, Laird.

-Piece of pewter.
-(laughs)

It's got a curve
on it and a rim.

It looks like it's some kind of,
like, a bowl, to me, or a...

No, it's a spoon.

-It's a spoon?
-Yeah, you see the...

the tail at the bottom
of the base,

-at the bottom of the bowl.
-Yeah.

-It probably is a part
of a spoon bowl. -Yeah.

GARY:
Ooh, that's a little beauty.

Look at that.

How do you know it's pewter?

Just by the look of it.

LAIRD:
He just likes saying it.

(laughter)

GARY: What would you
say it is, Laird?

Pewter.

"Pewter"?

(both laugh)

RICK:
We are certainly retrieving

substantial artifacts
from that small, localized area.

As we continue
to retrieve these items,

perhaps working with Laird,

we can puzzle piece this
together, what it really means.

Where do we go from here?

I think to err
on the side of safety,

it's all stop, full stop
for here, right now,

because if this is
something significant,

then that increases
the significance up here.

-RICK: Mm-hmm.
-So, we're gonna come in,

just clean up the loose soil,
clean up the loose rocks.

If we get a much greater
understanding

of what happened here,

that's what we're looking for:
answers.

Something definitely happened
at this spot right here.

GARY:
Oh, without a doubt.

MARTY: All right, let's
call it a day, guys.

NARRATOR: It has been
a challenging week

in the history of Oak Island,

one that began with seemingly
insurmountable obstacles,

but now, once again,

seems to be on the verge

of more and more
exciting breakthroughs.

But will the final
answers be found

under hundreds of feet
of dirt and rocks,

or just inches away?

One thing is certain:

Rick, Marty and the Oak Island
team remain determined.

Not only to solve a mystery
and find treasure,

but to uncover
an incredible history,

a history that forever
changes the lives

of those curious enough
to seek it out.

Next time,
on The Curse of Oak Island...

This is my brother,
Rick Restall.

RICK: He is coming back
to the island. -Welcome back.

RICK: The Restalls said
there was a spiral staircase.

You mustn't tell anyone
about this. This is top secret.

Could be the spiral tunnel.

MARTY:
We're closing in. We're close.

RICK:
And now, we're at the cusp

of proving this story.

Holy (bleep)!

-Somebody got hurt.
-RICK: You get close,

and then, all of a sudden,
something happens.

Oak Island strikes back.