09x07 - It All Adze Up

[bunniefuu]

Tonight on
"The Curse of Oak Island"...

Look at that.

That's really something.

That excavator looks really big.

If there is a ship there,
then I want to see the evidence.

That piece of bell metal
might be associated

- with Portuguese.
- The tin,

it's been used
in the production of cannons.

Ooh, look at that.

That is bloody cool, mate.

You would
use a tool like this

for smoothing timbers.

- To sink a shaft.
- Wow.

Seems to me, it's a shaft wall.

I can't explain it.

There is an
island in the North Atlantic

where people
have been looking for

an incredible treasure
for more than 200 years.

So far, they have found
a stone slab

with strange symbols
carved into it...

man-made workings
that date to medieval times,

and a lead cross
whose origin may be connected

to the Knights Templar.

To date, six men have d*ed

trying to solve the mystery.



And according to legend,
one more will have to die

before the treasure
can be found.

Welcome to the w*r room, guys.

We're here to talk about
where we can dig

and where we can't dig
and where we should dig

and where we're gonna dig.

- Good.
- It is the beginning

of a new day on Oak Island,

but before they proceed
with any new search activities

in a quest to solve
a 226-year-old mystery,

brothers Rick and Marty Lagina
gather in the w*r room

with archaeologist Laird Niven
and other members of their team.

- So, what can we do, Laird?
- Well...

What can we dig
in the swamp and how?

So, we've applied
for a swamp general permit,

and that's been approved.

- Oh.
- We do have permission

to dig on the south side.

The paved area
has also been approved.

- Right now, it's the south of swamp...
- Yeah.

- And the paved area.
- Yeah.

- Okay.
- And we just have to be careful of the...

Yeah, the-the circle thing.

- Yeah. Yeah.
- Yeah.

One month ago,

while investigating
a stone pathway

in the southeastern corner
of the swamp

that may be leading
to the Money Pit...

What you got?

I have a piece of pottery.

Laird Niven unearthed pieces

of indigenous Mi'kmaq pottery
that could be

more than 500 years old.

This one's the
most delicate I've ever seen.

These discoveries led

to the provincial Department of
Community, Culture and Heritage

issuing a shocking mandate

for search activities
outside the Money Pit area.

The archeologists asked

that we stop down.

We stop work at the two areas

where we were
finding the artifacts.

We have free
range inside of the green.

Any activity inside the green,
we're allowed to pursue.

- And the red?
- We need special permission

to be inside of the red.

The swamp was sort of
giving up its secrets

right about the time
this happened.

So, yeah, it-it's painful.

But we have always moved forward
optimistically and hopefully,

and that's how
we're gonna approach it.

We know that there are
restrictions placed on our work

by Communities, Culture
and Heritage.

But we do have some permission...
Or permits, I should say...

To dig along the edge
of the swamp road.

You know, I-I've been completely
wrong about the swamp,

and I'll freely admit it,
but I think every time

we've dug of any substance,
we've found something.

Right.

Again, everything goes back
to Tom, your father,

- his interest, and your interest.
- Yep.

I asked you long ago,

I said, "Tom, if there's
anything to find on Oak Island,

where is it?"
What did you tell me?

I said, "It's in the swamp."

I said,
"That's where answers are,

- to what we're looking for."
- There you go.

Yeah.

After the late landowner

and treasure hunter Fred Nolan

drained the swamp back in 1969

and discovered several parts
of a sailing vessel,

including a ship's mast,

he became convinced
that the swamp

had been artificially created
in order to hide

the wreck of a massive
treasure galleon.

Although Fred was never
able to prove it,

over the past four years
working with Fred's son Tom...

That is not something
that should be in a swamp.

Rick,
Marty, Craig and the team

have made discoveries
in the brackish bog

that support
the incredible theory.

That is very impressive. Wow.

These finds
include the stone wharf

in the southeastern corner,

which historian Terry Deveau
believes

could be of Portuguese origin...

This is 16th-century and before.

That's remarkable.

And
numerous wooden artifacts

such as a possible piece
of ship's railing

that has been carbon-dated
to as early as 660 AD.

However, one of the most
compelling potential clues

was identified in 2018
by seismic scanning

that was conducted
across the swamp...

a mysterious 200-foot-long
ship-shaped anomaly.

So, Billy, can we get
a swamp excavator?

The swamp excavator is good,
certainly out in the middle,

but if we're doing the edges,
a-a long-reach is better.

What is "long-reach" that
you're thinking? What is that?

It would be 80-foot long-reach.

Hmm. That's pretty good.

- Yep.
- Um, I say we do it.

Anybody have any other thoughts?

I think we should.

- Yeah.
- There's always information

in that swamp,
every time we dig in it.

So, if we get a machine here
that can do it,

let's-let's get on that
south side and start digging.

Right.

Craig, what do you say?

Yeah, I-I agree. I mean,

the extended reach
will be perfect.

Billy, you got
a unanimous decision

out of this group.

That's pretty exciting.

It is.

- Yeah.
- All right, well, let's do it.

Why don't you get that
in motion, Billy,

and we're gonna, you know, we'll
dig, we'll dig in the swamp.

There's a lot to
hope for, but it won't get done

- unless you start.
- Yep.

- So, let's get going.
- Okay.

Okay. Let's dig the swamp.

- Yep.
- Okey doke.

Later that
morning, while the team arranges

to obtain their new piece
of heavy digging equipment...

- Core coming in.
- All right.

In the Money Pit area,

geologist Terry Matheson,

Oak Island historian
Charles Barkhouse

and members of the team
have begun drilling

a new six-inch borehole
known as F-2.

- Hey, guys.
- Hey, Brennan. How you doing?

- Good. How are you?
- Good.

- Fresh core?
- Yep.

- What do we got, Adam?
- 53.

- 49 to 53?
- Yes.

Over the past six weeks,

Rick, Marty, Craig and the team
have been conducting

an operation to drill
some 20 new boreholes

on a strategic grid in an area
known as the C-1 cluster.

It is here, in the vicinity
of the C-1 shaft,

that they have not only
recovered pieces of metal,

as well as water samples
containing traces

of both silver and gold

but also, evidence
of wooden tunnels

nearly 90 feet deep dating back
to as early as the 15th century.

So, Brennan, the
new plan is, we're gonna just

burn down for the first 49 feet.

- Okay.
- And that gets the sweet spot

of 110 to about 120,

where we hope to intersect
a tunnel in and around 110.

- So we're gonna take it to 120 to be sure.
- Sure.

We have been
chasing all around the C-1 cluster,

trying to figure out
what's going on

and getting some really
interesting results.

I don't know what to make of
the wood that keeps coming up,

several of which
have dated to 1480 to 1650.

And the metal from D-2
had gold in it.

So that could be
very significant.

So, we know

that right in line of F-2
is D-2,

and that's where we hit...

We found those three pieces
of metal.

- Wow.
- So, it could be,

it just could be a tunnel
that we may find here.

- Let's hope.
- So... Let's hope.

If it's there,
Mike will find it.

That we will.

What we are engaged in

is trying to understand
what is happening underground.

It's critically important
to analyze the data

from the drill program
and see if it affects

where you put the ten-foot cans.

I think, right now, we've got a
little bit of connective tissue.

We've got high gold and silver
water sample tests

that are saying
that this might be

a-a premiere location
for a large can.

What you got, Adam?

- 86.
- 86.

It's a heavy one.
Feels like wood.

Wow.

That looks like it's all wood.

We could be in another shaft.

Part of a shaft?

Found in the same area,
and at nearly

the same depth where the team

recently discovered
both evidence of a tunnel

and also treasure?

Look, the grain is
perpendicular to the stroke of the drill.

I would say that's a shaft wall.

If so, who built it?

A prior group of searchers?

Or could it have been someone

who hid something here
long, long ago?

- Hey, Scott.
- Hey, guys.

Scott, how are you doing?

- Hey, Steve.
- Hey, guys.

- Hey, Steve.
- How's it looking?

Well, as you see,
from 82 feet to 89 feet,

quite a substantial section
of stacked timbers here.

- Seems to me it's a shaft wall.
- Yeah.

So, we already know there is
a tunneling system around C-1.

Or, it's the original Money Pit.

We keep getting evidence
of tunnels and shafts that

are totally undocumented
in the C-1 cluster.

So, we're trying to define
what these shafts are

and who made these tunnels
and where they're going.

It might even give us
the puzzle pieces we need

to figure this whole thing out.

Let's see if we can repeat it.
Hit it again.

- Yeah.
- That's right.

- So, we'll carry on.
- Right on.

Once more into the breach.

Watch your fingers!

While the drilling operation

continues in
the Money Pit area...

There should be
some good stuff here.

You would think.

Nearly a mile to the west,

Rick Lagina and metal detection
expert Gary Drayton

arrive at Lot 4 to continue
searching for

a feature that, if found,
could corroborate

one of the most
incredible theories

ever presented about
the Oak Island treasure.

It's only a matter
of time before we pull up

some coins out of this area.

So, where it points at
"The Hole Under the Hatch,"

as the map depicts it.

It looks like
it's a wooded area.

It looks like
it's over on Lot 4.

Yes, it does.

Two weeks ago,

mechanical engineer Matt Sandt

presented the team
with his research

on a reported 14th-century map
that was first shown

to Rick, Marty and the team
back in 2016

by the late author
and historian Zena Halpern.

It was Zena's belief
that the map

had been created by members
of the Knights Templar...

And noted secret locations
around the island...

Written in French...
That represented key clues

to finding a vast

and potentially priceless
treasure.

One of these sites
was simply labeled as

"The Hole Under the Hatch."

Back by the main road on
the western side, just up there

on Lot 4...

Yeah, the pink
and then those red dots.

Do you see that?

Over the past two weeks,

the team has not only
marked a large,

buried metallic anomaly
using a magnetometer,

but also found several
intriguing artifacts,

including a leather strap

and a gold-plated button.

- I'll try over here.
- Okay.

However, due to the new
island-wide restrictions

imposed by the Department

of Community, Culture
and Heritage,

they will need to recover
more compelling evidence

before they can obtain a permit

to conduct a large
excavation in the area.

Well, that sounds good, mate.

This little baby wants
to be rescued. Just there.

All right.
Let's recheck the hole.

It got stronger.
I like the sound of this.

Let's see if I can pinpoint it.

There it is.

Wow! Look at that.

Big old iron spike.

That is heavy as well,
that's an oldie.

I mean, this is chunky iron,

just up from
the shoreline like this,

I have no idea the use of it.

So, Dr. Brosseau,
XRF, get it cleaned,

get it conserved,
and see what it says.

Yeah. And get Carmen Legge

- to have a gander at it as well.
- Yup.

I have a special place

for Zena Halpern
and her research,

but we are still trying
to understand the map.

All right, mate.
Let's keep gridding.

To prove the significance of it,

we've got to find and hold
evidence in our hand that

these things exist,
well and truly exist.

Two-way repeatable signal.

That's a little screamer.

Just there, mate.

My lucky digger's on fire!

Hopefully it's still
in the hole, mate.

It is.

Come on, me little beauty.

Ooh. Look at that.

That is...

- That looks like a...
- Like a tool?

Yeah. Is it an old adze?

- Could be.
- I mean, we find all that

wood with the bark,
the old timbers.

That's what it looks
like to me, maybe,

- an adze?
- Yup.

A possible adze?

Discovered on Lot 4?

Dating back to the times
of ancient Egypt,

an adze is a type of cutting
tool featuring a sharp edge

that runs perpendicular
to its handle

and was designed for use
in ship building

or detailed woodwork
on structures.

If this tool proves to be
an adze, as Gary believes,

could it be connected
to some kind of structure

that was built
long ago in this area?

If some activity on Lot 4

was done long ago,

they would need to shape timbers

in order to do cribbing
of the underground works.

I-I don't know a whole lot
about an adze, you know,

but I know it's used
for shaping wood.

That's interesting.

I love these interesting finds.

And we're getting more and more
interesting finds on Lot 4.

- But that is really cool.
- It's a curious find.

- Yeah.
- It's a very curious find.

This and that nice
old piece of iron,

that spike, whatever it is,
can easily be dated.

They're both interesting enough
to warrant that,

- that's for sure.
- Yeah, for sure, mate.

I think we have ended the day
on a high with this note.

I agree.

The following day...

- Here it is, guys.
- There it is.

Oh, man. Look at that.

Alex Lagina, Oak Island
historian Charles Barkhouse,

and heavy equipment operator
Billy Gerhardt

gather near the swamp to receive
a 35-ton long-reach excavator.

Look at that!
That's really something.

That's a long junk of stuff, yeah.

You don't appreciate it
until it kind of turns

- and goes past ya.
- Exactly.

With the capability
of reaching up to 80 feet

out into the swamp,

and to much deeper depths
than they've been able

to dig in this area before...

- Oh, yeah.
- It is the team's hope

to not only find more evidence
that could help

prove Fred Nolan's
incredible theory

but also anything of value

that might lie buried
beneath the muck and mud.

We have a number of items
that we believe,

from a layman's perspective,

can be associated with a ship,

or the building of ships, even.

- Hey, guys.
- So now

we're digging
to see what's there.

And hopefully find
some information

that puts this whole
puzzle together.

- Nice machine, Billy.
- Yes, it is, Marty.

- Hi, guys.
- Hey, Charles.

- You ready?
- Absolutely.

I was just wondering
where to start.

You like starting here?
Rick likes starting here?

- Yeah.
- Let Gary figure out

where he wants
the material laid down.

We have to lay eyes
on this, because

the number of finds
we've made that are wooden...

There's something in there,

- I think.
- Right.

- Yeah.
- Put it where you want it to go, Billy,

- and let's take a few shovelfuls.
- Yep.

- It's time to dig.
- Time to dig.

Ready to go?

Yep! Ready to rock
and roll, Billy.

Here we go, ready for

- some slop.
- Oh, yeah.

While Billy begins
digging with the long-range excavator,

Marty Lagina uses
a smaller, 13-ton excavator

to clear water away from
the area as it accumulates.

Meanwhile,
Gary Drayton will scan

the spoils for any potential
metal clues... or valuables.

I don't know that
there's a quote-un-quote

treasure chest,
or-or, or something that

can be retrieved from
the body of the swamp.

But Mr. Nolan did find
some ship parts there,

and his beliefs are now
being validated because

we are finding ship items.

So, if there is a ship there,
then I want to see the evidence.

I want to prove
that, indeed, uh...

at the bottom of the swamp
there is a ship.

We don't have
that information yet.

You want to walk in there?

Uh... Yeah. Please.

That'd be great.
There we go. Thanks.

- See all this water here?
- Yeah.

The trench is
starting to silt up.

Look at that.
There she goes.

- Yeah.
- Hey, guys.

- Hey, Laird.
- Hey, mate.

Requested a shovel.
How are things going?

Well, it's just
getting going now.

We're getting to deeper layers.

- Okay.
- Now we're going

to try to get the majority

of that water to get moving.

Marty's clearing
the ditch a little bit.

- Okay.
- So, the hope is that

we can continue
to move that way,

towards the areas
that we have...

Yeah, this all falls within

- the permit that we have.
- Yes.

Yes. Nothing there, Gary?

No. Nothing.

That does not look like a...

- Oh.
- That's a pretty big log.

Got a big log in here, Billy!

- It's huge.
- Yeah.

At the southern edge
of the triangle-shaped swamp,

the Oak Island team
has just made

a potentially important
discovery.

- That's a big stump.
- Yeah.

- How deep was that?
- Four to six.

I think that's the root
at the bottom, right?

- Over here?
- I think so. Yeah.

It's pretty big, whatever it is.

The color is like oak.

- Did you do this, Gary?
- Yeah, I did it. Yeah.

No metal hits in that.

Well, it was
four to six feet down.

I mean, that says
something about dry...

It being dry land.

- Yeah.
- And then, somehow,

four feet of organics went over

the top of it
and then it became a wetland.

Yeah.

A possible oak tree stump?

Found in the southern region
of the swamp?

Because oak trees
cannot grow naturally

in water environments,

could Rick be correct
that this stump offers

more evidence that the swamp
was artificially made,

just like the late Fred Nolan
strongly believed?

At one time,
that had to be

- forestland, right?
- Yeah. Yeah.

A tree of this size
would not be rooted,

unless it were dry.

It may provide
a certain date as to

when the swamp became a swamp.

And it may be able
to tell a story.

I'd love to see
a 500-year representation

- of what this may have looked like.
- Mm.

And that could help
explain some of the other things

that are happening around here.

If that's the root, you cut it,
figure out how old it is, first,

and then draw your
interpretation from there.

- Right?
- Yeah. Yeah.

It'd be nice to know
how old that is.

Later that afternoon...

What's the good
word there, Adam?

- 109.
- 109. Chips and chunks.

Just chips and chunks.

While the operations
in the swamp

and the Money Pit area
continue...

I always
like coming here.

I like talking to this guy.

Yeah.
Really interesting.

Some 50 miles
north of Oak Island,

in Centreville, Nova Scotia...

- Hey, Carmen.
- Hey, Carmen!

- We're back again.
- Marty Lagina, his son Alex,

and Jack Begley
arrive at Northville Farm.

- Got some goodies?
- We do.

- We hope so.
- All right.

- Let's have a look at them.
- Yeah.

They are eager
to have blacksmithing expert

Carmen Legge examine
the believed ancient

adze cutting tool
that Rick and Gary Drayton

recently discovered on Lot 4.

So, this was found on Lot 4,

which is on the north side
of the island.

Okay.

And you just kinda
scrape it along?

Oh, okay.

But it, um...

Yeah.

Um...

- Those are good numbers.
- Yeah.

It is. Yeah.

An English-style adze?

Dating back more than
150 years prior to

the discovery of the Money Pit?

If so, what might it have
been used for on Oak Island?

And specifically, on Lot 4?

Are there any houses
or homesteads over there?

There's no... I don't think
there's ever been

anything constructed on Lot 4.

If you had an expedition
to sink a shaft,

for whatever reason,
you would need timbers.

- Yes.
- And you'd want them to fit together well.

- Yes.
- So, you might need such a tool.

You send your crew over there,
"I need...

I need 400 six-by-sixes."

Whatever.
"And they better fit."

Then you'd need that, right?

- You would use a tool like this.
- Yeah.

- For the cribbing?
- Exactly.

I'm actually glad that we're
looking closer at Lot 4.

Man, that's a bit of a mystery.

This is an adze.

I mean, he's absolutely sure.

It's old and it's corroded,
but it probably was

made somewhere between
1620 to 1740.

That's good stuff.
That's clearly pre-searcher.

Okay. Well, that's interesting.

It's very old, potentially,

but it's kind of
a mystery, still.

- Very old.
- So that's good.

Bit of a mystery.

You know, out of place

on Oak Island.
What a shock.

All right.
Well, thank you very much.

- All right, Carmen.
- Very good.

- Always a pleasure.
- See you.

We'll see you on
the island, hopefully.

Very good.
Enjoy your trip.

Brilliant!

- Hey, guys.
- Gentlemen.

In the Oak Island w*r room...

- Welcome back.
- Marty and Alex Lagina,

along with Jack Begley,
gather with Rick

and members of the team to
share Carmen Legge's analysis

of the mysterious adze
that was found on Lot 4.

There it is: A beautiful adze.

- Oh, goodness. - Really?
- Mm-hmm.

- We thought it might be.
- Yeah.

Yeah, so he confirmed that.

He knew exactly what that was.
He said this

is an adze,
but he said English style.

Excellent.

Because of the square hole,

which you can see,
and as well as

the notch right there.

Also potentially makes it
as old as 1620 to 1740.

- Wow.
- Wow.

- That is fantastic.
- Yeah.

The idea is that you could use

an axe to make
a hand-hewn timber.

But if that timber needed
to be smooth,

more like this tabletop,
you'd work this thing.

This would have been very sharp.

It's where you need
a fine finish.

- Right.
- Finer than just axe-cut.

So what's it doing
over on Lot 4?

Unless, possibly,
it has to do with the hatch?

Yeah, that's what
I was going to say.

The only thing I can think
on Lot 4 that

we have any information for
is the hatch from Zena's map.

I mean, Zena's map goes
back to 13, 1400s,

but still,
we're having a lot of finds

on Lot 4, so on the western
side of the island.

What were they doing over here?

Yeah, and I bloody love
that date range.

That is well before
the story of the Money Pit.

The date
is very interesting:

1620 to 1740.

It seems that we keep
pushing the dates,

uh, of the finds
further and further back.

I find that quite compelling.

If you're making significant
finds on the lot line between

4 and 5, then we should
continue to clear out Lot 4.

I think that the work done
on Oak Island was incremental.

In other words,
there seems to be

a master plan
and it was implemented

over a period of years,
if not decades.

Okay.
Well, that's our story.

Uh, could be very significant
'cause it's quite old.

It could be even older after
you find out about this, Rick.

And then, then we're just left
with the problem of, well,

how long was it used
before it was discarded?

Yeah.

As far as Lot 4 is concerned,

these are not just
one-off things.

Everything we talk about here
in the w*r room should lead us

to advancing the search agenda
and that's...

And I think we've done that.

This proves there's
more things to find,

but we won't find them in here.

Let's go.

The following morning...

Water and soil is
not a good mixture.

No.

- It's like Jell-O.
- Yeah.

The world's worst Jell-O.

Yeah. Exactly.

I don't think
I like this flavor.

At all.

Rick, Marty and
members of the team go back to work,

searching for more
important clues...

And hopefully valuables...

In the southernmost
region of the swamp.

You know what?
That excavator looks really big

until you start doing this
and look at that swamp

and it doesn't look
so big anymore, does it?

No.

It just goes to show yet again,
if you wanted

to hide something,
boy, was this ever a good way.

Heads up.
Swinging, swinging around.

- Does that look flat?
- I guess it does.

Yeah, it does, doesn't it?

Are those little chopping marks,

from something
like a little adze

or something like that?

Or is that... Do you think
that's just natural split?

I don't know,
but we'll wash it...

It's awfully straight, isn't it?

Wash it off.

A piece of wood?

Possibly cut by an adze?

If so, could it be connected
to the adze

that was unearthed
two days ago on Lot 4?

You're right, Gary.
Right there.

Or is it from
a much earlier time period?

Hey, Laird!

- Come here a minute?
- Yeah.

It appears that there are

some hand cuts on the wood.

In terms of the importance
of an adze-cut piece of wood,

timbers of long ago
were shaped by an adze.

We also know that it was used
in shipbuilding.

It looks like a chop mark
from something like an adze.

I think it's very early.

I think there's a lot
more work to be done.

But, in the moment,
it's surprising.

It's, it's, uh...
exciting.

Um...

I-It's remarkable.

Kind of looks hewn, doesn't it?

I don't know.
And then you have that.

See this, here?

It's kind of a possible cut.

That, I think is...
Could be of interest.

We're not too far away
from where

we found that piece of wood.

I mean, that dated back to 700.

- Let me throw some water on this.
- Okay.

I think everything
that we pull from the swamp

needs to be looked at carefully.

The most innocuous piece of wood

might have some
very relevant information.

Whatcha got, big brother?

I don't know if it's anything.

Right there.

- Okay.
- Right there.

Pretty rotten.
Look at this, though.

- Right here.
- Yeah, I don't know.

It passes the first test.

It's shaped wood.

So, if somebody analyzes it,
some expert...

if something comes through
that it's very ancient,

then they become significant.
But...

But they are already
somewhat significant

because we're only digging
in a small area of the swamp.

And why, really, at depth
are shaped pieces

of wood in there at all?

Is that another piece?

Yeah, I'm gonna put a board
and go fish that out.

- Hang on, Billy.
- I'll do it.

All right, mate.

I can't let that go.
Not now.

All right, mate.
Thanks.

- I'm going to push you forward a bit.
- All right, mate.

Oh, Gary's going in.

He's going in.

I thought it looked...

It is. Look!

This is the same log!

It's another flat piece...

- Yeah.
- And it's got that same notch in.

Near the southernmost
region of the swamp...

- Thanks, mate.
- Got it.

The Oak Island team
has just made

another potentially important
discovery.

Look at that. And then
it goes down at a slope.

Oh, that looks like a cut.

- It does, doesn't it?
- Yeah.

That's the piece I saw.

- Yeah.
- What do you got?

Interesting piece of wood, mate.

Just like this other piece

of wood that we found,

it's got like two indents here.

Well, I have a man
down on the beach,

- so I'll get it washed.
- Okay, mate. - All right.

Very similar to that other one.

Billy and Gary find
a few pieces of wood.

They clearly appear
to be man-made.

Here you go,
have a go at that one.

It's heavy.

I can't tell what they are,
they just look like planks,

but maybe when
we clean them up, maybe they'll

reveal what they might
have been used for.

Is that one
a little more interesting?

A little bit more suspicious.

All I'm thinking is,

is it a candidate
for C-14 or not?

Right. In other words,
is it man-made?

- I think this is...
- It's angled.

Yeah, it's like, chopped, right?

- Yeah, to what end, though?
- I don't know.

Yeah, that swamp
is really, really weird.

Would you expect something else?

What's the definition of madness?

- We're not there yet.
- We're close.

Every time we dig anywhere
on Oak Island, we find something.

Uh, and that is certainly true
in the swamp proper.

- These are the finds?
- Yeah.

Retrieve everything,
look at it carefully,

document it, and then try
to reconstruct something.

There might be two pieces
of wood retrieved

at different times that have
some sort of connection.

It does feel like
there's a cut there.

Thick and worn.

Rounded.

And we're close
by where Terry Deveau

projected the wharf.

Are we?

Yeah.

Could Billy Gerhardt's notion

that these pieces
of hand-hewn boards

are actually connected to the
nearby stone wharf be correct?

If it's an open harbor,
it's deeper on this side, right?

And it gets shallower
up in the... b-by the eye, right?

Yeah, and the most interesting
stuff would be on the bottom,

- right here, then.
- Yeah.

- Which, you're not there yet.
- No.

If something
is hiding out there,

it's got a lot of places
to hide.

Lots of places.

All right, Billy, how about

some treasure tomorrow?

I'm with you, Gary, on that.

God, I love this place.

Later that afternoon...

Dr. Brosseau,
welcome back to the w*r room.

Appreciate you
being willing to travel.

It really helps us a lot.

Rick, Marty
and Craig have invited

Professor of Chemistry
Dr. Christa Brosseau

to meet with members of the team
in the w*r room

to present her analysis
of several items

discovered one week ago
on Lot 4.

These items include
a mysterious metal object

as well as a button

which preliminary X-ray
fluorescence scanning revealed

to contain
a significant amount of gold.

So, I'll start with the button.

So, this is sort of
a classic tombac button.

What does that word mean?

Yeah, "tombac" is, uh,

one of, sort of, a common term

- given to a high zinc-copper alloy.
- Oh, okay.

This is the breakdown
of the main body of the button.

It's, uh, copper-tin with
a fairly high zinc content.

Arsenic and lead
are also present.

Likely they were original
to the copper itself,

predating the modern refinement
of copper alloys.

The copper loop
has a very high bismuth content,

which is indicative that the
copper originated in Britain.

And so, this is most likely
a-a British-origin button.

You will see the circles
around the-the eye.

And that's a very characteristic
feature for buttons

that were made
between 1726 and 1776.

A British button,

potentially dating back
70 years prior

to the discovery
of the Money Pit?

Since the team
has found a number

of British m*llitary artifacts
from the same period

across the island
over the past several years,

could that answer the question
of who may have buried something

of great value on Oak Island?

Or could it mean that
the British were here searching

for something left much earlier
by someone else?

So, the next object
is the piece of metal.

It is definitely a copper alloy.

It has a pretty high
tin content,

so it's kind of consistent
with what's called

a tin bronze or a bell metal.

Specialty metal.

- Yeah.
- When was this alloy identified?

In other words,
when did it come into use?

I would say it's older, yeah.

Because the copper
contains arsenic,

and usually that's been removed
by more modern refining methods.

Would the presence
of arsenic in both

suggest that the bell metal
would come from the same suspect

- as the button?
- No, I don't think so.

When you go back to the screen,

you'll see, at the-the last
sentence there,

it says, "Bell metal was used
to construct early cannons

by the Spanish and Portuguese."

Yeah.

In the Oak Island w*r room

chemist Dr. Christa Brosseau
has just shared

an incredible report
that the metal object found

one week ago on Lot 4
by Gary Drayton

may be of either Spanish
or Portuguese origin.

So, the tin gives the-the metal
strength and rigidity.

So, it's been used historically
for bells, obviously,

but also for the production
of cannons.

Would you find it likely
to find this

on other places
in the Maritimes?

That's a good question.

Um, I'd have to do
some more digging into that,

but, um, it's possible.

- We can do some research on that.
- Yeah, for sure.

What is Lot 4?

- What's your interest there?
- Uh, it's...

There was this map,

which we, in truth,
are still trying to vet.

You know, as part
of Zena Halpern's research,

there is a reference
to "the hatch."

And, uh, so, we continue
to search for that.

We were chasing, uh, the hatch,

and we were using
the magnetometer hits from CSR,

and that was the first piece
we pulled up

in one of the anomalies.

Actually, I'm-I'm very intrigued
by the possibility

that piece of bell metal
might be associated

- with Portuguese on the island.
- Mm-hmm.

They were among the first
to use cannon on board ships.

It is well-documented
that Portuguese explorers

frequently visited Nova Scotia

between the 16th and 18th
centuries.

However, some Oak Island
theorists believe

that members of a Portuguese
branch of the Knights Templar,

known as the Knights of Christ,
may have come to the region

much earlier to hide a vast
and priceless treasure.

Ooh, look at that.

Five weeks
ago, while searching on Lot 16,

Rick and Gary Drayton

discovered a small,
ancient stone cannonball

known as a "gunstone."

- Steve, look at this.
- Yes?

It was a near match
to one found last year in the spoils

excavated in 2019
from the Money Pit area.

Amazingly,
both of these gunstones

were found to potentially be
of Portuguese origin.

Could those gunstones,

along with this fragment
from a possible cannon,

as well as the stone wharf
in the swamp

all be corroborative evidence
that this theory is true?

And this is why Dr. Brousseau

is such a, you know,
such a great resource.

This metal was used by
the Spanish and the Portuguese

for quite some time.

It's an interesting thing
to think that such a metal

used in bells and cannons
would be on Lot 4.

- Another mystery.
- Another mystery.

- Yeah.
- Gary's work with the metal detector

just seems to indicate

there's... was a lot of activity
in that general area.

The finds say that
there was activity

over a seemingly
long period of time.

Something...

happened in that area.

Something about this island
a-attracted a lot

- of effort.
- Mm-hmm.

We got to go down that road
and see where that might lead.

Okay. Well, again,
thank you for coming down.

I always enjoy
these-these sessions very much.

My pleasure. Good luck.

Thank you.

After another successful week

that resulted in new discoveries
made all across Oak Island,

the Laginas and their team
may be closer than ever

to finally revealing the secrets

that have endured
for more than two centuries.

But as they continue
to narrow down the possibilities

of who may have been
behind this mystery,

are they also zeroing in
on a vast cache of treasure?

Or will they find
that the deeper they dig,

the darker the secrets become?

Next time on
The Curse of Oak Island...

Oh.

Could be more pieces of a ship.

Holy smokes. What
do you think of that, Rick?

The swamp is yielding things.

Wow, it sounds fantastic.

What the bloody hell is this?

It's a typical strap

- for a heavy chest.
- Really?

That's a nice surprise.

I have always thought the way

to figure out the Money Pit
was finding Shaft 6.

Okay! Look at that.

If it's Shaft 6, how far
are we from the Money Pit?

18 feet.