08x18 - Cannon Fodder

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: Tonight,
on the curse of oak island...

- Oh. Bingo. - Oh. We got wood.

Rick: We've got six hits.

- It's a tunnel.
- Gary: Ooh, look at that.

- Gary: We got another one.
- David f.: Oh, wow.

What the heck are these?

Carmen: There had to
be some destructive force.

Something caused this to break.

- It could have blown apart.
- Yes. It had to be an expl*si*n.

- (aaron laughs) - marty:
What do you got there?

- Sharpened survey stakes.
- Aw, baby.

Craig: That sample came
out to be two different

- time periods. - Wow.

- Marty: That's well before the money pit.
- Wow.

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 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.

♪ ♪

marty: About here, aaron?

- Yeah. Just... - All right.

Narrator: As a new day of
adventure begins on oak island...

That's perfect, marty.

...Brothers rick
and marty lagina,

along with their team,

are working more
diligently than ever

to peel back the layers of a
-year-old treasure mystery.

And along the eastern border

of the mysterious
triangle-shaped swamp,

they continue to unearth
remains of a potentially ancient

stone pathway that may
have been used for purposes

of moving heavy cargo
away from an old ship's wharf

and somewhere inland.

The questions now are
just what was being hauled

onto the island,
and will this pathway lead them to it?

What are you thinking, boss?

Aaron: Well...

I think if we pull up
the organic matter...

- Right there? Okay.
- Yeah. Let's see.

Aaron: It seems like the cobbles

are just right underneath that.

Marty: It's terribly hard
work to dig in the swamp

because everything
resists the shovel.

The sort of vegetative
mat resists the shovel,

but worse is trying
to dig on this road.

Every time you try and put the shovel in,
you hit a rock.

- Aaron: Oh, you got one there.
- Yeah. I sure do.

Marty: And then you
have to come back

and just kind of
scrape along the top

because, in this case,
rocks are what we're looking for.

- Aaron: There's another one.
- Josh: Yep.

Marty: But here's
what changes it.

When you find something,
you're reenergized.

When you dig on oak island,
you find things.

Aaron: Ah, there they are.

Yeah.

Marty.

Aw, baby.

- Right there.
- Josh: There we go.

Aaron: Another stake.

- Marty: Look at that. - Wow.

Narrator: A wooden stake,
found bordering the pathway?

Marty: Look at that. That's cut.

Narrator: Just one week ago,

marty made an
identical discovery

on another portion
of the pathway

that archaeologist
dr. Aaron taylor believes

may have been used
as a survey marker

when the feature
was originally built.

It's showing that this whole
thing is being staked off

and we're following the line.

Narrator: These discoveries
are not only helping the team

uncover more of
the buried pathway

and determine the
direction it is heading

but may also be important clues
as to when it was constructed.

Rick: Dr. Taylor
puts great emphasis

on these so-called survey
stakes because he believes

that they are critical in
terms of understanding

the timeline of the road.

And the only tool we have to
apply to that is carbon dating.

Aha. Aha! What
have we got there?

Is that cut?

- Josh: Yep. - (aaron laughs)

- it's nubbed off, though.
- But it's...

- We only care about one end.
- Yeah.

- And she's cut.
- That's cut, for sure.

- Marty: So, what does... what does it mean?
- They went to

an awful lot of effort
to survey this in.

- Wow.
- Marty: Why so many right here?

- You haven't found that many in one spot before?
- God no.

- Are they, are they...
- Yeah, that's what I think.

- ...Turning?
- There's a change going here.

There's a change going on.

Marty: I really want to know
where this road goes in the swamp.

And these stakes are
gonna tell the story.

In other words,
somebody came along, staked it out,

then workmen came
b-behind and built it.

So, now, we're sort of at a juncture,
it looks like.

Hey,
there's an army of people down here.

Hey, rick.

Ask rick. Ask what
the score is here.

- Go ahead, ask him.
- (laughter)

rick: What-what's the score?

Uh, marty is leading on, uh,

sharpened survey
stakes that we found.

Marty: The amazing thing, rick,

is they're finding all
kinds of them here.

- Aaron: Right in here.
- Josh: Just in this.

Aaron: The reason there's so many here is,
possibly,

there's something
going on here that's not

been going on along
the rest of the way.

And maybe this
is a turning point.

It kind of seems to be turning,
doesn't it?

There's something
special about this.

It could be going
two different ways.

Narrator: The stone pathway,

possibly now branching
off in two directions?

Although archaeologist
dr. Aaron taylor

has speculated
that it may be leading

toward the fabled
money pit treasure shaft,

could this new potential
pathway mean there might be yet

another hiding place where
valuables could be buried

on oak island?

You know,
every little piece adds up.

We just have to keep
following the cobbles.

- Mm-hmm. - Rick: What's that?

Oh, yeah.

Look at that.

Aaron: Oh, rick's on the board.

- One. One.
- I'm on the board. I'm on the board.

- You're on the board.
- I'm gonna give you

a half a point for
that itty-bitty one.

(laughter)

- as long as I'm on the board.
- Half a point.

Narrator: While rick
and marty continue

leading the investigation
at the swamp...

Terry: So, charles, here we are.

to on c- .

Narrator: ...In the
money pit area,

oak island historian
charles barkhouse

and geologist terry matheson

are overseeing
the drilling operation

currently taking
place in borehole c- .

Interestingly,
as we've come over to this area,

we've drilled five holes,

and it's been pretty
much five out of five.

We keep hitting wood
each and every time.

There's a tunnel down there,

in an area where we're
trying to pick up the money pit.

So, we're looking for the shaft,

but the secondary
target is the tunnel.

Well, yeah.

That is wood. No question.

We're probably at
the edge of a tunnel.

Narrator: Over the course
of the past two weeks,

the team has consistently
drilled into what they believe

to be a man-made wooden
tunnel at a depth of some feet

that has been scientifically
dated to as early as ,

some years prior
to the original discovery

of the money pit.

Now, having moved just feet
westward with borehole c- ,

they are hoping to soon
intersect the treasure shaft

and finally recover
whatever might lie buried

at the bottom of it.

Special delivery? Right down here,
gentlemen.

Put the patient on the table.
What do you think, mike?

- Tedford: You better let the doctor cut it open.
- Okay.

- Whoa. Bingo. - We got wood.

Hold your cards.

There. A little bit of wood.

Holy cow.

. . . .

I'm telling you,
it's right on the money.

- Unbelievable. - Charles: Yeah.

Terry: For six holes we've drilled,
we've hit wood

at almost exactly
or feet each time.

We're-we're definitely
on top of something.

There's no question of that.

That we're intersecting.

Um, it's obviously a tunnel.

And the question is,
where does that tunnel lead?

- Yeah.
- Charles: If this is indeed a tunnel,

then we have to follow that,

because, you know, that could

lead us to where the
money pit could be.

You know,
this is six out of six.

- I know.
- I think I'm gonna get... touch base with rick,

just to let him know that
we've hit something again.

I mean, this gets more and
more interesting every time

- we drill a hole in this area.
- Yeah.

Terry: We are in and
around something.

Terry: Hi, rick. How you doing?

Where are you here?

- This is . - It's-it's...

And we're hitting
it again at-at .

Narrator: In the money pit area,

rick lagina joins
members of the team

after being alerted that
they may have obtained

more evidence of a
tunnel some feet deep

in borehole c- that they
hope could be connected

to the original treasure shaft.

So, we're currently here.

We show all the wood hits in
the previous five holes there.

Right. But anyway,
you only hit it at ,

which has been consistent
through all of these holes.

Yes. But I think the
preponderance of evidence

says we've got a tunnel
or some kind of a structure

that is being constructed

at the -foot
level below grade.

- We've got three more.
- We've got one, two, three,

four, maybe five.

- Six hits, and it's consistent horizon.
- So far.

It's a tunnel.

Well,
people built it and they went somewhere.

Yeah.

Does it lead to the money pit?

Does it lead to another shaft

that we don't know
anything about?

You have to chase
it. Th-there's no...

- No doubt about it. - Yep.

I think this is very important
corroborative evidence,

I.E., the drill has struck

this -foot horizon and
wood has been retrieved.

The problem is,
we don't know the beginning of the tunnel,

we don't know the
end of the tunnel.

Is it coming from a
previously unknown shaft

towards the money pit?

What's its relationship
to the money pit

and who dug it?

If it is going this way,

then you have to put
some holes up here...

- Charles: Yeah. -...To see if it continues.
- Terry: Oh, yeah.

No, th... absolutely.

You've got to follow this line.

You have to follow the line,
yes, a-absolutely.

Rick: Okay. Keep drilling.

- Okay. Thanks, guys.
- Okay. -Will do. Thanks.

- Yeah. - See you later, rick.

Terry: Bit of work to be done.

Charles: Okay.

Narrator: The following morning,
at the swamp...

Rick: You can see
the cobble picks up.

And we'll dig there
and see if it continues.

...Rick lagina,
along with his nephew david fornetti,

join archaeologist
miriam amirault

and heavy equipment
operator billy gerhardt

as they try to
confirm whether or not

the mysterious stone pathway
is beginning to branch off

in two separate directions.

- Rick: Hey, billy, miriam.
- Good morning.

Rick: We finally arrived.

So,
what is the status right now?

So, I'm finding stones here,
which is a good sign

that I think the road,
or the path,

is still continuing this way.

At this point,
we see some cobble,

but I'm not fully convinced yet.

This is pretty
descriptive right here.

- Yeah. - Right here.

- Yep, I agree.
- If we just take a section

across here,
it's hard to refute.

If this is indeed a
legitimate area of cobble,

- it's definitely headed up that way.
- Hmm.

Yeah. I-I mean, just right now,
it is a bit of a jumble.

So,
I think getting this layer of dirt

off the top here would,
you know,

allow us to be able
to definitively say,

"okay, yes,
it's turning this way."

but it certainly does appear
as though it's going uphill.

- But let's confirm it here.
- Yeah. For sure.

All right. I'll start here.

David, you start on the wall.

Sounds good.

Rick: I'm getting
a bit frustrated

because the time and weather
constraints are-are closing in,

and I'm not sure we're
any closer to understanding

the who and the when
and the why of this

stone road in a bog
feet away from the money pit.

So, you know,
there's a lot of work to do.

Are we about to quit? No.

Okay, this is...

This shouldn't be here.

See this, bill?

This shouldn't be here.
It... this is puddled clay.

See that, miriam?

See that?

That's the really
good puddled clay.

- Miriam: Yeah. - Look at that.

No sand, no rocks, no grit.

And it's just like putty.

This is what was
found in the money pit.

Narrator: Puddled, blue clay?

Not only was this type
of man-worked substance

found to have been used as a
sealant deep in the money pit

when it was first excavated
to the -foot level in ...

Jack: Look at the clay.

It's just packed onto it.

Narrator: ...But one year ago,
the team also found

large amounts of it
within a previously dug pit

at the northernmost
point of the swamp,

also referred to as
the eye of the swamp,

a feature that
geoscientist dr. Ian spooner

dated to as early as .

Is it possible that with this
discovery of puddled clay

on the stone pathway,
rick lagina has just found

an important clue that
the pathway is connected

to both the eye of the swamp
and the original money pit?

Finding clay in and amongst
stones is a good sign,

because it could've been used,
you know,

- to hold the path together.
- Rick: As a binder?

Yeah. Exactly.

So, here,
it might be used as a binder,

as you say,
and over there it was used as a-a caulk.

It was to prevent collapse,
right?

You don't want
soils migrating down.

- It's not definitive...
- Miriam: But it's interesting that it's in both locations.

Interesting that it's in
both locations. Exactly.

You find something,
which may be useful here,

- just as useful over there.
- Yeah.

As strange as it is,
we now have possible...

And I reiterate possible...
Connection between the money pit

and the stone path.

And so,
it increases the probability

that we may be travelling
down the right road.

It's all through here,
and generally,

this stuff, it's found at depth.

- Miriam: Mm-hmm.
- It's not found at these horizons.

So,
was it brought in? I don't know.

There's something going on up across here,
for sure.

- Miriam: Mm-hmm.
- Rick: We've gotta keep digging,

see what else we can find.

Narrator: As rick
continues to oversee

the work in the swamp...

Gary: He's here.

- I'm going right over here.
- All right, mate.

Narrator: ...David
fornetti joins

metal detection
expert gary drayton

and michael john
on nearby lot

where they are about to
excavate a mysterious mound

located in the vicinity
of the pine tar kiln

discovered earlier this year.

- All right, michael. - Hello.

We got a game plan, mate.

- Yeah?
- There could be anything in there, mate,

because this is a special area.

That's right.

So, what is this thing?

Aaron: It's a pine tar kiln.

Narrator: In addition
to the pine tar kiln,

which could date back
as far as the th century...

Well,
this is historically important.

Marty: Wow.

Really?

Narrator: ...The
team also discovered

a number of ox
shoes in the area,

potentially dating to
the same time period,

and which offer
possible evidence

of a large-scale
operation to haul cargo

between the swamp
and the money pit.

And where you
gonna put the spoils?

I'll put them there. Like,
right here for you.

- Is that fine?
- Yeah, that's great.

Okay. Let's do it.

Gary: We'll keep our
eye out. You never know.

Could be a piece of leather,

pottery, glass,
anything that tells a story.

Sounds good.

Narrator: Using the excavator,

michael john will
carefully break up

the hard, compacted mound,

allowing gary to
scan the loose spoils

with his metal detector.

- We're gonna find the treasure in here?
- It would be nice.

- Wouldn't it? - It would.

(device whirring)

gary: There's
iron in the ground.

Do you want to dig it up, david?

Let's see what it is.

- That ground's rock-hard, isn't it?
- David f.: Yeah.

Yeah, could you take a scoop out of here,
michael?

- Sure.
- Then we'll get it. Thanks.

Right about here?

Yeah, that's great. Thanks.

Yeah. We got it out, mate.

Okay.

All right,
let's see what the mystery item is.

(beeping)

oh,
a little bit bigger than a tin can.

Oh, wow.

Wow. What the heck is that?

Gary: I've been metal-detecting
a heck of a long time,

and I've never seen
anything like this.

Narrator: While investigating
a mysterious mound on lot

between the swamp
and the money pit,

metal detection
expert gary drayton

and members of the team have
just made a puzzling discovery.

- Michael j.: What's that?
- Gary: I don't know.

Gary: Let's get some
of this crud off it.

Wow, it's so heavy.

Feel how heavy that is, david.

Oh. I was not expecting that.

- (laughs) -gary: Normally,
the deeper an object is

when you detect it and dig it out,
the older it is.

- Yeah. - But we won't know

until that's cleaned up.

And I ain't got a top
pocket big enough

- to put that in. - (laughter)

gary: I'd like to know
what went on in this area.

We've found a
large piece of iron,

and this doesn't disappoint.

Do you want to put that on that boulder,
please, david?

- You bet. - Thanks.

Gary: We haven't found one
like this before on the island.

It's really unusual.

Maybe you can chunk
another scoop out of there?

Okay.

(beeping)

gary: Oh, I got an iron signal.

It might be connected to this.

Oh. This is it. I see it.

- It's more of the same.
- Michael j.: Okay. Oh, wow.

There you go.

Let's see what this one's like.

It's that same kind of deal.

I believe this was hand-forged.

This is raw iron.

And now there's two pieces.

Even better.

And I wouldn't be surprised
if there's another piece

similar to this
already in the ground.

That's right.

David f.: I say we
see if we can find

- that other one.
- All right, mate. Yep.

Let's go for the next one.

See what's in the hole.

(beeping)

you've got to dig it out, dave.

- Just there, mate. - All right.

- Let's see what you got. - Yep.

(beeping)

- gary: Ooh, look at that.
- Michael j.: Wow.

- We got another one. - Wow.

- What the heck are these?
- I've got to come in

- and see this one.
- Yeah, mate.

This is even bigger
than the last one.

This doesn't look like
anything to do with shafts

or tunnels or farming, to me.

But again, that nice,
crude shape.

And the fact that we have
got three pieces now...

- Michael j.: That's right, yeah.
- ...In the same area.

Gary: What the heck
was going on here?

This isn't a one-off.

- That's right.
- These are here for a reason.

Michael j.: You know
what I'm thinking?

It could be ballasts. You know?

Just for the size
and the weight.

That is a really good point,
michael.

With so many
wharfs along this side,

these pieces could've
been ship's ballast.

Narrator: Possible
pieces of ballast?

Dating back as far
as the th century,

heavy objects known as ballast

were stored deep in the
hulls of large sailing vessels

to help give them
balance on the high seas.

Could michael john be correct

that these mysterious
pieces of iron

were once used as ballast
in a large sailing vessel?

If so,
could they be clues connected

to the mysterious stone wharf

discovered this year in
the man-made swamp?

Or the numerous burnt objects
believed to be parts of a ship

that have also been
found in the brackish bog?

Feel the weight of that one,
david.

- (laughter) - oh. I
wasn't ready for that.

- Yeah, that's incredible.
- Yeah.

And now we've got three pieces

- to take to carmen legge.
- Yes. Exactly.

Well, I say we keep digging and
see if we can't find some more.

- That's right. Yeah, I think so, too. Yeah.
- Yeah. You're right, david.

Gary: All right,
mate. We'll see what else is here.

Michael j.: All right.

Rick: Hey, guys.

Hello, ladies and gentlemen.

Narrator: Brothers marty
and rick lagina gather

with members of
the oak island team

for a highly anticipated
report on the wood stakes

recently discovered along the
stone pathway in the swamp.

Today should be a very
interesting w*r room.

We have in front of us probably
the most significant artifact

that has been found
on the road to date.

And I believe craig
has the c- test results.

And so, I'm sure we're all
very interested in finding out

- what these dates are.
- Yes. -We certainly are.

Craig, take it away.

Okay, we got, uh,

data back on two of the stakes

that were found in the swamp.

They were both found
by marty and aaron.

It's basically two time periods.

One, sample ,

is from to .

And at ,

from to .

(laughter)

wow.

Marty: The preponderance of
the data speaks to well before

the money pit discovery.

Wow.

Narrator: In the
oak island w*r room,

rick, marty,
craig and the team have just confirmed

that the wooden survey stakes

found along the stone
pathway on the eastern border

of the swamp could
date back as far as .

Meaning that the pathway
might date that early as well.

These stakes were survey stakes,

so they were put in
prior to the search period,

and they're adding up
with a lot of the artifacts

that we're finding, um,
as we're moving upland.

Rick: I believe
that the middle part

of the s to the
latter part of the s,

that c- date is more relevant.

That's almost a
century and a half

before the money
pit was discovered.

I am stunned by those dates.

It's great news,
as far as the treasure hunt goes.

Rick: Except that
they're a century apart.

- Craig: Yeah. - Alex: Mm-hmm.

Marty: How could those two be so different,
though?

I mean, aaron, we found those

right next to each other,
didn't we?

Yeah,
within probably ten feet of each other.

Rick: If those massive
projects were done at one time,

where is the evidence?

We've always stumbled over that.

There's a couple
periods going on there

that we haven't
quite figured out.

It speaks to me like there's

more than one
occupation period for this.

Marty: That does
make a lot of sense

in that if... let's say it was
made... the road was made

very long ago,

and then the swamp
covered it up except for

the upland portion.

Craig: Upland.

Marty: Yeah,
and then people used that,

but they couldn't use the
portion under the swamp anymore.

That would explain
exactly what you're saying.

Rick: But then again, why?

Why, why, why?

Marty: I'm going to make an
assumption that we're relatively

bright people,
and we can't come up, really,

with a plausible
reason for any of this.

Rick: I think if we look
at each other honestly,

- we're more confused than we have ever been.
- Mm-hmm.

Exactly right, rick.

I thought the stakes would be

a little bit more helpful
than they are because,

you know,
at least it could be consistent.

They were found right next to each other,
but still,

even with the inconsistency,
everything keeps pointing back

to long before the
money pit was discovered.

And I think we need to
just keep gathering data

until it all starts to
line up somehow,

until it tells the story.

I guess that's where I'm at.

Craig: Yeah. I concur.

All the data's tying quite well,

so hopefully artifacts
can tell us that story.

Marty: I don't think
anybody could argue with us.

Something very odd, very unique,

and way too early

for what we know of the
written history of nova scotia

happened on oak island.

Long before .

So,
what do I make of these dates?

We're at least
chasing something real.

Very helpful and-and
very gratifying.

Rick: It's funny because,
when we first came,

we thought science was
gonna give us all the answers.

Unfortunately,
the real answers are coming

from shovels and trowels.

Well, I guess we have more
digging and troweling to do.

- Yep.
- Because there are answers there.

So,
I think we just need to stay the course

and keep doing what we're doing.

I think so.

Rick: Hopefully,
before the end of the year,

- we'll have some answers.
- Marty: Please.

No more questions.

Rick: We'll try. We'll try.

Narrator: Later that afternoon,

on the eastern
edge of the swamp...

Rick: Hey, aaron.

How much farther
do you want to go?

I just want it definitive that
we have cobblestones here,

that it hasn't detoured.

Narrator: ...Rick lagina
and members of the team

continue their efforts to
investigate the possible fork

in the potentially early th
century stone road, or pathway.

If we can get you
around the other side,

I'll show you
something kind of cool.

So,
we're getting a boundary here.

We... Obviously, we're gonna,
we're gonna pull back more.

Got these rocks that
are on top of swamp.

You know, it's still early,
but we're...

We're thinking we have the
swamp boundary of the stones.

And if you look at the line,

you know,
it seems to be angling more that way.

And the other thing, too,
is all these rocks are

a size that... easy to move,

maximize the volume.

The right size to
build a cobble road.

- Yeah. Yep. - You can see them.

They're all that size.

So, we're getting to an
area of intense manipulation.

There's a hell of a lot of
work that went on up there.

And there's the eye
and that down here.

At some point,
this thing is either gonna go left,

right or straight ahead.

Okay, so maybe the next
step should be going this way?

Our next move is to
come back over here

and dig up the
hill a little ways.

- Aaron: All right, so we got a plan.
- Rick: We'll go up there.

- Yep.
- Billy, you head off and do

what you're gonna do
with the swamp excavator.

- Aaron, we'll be back.
- Yeah. -Okay.

Rick: All the
archaeologists have stated,

with a construct
such as the path,

there may be more than one road,

leading to different places...

Perhaps one to the money pit,
perhaps one into the swamp.

Hopefully,
they'll be able to find supportive evidence

that, indeed,
the road has turned to the upland.

So, what are you thinking?

I mean,
you stopped digging there.

Billy: Yep. Well,
it's... It's rocky in here,

so I think we're on
the edge of the rocks.

Ian: We're starting to
see all this red color...

The red-colored rocks...

And that's a sign
of an interface.

Yeah. There's something here,
I think.

We-we might be onto something.

Ian: So,
if we agree that the rocks were stacked,

and that's not normal,

and if we agree that
there's a defined width,

and that's not normal,

so can we agree that it's...
Looks like it's going uphill

- towards the uplands?
- Billy: Yeah. Lot . Money pit.

Like,
there'd be no reason to rock this

unless you're hauling
real heavy stuff.

- Yeah. - Yeah.

Narrator: Could the team
have found hard evidence

that the stone path does,
in fact,

continue not only toward lot
but also toward the money pit?

Kudos to you for having
the eye to pick this up.

Maybe I'll just go up there,
like, ten or some more feet,

just to reestablish
our edge on that side.

It might give us a little angle
as to where we're going.

I'm gonna look over
there and just try

to understand that
a little bit better.

Aaron: Well,
let's get back to it.

- Billy: Yep. - Ian: Yep.

Narrator: While the
search operations

near the swamp and in the
money pit area continue...

(metal clanging)

hey, carmen.

Hello, charles. How are you?

Narrator: ...Charles barkhouse,
david fornetti

and veteran treasure
hunter dan henskee

have traveled some
miles north of oak island

to centreville, nova scotia...

- Big stuff this time.
- Charles: Big stuff.

Narrator: ...Where they
have arranged to meet

with blacksmith
expert carmen legge

at historic northville farm

to get his analysis
of the iron artifacts

found two days ago on lot .

David f.: So, we have three pieces
here. These were all found together.

We were thinking ship ballast,
but we really didn't know

because they're just kind
of odd-shaped iron pieces.

Well, let's have a look at it.

- Very heavy, isn't it? - Yeah.

Extremely heavy,
and they all have

that triangular shape to the ends,
right?

They belong to the
same equipment.

They're legs off of something.

This one has a foot onto it,

- but it's also rounded on the ends.
- Mm-hmm.

So that meant that
it was draggable.

Like,
you can drag it from one place to another.

This one here is
actually bent a little bit.

But this curvature is not
indicative of a purposeful bend.

This was bent because of
the pressure exerted onto it.

Something caused this to break,

and something like that
breaking would require

a lot of tremendous,
destructive force.

- So, you mean it could've blown apart?
- Yes.

I would say they're legs off of a small,
uh, cannon

or a large signal cannon.

Any kind of date
you can give us?

Because of the
way it's forged...

I'm gonna say early s.

So, , .

Narrator: Parts of a signal
cannon found on oak island,

which possibly date
back to nearly a century

before the discovery
of the money pit?

If so,
who brought it to oak island

and for what purpose?

Any cultural influences here?

It would be english.
It would be english.

Yes. Yes.

You would think that if
there was a big operation,

they would have
grapeshot and cannons,

- you know, for defense. - Yeah.

It speaks to a... A
number of theories

involving certainly
the british m*llitary,

but other militaries, too.

Would you have any
idea what a signal cannon

would be doing on oak island?

Charles: Yes. There's a
possibility that could've been

an observation post,
to watch, you know, any ships

coming in from the bay.

Narrator: Could carmen legge
be correct that these iron objects

came from a british
signal cannon?

And does that mean
they're connected

to the pine tar kiln on lot ,

which carmen suspects might
also be of british m*llitary origin,

and which archaeologist
laird niven believes

could be linked
to the construction

of the original money pit?

If so,
was the cannon possibly used

in an effort to protect
something of great value?

Wow.

I think we got to get back
and tell the guys about this.

David f. I think you're
right. I think you're right.

- Very good. All right.
- Charles: Okay.

- Nice item.
- David f.: Thank you.

Narrator: While charles,
david and dan

make their way
back to oak island...

Ian: The only reason
we're really here is

'cause we're trying to figure
out where that road goes.

Narrator: ...On lot ,
near the eastern border of the swamp,

rick lagina, gary drayton

and geoscientist dr. Ian spooner

are searching for evidence
of which direction...

Or directions... the stone
pathway could be leading.

Here,
we've got these cobbles on the surface.

But if there's artifacts,

then it tells us that
it's been manipulated.

You know, the bottom line is,
is we're trying

to figure out whether
that road is going

to the eye... a left... or right,
up the hill here.

Gary: There's only
one way to find out.

Narrator: Because any
extensions of the ancient pathway is

currently buried under the soil,

it is dr. Spooner's suspicion

that gary might
be able to expedite

the team's ability to
pinpoint more of the features,

if he can first locate
any metal artifacts

or evidence of human activity.

(detector beeping)

big target here, guys.

Oh,
look at this. We got iron in here.

- Look on the top. - Rick: Huh.

Why would there be iron in here?

Somebody drilled that stone
out and put that in the stone?

Gary: I wonder if that
was potentially a ring bolt.

Rick: I wonder
if fred knew that.

That may be the
one that was cut off.

- Ian: Right.
- Rick: Tom always said there was one that was cut off.

Narrator: Part of a ring bolt?

Embedded in a boulder
just east of the swamp?

Oh, I can feel it. (grunts)

- look at that. - Look at that.

Narrator: Earlier this year,

the team discovered
a large iron ring bolt

on the massive stone
road that was not only dated

to as early as the s

but was believed to have
been used for docking

a large sailing vessel at a
time that the man-made swamp

may have been an open harbor.

Look at that.

Narrator: And soon after,

they discovered evidence
of another ring bolt

further north on
the stone pathway,

suspected to have been used

in transporting heavy cargo
to somewhere on the island.

If this was just, uh, you know,
Sunday groceries coming

down the road here,
you don't need ring bolts.

It's unequivocal we've
got a road built to last.

Narrator: This discovery was
identical to several reported

by the late oak island landowner
and treasure hunter, fred nolan,

who claimed to have
found three ring bolts

in and around the
swamp back in the s.

Could this piece of iron
that gary has just found

be the remains of
one of the ring bolts

discovered by fred nolan?

And if so,
could it be more evidence

that points to the direction
the pathway is heading?

Rick: This road feature seems
to be lining up with the ring bolts

marked on fred's map.

And if that is the case,
my hope is

this may be a step
in the right direction.

Marty: What's he got?

Rick: A piece of steel
drilled into the rock.

- Marty: What do you think, doc?
- Rick: It's a question for tom.

As far back as he can remember,
was this stone here?

Or did his father put it here?

Well,
it's well embedded into the topsoil here.

So, if it was just plunked down,
you wouldn't expect

this rock to be
this far embedded.

Rick: We have to
get tom down here.

Rick: Why don't we just walk up here,
tom.

Think we can go
right over this way.

Narrator: On lot ,
near the eastern border of the swamp,

rick lagina and
members of the team

are joined by fellow oak
island landowner tom nolan,

the son of the late fred nolan.

Rick: Take a look.

Tom: Wow.

Rick: It should
be interesting...

This revelation, if you will...

That this large stone
next to the old apple tree,

uh, on the nolan property

actually has the long
sought-after ring bolt.

The point of this is to
bring tom in to look at it

and have him decide,
once and for all,

is that the ring bolt that
you saw as a young boy?

And I hope he'll say yes.

Tom: Gee, that's interesting.

That is one of the
original ring bolt rocks.

- It is? - Yep.

Rick: Wow.

Uh, dad removed the top,

- and that's what's in the pictures.
- Ian: Right.

Tom: You can see the original
ring bolt was a little bit thicker.

These things have taken some... You know,
time and weather

has beaten them down a bit,
but...

- That's one of the original ones right there.
- Wow.

Narrator: With tom
nolan's confirmation

that they have
discovered the remains

of another iron ring bolt

first located some years
ago by his father, fred nolan,

rick,
marty and the team may very well

have confirmed that not only
does the stone pathway feature

extend further into the
uplands of the island

but that it could be
leading them directly

to a major
breakthrough discovery.

It's just, to me,
very interesting,

'cause I can't even
imagine the amount of work

the original depositor put in.

- And to what end?
- To what end?

To support something
either high or heavy.

Billy: Perfect spot for it,
though, you know,

if it is a ring bolt,
to get you up the hill, right?

You know,
it would be a very logical place for it

- with the block and tackle.
- Right.

Tom: If you were tying
something up around here,

if this is some sort of a...

You know,
a loading or an unloading area.

If what you're doing here
you don't want anybody to see,

you bring it all the way in
here to the center of the island...

Who's going to see it?

If they were digging here,

they have a ready
source of cobble.

They could continue the road.

Actually,
I think the road is right over there.

- Rick: Over there. Yeah. All the cobbles.
- Ian: Yeah.

Either it's a turnaround to go up here,
or it's some kind of y.

Rick: I think it's
very preliminary,

uh, but dr. Spooner does
advocate perhaps strongly

that the orientation of the path

is now leading
up in this direction

towards the money pit.

Now you have a ring bolt.

Tom has asserted that is indeed
the ring bolt that he remembers.

We need something
more substantial.

But we also need to focus
our energies in a specific area,

and there are enough clues here,
small clues, that tell us

that this is an area
worthy of investigation.

Marty: It really seems like if
somebody wanted to put in a road

that then would
be easily hidden,

well, that's an eye opener.

That sounds like clandestine,
uh, activity.

The question is:
Where does it go?

It is a direct indicator of
substantial human effort

here on this island well
before the money pit.

Well,
in order to get to a certainty,

we just have to
keep plugging away.

- Tom: Yup.
- Ian: Well, I should get down and continue.

- I'll head back down.
- Head back down.

- Rick: Great find.
- Ian: Oh, yeah.

Narrator: The only thing
that seems certain at this point

for rick, marty,
craig and the members of their team

is that the more they dig
into the oak island mystery,

the more evidence they will
find that something profound

happened here long ago.

But if it really does revolve
around a vast treasure,

what would have justified

such painstaking
efforts to hide it...

...A possible lethal
force to guard it...

...And a legendary curse
that has claimed six lives

so far?

Perhaps the answers
will come by drilling

and digging in the money pit,

or...

By careful excavation,

one cobblestone at a time.

Next time,
on the curse of oak island...

- It's there. A big, chunky piece of iron.
- Aaron: Wow.

This is something
to do with tunneling.

The road seems to be angling
toward the eye of the swamp.

- Michael j.: Look at this.
- Marty: Oh, wow.

What the hell is that?

Steve g.: I think
that's a cannonball.

Somebody was trying
to protect something.

It's rock on rock.
They're stacked.

There's a big hole. You can
put your hand right in there.

Rick: There might
be something in there.

Could there be
treasure here? Yeah.