09x01 - Going for the Gold

[bunniefuu]

NARRATOR: Tonight on
The Curse of Oak Island,

- a special two-hour premiere.
- (horn honks)

RICK: I think we're closer
than ever to understanding

what may have happened here.

We identified a lab that can
take a look at our water samples

- from the perspective of gold.
- That's great.

What the heck? That's lead.

It's highly decorated.

It's like the crosses.

This island has got to be close
to giving up its secrets.

TERRY DEVEAU: This is a type
of road that was built in Europe.

The Portuguese were active
in Nova Scotia

- in the s.
- Wow.

(laughs) What do we got here?

What the heck is that?

I hate to say the "G" word,
but it could be.

I have some results.

You know, I'm-I'm obviously
sort of excited by this.

- Oh, really?
- Really?

BRENNAN McMAHON:
Fire it up.

We're getting to the top
of the Chappell Vault.

- You guys ready?
- RICK: It's a great day.

- This year, we're going for the gold.
- Going for gold.

That's right.

- All right.
- There you go.

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...

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.

♪ ♪

- RICK: So, here we go, guys.
- GARY: Yep.

We've been doing
a lot of preparing,

and I'm ready
to get on the island.

Yes.

I'm looking forward
to getting out there

and finding some bobby-dazzlers
and top-pocket finds.

And silver is
my second favorite coin.

- (laughter)
- And I've got a silver dance.

- You've got a silver dance?
- Oh, I have.

(laughter)

NARRATOR: A new year of
searching for a legendary treasure

is about to begin on Oak Island.

But for brothers
Rick and Marty Lagina,

their partner Craig Tester
and their team...

RICK:
Here we are.

GARY:
That's a heck of a sight, innit?

NARRATOR: they are starting
out with an assurance that no one

before them has had since this
mystery began back in .

RICK: I mean, how
can we all not be excited

about the evidence
of silver last year?

I think it's fantastic.

- Yep.
- I think it's very exciting.

What-what depth
are you calling it?

- IAN: .
- . Okay.

NARRATOR:
Just before the team ended

their search operations
last year...

Good.

Geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner

conducted water sampling tests
in a number of

previously drilled boreholes
across the Money Pit area.

IAN:
We'll keep that sample.

- We'll keep that for sure.
- Okay.

NARRATOR:
The results were astonishing.

There is every reason to
believe, down in those holes,

that there is a very large
amount of silver.

Is it a handful of silver

or is it a Gerhart dump truck
load of silver?

- It's a Gerhart dump truck.
- MARTY: Aw, baby.

(laughter)

GARY: I think this year is
gonna be really, really significant.

CRAIG: My hopes are
high. That's for sure.

It was a phenomenally
successful year last year.

I mean, how can you
not get enthused about

traces of silver
found in the Money Pit?

- Looks like everybody's inside already.
- CRAIG: Yeah.

- Let's head on in.
- PETER: Let's go.

MARTY: Last year, for instance,
we found all kinds of things,

dramatic things.

And this is the first year

we've had direct indications
of precious metals.

And by that,
I mean we have silver...

Silver dissolved in the water.

That screams of treasure.

- Hey, guys.
- Hey, guys.

- How you doing?
- How's it going?

Hey.

- Welcome back.
- RICK: We're glad to be back.

Fellowship of the dig.

I think we're closer than ever

to furthering our understanding
of what may have happened here.

The goal, the focus,
the hope, the commitment

was always solve the mystery,
and that has never changed.

Friendly faces
all around the table.

How the family has grown.

This is my Everest.
I want to climb it.

I want to find the answers.

Doug, if you could get
everybody on the screen up.

And, uh, we'll see if we can't
get this meeting started.

- Hey, everybody.
- Hey.

- Hello.
- NARRATOR: Due to important business

back in Traverse City, Michigan,

Marty Lagina
and his son Alex must wait

before they can
travel to Nova Scotia

and join the team in person.

I think the best way
to begin this is

to turn it over to Ian.

Sure. The bottom line is,
no matter how you cut it,

there's silver there.

It's in wells
in the Money Pit area.

And it's not a little silver.

To create an anomaly
in groundwater, it's...

it's a fair bit of silver.

A dump truck load. Don't forget.

- Uh...
- (laughter)

BILLY: I remember the
dump truck part, Marty.

I... That's my recollection,
too, right?

(laughter)

DOUG:
That's exciting because

the highest concentration was
just a few feet north of C- .

Charles picked C-
a few years ago,

and the shiny gold thing
was found.

- Right?
- Yep.

NARRATOR:
Of the many steel shafts

the team has excavated
in the Money Pit area

over the past five years,

one of the most promising
and intriguing sites

is the one known simply
as "C- ."

It was here, in ,
that after drilling

a six-inch-wide
exploratory borehole...

Right there.

The team captured
stunning video evidence

of a mysterious
gold-colored object

embedded in
the wall of a large cavern

some feet underground.

RICK:
Those are gold-colored.

CHARLES: Yeah, and there's
another piece of it there, too.

Yeah, another piece.

(staticky squealing)

NARRATOR: Subsequent efforts
to confirm the identity of the object

included the expansion of C-
to a -inch diameter,

along with
a number of dive operations.

Oh, what's this?
Is this another one?

I can see gold.

NARRATOR:
Last year,

the team obtained
additional video evidence

of three more
gold-colored objects.

This evidence, combined with the
recent water testing results,

has given
Rick, Marty and the team

every reason to believe they may
be close to finally locating

the fabled
Money Pit treasure vault.

The question was: Where do we go

with-with those results so that
we can focus our efforts?

And so, we identified a lab
that can take a look

not only at our water samples
from the perspective of silver,

uh, but they can take a look
at our water samples from

the perspective of gold.

- All right!
- There you go.

I thought gold wasn't
detectable, though, in water.

- Apparently, it is.
- Okay.

IAN:
And, so, this is something new.

It's a lab in Queens, Ontario,

and they specialize in
looking at groundwater

in exploration for gold mines.

Great.

And so, I'm pretty excited.

Rick, I want
to look for this gold

- as soon as possible.
- (laughter)

We've been looking for gold
for ten years now,

and now we hear that maybe
we can detect it in the water.

Let's see.

Yeah, I think
everybody's on board that.

Yeah.

So, we'll get going on that
as soon as possible.

And we're just gonna need
everybody's help

deciding where to sample.

NARRATOR: In order to pinpoint
the exact location of precious metals

buried deep in the Money Pit,

Dr. Spooner
will take water samples

from over boreholes
throughout the area,

strategically chosen
based on last year's findings.

Then, using cutting-edge
mineral analysis,

the team will be able
to identify not only the areas

with the highest concentration
of silver

but also any presence of gold.

This is not just about
chasing the gold and silver.

It's about chasing
where the gold and silver is.

And the only way,
I think, to do that

is testing further
water samples from this area

where these trace elements
are coming up.

MARTY: That's great, but,
Rick, we're all excited about

this silver in the water and
eager to see if there's gold,

but what about
putting down big cans?

RICK: Yes, we have
reached out to Irving

for a quote, and the quote
is for a ten-foot can.

Right.

NARRATOR: Once the upcoming
water tests are completed,

the Laginas and their team
will drill up to

new six-inch boreholes
in the areas that reveal

any evidence of silver
and hopefully gold.

Based on those findings, they
will conduct their biggest

and most expensive dig
to date by excavating

a series of ten-foot-wide
steel-cased shafts

to depths of
as much as feet.

RICK: The caisson size
came down to simple math.

A ten-foot can over
an eight-foot can represents

% more material
to search through.

That's why we're doing this.
We want to find something.

I think we should
round back to the swamp.

Who would've thought,
you know, we'd find this

- down the road, right?
- Yeah. This is crazy.

God, look at that.

That looks exactly like
an old Roman road.

AARON:
It's possible.

NARRATOR:
Last year, the team uncovered

a massive stone road,
or possible ship's wharf,

in the southeastern corner
of the swamp.

This is really cool.

It's impressive.

This is mondo cool.

NARRATOR: Further investigation
revealed a separate cobblestone pathway,

extending up the swamp's eastern
border and continuing on

to an as yet undetermined
destination on the island.

It was along this stone path

that the team also found pieces
of th-century keg barrels,

iron ring bolts...

Possibly utilized as
part of a pulley system...

And a trade weight,
an ancient tool typically used

for the measurement
of gold and silver coins.

But who built these features,
when, and for what purpose,

remain burning questions
for Rick, Marty and the team.

The sole purpose
of everything associated

with the stone path is
to find out where it goes.

It may go to the Money Pit.

If you're offloading
something from a ship,

you're gonna need
a stone path or a road

to carry something inland.

So, we need to follow that path.

I'm interested in going back
to the stone path.

- Mm-hmm.
- I think, uh,

Miriam has got
the trowel she loaned me.

Yes. We'll give you a trowel,
don't worry.

- Okey doke.
- (laughs)

RICK:
So, that leads us to

something that is... will be
very impactful this year.

- So, Laird...
- Yeah.

Can you give us
some background about

CCH's renewed interest

and what the permitting
process will be?

Yeah.

You know,
where we currently sit.

Yeah, so this year,
um, obviously we have

a lot of stricter regulations.

The Department of Community,
Culture and Heritage,

who oversees archaeology
in Nova Scotia,

they've suddenly sat up
and, uh, and taken notice.

They want more control
over any search for

past human activities.

RICK: So, with any
archaeological exploration,

we're not gonna be able
to operate

the way we did
in previous years.

Yeah.

NARRATOR:
In ,

the Laginas and their partners

obtained permission under
the Oak Island Treasure Act

to investigate
all areas of the island,

excluding designated locations
of cultural importance

such as the Samuel Ball
foundation on Lot

and the Daniel McGinnis
foundation on Lot .

However, in the spring of ,

they were informed by
the provincial department

of Community, Culture
and Heritage

that regulatory oversight,
especially activities involving

archaeological investigations
across the island, had changed.

In previous years, the island
was divided into two parts:

the western drumlin,
which we needed

regular archeological
permits for,

and then
the eastern drumlin, where,

the vast majority of which,
we needed no permits at all.

The Department of
Community, Culture and Heritage

decided to rescind all of that,
except for that small area

around the Money Pit,
and require permits for

any work done, and to monitor
the excavation work.

So, they want more formal tests
and excavated by hand

and screen everything, uh,

just like we would on a,
on a normal archaeological site.

Okay.

MARTY:
When we first started

on this quest of Oak Island,

with the original treasure
trove license that we had,

there was very little
extra permission we needed.

There has been a gradually
increasing level of scrutiny,

oversight and regulation
since that time.

And I think it's
because of our efforts.

We've proven that this place
has some real historical value.

The unintended consequence
is we got more regulation.

But it's kind of
a pat on the back, really.

The powers that be have
basically blessed it now

by saying,
"Hey, this is for real.

This matters."

Well, that's great.
We made them care.

- We made them care, yeah.
- Yeah.

RICK:
I don't think,

at this point,
you see it as restrictive

- or prohibitive.
- No.

In fact, what they've said,
I believe, is,

- "We'll work with you."
- Yes.

So, all good news to me, mate.

- Exactly.
- MARTY: Okay.

It sounds like we're all
on the same team

and we can do this properly.

- Well said.
- Yeah.

RICK:
So, let's get to work.

- To the quest.
- Thanks, everybody.

- See you, guys.
- See you later, guys. - See ya.

NARRATOR: Following their
meeting in the w*r room...

STEVE G.: Finding some more
treasure today.

- Some more silver water.
- IAN: Yeah.

NARRATOR:
geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner

and chemist Dr. Matt Lukeman

join Oak Island historian
Charles Barkhouse,

surveyor Steve Guptill

and project manager Scott Barlow
in the Money Pit area.

So, we-we formed
a game plan with Rick,

and the game plan is
to test a lot of water wells.

- Right.
- I think we're gonna mix

between and holes.

SCOTT:
Yes, that's right.

NARRATOR:
Unlike last year's water test,

which was limited
to three boreholes

in the Money Pit area,

this new test will involve

sampling from nearly ten times

as many drill sites
and past excavations,

all of which
yielded promising clues,

pre- th century artifacts
and man-made structures.

It is the team's hope
that by identifying where

the highest concentration
of silver and possibly gold is,

they will be able to pinpoint
the precise location

of the Money Pit treasure vault.

So, today we're gonna
start with E- .

- It's top on our list.
- Yep. Well, we got lots to do,

- so let's get at it.
- Yeah.

- We have a game plan.
- Great.

I think it's astounding

that you can test for gold
in the water, minute traces.

You have to remember,
it's parts per billion

is what they're measuring,

but hopefully
there is some evidence

that there's gold
down in the Money Pit.

The depth of this one
might be, uh,

a better chance
for getting some silver.

- Right?
- Okay, let's hope.

NARRATOR: In order to
collect the water samples,

Dr. Spooner is using
a single-valve sampling bailer.

As the device descends down,
the water within the borehole

will force a ball valve
to open, filling the bailer.

Once it reaches
the desired depth,

a ball joint at
the device's base will close,

trapping and securing
the water sample inside

to prevent contamination as it
is brought back to the surface.

IAN:
It's a little discolored.

- MATT: That's it.
- Okay.

- I'm just gonna taste this.
- Oh, you're serious?

Ugh.

Quite mineral-rich but fresh.

A fair bit of iron.

Or calcium.

There's nothing that would
ever hurt you down there.

- CHARLES: Moving on.
- Okay, yeah.

NARRATOR:
Later that same day...

- MARTY: I think we're gonna learn something.
- CRAIG: Yeah.

NARRATOR:
Rick Lagina, Craig Tester

and members of the team
make their way

to the southeast corner
of the triangle-shaped swamp.

In accordance
with new regulations

imposed by
the provincial department

of Community, Culture
and Heritage,

archaeologist Laird Niven

has agreed to oversee
a new investigation

of the area near the stone road,
or potential ship's wharf,

that the team discovered
one year ago.

RICK:
Morning, Bill.

- Good day.
- I see you brought your favorite trowel.

- Yes.
- (laughs)

You should be happy
this morning, right?

- For sure.
- There you go.

Why don't you hop down and we'll
figure out a game plan here.

There's the man
of the hour, Laird.

If you want to give him
the lowdown.

LAIRD:
Well, we're looking at

excavating this whole...
this whole section in here.

So, we're just going over,
uh, logistics.

The hope is to find
some connective tissue

to the stone road

and further the understanding
of it, specifically.

Hopefully to date the structure.

Well, the beauty of the swamp
is it preserves the wood.

Right?
So, that's the importance.

Well, hopefully we'll find out
something today.

We still don't know a whole lot
about the stone road.

So, the hope is,
as we peel back the layers

in the southeast corner,
we'll find artifacts.

We'll figure out
some clues as to

the who, what, when,
where, why and how of it.

How deep are we gonna go?

As deep as it takes.

Good.
That's what I like to hear.

NARRATOR: At present,
Rick, Marty and Craig

may only conduct excavations
without Laird Niven's oversight

in the so-called green zone,
which encompasses

the Money Pit area on Lots ,
and a portion of .

It is because of
the destructive digs

that have taken place there
over the last century

that the provincial government
has exempted it

from their jurisdiction.

The rest of the team's
property on the island,

including the swamp,
is subject to

the new strict Community,
Culture and Heritage guidelines.

However, in light of
the significant discoveries

made near the stone road
last year,

that also included
wooden survey stakes

and a possible
stone mason's tool,

all of which were carbon-dated
to be over years old,

the team has obtained permission
to continue a closely supervised

excavation of the site for more
important clues and artifacts.

RICK: Last year, the work
in the swamp indicated that

there are some answers there,
there are some mysteries there.

It's an important feature,
but that's the problem.

Right now,
it's only a something.

It's a bunch of rocks laid out,

and it presents itself
as a stone road.

But what is it?

Where does it go?

Why is it there? Who built it?

We're hoping that
some of those answers

are in that southeast corner.

♪ ♪

Here we go.

Hold it, Billy.

Part of a barrel again.

Another barrel stave?

- Yeah, no mistaking that one.
- Yeah.

It's more concaved, yeah.

That's really cool.
Good eye, Craig.

Oh, look, you can see
where the, uh, the top

- or the bottom was notched into there.
- Oh, yeah?

NARRATOR:
Part of a wooden keg barrel?

Found next to the remains
of the believed stone wharf?

- GARY: Think there's another one there.
- There's another one, yeah.

- A few of them.
- Over here, too.

GARY:
Yeah.

Wow.

RICK:
Check that out.

- Top of a keg.
- Wow.

NARRATOR:
Could these pieces of keg barrel

be related to the ones
Rick found one year ago

along the nearby stone pathway
leading out of the swamp,

ones dated to as early
as the th century?

If so, could they be
more evidence

that this possible stone wharf

and stone pathway
were used to unload

and then transport
valuable cargo

off a ship and onto Oak Island?

- Laird!
- Laird!

- CRAIG: We found one nice piece of the barrel.
- Yeah.

- CRAIG: But now it looks like three or four of them, right?
- Oh, yeah.

- That's cool.
- This is one right here, too.

LAIRD:
Nice.

Think we've found a barrel here.

- Yeah, that's probably where this came from.
- Yeah.

All part of the same barrel.

RICK:
What do you make of this?

GARY:
Red paint on it.

Red paint and a little dowel.

Huh.

It's the top of the barrel.

RICK: Yeah. It is
the top of the barrel.

That paint might
tell us something.

- LAIRD: Yeah.
- They could maybe date paint.

RICK: The barrel
staves are interesting.

What did it carry?
When was it made?

What we need to do is
concentrate on what kind

of sciences and professionals
can look at these things.

We can certainly find someone
who can render an opinion.

I noticed
there's no metal loops,

so that would make
this barrel probably older.

- No iron hoops.
- Mm-hmm.

- Now we're getting to the interesting stuff, right?
- LAIRD: Yeah.

- RICK: Well, let's keep going.
- Yeah.

MARTY: The swamp road
is a very interesting area.

The obvious question is:
Why build a road in a swamp?

I've come full circle.
I'm with Rick.

The swamp still
has some secrets.

He thinks the key
to Oak Island is in there.

I'm not so sure about that.

But it clearly has been
hiding some secrets.

- (metal detector beeping)
- Oh, got a signal.

(beeping)

- CRAIG: Right in here?
- GARY: Just here, mate.

RICK:
Good one, too.

GARY: Shouldn't be a blasting
cap this far down, should it?

CRAIG:
Shouldn't be.

Let's see if I can pinpoint it.

(beeping)

Come on. Where are you?

It's in my hand.

I knew it was in this bit.

(excited laugh)

What do we got here?

What the heck is that?!

NARRATOR: While investigating
the possible stone wharf

in the Oak Island swamp,
metal detection expert

Gary Drayton has just made
a potentially important find.

GARY: Is that like
a-a cog of some kind?

- CRAIG: A gear. Yeah.
- Yeah, like a cog.

Don't want to mess with it
too much,

but a nice color underneath.

That's my favorite color
underneath.

Here you go, mate.

That's unusual, innit?
What the heck is that?

Down so deep, as well.

Is it a gear?

- Gear, yeah.
- GARY: Yeah.

- Clock gear?
- Small gear.

GARY:
What would you say that is?

- Copper?
- I have no idea.

I hate to say the "G" word,
but it could be.

- LAIRD: It's a watch?
- GARY: That's what I was thinking.

Maybe a piece of a watch.
A pocket watch.

- LAIRD: Or a clock mechanism.
- Yeah.

Pocket watches go back
a long time.

I mean, early s, I believe.

I think the first ones
were in England.

Yeah, I know the early
watch mechanisms are

even older than that.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- (ticking)
- NARRATOR: Pocket watches

were first developed in Europe
sometime in the th century.

But up until the late s,
they were reserved for the elite

due to the fact that
they often contained

gold, silver and even jewels.

If this object is indeed part
of an ancient pocket watch,

was it left behind by someone

who buried treasure
on Oak Island?

And could further analysis of it
help determine the nationality

of just who it may have
belonged to?

And the cool thing is, 'cause
we have found a little gear,

if there was
a pocket watch here,

it would probably be
made of silver or gold.

That would be excellent.

CRAIG: So, you could
do some dancing, eh?

You got that right, mate.

RICK:
Really? You'd dance for that?

- GARY: I would.
- Would you?

Gold. On Oak Island.

That would be brilliant.

(laughter)

RICK:
Okay, keep looking.

GARY:
Let's step it up a gear.

(laughter)

NARRATOR:
Later that afternoon...

RICK: Gary, you had
some thoughts in the field.

Yeah, I didn't want
to say the "G" word,

but, hey, fingers crossed.

NARRATOR:
Rick Lagina, Gary Drayton

and archeologist Laird Niven
join Billy Gerhardt

and geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner
in the archeology trailer

to clean and conduct
preliminary analysis

on the gold-colored object
just discovered in the swamp.

So, I see
the ultrasonic cleaner is on.

You're gonna clean it first?

Yes. Yeah, it need... it needs
access to the bare metal.

NARRATOR: In order to
begin conserving the artifact,

Laird is using
an ultrasonic cleaning machine.

RICK:
Wow, look at it.

- GARY: Dang, that's zapping it, innit?
- Yeah.

GARY: You can see it's
definitely some kind of cog.

LAIRD:
Yeah.

RICK:
That's remarkable.

NARRATOR: By generating
high-frequency pressure in water,

the device
gently cleanses objects

without causing abrasions
or damage to them.

In addition to revealing
fine details,

this process also removes
any surface contamination

that might interfere
with chemical analysis

conducted on the object.

LAIRD:
We may stop it there.

GARY:
Is that enough to test it?

- LAIRD: Oh, yeah.
- Yeah.

What is the compositional
analysis gonna really tell us

in terms of possibly
dating the item?

So, I think it's a matter
of something like this

is getting the data.

First of all,
verifying whether or not

there's precious metal involved.

And then,
along with form and chemistry,

you can pretty well nail it.

It's a powerful tool,
but it still

doesn't take away
the expert who can

- look at the shape.
- RICK: Sure.

- Yeah.
- GARY: Yeah.

Be very careful.
It's pretty delicate.

(Gary groans)

That is delicate.
I don't want to crush it.

NARRATOR: Now that
the object has been cleaned,

Dr. Spooner will analyze it

using an X-ray fluorescence
spectrometer machine,

also known as XRF.

It works by emitting
nondestructive radiation,

which identifies the types

of elements and metals
present in objects.

Because metal is often found
combined with other minerals,

every mined source of raw ore

bears its own unique
elemental mixture,

also known as an alloy.

By determining
this object's composition,

the team may be able
to trace not only

where the metal in it
was mined, but also when.

IAN: I'll interpret
the metals we see,

but all we have to do is give it

a little press of the button,
and then off it goes.

So, yeah, we have, uh, an alloy
of copper and zinc, which is...

- Brass.
- Brass.

IAN:
Yep, with a little bit of lead,

iron and nickel,
which is quite common, too.

Dang, I put
my dancing boots on, as well.

(laughter)

Hey, maybe the case
will be gold.

We're still digging there.

- You never know.
- Right.

Yeah, I mean, it's not gold,
but it doesn't mean

- it's not significant.
- IAN: Exactly.

But the coolest thing of all
is the XRF machine.

- IAN: It's-it's a wonderful tool.
- Yeah.

- RICK: Anyway, thank you.
- Yeah. Yeah. Oh, you're welcome.

- Quite a lesson. Appreciate it.
- Yeah.

See you later, mate.

IAN:
See you.

MATT: All right.
That's the last sample.

NARRATOR: As a new
day begins on Oak Island,

and as the water test
at the Money Pit continues...

RICK: Gentlemen,
we all remember Terry Deveau.

Terry, thank you,
on short notice,

for coming down to the w*r room.
Appreciate it.

Well, it's my pleasure, Rick.
I'm really glad to be here.

NARRATOR:
Rick, along with Craig Tester

and Laird Niven,
gather with other members

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

antiquities expert Terry Deveau.

You know, guys, I needn't
remind anyone here of the...

Probably the most unique
discovery last year,

and that was the stone road
in the swamp.

Absolutely.

That is very impressive. Wow.

NARRATOR: Last year, Terry,
who is an environmental scientist

and also the current president

of the New England Antiquities
Research Association,

made a stunning assessment
of the massive stone road

that the team discovered

in the southeastern corner
of the swamp.

This is th century and before.

That's remarkable.

NARRATOR: In light of
the recent discoveries

made near the stone road
in the swamp,

Rick has invited Terry
to present new research

that he's prepared about the
possible origins of the feature.

You don't find stone roads
underneath swamps, you know,

below the surface of a swamp,
but we did.

And we're finding odd things

in the southeast corner
of the swamp.

Can't wait to see
what else is there.

So, Terry,
I turn it over to you.

All right.

So, when we saw that stone road

uncovered in the swamp
last year, it just blew me away.

Like, I was
pretty much speechless.

I've never seen anything
of that magnitude in Nova Scotia

built that way.

So, afterwards, I started doing

a little bit of research into
the historical records.

I know that you're following
the stone path

up towards the north,
and then towards the east.

So, what I was looking for
in my investigation

is to see if there was
some imagery

of the terrain
that surrounds the beach.

Because the beach
as it exists now

was probably different
many, many years ago.

I found aerial imagery
that had the most detail.

And then the next thing I did

is outline areas
on the aerial imagery.

I started looking at
the actual underwater features,

and the purple lines are

linear features
on the sea floor.

The next thing I did
is look for boulders

on the sea floor, as well.

And so the golden dots
are the boulders.

The boulders
seem to be clustered

in these lines,

but they're not totally random.

They do have a pattern.

So, that right away
is pretty suggestive.

So, I brought in a aerial photo

of the actual excavation
that was done in .

And it is kind of amazing how
the stone road seems to line up

with the boulders
and the linear features

that were evident
in the aerial imagery.

RICK:
Wow.

Just purely observationally,
that-that alignment is strange.

- SCOTT: Yeah.
- CHARLES: Yeah.

TERRY: The linear features
that are there suggest that

there may be some remnants
of dock construction materials

that would give you
some indication that

it did extend, let's say,
out into a-a stone dock perhaps,

in-into the water.

NARRATOR:
A stone dock?

Although Laird Niven,

geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner
and the team

have speculated that the massive
stone road may have been

the remains of
a shipping wharf centuries ago,

is it possible that Terry Deveau
has found photographic evidence

that could help verify it
and identify

more of the ancient feature

and clues that could help
determine its origin?

Is it your suggestion,
then, that a-a ship

comes up to that dock,

offload, and then
it's taken ashore?

- Is that what you're suggesting?
- TERRY: Yeah.

If there had been
a fairly narrow dock

and road attached to it,
coming in this direction,

you would need to have
kind of a staging area.

Yep.

RICK:
Is there a ballpark date, era

when you think
this was constructed?

This is a type of road that was
built in Europe in the s.

CHARLES:
Wow.

If you look for the way

roads were generally made
by people in Nova Scotia,

what comes to my mind
is the Portuguese.

The Portuguese were active
in Nova Scotia from

up till no later than, uh, .

Hmm.

NARRATOR:
In ,

Terry alerted Rick, Marty,
Craig and Dave Blankenship

to a mysterious carving some
miles southwest of Oak Island

in the town of
Overton, Nova Scotia.

TERRY:
For my mind, this is

diagnostic of Portuguese.

NARRATOR: Terry's assessment
was that the cross on the Overton Stone

was made years ago or more,

just like the stone wharf
in the Oak Island swamp.

If Terry is right and this is
a Portuguese structure,

that's impactful.

What he is suggesting that,
"Hey, guys,

"it's not just the stone road
you're looking at.

You're looking at a wharf."

I think it all makes sense.

The problem is: Is it real?

You have to find hard physical
evidence to support the theory.

It's very tantalizing
that there may be some

well-preserved evidence
within easy reach of the shore

that could really reveal when
these constructions were made.

- Yep.
- RICK: I do believe you have something else

you'd like to show us, correct?

Yeah. And so, with that in mind,

I did come across
some imagery from

the s here in the Money Pit.

What I found interesting was

an apparent stone path
right over here,

which doesn't seem to have
any explanation or purpose

for any of the known
searcher activity.

It appears that
it may be the remains

of an ancient stone path,

and it would align
with the path in this direction.

NARRATOR:
A stone pathway?

Extending from the massive stone
ship's wharf in the swamp?

Could Terry Deveau
have discovered a photograph

of the very pathway
that the team found evidence of

last year, which included
iron ring bolts and ox shoes,

believed to have been used
in an operation

to transport heavy cargo?

STEVE G.: Based on just the
finds that we've made on the island,

that was, at one point,
a very heavily used path.

- Interesting.
- And if the artifacts are there,

wouldn't the path be there?

- You'd think so.
- Right.

Well, what you've done has

amped up the interest
in-in that area,

and I think we can follow up
on several fronts.

And we really appreciate
your input.

- Thank you very much.
- It's our pleasure.

I think we have more work to do.

TERRY:
All right.

NARRATOR: It is the
start of another exciting day

on Oak Island,
as Rick and members of the team

resume excavating
the stone wharf

in the southeast corner
of the swamp.

IAN:
There's the well.

NARRATOR:
And while water testing

continues in
the Money Pit area...

GARY:
All right.

- Back to Lot .
- PETER: Yeah.

NARRATOR: metal detection
expert Gary Drayton,

along with
Rick and Marty's nephew,

Peter Fornetti,
arrive at Lot .

In light of Terry Deveau's
new evidence

of a possible pathway
leading from the stone wharf

in the swamp to the Money Pit,

Gary is eager to search the area

for any important
or valuable clues.

All right, mate.
Finally, back to the uplands.

I've been looking forward
to this because if we can find

some more artifacts in
this area, we could potentially

give the guys an area
to start digging.

And, who knows,
maybe the stone pathway

- goes up towards the Money Pit.
- Yeah.

So if we can find something
that gets the archeologists here

and really gets them
a defined area,

that'd be perfect for us today.

And we've got plenty of flags
that we put down

in this area, and we got
permission to dig, mate.

- Today is gonna be a good day.
- All right.

Okay, mate, let's dig 'em up.

NARRATOR: Due to the new Communities,
Culture and Heritage protocols,

Gary scanned the area
earlier this morning

but was only allowed
to plant flags

where he obtained signals for
possible buried metal objects.

Now, after Laird Niven
has documented the area

and given
his professional approval,

Gary and Peter can now determine
what these targets are.

- Let's see what we've got.
- (metal detector beeping)

- Just there.
- Right there?

Yep.

- (beeping)
- You got it out, Pete.

Let's see what we got.

(beeping)

Ah.

Nope.

- PETER: Nothing.
- Piece of junk, yeah.

Piece of aluminum cap.

Bag it and tag it.

- All right.
- Yep.

- Where's the next one, mate?
- Let's pop in right there.

Okay.

(beeps)

(beeping)

Doesn't sound too bad.

(beeping)

You got it out, mate.

PETER: Yeah, I think
it was there. I pushed it.

High hopes.

Fingers crossed, mate. Let's go.

(beeping)

Come on, baby.

Come to papa.

Where are you?

Here we go.

What the heck is that?

I mean, look at it.

Look at that spiral.

Yeah, this is definitely
not machine-made, mate.

Uh, this is a unique little
object, whatever it is.

At first,
I thought this was iron.

- It's really heavy.
- Yeah.

- That's lead.
- Oh.

I've never seen
a piece of lead like this

on Oak Island
that's spiraled like that.

But the ultimate test is
if we get a rapid vibration

- with the pinpointer...
- Then it's iron.

Then it's iron.

(beeping)

Oh!

It is. It's iron.

(beeping)

I believe, uh...

Yeah, I'd have to say
that it's iron.

I thought that was lead.

Could it be multiple
different... materials?

Yeah, it could be
a mix of alloys.

- (beeping)
- (scoffs)

I've got to go with iron.
I've got to go with iron.

- Yeah. Yeah, trust your machines.
- Yeah. Yeah.

To be honest,
I was hoping it was lead

because you can get so much more
information off lead.

And it's heavy.
Feel how heavy it is.

You can do the laser
ablation test on lead,

so you can find out
where that lead came from.

You can actually date lead,

and iron is much more
difficult to date.

PETER: That's definitely
interesting, for certain.

GARY:
Yeah. Exactly.

And we recovered it
in a unique place

'cause this is just up
from the stone pathway.

Which makes it
even more interesting.

And of course,
we'll put it on the XRF.

Mm-hmm. Well, and once Kelly
gets that cleaned up,

- we'll know for certain.
- Yeah, exactly.

We got plenty of experts
that this is gonna

go through their hands.

- We'll get answers.
- Yeah.

- So, let's bag it and tag it.
- Yep.

- GARY: Onto the next.
- Yep.

NARRATOR:
Later that evening,

after the team has
departed the island...

Hi, everybody. How you doing?

- Hello, Ian.
- Hey, Ian.

NARRATOR:
geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner

has contacted Rick, Marty
and Craig via videoconference

from his home in
Wolfville, Nova Scotia.

Along with his colleague,
Dr. Pier Pufahl,

he has an important update
regarding the water tests

that were conducted
earlier this week

in the boreholes
across the Money Pit area.

I have some results
that have been shared with me

that I really felt I had to

convey to you
as soon as possible.

And I asked, uh, Dr. Peir Pufahl
to join us, as well.

Dr. Pufahl is
at Queen's University,

and he's the codirector

of the Queen's Facility
for Isotope Research.

I just want to say
that we're, uh, appreciative

of the opportunity to help
all of you on Oak Island.

Yeah, so are we,
and much appreciative.

(chuckles): Uh, you know, I'm-I'm
obviously sort of excited by this.

And-and so,
I-I hope you are, too.

Yeah.

So, we sent some samples
to Peir's lab.

I think it was samples.

Is that correct, Peir?
I think...

Yeah, I think that's
about right, samples.

IAN:
Yeah. He analyzed them,

and a number of the samples
that I sent to him showed...

gold.

- Oh, really?
- Really?

Yeah, gold.

- Wow.
- (laughs)

NARRATOR: It is
a historic moment

for brothers
Rick and Marty Lagina

and their partner Craig Tester.

- Wow.
- That's great.

This is the coolest thing.

NARRATOR: After conducting
extensive water tests,

Dr. Ian Spooner
and Dr. Peir Pufahl

have found evidence
that a number of boreholes

in the Money Pit area
on Oak Island

contain a substantial amount
of gold.

Okay, well, listen.

I can't, I can't
contain myself anymore.

But question number one:
I thought gold was

so, uh, insoluble
that it didn't show up.

- What's up with that?
- So, nothing is truly insoluble.

If we take a general sample
of seawater, uh,

we can analyze and detect every
element in the periodic table.

Basically, it comes down to

the kind of instrumentation
you have

and the ability to detect
very, very minute quantities.

And-and that's what
we're dealing with.

And I've got three samples, uh,
that we're fairly confident have

elevated trace
concentrations of gold.

Fantastic.

PEIR: We're talking
about parts per billion.

You know, looking at the data,
these are the three samples

that we can say confidently
at this stage

have elevated concentrations
of gold within them.

MARTY:
I-I know it's small numbers,

but is it a magnitude bigger
than what you would expect?

I mean, can you, can you
put brackets around

what we're looking at here?

For something that is
essentially, uh, insoluble,

to have any concentration
at the levels that,

you know, we're discussing,
it's-it's exciting.

In normal waters,
it shouldn't be there.

- That's great.
- Fantastic.

What is really interesting
is the...

not all the wells show gold,

but the wells that did
show gold were the wells

in the vicinity of C- .

And it mirrors some of the
silver results we're getting.

And F- and E- ,

those were the two this year

that we had
the highest silver in.

CRAIG: F- is just north
of the Chappell Shaft.

They tended to think north of
the Chappell Shaft would be

the Money Pit, and
that's where that well's at.

Maybe it's leaching
from the so-called

fabled Chappell Vault, too.

Could be.

NARRATOR:
In ,

-year-old Melbourne Chappell

joined his father William
and longtime treasure hunter

Frederick Blair to begin
a new expedition on Oak Island.

It was their intent
to locate the seven-foot-tall

wooden vault that William
and Frederick had drilled into

at a depth of feet
back in ,

an operation which recovered
not only a scrap of parchment

bearing the letters "V-I"

but also traces of gold.

However, because the location
of the original Money Pit

was unknown by this time,
they made an educated guess

and constructed
a -foot-by- -foot

wood-cribbed shaft
down to a depth of feet.

Although they did recover
an early th-century axe

and part of a ship's anchor,

they unfortunately
never encountered

any signs of
the so-called Chappell Vault.

Is it possible that,
in borehole F- ,

Rick, Marty and Craig
have found evidence of a target

that the Chappells and Blair
just barely missed?

RICK:
It's interesting. It's exciting.

And what it does say to me,

because I've always
looked backwards

to the people
that have come before,

it means something to me
on that level

that they did not labor in vain,

that here's the proof

that indeed there is
temporal treasure on Oak Island.

To me, if the treasure
was there and taken away,

you wouldn't have any signals
at all of silver or gold,

so makes me think
it's still there.

Yeah, that's really exciting.

Uh, there's no way around it.
What a great way to start.

- That's great.
- RICK: Very interesting.

Very interesting.

Hey, this is fantastic, okay?

I was over the moon
about silver in the water.

Now they're saying
there's gold in the water.

Also, an extremely
significant point.

If all the wells
showed gold in them,

I would think
it's a fluke of some sort.

So, I find it very substantive
that most of the holes that

we've drilled and have access to
on Oak Island don't show gold.

That means
that something special

is happening in-in
the ones that do.

So, what is the next step, guys?

Well, as Ian mentioned,
this is preliminary data.

It's truly hot off the press,
and the full, uh, suite of data

we'll provide to you guys, uh,

in a week or so, once we've had
a chance to basically

go through the whole data set.

Right.

Well, you know,
the data's gonna be great

for our-our drilling program.

So, uh, we can definitely
incorporate this data.

Absolutely.

The hope is that,

if these test results are real,

we can pull a core with
a large amount of gold.

Again, it's exciting stuff,

but you got to put steel
down the hole.

There's no way around it.

There's-there's gold showing up

in some of the waters
is really exciting.

- (laughs)
- Okay.

Hey, listen. This is great.

Many thanks
to the scientists here.

- Thank you.
- We really appreciate it.

This is fantastic.

This is the year
we go for the gold.

- (laughs) - So, can't
wait to get out there.

Uh, hopefully,
you guys will have it all

figured out by the time I do.

But carry on. Thanks.

Thank you both very much.

- PEIR: You're welcome.
- CRAIG: See you, guys.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Three days later,
brothers Rick and Marty Lagina

and their partner Craig Tester
have invited representatives

from Choice Sonic Drilling
to help them in their efforts

to retrieve more substantial
evidence of what could be

the legendary
Oak Island treasure.

- Gentlemen.
- Well, well, well.

(chuckling)

- Fancy you back.
- TEDFORD: Yeah.

- How you been?
- Good. You?

Good. Glad to see you back,
that's for sure.

Well, thanks for inviting us.

So, Craig,
tell them the good news.

We did water testing,
uh, last year

and came up with some silver,
and then this year,

they've done more testing
and sent it to a lab.

- Okay.
- Came up with gold in the samples.

Really? I like
the sounds of that.

I am probably as hopeful
as I've ever been this year.

Good to hear. Looking forward to
finding something for you guys.

- CRAIG: Good. - That's the goal.
- Looking forward to it.

All we got to do is
get that thing running

and put you over an "X."

- Let's go.
- CRAIG: Okay.

- We hope to bring up some silver and gold, so...
- (chuckles)

- BRENNAN: We'd like to do that for you.
- RICK: All we can ask for.

- BRENNAN: All right.
- TEDFORD: We're excited.

NARRATOR: Over the next several
weeks, the Oak Island team will drill

approximately boreholes
across a strategic grid

in order to zero in on the
source of the gold and silver

detected in the area
near the C- shaft,

an area which they have now
dubbed the "C- cluster."

Based on their findings,
they will then work once again

with Irving Equipment Limited

to dig up to four massive
ten-foot-diameter steel shafts.

- (vehicle beeping)
- CRAIG: Hey, guys.

- Hey, guys.
- Hey, guys.

NARRATOR: For their
first target borehole...

STEVE G.:
Right there.

Surveyor Steve Guptill
and Craig Tester

mark a spot that
will be known as DE- .

Located just feet
from borehole C- ,

it will represent the team's
first attempt this year

to intercept the fabled
Money Pit treasure vault.

CRAIG: We're going
with the symbol for gold.

(laughter)

- There we go. - TEDFORD: Nice.
- BRENNAN: I like it.

- Perfect. - I got it.
- Ready?

- All right. - Okay.
- Let's do it.

RICK:
This year is very unique

because we intend to drill
right in the middle of the

"suspected area"
of gold and silver.

Um, that's different than
every other year.

Other years,
we just set up a grid

and we were hoping
to find something.

We already found something.

Now we need to figure out
what that is.

You guys ready?

Hey! Ready, ready.

We're standing steady.

- RICK: It's a great day.
- Yeah.

- So, this year, we're going for the gold.
- Going for gold.

That's right.

NARRATOR:
Using a -ton sonic drill rig,

the team will extract
core samples every ten feet.

These samples will then
be carefully examined by hand

for any evidence
of underground structures,

artifacts,
and hopefully treasure.

MARTY: We're starting anew, and
we're starting anew with new data.

Gold in the water,
silver in the water.

We're gonna try
and narrow that down.

This doesn't look like a
wild-goose chase at this point.

It looks like
there's some gold here.

And hopefully we're gonna find
that treasure chamber.

(machinery whirring and buzzing)

Good concentration.

What do you got, Adam?

- ADAM: Nine.
- Nine?

(groans):
A little more.

Mix of pad gravel
and a little bit of... soil.

Definitely disturbed.

Anyway, let's move on.

Now, gold obviously would be
the end-all, be-all.

- Yeah.
- Let me hold something. Right?

Something that says
the Money Pit story is real.

Yeah.

- I'm excited about that. I really am.
- TERRY: Yeah.

NARRATOR: While the
core-drilling operations continue

in the Money Pit,

later that afternoon...

- RICK: Okay, Bill. Have at her.
- BILLY: All right.

NARRATOR:
Rick, Craig and Steve

join archeologist Laird Niven

and other members of the team
at the swamp to search for

more potentially valuable clues
near the believed stone wharf.

CRAIG:
Hold it, Billy.

(whirs, clanks)

LAIRD:
It's pretty thick and dark.

- But there are organics in it.
- GARY: What does that mean?

LAIRD: I think if you're
looking for human activity,

that's what color soil
you're looking for.

- Just keep scraping away.
- Yep.

RICK: I've said it before:
if there's anything to

the Oak Island story,
the answers are in the swamp.

And we did
uncover some mysteries:

the road, the stone path.

So, we want to uncover
the southeast corner

of the swamp
and see if there are

any other structures
that have not been found.

So, there's a lot of work
that remains to be done.

GARY:
A little bit of pottery.

Oh! Look at this.

This is beautiful.

- It's blue and white.
- RICK: Yep.

GARY: Now, look
at that speckling on it.

It's fantastic.

Have you ever seen
this type of pottery

in-in the province before?

- Have you ever found it?
- Not-not that I can recall.

GARY: Yeah, so this is a
first for Oak Island, this color.

LAIRD:
Mm-hmm.

So, would you say
it's European or local?

No, it'd be European.

- GARY: That's cool.
- Yeah, for sure.

- The glaze is really nice.
- Yeah, it really is.

LAIRD: Cool. We'll
get it all cleaned up.

NARRATOR: Could this pottery,
found near the massive stone wharf

and which Laird Niven believes
to be of European origin,

help identify who built
this mysterious structure

and perhaps even
support the opinion

of environmental scientist
Terry Deveau

that the feature
is of Portuguese origin?

RICK:
Okay. Keep looking.

MARTY: All kinds of
things are coming out

of the southeast corner
of the swamp.

And every time
we find something,

we hope that it allows us
to figure it all out.

I can't wait to see
what else is there.

Got anything?

What's that right there?

Look at this.

GARY:
What the heck is that?

Look at that.

I don't know what this is.

NARRATOR: While digging near
the possibly ancient stone wharf

in the southeast corner
of the swamp...

Kind of rounded, you know?

NARRATOR: Rick Lagina has
just discovered what could be

another important clue.

RICK:
We're in a swamp.

We're in a place where there
might have been a slipway.

We're looking for nautical items

and also the purpose
of the stone road.

- Is it a nod or a no?
- BILLY: I don't know.

RICK: The artifacts,
just to me, speak to

there's got to be more.

Well, let's keep going.

BILLY:
Yeah, there is something.

- Is it square?
- RICK: Look at this.

GARY: Yeah, that
looks man-made for sure.

- That's, uh, hand-carved, too.
- Yeah, that's cool.

- BILLY: What is that?
- No idea.

Looks handmade as well,
doesn't it?

That end.

That's-that's not
a household thing.

- GARY: No.
- LAIRD: No.

I would bet anything
that's from a ship.

GARY:
Yeah.

CRAIG:
What are we finding, guys?

GARY: Lots of
interesting pieces of wood.

This looks like it was
meant to go into something,

and that stopped it
from going all the way through.

But it was sail-related.

GARY:
Maybe it's dowel? A pin?

Can you see the lines
coming through here?

GARY: Maybe that's where a
rope was wrapped around it?

Could've been.

NARRATOR:
Dating as far back

as the th century A.D.,

wooden dowels were used
as fasteners

in ancient shipbuilding

due to their high resistance
to weathering.

Could this wooden dowel,

found alongside
the mysterious stone road,

be not only further evidence
that this feature

is in fact the remains
of an ancient wharf

but also perhaps part of a ship

that was once docked there
centuries ago

when the swamp
was an open harbor?

If so, what did it carry
to Oak Island?

And could the answer be waiting
at the bottom of the Money Pit?

I find both of these
very interesting.

Yeah.

- That one in particular, I think.
- Yeah.

RICK: Both of these should
go to someone who's familiar

with ships of that era...
-, -, s.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

We have found so many nautical

marine-related items
on the island,

specifically wood artifacts.

Some of these ship finds
in the swamp need to be

brought to experts and opinions
rendered about their usage,

what types of ships,

what timeline can be
associated with them.

But every little piece of data

seems to be aligning.

We found a number of things

that can actually
tell us something.

- Yeah.
- That's the whole point of this, right?

- Yep.
- Finding things, determine what they are

and how they may affect
our interpretation

of the stone road.

GARY: It's definitely
getting interesting now,

deeper we're going.

NARRATOR:
Later that same day...

Gary and Peter join Rick
at the archeology trailer.

- Hi, Kelly. - Hey, Kelly.
- Hi.

- Hello, mate.
- Hello.

NARRATOR: They are meeting
with professional conservator

Kelly Bourassa,
who has already cleaned

and conducted preliminary
metallurgical analysis

on the spiral-shaped object
found one day ago on Lot .

How does that look?

KELLY:
Well, this one, of course,

is-is really unusual.

I've never seen
anything like it.

When we first found it,
you know,

I'm thinking it was lead
'cause it's so heavy.

And then, when I put
my pinpointer on it,

it was reacting
like it was iron.

You had a good point
with the iron.

We did, uh,
our XRF analysis on it.

There's a certain percentage
of iron content in this.

. %.

Antimony: . %.

Lead was %.

GARY:
Nice.

- It's lead.
- Yeah.

KELLY:
Yeah, it's just, uh, something

I've never come across before,
so I'd be interested

- in learning more about that particular design.
- GARY: Yeah.

RICK:
You know what I would like,

if it's not inconvenient?

When lead items come in,
run the XRF and keep track of

- the trace elements.
- Sure.

- You know where I'm going.
- GARY: Oh, yeah.

- Drayton's cross.
- The cross, yeah.

- RICK: We did laser ablation on the lead cross.
- Yeah.

We now know it's from
southern Mediterranean.

Well, if there are
a number of these

and we could track them that
way through the trace elements,

that may be a real clue.

NARRATOR:
Could Rick's notion be correct

that this mysterious
lead artifact

found near the believed
stone wharf in the swamp

is possibly connected
to the -year-old lead cross

that was discovered
four years ago at Smith's Cove?

Laser ablation can literally
give us a fingerprint of lead,

that from it we can learn
where these materials,

these artifacts, are from.

We can't do that
with the iron objects.

If we could, we would be much
further down the discovery road.

So, there's no reason
not to do it.

The million-dollar question:
What the heck is it?

Yeah, no idea. Um...

NARRATOR: Although they are
eager to conduct follow-up testing,

due to the ongoing
COVID- pandemic,

the team will have to wait
several weeks,

if not months, for access
to a university laboratory

where laser ablation testing
is available.

GARY:
That is an unusual design.

And it's highly decorated,
and it's nice and crude.

Just like the cross is,
nicely, crudely made.

What the heck was that?

'Cause that's only
part of something.

Um, also, when I was cleaning,

there's a small hole in one end,

so I'm not too sure if
it was on a spike or what.

And I'm feeling this is
gonna be a nice surprise.

Thing is, it's really old.

- I'm hopeful, yes.
- PETER: Yeah.

Let's track
these trace elements.

Okay.

- And we will hit the trail.
- (chuckles)

- Find some more lead.
- Literally.

- GARY: Cheers, mate.
- KELLY: Okay.

NARRATOR: The next day,
as operations at both the swamp

and Money Pit continue...

- PETER: Let's start right here.
- GARY: Okay.

NARRATOR: metal detection
expert Gary Drayton

and Peter Fornetti
arrive on Lot .

- Okay.
- Just there, mate.

NARRATOR:
After the discovery of

the mysterious lead artifact
one day ago,

they are eager to look for
more evidence of the possible

stone pathway between
the swamp and the Money Pit.

GARY:
Go above it.

Either in the hole or out.

- (beeping)
- There we go.

Damn. Yeah, that's... you'd
have to say that's modern.

- Yeah.
- Just a modern nail.

Okay.

- Put that in the bag. It's trash.
- Yeah.

- Just class that as a warm-up.
- Yep.

- All right, let's go down.
- Okay.

- I got plenty of flags down here, Pete.
- Yep.

NARRATOR: In accordance with the
new Community, Culture and Heritage

guidelines for
metal detecting on the island,

Gary already flagged several
promising targets in the area

earlier this morning,
and has now obtained

Laird Niven's permission
to dig them up.

Just there, mate.

Let's hope
this is something good.

More trail-ish.

I'm optimistic today's gonna be

a really good
treasure hunting day.

We have a chance at potentially
finding a coin or an artifact.

Another piece of scrap lead.

- It's not what we're looking for, though.
- No.

GARY: We're following
the stone roadway.

So, this is an exciting area.

- Let's go to this one.
- Okay.

(beeping)

- Just there, mate.
- Okay.

(beeping)

Right there, man.

That is a screamer.

And I would chunk
that bit out...

- PETER: Yeah.
- Because I can actually see the rust on it.

- PETER: Yeah.
- I'm hoping this is an old find.

(beeping)

It's that, whatever that is.

What the heck is that?

GARY:
What the heck is that?

NARRATOR:
While searching Lot

for evidence
of the stone pathway

between the Oak Island swamp
and the Money Pit,

metal detection expert
Gary Drayton and Peter Fornetti

have just found
what may be a significant clue.

- (beeping) - It's that, whatever that is.
- Oh, yeah.

It is this.

PETER:
Is it heavy?

GARY:
Yeah, it's fairly heavy.

- Kind of looks like an iron band.
- Mm-hmm.

The good thing is
it's got looks like

a square crude hole
that's broken there.

So maybe it's an old iron band
that went around something.

- PETER: Mm-hmm.
- Can you imagine the size of it?

Maybe it's like
an old band around a mast

or something like that.

- But we're just guessing, mate.
- Yep.

- GARY: All right, mate, we'll bag it.
- Absolutely.

NARRATOR: If Gary's
speculation that this iron band

was part of a ship
can be proven,

might it also be connected
to the stone wharf

the team discovered in
southeast corner of the swamp

and perhaps offer more evidence
of the pathway between

the swamp and the Money Pit?

This is a special find

because we're right
in the middle

of the Money Pit and the swamp.

It's gonna be interesting to
see what went on in this area.

And I know of a guy
that is definitely gonna

give us a very good
I.D. on this,

and that is Carmen Legge.

- Where is the next one, mate?
- Just up the hill.

Okay.

NARRATOR: As Gary and Peter
continue their search on Lot ...

- STEVE G.: Hi, Rick.
- RICK: How we doing?

NARRATOR: Rick Lagina
joins Craig Tester

and members of the team
at the Money Pit

to check in on the progress
of borehole DE- .

We're at .

Then we're down, the next one
would be around .

Right.

(machinery clanking)

Hopefully with this program,
we get silver or gold.

And it gives us a... a leg up
on placing a large can.

CRAIG: We're not only
drilling and looking for wood

but the water samples
and the soil samples

we get as we test them.

I mean, obviously,
if we get some area

that tests high amount
of gold and silver,

uh, we're most likely
gonna want to put a can

right down in that area, seeing
if there's a treasure there.

So, we got to use all
the information we're gathering

and to pick out
the best location.

- ADAM: .
- Thank you.

- Want me to cut it?
- Sure. Please do.

Okay, so at -ish, right here,

we seem to have
some disturbed material.

There's... it's fairly
well-bedded down below

and it looks like up above, but
we're seeing some disturbance

through here at about
-foot level below grade.

It's also black, you can tell...

TERRY: Somewhat
blackened and disturbed.

It's definitely out of place.

Well, well, well.

Now, we weren't
expecting that, Craig.

Oh.

TERRY:
That's a fairly substantial

little chunk of wood,
but, you know, I don't see

- any other-other beams in there.
- Yep.

So, it's hard to say
what's going on here.

Well, at , you're getting

about to the top of, uh, where
the Chappell Vault was found.

NARRATOR: Could Craig's
notion that the team has

possibly encountered
the legendary treasure vault,

first reported in , be true?

If so, might they be
one more core sample away

from the source
of the silver and gold

recently identified by
underground water testing?

CRAIG: Is there any
chance it's an open tunnel

and collapsed on itself?

Oh, my goodness, there's an
absolute possibility of that.

But if this kind of
rushed into a relative void,

you know, all of that
soft material could bypass

and ooze around
a lot of cribbing.

I mean, it's a pretty
loose section.

So, anyway,
it's interesting stuff.

I definitely want
to get these...

these pieces of wood C- dated.

Will do.

CRAIG:
Okay, are you done with this?

I am. For sure.

MARTY: If that wood dates to
before the Money Pit was discovered,

that could get really exciting.

I mean, we could be close
to the so-called Chappell Vault,

which myself and others

have been interested in
for a long time.

Is this encouraging?

You bet it is.

It's-it's really encouraging.

I guess, do you want to open
this up to take a look?

TERRY: We should find
some disturbed material here.

CRAIG:
If it fell in, yes.

TERRY: Let's see if we can
see any evidence of same.

(chuckles) She's definitely
loose; it's hard to say.

I don't see any of those,
uh, shavings or splinters.

CRAIG:
I don't see any wood.

TERRY:
Which is a little disappointing.

NARRATOR:
The team is encouraged

to have found evidence of
a wood structure at a key depth

and in the very same vicinity
that water testing

has identified the presence
of both silver and gold.

However, could the lack
of any more wood

or artifacts
in subsequent core samples

mean that they may not
have hit their target

- but only grazed it?
- Okay.

RICK: The interesting
thing about finding this wood

at that horizon, that elevation,
is that's certainly the area

where the so-called
Chappell Vault once was.

And so, of course,

your-your mind goes
to that possibility.

And thus, to me, it rounds to

let's stay focused on the grid,
because if it is

associated with the vault,
then let's define the vault.

We're here.
Okay, we just drilled this one.

We got wood on the last one.

You know,
I think it's a victory.

I'm ready to move on
to the next hole.

TERRY:
Yep.

RICK:
Okay.

- We just keep pressing on.
- CRAIG: Sounds good.

GARY:
Here we go.

NARRATOR: As a new
day of investigation begins

in the Oak Island swamp...

and in the Money Pit area...

PETER:
So, I'm pretty excited.

Yeah, I mean, Carmen...
Wealth of knowledge.

- You never fail to learn something with him.
- Yeah.

NARRATOR:
some miles north

in the town of
Centreville, Nova Scotia...

- PETER: All right.
- DOUG: I haven't seen Carmen for a while.

NARRATOR: Doug Crowell
and Peter Fornetti

arrive at Northville Farm.

- DOUG: Hey, Carmen.
- Hey! How you doing today?

- Good.
- PETER: Good. How are you doing?

NARRATOR:
They have arranged for

their first meeting of the year
with blacksmithing expert

Carmen Legge to get his analysis
on the mysterious iron band

that was found
one day ago on Lot .

CARMEN:
Got some more stuff for me?

- PETER: Yeah.
- DOUG: Yeah.

Let's have a look.

This was found
towards the Money Pit.

Okay.

Uh...

this is a handmade iron band.

You can see there's a...
Well, it's a hole here.

- The width and the thickness of it...
- PETER: Mm-hmm.

It's a band off of a wagon wheel

- or a cart wheel.
- Oh.

This goes around
the hub that holds

the center
of the wheel together.

The size of it indicates

early-early time period
use of a cart.

I'm gonna say
to probably , .

After that,
they got bigger, thicker.

That is intriguing.

NARRATOR:
The hub of a wagon wheel?

Dating back to as early as ?

And found between
the possibly ancient

stone wharf in the swamp
and the Money Pit?

Is it possible that Gary Drayton
has found more evidence

of cargo being hauled
between the two sites

as much as years prior

to the original
treasure shaft's discovery?

If so, might it also support
Terry Deveau's theory

about the approximate age
of the stone wharf

and its potential
Portuguese origin?

DOUG: We've had this
idea that carts were used

along this stone road
and pathway,

and perhaps heading towards
the Money Pit.

- PETER: Mm-hmm.
- But this would be the first

tangible piece of evidence that

this would go hand-in-hand
with ox shoes and...

- Mm-hmm. Yeah.
- And carts.

Where's the rest of the cart?

That's a good question.

You might be narrowing down
the time period

and maybe the activity.

PETER:
Okay.

That's exactly...

exactly what we're looking for:
evidence that

high-wheeled carts
are associated

with the stone road
or the stone path.

That's substantive information.

That's exactly the kind of
evidence we're looking for.

That's the first artifact
of that type

- associated with a cart that I'm aware of.
- PETER: Yeah.

- I think the guys will be interested to hear that.
- Yeah.

- DOUG: Yeah.
- Absolutely.

- All right.
- Very good.

- Thank you, Carmen.
- Oh, you're very welcome.

- Glad I could help.
- Absolutely.

- Thanks, Carmen.
- Come back again with some more.

- Take care. - Will do.
- Happy digging.

PETER:
Yeah, thanks.

NARRATOR:
As Doug and Peter make their way

back to Oak Island,
in the Money Pit area...

STEVE G.:
We're in a hot zone.

NARRATOR: Craig Tester
and other members

of the team are supervising

the core-drilling operation in
a new borehole known as CD- .

A borehole located less than
ten feet from the C- shaft.

So, we have multiple targets
and points of interest

- in this hole...
- Yeah, absolutely.

- CHARLES: that we can get more sample from.
- Yep.

Let's hope it's
a very interesting hole.

Yep.

NARRATOR:
As they work to pinpoint

the source of silver and gold
that has recently been

detected through water sampling
in the so-called C- cluster,

the team's hope
for borehole CD-

includes a secondary target,

a possible tunnel
at a depth of some feet

that they found in this area
just one year ago.

One of the key things here
is we get the tunnel.

We'll run in and we get
a water sample at that zone.

If we can duplicate
that gold and silver

- and then isolate it to which horizon.
- Yeah.

- You can come on in, drop it off.
- What's the good word, Adam?

- How's it going, Adam?
- ADAM: .

. Let's take a look, shall we?

I would say
that's moving into, uh,

it looks like the clay
to me, but...

- STEVE G.: Is it just natural?
- It's still...

Oh, it's still natural.

It would still be good to
dig in, but it's a little bit

looser than normal.

That might mean
that it's close to, uh,

an open water cavity
beneath "a tunnel."

The next core is the tell
on this hole.

- That's the hope.
- (knocks)

Knock on wood.

(machinery whirring and buzzing)

CHARLES:
Here we go, here we go.

Let's hope it's a good one.

Which end do you want me to hit?
Right here?

- Is this the bottom?
- That's the bottom, yep.

What's the word, Mike?

Uh, feet.

STEVE G.:
feet?

CHARLES:
Terry, we got wood.

SCOTT:
That's what we want to see.

- TERRY: Wow.
- Look at this.

- There's our wood, guys. That's great.
- Yep.

TERRY:
Looks good to me.

And that looks like
a fairly good section of beam.

Really looks like
a cut surface for sure.

I think, well,
that really bodes well for age.

CHARLES:
Yeah, it does.

TERRY: That's
probably a floor-to-ceiling

- collapse of a tunnel right there.
- CHARLES: Yeah.

TERRY: There's no question in my
mind that that was an open structure,

once upon a time.

NARRATOR:
Wood? At a depth of feet?

Is it possible that the team
has once again encountered

the man-made tunnel they first
discovered one year ago?

CHARLES:
That's probably enough.

NARRATOR:
And, if so,

could it also be connected to
the evidence of silver and gold

detected in
the so-called C- cluster?

RICK: We're getting
multiple hits of wood

at a consistent depth,

indicating a possible tunnel

in an area that was
previously unknown.

So, given the significance
not only of the C- cluster

but the silver and gold
water sampling results,

finding this tunnel depth at

somewhere in the -to- -foot
horizon is interesting.

So, Craig, you want us to get
a water sample out of here

- at this depth?
- Yes, yep.

You know, anything that
came out of this tunnel zone,

be great to test
if silver and gold was in it.

- You know, it may come out of this horizon.
- Yeah.

Testing will help us
define the zone of interest,

- so maybe that's the tunnel we have to follow.
- CRAIG: Absolutely.

Once we've associated it
with gold,

we got to follow that tunnel.

- CHARLES: That's right.
- TERRY: There you go.

NARRATOR:
The following morning...

Rarely do we have a sense of
anticipation around this table

like we certainly do today.

NARRATOR:
in the Oak Island w*r room,

Rick and Marty Lagina,
along with members of the team,

are meeting once again with
geoscientists Dr. Ian Spooner

and Dr. Peir Pufahl,

along with chemist
Dr. Matt Lukeman.

After conducting a more detailed
analysis of the water tests

recently taken from
several boreholes across

the Money Pit area, which
produced preliminary evidence

of both silver and gold,

Dr. Pufahl is now prepared
to present his final report.

Really, the core
of this discussion,

I think, is: What do we do next?

I think we're all anticipating

what these results
are gonna indicate.

So, I'm gonna
turn it over to you, Ian.

IAN:
So, what do you got to tell us?

PEIR:
All right, here is essentially

a location map
of those drill holes

that were sampled,
uh, for their water.

And so, really, what I'd like
you to do is to, number one,

turn your attention
to these holes

that are gold in color,
because these are the holes

within which we found gold
in the water samples.

All right? That would be C- ,

F- , E- and K- .

So, without further ado,
let's look at

some of the concentrations
of gold

that we're actually
focusing on here.

Your mind jumps to:
Well, is there some sort of

natural source to this gold?

We have to have eliminated
a natural source

for the gold to be meaningful
here on Oak Island.

PEIR:
So, when we look at F- ,

all right, we're talking about
. parts per billion.

Hole C- :
. parts per billion.

And K- :
. parts per billion.

To put this in context,
all right,

seawater has an average
concentration of gold of about

. parts per billion.

So, the take-home message
here is this,

that, yes, gold is present
and it's elevated.

It's either coming
from the till,

it's coming from the bedrock,

or there's something
buried down there.

MARTY:
Wow.

NARRATOR: It is an incredible
moment for brothers

Rick and Marty Lagina
and the Oak Island team.

Geoscientist Dr. Peir Pufahl
has just confirmed

his analysis
of water sampling tests

conducted in numerous boreholes
across the Money Pit area.

Something containing
large amounts of silver and gold

lies deep underground in
the vicinity of the C- shaft.

What I do think is interesting,
when you look at where

the gold-enriched wells are,
they're only, you know,

, uh, feet away
from each other.

And so, if I were a betting man,

I bet we're in the right area.

When you look at these data,

I think we're-we're kind of
right close to that bull's-eye.

MARTY:
Wow.

MATT: Given that
F- ... I mean, obviously

it's the well of interest
and it seems to be

the, uh, biggest outlier

of all the wells
we've been looking at.

'Cause it's the standout
here by far.

Yeah, so when we look
at the chemistry of F- ,

almost every other trace element

was also elevated in relation
to the other holes.

Silver was present only in F- .

So, there's something
unique about it.

But here's the bottom line:
It's got gold in it.

- (laughs)
- It's got gold in the water.

And if it's got gold
in the water,

the gold is
coming from somewhere.

And that's where
the next steps come in.

The next steps... sampling that
till, sampling that sediment...

Will help us fingerprint
exactly where and why

that gold and silver
are elevated in that hole.

As Dr. Pufahl said, the gold's
got to come from somewhere.

And if it's coming from
the soil, there'd have to be

a fair bit in-in the soil to
produce these anomalous results.

We've got to get those till
sample and see what they hold.

RICK:
This is great news.

It-It's great science.

Uh, I know Marty loves
great science.

So does Craig and, uh,
everybody on the team.

Can't add anything to that.

Couple of weeks
to the gold, Rick.

- (laughter)
- Calm down.

I told you Bravo Tango
was coming at some point.

What the hell?

I would be lying if I said
it wasn't impactful.

(chuckles): I've believed
since I was a little guy.

And it means something
to me on that level,

that here's the proof.

Uh, it-it justifies
everything, right?

MARTY:
Gold is where it started.

The search for gold is
what drove this way back,

years ago almost now.

So, nobody really found

any direct evidence
of gold until now.

Is this impactful?
It's hugely impactful.

It looks like
there's some gold here.

So, it vindicates Rick
and, I guess, a little bit me.

This is summed up
by two words, really:

Sempre Avanti.

Let's keep moving forward.

Maybe we can get
to the bottom of this.

- Absolutely. - Fair enough.
- Thank you.

- RICK: Okay. Thank you very much.
- IAN: Thank you. See ya.

NARRATOR: A mystery
captured their attention,

faith and hope drew them in,

and now science has validated
their efforts and persistence.

For brothers
Rick and Marty Lagina

and the Oak Island team,

the answers
that others have sought

for more than two centuries
appear to be within their reach.

However, they must still
brace for the unknown

and the forces that are
beyond their control

that have guarded the island's
secrets through the generations.

Will the fellowship
finally zero in on a target

that could change history
as we know it?

Only time and fate will tell.

This season on
The Curse of Oak Island...

We're back, Oak Island,
old friend.

- Oh, it's a coin!
- Yes.

- RICK: That's the aha.
- Yeah.

RICK: I still believe there's
some answers in the swamp.

This path heads
to the Money Pit.

Wow. These are
indigenous artifacts.

LAIRD: Department
of Culture and Heritage

- ask that we stop down.
- Immediately.

The more we cooperate,
the more of our island we lose.

We're gonna do what's right,

we're gonna continue
to do what's right,

but we have to look after
our own rights, too.

- Yeah.
- We're gonna go bigger.

- Look at that.
- Yeah, here she be.

MARTY:
We're gonna go harder.

We're running out of time,

and we got big work
to do up there.

- Maybe I get lucky, huh?
- I hope so.

RICK: For years,
people have sought

a treasure in
the Money Pit on Oak Island.

- GARY: Whoa! Look at that!
- (beeping) - MARTY: Perfect!

Nobody really found any evidence
of gold until now.

- So, we have ancient Spanish gold.
- That's huge.

It's empirical, hard evidence.

MARTY:
Okay! Let's get this done.

Let's find it. Let's go!

I want to find the answers.