NARRATOR: Tonight on
The Curse of Oak Island...[/font]
This is the secret of secrets.[/font]
The message being
conveyed in code[/font]
is that the Ark of the
Covenant is on Oak Island.[/font]
- You can put X on the spot?
- Correct.[/font]
JAMIE: Holy cow.[/font]
- Wow.
- Is it truly silver?[/font]
It is silver. About 90%.[/font]
- [laughs]: Yes.
- LAIRD: In 40 years, I can’t remember[/font]
- a piece of silver I found.
- GARY: Is that it?[/font]
I see it, mate.
Underneath that boulder.[/font]
- Look at that.
- Oh.[/font]
What the heck is that?[/font]
NARRATOR: There is an
island in the North Atlantic[/font]
where people have
been looking for[/font]
an incredible treasure
for more than 200 years.[/font]
So far, they have
found a stone slab[/font]
with strange symbols
carved into it...[/font]
man-made workings
that date to medieval times,[/font]
and a lead cross whose
origin may be connected[/font]
to the Knights Templar.[/font]
To date, six men have d*ed[/font]
trying to solve the mystery.[/font]
And according to legend,
one more will have to die[/font]
before the treasure
can be found.[/font]
♪ ♪[/font]
JACK: I heard you
guys found something.[/font]
We found something.
That’s correct.[/font]
Come down here
and you can see it.[/font]
NARRATOR: As a fresh
morning dawns on Oak Island[/font]
for brothers Rick
and Marty Lagina[/font]
-and their team... -Right there.[/font]
NARRATOR: they are
braving the stench and muck[/font]
of the triangle-shaped swamp[/font]
in order to reveal a
man-made feature[/font]
that may help them solve
a 229-year-old mystery.[/font]
That’s probably
the southern wall,[/font]
- and that’s the eastern wall.
- RICK: We don’t know.[/font]
The only thing is, Gary
hasn’t found any fasteners,[/font]
and there’s evidence of dowels.[/font]
JACK: That speaks
to being much older.[/font]
GARY: What’s happening, Billy?[/font]
BILLY: We just
got a little wood.[/font]
NARRATOR: Just a few days ago...[/font]
BILLY: Somebody’s dug
down in the swamp, and there...[/font]
We got a bunch of
horizontal and vertical boards.[/font]
I think we’re onto
something, mate.[/font]
NARRATOR: Billy Gerhardt
and other members of the team[/font]
unearthed a wooden structure[/font]
embedded in the southern
border of the brackish bog.[/font]
Could this have
been some sort of[/font]
a loading and
unloading platform?[/font]
NARRATOR: Curiously,[/font]
it was found in the same
area where, in the 1970s,[/font]
the late Fred Nolan
reported finding evidence[/font]
of a wooden dam...[/font]
A dam which Fred believed[/font]
offered proof that the
swamp was artificially created[/font]
in order to hide
something of great value.[/font]
Take some of this, too.[/font]
-Yeah. -NARRATOR: Now,[/font]
due to this feature’s
close proximity[/font]
to the potentially 500-year-old
stone road, or ship’s wharf,[/font]
they are hoping
to find more clues[/font]
that will help them
determine its true purpose,[/font]
when it was constructed
and just who created it.[/font]
Pottery.[/font]
- Look at that.
- Yeah.[/font]
Couple more pieces here.[/font]
- GARY [laughs]: Oh, man. Yeah, that’s nice.
- RICK: Here.[/font]
- Check this one out.
- Yeah. Wow.[/font]
That’s some high-end stuff.[/font]
Pottery can tell just as
an important story as a coin[/font]
And the more parts
you got, the better,[/font]
because then the
archaeologists will be able[/font]
to ID the artifact[/font]
and give it a time frame of
when people was in this area[/font]
Okay, so I’ll take these
back and get it C-14 tested.[/font]
But we’re just gonna try
to expose the structure,[/font]
the width and breadth of it.[/font]
Hey, I’m looking for gold, too.[/font]
- There you go.
- [chuckles][/font]
BILLY: Gary, there’s
a piece of wood[/font]
that’s really deep
in the bucket there.[/font]
Oh, look.[/font]
- You see the edges on it?
- Oh, yeah.[/font]
GARY: That’s a barrel
stave. It has to be.[/font]
BILLY: Oh, 100%. Yeah,
no, that’s a barrel stave.[/font]
- That was really deep, as well.
- It’s really deep.[/font]
NARRATOR: A barrel stave,[/font]
or fragment of a
cargo container?[/font]
- IAN: So, that’s a keg. Lid to a keg?
- RICK: Yep.[/font]
NARRATOR: In 2020,[/font]
while investigating a
cobblestone pathway[/font]
that was uncovered nearby,
just north of the stone road,[/font]
the team found pieces
of wooden barrels[/font]
which, incredibly, were dated[/font]
by blacksmithing
expert Carmen Legge[/font]
to as far back as
the 15th century.[/font]
Could this barrel stave
offer more evidence[/font]
that something of great value[/font]
may have been brought
to Oak Island long ago?[/font]
If so, might those valuables[/font]
have been hidden
in the Money Pit?[/font]
Or could they still
be here in the swamp[/font]
as Fred Nolan believed?[/font]
They’d put coins in a barrel.[/font]
Yeah, test it on the
inside of the stave[/font]
and see what wi... might
have been in the barrel, right?[/font]
- Yeah.
- What might have left a...[/font]
- All right, mate, I’ll put it to one side.
- Okay.[/font]
GARY: Good eye, Billy.[/font]
NARRATOR: As the investigation[/font]
in the swamp continues...[/font]
- MARTY: Paul.
- COTE: Hey. How’s it going, Marty?[/font]
- Good, you old w*r horse, you.
- [both laugh][/font]
- Yeah.
- You found something.[/font]
COTE: Yeah, it
seems that way, eh?[/font]
NARRATOR: in
the Money Pit area,[/font]
Marty Lagina arrives
at the Garden Shaft[/font]
for an update on another
potentially important discovery[/font]
that was recently
made by the team.[/font]
A lot of mystery to that.[/font]
Well, it’s kind of strange that,
uh, there’s only the bottom.[/font]
- Yeah. Yeah, you think?
- Yeah.[/font]
I-I’m just wondering
where the other...[/font]
- sides and top went.
- The sides and the top.[/font]
- Yeah.
- Yeah, me, too.[/font]
SCOTT: Look at that.[/font]
- Right there.
- MARTY: Wow.[/font]
MARTY: Those are big beams.[/font]
NARRATOR: Two weeks ago,[/font]
after more than a year[/font]
of tireless effort and
frustrating setbacks,[/font]
representatives from
Dumas Contracting Limited[/font]
finished extending the
known as the Garden Shaft[/font]
down to a depth
of some 100 feet,[/font]
where they reached a
mysterious wooden tunnel.[/font]
A tunnel that has not
only been carbon-dated[/font]
to as early as the 17th century[/font]
but which also runs westward
into the so-called Baby Blob.[/font]
It is in this region where
high-trace evidence[/font]
of gold, silver and other
metal have been detected[/font]
between 80 and 120
feet below ground.[/font]
SCOTT: We cannot find[/font]
any sign of walls or a ceiling.[/font]
NARRATOR: However,
upon reaching the tunnel,[/font]
the team discovered that it
had either collapsed in that area[/font]
or had been partially dismantle[/font]
sometime in the past.[/font]
So, where are you right
now? Bring me up to speed.[/font]
So, right now,
we got one set in.[/font]
The guys lowered the landing
where it’s supposed to be.[/font]
- Which is about 102 or so.
- Mm-hmm.[/font]
We’re going to 106.[/font]
And from then
on, uh, we’ll start[/font]
- drilling horizontal.
- Good.[/font]
- We got a plan.
- Yeah.[/font]
NARRATOR: In the coming days,[/font]
Dumas will further
extend the Garden Shaft[/font]
to a total depth of 106 feet.[/font]
This will allow them to conduct[/font]
a manual
probe-drilling operation[/font]
to determine if other
sections of the tunnel[/font]
leading toward the
Baby Blob are still intact,[/font]
while also searching
for evidence[/font]
of the possible treasure that
has been detected in the area.[/font]
The horizontal drilling
will allow us to, hopefully,[/font]
find out what that’s all about.[/font]
Yeah. It’ll give you a
little bit more information.[/font]
- Yes. And may...
- Or more questions.[/font]
-[chuckles] -Yeah.
Probably. Yeah.[/font]
All right, I’m-a let
you get back to work.[/font]
- Yeah. Later, man.
- Cheers. Thank you.[/font]
NARRATOR: As the excavation
of the Garden Shaft continues..[/font]
RICK: I will say this.[/font]
We have found literally
hundreds if not thousands of nails,[/font]
but what you have
here in front of us,[/font]
it’s interesting,
right, Craig? I mean...[/font]
CRAIG: It’s unique. Yeah.[/font]
NARRATOR: Rick
Lagina and Craig Tester[/font]
are meeting with
archaeologist Laird Niven[/font]
and archaeometallurgist
Emma Culligan[/font]
in the Oak Island laboratory.[/font]
- It’s very strange. I mean...
- Mm-hmm.[/font]
And to have found it on Lot 5...[/font]
In a, what I believe is
the rectangular feature...[/font]
Makes no sense.[/font]
- Correct.
- So, we’re hoping that you[/font]
- will make sense of this.
- Mm-hmm.[/font]
NARRATOR: One week
ago, as members of the team[/font]
were carefully excavating a
rectangular stone foundation[/font]
located near the
northern regio of Lot 5[/font]
on the western
side of the island...[/font]
HELEN: Oh, wow. I think
we got something here.[/font]
NARRATOR:
archaeologist Helen Sheldon[/font]
found a hand-forged
iron nail in one of its walls[/font]
near the bottom
of the structure.[/font]
Because of previous
discoveries that have been made[/font]
in the upper layers
of this foundation,[/font]
such as 18th-century
pottery and clay pipe stems,[/font]
Helen believes that it
was deliberately backfilled,[/font]
or buried, by
someone in the 1780s,[/font]
but may have been
originally constructed[/font]
by someone else much earlier.[/font]
Now, it is Rick and Craig’s hop[/font]
that the metallurgy analysis
of this hand-forged spike,[/font]
which was conducted
by Emma Culligan,[/font]
might reveal not only its age[/font]
but perhaps also when
the original structure[/font]
may have been created.[/font]
No pressure, Emma.[/font]
-No pressure.
[chuckles] -[clears throat][/font]
So, what I can tell you is that[/font]
- it’s definitely hand-wrought...
- Mm-hmm.[/font]
EMMA: um, as can be
seen by the grain structure,[/font]
- which is, like, that wood-like grain structure.
- RICK: Mm-hmm.[/font]
NARRATOR: Earlier today,
Emma scanned the artifact[/font]
with the SkyScan
a device which emits
nondestructive X-ray radiation[/font]
to penetrate corrosion
and reveal its finer details.[/font]
Additionally, she
also scanned it[/font]
with an X-ray fluorescence
spectrometer, or XRF device,[/font]
that can identify its
metallic composition.[/font]
And I did do an XRF on it,[/font]
which I think you guys
will be really happy about.[/font]
Okay.[/font]
EMMA: So, there’s
a high sulfur content,[/font]
absolutely no manganese,[/font]
which would make it hot brittle.[/font]
- Oh, really?
- EMMA: Yes.[/font]
So, too much sulfur[/font]
in the iron can make it brittle,
or hard to work with, when hot,[/font]
which is not something
you want in your irons,[/font]
which is why we started
adding manganese.[/font]
- Mm-hmm.
- So it could be 1500s, 1600s,[/font]
early 1700s.[/font]
Or it could be, like,[/font]
- really, really early.
- What is really, really early?[/font]
Like, 1100s to, like, 1300s.[/font]
- RICK: Wow.
- LAIRD: Yeah.[/font]
RICK: What is
really, really early?[/font]
Like, 1100s to, like, 1300s.[/font]
- Really?
- EMMA: Yes.[/font]
RICK: Why do you say that?[/font]
’Cause the iron is really clean.[/font]
There’s few impurities,
which is what you would[/font]
see a lot of in that time range.[/font]
NARRATOR: In the
Oak Island laboratory,[/font]
archaeometallurgist
Emma Culligan[/font]
has just presented
an astonishing report.[/font]
Quite remarkable.[/font]
NARRATOR: The
hand-wrought iron artifact[/font]
that was found one week ago[/font]
in the rectangular
feature on Lot 5[/font]
could date to as far
back as the 12th century.[/font]
So what is it?[/font]
I think we’ve decided it
doesn’t function as a fastener.[/font]
Why... And why not? Too thin?[/font]
Yeah.[/font]
And it’s not a file.[/font]
RICK: No.[/font]
So I’m as puzzled as anyone.[/font]
- EMMA: Mm-hmm.
- RICK: I mean, Lot 5 continues[/font]
to surprise and that’s for sure.[/font]
NARRATOR: In
addition to this spike[/font]
that was found in the
rectangular feature,[/font]
the team has made several
other ancient discoveries on Lot 5[/font]
since they purchased
it just one year ago.[/font]
These include three Roman
coins that have been dated[/font]
to between 1,500
and 2,000 years ago,[/font]
as well as a 14th-century
lead barter token[/font]
that was unearthed from another
structure closer to the shore[/font]
and which may be
connected to the lead cross[/font]
that the team discovered
at Smith’s Cove in 2017.[/font]
I mean, timelines are important[/font]
to solving any sort
of mystery like this.[/font]
There are a number of finds[/font]
from the early
to the late 1600s.[/font]
And now we find this.[/font]
People were here much
earlier than had been presumed.[/font]
That may impact
the search agenda.[/font]
That’s always the hope.[/font]
Hopefully, we’ll find something
even more interesting.[/font]
LAIRD: Agreed, yeah.[/font]
Someone will know
what that represents.[/font]
- Yeah.
- Yeah.[/font]
- CRAIG: Thank you.
- RICK: Okay. Thank you, Emma.[/font]
- Thank you, Laird.
- LAIRD: All right, see ya later[/font]
NARRATOR: The
following morning...[/font]
Hey, chaps.[/font]
- I brought the expert.
- Hey, Gary. Wow.[/font]
Those are huge planks.[/font]
NARRATOR: Rick Lagina returns[/font]
to the southern
edge of the swamp[/font]
with geoscientist
Dr. Ian Spooner[/font]
in order to have him inspect
the mysterious wooden feature[/font]
now that more of it
has been revealed.[/font]
It’s really, really deep[/font]
compared even to the stone road.[/font]
Like, to get those planks down[/font]
this low you would
have had to dewater[/font]
the swamp.[/font]
That’s the only way I
would see how to do it.[/font]
Mm.[/font]
RICK: There is
some sort of structure[/font]
but how did it play into the
work around the swamp?[/font]
Did it have relevance
to the stone road?[/font]
What is the relationship
between these discoveries?[/font]
So at this point we need[/font]
to try to collect as much
information as possible.[/font]
IAN: At this stage,[/font]
I-I can’t help
but think that it’s[/font]
some part of this road feature.[/font]
- Yeah.
- It just, like, kind of[/font]
aligns, like,
there’s a post there,[/font]
and then there probably
were posts that we...[/font]
- excavated here.
- RICK: Yeah.[/font]
They put stakes in everywhere[/font]
to shore up this
square structure.[/font]
- Yeah.
- Nicely adze cut[/font]
on this face and it’s rounded.[/font]
RICK: That’s shaped.[/font]
NARRATOR: An adze
is a type of cutting tool[/font]
dating back to the
days of Ancient Egypt[/font]
that was generally replaced[/font]
by mechanized saws[/font]
beginning in the
late 18th century.[/font]
And, curiously, the
timbers that were recently[/font]
recovered from the tunnel
beneath the Garden Shaft[/font]
also featured cuts that
were made by an adze.[/font]
Is it possible that
the Oak Island team[/font]
has uncovered a
structure in the swamp[/font]
that might be connected to
the possible treasure tunnel[/font]
in the Money Pit area?[/font]
Right now, we should stand down.[/font]
And Steve can pin the corners,[/font]
- so he can put it on the, uh, grid.
- RICK: Mm-hmm.[/font]
NARRATOR: Because
he believes this structure[/font]
could be of historic importance[/font]
and perhaps connected
to the Oak Island mystery,[/font]
Dr. Spooner would like
surveyor Steve Guptill[/font]
to fully document
it before the team[/font]
conducts any more
excavations around the feature.[/font]
RICK: We’ll wait for Steve.[/font]
- BILLY: Yeah.
- I think that’s all we can do right now, right?[/font]
- Yeah.
- I think just leave it.[/font]
I say we’re done.[/font]
Good job, guys.[/font]
NARRATOR: Later
that afternoon...[/font]
RICK: We have...[/font]
sat around this w*r room table[/font]
and heard some very
interesting theories.[/font]
And today, we are
going to hear something[/font]
that I think will easily[/font]
match that metric and, uh,[/font]
how it may impact the search,
this search year, in particular.[/font]
So let me introduce
John Edwards to you all.[/font]
John, welcome to the w*r room.[/font]
- Thank you, Rick.
- Thank you for coming.[/font]
Appreciate everyone
having me here.[/font]
NARRATOR: Rick has invited[/font]
researcher John Edwards,[/font]
who he has been corresponding
with for several months,[/font]
to share new information
regarding the Oak Island myster[/font]
with Marty and other
members of the team.[/font]
EDWARDS: I’ve spent
the past 30 years studying[/font]
symbols and icons, with
emphasis on that kind of[/font]
Knights Templar through
the Age of Exploration. So...[/font]
something that I think
is relevant to Oak Island.[/font]
Awesome.[/font]
NARRATOR: For several decades,
a number of researchers have[/font]
presented theories
that the medieval order[/font]
of Christian monks known
as the Knights Templar,[/font]
who were persecuted
by the Catholic Church[/font]
in the early 14th century,[/font]
conspired with their
believed descendants[/font]
known as the Rosicrucians
and the Freemasons,[/font]
to hide and protect
sacred religious treasures[/font]
on Oak Island between
the 12th and 18th centuries.[/font]
While a number of clues
have been found on the island[/font]
that support this
incredible theory,[/font]
such as 12th-century structures[/font]
14th-century
religious artifacts,[/font]
and the fact that every
company that has ever looked[/font]
for the treasure has
included Freemasons,[/font]
it has yet to be proven.[/font]
Is it possible that
John Edward has finally[/font]
uncovered the
irrefutable evidence[/font]
that this theory is true?[/font]
EDWARDS: You know,
one of the things that[/font]
I’ve been doing is looking
at the Royal Arch Ode.[/font]
NARRATOR: Masonic
Odes are poems or hymns[/font]
that are sung or recited during
secret Masonic ceremonies.[/font]
And according to John
Edwards’ research,[/font]
they also contain encoded
information that only[/font]
high-ranking members of the
organization may understand[/font]
So, if we read it, "This
shall be the sacred mark[/font]
"which shall guide
us in the skies,[/font]
bearing like a holy ark."[/font]
So if you look at that, we have[/font]
a reference to a "holy ark."[/font]
Now, many people believe that[/font]
there are certain Jewish
artifacts that the Templars had.[/font]
Like the Ark of the Covenant.[/font]
Now, "Joy, the
secret vault is found[/font]
"full the sunbeam falls within,[/font]
pointing darkly underground,
to the treasure we would win."[/font]
And it makes reference to
"pointing darkly underground."[/font]
To like a vault. Okay?[/font]
Now, the question is,
where is that vault located?[/font]
So we have an early Masonic text[/font]
and you see someone
being lowered into a vault.[/font]
Looks like someone
recovering the ark to me.[/font]
Hmm.[/font]
Now, interestingly,[/font]
I’ve acquired[/font]
two ancient books that have[/font]
codes and maps
and things that I think[/font]
would be, uh, relevant
to the Oak Island search.[/font]
- Mm-hmm.
- EDWARDS: One was[/font]
The Whole Genuine
Works of Flavius Josephus.[/font]
The publication date was 1812.[/font]
And he was a Jewish historian[/font]
from 37 CE to about
And then the second book
has a publication date of 1763.[/font]
It’s in French and it
translates as Holy Week.[/font]
So I believe, possibly,[/font]
in the books could be
some Masonic ciphering.[/font]
I just did this one page here,[/font]
which has Masonic abbreviations.[/font]
- Okay.
- EDWARDS: So...[/font]
"SS," which is
"sanctum sanctorum"[/font]
or "holy of holies."[/font]
"ME," "most eminent,
most excellent."[/font]
And then it was signed[/font]
with the number 137.[/font]
Now, 137 is
significant, because...[/font]
And what’s really
interesting is here,[/font]
when we look at this page,[/font]
there were symbols sketched.[/font]
And that looks like the
Ark of the Covenant to me.[/font]
ALEX: Right.[/font]
EDWARDS: And right here.[/font]
- Wow.
- It certainly looks like Oak Island.[/font]
EDWARDS: Yes, and if
it’s referencing Oak Island,[/font]
what project would that be?[/font]
That is quite interesting.[/font]
Yeah.[/font]
EDWARDS: So if all
the clues are correct,[/font]
the message being conveyed[/font]
in code is that the Ark
of the Covenant is here.[/font]
EDWARDS: The
message being conveyed[/font]
is that the Ark of
the Covenant is here.[/font]
Awesome.[/font]
NARRATOR: In the
Oak Island w*r room,[/font]
researcher John
Edwards has just presented[/font]
what he believes to be secret
Masonic documents suggesting[/font]
that the Ark of the Covenant[/font]
might have been hidden
on Oak Island by members[/font]
of the Knights
Templar centuries ago.[/font]
But if I’m right, in
order to understand...[/font]
So...[/font]
NARRATOR: The Tree of Life is an
ancient Hebrew and Christian symbol[/font]
comprised of ten
points, known as sephirot,[/font]
that represents divine
morals and principles[/font]
for a spiritual path to God.[/font]
It is a symbol that
was also revered[/font]
by the Knights Templar,[/font]
the Rosicrucians[/font]
and the Freemasons.[/font]
- PETTER: This is Nolan’s Cross.
- MARTY: Good.[/font]
NARRATOR: In 2013,[/font]
Norwegian freemason and
filmmaker Petter Amundsen[/font]
presented Rick,
Marty and the team[/font]
with his research suggesting[/font]
that the six megalithic
boulder of Nolan’s Cross[/font]
were part of a larger,
ten-point formation[/font]
depicting the Tree of Life.[/font]
Is this it here?[/font]
- Yeah. This is it.
- ALEX: Good.[/font]
NARRATOR: And to
help prove his theory,[/font]
he led Marty and Alex to Lot 28[/font]
in the middle of the island,[/font]
where he believed they
would find one of the sephirot,[/font]
known as Kingdom, buried
just below the surface.[/font]
- Yeah. Here it comes. Oh.
- There we go.[/font]
-NARRATOR: In 2017... -Oh, wow.[/font]
Rick Lagina and his
nephews Alex and Peter[/font]
visited a 14th-century
prison in Domme, France,[/font]
that held members
of the Templar order[/font]
after their persecution by
the Catholic Church in 1307.[/font]
This way.[/font]
NARRATOR: There, they were shown[/font]
a number of
carvings, including one[/font]
depicting the Tree of Life[/font]
and also another
of a sacred cross.[/font]
A cross that was an exact match[/font]
to the one that Rick and
Gary Drayton would find[/font]
just weeks later on Oak
Island at Smith’s Cove.[/font]
NARRATOR: Could
John Edwards be correct[/font]
that by investigating Nolan’s
Cross and the sephirot,[/font]
which together
make up the symbol[/font]
known as the Tree of Life,[/font]
he might be able
to find the location[/font]
where one of the most
sacred religious artifacts[/font]
ever known to mankind is buried[/font]
So, when you come back,
you can put X on the spot?[/font]
Is that what you’re saying?[/font]
Look, I’d like to
find something.[/font]
As far as I’m concerned,
you got free reign of the island.[/font]
- Tom, you all right with that?
- Oh, absolutely.[/font]
MARTY: Yeah.[/font]
It’s in the proof that the
picture resides, right?[/font]
Hopefully, you will come
back with an X or Xs,[/font]
and from then we
can have a discussion[/font]
about how to proceed.[/font]
You’re welcome, but you’ve
got some work to do, so...[/font]
off we go.[/font]
EDWARDS: Thanks, guys.[/font]
NARRATOR: As John
Edwards prepares to begin[/font]
his field research
of the island...[/font]
FIONA: We’re making progress.[/font]
JAMIE: Let’s keep going.[/font]
FIONA: All right.[/font]
NARRATOR: on Lot 5,[/font]
archaeologists Jamie
Kouba and Fiona Steele[/font]
are investigating the
foundatio near the shoreline[/font]
where the team discovered[/font]
the 14th-century lead
barter token one year ago.[/font]
Oh, hey.[/font]
I got another button.[/font]
FIONA: Oh, that’s great.[/font]
Yeah. This one’s much bigger.[/font]
Oh, that is quite shiny.[/font]
Like, like, gold-plated.[/font]
- You sure it’s a button?
- Oh, I’m sure it’s a button,[/font]
- ’cause we got the loop on the back...
- Oh, I see the ring.[/font]
- But maybe it’s gold-plated.
- Yeah, I can see that now.[/font]
I don’t think we’ve
seen any of those yet.[/font]
I haven’t.[/font]
If this was m*llitary, it
would be an officer’s button[/font]
- if it was gold-plated, so...
- Hmm.[/font]
NARRATOR: A gold-plated button?[/font]
Could Jamie Kouba be correct[/font]
that it belonged to a
high-ranking m*llitary officer[/font]
If so, could it have
been an officer[/font]
who took part in
hiding, or protecting,[/font]
something of great
value on Oak Island?[/font]
Very cool.[/font]
Oh, I can’t wait to see
what that turns out to be.[/font]
JAMIE: Right?[/font]
♪ ♪[/font]
- Holy cow!
- What have you got?[/font]
Wow![/font]
- FIONA: What have you got?
- I’m not entirely sure,[/font]
but I think it’s a piece
of silverware handle.[/font]
FIONA: Really?[/font]
NARRATOR: Near
the shoreline of Lot 5,[/font]
on the western
side of Oak Island...[/font]
- JAMIE: And I think it might actually be silver.
- FIONA: Wow![/font]
Archaeologist Jamie Kouba[/font]
has just found another
potentially valuable clue[/font]
in the mysterious foundation
that was discovered[/font]
below the circular stone
featur earlier this year.[/font]
Oh, it’s gorgeous.
Look at the designs on it.[/font]
I’ve never found a single
piece of precious metal,[/font]
much less a piece this big[/font]
of what could
potentially be silver.[/font]
This is a big deal.[/font]
We’re here on a treasure hunt,[/font]
so we’re hoping that
maybe we can analyze that,[/font]
and that would give us
the best possible chance[/font]
to get answers
on who built this.[/font]
- LAIRD: Hello.
- JACK: Whoa. -JAMIE: Hello.[/font]
So, what do you have?[/font]
So, I don’t really
know where to start,[/font]
so I’m just gonna show you
the first one that I found today,[/font]
- And we’ll work our way through those.
- LAIRD: Oh.[/font]
LAIRD: All righty.[/font]
- It’s a button.
- That looked like gold.[/font]
It’s a very cool button.[/font]
LAIRD: That’s cool, I can
almost imagine a design[/font]
- on the front, too.
- JAMIE: It’s hard to tell.[/font]
- JACK: What else did you find?
- You’re gonna flip. It’s so cool.[/font]
Oh![/font]
- That’s silver, isn’t it?
- CRAIG: Wow.[/font]
I’m-I’m pretty sure it’s silver.[/font]
FIONA: It’s quite
decorative, though, at the top.[/font]
LAIRD: Yeah. Hand-decorated.[/font]
It’s so ornate. Yeah.[/font]
That’s really cool.[/font]
JACK: This is not just your
average domestic building.[/font]
And they were using soil[/font]
- from deep in the Money Pit.
- [laughs][/font]
- And there’s that kind of treasure, as well.
- JACK: Yeah.[/font]
- So, what were they doing here?
- Yeah.[/font]
It reminds me of, like, a
crude mortar or cement.[/font]
NARRATOR: Nearly one month ago,[/font]
Jamie uncovered a man-made[/font]
cement-like substance
in this feature[/font]
that has also been found
around the mysterious tunnel[/font]
below the Garden Shaft.[/font]
This has made the team
wonder if this feature on Lot 5[/font]
was connected to
an operation to hide[/font]
something of great value
deep in the Money Pit area.[/font]
I mean, finding
is the first step.[/font]
- JAMIE: Mm-hmm.
- Take ’em to Emma and trying to get a date[/font]
- on ’em is step number two.
- LAIRD: Yeah. Exactly.[/font]
All right.[/font]
- LAIRD: It’s exciting, really.
- Yeah.[/font]
- We’ll find more stuff for you.
- CRAIG: Okay.[/font]
NARRATOR: While the
investigations of the stone features[/font]
continue on Lot 5...[/font]
later that afternoon...[/font]
GARY: Let’s get
diggy with it, Billy.[/font]
- BILLY: Yep.
- In the southeast corner of the swamp,[/font]
now that Steve Guptill
has completed a survey[/font]
of the mysterious
wooden structure that sits[/font]
next to the stone road,[/font]
Jack Begley, along with Gary
Drayton and Billy Gerhardt[/font]
continue investigating
the feature for clues[/font]
and potential valuables.[/font]
♪ ♪[/font]
We got a hit, Jack.[/font]
Great to hear,
Gary. I’m on my way.[/font]
A little scrappy one.[/font]
[metal detector beeping][/font]
Should be right
underneath there.[/font]
- All right, mate. And I’ll see if you’ve moved it.
- Sure.[/font]
Come out, my little beauty.[/font]
What have we got here?[/font]
I think it’s some
kind of digging tool.[/font]
Not like any sort of modern
digging tool I’ve seen.[/font]
That’s old.[/font]
GARY: It’s-it’s
almost like a trowel.[/font]
I think it’s unique, mate,[/font]
because of where it
came from, as well,[/font]
in between that wooden feature,[/font]
we have no idea what
it is at the moment,[/font]
and the stone road.[/font]
It could be even older.[/font]
GARY: Maybe this piece of
iron could be part of an old tool[/font]
left over from building
the stone roadway[/font]
or even this wood structure.[/font]
And hopefully, we
can put a date on it.[/font]
[beeps][/font]
GARY: Yeah, we got
a signal here, Jack.[/font]
It seems to be right in front[/font]
of this big boulder here.[/font]
Just there, somewhere.[/font]
See if I moved it.[/font]
Let me see if I can
pinpoint it for you.[/font]
The old stick in the mud, here.[/font]
It’s actually still there.[/font]
It’s under there.[/font]
- All right.
- It’s got a good signal.[/font]
GARY: Is that
it? I see it, mate.[/font]
- Look at that.
- [Jack gasps][/font]
GARY: What the heck is that?[/font]
- GARY: Look at that!
- [Jack gasps][/font]
- That’s a big spike.
- Yeah.[/font]
Look, it’s still got wood on it.[/font]
NARRATOR: At the southeastern
border of the Oak Island swamp,[/font]
Gary Drayton, Jack Begley[/font]
and Billy Gerhardt
have just made[/font]
a potentially critical discover[/font]
in the mysterious
wooden structure that was[/font]
recently uncovered
next to the stone road.[/font]
It looks hand-forged,[/font]
wrought iron,[/font]
and it’s still got wood on it,
so you know it was a fastener.[/font]
- Yeah.
- Look at the size of that.[/font]
- Yeah.
- Wow.[/font]
GARY: That’s gonna
come back old, mate.[/font]
JACK: Possibly,
yeah. I think so, too.[/font]
This is gorgeous, as well.
We’ve never found one like this.[/font]
NARRATOR: A
hand-forged, iron spike?[/font]
Could Gary Drayton be correct[/font]
that it is different
from other spikes[/font]
that the team has
found in this area[/font]
and might be a
much older artifact?[/font]
All right, I’m gonna make
my way back down there.[/font]
Okay, mate. I’m gonna
put a bag over the wood[/font]
- and put it to one side.
- NARRATOR: If so,[/font]
could it be a key clue[/font]
that will help the team
determine just when[/font]
this feature was constructed?[/font]
RICK: The question
for us to answer is[/font]
why were these constructs made?[/font]
- Perhaps they were intended to be hidden.
- Oh.[/font]
And there is every
hope that we will,[/font]
at some point, discover the
reason why they were built.[/font]
JACK: Hey, Billy. Look at this.[/font]
It looks like it’s axe-chopped.[/font]
There’s some type of[/font]
a piece of iron
that’s stuck into it.[/font]
And then this is
straight-cut along the top,[/font]
not circular saw.[/font]
JACK: From all the
artifacts that we have found[/font]
and getting a better
look at this wood,[/font]
I think it might connect with[/font]
the stone pathway
and the stone road.[/font]
It’s been a heck of a day, guys.[/font]
JACK: Great job today.[/font]
NARRATOR: The
following morning...[/font]
CRAIG: Three of us
were called out to Lot 5,[/font]
and Jamie came up
with these nice artifacts.[/font]
NARRATOR: at the
Oak Island laboratory[/font]
Rick Lagina, Craig
Tester and Jack Begley[/font]
meet with
archaeologist Laird Niven[/font]
and archaeometallurgist
Emma Culligan to receive[/font]
Emma’s scientific analysis
of the gold-plated button[/font]
and the possible silver artifac[/font]
that were unearthed one day ago[/font]
in the large stone
foundation on Lot 5.[/font]
That is somewhat
self-explanatory, right?[/font]
- Yes, it’s a button.
- The key question is[/font]
composition. What is it?[/font]
EMMA: It is a copper
alloy with about 3% gold[/font]
on the surface, so it is gilded.[/font]
NARRATOR: Gilding, which dates
back to the times of ancient Egypt,[/font]
is a decorative technique[/font]
by which thin layers of gold[/font]
are applied to the
surface of an item.[/font]
What’s really revealing
of that age and providence[/font]
in the metallurgical
aspect is the phosphorus.[/font]
You got about 5%.[/font]
But that kind of button
composition you won’t see in[/font]
your regular old casual clothes.[/font]
I’d say it’s more
like naval m*llitary.[/font]
It had to have been, like,
an officer’s button then, right?[/font]
Yes. Officer or a gentleman.[/font]
EMMA: Ayuh, I can
say that it’s most likely[/font]
English, 18th
century, naval m*llitary.[/font]
RICK: This naval button,
does it have something to say[/font]
about the activities on Lot 5?[/font]
Might it have been British[/font]
who came searching
for something?[/font]
But if you’re
doing original work,[/font]
you want to police your area.[/font]
I just hope we continue
to make finds of artifacts[/font]
that will hopefully
fill in the gaps[/font]
in this story on Lot 5.[/font]
You know, this one
appears to be silver,[/font]
but the question
is, is it truly silver?[/font]
Yes, it is silver.[/font]
Yes.[/font]
EMMA: Um, at about 90%.[/font]
LAIRD: In 40 years,[/font]
I can’t remember a
piece of silver I’ve found.[/font]
If you remember the
treasure trove license, right?[/font]
The treasure trove license
would define that as treasure.[/font]
JACK: It is treasure.[/font]
RICK: The treasure trove licens[/font]
would define that as treasure.[/font]
JACK: It is treasure.[/font]
Yeah.[/font]
It’s precious metal.
That’s as far as[/font]
- we can go right now.
- LAIRD: Yes.[/font]
NARRATOR: In the
Oak Island laboratory,[/font]
archaeometallurgist
Emma Culligan[/font]
has just confirmed that[/font]
the metal artifact
found one day ago[/font]
in the mysterious stone
foundation on Lot 5[/font]
is composed almost
entirely of pure silver.[/font]
So, what is it?[/font]
If we look at it functionally,[/font]
we both believe,
this is its original form.[/font]
-Oh. -EMMA: Yeah.[/font]
And here you can see the slits[/font]
on these sides, on the edges.[/font]
There’s some artistry there.[/font]
LAIRD: Yeah, I agree with that.[/font]
So, it could be[/font]
almost like the end of
a tassel, decoratively.[/font]
- Oh, wow.
- A Kn*fe hilt,[/font]
you know, something like that.[/font]
It’s one of the cooler
artifacts we’ve found.[/font]
RICK: The initial excitement,[/font]
which you’ve
expressed, is it’s silver.[/font]
And why wouldn’t we
be excited about that?[/font]
But to go further,
I think we need[/font]
- more information.
- Yeah.[/font]
RICK: The idea of[/font]
there must be silver
from the Concepción.[/font]
If it were a
metallurgical match to[/font]
silver from the Concepción,[/font]
and it matches that? Bingo.[/font]
Then we would be onto something.[/font]
Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely.[/font]
NARRATOR: Since the
beginning of this year,[/font]
the team has found a
number of metal artifacts[/font]
in the large foundation
on Lot 5 that,[/font]
according to Emma’s
metallurgical analysis,[/font]
may be connected
to Sir William Phips,[/font]
the English naval
officer and privateer[/font]
who, in 1687,[/font]
salvaged more than
from the Spanish wreck
known as the Concepción.[/font]
We know that Phips found
silver on the Concepción[/font]
and I believe some
of the treasure from[/font]
the Concepción was
secreted to Oak Island.[/font]
NARRATOR: In 2021, 32nd
degree Freemason Scott Clarke[/font]
informed the team that
Phips worked closely[/font]
with a high-ranking
Freemason from Nova Scotia[/font]
named Captain Andrew Belcher[/font]
during his second salvage
operation of the Concepción.[/font]
And he believes that
much of the treasure[/font]
they recovered was
hidden on Oak Island.[/font]
Laird, you’ve spent a lifetime[/font]
- and you’ve not found it.
- I know, I know.[/font]
So, that-that certainly
is quite interesting.[/font]
I can’t remember a
piece of silver I’ve found.[/font]
NARRATOR: Is it possible,
as Rick Lagina has speculated,[/font]
that the silver artifact
could offer more evidence[/font]
that Scott Clarke’s
theory may be true?[/font]
If so, might that
explain why the team[/font]
has found the same
man-made concrete-like material[/font]
in both the feature on Lot 5,[/font]
and around the tunnel
below the Garden Shaft?[/font]
And finally, could
these discoveries[/font]
also support John
Edwards’ theory[/font]
that members of Freemasonry[/font]
were part of a
generational conspiracy[/font]
to hide and protect
treasure vaults on Oak Island[/font]
that were originally
established by[/font]
the Knights Templar?[/font]
RICK: I think this
find is invigorating,[/font]
there’s no question about it.[/font]
What it does say, emphatically,[/font]
is that the Lot 5
feature is important.[/font]
I don’t think one
can dismiss the fact[/font]
that this find and the
concrete from Lot 5[/font]
strongly hint at a
connection to Phips,[/font]
but also, it speaks to a
connection to the Money Pit.[/font]
I think it only reinforces[/font]
that we might be
on to something.[/font]
JACK: We know we have
the Money pit material,[/font]
that was used in
that foundation.[/font]
They could have kept,
you know, some treasure[/font]
right on site, before
they moved it.[/font]
I can’t wait to see what other
friends pop up as we dig up[/font]
- the rest of the feature.
- There you go.[/font]
And so, I think we’ve got[/font]
- a lot to do.
- Yeah.[/font]
And, uh, I, for one,
am gonna start.[/font]
- CRAIG: Yep. Me, too.
- All right?[/font]
RICK: Thank you both.[/font]
- JACK: Great job.
- LAIRD: Oh, yeah.[/font]
NARRATOR: For Rick,
Marty, Craig and their team,[/font]
a week that began with the
hope for important discoveries[/font]
has been rewarded with
not only exciting new clues[/font]
but also actual
valuables that have[/font]
advanced their efforts to
solve the Oak Island mystery[/font]
And now, as they continue[/font]
digging in the Garden Shaft,[/font]
and investigating the
believed ancient landmarks[/font]
on the island’s
surface will it lead to[/font]
a profound and
history-changing breakthrough?[/font]
Perhaps it all depends[/font]
on whether or not
the curse of Oak Island[/font]
can finally be broken.[/font]
Next time on The
Curse of Oak Island...[/font]
The way to unlock Nolan’s Cross[/font]
is built into the cross itself.[/font]
If the Ark is here,[/font]
it would be found
using Nolan’s Cross.[/font]
Let’s dig there.[/font]
- GARY: Ooh, look at that.
- BILLY: There’s a boulder.[/font]
Maybe this boulder
is marking the spot.[/font]
RICK: This is
the copper artifact[/font]
found on Lot 8.[/font]
This could be
identified as Viking.[/font]
ROGER: The water started
coming in faster and faster.[/font]
RICK: We may have
hit a flood tunnel.[/font]
[men shouting][/font]
11x19 - Hi Ho Silver
Watch/Buy Amazon Merchandise
Follows brothers Marty and Rick as they search for the infamous treasure on Oak Island.
Follows brothers Marty and Rick as they search for the infamous treasure on Oak Island.