06x02 - Gold Rush

[bunniefuu]

We got two brooches
and two red gemstones.

-Yes.
-RICK: That's pretty amazing.

This is not
your ordinary gem.

-It's super ancient.
-Now we're cookin'.

These artifacts are pushing us
back farther in time

-than I ever thought.
-Here it comes.

RICK: For the first time
in two and a quarter centuries,

we can look underground
in the Money Pit.

We can give you guys
some answers.

MARTY:
What are the lighter spots?

I would say it's pure gold.

GARY:
Holy shmoly.

We have found our first gold
on Oak Island.

NARRATOR: There is an island
in the North Atlantic

where people have been looking
for an incredible treasure

for more than 200 years.

So far, they have found
a stone slab

with strange symbols carved
into it,

mysterious fragments
of human bone,

and a lead cross,
whose origin may stretch back

to the days
of the Knights Templar.

To date, six men have d*ed

trying to solve the mystery.

And, according to legend,

one more will have to die

before the treasure
can be found.

♪ ♪

It is a moment of great
excitement on Oak Island

as Rick Lagina and metal
detection expert Gary Drayton

head to the home of veteran
treasure hunter

Dan Blankenship...

-You have it?
-Yeah.

...with what they believe to be

another exciting discovery.

-Hey, guys.
-Look who's here.

NARRATOR: They are eager to show
him and Rick's brother Marty

an object they recently found
on Lot 21.

You guys have the look of, uh,
somebody who's on a mission.

Yeah, we got a little
top-pocket find.

-We do?
-Yeah.

Gary was metal detecting,
and he found something

he wants to show you.

I'm here.
(chuckles)

Well, we found a nice piece...

of jewelry.

RICK:
Wow.

It's a brooch,
but it's a fancy brooch.

Definitely, a lot of work
went into this.

Oh, my gosh!

It's another bobby-dazzler.
Look!

NARRATOR:
Just moments earlier,

while looking for possible
metal artifacts on Lot 21,

Rick and Gary made an
astonishing discovery.

GARY:
It's a bloody brooch.
Look at that.

NARRATOR:
For the second time
in less than one year,

they have located
what appears to be

a genuine piece
of antique jewelry.

Something that, once analyzed,

might validate numerous legends

about a vast treasure
of gold and jewels

being buried on the island
hundreds of years ago.

You can see where the pin was
on the back.

-DAN: I see.
-GARY: Yeah.

Aren't we looking for gold,
silver, coins, and jewelry?

-Yes, we are.
-Yeah.

GARY:
And we're finding more jewelry.

MARTY:
Yeah, it's pretty amazing.

-It's a second gemstone...
-Yeah,

second one with
a-a gemstone in it.

MARTY:
Hmm.

Look at this, Rick.
We've got it.

NARRATOR:
Last year, while exploring

near the middle of the island
on Lot 8,

Rick and Gary
unearthed a jeweled brooch,

set with a similar
red-colored stone.

-Look at that.
-Oh, man.

NARRATOR:
A stone that was later
determined to be

a hand-cut Rhodolite Garnet,

possibly dating back
as early as the 16th century.

RICK:
That's gorgeous.

It's a brooch, another one.

And it's got a bright red
jewel on it.

Could be valuable, spendable.

The jewel is much smaller
than the find last year,

a little bit more intricate
design on the setting.

This is much more
well-preserved.

Is it a unique,
interesting find? Absolutely.

MARTY:
How old do you think that is?

It wouldn't surprise me
if that's 1700s or even older.

Well, they've made jewelry
for a long time, you know that.

-Exactly.
-I have visions of, like,

pirates filling their pockets
full of jewelry,

running across the island
dropping this stuff.

NARRATOR:
It has been well-documented
that the waters

in and around Oak Island
were frequented by a number

of Portuguese, Spanish
and English pirates

dating back as early
as the 16th century.

There was even one pirate--
Captain James Anderson--

who lived on the island
after fleeing the United States

during the American Revolution.

Was the brooch found
by Rick and Gary on Lot 21

dropped there by one of these
visiting buccaneers?

Or could it be one
of the jewels that,

according to legend,

was hidden on Oak Island
by the maid

of Queen Marie Antoinette

while she was fleeing
the bloody French Revolution?

RICK:
It's quite an
intricate design, though.

GARY:
Yeah, a lot of work
went into this.

In my opinion,
what you really want is

to get a date on it.

Exactly, yeah.
Exactly.

We've got two brooches
and two gemstones.

Let's get this
and the other one to an expert

and see if they're
somehow related.

That would be interesting.

Which would mean
there could be some more.

Well, get out there and find a
whole chest full of that stuff.

I knew you was gonna say that.

Exactly.
I'm consistent.

(laughter)

All right, let's get back
to the field, then, Gary.

-MARTY: Time to search for more.
-DAN: Good luck.

NARRATOR:
Later that same day,

members of the Oak Island team
continue to oversee progress

of an operation they hope will
allow them to actually see

what lies hidden deep beneath
the island's surface.

The process seems quite quick

when you have all those guys
down there.

Yeah, so we go
eight at a time here,

-so they're gonna get going
in a couple seconds.
-Okay.

NARRATOR:
Working with representatives
from Eagle Canada,

a geophysical exploration
company specializing in

cutting-edge technology,

Rick, Marty and their partners
have decided to use a process

called seismic scanning
to survey the area

known as the Money Pit.

The place where, 223 years ago,

teenager Daniel McGinnis
and two of his friends found

what they believed
to be the entrance

to a mysterious
underground treasure vault.

Using expl*sive charges,

each armed with approximately
20 grams of dynamite,

seismic scanning works
by setting off

a series of relatively minor
explosions into the ground,

and which, in turn,
send sound waves

deep below the Earth's surface.

These waves are then measured
by geophone receivers,

up to a depth of 300 feet.

The measurements are then
processed in such a way

as to create a virtual
three-dimensional map

of the area underground.

CHARLES:
So how many have
you done already?

We've done 225
so far this morning, so

we're averaging
just over a hundred per hour.

-Okay.
-So we got a good tempo
right now.

We're excited. I mean,
this is the first time

that anything like this has
ever been done on Oak Island.

NARRATOR:
Although larger
seismic explosions

can map areas miles
beneath the surface,

the testing being conducted on
Oak Island has been calibrated

to create a map of an area some
150 to 200 feet below ground.

If successful, it is the team's
hope that the map created

will reveal not only
natural voids,

but ones that are man-made,
such as secret tunnels,

and possibly the location
of a legendary treasure vault.

If that data
can be as good or better

as the 2-D, uh, line test,

we'll, uh...
we'll be in business.

Well, I know I speak
for all the guys that

we're really looking forward
to the results here.

-Oh, yeah.
-And as Dan always said,

you can't look underground.
So you guys

are giving us
that opportunity

-to look underground here.
-Yeah.

NARRATOR:
As the seismic testing
continues at the Money Pit,

area archeologist Laird Niven
makes his way

to the Oak Island
visitors center,

where Rick and Marty Lagina

are eager to show him
their latest discovery.

-Oh, here he is.
-Hello!
-Here's the man of the hour.

-Hey, Laird.
-How are you guys?

-So, we've been busy.
-Okay.

Lots 21 and 22
have been cleared off,

so I'm finally able to

-swing a detector in there.
-Right.

And we got a nice little tone,

and this pops out first,
doesn't it?

Wow.

It's a little pin.

Seen anything like it?

No?

No. We don't get
a lot of jewelry.

-We don't tend to.
-You don't?

-No.
-We would really like to know.

If you've never seen
one of those,

an example of that,
that's very curious.

No.

It's perhaps significant
that Laird says

that jewelry
is not often found.

And he's here in Nova Scotia
in his archaeological dig,

so that means there's
something special about this.

We're finding things here
that he doesn't normally find.

But it's pretty cool, isn't it?

-It is.
-I mean, any idea?

It is a lighter metal,
isn't it?

Yeah.

LAIRD:
And they gilded
the receptacle here.

NARRATOR:
Gilded? As in gold?

Dating back over 5,000 years

to the time of the ancient
Egyptians,

gilding is a technique by which
thin layers of genuine gold,

sometimes called gold leaf,

are applied to an item,
such as an ornate picture frame

or a piece of jewelry.

If the brooch discovered
on Lot 21 is, in fact, gold,

it could be
the first object of jewelry

containing this precious metal

that Rick and Marty
have discovered

in their 12 years spent looking
for treasure on Oak Island.

LAIRD:
Very interesting.

-I would say, "Holy shmoly!"
-(laughter)

Yeah, it's kind of
off the charts for us, you know?

It's not...
This is completely unexpected.

Yep. Would you recommend
more testing?

Finding someone from
a religious artifact background

-to look at it?
-Well, yeah,

I don't think you can,
you can overstudy it.

Okay. What else?

We need to follow up
on the leads

regarding looking
at both brooches.

-Yeah.
-And I'll try and keep you
even busier.

-Excellent.
-Excellent.

Just, uh, just
getting warmed up.

All right, Laird, it's gonna
be a great summer.

-It's gonna be a great summer.
-Yeah, I can't...

-You know,
I'm looking forward to it.
-See you later, man.

-Thanks for the help.
-Thanks a lot.

-Cheers, mate.
-Cheers.

NARRATOR:
The next day,

after making their exciting
discovery on Lot 21,

Rick Lagina and Gary Drayton
welcome representatives

from Brycon Construction
and Irving Equipment, Limited.

They have come to make
the final preparations

for what promises
to be the most ambitious

and technologically advanced
operation ever attempted...

Mike, how you doing?

...in the 223 year-long history

of the Oak Island
treasure hunt:

the installation of a 25-foot
deep metal cofferdam

off the coast of Smith's Cove.

When completed,
the encircled area

will be drained
and then excavated

in an effort to find
the elusive flood tunnels

and, perhaps, a direct entrance
to the Oak Island Money Pit.

But before construction
of the cofferdam can begin,

a new access road and platform
must be laid out

to allow
for the massive equipment,

including a 300-ton crane
to be transported

down to the beach area.

That crane is the biggest item
that will have to be moved down.

And, of course,
we'll have to track out

so we have to seriously
reconfigure the path

from 10-X down to Smith's Cove.

And by serious,
I mean quite serious.

Okay, well, uh,
I think everybody knows

what we need to do.

I think, you've all been
communicating.

The whole idea
is to get your gear,

Irving's gear,
down to Smith's Cove

-and get that sheet pile
and the crane pad in. Right?
-Yep.

And then, as far as
Brycon is concerned, you know,

you're gonna be bringing
in a lot of material.

-Yeah, we got about
175 loads coming in.
-RICK: Oh.

And then, as far as your work,

you're gonna be starting
from somewhere up in this area?

-Or where?
-We're gonna start right up...
right about that grass.

Okay.

So, uh, gentlemen,
welcome to Lift Lab.

Here we have with us
our engineering folks,

as well as some of the folks

-from our pile driving
department.
-Okay.

NARRATOR:
Two weeks ago, Rick,

Craig Tester
and Dave Blankenship

traveled to the headquarters
of Irving Equipment, Limited

in St. John, New Brunswick.

There they were presented
with a 3-D hologram design

for a massive cofferdam.

Look at the amount of earth
we have to deal with.

-It's intimidating.
-Yeah, it is a big structure.

NARRATOR:
Once completed,
a nearly 525-foot-wide,

watertight steel wall
will allow the Oak Island team

to fully drain and excavate
Smith's Cove.

This will make it possible
for the team to dig up

any important artifacts
or evidence of treasure.

They also hope
to locate and shut off

the box drain flood system

believed to feed seawater
into the Money Pit.

My hope has always been

that even though the searchers

over two and
a quarter centuries

did highly disruptive
search agendas in Smith Cove,

my hope is that a small section

of the so-called box drains
yet survives.

And I would love
to lay eyes on that.

Once this process gets all done,

what's your timing look like?

Uh, we're thinking
probably a week and half.

Aside from that, I think you
guys got your marching orders

and if there is anything
we can do, you-you let us know.

-Fair enough?
-Yep.
-That's no problem.

All right, gentlemen,
good luck.

NARRATOR:
As the team from
Brycon Construction

begins work on a new road
to Smith's Cove,

Rick, Marty and members
of the Oak Island team

gather at the
Mug and Anchor Pub

in the nearby town
of Mahone Bay.

Hey, Guys.

-Hey.
-DAVE: Hey, Marty.

-Started without us, huh? Again?
-Again.

-Well, you know,
you know how it goes.
-Yeah, I do.

-(laughs)
-We're just talking
about my favorite subject:

-metal detecting.
-Mm. And what'd you figure out?

-That it's been going good.
-MARTY: Yeah.

Can we talk about the brooch?

Yeah, that took me by surprise.
I mean...

But those brooches
are a good sign, because

if you're looking
for treasure on Oak Island,

it isn't just going to be coins.
You would imagine

-there'd be a lot of jewelry.
-MARTY: Yeah.

-But what it indicates
is wealth on the island.
-Yes.

As regards the brooches,
we are, uh, going to Calgary.

We've located a gemologist,

someone highly qualified,
has an incredible pedigree.

And he's an expert
in the study of jewelry.

And, uh, hopefully,
he can give us some insight,

tell you whether or not
you're really onto something.

Okay, so the old guys
are off to Calgary

for some answers
and some revelations.

We're going to find out
about the brooches.

The rest of you, carry on.
Hold down the fort.

-To the hunt!
-Cheers.

MARTY: Well, Dave, what do
Wh you think of Calgary, man? ?

DAVE:
It looks nice, so far,

what I've seen of it.

NARRATOR: Having traveled some
3,000 miles west of Oak Island

to the city of Calgary
in Alberta, Canada,

brothers Rick and Marty Lagina,

along with Dave Blankenship,
are heading

to the Alberta College
of Art and Design

to have the two
gemstone brooches,

each discovered on the western
end of the island,

professionally examined
and compared.

You know, I'm always on about
timing things, a timeline.

I'm hoping Charles
can render an opinion.

My hope is that it predates
searcher activity.

MARTY:
Well, let's see what he says.

-Now, look, we all agreed it was
worth a trip, right, Dave?
-Yep.

We'll find out
how spendable they are.

(laughs)
Of course.

MARTY:
We are going to see
a preeminent gemologist.

His name is Charles Lewton-Brain

and we're excited to see what
he thinks these stones are.

Here we go.

Composition, origin, date,

all the things that
we're usually looking for

in Rick's information hunt
and in the treasure hunt.

-RICK: Charles, I believe?
-MARTY: Charles?

I'm Rick.
Nice to finally meet you.

-I'm Marty.
Nice to meet you, sir.
-Hi, Marty.

NARRATOR: Charles Lewton-Brain
is a professional artist,

gemologist and master goldsmith
who has also been an instructor

at a number
of Canadian universities

for more than 30 years.

So, you know,
we've got these two items

-that we found on Oak Island.
-Right.

And, uh, we would really like

to see what you can
tell us about them.

CHARLES L.:
Huh.

NARRATOR: In preparation
for today's visit,

the two gemstones
have been carefully removed

from their settings
so that each

can be thoroughly examined.

CHARLES L.:
We have a large, red gem.

When it was found, anything I
should understand about context?

As you know, it was found
on Oak Island last year.

It came out pretty much
as you see it there.

Okay, so I placed the, uh, gem

into the video microscope.

NARRATOR:
To make a visual assessment
of the stones,

Mr. Lewton-Brain
will use a variety of tools,

including a digital
video microscope

which can magnify an object up
to 220 times its original size,

as well as make recordings
in high definition.

CHARLES L.:
You can see the facets--

-they don't meet perfectly.
-Yeah.
-Mm-hmm.

And, so, definitely
hand-cut, not machine-cut.

And we do have
a lot of surface damage.

I can also see
a number of scratches.

They're sharp in nature.

They're not blurred
and rounded.

Let's try this.

I'm getting a refractive index
of over 1.7.

Which means?

-Ruby is 1.74.
-Oh.

So, perhaps we should look
at the other microscope.

And there's cracks and grooves,

but they're sharp cracks
and grooves.

-That good or bad?
-CHARLES L.: That's good.

Well, if you want it to be
a gemstone, it's good.

But I would say, so far,
consistent with garnet.

It's a pretty stone.

-Good.
-(laughs)

-We got us a gemstone.
-Yes, you do.

NARRATOR: The confirmation
that the object

discovered last year
on Lot Eight is, in fact,

a semiprecious stone garnet
offers exciting news.

It also supports a previous
professional evaluation

that suggested the brooch could
be more than 300 years old,

long before the discovery
of the Money Pit in 1795.

MARTY:
Can we take a look,
then, at the other one?

This is the most recent find.

CHARLES L.:
Right, so,

in order to know
a bit more about it,

what can you tell me about
the location that it was found?

It was almost
a peat-like environment,

uh, but not wet,
not-not soaked, certainly.

The depths were
in the neighborhood

-of ten to 12 inches.
-Okay.

Um, it came out pretty much
as you see it there.

CHARLES L.:
Well, let's just see here.

MARTY:
Oh, there we go.

CHARLES L.:
The facet junctions-- that is

the sharp points between the
planes-- they're quite worn.

That implies a softer material.

There is an inclusion.

An inclusion means something
inside the stone.

And that would be a bubble?

Let's see if I can increase
my magnification.

Oh, yes. Oh, yeah.

The-the inclusion is made up
out of many, many tiny bubbles.

And so, I think we're pretty
sure this is glass.

-RICK: I see.
-MARTY:
That's maybe bad news, then.

RICK:
When Charles tells us
that he believes

the stone in the new brooch
is glass,

you know, of course,
there's an initial, "Oh."

You know, "that's not good."

I wanted it to be a ruby.

You know? We're searching
for treasure, here.

That would have been
a, you know, a precious stone.

So yeah, initial reaction
is disappointment.

So, definitive glass,
but also definitive hand-made.

Not modern.

RICK:
When you say not modern...

Well, glass gems have been
around at least, uh, 500 years.

Leaded glass has been used

a long time because, um,

the light passes
through it well.

And, again,
that's why chandeliers

-are-are made
out of leaded glass.
-What about the red color?

-Is there anything
to make from that?
-AXEL: Well, uh,

in the color red, the formulas
for making red glass

have been lost and found,
and lost and found again,

-several times through history.
-MARTY: Lost, how?

How would you lose such a thing?

Uh, well, glass people
were extremely secretive.

Each family
that was working glass

would have their own little book
of recipes, sometimes in code.

NARRATOR:
Secret recipes...

written in code?

Over the years,
many researchers

and historians have theorized

that the people
behind the Oak Island mystery

were likely members
of an elite secret society.

Among the most prominent
of these organizations

is the Rosicrucians,

a group of 16th century
European intellectuals

who are believed to have been
led by Sir Francis Bacon,

and whose symbol was a blood
red, or "rosy cross,"

hence, the name Rosicrucians.

Could the blood-red stones
that were found on Oak Island

be linked in some way
to this secret organization,

or perhaps
to the Knights Templar,

a medieval order of warrior
monks who wore red crosses,

and whose traditions
and rituals were later adopted

by the secretive fraternity
of master builders

known as the Freemasons.

Secret societies
keep their secrets well.

That's why they're
secret societies.

Might there be a connection
or an importance

in their initiation rites
or in their emblems

or in their symbology, they
used the color red extensively?

Certainly, there is
a possible connection.

-All right, so, perhaps we
should look at the other part...
-Okay.

Let's look-let's look
at the setting itself.

-If we can impose on you longer.
-Oh, yeah.

Okay, it's a brooch.

Might as well
try our digital camera.

The part I'm really interested
in is the cord.

That is, the wire
that surrounds the bezel,

the bezel is what holds
the stone in.

And so, if you look
at this cord, or wire,

you can see that there's
a spiral nature to it.

And you can see that there are
these diagonal lines on here.

-Here.
-This is not

your ordinary, old brooch
found in the ground.

That is a super ancient way
of making wire.

CHARLES L.:
If you look at this wire,

-you can see that there's
a spiral nature to it.
-Yes.

CHARLES L.:
It's called block twisting,

and this is the sign
of ancient jewelry.

Interesting.

NARRATOR:
Dating back to as early
as the 22nd century B.C.,

in the period known
as the Bronze Age,

the ancient technique
known as block twisting

was common in the production
of the gold wire

used in making jewelry.

It was accomplished
by hammering a metal ingot

into a thin rod and twisting it

to form
a tight braid-like wire.

The metal thread would then
be rolled between two pieces

of hard wood to create
a uniform diameter.

So the fact that
it's what appears

to be a block-twisted wire--

this implies age.

Mainly because of that wire.

Mainly because of that wire.
That wire is highly unusual.

How old?
I mean...

1340s drawplates,
so prior to then,

the only wires we've got are
made in some manner like this.

-Potentially older than 1330?
-Older?

Yep.

NARRATOR:
If Charles Lewton-Brain's
assessment

is correct, the brooch
is the team's first artifact

that has been authenticated
as being made

as early as the 14th century,
or even earlier.

This would make it
some 300 years older

than the 17th century
English and Spanish coins

that have been found on Oak
Island over the past six years.

I have been completely
unwilling to believe

that what happened on Oak Island
happened pre-1400s.

Completely unwilling to believe
it. And now you got this.

It looks like
this could be a brooch

from the 1300s or before,

so with a bit
of a question mark,

and with a bit of uncertainty,
yeah, it opens up

all kinds of avenues,
and changes, potentially,

my thinking about
what happened here.

What about the overall design?

Does that give you
any clues at all?

Nothing specific,

beyond the use of spirals,
which many cultures have done.

It places it
as kind of crude work.

Um, countryside work, perhaps.

I would say European, for sure.

RICK:
So, would there be
databases for that,

a way to proceed
with further testing?

The British Gemological Society
in London.

Um, uh, they might
have some databases.

-The data's out there somewhere.
-It is.

Well, thank you for bringing it.
It's been, um, a treat.

It's been interesting
for us, too.

Extremely. Well, listen,
thank you very much.

-Absolute, absolute pleasure.
-Thank you very much.

Absolute pleasure.

On to the next task.

I think this was perfect.

NARRATOR:
The next day,

as Rick Lagina
supervises the building

of the new road leading
to Smith's Cove...

I'm gonna predict
that it is pre-1840.

...Marty Lagina joins
his son Alex

and his friend and business
partner Craig Tester

as they travel
some 50 miles northeast

to St. Mary's University
in the city of Halifax.

Thanks, Craig.

NARRATOR:
They are eager to find out

if the antique brooch
that was discovered on Lot 21

is, in fact,
partially made of gold.

Dr. Brosseau.

Nice to see you, Christa.

Welcome down
to the microscope lab.

-Hello.
-Xiang, good to see you.

-Good seeing you.
-Hi, how are you?
-Good.

We have something here
I think you are gonna find

quite interesting, actually.

Piece of jewelry of some sort.

NARRATOR:
Dr. Christa Brosseau
is an associate professor

of chemistry, with expertise in
the field of electrochemistry

as well as the study of metals

and their chemical
compositions.

Today, she is joined by
her colleague, Dr. Xiang Yang.

CHRISTA:
Very nice.

-MARTY: Pretty, isn't it?
-CHRISTA: Yeah.

MARTY:
The brooch was found this year,

and we've had it looked at
by a gemologist already,

and it did appear
that there were places

-that had gold.
-Okay. Where did you guys
find this?

MARTY:
Kind of the western end
of the island.

CHRISTA:
It's in really good condition.

Have a look, and we'll see
what your machine says.

NARRATOR:
Using a high-powered
scanning electron microscope,

Doctors Brosseau and Yang will
be able to magnify the brooch

up to tens of thousands
of times its actual size.

They also will be able
to examine

its chemical composition

and determine whether
it's made of gold

or any other precious metals.

CRAIG:
Now, is there any manganese

in what you're seeing there?

CHRISTA:
No, that's just copper,

zinc, typical brass.

It's good to check,
because brass

can often imitate gold
very well, right?

Mm-hmm.

-MARTY:
What are the lighter spots?
-Yeah, what I'm looking at--

what are we seeing
that's bright?

Is that
the potential gold, or...

You know, right
in the very center.

CHRISTA:
It could be.

This is right under
where the stone was.

This is the brightest... To the
naked eye, this is, by far,

the brightest.

Okay, well why don't we do
a composition

on that brightest spot,
right underneath?

-'Cause that's...
-Okay, I think we can do that.

CHRISTA:
We'll be able
to tell in a minute.

Okay.

Should be good.

So, the dark area here
is pure copper.

That's interesting.

But...

-The bright area...
-Yeah?

Gold.

Well, how about that?
Gary can go do his gold dance.

-He found some gold.
-You got gold.

-You definitely
struck gold. Yep.
-(laughing)

We struck gold.

MARTY:
Yeah, I guess I'd have to say
that's the first piece

of verified gold
found on the island.

ALEX:
That's a first for us, right?

It's a first for us, for sure.

I think this would be
considered actual treasure.

-Yeah.
-ALEX: All right.
-CRAIG: Yeah.

Well, here's the deal:
we found treasure on Oak Island.

Yeah. We did.

-(whoops)
-We've been in it... (whoops)

Woot, woot. And we've proven it
right here, in this lab today.

-Excellent.
-So that's pretty cool.

-Not bad.
-I mean, yeah.

-That's a pretty good day.
-(chuckles)

MARTY:
The brooch that was
found this year

is motivating and exciting,

'cause it's a real piece
of treasure.

You just can't deny that.

It's a piece of treasure,

in the elaborate setting
found on Oak Island.

This is just
the tip of the iceberg.

There is more
that awaits us this year.

-Now we need to bring in
the mother lode.
-Yeah.

-Thank you very much, as always.
-Oh, you're welcome.

-Xiang, a pleasure.
-Congratulations.

I'm gonna pick up all kinds of
things to put in that machine.

-Thanks.
-CHRISTA: Thanks, guys.

NARRATOR: Returning to the
island later that afternoon,

Marty Lagina calls a meeting
in the w*r room.

He is eager to share
the exciting news

with his brother Rick
and members of their team.

Guys, I am freshly back
from St. Mary's University.

Craig and Alex and I
went up there,

and I-I shouldn't be excited
about this, really,

in a sense, but I am,
because, David...

...this little gem
has gold on it.

(chuckles)

We have found our first gold
on Oak Island.

DAVID:
I want more gold than that.

Well, come on, man.

-(laughter)
-Small victories, right?

Yeah.

MARTY:
You know, when, uh, Dr. Brosseau

put the scanning electron
microscope on it

and it came up "Au,"
you know, gold.

I-I think that's pretty cool.

NARRATOR:
For Rick, Marty and their team,

the discovery of an actual
piece of golden treasure

is a momentous development
in the 223-year history

of the Oak Island
treasure hunt.

It is also a major step forward
in their quest to prove

that something
of even greater value

may have been buried here
centuries ago.

We had a gemologist look
at this in Calgary, too,

and he thought
that there's one little style

that's called block twist,

which is the braided
around the gem.

And he said
that went out of fashion

as a method of doing things
in the 14th century.

-Really?
-Yeah. So we keep getting

some really odd potential dates.

Now, this is not
a super quality gem piece,

in that it's gold-plated,

but it's gold,
and it could be very old.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, but it occurs to me
that "old" and "gold"

are two good words to use
if you're on Oak Island.

Yeah, exactly.

So we have this brooch,

which could be a lot older
than we ever thought.

We have the lead cross
not mined in North America.

So these artifacts are pushing
us back farther in time

than I ever thought
we would see here.

Well, you know, Rick, I never
thought we'd be finding stuff

from the 12 or 1300s.

I can't say that I ever thought
that, as well, David,

but we're finding answers.

-Way back.
-Way back.

NARRATOR:
Could both the gold-plated
brooch and the one

containing the hand-cut garnet
be somehow connected?

If so, could they have been
brought to the island

by pirates sometime
in the 18th century,

or possibly much earlier?

As far as Rick, Marty and their
partners are concerned,

as close as they are
to getting answers,

the 223-year-old
Oak Island treasure hunt

has only just begun.

So, guys,
you're all up to speed,

you all have all the data, we've
discussed where this might lead.

I think we should get
back to actual work.

Let's go.

NARRATOR:
Before another long day

of both questions and answers
ends on Oak Island,

Rick Lagina and Dan Henskee

head over to the Money Pit area

to check on
the seismic team's progress.

-ALEX G.: Hey, guys.
-Hey.

-It's a wrap.
-Really?

-Absolutely.
-It's a wrap?

Is that the celebratory, uh...

-That was the last one.
-That was the last one?

-It's officially in the books.
-Where's-where's my last one?

-There you go. Yeah.
-I'll take it, I'll take it.

-Program souvenir.
-That's fantastic, guys.

You know, look,
we really appreciate it.

I-I can't speak highly enough
about your team, yourselves.

But here's the key:

when are we going to Calgary?
When are we gonna see the data?

Well, we got a push on it.

We're really hoping
for a couple weeks.

NARRATOR:
The news that the seismic team

has finished
collecting their data

represents
an important milestone

for Rick Lagina
and the Oak Island team.

Once processed, the information
collected should produce

a comprehensive,
three-dimensional map

of the area, some 200 feet
below the surface.

It should also reveal the
presence of possible tunnels

and underground structures,

potential hiding places
for a legendary treasure.

I can't say thank you enough.

My hope is that, you know,
when we do come to Calgary,

you guys are gonna be able
to put a map down in front of us

and say,
"Okay, here's your target.

Here's what this is,
Here's what that is."

I certainly think you, uh,
got some more believers here

on the island
with our time here,

and, uh, we can
give you guys some answers.

Be careful about your wish that
you'll give us all the answers,

'cause we won't want you back
with your geophones,

we'll want you back
with shovels.

(laughing)

We can do that as well.

All righty.
That'd be great, guys.

Thank you very much.

Let's go, Dan.

DAN H.:
Yep.

NARRATOR:
With the new road
to the beach completed,

brothers Rick and Marty Lagina
are finally ready

to break ground on this
summer's most ambitious

and most eagerly
anticipated project...

...the excavation
of Smith's Cove.

Today the team
from Irving Equipment, Limited

has begun delivering the heavy
machines and equipment

that will be needed
in order to construct

a massive steel cofferdam.

(horn honking)

They're here.

Here we go.

-Pretty remarkable,
isn't it, David?
-Yep.

NARRATOR:
Over the next few days,

the team will assemble
a 300-ton crane

at the Money Pit area,
before it can be staged

on the nearby beach,

where some 2,200 tons of earth
have been moved

to build a perfectly flat
work surface.

And in a couple days,
that'll be put together.

-Yep.
-And roughly two,
three weeks from now,

we'll be down at target depth.

-It's cool.
-Just think how long
it took your father.

-We didn't have
the technology, then.
-Exactly.

NARRATOR:
Once the crane is in place,

construction can finally begin

on the nearly 525-foot-long
watertight barrier.

When it is completed, the ocean
water will be drained out,

and then the entire area,
nearly 12,000 square-feet,

will be excavated.

This will allow the team
to uncover not only

important artifacts such as
the mysterious lead cross

discovered at Smith's Cove
last year,

but also possible evidence of
an ancient flood tunnel system.

RICK:
Because of the find
of the cross,

we have to do
a very disciplined,

archaeologically-driven dig,

in order to see if there are
other similar artifacts.

We've always thought that
there may be a treasure trove

of information at Smith's Cove.

At the end of this exercise,
we're going to know more about

Smith's Cove than has
ever been known before.

MARTY:
It's a big operation.

It's scary, in a sense,
it's daunting.

And it's exciting.

There's a story here.

-Yep.
-And it's constantly
un-unraveling.

-Yep.
-For me, the quest is really

to find out what happened here,
long ago.

And I hope that
there's answers down there.

I do, too.

NARRATOR:
After a week that
saw the discovery

of an actual piece
of gold jewelry

thought to be
nearly 700 years old,

the Laginas and their partners
are more confident than ever

that their decades of dreaming

and years of searching
are finally paying off.

But as they become
the first in a long line

of Oak Island treasure hunters

to actually look beneath the
surface, what will they find?

Evidence of a vast network
of booby-trapped flood tunnels?

An enormous, underground vault

filled with pirate riches
or Templar gold?

Or could they discover
secrets so sacred

and so forbidden

that they have been
fiercely guarded

against any who might
dare to reveal them?

Next Time
on The Curse of Oak Island...

MARTY:
We're going to get a look
at the seismic results.

This is definitely
the largest anomaly.

It is a confident structure,
whatever it is.

Is that consistent
with a chamber?

Yeah. It is.

MARTY: Now we have a target, so
we need to drill it right away,

find out what it is.

TERRY: Wow, look at that.
This is a lot of wood here.

MARTY:
Maybe it is the old Money Pit.

GARY:
Look at this! This is old.

we're talking, like,
Templar old.