12x17 - Boots on the Ground

[bunniefuu]

NARRATOR: Tonight on
The Curse of Oak Island...

IAN: How does Lot 5
connect to the Money Pit?

This may be that pathway.

This could be the connection
we've been looking for.

- HELEN: Wow.
- I don't know what that is.

- This is very unusual.
- EMMA: Everything suggests

an earlier date: 1600s to 1700s.

GARY: Here we go. Look at this.

- That could easily be off a box or a chest.
- TERRY: I agree.

Where are we gonna find
what fell out of those chests?

Ready to go diving.

- KEN: Let's go diving.
- RICK: We want to see

if there's treasure
within Aladdin's cave.

TERRY: Oh, my God.

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,

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 died

trying to solve the mystery.

And according to legend,
one more will have to die

before the treasure
can be found.

♪

- RICK: Hey, Ken. Welcome back.
- KEN: Thank you.

Good morning.

We hope you'll tell us
if it's a good morning.

- That's right.
- NARRATOR: As a new day

begins on Oak Island,

brothers Rick and Marty Lagina
and members of their team

anxiously welcome

underwater imaging
expert Ken Deboer

to the fabled Money Pit area.

Right now, we have
a caisson into a cave.

So, the cave is
about 150 feet deep.

So the hope today
is to get your R.O.V.

all the way to the bottom
and just underneath the casing.

- KEN: Okay.
- And to run sonar first to see what's in it.

- Mm-hmm. Sure.
- And to see if we can see a void

- or a tunnel heading towards the Money Pit area.
- Okay.

And you do have a camera
as well on that, correct?

- That's right. Yeah.
- RICK: Let's just take a look-see

- and see what happens.
- Okay.

NARRATOR: One week
ago, while representatives

from ROC Equipment and SB Canada

were excavating a
seven-foot diameter steel shaft

known as AC-1...

[metal thuds, creaks]

- I think we're breaking through the cave.
- Agreed.

NARRATOR: at a
depth of some 150 feet,

a massive underground
cavity was breached,

which the team had previously
dubbed "Aladdin's cave."

It's almost like
there's nothing there.

Like a void.

NARRATOR: This mysterious cavern

was first discovered during
a core-drilling operation

back in 2022.

STEVE: Right now, we're
looking into the cavity.

NARRATOR: And since then,
the team has been astonished

to obtain not only images

of possible man-made
artifacts and tunnels within it

but also high traces
of precious metals

in water samples.

We'll pick the R.O.V. up

and then center
it over the caisson

and we'll go down from there.

- All right. Copy that.
- All right?

NARRATOR: Now, after inserting

a water-clarifying compound
known as flocculent

several days ago,
the team is hoping

that Ken Deboer's sonar-equipped

remote-operated
vehicle, or R.O.V.,

will confirm if Aladdin's
cave is a man-made chamber

and just what it might contain.

Josh.

Nice and easy?

- KEN: Got it?
- Yep.

KEN: Beautiful.

Okay, Rick,

this is our main R.O.V. camera.

- Yeah.
- This'll be our sonar screen.

- Hopefully, we'll see what we can do.
- Okeydoke.

- Ready to go diving.
- Let's go diving.

RICK: I hope that with the
introduction of the R.O.V.,

that it will be able to tell us

if there's treasure
within Aladdin's cave.

For it to have treasure in it,

or to prove that human
beings were there,

there has to be to be an entry.

How many times have
you seen this image,

- of a camera going down?
- Oh, a lot.

RICK: And you know what?

Every time, we believe.

- Every time, we hope.
- Yep.

MARTY: Aladdin's cave

shouldn't be
there, geologically,

which means it likely
is human-induced.

About 15 more feet.

RICK: It's extremely intriguing.

We have video of it.

It is well and truly an anomaly.

JARED: Touching water.

KEN: Ooh. Ugh.

- GARY: That's murky, isn't it?
- RICK: Yeah, really.

TERRY: Ten
centimeters into the water.

- Ouch.
- RICK: Ooh.

- RICK: Nothing.
- GARY: That's gone black now.

TERRY: The flocculant...

maybe didn't do a good job.

I-I wouldn't have thought
it would go that black

- that early.
- KEN: No. Wow.

So, where we're at,
Rick, is that we're in...

floating in water, we're
in the water column...

and the sonar is
completely silted out.

So we can't see
through the dirt, the mud.

RICK: Hmm. I wouldn't
have expected that.

We have the proper
amount of flocculent in there.

It's seeing nothing but mud.

It's black.

It's as if there's something

completely blocking
all the sonar signals.

RICK: Hmm.

NARRATOR: Mysterious
setbacks on Oak Island

have been a reoccurring
nightmare for treasure hunters

ever since the discovery
of the Money Pit in 1795.

So, today, having
taken diligent measures

to improve the visibility
in Aladdin's cave,

the failure to
capture sonar images

through the heavy
silt in the water

is hard for the team to fathom.

Especially since they have
obtained camera images

within the cavity in the past.

I don't think this
is gonna work.

SCOTT: I think as
far as getting visual,

- we're-we're done.
- Yeah.

RICK: Without sonar data,

we have to move on.

We had high expectations of
what Aladdin's cave might represent.

Unfortunately, given
the water quality,

we're not gonna be able to get
the data that we had hoped for.

We've given the water
enough time to settle out.

There's no value in
reintroducing camera or sonar.

It's just not gonna work.

We have certainly not
found an explanation

for the high metals
originally detected,

so something could
still be down there.

But you only have so much time.

We have to move on.

I need to call my
brother and Craig

and see what their opinion is.

- Yeah.
- RICK: We've got to pick

another caisson
location, so I think all of us

will meet in the w*r room.

Ken, thank you for your time.

- Pleasure. Anytime.
- Appreciate it.

RICK: Okay, so
let's get back to work.

NARRATOR: Later
that afternoon...

RICK: So, I just want to
bring you guys up to speed.

Unfortunately, uh, the water

in Aladdin's cave is
too cloudy for sonar,

too cloudy for camera...

NARRATOR: the Laginas,
their partner Craig Tester

and members of their team gather

for a critical strategy
meeting in the w*r room.

RICK: We tried
everything and, uh...

u-unless you have a,
uh, the genie in the bottle

that we weren't
able to retrieve,

there's nothing else we can do.

I think we have
to make a decision

to terminate the hole, as
unseemly as that sounds.

- Yeah.
- RICK: Okay, so, then-then,

we move on to picking
another caisson location.

Vanessa and her team
need to know exactly

where we need to go next.

So, I have an idea
where I would like to go.

I've never left the
idea that Shaft Six

contains o... the
one thing: treasure.

NARRATOR: Despite the fact that
the team is currently unable to pursue

two potential treasure
locations in the Money Pit area,

incredibly, there is one more

that they have yet
to fully investigate.

In the summer of 1861,

members of The
Oak Island Association

drilled through what
were thought to be

two stacked wooden
treasure chests

at a depth of
approximately 100 feet

in the original Money Pit shaft.

In an attempt to retrieve them,

while avoiding a believed
man-made flood tunnel,

they moved 18 feet to the west

and dug an adjacent
shaft, known as Shaft Six,

down to a depth of 118 feet.

From there, they began tunneling
laterally toward the Money Pit

with the hope of retrieving
the treasure from below.

Unfortunately, just one
foot from their target,

a flood of seawater rushed in,

forcing the workers to flee

and causing tons of
lumber inside the Money Pit,

and the believed
treasure chests,

to collapse into the tunnel
connected to Shaft Six.

You've been trying to find
this thing in Shaft Six forever.

- Where would you put this?
- RICK: I would move to the sump area,

the-the lower end of the shaft.

- STEVE: That's down here, right?
- RICK: Right down there.

- Okay.
- RICK: Are we absolutely certain

that's Shaft Six? To the
best of our ability, yes.

So that's where I would go.

JACK: We know that there
was a-a massive collapse.

It makes you think there
has to be some treasure.

Who knows? We
have to go dig it up.

- Yeah.
- SCOTT: If that shaft was never fully cleaned out

a-and gone through,
then there's potential there,

and that's a great
place for a caisson.

STEVE: We should
name it "Rick Lagina"

and we go to the bottom.

[laughter]

I agree with everything
except it should be

"RP-1: Rick Pick One."

- [laughter] - There.

RICK: Shaft Six

always read real to me.

I could picture myself
running for my life,

uh, as the, as the-the
Money Pit collapses.

If there was a treasure
in the original Money Pit,

some of that is in Shaft Six

and in the tunnel
associated with Shaft Six.

That is my firm belief.

I appreciate all the kind words.

Incredibly humbling.

But we wouldn't be
here without each other.

So, look to your
right, look to your left.

You're all an inspiration,

and let's get out
there and find it.

And let's get out
there and find it.

Agreed.

GARY: Well said.

- JARED: Keep going.
- NARRATOR: As representatives

from ROC Equipment and SB Canada

begin the potentially
historic excavation

of the RP-1 Shaft in
the Money Pit area,

nearly half a mile
to the west on Lot 5...

- HELEN: There's still stuff coming out in the middle.
- MOYA: Yeah.

I'll just keep troweling.

NARRATOR:
archaeologists Helen Sheldon

and Moya MacDonald,

along with their
assistant Todd Langseth,

are exploring an
area just outside

of a mysterious
rounded stone foundation.

HELEN: We still have hope
of finding some more stuff.

- Perfect.
- Shouldn't take too much longer.

NARRATOR: While the
team has been amazed

to find evidence of
numerous treasure deposits

in the Money Pit area,

this rounded feature on Lot 5,

which was first
investigated in 2022,

has produced evidence
that it may have been used

as a campsite over
different time periods

ranging from as late
as the mid-18th century

to as early as, and perhaps
even prior to, the 17th century.

The most telling discoveries

include a 14th-century
barter token

that, just like the lead cross

that was uncovered at
Smith's Cove in 2017,

may be connected to
the Knights Templar,

and also, multiple


and a barrel strap,

which have been
scientifically linked

to the birthplace
of Sir William Phips,

an English politician
and privateer

who some believe buried a
vast cache of silver and gold

on Oak Island back in 1687.

Now the team is
meticulously excavating

a 15-by-15-foot test pit

just outside of the
rounded foundation

in the hopes of
finding more clues

that will help prove
who created this feature

and identify who
else may have used it

prior to the discovery
of the Money Pit.

TODD: Hey, Helen. I
don't know what that is.

Wow, let me see.
That looks different.

TODD: It looks
like a nail to me.

HELEN: Oh, my heavens.

There's hardly any
corrosion on that at all.

That's in as good of
shape as a copper nail,

but I don't think it's copper.

Moya, do you have
your magnet here?

- Yeah, I do.
- Could we use it to test

- and see if this is iron or not?
- Yeah, for sure.

- Square, so it's hand-forged?
- Hand-forged,

yeah.

Okay.

- TODD: Oy.
- HELEN: So, it's definitely iron.

Yeah.

HELEN: You found a nail
earlier, right, Todd? Like,

- uh, regular ones?
- Yeah, almost in the same spot.

Doesn't look anything like that.

- And that's typically what we're pulling out for nails here.
- Yeah.

So, this is what
we're normally getting,

these corroded chunks of iron.

And this one looks pristine.

- Isn't that weird?
- Mm-hmm.

HELEN: This is very unusual.

This was probably just
made for building a structure.

This one could be
from something else.

- Wow.
- And it's missing its head.

I wonder if maybe
it isn't even a nail.

It could be something
else. It's very unusual.

MOYA: Well, we've
found some strapping,

so maybe it's part
of, like, some sort of

- chest or barrel or something.
- Barrel, or something like that, yeah.

NARRATOR: A
hand-forged iron artifact,

possibly from a barrel or chest?

If so, could it be
an important clue

that helps link this
structure on Lot 5

to a possible treasure
deposition in the Money Pit?

MARTY: I think there's
decent amount of evidence

that whatever happened on Lot 5

had something to
do with the Money Pit.

Think about that.

The rather large group
of people it takes to do it.

So, where'd they go?

We haven't found one
like this before here.

- It could be quite old.
- MARTY: Lot 5 is a very good place

for an encampment.

There was a lot of
human activity there.

Emma can XRF it...

- Mm-hmm.
- And that will tell us a lot more.

- But that is very interesting.
- Mm-hmm.

HELEN: Todd,
good find. Excellent.

NARRATOR: As the investigation

on Lot 5 continues...

TOM: That's interesting, Jack.

- So, you've got that.
- Ooh, yeah.

JACK: This is redeposited soil.

NARRATOR: Jack
Begley, Gary Drayton,

Tom Nolan and
geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner

are continuing another
critical investigation

in the northern region of
the triangle-shaped swamp.

JACK: This soil,
this type of clay,

should not be this high up.

- TOM: Okay.
- We're still on the edge

- of this cobblestone path...
- Mm-hmm.

But they redeposited this soil.

TOM: Somebody
did something here.

- Yeah.
- JACK: Do you want to scrape

- the top over here a bit?
- Sure. Yeah, absolutely.

TOM: Take that corner there, Al.

NARRATOR: During
the past decade,

the team has uncovered a
number of man-made structures

all across the swamp,

such as a potentially


or ship's wharf, in the
southeastern corner

as well as a massive paved
area near the center of the bog,

which Dr. Spooner believes
could date back to 1200 AD.

And just this year,

they have unearthed
numerous sections

of a cobblestone pathway

that led them to an
empty brick-and-slate vault

in the northern region,

which may have been constructed
in the 18th century or earlier.

These are just a
few of the discoveries

that may validate the theory
of Tom's late father Fred Nolan,

who believed that the
swamp was artificially created

to hide numerous
caches of treasure.

And I'm starting to see
rocks pop up over here, too.

NARRATOR: Now the team
is working to track and uncover

more sections of
the cobblestone path

in the hopes that it might lead

to another important and
perhaps valuable discovery.

These are completely abnormal.

- TOM: No...
- They were just stacked

in the swamp material.

IAN: To me, it's
kind of impressive.

It's very similar, this
feature, to the stone road,

just a different scale.

- I think it's just human-placed.
- JACK: Yeah.

JACK: On the other side of
that bigger boulder right there...

- Right.
- There was more redeposited clays.

Jack, can you show me where
that soil was? That'd be great.

Yeah, it's on the
other side of this rock.

- This right here.
- IAN: Yep.

JACK: This material, you can
see, it's on top of these cobbles.

- IAN: Right.
- And it even comes over right underneath.

Yeah, there's a lot of
hand-laid rock in here, too, right?

Oh, definitely.

You don't get
cobbles all like this

in swamp material.

It doesn't blow in with a storm.

JACK: No, and it seems
to be in linear formation.

IAN: Yeah.

To me, what's
exciting about it is that

if it does go to
the west drumlin,

then it most certainly
goes to the east drumlin.

So, this was a primary pathway

to some kind of activity.

JACK: You'd need
something constructed

to get from one side of
the swamp to the other.

And I was so excited by Lot 5,

but how does Lot 5
connect to the Money Pit?

And this may be that
thread that connects the two.

This could be the connection
we've been looking for.

Yep.

NARRATOR: A pathway
connecting the western drumlin,

or section of Oak Island,
to the eastern drumlin?

IAN: I think when it does
get cleared a little bit more,

it'll start to show
itself better.

NARRATOR: If so,
might this pathway

have been used to
transport valuables from Lot 5

to the Money Pit area?

And also to be
hidden in the swamp?

- I'm off.
- TOM: Okay.

IAN: See you.

JACK: We'll see if
there is anything else.

GARY: Yeah, let's go for it.

See if we got any hits.

Ooh, look at what
we've got here,

- poking out of the mud.
- JACK: What do you see, Gary?

GARY: Look at what we got.

- GARY: Look at what we got. Looks like old leather.
- JACK: Oh!

NARRATOR: In the
Oak Island swamp,

metal detection
expert Gary Drayton

has just made a potentially
significant discovery.

JACK: It is, I bet.

- GARY: Oh.
- Look at the holes in it.

- It looks like it's a heel, doesn't it?
- TOM: Yeah.

JACK: And the holes
were from the pegs

- that would hold the sole down, right?
- GARY: Yeah.

So, they use little,
square-shanked nails

called hobnails, and that's
how you know it's an older shoe.

I think this is a heel
to an adult's boot.

And look, there's
three layers to it.

That's gonna help
the shoe expert

to tell us how old this is.

It looks old to me.

I mean, that-that's
no modern... heel.

- No, that's old.
- I mean, that's a shoo-in,

to help us find out who
made these structures.

NARRATOR: Could
Gary Drayton be correct

that the team may
have found a critical clue

as to who may have constructed
the cobblestone pathway

in the swamp?

And perhaps, also, who
may have buried treasure

in the Money Pit area?

- And should we have...
- Yes.

A-a little dig
around here and see

if there's any more parts to it?

- JACK: Ooh.
- Oh, nice one, Tom.

- TOM: Some more of your shoe, Gary.
- JACK: Nice.

Front end of the shoe.

- Fantastic.
- Bag that with the other stuff.

- Nice one, Tom. Look at that.
- Let's see if we can find some more.

GARY: As my mate Rick would say,

"Eyes and boots."

Well, we have maybe recovered

a piece of the boot or a shoe.

Hey, we got another
piece here. Look.

Now, it's not the type of
booty we was hoping to find,

but it could be very old.

And maybe we can
tell who was here.

TOM: Oh, there's more.

GARY: Yeah.

- [exhales sharply]
- Oh, yeah.

GARY: That's fantastic. Wow.

Ye olde shoe store,
right here in the swamp.

I think the whole
shoe's still here.

This could be one
of the biggest clues

that we've found in
the swamp in total.

GARY: Wow.

Here comes the guys.

Well, you've certainly
made some progress.

You know me, mate.
My twin optical scanners

- are always on the ground...
- Mm-hmm.

And I saw two pieces
of leather sticking up,

which turned into
a lot more pieces.

These are really old.

Look at all this
old leather here.

And it's all got the, uh,
square hobnails in it.

- Mm.
- I mean, look... now, this is no stitching.

- This is old.
- RICK: Where was this? Here?

Just here.

When you say "old..."?

I'd say 1600s.

I'll go straight to


- Oh, really?
- Or even older.

I remember a shoe
we found in the swamp

and Joe Landry dated
that back to the 1600s.

This is absolutely
stunning, mate.

That is either a shoe or a boot.

NARRATOR: Last year, while
investigating the stone road

in the southeast
corner of the swamp,

the team found part
of a deteriorated shoe,

which leather expert Joe Landry
believed may have belonged

to a 17th-century
European soldier.

JOE: This would have been

more likely done in Europe.

NARRATOR: Could
Gary, Tom and Jack

have found additional
clues that may help identify

who created some of
the features in the swamp?

RICK: All the more
reason to carbon-date it,

because we always
try to corroborate data.

Let's pull the top
off and then look for

- whatever else might be here.
- GARY: Yeah,

'cause we know
something's afoot here.

Something's afoot here.

Elementary, Watson.

NARRATOR: The
following morning...

JACK: Keep your eyes peeled,

because just yesterday,

your dad saw leather popping
out of the swamp muck.

Well, hawk eyes
definitely run in the family.

- We'll find it.
- JACK: All right.

Alan, let 'er rip.

NARRATOR: as the
investigation continues

in the northern
region of the swamp...

GARY: Anything unusual, Terry?

- Just backfill.
- Okay.

NARRATOR: in
the Money Pit area,

Gary Drayton and
geologist Terry Matheson

are monitoring the
excavation of the RP-1 Shaft,

a shaft where they hope
to encounter a tunnel

some 118 feet deep that
may contain a debris field

of timbers and,
potentially, valuables.

- Morning. - Hi, Vanessa.
- Hey, Vanessa.

- How you doing?
- Good. We just got a reading for you.

- Super.
- The hole right now is at 69 and a half.

- Well, that's great news.
- TERRY: Yep. - All right.

Well, I'll let you
guys get to it.

- Thanks.
- Thank you.

GARY: We've got
another load, mate.

- I'm off back in.
- Better get there, yeah.

See you in a minute.

[device beeping]

I got an hit here.

[high-pitched beeping]

- Oh.
- TERRY: A hit?

Need a hand, Gary?

GARY: Yeah, just there.

It's deep.

Right. Let's have
a little recheck.

[high-pitched beeping]

It's iron.

Bit of iron plate,

- like a broken strap, possibly.
- Right.

Actually, it's rounded
edges... it's, like, decorative.

- That could...
- Finished edge, for sure.

GARY: That could easily
be off a-a box or a chest.

- We're getting there.
- Yeah.

Where are we gonna find
what fell out of those chests?

NARRATOR: Has Gary
actually found a strap

from one of the
two treasure chests

that are believed
to have broken apart

during the 1861
collapse of the Money Pit?

If so, does that mean

the team might soon
unearth valuables

from within the
Shaft Six tunnel?

The old finds are
coming up right now.

- I agree.
- All right, mate.

If you hang on to that
and put that on the table,

I'll finish searching
the spoils.

- We'll get it off to the lab.
- Okay, mate.

[device beeping]

Got a signal.

Got a signal, Terry!

[high-pitched beeping]

Hang on. One more fish.

Here we go. Look at this.

TERRY: Oh, my lordy.

- GARY: Here we go. Look at this.
- TERRY: Oh, wow.

- That looks like a strap, doesn't it?
- Yeah, that's...

- Yeah, that is a strap.
- Oh, my lordy.

NARRATOR: It is a critical
moment for the Oak Island team.

At a depth of more than


they are finding
clues that suggest

part of the fabled
Money Pit treasure

may soon be within their reach.

- That's sweet, mate.
- Absolutely.

GARY: We're on a treasure hunt,

we're looking for
treasure chests,

and we sure know they used
to have iron straps around them.

This is a great sign.

Now, this is really cool, mate.

That is an old-looking strap.

It looks like it's wrought iron,

and we don't find
many pieces like this

that have got two
straps put together.

Overlapping, and there seems
to be a rivet in there. Wow.

GARY: You're right, mate.
That's for reinforcement.

If you found an
old treasure chest

or, like, a-a lockbox...

- Yep.
- You would have something like this,

this strap around it.

TERRY: For sure. A large
box has to be reinforced.

- Yeah.
- Imagine the weight of gold.

GARY: Yeah. Love it, mate.

Now, I remember a piece of
iron strap that was found on Lot 5.

Maybe we have found
another connection

between the Money Pit and Lot 5.

We won't know that
until we have this tested,

but I wouldn't be surprised.

- It's tantalizing, my friend.
- Yep.

I'm hoping Rick's right, mate,

this Rick Pick One turns
out to be the treasure.

- Hear, hear.
- All right, mate. I'll put it in the bag.

Okay.

JARED: You get a
minute on your upstroke?

Can you raise up
the bottom deck?

- JOHN L.: Yep.
- Perfect. Thank you.

- GARY: Hi, Vanessa.
- VANESSA: Hey, guys.

- GARY: Hi, Rick. - Hey.
- VANESSA: Hey, guys.

- How are you doing today?
- RICK: I'm feeling a little anxious,

to be honest with you.

- How deep are we?
- We're at 78.

RICK: I really believe
we're gonna find something.

- That'd be awesome.
- GARY: Yeah.

JARED: Let's see
what this one does.

RICK: As the can
approaches the area of interest,

I'm excited, stressed.

For one simple reason:
I have always believed

that Shaft Six is the
key to answering,

uh, the question of, "Is there
a treasure in the Money Pit?"

A-And I hope we
prove that today.

I mean, look at all the
artifacts coming up now.

We're getting some really
old-looking iron straps.

And how many times have we
shown Carmen Legge straps?

And you know where
he goes straight to.

Treasure chests and boxes.

RICK: These are very cool.

GARY: Yeah, so this could be

a good sign.

You've got to find the iron

before you find the
gold and the silver.

[laughs]

- RICK: I'm looking forward to it.
- I love it.

GARY: I'm talking
about treasure, mate.

We've got another load here,
which means another chance.

- Okay.
- Perfect.

RICK: Everything is
rounding to a very good day.

VANESSA: Oh, I 100% agree.

NARRATOR: While
the excavation continues

in RP-1...

later that afternoon...

MARTY: Okay. We're here
to talk about this item found

- on Lot 5, right?
- Yes.

NARRATOR: Rick
and Marty Lagina

join other members
of the team in the lab

to receive a report
on the believed nail

that was found one
day ago on Lot 5.

HELEN: This one is different

because most of the
ones we find are, like,

corroded bits of
nail, very corroded.

This one popped
out of the ground

- looking almost perfect.
- MARTY: Yeah.

So, I brought it in
for Emma to test

and run her analysis on it.

And?

And it is older. I will concur.

NARRATOR: Earlier today,

archaeometallurgist
Emma Culligan

scanned the artifact using
the Skyscan 1273 CT Scanner,

a device which
emits X-ray radiation

to produce a three-dimensional
image of its finer details.

In addition, she
also examined it

with the X-ray fluorescence
spectrometer, or XRF,

which uses gamma
rays to determine

an object's elemental
composition.

It's not entirely a nail.

I'd call it more of like a pin?

- They're iron pins.
- HELEN: Yeah. - JACK: Okay.

EMMA: But the cross
section is square,

so it is hand-wrought,
not machine-made.

MARTY: Mm-hmm.

Compositionally,
it's very clean.

There's minimal impurities.

MARTY: Yeah.

Everything suggests
an earlier date.

MARTY: But in general,
the purer the iron,

- the more it lasts?
- Yeah.

- Generally. - Generally speaking.
- HELEN: Yeah.

EMMA: I think the
big indicator was

the aluminum-silicon ratio.

I've seen that characteristic
in colonial American metals.

So, yeah, late


JACK: All right. That date
range fits with William Phips,

and the date
range that would fit

with him possibly
being on Oak Island.

- Yeah. - NARRATOR: In 1687,

Sir William Phips made
two historic salvages

of the Concepción,

a Spanish galleon
that sank off the coast

of the Dominican
Republic in 1641

while carrying 100 tons
of silver, gold and jewels.

After delivering 34 tons
of recovered valuables

to the English crown
from his first mission,

curiously, Phips claimed that
he only found five tons more

on his second trip.

This has led many
to speculate that he

and a Masonic associate
named Captain Andrew Belcher

may have hidden the
missing riches on Oak Island,

based on their secret
knowledge of an ancient vault

that had been buried
in the Money Pit

more than three centuries
earlier by members

of the Knights Templar.

MARTY: I mean,
Emma, I would suggest,

when you get time with
everything else you're doing,

to compare the metallurgy
there to the Phips collection.

Let us know if that matches.

- Absolutely.
- Okay.

NARRATOR: Is it
possible that this artifact

might be related to
the numerous iron tools

previously found on Lot 5

that were scientifically
linked to the birthplace

of Sir William Phips?

But more importantly,
might these discoveries,

and older ones that
have been dated

to as early as the 14th century,

help explain why the
team has found evidence

that multiple treasures could
be buried in the Money Pit area

and even in the swamp?

RICK: We refer to the
historical narrative of the island

all the time, right?

Well, let's follow

the possible Phips connection.

- MARTY: Okay.
- Anyway, we've got work to do.

- Let's all get out there.
- All right.

- RICK: Thank you.
- LAIRD: See you later.

NARRATOR: As a new
day begins on Oak Island...

TERRY: In she goes.

NARRATOR: and
while the excavation

continues in the
Money Pit area...

JACK: All right,
Al, let's get going.

You're at the bottom over
there, but it looks like you got

still, like, a foot over here.

NARRATOR: in the
northern end of the swamp,

Jack Begley, Steve
Guptill and Katya Drayton

continue searching
for additional sections

of the cobblestone path

and, potentially,
valuable clues.

KATYA: Hey, Jack.

I'm finding axe-chopped wood.

- JACK: You're finding axe-cut wood?
- Axe-chopped wood.

JACK: Whoa.

Yeah, so, we're finding...

square logs
that are not natural.

It was found in
the deeper piles.

JACK: What's weird
about this wood,

they're roughly cut

to where they
could be quite old.

It seems to me like it's
remains of a structure.

KATYA: And we're also finding

logs that are burnt.

JACK: Oh, it's burnt.

But that looks cut, too.

- Mm-hmm.
- That's really strange.

JACK: Maybe someone burnt it

- when they were done...
- Mm-hmm.

To hide the evidence.

Each of these tells a story,

and they all come
together at some point.

NARRATOR: Evidence of a
burned, man-made feature?

Great job saving them.

NARRATOR: But if so,

could it be related

to the mysterious
cobblestone pathway

and the nearby structures,

such as the brick
and slate vault?

JACK: It's strange
that we're finding

so many different
cut pieces of wood

- that are also burned.
- Mm-hmm.

But it definitely means someone
was doing work in the swamp,

and then at the
end, there was a fire.

- KATYA: Exactly.
- And maybe that's why

we're not finding
that many pieces.

I mean, it's definitely
worth setting aside

and see what dates
come back from this wood.

Yep.

- Great job, Katya.
- Perfect.

KATYA: We'll keep looking.

Definitely got the eagle eyes.

KATYA: Let's get back to it.

Finding wood that is axe-cut

but also is burnt is
something that I've never seen,

especially in wetlands.

It's really not natural to have.

What else are we going to find?

JACK: Al, it seems like
someone had pre-dug.

This already has
the feel like it's, um,

redeposited soils.

So just be sure to take
your time going through here,

'cause I want to analyze it.

NARRATOR: While the
investigation in the swamp continues...

RICK: We've got
to be getting close.

- We are getting close, I think.
- NARRATOR: later that afternoon

in the Money Pit
area, Rick Lagina

and other members
of the team monitor

the excavation in RP-1

as it closes in on the
legendary Shaft Six tunnel

some 118 feet underground.

RICK: How deep are we?

The dig is at, like, 96, 97?

RICK: So, I am getting

a little nervous, I
admit it. [chuckles]

There is a lot of material here.

- Just need that one thing.
- CRAIG: I'm just

surprised we don't
have a lot more wood.

- Yeah.
- With a catastrophic collapse like that,

things are gonna spread out.

We're still above
your target area,

so we're gonna keep going.

And we'll keep you informed.

- We're going to keep looking.
- VANESSA: Okay.

RICK: We're all hoping
to find something.

I remember how everyone
spoke so eloquently

about that these should
be my picks, and I've always

felt strongly about
Shaft Six, but...

I want to find
something for them, too.

I want to prove the story real.

Craig, there's
some timber in there.

Timber?

What's that, Terry?
Is that anything?

It's a highly-shaped
chunk of wood, my friend.

Looks like somebody
took an axe to it.

Ah.

NARRATOR: Axe-cut wood?

Could it be part of Shaft Six,

and offer evidence
that they are on track

to soon encounter
a tunnel full of debris

and possible treasure?

I think this is the
edge of the shaft.

Look at how dark this wood is.

- It's adze-cut.
- TERRY: Pretty dark, yeah.

STEVE: Save that piece.

We should be at the level

where the Money Pit
collapsed in and up.

Every scoop now is below 100.

So, from here to the bottom
could be part of the collapse.

- CRAIG: Yeah.
- TERRY: Yeah, that's right.

- STEVE: There's the wood. Look at it.
- GARY: Oh, we got a lot of wood.

Look.

Look.

- This is what we've been waiting for.
- RICK: Amazing.

STEVE: This is what
we've been waiting for.

- CRAIG: Yeah.
- RICK: That is a lot of wood.

NARRATOR: It is a
potentially historic moment

in the Money Pit
area for Rick Lagina

and other members
of the Oak Island team.

- STEVE: So this is probably Shaft Six.
- CRAIG: Yeah.

- CRAIG: It's mostly likely Shaft Six.
- Yep.

NARRATOR: At a
depth of some 105 feet

in the RP-1 caisson,

they have just
recovered evidence

of the 1861 structure
known as Shaft Six...

Could these wedges
be tunnel wood?

- It's possible.
- NARRATOR: and the possible remains

of an adjacent tunnel
containing wooden debris

and potential treasure.

RICK: When the collapse happens,

it probably tore...

- SCOTT: Yes. Agreed.
- Some of the tunnel apart,

and that would come first.

Yeah.

RICK: The wood I'm
seeing is fractured in itself,

two distinctly different types.

And so, I feel it represents
a collapse feature,

and that is exactly
what we're looking for.

Now, every time the hammer
grab drops the material,

your excitement goes up.

And the hope continues

to persist that you
will find the treasure.

SCOTT: There
you go. Look at that.

Adze-cut wood.

This is early on.

This-this could
represent the first cribbing

in the Money Pit.

- That's cool.
- Certainly does not fit

with that dimensional lumber.

RICK: No, it doesn't.

- No.
- NARRATOR: Although the team

was expecting to encounter
the Shaft Six tunnel

several feet below the
current depth of RP-1...

Let's see what this is.

Yeah, that's a lot of wood.

NARRATOR: is it possible

that they are closing in

on the legendary riches
that treasure hunters

have been seeking for
more than two centuries?

VANESSA: Hey, guys.

These ones just
came out of 108 feet.

So, Rick, what's
that telling us?

Vanessa, if I
knew, I'd tell you.

- [laughs] - Well,
you're smiling.

- This is something.
- Yeah, it's cool.

- It's-it's, you know, it's... yeah, it's all a good sign.
- It's cool. Okay.

STEVE: So, this wood, we believe,
could be original Money Pit wood

or re-cribbed Money Pit
wood that traveled 18 feet

through a tunnel into
Shaft Six after the collapse.

Wow.

STEVE: The only
thing we're missing

- is the treasure.
- VANESSA: Yeah.

Okay, well, um, we
are losing sunlight.

- All right.
- Uh, but the good news is,

we do have the
shaft down quite far.

The dig is at 111, but I think
we got to go deeper tomorrow

to get that one thing for Rick.

- RICK: One thing for all of us.
- Yep.

For all of us.

RICK: It's getting
later in the year.

The light diminishes
rather rapidly.

There are safety concerns.

So you just have to
call halt for the day.

I hope everyone knows

that I really appreciate
everybody's hard work.

To me, this is one
really good book,

we just need an ending.

And with your
help, we'll get there.

Yeah, 'cause it's
a treasure story.

You bet, Gary.

- All right.
- RICK: Good luck to everyone.

Let's start tomorrow
off with a bang.

- Sounds great.
- Let's find that one thing.

All right. Let's do it.

NARRATOR: For Rick,
Marty, Craig and the team,

the dedication to
build upon the efforts

of the faithful searchers
who came before them

may now be on the
verge of paying off.

But as they reach further

into the dark and mysterious
depths of the Money Pit,

just what might await them?

A vast cache of Spanish silver?

Gold and jewels?

Or might they unearth something

much more profound
and priceless?

After 230 years,

perhaps the ultimate revelation

will take just one more day.

Next time on The
Curse of Oak Island...

JACK: Whoa, there's
something here.

- Sounds pretty good.
- [device beeps]

- GARY: Ooh!
- JACK: Wow.

Is that normal?

- It's cryptic to me.
- Ooh.

So this could be something new.

I had, like, an aha moment.

It's 85 years before the
discovery of the Money Pit.

- Yeah.
- Wow. [chuckles]

- TERRY: Here we go.
- Come on, baby.

RICK: Trying to
find the one thing.

- Whoa.
- GARY: Ooh, that's fantastic!

That could be a piece
of the original Money Pit.

- Oh, I think, for sure.
- JACK: Yes!