09x15 - Eyes and Boot in the Ground
Posted: 04/17/24 08:03
NARRATOR: Tonight on
The Curse of Oak Island...
MARTY:
Bring it, baby.
RICK: There's hard evidence
that there is
treasure in the Money Pit.
- MARTY: Oh, boy, look at that.
- That could be part of a tunnel.
- MARTY: We understand you have some results for us?
- It's French lead.
Would that apply
to our friend the cross, too?
- Most definitely.
- No kidding?
ALEX: We can scan
the area for any sign of
the stone road
as it heads out of the swamp.
Look at that.
I think we might have found it.
- A lot of wood coming out.
- Yep.
GARY:
We got a good signal here. Ooh!
- Look at that.
- That's beautiful.
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 d*ed
trying to solve the mystery.
And according to legend,
one more will have to die
before the treasure
can be found.
♪ ♪
- [Rick] Good morning.
- [Gary] Hello, chaps.
- [Laird] Hello.
- [Peter] Morning.
- Beautiful day.
- Yep. - It's lovely.
NARRATOR: The dawn
of an exhilarating new day
has arrived on Oak Island.
GARY:
You hear that, guys?
I think that's
the sound of treasure.
[laughter]
NARRATOR: And for brothers
Rick and Marty Lagina,
their partner Craig Tester,
and their devoted team,
it also comes
with a rush of anticipation,
as they are conducting
the most ambitious operation
ever attempted in order to solve
a 227-year-old treasure mystery.
You've got to have the three Ps
of treasure hunting.
Patience, persistence
and perseverance.
Well, I'm adding another one.
Positivity!
This is the year!
We are gonna be holding
treasure in our hands.
This spot's got a lot
going for it. I mean,
there's three good value
targets within this can.
- And hopefully it's gonna tell a story.
- Yep.
NARRATOR: Working once
again with representatives
from Irving Equipment Limited
and ROC Equipment,
the team is excavating a
ten-foot-wide, steel-cased shaft
in the Money Pit area that
they've affectionately dubbed
The Fellowship 1, or TF-1.
It was at this location
where earlier this year,
after water-sampling tests
revealed the presence
of high concentrations
of both gold and silver,
the Oak Island team drilled
a six-inch borehole
and made a number
of stunning discoveries
at a depth of some 90 feet.
These finds included
evidence of a wooden tunnel
that was carbon-dated
to as early as 1488...
and metal fragments
containing solid gold.
Now, as a 48-ton
rotating oscillator
drives the massive sections
of the steel caissons
to a maximum depth of 170 feet,
a 22-and-a-half-ton
hammer grab tool,
capable of extracting
of earth per scoop,
will hopefully recover
what people have been
searching for
since the hunt
first began back in 1795.
MARTY: TF-I was
everybody's number one choice.
If there were
small bits of metal with gold
in a four-inch hole,
then surely a ten-foot diameter
caisson will bring up
the rest of it.
NARRATOR: Due to current
government restrictions
regarding archaeological
work on Oak Island,
Laird Niven is now only able
to assist the team
by documenting the progress
of the excavation
in the Money Pit area.
Feel lucky?
I always feel lucky, mate.
Got to go through the trash
to get to the cash.
MARTY:
So here's the plan.
ROC advances the caisson.
Irving goes in
with a hammer grab
and digs out
from inside the caisson.
That gets deposited
right next to the crane.
- You're up next.
- GARY: Yep.
Play my song.
RICK:
Billy will then
lay the material out
to a thickness
that Gary can metal-detect...
- Ready, Pete?
- Yep.
Then Gary and Peter will go in.
Gary finds a target,
Peter will dig it, and hopefully
there'll be an aha moment.
It's clean.
It's clean, Billy.
MARTY:
And then Billy's gonna scoop
the remaining spoils,
put 'em in the dump truck,
haul 'em down
to the wash plant just in case
we miss something, so...
we're not gonna miss anything.
NARRATOR:
To ensure
that no important clues
are missed
that might not contain
any metal,
the spoils will be processed
in an industrial wash plant
near Smith's Cove.
There, they will be washed
and sorted according to size
for valuables and anything else
that might help solve
the Oak Island mystery.
- RICK: Hey.
- VANESSA: How's it going?
Well, you tell us.
Well, we're advancing nicely.
Our last measurement,
the can was at 40 feet down,
- and the shaft was at just below 30.
- Okay.
So, we'll get
another measurement here
in about 30 minutes.
RICK:
So, we're on target, really,
to hit the zone of interest
by...
VANESSA:
Tomorrow. Yeah.
- We're all looking forward to that.
- Yeah.
RICK:
The areas between 70 and 90 feet
is really
the area of significance.
To me, that's where there's
hard evidence
that there is treasure at depth
in the Money Pit.
So,
are you gonna try
to put another can on or...?
- Yes. Yep.
- RICK: You are.
We're gonna stack another can,
and then we're gonna keep going.
- So, we're just good to dig, right?
- Yep.
- Unless you start seeing that timber.
- Yeah.
Okay. Well, I'll let you know
- when I do another measurement.
- RICK: All right.
Thank you.
Let's find something.
NARRATOR: As the dig operation
continues at the Money Pit...
- Well, Charles, my friend, road trip.
- Yeah.
Some 300 miles northwest
of Oak Island...
- I am very much looking forward to this trip.
- Yeah.
It's fun to get off the island
a little bit once in a while,
- for one thing.
- [chuckles]
Marty Lagina
and Oak Island historian
Charles Barkhouse
are traveling to
the University of New Brunswick
to receive a scientific report
regarding one of the team's
most curious recent discoveries.
I much enjoy
- finding out the scientific answers.
- Yeah. Well,
I think we're gonna get some...
- hopefully some very interesting data today.
- Yeah.
We're gonna get test results
on the lead bag seal,
- uh, that Gary found.
- Correct.
- Yeah. Okay, good.
- One of the great things with lead is,
we can actually zero in
on where it came from
in the world, which is great.
And that can
actually help
with some of the theories, too.
Oh, w-without question.
Odds are very high
it's from England.
Yeah, I think that was
the-the impression
- that Dr. Brosseau had, was that it is English.
- Yes.
GARY:
Oh, wow. Look at that, mate.
This is really, really special.
NARRATOR: One year ago,
while metal detecting
on Lot 32
just west of the swamp,
Gary Drayton
and Rick and Marty's nephew
David Fornetti
found a lead cargo bag seal
in the same area
where they found evidence
of an ancient ship's wharf.
We've just struck gold
with this piece of lead, mate.
MARTY:
Well, anyway, we're here. Great.
- Pretty soon, maybe some answers.
- CHARLES: Let's hope.
NARRATOR: Although
a preliminary assessment
by chemist Dr. Christa Brosseau
suggested that the bag seal
could date to as early
as the 15th century
and was of British origin...
Here we are.
- Hello, Chris. How you doing?
- Ah, gentlemen.
Marty and Charles
have arranged to meet
with professor of earth sciences
Dr. Chris McFarlane,
who has just conducted testing
on the artifact
using a method
known as laser ablation.
We understand
you have some results for us?
Yeah, we sure do. Do you want to
sit down and have a look at it?
Oh, fantastic.
NARRATOR:
Laser ablation
utilizes a high-powered laser
to cut microscopic samples
from the surface
of lead artifacts.
Then isotope values
are identified,
which can help determine
not only the object's
full chemical composition
but also its region of origin.
It was this same testing method
which confirmed
that the 14th century lead cross
found four years ago
at Smith's Cove
came from a European region
that once served as a stronghold
for the Knights Templar.
Chris, I know you like
to know the whole picture.
And, Charles, why don't you
give him some more background
about that thing?
Uh, this was actually found
on the-the south side
of the island
near Lot 32.
And actually, the markings
on it, I think, were English.
And we're also quite sure
it's quite old.
- CHRIS: Mm-hmm.
- MARTY: Uh, beyond that,
we wanted you to do
the data matching
and tell us
where it might have come from.
Yeah, that-that's super useful
because it takes
- modern lead mines off the table, which is...
- Yes.
[chuckles]: Which is
quite helpful when we go to do
the data interpretation.
- Okay.
- Yeah.
All right. So, here we've got
our ablation sequence.
- Everything ran well.
- MARTY: Mm-hmm.
Uh, we got some quite nice data
from it.
Here's the result.
Going through this,
we started out with, you know,
this giant database
of 7,000 records.
And from
that thousands of records,
we can basically pare it down
to maybe...
ten to 12 possible locations.
They're all in, uh, Europe.
The bag seal
has a very European
affinity lead, for sure.
The English signature
doesn't really fit
once you do all the filtering.
- Oh.
- CHRIS: There's nothing North American.
There's nothing Scandinavian.
- And significantly not England.
- CHRIS: No.
No.
- That's the surprise.
- Yeah. - CHRIS: Yeah.
There are several possibilities.
Most of them
- are Mediterranean sources.
- Okay.
And if we whittle it down
as closely as I can get...
- Yes?
- CHRIS: Well,
it's French lead.
- Is it? [chuckles]
- Without a doubt.
- Okay, so...
- MARTY: Would that apply
to our friend the cross, too?
Oh, yeah. Definitely.
CHRIS: It looks like
it's a French source of lead.
Would that apply
to our friend the cross, too?
- Uh, most definitely. Yeah.
- Ah, no kidding?
NARRATOR: At the University
of New Brunswick,
Dr. Chris McFarlane
has just informed
Marty Lagina
and Charles Barkhouse
that the lead used to make
the ancient cargo bag seal
found one year ago just west
of the Oak Island swamp
originated
in the same European region
as the 14th century lead cross.
Yeah, and it's
kind of a big area.
- Yeah.
- CHRIS: But it's-it's known
for its lead mines.
It's still surprising, though.
We were virtually certain,
walking in here,
it'd be English.
The absolute value
plots closest to a couple
- of French sources.
- MARTY: No, it...
Chris, it fits into an entirely
different narrative. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.
NARRATOR:
Ever since 2016,
when the late author
Zena Halpern
presented the team
with two maps of Oak Island
that she believed
had been created
by members
of the Knights Templar,
Rick, Marty, Craig and the team
have made
a number of discoveries
that support her belief
that the medieval order
buried a vast treasure
in the Money Pit.
These finds included
the stone-paved area
in the middle of the swamp,
which was scientifically dated
to as early as 1200 AD,
pieces of 15th century
cargo barrels,
and a stone pathway
between the swamp
and the Money Pit.
And the 14th century lead cross,
a cross that was
an exact match in design
to one that Rick saw
carved into the wall
of a 14th century Templar prison
in Domme, France.
Is it possible
that this lead bag seal
is connected
to those discoveries
and offers more evidence
that Zena Halpern's theory
is true?
I think
there could be a connection
between the cross
and the bag seal, I suppose.
We have two lead items
that come from the same area.
Why would I say, "No, they have
nothing to do with each other"?
It leads to some sort
of potential
early French connection
as to what went on here.
That's what's so nice
about dealing with scientists.
- [chuckles]
- You know?
You're gonna say, "Look,
here's what it is."
We had all come around
to an assessment
that the bag seal was British,
and now we find that the lead
had been mined in France.
The hope would be
that it ties to Drayton's cross.
No, that's excellent data.
I mean, it... Here we go again.
Not expected.
Exactly.
MARTY: Being sort
of Rick's emissary here,
he's always trying
to bring the very latest,
the most precise,
the most accurate
scientific data we can.
So, it's kind of our M.O.
And we appreciate
- what you've done here. That's great.
- CHRIS: Mm-hmm.
- MARTY: Thank you very much, sir.
- CHRIS: No, thank you.
- MARTY: Okay, guys, till the next time.
- CHRIS: No problem.
NARRATOR:
Later that afternoon...
Did you get 60 foot
of casing in the ground?
VANESSA:
I have 61.
While the excavation continues
in the TF-1 shaft
at the Money Pit...
ALEX: This looks like
a level spot to set up.
NARRATOR:
near the southeastern edge
- of the triangle-shaped swamp...
- Okay.
Alex Lagina and his cousin
David Fornetti
are hoping to find
more evidence of a curious
stone feature that the team
uncovered earlier this year.
So,
I figure
since we can't dig here,
the only way to follow the road
is with GPR.
We can at least scan the area
and see
if we can pick up,
like, any kind of sign
of the stone road
as it heads out of the swamp,
- up the hill towards the Money Pit.
- Okay.
STEVE G.:
I don't have an opinion.
I have facts.
NARRATOR:
Earlier this year,
while looking for clues
near the massive stone wharf,
the team uncovered a completely
separate stone pathway.
STEVE G.: So, this is the
cobble path from last year.
It hits the cobble
that we found this year,
which is what we're standing on.
And, so, when you project this
path, it heads to the Money Pit.
- That's interesting.
- IAN: This is what we've been looking for.
Right.
- What you got?
- I have a piece of pottery.
NARRATOR: However,
as archaeologist Laird Niven
began carefully exposing
the feature, he discovered
pieces
of indigenous Mi'kmaw pottery...
LAIRD:
It's definitely Mi'kmaw.
Leading to a stunning mandate
by the provincial
government agency
known as Community,
Culture and Heritage.
Community, Culture and Heritage
asked that we stop work
at the area
where we were finding
the artifacts.
I see.
NARRATOR: The mandate
restricted all further investigation
of the feature in the southeast
corner of the swamp.
However,
because the feature may continue
up toward the Money Pit,
it is Rick,
Marty and Craig's hope
that if they can find
more evidence of the path
outside the restricted zone,
they can obtain a special permit
to uncover it,
confirm where it leads,
and find more clues
that could help solve
the Oak Island mystery.
Okay. About here, you think?
DAVID F.:
Yeah, I think that should work.
ALEX:
First scan coming up.
NARRATOR: In order
to conduct their search,
Alex and David are using
an OKM Gepard GPR 3D scanner.
The device works
by emitting electromagnetic
pulses into the ground
to create a 3D visualization
of potential objects,
structures and voids
as deep as 130 feet
below the surface.
[beeping slowly]
[beeps rapidly]
- Okay.
- MARTY: This OKM
is a state-of-the-art portable
ground-penetrating radar.
- About here?
- Yeah. Might cheat a little bit this way.
- Okay.
- MARTY: This technology
might be able to trace
the paved road from the swamp
up the hill
towards the Money Pit.
If we can see these anomalies
and we think they're the road,
well, we can dig it.
- This'll be seven, so that's probably your last one.
- ALEX: Okay.
RICK:
My hope is, maybe they'll find
something very significant,
and we can take
that information to CCH
and say, "Guys, here, look.
Here's the data.
Here's the empirical evidence."
ALEX:
Okay.
Let's take a look.
RICK:
"We need you to work with us
"so that we can find out
what this is
"from an archaeological
perspective.
Help us move this forward."
ALEX:
Let's see if we got anything.
That looks pretty good.
Look at that.
DAVID F.:
Oh, that's interesting. I mean,
we started on the stone road.
- What was exposed.
- ALEX: Mm-hmm.
And at roughly the same depth,
there is a consistent feature
or anomaly about the same width
- that runs...
- ALEX: Right along with it. Yeah.
So, we might be picking it up.
Even-even in the upland there
where we thought it ended,
it might still continue.
Incredibly,
there's a good chance
the stone road
is under us right here.
I think we might have found it.
ALEX: I think the stone road
might be under us right here.
I think we might have found it.
And it continues
all the way along the scan,
- which is really good.
- DAVID F.: Yeah.
NARRATOR:
Using ground-penetrating radar,
Alex Lagina and David Fornetti
have just found
possible evidence
of a buried stone pathway
running between the
southeast corner of the swamp
and the Money Pit.
I think
if we try and catch it further
in the upland, it might be worth
taking a run or two
if we can find an area that,
you know,
we can have a clear pass.
Sure. I-I'm all for that.
- I think we should do one right here, actually.
- All right. Cool.
I think we found the
continuation of the stone road
as it heads up out of the swamp
towards the Money Pit.
Okay, I'll do the first round.
You do the next one. Start here.
- Sounds good.
- See if it goes under here.
If we can follow this thing
far enough,
we get outside
of this no-go zone,
uh, then we can dig it,
and it's actually gonna give us
some artifacts.
Because anything we find
within the road
is what's gonna give us
a date
and maybe tell us who did it.
It's really encouraging.
[beeps rapidly]
Let's take a look.
- I know I got caught on something there, but...
- Yep.
Hopefully it doesn't matter.
Let's see what we got.
I mean, that looks a lot
like what we were seeing.
DAVID F.: I'd imagine
it's about the same depth.
It looks about right,
I mean, it's the same...
Looks like it's
about the same width.
- Now that's saying five feet deep.
- But we've come
- out of the swamp and into the uplands, so...
- Yeah. So we know
there was
a lot of activity here.
Maybe it's been covered over.
NARRATOR:
Could Alex be correct
that he and David
have found an extension
of the stone path leading away
from the stone wharf
in the swamp
and toward the Money Pit?
If so, who made
such an effort to bury it?
And why?
Could the current dig being
conducted in the TF-1 shaft
soon reveal a possible answer?
DAVID F.: You know, one of
the things that I'm thinking...
I wonder
if we try and figure out
where we're getting these hits
and see if we can start to,
you know, see that the road
is going straight.
I agree that we need to...
You know,
if we think we have it,
we need to mark it. I agree.
We'll call Steve
and come have him come in
and, you know,
sh**t some GPS points.
Perfect.
Yeah, I have a, a ribbon
- I can mark it with.
- ALEX: Oh, some tape. Perfect.
NARRATOR: The following
morning in the Money Pit area...
I got the wood.
GARY:
Yeah, that is wood. [chuckles]
I like that.
You have wood there
in the bottom.
NARRATOR: The excavation
of the TF-1 caisson
is beginning to yield
exciting results...
GARY:
That is a big timber.
As it has reached
the team's zone of interest
between 70 and 90 feet.
It was in this depth range
where, earlier this year,
they not only recovered
evidence
of a 15th century tunnel
but also silver and gold.
I mean, if we're looking
for tunnels or shafts,
this is the type of stuff
you'd expect to be seeing,
- wouldn't it?
- Certainly is.
LAIRD:
Carry this in?
GARY:
No metals.
LAIRD:
We're gonna need
a bucket of water and a brush.
GARY:
Couple of interesting pieces,
especially that one.
That looks
like it's been hand-hewn.
Certainly cut.
That feels heavy, too.
Like hardwood.
- Yeah.
- GARY: Yeah.
Look at that.
More wood in the hammer grab.
Can I go in, Billy?
PETER:
Yep.
- Got a lot of wood in there.
- GARY: Yep.
- Hey.
- We're getting close, huh?
Yeah.
Yeah, this is the previous grab.
- JACK: What depth are we right now?
- LAIRD: 75 feet.
So, we're at the...
we're at the actual depth
where we expected to find
this sort of wood
and the tunnel.
Yep.
Those are huge cans.
[chuckles]
NARRATOR: Having been alerted
that the dig has now reached
critical depths,
Rick, Marty and Craig
arrive to monitor the
potentially historic operation.
- Hey, guys.
- ALEX: Morning, guys.
CRAIG:
Hey. This just come up?
- JACK: Yeah.
- DOUG: So, we'll fill you in
on what's been happening.
- Please do.
- This came out of the exact zone
that Terry noted
was loose, disturbed materials.
So that could be
part of a tunnel.
MARTY: Well, what's it
telling us, though? What about
- metal detecting? Anything?
- GARY: Nothing.
I mean, we've found
lots of notched timbers.
- Any saw blade marks?
- ALEX: Yeah. If you hold it
like this,
the saw cuts are at that angle.
- So it could be vertical.
- Yeah, and if this...
and if this side
was not parallel to this side,
the saw cuts
would be straight up and down.
RICK:
Okay. Here's the info.
Hello.
It's a great day to be digging.
Um, so,
we're at 81 with the can.
- 76 and a half with the dig. Yeah.
- MARTY: Okay. Where...
Where exactly
did the metal come out of?
- Does anybody know?
- About 88, 89.
So, this can will be to, um, 111
during these next couple hours.
MARTY: The hammer grab
is nearing the 90-foot level.
That's the zone of interest.
I have always believed
that the treasure
could not be at 200-plus feet.
A chamber at around 88 feet
is perfect.
That's the thing
that makes sense to me.
That's the thing that
has always made sense to me.
Could the gold still be there?
Could the treasure
still be there? Yes.
And if we notice
anything different, we'll stop
- and let you guys know.
- RICK: And, also,
the recognition
that if you come down
- on top of anything different...
- Anything different.
- We'd like to know.
- VANESSA: Yes.
- Will do. All right. Thanks, guys.
- Okey doke. Thank you.
The continuity
of the finds of wood
at a certain elevation,
that gives high confidence
to what's happening there.
So, can it be speculated that
the treasure is at this depth
somewhere in the mid-80
to mid-90 range?
Absolutely. It's possible.
I'm going to go down
to the wash plant.
I think they need more eyes
down there,
especially
since we're getting close.
- MARTY: Okay.
- Yep.
I got watching this can
be attached.
I got that handled for you.
[all laugh]
CRAIG:
Lot of wood coming out.
Yep.
GARY:
Ooh, look at all that timber
coming out.
PETER:
Wood here.
[metal detector beeping]
- GARY: We got a good signal here.
- PETER: Yeah?
Is it in this clump?
GARY:
Let me see if I can pinpoint it.
I'm on vibrate at the moment.
Might be in this side bit.
[beeps]
- In your hand?
- Yeah, it's in my hand.
The heck have we got here?
PETER:
What is that?
- It is that. Our first fastener.
- Yeah.
NARRATOR: In the Money Pit area,
Gary Drayton
has just recovered
a potentially important clue
in spoils excavated
from a depth
of approximately 75 feet
in the TF-1 shaft.
This is our first fastener,
so I'm hoping
- that it's a square-shanked fastener.
- PETER: Hopefully.
Let's get out just so... 'Cause
there's another hammer grab.
GARY:
Yeah. All right.
- PETER: Bring it to the table.
- Yeah.
NARRATOR:
Could it be from a structure
built long ago
by someone who deposited
something of great value
in the Money Pit?
If so,
since they are now approaching
the depth
where they recovered evidence
of both silver and gold
earlier this year,
what will they unearth next?
Hey. We found
our first iron fastener.
- ALEX: Oh!
- GARY: Tough to tell if it's square-shanked
or if it's a cut nail.
Hard to say on that.
GARY: If I was taking a
guess on that, I would say that's
a square-shanked iron fastener.
That'd be old.
PETER:
The tip looks wrought iron.
GARY: Yeah, exactly.
And we know most of this
hand-forged iron
goes back a ways.
I'm excited
because whenever you find
old iron fasteners,
normally you find
other artifacts
associated with the people
that were doing the mining,
the tunneling,
the people who built the shafts.
We don't know
what we've got here,
but one thing
that TF-1 has told us?
We will find the Money Pit
close to this location.
Something to get tested,
as well.
So, I'll leave that
with you guys
- 'cause I've got to get stuck back in.
- Sure.
- Want to bag it?
- Yeah.
- It's in the bag.
- Good sign.
Excellent. See you in a bit.
NARRATOR: As Alex, Gary
and members of the team
continue monitoring the
excavation of the TF-1 shaft,
near Smith's Cove...
RICK: As far as I can see,
everything's going good.
NARRATOR: Rick Lagina
and other members of the team
are carefully examining
the spoils
that are being processed
through the team's
industrial wash plant.
A load came in from that caisson
at the target depth,
so that's probably
what's going through here now.
RICK:
The work at the wash plant,
it's a tactile operation,
especially when the water
is so cold.
And it's difficult.
You're standing in one place
for hours on end.
CHARLES:
Is that a rose-head on that?
RICK:
Nah, it's modern.
Your job, when you're
at the front of the line,
is to get that material
as clean as possible
so that the guys down the line
can actually pick something out.
What matters is that
you find something.
There's hours and hours
where you find nothing.
And then you find one thing
that says it was worth it.
RICK: Okay. Let's see
what else we can find.
NARRATOR: As Rick
and Charles continue sifting
through the TF-1 spoils
at the wash plant,
back at the Money Pit...
PETER:
We're not getting any wood now.
- Did I miss a grab? Or is that...?
- That's just...
It-it looked like a half-grab.
Mostly water.
NARRATOR:
the excavation of the shaft
has suddenly stopped producing
the expected volume
of wood and spoils.
VANESSA:
Something's not sitting right.
That's three with no...
no wood, no nothing.
DANNY: I don't
know, I can't explain it.
VANESSA:
Maybe you're bouncing on wood.
Maybe you're not
getting to the bottom.
I'll go ask them if they're
okay with us continuing down.
Okay.
All right, I'll go let 'em know.
- Hello.
- MARTY: Hi.
All right, we've gone down two
more feet with the oscillator,
and we took out our three grabs.
Um...
You see he's not getting much.
MARTY:
Yeah.
VANESSA:
He's hitting something hard.
MARTY: So, there's
something in the way.
VANESSA:
Yeah.
I can't guarantee
we're getting to the bottom.
With your guys' blessing, we
want to take a few more grabs?
- Definitely an anomaly going on.
- Rick needs to be involved in this.
Okay.
- I'm getting him.
- ALEX: Okay.
- Okay.
- RICK: We are working
as a very cohesive team.
The vendors are invested
in the process.
Hey, Rick!
You really
should come back up there now.
We're sort of
at decision points.
RICK: The communication
is appropriate.
We ask them,
"Guys, if you believe
that there's information that
we should know in order to make
an informed decision,
please come to us."
They are doing that very thing,
and it's most appreciated.
Something's changed. Little bit
of an anomaly going on.
Didn't see this earlier.
He wasn't getting full scoops.
RICK:
What do you make of that?
VANESSA: We're-we're
monitoring it, but weird.
Um, the can's still at 83.
We did not advance that because
we have a nine-foot plug.
We're not seeing
anything abnormal.
We're not seeing anything
that's indicating
that we're going through
easy, smooth sand, right?
The oscillator has been
reacting steadily
- the entire time.
- So, the mystery isn't the oscillator.
The mystery is why that's not
coming up with anything.
- VANESSA: Yes. Yeah.
- I see.
NARRATOR:
It appears that the TF-1 caisson
has encountered a large object
or obstruction
that the hammer grab tool
is currently unable to retrieve.
The question is,
just what could the object be?
Vanessa has suggested that
there's some sort of obstruction
at this depth...
Well, 90-foot conjures up
the-the original Money Pit.
As long as he concurs,
why don't you hit it a little
harder and see what we got.
- But I would not advance the pipe yet.
- I agree.
I agree.
Okay. Will do.
Yeah. If it was in situ,
I would expect big chunks
of clay to be stuck to it still.
I don't know.
Don't know what it means.
What odds would you put
on us putting this thing down
and not getting any metal?
I was just thinking that.
And every time
it comes out of that hole,
you're hoping.
ALEX:
I expect it right now.
I expect it.
- DOUG: You do?
- I do. Right now.
MARTY:
Skeleton with a chest!
And survey says...
- PETER: That's a lot of water.
- LAIRD: Oh, yeah.
MARTY:
What is going on down there?
- PETER: That's a lot of water.
- LAIRD: Oh, yeah.
MARTY:
What is going on down there?
I guess we're about to find out.
NARRATOR:
In the Money Pit area,
at a depth
of approximately 80 feet...
- VANESSA: Just water.
- ANDREW: Yeah.
A mysterious obstruction
is preventing the massive
hammer grab tool
from removing spoils from
the ten-foot-wide TF-1 shaft.
- VANESSA: Weird as hell.
- ANDREW: Yeah.
Marty said that Michel
could drop it.
See if we have
something in there, so...
- ANDREW: Okay.
- Let's let him drop it three times.
And have him keep monitoring it?
Yep, every three
we're monitoring.
MARTY:
Come on! Be something good!
- RICK: Wow.
- ALEX: That's better.
MARTY: That's a
hell of a lot in this one.
GARY:
Oh, look at that.
PAUL:
Is that a rock?
[clears throat]
Billy.
- Yeah?
- Look!
A, a rock with a drill hole
in it. Look.
I'll get out
so you can lift it out.
BILLY:
Yeah.
Gary's got something.
Check this out.
Look at that.
That's beautiful.
GARY:
That's fantastic.
That's almost certainly
the anomaly.
That's probably the D-2
borehole, don't you think?
LAIRD:
Yeah.
NARRATOR: The mystery of
the obstruction in the TF-1 shaft
has been solved.
The team has unearthed
a large boulder,
which they apparently drilled
through earlier this year
in the six-inch borehole
known as D-2.
A borehole where they
discovered evidence of gold
at a depth of some 90 feet.
VANESSA: It's getting
pretty good scoops, though.
- Yeah.
- Luck's on our side.
- A lot of wood coming out.
- Yep.
ALEX:
There it is.
Is that an eight-incher,
at least?
GARY:
That is a big timber.
MARTY: I was hoping there
would be a lot of wood coming up,
and there indeed
is a lot of wood coming up
from the hammer grab.
- Got it?
- Yeah.
MARTY: Some looks ancient,
some looks more modern.
Yeah, that's an
interesting piece.
The perennial problem
on Oak Island is that,
"Is it old enough?"
We're looking for stuff
that substantially
predates the search.
That's the kind of old
I want to see.
Ooh! Is this a shoe?
Look at this!
[chuckles]
He's actually got
a boot over there.
- [laughs]
- NARRATOR: A boot,
found at a depth of more than
I thought it was an old shoe
for a minute.
Here, I'll go grab it.
I'll go grab it.
NARRATOR: How did it
end up that far below ground?
Could it have been left
by a previous treasure hunter
on Oak Island?
Or did it belong to someone
who came here
much, much earlier?
JACK:
As requested.
MARTY:
Thank you.
DOUG: Well, from the color,
I was hoping it was leather,
- but that's-that's more your classical rubber boot.
- Yeah.
PAUL:
Does it have a size or a brand
on the inside?
I'm gonna try and get
some of the dirt out of it.
- Gonna sneak in here.
- Oh, yeah.
-Um, our can
is at 98 and a half.
- Yeah.
- We do have an eight-foot plug right now.
Jared says he can see
a bunch of wood in there.
So, we're about 90 and a half
with the dig.
MARTY:
Yeah.
VANESSA:
All right.
Well, we're-we're
gonna keep digging.
We're gonna get this can
down tonight.
- And then probably start again in the morning.
- Keep digging.
Okay.
I think we have early returns
on this rubber boot, boys.
- What is it?
- So, up here it says...
- Mm-hmm.
- Kaufman?
They were a Canadian
rubber company,
making these type
of boots in 1908, 1909.
This-this might be the pit
that FDR was digging in.
Well, that'd be pretty cool.
They thought they were chasing
the Money Pit at the time.
ALEX:
Maybe they were.
NARRATOR:
In 1909,
a 27-year-old lawyer
and 32nd-degree Freemason
named Franklin Delano Roosevelt
helped finance the Old Gold
Salvage and Wrecking Company,
which conducted a large-scale
excavation
of what they believed
to be the original Money Pit.
Although the future
U.S. president was unsuccessful
in reaching the fabled treasure
before his company's efforts
were drowned by flooding
from the legendary booby trap,
some reports suggest
they did recover evidence
of gold shavings while drilling
at the bottom of their shaft.
If this boot did, in fact,
belong to one of Franklin
Roosevelt's team members,
could that mean that Rick,
Marty, Craig and their team
are on course to make
a breakthrough discovery
in the original Money Pit?
RICK: We were certainly hoping
that this was an older structure.
There is connective tissue...
The boot...
To Franklin Roosevelt's work.
It's a clue.
It's information, it's a reason
to keep going and to stay
vigilant and hopeful.
DOUG: We brought
up a piece of gold in D-2.
Yeah, but the difference
is, we can get down.
- Yeah.
- Nothing's gonna stop that.
Look at that. Oh, there you go.
DOUG:
Yeah.
JACK:
That's tons of wood, isn't it?
Unbelievable.
DOUG:
What are we into?
- ALEX: Look at that.
- Wow.
GARY:
More timbers.
JACK:
That's tons of wood, isn't it?
DOUG:
What are we into?
That's not the kind of stuff
that we brought up
out of the other shafts.
NARRATOR:
In the Money Pit area,
the excavation
of the ten-foot-wide TF-1 shaft
has reached a depth
of some 90 feet,
where the team recovered
evidence of both silver
and gold earlier this year.
Hopefully this is a change from
some of this more modern wood.
Yeah, well that's the tunnel
we're looking for,
with tons of timbers.
- Who knows exactly what's in it?
- Yeah.
NARRATOR: Unfortunately,
as the sun is beginning to set,
the team from
Irving Equipment Limited
and ROC Equipment
must now wait for morning
before they can continue
unearthing spoils
and hopefully something
of incredible value.
- CRAIG: Hey, Vanessa.
- VANESSA: Gentlemen.
MARTY:
Where's the gold?
[laughter]
VANESSA: Just wanted
to give you guys an update.
Uh, we are finishing up
for the night.
The can is at, uh, 101 feet
and the excavation
is at 92 and a half feet.
- Okay.
- MARTY: All right, well,
we are working on a new theory,
actually promoted
by Dr. Crowell over here.
- Correct? Why don't you talk...
- Yeah.
- Why don't you tell them real quick, huh?
- All right.
DOUG:
Well, this thing here,
which was
a little disappointing,
Laird and I found a name
along the top rim, it's Kaufman.
That company was a Canadian
rubber company
making boots around 1908, 1909.
And, well, this-this
could be FDR's boot.
Or part of the expedition.
DOUG: Why that's good is,
we know they were working
alongside what they believed
to be the Money Pit.
That could account for the new
and old wood we're seeing.
I think we just rolled
the clock back 112 years
and we're now on the site
of what they were
exploring in 1909.
BILLY: There's only
one flaw in that is,
they didn't find it, so it's
no good to go in the same place.
- They didn't get deep enough, right?
- Well...
DOUG: Right. And... we
found a piece of gold here.
They didn't.
And I got 60 more feet
of casing.
[laughter]
When Doug and Laird
date the boot to 1908, 1909,
it sort of changes
in importance to me.
Now we want to proceed because
it ties with Doug's awakening
to the possibility
that we're digging in the shaft
that Roosevelt dug in.
And that shaft was near
the original Money Pit.
So hope sort of rises again
a little bit.
We might find
some things deeper.
Okay, so we will
declare victory for today.
Go home, get some sleep,
back in the morning.
- Okay.
- RICK: I'm gonna declare
"We're not giving up."
And, you know,
with that rationale,
I mean, it makes sense, right?
But the proof is down that hole.
And, uh, we're not gonna give up
till we figure out
what that hole has to tell us.
That's where I'm at.
I'm not bothered
that we haven't made
the bravo-tango, uh, call yet.
I know it's coming,
or I certainly believe it is.
The fact
that we haven't achieved
what we had hoped to achieve
at this depth is immaterial.
The good news is,
I believe we're close.
Tomorrow the sun will rise,
the can will go down.
The work continues.
We moved the dial.
Yep.
MARTY:
That is one heavy dial
we're trying to move,
I'll tell you that.
- Tomorrow! Tomorrow's the day.
- There you go.
Tomorrow's always the day.
Until it's today.
- We're not done yet.
- Yeah.
NARRATOR: For Rick,
Marty, Craig and their team,
it has already been a year
of unprecedented advances
toward solving
a 227-year-old mystery.
From ancient artifacts
and structures
that date back centuries older
than anything
ever discovered on Oak Island
to scientific evidence
of gold and silver
buried deep in the Money Pit,
what was once thought
to be legend
now appears to be certain.
And as they dig deeper
than ever before,
can anything stop them
from revealing
the ultimate answers?
Next time
on The Curse of Oak Island...
MARTY: What a good
day to find treasure.
Oh, look at that.
- ALEX: Is that concrete?
- Yeah.
JACK: We could be
close to the actual vault.
- RICK: Whoa!
- VANESSA: The hammer grab
is grabbing on something
that's too heavy
- to pull back out.
- Wow.
MARTY: There's got to be
something in that clay right there.
-[beeping] -GARY: That's a
screamer, mate. Come on, baby.
Come to Papa. Wow.
- Let's see what the machine says.
- Okay.
- MARTY: That's gold.
- KELLY: Absolutely.
That's just amazing.
The Curse of Oak Island...
MARTY:
Bring it, baby.
RICK: There's hard evidence
that there is
treasure in the Money Pit.
- MARTY: Oh, boy, look at that.
- That could be part of a tunnel.
- MARTY: We understand you have some results for us?
- It's French lead.
Would that apply
to our friend the cross, too?
- Most definitely.
- No kidding?
ALEX: We can scan
the area for any sign of
the stone road
as it heads out of the swamp.
Look at that.
I think we might have found it.
- A lot of wood coming out.
- Yep.
GARY:
We got a good signal here. Ooh!
- Look at that.
- That's beautiful.
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 d*ed
trying to solve the mystery.
And according to legend,
one more will have to die
before the treasure
can be found.
♪ ♪
- [Rick] Good morning.
- [Gary] Hello, chaps.
- [Laird] Hello.
- [Peter] Morning.
- Beautiful day.
- Yep. - It's lovely.
NARRATOR: The dawn
of an exhilarating new day
has arrived on Oak Island.
GARY:
You hear that, guys?
I think that's
the sound of treasure.
[laughter]
NARRATOR: And for brothers
Rick and Marty Lagina,
their partner Craig Tester,
and their devoted team,
it also comes
with a rush of anticipation,
as they are conducting
the most ambitious operation
ever attempted in order to solve
a 227-year-old treasure mystery.
You've got to have the three Ps
of treasure hunting.
Patience, persistence
and perseverance.
Well, I'm adding another one.
Positivity!
This is the year!
We are gonna be holding
treasure in our hands.
This spot's got a lot
going for it. I mean,
there's three good value
targets within this can.
- And hopefully it's gonna tell a story.
- Yep.
NARRATOR: Working once
again with representatives
from Irving Equipment Limited
and ROC Equipment,
the team is excavating a
ten-foot-wide, steel-cased shaft
in the Money Pit area that
they've affectionately dubbed
The Fellowship 1, or TF-1.
It was at this location
where earlier this year,
after water-sampling tests
revealed the presence
of high concentrations
of both gold and silver,
the Oak Island team drilled
a six-inch borehole
and made a number
of stunning discoveries
at a depth of some 90 feet.
These finds included
evidence of a wooden tunnel
that was carbon-dated
to as early as 1488...
and metal fragments
containing solid gold.
Now, as a 48-ton
rotating oscillator
drives the massive sections
of the steel caissons
to a maximum depth of 170 feet,
a 22-and-a-half-ton
hammer grab tool,
capable of extracting
of earth per scoop,
will hopefully recover
what people have been
searching for
since the hunt
first began back in 1795.
MARTY: TF-I was
everybody's number one choice.
If there were
small bits of metal with gold
in a four-inch hole,
then surely a ten-foot diameter
caisson will bring up
the rest of it.
NARRATOR: Due to current
government restrictions
regarding archaeological
work on Oak Island,
Laird Niven is now only able
to assist the team
by documenting the progress
of the excavation
in the Money Pit area.
Feel lucky?
I always feel lucky, mate.
Got to go through the trash
to get to the cash.
MARTY:
So here's the plan.
ROC advances the caisson.
Irving goes in
with a hammer grab
and digs out
from inside the caisson.
That gets deposited
right next to the crane.
- You're up next.
- GARY: Yep.
Play my song.
RICK:
Billy will then
lay the material out
to a thickness
that Gary can metal-detect...
- Ready, Pete?
- Yep.
Then Gary and Peter will go in.
Gary finds a target,
Peter will dig it, and hopefully
there'll be an aha moment.
It's clean.
It's clean, Billy.
MARTY:
And then Billy's gonna scoop
the remaining spoils,
put 'em in the dump truck,
haul 'em down
to the wash plant just in case
we miss something, so...
we're not gonna miss anything.
NARRATOR:
To ensure
that no important clues
are missed
that might not contain
any metal,
the spoils will be processed
in an industrial wash plant
near Smith's Cove.
There, they will be washed
and sorted according to size
for valuables and anything else
that might help solve
the Oak Island mystery.
- RICK: Hey.
- VANESSA: How's it going?
Well, you tell us.
Well, we're advancing nicely.
Our last measurement,
the can was at 40 feet down,
- and the shaft was at just below 30.
- Okay.
So, we'll get
another measurement here
in about 30 minutes.
RICK:
So, we're on target, really,
to hit the zone of interest
by...
VANESSA:
Tomorrow. Yeah.
- We're all looking forward to that.
- Yeah.
RICK:
The areas between 70 and 90 feet
is really
the area of significance.
To me, that's where there's
hard evidence
that there is treasure at depth
in the Money Pit.
So,
are you gonna try
to put another can on or...?
- Yes. Yep.
- RICK: You are.
We're gonna stack another can,
and then we're gonna keep going.
- So, we're just good to dig, right?
- Yep.
- Unless you start seeing that timber.
- Yeah.
Okay. Well, I'll let you know
- when I do another measurement.
- RICK: All right.
Thank you.
Let's find something.
NARRATOR: As the dig operation
continues at the Money Pit...
- Well, Charles, my friend, road trip.
- Yeah.
Some 300 miles northwest
of Oak Island...
- I am very much looking forward to this trip.
- Yeah.
It's fun to get off the island
a little bit once in a while,
- for one thing.
- [chuckles]
Marty Lagina
and Oak Island historian
Charles Barkhouse
are traveling to
the University of New Brunswick
to receive a scientific report
regarding one of the team's
most curious recent discoveries.
I much enjoy
- finding out the scientific answers.
- Yeah. Well,
I think we're gonna get some...
- hopefully some very interesting data today.
- Yeah.
We're gonna get test results
on the lead bag seal,
- uh, that Gary found.
- Correct.
- Yeah. Okay, good.
- One of the great things with lead is,
we can actually zero in
on where it came from
in the world, which is great.
And that can
actually help
with some of the theories, too.
Oh, w-without question.
Odds are very high
it's from England.
Yeah, I think that was
the-the impression
- that Dr. Brosseau had, was that it is English.
- Yes.
GARY:
Oh, wow. Look at that, mate.
This is really, really special.
NARRATOR: One year ago,
while metal detecting
on Lot 32
just west of the swamp,
Gary Drayton
and Rick and Marty's nephew
David Fornetti
found a lead cargo bag seal
in the same area
where they found evidence
of an ancient ship's wharf.
We've just struck gold
with this piece of lead, mate.
MARTY:
Well, anyway, we're here. Great.
- Pretty soon, maybe some answers.
- CHARLES: Let's hope.
NARRATOR: Although
a preliminary assessment
by chemist Dr. Christa Brosseau
suggested that the bag seal
could date to as early
as the 15th century
and was of British origin...
Here we are.
- Hello, Chris. How you doing?
- Ah, gentlemen.
Marty and Charles
have arranged to meet
with professor of earth sciences
Dr. Chris McFarlane,
who has just conducted testing
on the artifact
using a method
known as laser ablation.
We understand
you have some results for us?
Yeah, we sure do. Do you want to
sit down and have a look at it?
Oh, fantastic.
NARRATOR:
Laser ablation
utilizes a high-powered laser
to cut microscopic samples
from the surface
of lead artifacts.
Then isotope values
are identified,
which can help determine
not only the object's
full chemical composition
but also its region of origin.
It was this same testing method
which confirmed
that the 14th century lead cross
found four years ago
at Smith's Cove
came from a European region
that once served as a stronghold
for the Knights Templar.
Chris, I know you like
to know the whole picture.
And, Charles, why don't you
give him some more background
about that thing?
Uh, this was actually found
on the-the south side
of the island
near Lot 32.
And actually, the markings
on it, I think, were English.
And we're also quite sure
it's quite old.
- CHRIS: Mm-hmm.
- MARTY: Uh, beyond that,
we wanted you to do
the data matching
and tell us
where it might have come from.
Yeah, that-that's super useful
because it takes
- modern lead mines off the table, which is...
- Yes.
[chuckles]: Which is
quite helpful when we go to do
the data interpretation.
- Okay.
- Yeah.
All right. So, here we've got
our ablation sequence.
- Everything ran well.
- MARTY: Mm-hmm.
Uh, we got some quite nice data
from it.
Here's the result.
Going through this,
we started out with, you know,
this giant database
of 7,000 records.
And from
that thousands of records,
we can basically pare it down
to maybe...
ten to 12 possible locations.
They're all in, uh, Europe.
The bag seal
has a very European
affinity lead, for sure.
The English signature
doesn't really fit
once you do all the filtering.
- Oh.
- CHRIS: There's nothing North American.
There's nothing Scandinavian.
- And significantly not England.
- CHRIS: No.
No.
- That's the surprise.
- Yeah. - CHRIS: Yeah.
There are several possibilities.
Most of them
- are Mediterranean sources.
- Okay.
And if we whittle it down
as closely as I can get...
- Yes?
- CHRIS: Well,
it's French lead.
- Is it? [chuckles]
- Without a doubt.
- Okay, so...
- MARTY: Would that apply
to our friend the cross, too?
Oh, yeah. Definitely.
CHRIS: It looks like
it's a French source of lead.
Would that apply
to our friend the cross, too?
- Uh, most definitely. Yeah.
- Ah, no kidding?
NARRATOR: At the University
of New Brunswick,
Dr. Chris McFarlane
has just informed
Marty Lagina
and Charles Barkhouse
that the lead used to make
the ancient cargo bag seal
found one year ago just west
of the Oak Island swamp
originated
in the same European region
as the 14th century lead cross.
Yeah, and it's
kind of a big area.
- Yeah.
- CHRIS: But it's-it's known
for its lead mines.
It's still surprising, though.
We were virtually certain,
walking in here,
it'd be English.
The absolute value
plots closest to a couple
- of French sources.
- MARTY: No, it...
Chris, it fits into an entirely
different narrative. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.
NARRATOR:
Ever since 2016,
when the late author
Zena Halpern
presented the team
with two maps of Oak Island
that she believed
had been created
by members
of the Knights Templar,
Rick, Marty, Craig and the team
have made
a number of discoveries
that support her belief
that the medieval order
buried a vast treasure
in the Money Pit.
These finds included
the stone-paved area
in the middle of the swamp,
which was scientifically dated
to as early as 1200 AD,
pieces of 15th century
cargo barrels,
and a stone pathway
between the swamp
and the Money Pit.
And the 14th century lead cross,
a cross that was
an exact match in design
to one that Rick saw
carved into the wall
of a 14th century Templar prison
in Domme, France.
Is it possible
that this lead bag seal
is connected
to those discoveries
and offers more evidence
that Zena Halpern's theory
is true?
I think
there could be a connection
between the cross
and the bag seal, I suppose.
We have two lead items
that come from the same area.
Why would I say, "No, they have
nothing to do with each other"?
It leads to some sort
of potential
early French connection
as to what went on here.
That's what's so nice
about dealing with scientists.
- [chuckles]
- You know?
You're gonna say, "Look,
here's what it is."
We had all come around
to an assessment
that the bag seal was British,
and now we find that the lead
had been mined in France.
The hope would be
that it ties to Drayton's cross.
No, that's excellent data.
I mean, it... Here we go again.
Not expected.
Exactly.
MARTY: Being sort
of Rick's emissary here,
he's always trying
to bring the very latest,
the most precise,
the most accurate
scientific data we can.
So, it's kind of our M.O.
And we appreciate
- what you've done here. That's great.
- CHRIS: Mm-hmm.
- MARTY: Thank you very much, sir.
- CHRIS: No, thank you.
- MARTY: Okay, guys, till the next time.
- CHRIS: No problem.
NARRATOR:
Later that afternoon...
Did you get 60 foot
of casing in the ground?
VANESSA:
I have 61.
While the excavation continues
in the TF-1 shaft
at the Money Pit...
ALEX: This looks like
a level spot to set up.
NARRATOR:
near the southeastern edge
- of the triangle-shaped swamp...
- Okay.
Alex Lagina and his cousin
David Fornetti
are hoping to find
more evidence of a curious
stone feature that the team
uncovered earlier this year.
So,
I figure
since we can't dig here,
the only way to follow the road
is with GPR.
We can at least scan the area
and see
if we can pick up,
like, any kind of sign
of the stone road
as it heads out of the swamp,
- up the hill towards the Money Pit.
- Okay.
STEVE G.:
I don't have an opinion.
I have facts.
NARRATOR:
Earlier this year,
while looking for clues
near the massive stone wharf,
the team uncovered a completely
separate stone pathway.
STEVE G.: So, this is the
cobble path from last year.
It hits the cobble
that we found this year,
which is what we're standing on.
And, so, when you project this
path, it heads to the Money Pit.
- That's interesting.
- IAN: This is what we've been looking for.
Right.
- What you got?
- I have a piece of pottery.
NARRATOR: However,
as archaeologist Laird Niven
began carefully exposing
the feature, he discovered
pieces
of indigenous Mi'kmaw pottery...
LAIRD:
It's definitely Mi'kmaw.
Leading to a stunning mandate
by the provincial
government agency
known as Community,
Culture and Heritage.
Community, Culture and Heritage
asked that we stop work
at the area
where we were finding
the artifacts.
I see.
NARRATOR: The mandate
restricted all further investigation
of the feature in the southeast
corner of the swamp.
However,
because the feature may continue
up toward the Money Pit,
it is Rick,
Marty and Craig's hope
that if they can find
more evidence of the path
outside the restricted zone,
they can obtain a special permit
to uncover it,
confirm where it leads,
and find more clues
that could help solve
the Oak Island mystery.
Okay. About here, you think?
DAVID F.:
Yeah, I think that should work.
ALEX:
First scan coming up.
NARRATOR: In order
to conduct their search,
Alex and David are using
an OKM Gepard GPR 3D scanner.
The device works
by emitting electromagnetic
pulses into the ground
to create a 3D visualization
of potential objects,
structures and voids
as deep as 130 feet
below the surface.
[beeping slowly]
[beeps rapidly]
- Okay.
- MARTY: This OKM
is a state-of-the-art portable
ground-penetrating radar.
- About here?
- Yeah. Might cheat a little bit this way.
- Okay.
- MARTY: This technology
might be able to trace
the paved road from the swamp
up the hill
towards the Money Pit.
If we can see these anomalies
and we think they're the road,
well, we can dig it.
- This'll be seven, so that's probably your last one.
- ALEX: Okay.
RICK:
My hope is, maybe they'll find
something very significant,
and we can take
that information to CCH
and say, "Guys, here, look.
Here's the data.
Here's the empirical evidence."
ALEX:
Okay.
Let's take a look.
RICK:
"We need you to work with us
"so that we can find out
what this is
"from an archaeological
perspective.
Help us move this forward."
ALEX:
Let's see if we got anything.
That looks pretty good.
Look at that.
DAVID F.:
Oh, that's interesting. I mean,
we started on the stone road.
- What was exposed.
- ALEX: Mm-hmm.
And at roughly the same depth,
there is a consistent feature
or anomaly about the same width
- that runs...
- ALEX: Right along with it. Yeah.
So, we might be picking it up.
Even-even in the upland there
where we thought it ended,
it might still continue.
Incredibly,
there's a good chance
the stone road
is under us right here.
I think we might have found it.
ALEX: I think the stone road
might be under us right here.
I think we might have found it.
And it continues
all the way along the scan,
- which is really good.
- DAVID F.: Yeah.
NARRATOR:
Using ground-penetrating radar,
Alex Lagina and David Fornetti
have just found
possible evidence
of a buried stone pathway
running between the
southeast corner of the swamp
and the Money Pit.
I think
if we try and catch it further
in the upland, it might be worth
taking a run or two
if we can find an area that,
you know,
we can have a clear pass.
Sure. I-I'm all for that.
- I think we should do one right here, actually.
- All right. Cool.
I think we found the
continuation of the stone road
as it heads up out of the swamp
towards the Money Pit.
Okay, I'll do the first round.
You do the next one. Start here.
- Sounds good.
- See if it goes under here.
If we can follow this thing
far enough,
we get outside
of this no-go zone,
uh, then we can dig it,
and it's actually gonna give us
some artifacts.
Because anything we find
within the road
is what's gonna give us
a date
and maybe tell us who did it.
It's really encouraging.
[beeps rapidly]
Let's take a look.
- I know I got caught on something there, but...
- Yep.
Hopefully it doesn't matter.
Let's see what we got.
I mean, that looks a lot
like what we were seeing.
DAVID F.: I'd imagine
it's about the same depth.
It looks about right,
I mean, it's the same...
Looks like it's
about the same width.
- Now that's saying five feet deep.
- But we've come
- out of the swamp and into the uplands, so...
- Yeah. So we know
there was
a lot of activity here.
Maybe it's been covered over.
NARRATOR:
Could Alex be correct
that he and David
have found an extension
of the stone path leading away
from the stone wharf
in the swamp
and toward the Money Pit?
If so, who made
such an effort to bury it?
And why?
Could the current dig being
conducted in the TF-1 shaft
soon reveal a possible answer?
DAVID F.: You know, one of
the things that I'm thinking...
I wonder
if we try and figure out
where we're getting these hits
and see if we can start to,
you know, see that the road
is going straight.
I agree that we need to...
You know,
if we think we have it,
we need to mark it. I agree.
We'll call Steve
and come have him come in
and, you know,
sh**t some GPS points.
Perfect.
Yeah, I have a, a ribbon
- I can mark it with.
- ALEX: Oh, some tape. Perfect.
NARRATOR: The following
morning in the Money Pit area...
I got the wood.
GARY:
Yeah, that is wood. [chuckles]
I like that.
You have wood there
in the bottom.
NARRATOR: The excavation
of the TF-1 caisson
is beginning to yield
exciting results...
GARY:
That is a big timber.
As it has reached
the team's zone of interest
between 70 and 90 feet.
It was in this depth range
where, earlier this year,
they not only recovered
evidence
of a 15th century tunnel
but also silver and gold.
I mean, if we're looking
for tunnels or shafts,
this is the type of stuff
you'd expect to be seeing,
- wouldn't it?
- Certainly is.
LAIRD:
Carry this in?
GARY:
No metals.
LAIRD:
We're gonna need
a bucket of water and a brush.
GARY:
Couple of interesting pieces,
especially that one.
That looks
like it's been hand-hewn.
Certainly cut.
That feels heavy, too.
Like hardwood.
- Yeah.
- GARY: Yeah.
Look at that.
More wood in the hammer grab.
Can I go in, Billy?
PETER:
Yep.
- Got a lot of wood in there.
- GARY: Yep.
- Hey.
- We're getting close, huh?
Yeah.
Yeah, this is the previous grab.
- JACK: What depth are we right now?
- LAIRD: 75 feet.
So, we're at the...
we're at the actual depth
where we expected to find
this sort of wood
and the tunnel.
Yep.
Those are huge cans.
[chuckles]
NARRATOR: Having been alerted
that the dig has now reached
critical depths,
Rick, Marty and Craig
arrive to monitor the
potentially historic operation.
- Hey, guys.
- ALEX: Morning, guys.
CRAIG:
Hey. This just come up?
- JACK: Yeah.
- DOUG: So, we'll fill you in
on what's been happening.
- Please do.
- This came out of the exact zone
that Terry noted
was loose, disturbed materials.
So that could be
part of a tunnel.
MARTY: Well, what's it
telling us, though? What about
- metal detecting? Anything?
- GARY: Nothing.
I mean, we've found
lots of notched timbers.
- Any saw blade marks?
- ALEX: Yeah. If you hold it
like this,
the saw cuts are at that angle.
- So it could be vertical.
- Yeah, and if this...
and if this side
was not parallel to this side,
the saw cuts
would be straight up and down.
RICK:
Okay. Here's the info.
Hello.
It's a great day to be digging.
Um, so,
we're at 81 with the can.
- 76 and a half with the dig. Yeah.
- MARTY: Okay. Where...
Where exactly
did the metal come out of?
- Does anybody know?
- About 88, 89.
So, this can will be to, um, 111
during these next couple hours.
MARTY: The hammer grab
is nearing the 90-foot level.
That's the zone of interest.
I have always believed
that the treasure
could not be at 200-plus feet.
A chamber at around 88 feet
is perfect.
That's the thing
that makes sense to me.
That's the thing that
has always made sense to me.
Could the gold still be there?
Could the treasure
still be there? Yes.
And if we notice
anything different, we'll stop
- and let you guys know.
- RICK: And, also,
the recognition
that if you come down
- on top of anything different...
- Anything different.
- We'd like to know.
- VANESSA: Yes.
- Will do. All right. Thanks, guys.
- Okey doke. Thank you.
The continuity
of the finds of wood
at a certain elevation,
that gives high confidence
to what's happening there.
So, can it be speculated that
the treasure is at this depth
somewhere in the mid-80
to mid-90 range?
Absolutely. It's possible.
I'm going to go down
to the wash plant.
I think they need more eyes
down there,
especially
since we're getting close.
- MARTY: Okay.
- Yep.
I got watching this can
be attached.
I got that handled for you.
[all laugh]
CRAIG:
Lot of wood coming out.
Yep.
GARY:
Ooh, look at all that timber
coming out.
PETER:
Wood here.
[metal detector beeping]
- GARY: We got a good signal here.
- PETER: Yeah?
Is it in this clump?
GARY:
Let me see if I can pinpoint it.
I'm on vibrate at the moment.
Might be in this side bit.
[beeps]
- In your hand?
- Yeah, it's in my hand.
The heck have we got here?
PETER:
What is that?
- It is that. Our first fastener.
- Yeah.
NARRATOR: In the Money Pit area,
Gary Drayton
has just recovered
a potentially important clue
in spoils excavated
from a depth
of approximately 75 feet
in the TF-1 shaft.
This is our first fastener,
so I'm hoping
- that it's a square-shanked fastener.
- PETER: Hopefully.
Let's get out just so... 'Cause
there's another hammer grab.
GARY:
Yeah. All right.
- PETER: Bring it to the table.
- Yeah.
NARRATOR:
Could it be from a structure
built long ago
by someone who deposited
something of great value
in the Money Pit?
If so,
since they are now approaching
the depth
where they recovered evidence
of both silver and gold
earlier this year,
what will they unearth next?
Hey. We found
our first iron fastener.
- ALEX: Oh!
- GARY: Tough to tell if it's square-shanked
or if it's a cut nail.
Hard to say on that.
GARY: If I was taking a
guess on that, I would say that's
a square-shanked iron fastener.
That'd be old.
PETER:
The tip looks wrought iron.
GARY: Yeah, exactly.
And we know most of this
hand-forged iron
goes back a ways.
I'm excited
because whenever you find
old iron fasteners,
normally you find
other artifacts
associated with the people
that were doing the mining,
the tunneling,
the people who built the shafts.
We don't know
what we've got here,
but one thing
that TF-1 has told us?
We will find the Money Pit
close to this location.
Something to get tested,
as well.
So, I'll leave that
with you guys
- 'cause I've got to get stuck back in.
- Sure.
- Want to bag it?
- Yeah.
- It's in the bag.
- Good sign.
Excellent. See you in a bit.
NARRATOR: As Alex, Gary
and members of the team
continue monitoring the
excavation of the TF-1 shaft,
near Smith's Cove...
RICK: As far as I can see,
everything's going good.
NARRATOR: Rick Lagina
and other members of the team
are carefully examining
the spoils
that are being processed
through the team's
industrial wash plant.
A load came in from that caisson
at the target depth,
so that's probably
what's going through here now.
RICK:
The work at the wash plant,
it's a tactile operation,
especially when the water
is so cold.
And it's difficult.
You're standing in one place
for hours on end.
CHARLES:
Is that a rose-head on that?
RICK:
Nah, it's modern.
Your job, when you're
at the front of the line,
is to get that material
as clean as possible
so that the guys down the line
can actually pick something out.
What matters is that
you find something.
There's hours and hours
where you find nothing.
And then you find one thing
that says it was worth it.
RICK: Okay. Let's see
what else we can find.
NARRATOR: As Rick
and Charles continue sifting
through the TF-1 spoils
at the wash plant,
back at the Money Pit...
PETER:
We're not getting any wood now.
- Did I miss a grab? Or is that...?
- That's just...
It-it looked like a half-grab.
Mostly water.
NARRATOR:
the excavation of the shaft
has suddenly stopped producing
the expected volume
of wood and spoils.
VANESSA:
Something's not sitting right.
That's three with no...
no wood, no nothing.
DANNY: I don't
know, I can't explain it.
VANESSA:
Maybe you're bouncing on wood.
Maybe you're not
getting to the bottom.
I'll go ask them if they're
okay with us continuing down.
Okay.
All right, I'll go let 'em know.
- Hello.
- MARTY: Hi.
All right, we've gone down two
more feet with the oscillator,
and we took out our three grabs.
Um...
You see he's not getting much.
MARTY:
Yeah.
VANESSA:
He's hitting something hard.
MARTY: So, there's
something in the way.
VANESSA:
Yeah.
I can't guarantee
we're getting to the bottom.
With your guys' blessing, we
want to take a few more grabs?
- Definitely an anomaly going on.
- Rick needs to be involved in this.
Okay.
- I'm getting him.
- ALEX: Okay.
- Okay.
- RICK: We are working
as a very cohesive team.
The vendors are invested
in the process.
Hey, Rick!
You really
should come back up there now.
We're sort of
at decision points.
RICK: The communication
is appropriate.
We ask them,
"Guys, if you believe
that there's information that
we should know in order to make
an informed decision,
please come to us."
They are doing that very thing,
and it's most appreciated.
Something's changed. Little bit
of an anomaly going on.
Didn't see this earlier.
He wasn't getting full scoops.
RICK:
What do you make of that?
VANESSA: We're-we're
monitoring it, but weird.
Um, the can's still at 83.
We did not advance that because
we have a nine-foot plug.
We're not seeing
anything abnormal.
We're not seeing anything
that's indicating
that we're going through
easy, smooth sand, right?
The oscillator has been
reacting steadily
- the entire time.
- So, the mystery isn't the oscillator.
The mystery is why that's not
coming up with anything.
- VANESSA: Yes. Yeah.
- I see.
NARRATOR:
It appears that the TF-1 caisson
has encountered a large object
or obstruction
that the hammer grab tool
is currently unable to retrieve.
The question is,
just what could the object be?
Vanessa has suggested that
there's some sort of obstruction
at this depth...
Well, 90-foot conjures up
the-the original Money Pit.
As long as he concurs,
why don't you hit it a little
harder and see what we got.
- But I would not advance the pipe yet.
- I agree.
I agree.
Okay. Will do.
Yeah. If it was in situ,
I would expect big chunks
of clay to be stuck to it still.
I don't know.
Don't know what it means.
What odds would you put
on us putting this thing down
and not getting any metal?
I was just thinking that.
And every time
it comes out of that hole,
you're hoping.
ALEX:
I expect it right now.
I expect it.
- DOUG: You do?
- I do. Right now.
MARTY:
Skeleton with a chest!
And survey says...
- PETER: That's a lot of water.
- LAIRD: Oh, yeah.
MARTY:
What is going on down there?
- PETER: That's a lot of water.
- LAIRD: Oh, yeah.
MARTY:
What is going on down there?
I guess we're about to find out.
NARRATOR:
In the Money Pit area,
at a depth
of approximately 80 feet...
- VANESSA: Just water.
- ANDREW: Yeah.
A mysterious obstruction
is preventing the massive
hammer grab tool
from removing spoils from
the ten-foot-wide TF-1 shaft.
- VANESSA: Weird as hell.
- ANDREW: Yeah.
Marty said that Michel
could drop it.
See if we have
something in there, so...
- ANDREW: Okay.
- Let's let him drop it three times.
And have him keep monitoring it?
Yep, every three
we're monitoring.
MARTY:
Come on! Be something good!
- RICK: Wow.
- ALEX: That's better.
MARTY: That's a
hell of a lot in this one.
GARY:
Oh, look at that.
PAUL:
Is that a rock?
[clears throat]
Billy.
- Yeah?
- Look!
A, a rock with a drill hole
in it. Look.
I'll get out
so you can lift it out.
BILLY:
Yeah.
Gary's got something.
Check this out.
Look at that.
That's beautiful.
GARY:
That's fantastic.
That's almost certainly
the anomaly.
That's probably the D-2
borehole, don't you think?
LAIRD:
Yeah.
NARRATOR: The mystery of
the obstruction in the TF-1 shaft
has been solved.
The team has unearthed
a large boulder,
which they apparently drilled
through earlier this year
in the six-inch borehole
known as D-2.
A borehole where they
discovered evidence of gold
at a depth of some 90 feet.
VANESSA: It's getting
pretty good scoops, though.
- Yeah.
- Luck's on our side.
- A lot of wood coming out.
- Yep.
ALEX:
There it is.
Is that an eight-incher,
at least?
GARY:
That is a big timber.
MARTY: I was hoping there
would be a lot of wood coming up,
and there indeed
is a lot of wood coming up
from the hammer grab.
- Got it?
- Yeah.
MARTY: Some looks ancient,
some looks more modern.
Yeah, that's an
interesting piece.
The perennial problem
on Oak Island is that,
"Is it old enough?"
We're looking for stuff
that substantially
predates the search.
That's the kind of old
I want to see.
Ooh! Is this a shoe?
Look at this!
[chuckles]
He's actually got
a boot over there.
- [laughs]
- NARRATOR: A boot,
found at a depth of more than
I thought it was an old shoe
for a minute.
Here, I'll go grab it.
I'll go grab it.
NARRATOR: How did it
end up that far below ground?
Could it have been left
by a previous treasure hunter
on Oak Island?
Or did it belong to someone
who came here
much, much earlier?
JACK:
As requested.
MARTY:
Thank you.
DOUG: Well, from the color,
I was hoping it was leather,
- but that's-that's more your classical rubber boot.
- Yeah.
PAUL:
Does it have a size or a brand
on the inside?
I'm gonna try and get
some of the dirt out of it.
- Gonna sneak in here.
- Oh, yeah.
-Um, our can
is at 98 and a half.
- Yeah.
- We do have an eight-foot plug right now.
Jared says he can see
a bunch of wood in there.
So, we're about 90 and a half
with the dig.
MARTY:
Yeah.
VANESSA:
All right.
Well, we're-we're
gonna keep digging.
We're gonna get this can
down tonight.
- And then probably start again in the morning.
- Keep digging.
Okay.
I think we have early returns
on this rubber boot, boys.
- What is it?
- So, up here it says...
- Mm-hmm.
- Kaufman?
They were a Canadian
rubber company,
making these type
of boots in 1908, 1909.
This-this might be the pit
that FDR was digging in.
Well, that'd be pretty cool.
They thought they were chasing
the Money Pit at the time.
ALEX:
Maybe they were.
NARRATOR:
In 1909,
a 27-year-old lawyer
and 32nd-degree Freemason
named Franklin Delano Roosevelt
helped finance the Old Gold
Salvage and Wrecking Company,
which conducted a large-scale
excavation
of what they believed
to be the original Money Pit.
Although the future
U.S. president was unsuccessful
in reaching the fabled treasure
before his company's efforts
were drowned by flooding
from the legendary booby trap,
some reports suggest
they did recover evidence
of gold shavings while drilling
at the bottom of their shaft.
If this boot did, in fact,
belong to one of Franklin
Roosevelt's team members,
could that mean that Rick,
Marty, Craig and their team
are on course to make
a breakthrough discovery
in the original Money Pit?
RICK: We were certainly hoping
that this was an older structure.
There is connective tissue...
The boot...
To Franklin Roosevelt's work.
It's a clue.
It's information, it's a reason
to keep going and to stay
vigilant and hopeful.
DOUG: We brought
up a piece of gold in D-2.
Yeah, but the difference
is, we can get down.
- Yeah.
- Nothing's gonna stop that.
Look at that. Oh, there you go.
DOUG:
Yeah.
JACK:
That's tons of wood, isn't it?
Unbelievable.
DOUG:
What are we into?
- ALEX: Look at that.
- Wow.
GARY:
More timbers.
JACK:
That's tons of wood, isn't it?
DOUG:
What are we into?
That's not the kind of stuff
that we brought up
out of the other shafts.
NARRATOR:
In the Money Pit area,
the excavation
of the ten-foot-wide TF-1 shaft
has reached a depth
of some 90 feet,
where the team recovered
evidence of both silver
and gold earlier this year.
Hopefully this is a change from
some of this more modern wood.
Yeah, well that's the tunnel
we're looking for,
with tons of timbers.
- Who knows exactly what's in it?
- Yeah.
NARRATOR: Unfortunately,
as the sun is beginning to set,
the team from
Irving Equipment Limited
and ROC Equipment
must now wait for morning
before they can continue
unearthing spoils
and hopefully something
of incredible value.
- CRAIG: Hey, Vanessa.
- VANESSA: Gentlemen.
MARTY:
Where's the gold?
[laughter]
VANESSA: Just wanted
to give you guys an update.
Uh, we are finishing up
for the night.
The can is at, uh, 101 feet
and the excavation
is at 92 and a half feet.
- Okay.
- MARTY: All right, well,
we are working on a new theory,
actually promoted
by Dr. Crowell over here.
- Correct? Why don't you talk...
- Yeah.
- Why don't you tell them real quick, huh?
- All right.
DOUG:
Well, this thing here,
which was
a little disappointing,
Laird and I found a name
along the top rim, it's Kaufman.
That company was a Canadian
rubber company
making boots around 1908, 1909.
And, well, this-this
could be FDR's boot.
Or part of the expedition.
DOUG: Why that's good is,
we know they were working
alongside what they believed
to be the Money Pit.
That could account for the new
and old wood we're seeing.
I think we just rolled
the clock back 112 years
and we're now on the site
of what they were
exploring in 1909.
BILLY: There's only
one flaw in that is,
they didn't find it, so it's
no good to go in the same place.
- They didn't get deep enough, right?
- Well...
DOUG: Right. And... we
found a piece of gold here.
They didn't.
And I got 60 more feet
of casing.
[laughter]
When Doug and Laird
date the boot to 1908, 1909,
it sort of changes
in importance to me.
Now we want to proceed because
it ties with Doug's awakening
to the possibility
that we're digging in the shaft
that Roosevelt dug in.
And that shaft was near
the original Money Pit.
So hope sort of rises again
a little bit.
We might find
some things deeper.
Okay, so we will
declare victory for today.
Go home, get some sleep,
back in the morning.
- Okay.
- RICK: I'm gonna declare
"We're not giving up."
And, you know,
with that rationale,
I mean, it makes sense, right?
But the proof is down that hole.
And, uh, we're not gonna give up
till we figure out
what that hole has to tell us.
That's where I'm at.
I'm not bothered
that we haven't made
the bravo-tango, uh, call yet.
I know it's coming,
or I certainly believe it is.
The fact
that we haven't achieved
what we had hoped to achieve
at this depth is immaterial.
The good news is,
I believe we're close.
Tomorrow the sun will rise,
the can will go down.
The work continues.
We moved the dial.
Yep.
MARTY:
That is one heavy dial
we're trying to move,
I'll tell you that.
- Tomorrow! Tomorrow's the day.
- There you go.
Tomorrow's always the day.
Until it's today.
- We're not done yet.
- Yeah.
NARRATOR: For Rick,
Marty, Craig and their team,
it has already been a year
of unprecedented advances
toward solving
a 227-year-old mystery.
From ancient artifacts
and structures
that date back centuries older
than anything
ever discovered on Oak Island
to scientific evidence
of gold and silver
buried deep in the Money Pit,
what was once thought
to be legend
now appears to be certain.
And as they dig deeper
than ever before,
can anything stop them
from revealing
the ultimate answers?
Next time
on The Curse of Oak Island...
MARTY: What a good
day to find treasure.
Oh, look at that.
- ALEX: Is that concrete?
- Yeah.
JACK: We could be
close to the actual vault.
- RICK: Whoa!
- VANESSA: The hammer grab
is grabbing on something
that's too heavy
- to pull back out.
- Wow.
MARTY: There's got to be
something in that clay right there.
-[beeping] -GARY: That's a
screamer, mate. Come on, baby.
Come to Papa. Wow.
- Let's see what the machine says.
- Okay.
- MARTY: That's gold.
- KELLY: Absolutely.
That's just amazing.