10x04 - Wharf and Pieces
Posted: 04/17/24 08:11
NARRATOR: Tonight on
The Curse of Oak Island...
STEVE G.:
This is the LIDAR anomaly.
- RICK: That's incredible.
- MARTY: Let's dig it up.
Ooh! Look at that.
- LAIRD: Looks like a handle.
- JACK: To a chest?
GARY:
Ooh! That's fantastic.
RICK:
Get us down there.
There's gonna be some answers
at the bottom of that shaft.
Oh! We clipped
the edge of a beam.
This might be
completely unknown.
MARTY: At 70 feet, it almost
has to be an offset chamber.
The sample came out to
be pre-searcher time period.
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.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Another historic
day has arrived on Oak Island.
- Oh, there they are.
- Yep.
NARRATOR: One
that marks the beginning
of an exciting new chapter
for brothers Rick
and Marty Lagina
- and their team...
- RICK: Gentlemen.
Welcome to the island.
NARRATOR: in
a quest to locate
the original Money Pit,
and finally solve a
I'm sure you guys are
anxious to get to work,
so if you'll follow us, we'll
take you up to the Money Pit.
AL: We'll follow you.
NARRATOR: Today,
they are welcoming
representatives
from Dumas Contracting
Limited, a company
that specializes in
mining construction,
to begin rebuilding the
so-called "Garden Shaft."
RICK: Well, guys.
Let me show you
the Garden Shaft.
It's right this way.
NARRATOR: Located
on the eastern edge
of the Money Pit area,
the ten-by-ten-foot
diameter Garden Shaft was
uncovered by the
team back in 2017.
Okay, that would be probably
be the outside wall there.
NARRATOR: Although they
first believed it had been built
in the 1800s by
previous treasure hunters,
recent wood samples
taken some 80 feet deep
have been scientifically
dated to 1735,
over half a century before
the Money Pit was discovered.
IAN: We've sampled wells
within the Money Pit area,
and we do have some
chemistry back from this.
NARRATOR: And
just three weeks ago,
after conducting
scientific analysis
of the water flooding the shaft,
geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner
made an
extraordinary revelation.
IAN: We found, uh,
gold in, uh, the Garden Shaft.
[laughter]
I have the data
up on the screen.
NARRATOR: Additionally,
recent core-drilling nearby
has revealed a tunnel
some 103 feet deep
that appears to be leading
toward the shaft, as well.
STEVE G.: It does point just
west a few feet of the Garden Shaft.
This is the Garden Shaft.
So, Scott, you can tell the
guys why the shaft is of interest.
SCOTT: Well, one
of the big reasons,
we started a program
last year, water testing.
As you can see, it's always
had a body of water in it,
so we captured
some of that water,
and it tested high for gold.
- All right.
- SCOTT: So, it's definitely worth exploring.
RICK: To me, the most
interesting thing about this shaft is
that there very possibly
could be a tunnel at the bottom
of that shaft, which still
might be available to enter.
So, there's some
information down that hole,
and we would like you
to provide access to it
because we really think
that there's gonna be
some answers there,
but what we need
to understand is
what's the plan here?
How do we approach this?
How do you approach this?
I think, right now,
we're... we've got a bunch
of engineering
m... done up here to
make a-a cap on top and-and
start from the top down,
and we can start moving,
uh, some of the dirt
and, uh, rehabbing the shaft,
making it safe for everybody.
NARRATOR: Over the
course of the next two months,
the team from Dumas will
drain and excavate the old shaft
and then install a new,
waterproof wooden structure,
reaching a planned
depth of at least 80 feet.
If evidence of tunnels
or voids are encountered
as the work progresses
deeper and deeper underground,
the team can also tunnel out
laterally from the main shaft.
RICK: We'll be underground
in The Money Pit
for the very first time.
I mean, that's important.
Rehabbing the Garden Shaft
provides some very
unique opportunities
to further explore that area.
You guys are the eyes
and boots component of this
maybe history-making agenda.
MARTY: There are high
concentrations of gold
in the Garden Shaft,
and, amazingly, the Garden Shaft
may be
where the treasure actually is.
Get us down there.
Figure out what it is.
You guys are the company
- that's gonna make this happen.
- AL: And we can't wait
to get down there and
get our, get our hands dirty
and-and get you some answers.
RICK: I'm looking
forward to getting started,
and if you ever need an extra
hand when you get down there,
my arm goes up.
- [laughter]
- RICK: So, again,
thank you very much.
I really appreciate it.
Let's get to the bottom of this.
What do you say? We all in?
- OTHERS: We're all in.
- Okay. Let's do it.
- Yeah, let's get after.
- Do it. Yeah.
NARRATOR: As
operations get under way
at the Garden Shaft,
Rick Lagina heads
just 60 feet to the south.
- CHARLES: Hey, Rick.
- Morning, guys.
- How're you doing?
- Good.
- How are you?
- Good. -Not too bad.
Where are we?
Can you point out the location?
This one right here, Rick.
And here we are
down here in the L-16.
NARRATOR: Here,
geologist Terry Matheson
and Oak Island historian
Charles Barkhouse
are supervising the drilling
of a borehole known as L-16.
A borehole where
the team is conducting
new water sample testing
in order to confirm
Dr. Spooner's findings
that gold could be buried
in the Garden Shaft area,
as well as additional
evidence of the believed tunnel
some 103 feet deep.
What's happening?
We're down about 108, and when
we were just reviewing the core,
just a normal logging,
we came across
- a little chunk of wood, just kind of unexpectedly.
- All right.
RICK: What was
the depth of this?
It was in situ ground above,
and in situ ground below.
At this point, we're
thinking another tunnel.
[chuckles]
- RICK: There you go.
- NARRATOR: Wood?
Discovered in situ,
meaning in undisturbed ground,
at a depth of
approximately 106 feet?
If so, is it possible
that the team has
encountered another section
of the tunnel they
recently discovered,
which may potentially lead
toward the Garden Shaft?
Almost every time we drill
anywhere near the Money Pit,
something pops up
that we didn't expect.
And here it happened
again, part of the tunnel.
So, what it means
has to be figured out.
Not only is it
at-at the depth, but
we're in a fairly
under-investigated
- area of the Money Pit.
- TERRY: Absolutely.
And because of that,
it's a prime candidate
for C-14 testing.
- Oh, for sure.
- RICK: 100%
You know, to have
a small chunk of wood
might provide a very unique
window of insight
as to what's going
on in this area.
- Absolutely.
- Yep.
RICK: I think this
retrieval of the wood,
should further our
understanding of this area.
We have a unique opportunity
to investigate an area
that strongly suggests
very early activity, if not
original depositional work.
And we have to take every
advantage of this opportunity.
Water sampling, gold monitoring,
C-14 testing,
eventually, we'll
figure this out.
- Let's see what happens.
- RICK: Okay.
- Thanks, guys.
- Yep. Take care.
- See you. Take care.
- Yep.
NARRATOR: Later
that afternoon...
RICK: Thanks,
everybody, for coming.
You know, guys, generally,
when we sit around
this w*r room table,
it's always about
new things. You know,
- new information, new data, new discoveries.
- Yeah.
NARRATOR: Rick has
gathered in the w*r room
with Dr. Ian Spooner
and other members
of the team regarding
another investigation
focused nearly a half mile
from the Money Pit, on the
western side of the island.
I've asked Ian to
take a look at the LIDAR data.
Uh, we wanted to know
- where the targets are.
- Yeah.
- Okay, we'll stand back.
- Just stand back, and we'll get going.
NARRATOR: One week ago,
the team commissioned
representatives
from Phoenix Aerial Productions
to conduct a drone-based
LIDAR survey of the entire island.
After making a
number of potentially
pre-16th century
discoveries on Lots 7 and 8,
including an
ancient barter token
and a bunk hook, designed
for hoisting heavy cargo,
the hope was that an
extensive geophysical
survey might reveal
more substantial clues,
such as buried structures
or large, valuable objects.
I, like you, this will be
a learning experience
because I'm not aware
of what he's exactly found.
NARRATOR: Now, with his
more than 30 years of experience
studying ground surfaces
and differentiating between
natural and man-made formations,
Dr. Spooner has
completed his analysis
of the LIDAR survey data.
Ian, you've been kind
enough to review the data,
so what've you got?
IAN: So, I took a
look at the LIDAR,
and, in particular, Lot 30, uh,
jumped out, a feature there,
and, uh, that
I think Steve's gonna
take us to right now
and see what people think.
STEVE G.: Sure.
So, I brought this up first.
So, this was supplied to us
from a LIDAR that they ran.
Uh, you'll notice down
here, so it's right in here.
There's the anomaly on Lot 30.
It's about 100 by 150 feet.
IAN: Yeah, I'm
pretty excited by this.
This is very geometric.
It's not some natural feature.
So, the question is, what is it?
RICK: That's
incredibly interesting.
NARRATOR: In the w*r room,
Dr. Ian Spooner
and Steve Guptill
are presenting Rick
and members of the team
with LIDAR images
of a potentially important
discovery on Lot 30,
located on the western
side of Oak Island.
IAN: So, this is very geometric.
And it deserves,
I think, a little bit
o-o-of a more careful look.
Yeah.
RICK: Every one of the
experts has said to us,
look for rectangular features
because Mother Nature
does not do right
angles very well.
Here, we have in front of
us a very rectangular feature.
The inference being that's
a man-made construct.
Anything man-made on this
island should be investigated.
There's no reason not
to try to figure out what
it, what it may represent.
Yeah.
- Yeah.
- GARY: I like that area
'cause it was kind of opposite
where the wharf
would've been on Lot 32,
where we found a wide
variety of metal finds.
- Mm-hmm.
- STEVE G.: I'm gonna turn off
the LIDAR just so
we can see the image.
JACK: Maybe this is
the camp that the
wharf we're looking for
on 32 is associated with.
- GARY: Yeah.
- Mm-hmm.
It's really not that far.
RICK: No, it's
not. You're right.
NARRATOR: Over
the past two years,
Gary Drayton and members
of the team have discovered
abundant evidence
of an old ship's wharf
on nearby Lot 32,
which sits only some 200 yards
from the mysterious
LIDAR anomaly on Lot 30.
Is it possible, as the
team is speculating,
that the two locations
are potentially related?
Two big areas, where
we've recovered artifacts,
by the shore there on
STEVE G.: Yeah.
Makes sense that it could
be some kind of camp.
Yeah. Connects.
GARY: We just got to
find out when they were
using that area.
Yeah.
JACK: If this feature's from
the depositors that
were using a wharf,
then I'd say we're the first
people that ever came across it.
Surprises abound, and
this might be one of them.
Yeah.
RICK: Everything
that we talked about
indicates that that area
should have an
explanation for it, right?
- Yeah.
- RICK: So, Laird,
- not to put you on the spot...
- [chuckles]
How do we go about
investigating this feature?
LAIRD: I think we come in and do
a small test trench by hand
across one of the intersections.
I think we take our
time and make sure
we get all-all the
bases covered.
GARY: And there's
actually one area
close to there that I
haven't got into yet,
on Lot 32.
RICK: Ian, thank you
very much. Appreciate it,
but now it's time to put
the eyes and boots on it
- and see what we can discover.
- Yep.
RICK: Let's head out back.
NARRATOR: Following
their meeting in the w*r room,
as operations continue
in the Money Pit area...
RICK: Anything
over there, Laird?
LAIRD: Nope. Not yet.
Just getting below
the roots now.
NARRATOR: Rick
Lagina and Laird Niven join
Helen Sheldon on Lot 30 to begin
their investigation of the
mysterious, buried feature.
What would be better
to find: pottery or glass?
Pottery.
It changed more
frequently over time,
so you get a better date off it.
NARRATOR: Over the
course of the coming days,
the team will meticulously
excavate a series
of small square test
pits all across the feature
in the hopes of not only
identifying what it may be,
but also unearth
any important artifacts
or valuables that
it may contain.
In order to completely
understand what this is,
I think we need to
define this structure.
We need to find artifacts that
can timeline this structure.
We need to let the
discovery activities
that we conduct tell the tale.
It's very
gravely-looking gravel.
RICK: It is, yeah.
So, we're close.
Just gonna take
a little more work.
NARRATOR: As
Rick, Laird, and Helen
begin investigating
the feature on Lot 30...
approximately
Gary Drayton and Jack Begley
arrive on Lot 32.
- You go first, Gary.
- All right, mate.
Lead us to the treasure.
NARRATOR: Here, they
will search for additional clues
in the area where they
previously discovered
evidence of an
ancient ship's wharf.
What we'll do,
we'll go in lines.
We'll go along the shoreline
and come back down.
- Make sure we cover everything.
- Yeah.
GARY: Right,
let's see if we can get lucky.
Ooh, I can hear some
little chittery-chattery.
I'm looking for good, two-way
repeatable signals,
like that.
Yeah, this one's
got to come out.
Let me try pinpointing
it for you, mate.
[detector squeals]
- It's right there.
- Right there, mate.
[grunting]
- All right, Gary. Work your magic, bud.
- GARY: Thank you so much.
There.
- Right in the bottom there.
- Yeah.
That's exactly where
we thought it was.
That is deep. That's
very impressive.
I just hope it's
something really old.
Careful, mate.
It might be sharp.
What is that?
To me, that looks like
a part of a fire grate.
Whenever you see any
pieces of flat iron like this,
and it's got those ridges.
Yeah.
I mean, this could be old, mate.
To me, it looks like 1700s.
Along with a lot of artifacts
that we've recovered
off this lot.
Yeah. I, uh, I agree.
- Let's bag it and tag it and get it tested.
- Yeah.
And I'm sure there's
some more pieces in there.
Okay, let's double-check then.
- [grunts]
- Whoo!
Wow, look at that.
- That was a surprise.
- JACK: Oh, there's more.
Yeah?
The heck is this?
- That is cool. These look old, mate.
- [chuckles]
This is unusual, mate.
These spikes are substantial.
Eh, I don't know if they're
fasteners or they're tools,
but, either way mate,
there's some oldness here,
- we're holding some ancientness, in our hand.
- That's sweet.
- Yeah, you can see, like, the striations on it.
- Yeah.
These are really, really cool.
- Fantastic. Feel the weight of those, mate.
- Oh, yeah, I'd love to.
Good digging as well.
What I love about
these pieces of iron is
they fit in perfectly
with the time frame
of the old wharf,
that lead bale seal.
Same time frame
- or maybe a lot older.
- 'Cause the wharf
- would've been just right out there, is where we suspect.
- Yeah.
Yup.
The deeper we're
digging in this hole,
uh, the more we're finding.
And these two artifacts,
they're made of iron,
and anytime you
see those striations
along the shank,
then you're talking
about hand-forged iron,
which is always older.
These are just
the type of artifacts
you want to be
recovering in an area
where you think there's
a potential old wharf.
So, let's see what
else is in there.
So, should we
double-check the hole?
Yeah.
All right.
[detector beeping]
- Oh, there's more.
- Wow.
Every signal sounds
better than the last one.
This is a cool, little area.
Oh, yeah, I'm glad
we didn't leave.
GARY: Oh, ho, ho, a screamer!
You can feel it though,
- can't you?
- JACK: Oh, I can see it.
NARRATOR: On Lot 32,
located on the western side
of Oak Island...
This is like a little
Pandora's box of iron.
NARRATOR: Gary
Drayton and Jack Begley
have just found a number
of potentially important clues.
There we go. Come on.
Whoo!
-[laughs] -Look
at that one, Gary.
That is fantastic.
JACK: That's a hefty spike.
GARY: Oh, wow.
I'm not sure if it's a
tool or a wharf pin.
- To me, this reminds me of a wharf pin.
- Oh.
It's got that flat head.
It looks like it was made
to be driven into wood.
So, a wharf pin, you
mean, to stick two pieces of
- wharf wood together and hold them? Yeah.
- Yeah, exactly.
- I've seen how deep you've been digging, mate.
- Definitely.
That's been there
one very long time.
-[both laugh] -NARRATOR:
Could Gary and Jack
be correct that they
have found more evidence
of an ancient wharf?
If so, might it be related
to the French cargo
bag seal found two years ago?
And perhaps, also the
large, rectangular anomaly,
located nearby on Lot 30?
This is fantastic, mate.
This is different kinds of
artifacts in one small area.
Typically, when you find things
close together,
what-what do you think?
- Are they related?
- Yeah.
Normally, I think
activity, mate. Work.
'Cause this could be a-a
loading and unloading zone.
Yeah. Exactly.
This could be, like, a
staging point, inland.
Potentially, we could be
in an area, there could be
a little encampment here.
With a grouping of
finds, that tells me,
it's a place where people
would've spent some time.
This might be the start
of something really, really big.
We just might be at
the tip of the iceberg.
There could be so
much more deeper down,
- as well.
- Yeah.
GARY: All right, mate.
I'll put it in the bag.
JACK: Mm-hmm.
NARRATOR: The
following morning...
as preparations
for the reconstruction
of the Garden Shaft in the
Money Pit area continue...
Oh, look who's here.
NARRATOR: Rick
and Marty Lagina,
along with their
business partner,
Craig Tester, arrive
at the Money Pit.
Hey guys, good morning.
- What's going on? -Hey, guys.
- Craig. Marty. Rick.
Good to see you.
NARRATOR: after being alerted
to a potentially
important find in a new borehole
known as D-17.
Here, they are hoping to
continue tracking the path
of a tunnel discovered one
day ago in borehole L-16,
some 106 feet deep,
which they believe may be
heading toward the Garden Shaft.
TERRY: We've got some
interesting stuff in an area
that we've never found things.
D-17,
from 70 to 71.5,
intersected some wood.
Oh.
- TERRY: Relatively shallow.
- CHARLES: Unusually shallow.
It's odd that it's
at that depth.
So, it's spread out
over quite a bit, and
you can see there's more
than just those few little chunks.
We clipped the edge
of... and broke up a beam,
I would say. It
seemed to break into
six blocks that
looked just about
like what you have in
your hand there, Marty.
MARTY: That looks
like an old, broken edge.
CRAIG: Like they
caught it, an end
of a beam or something.
TERRY: This is 68 to 72.
That's that section
we have there.
Below that, in that same
hole, very soft material.
There was no wood
left or right of it.
I think we're into
another tunnel.
RICK: This might be
completely unknown.
CRAIG: Yeah.
Well, this is a new find.
It's a good indication that
we've got, you know,
something going on in this area.
Right.
This presents another
unique opportunity,
and that is that if we find
a tunnel, and we
get a bearing off of it,
and it leads uphill,
then that presents a
very unique opportunity
to run a series of
holes with the sonic drill.
That's the idea.
MARTY: If you find a
tunnel going upwards,
it almost has to be
an offset chamber.
There's no point in
having an upward-facing
- tunnel, is there?
- No.
So, yeah.
I-I would want to follow that.
NARRATOR: For more than two
centuries, generations of searchers
have been thwarted by seawater
flooding their efforts
whenever they dug below
the 90-foot level.
This has led the Oak Island team
to suspect that the treasure
is most likely located
in a much shallower,
offset chamber.
MARTY: This was unexpected.
This is a previously
unknown tunnel.
We're close to
either excavations
or constructions we're
unaware of, and the most exciting
construction would be
an offset chamber
that holds the treasure.
I've been a big believer
in an offset chamber,
and if it only went to 70
feet, that would be about right.
NARRATOR: Could
Marty be correct,
that this possible tunnel
might lead to the
fabled treasure vault?
If so, could it
also be connected
to the Garden Shaft,
which sets just 20 feet away,
and where high
trace evidence of gold
has recently been detected?
Because we have... hold such
promise in the Garden Shaft,
once we get to the bottom
of that Garden Shaft,
we can do vertical
and horizontal probing.
If we find this
at the bottom of that
shaft as we probe out,
there may be a way to tunnel
to it and find out what it is.
Is it your upward chamber?
From that perspective,
it's incredibly exciting.
Yeah.
A lot of promise in
this area for sure.
- Oh, yeah.
- Okay.
TERRY: All right.
And there's the wood
we've got from D-17.
There is it, there's
the chunk we're
- gonna send away and carbon-14.
- MARTY: Okay.
That's good. Something new.
- Let's keep going.
- TERRY: All right.
NARRATOR: Later
that afternoon...
MARTY: Gary.
- You got something good?
- Yep.
Okay, bring it over here.
NARRATOR: Rick,
Marty, and archeologist
Laird Niven meet with Gary
Drayton and Jack Begley
in the Interpretive Centre
to inspect the
numerous discoveries
made one day ago on Lot 32.
This one came up first.
A nice piece of, uh, decorated,
iron plate, I
guess you'd call it.
And it led to
even better things.
JACK: It's got
crisscrossed lines.
LAIRD: Yeah.
Strength.
Decoration.
MARTY: Part of a stove, maybe?
It's kind of what it
feels like, isn't it?
- Yeah, that's where we went.
- Oh, that's cool.
Probably part of a stove.
- MARTY: All right.
- And it was quite deep.
And then we started
digging deeper.
MARTY: Hmm.
And we found these two pieces.
- Very similar.
- Pins of some sort.
What do you guess?
Some kind of fasteners,
unless they're chisels.
So, if they were
fasteners, that's where
they broke off.
- Yeah.
- Well, they're massive,
whatever they are.
And we found this.
This is my favorite.
- Look at that.
- [chuckles]
That's beautiful.
Gary thought that it
could be a wharf pin.
Yeah, but based on what
Carmen Legge has told us
previously, I think
that's too thick
and not long enough.
- I think this is one of those rock chisels.
- GARY: Yeah.
MARTY: I'm hoping.
It's been pounded on.
Begs the question,
what were they doing
inland from the beach?
We've got so many iron objects.
Finding them is one thing,
having them tell a
story is quite another.
MARTY: Gary shows up in the lab
over here with some very
significant finds from Lot 32.
And it's very intriguing because
there's an awful lot of stuff,
metal stuff in this one spot.
And these all came
out of one hole?
Like how big? Like a
big, giant hole or how big?
Uh, it was deep,
it was maybe a few feet wide.
And we need probably
mechanical means
of digging it up.
MARTY: I know
you're parsimonious
about the use of such things,
but can I bring the backhoe?
- Absolutely.
- All right. Well, let's go.
Let's go find out
what else is out there.
GARY: Excellent.
COTE: Should be good,
eh? Ready, Bill. Bring it up.
- Keep pumping.
- Yeah.
NARRATOR: As representatives
from Dumas Contracting Limited,
and members of
the Oak Island team
continue their work
in the Money Pit area...
COLTEN: I guess
we keep going then.
NARRATOR: Rick and Marty
Lagina, and other members of the team
arrive on Lot 32.
Where am I digging?
Right here, Marty.
NARRATOR: Under the supervision
of archaeologist Laird Niven,
they are about to conduct
a larger excavation,
where Gary Drayton and
Jack Begley have found new,
compelling evidence
of an ancient wharf
some 200 yards from the remains
of a potential encampment
nearby on Lot 30.
All right, mate,
this is the hole
where we dug the
iron artifacts out.
Got it. Okay.
I'm gonna put the
spoils on that side
because it'd be hard to
push them back from this side.
Okay.
Okay. Have at it.
With all things associated with
archeology, Laird is in charge,
but he's allowing
us to dig in this area.
Marty's going to
take the backhoe
and remove the soils gradually.
Gary will get in
and metal detect.
And Laird will supervise.
JACK: Are you
getting any other hits?
Nothing worth
investigating at the moment.
We do know there's
some older stuff deeper.
Marty, around like here
is the original grade.
MARTY: More? Do you
want to get in the hole?
RICK: Do you want
to jump in there?
Yep.
Coming in.
MARTY: I think there's all
kinds of stuff in there. [laughs]
Yeah, there is.
[detector beeping]
That sounds like a good signal.
Hey, all right!
GARY: Two-way repeatable.
Let's see if it's in
pinpointing range.
[pinpointer beeping]
Yep, we're on it.
That is lead sheathing.
- Is it really?
- GARY: Yeah, that's lead sheathing.
MARTY: 300-year-old duct tape.
- GARY: Yep.
- LAIRD: Yep.
- Or older.
- GARY: Yeah.
I think the lead's got
something to do with shipping.
- Me, too.
- GARY: Yeah.
NARRATOR: Lead
sheathing? Found in an area
where the team has previously
discovered evidence of a wharf?
Dating back to the 3rd
century BC in ancient Greece,
lead was commonly used
in the construction and repair
of sailing vessels due to
its versatility and resistance
to corrosion during
long journeys at sea.
Yeah, that's a
nice piece of lead.
Mm-hmm.
They used to
line the hulls of old
sailing ships with
lead sheathing.
JACK: So, it might actually be
- a really significant find.
- GARY: Yeah.
NARRATOR: Could this
piece of lead sheathing
offer more evidence of a ship
visiting Oak Island long ago?
I ain't finished yet, either.
NARRATOR: If so, what else
might the team find to
explain just who was here?
When? And what else
they may have left behind?
Oh, ho, ho, what is that?
Any ideas?
LAIRD: That almost
looks like a handle.
GARY: Flat iron.
Some kind of ridge on it.
Could be off, like,
a little ship's stove.
LAIRD: Yeah.
MARTY: I'd keep digging.
There could be more down here.
- Yeah.
- Okay, coming out.
RICK: We know that
a number of finds on Lot 32
have been associated
with maritime activity.
I.E., the lead bag seal,
wharf pins, ship spikes.
Might there be a
connection there?
Certainly possible.
That's the hope.
[pinpointer beeping]
Look at that.
What is it?
- Oh.
- It looks like some kind of tool.
- JACK: Look at this, Laird.
- Any ideas, Laird?
I think it's hand-forged.
That's just got an
old feel about it.
- Yeah.
- GARY: All of these artifacts we're
pulling out of this
hole, totally different.
- If you wanted to prove that something went on...
- Yeah.
This is the way to do it.
I'm sure we're gonna
find some more.
MARTY: One encouraging
sign with this pile of metal
that we're finding on Lot
to Lot 30 where there
is some sort of anomaly.
Why are all these
artifacts showing up?
[chuckles]
A big chunk of iron.
But there's still
more down there.
MARTY: I mean, every
time Gary waves his
magic wand, another
piece of metal comes out.
Ooh, this is exciting.
You'd do this all day and
all night long, wouldn't you?
Yeah, I could.
MARTY: The hope is that
these are puzzle pieces
that help explain what
happened on this island.
That's the hope.
What is that?
It's a smorgasbord of artifacts.
That what it is, mate.
And this whole area has enough
metal in it to keep you busy
- for the rest of your life.
- Yeah.
Can we take another
shovel-full out of there?
- I vote yes.
- [chuckles]
You can take as much
fill off as you want. Yeah.
GARY: This has been
an amazing experience.
The more we dig in this
hole, the more we find.
It's painting a clear picture
that there was a lot of activity
on the edge of Lot 32.
Look at that. Cooking pot, mate?
Probably a piece
off a fireplace.
- JACK: Nice.
- GARY: Just so many pieces.
This could potentially
be a very important site.
RICK: Have at 'er.
Going in the hole.
MARTY: Find
something good, Gary.
What's that reading?
GARY: It's tough
to tell on this.
RICK: Sounded good.
GARY: Something
wedged underneath here.
This might be
something really cool.
Wow.
What the heck is this?
GARY: Do you want
to check this out, Jack?
- Yeah.
- Look at the scalloped design on it.
NARRATOR: On Lot 32,
while excavating a
site where a number of
mysterious metal artifacts
has recently been found,
near the remains
of an old wharf...
Wow, that's gorgeous.
The team has just
made another potentially
important discovery.
I think there's parts
of a stove here.
You think it's to a stove?
Yeah. Probably.
You might be able to put
some of these pieces together.
GARY: Yeah. Now you're cooking.
[chuckles]
JACK: And we're not done yet.
[detector beeping]
GARY: That sounds sweet!
MARTY: That's a different sound.
GARY: Something in this area.
[beeping rapidly]
GARY: That is sweet sounding.
Oh, look at that! That's nice.
That's like an old strap.
JACK: Wow.
What is that? A
strap? Look at this.
What do you think that's a
strap to, Laird? Any idea?
LAIRD: No.
It could be to a chest.
LAIRD: Quite possible.
RICK: Are these
maritime-related objects?
This is a possible
strap to a chest.
Well, it certainly fits
into the treasure story.
The facts are we've
made significant finds
at a very specific location,
and we have the kind of science
necessary to try to understand
what these items are.
And then you can speculate.
- There was probably a wharf here.
- RICK: Exactly.
Might help explain
some of these finds.
Everything is tied together.
You just have to keep
layering things to derive
all the information
possible from a site.
This has been a pretty
successful dig, eh?
I think I'd like to take some of
the artifacts back, get Emma
to CT scan them and kind
of evaluate what's going on.
What interests us about Lot
that Gary was getting
from one particular spot.
There's an incredible variety.
- No doubt about that.
- Yep.
LAIRD: The agreement
we have with the province
is that if Gary finds a
concentration of artifacts,
we'll go in and set up
a test unit in that area
and determine whether or
not those finds are significant.
If you could just
clean up the loose...
I'll try not to dig any
deeper. I'll just clean this.
Yup. Yeah, and
then we'll come back
with our trowels
and set up a unit.
Good. All right.
It's a mini treasure
trove of items here.
GARY: God, I love this place!
[laughter]
NARRATOR: Two days later...
MIKE: Maybe we'll
get some bedrock
way over here.
NARRATOR: as work continues
up in the Money Pit area...
MARTY: Hey! Hey, guys!
NARRATOR: Rick and
other members of the team
gather in the w*r room
to meet via video conference
with Marty and Craig.
So, Craig, explain to everybody,
we have the wood samples
in front of us here on the table.
- I believe you have the results from the lab.
- Yep.
NARRATOR: Craig
has just received
the carbon-14 test results
from the wood samples
recovered earlier this week
from borehole L-16
at a depth of 106 feet,
and in borehole D-17
at a depth of just 70 feet.
CRAIG: It's good
information. For the L-16...
This was the tunnel
found at 107 feet.
52% from 1724 to 1812.
21.8% from 1648 to 1695.
We can eliminate the 1900s
because we know
historically there wasn't any
tunnels out in that
direction at that time period.
50% at least in
periods that could not
be searcher, is that right?
Correct. More than
that I would say.
Nobody was tunneling
around at 100 feet
at that time period.
CRAIG: No, it
doesn't make sense.
RICK: Craig, you
have one more report?
Yeah, I sure do.
The other one is
D-17, where it looks like
we hit a tunnel at 70 feet.
The results are
almost identical: 49.9%
from 1722 to 1814,
19.2% from 1656
to 1698.
It's a very odd
data point at 70 feet.
You know, the
majority of it puts it
pre-searcher time period.
RICK: That's pretty cool.
MARTY: Wow.
NARRATOR: In the
Oak Island w*r room,
Craig Tester has just
shared carbon-14 results
from two different
boreholes that may date back
approximately a century before
the discovery of the Money Pit.
I mean, the really odd thing
about this is the 70-foot depth.
You know, why was
anybody at that depth?
DOUG: At that depth, it
doesn't seem to correlate
with a searcher's effort to
get to the treasure chamber.
- Yeah.
- NARRATOR: Could the test results
from borehole L-16
and borehole D-17,
which sets just 20 feet
from the Garden Shaft
and a possible
vast deposit of gold,
mean that the team is
close to a major breakthrough
in solving the
We don't have anybody
looking at 70 feet, do we?
Anywhere in the
historical record. Do we?
- CRAIG: Correct.
- That is correct.
STEVE G.: Could be
related to the Garden Shaft
just strictly based on depth.
We know the Garden Shaft
bottoms out at 77 and a half feet.
It would make
sense to tunnel out.
MARTY: That's great.
I think that's the most
interesting result of all,
because at 70 feet it almost
has to be an offset chamber.
That's right.
RICK: D-17 may lead
to what my brother
has often described
as an offset chamber
where treasure is deposited.
Is it exciting?
Absolutely.
Marty's offset chamber within
Shaft? Could be.
Because of the indications
of some human activity
at a depth and an area
previously unknown to us,
there's obviously the chance
that you'll find the one thing.
I mean, nothing would
be better than that.
But that's what this island is.
It's an island of
what-ifs and possibilities,
and you have to chase them all.
What's interesting
is we continue to be
mesmerized by the
Oak Island mystery.
It's complex. It's difficult.
And we just have
to follow the data.
Yes. Exactly.
And the data continues
to be quite provocative.
- Yeah.
- Yep.
So, let's start
getting some real
answers. [chuckles]
- Yep.
- So, thank you, guys.
We'll see you later.
MARTY: Cheers, guys. Good job.
- DOUG: See you.
- MARTY: Carry on.
NARRATOR: As
another incredible week
comes to an end on Oak Island,
Rick, Marty, Craig and
their team have collected
more key pieces to help
complete the Oak Island puzzle.
With meaningful new
discoveries in the Money Pit area,
and on the western
side of the island,
could they now be on
the verge of identifying
just who was behind
the 227-year-old mystery?
And as they prepare for
their most ambitious dig yet,
will a fabled vault of
riches that were left behind
soon be within their reach?
Next time on The
Curse of Oak Island...
- JACK: Oh, there we go.
- GARY: Wow.
The heck is that?
It was very common
during the middle 1700s.
CORJAN: In 1746, King
Louis XV sent two ships
to Oak Island, where they
later created the Money Pit.
RICK: If we can find original
works at the base of this shaft,
it may solve the mystery.
Oh, what's that? Whoa.
Whoa. What's that?
STEVE G.: That's a
view down the tunnel.
Is it possible that this
tunnel could lead to
finding the treasure?
The answer is unequivocally yes.
The Curse of Oak Island...
STEVE G.:
This is the LIDAR anomaly.
- RICK: That's incredible.
- MARTY: Let's dig it up.
Ooh! Look at that.
- LAIRD: Looks like a handle.
- JACK: To a chest?
GARY:
Ooh! That's fantastic.
RICK:
Get us down there.
There's gonna be some answers
at the bottom of that shaft.
Oh! We clipped
the edge of a beam.
This might be
completely unknown.
MARTY: At 70 feet, it almost
has to be an offset chamber.
The sample came out to
be pre-searcher time period.
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.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Another historic
day has arrived on Oak Island.
- Oh, there they are.
- Yep.
NARRATOR: One
that marks the beginning
of an exciting new chapter
for brothers Rick
and Marty Lagina
- and their team...
- RICK: Gentlemen.
Welcome to the island.
NARRATOR: in
a quest to locate
the original Money Pit,
and finally solve a
I'm sure you guys are
anxious to get to work,
so if you'll follow us, we'll
take you up to the Money Pit.
AL: We'll follow you.
NARRATOR: Today,
they are welcoming
representatives
from Dumas Contracting
Limited, a company
that specializes in
mining construction,
to begin rebuilding the
so-called "Garden Shaft."
RICK: Well, guys.
Let me show you
the Garden Shaft.
It's right this way.
NARRATOR: Located
on the eastern edge
of the Money Pit area,
the ten-by-ten-foot
diameter Garden Shaft was
uncovered by the
team back in 2017.
Okay, that would be probably
be the outside wall there.
NARRATOR: Although they
first believed it had been built
in the 1800s by
previous treasure hunters,
recent wood samples
taken some 80 feet deep
have been scientifically
dated to 1735,
over half a century before
the Money Pit was discovered.
IAN: We've sampled wells
within the Money Pit area,
and we do have some
chemistry back from this.
NARRATOR: And
just three weeks ago,
after conducting
scientific analysis
of the water flooding the shaft,
geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner
made an
extraordinary revelation.
IAN: We found, uh,
gold in, uh, the Garden Shaft.
[laughter]
I have the data
up on the screen.
NARRATOR: Additionally,
recent core-drilling nearby
has revealed a tunnel
some 103 feet deep
that appears to be leading
toward the shaft, as well.
STEVE G.: It does point just
west a few feet of the Garden Shaft.
This is the Garden Shaft.
So, Scott, you can tell the
guys why the shaft is of interest.
SCOTT: Well, one
of the big reasons,
we started a program
last year, water testing.
As you can see, it's always
had a body of water in it,
so we captured
some of that water,
and it tested high for gold.
- All right.
- SCOTT: So, it's definitely worth exploring.
RICK: To me, the most
interesting thing about this shaft is
that there very possibly
could be a tunnel at the bottom
of that shaft, which still
might be available to enter.
So, there's some
information down that hole,
and we would like you
to provide access to it
because we really think
that there's gonna be
some answers there,
but what we need
to understand is
what's the plan here?
How do we approach this?
How do you approach this?
I think, right now,
we're... we've got a bunch
of engineering
m... done up here to
make a-a cap on top and-and
start from the top down,
and we can start moving,
uh, some of the dirt
and, uh, rehabbing the shaft,
making it safe for everybody.
NARRATOR: Over the
course of the next two months,
the team from Dumas will
drain and excavate the old shaft
and then install a new,
waterproof wooden structure,
reaching a planned
depth of at least 80 feet.
If evidence of tunnels
or voids are encountered
as the work progresses
deeper and deeper underground,
the team can also tunnel out
laterally from the main shaft.
RICK: We'll be underground
in The Money Pit
for the very first time.
I mean, that's important.
Rehabbing the Garden Shaft
provides some very
unique opportunities
to further explore that area.
You guys are the eyes
and boots component of this
maybe history-making agenda.
MARTY: There are high
concentrations of gold
in the Garden Shaft,
and, amazingly, the Garden Shaft
may be
where the treasure actually is.
Get us down there.
Figure out what it is.
You guys are the company
- that's gonna make this happen.
- AL: And we can't wait
to get down there and
get our, get our hands dirty
and-and get you some answers.
RICK: I'm looking
forward to getting started,
and if you ever need an extra
hand when you get down there,
my arm goes up.
- [laughter]
- RICK: So, again,
thank you very much.
I really appreciate it.
Let's get to the bottom of this.
What do you say? We all in?
- OTHERS: We're all in.
- Okay. Let's do it.
- Yeah, let's get after.
- Do it. Yeah.
NARRATOR: As
operations get under way
at the Garden Shaft,
Rick Lagina heads
just 60 feet to the south.
- CHARLES: Hey, Rick.
- Morning, guys.
- How're you doing?
- Good.
- How are you?
- Good. -Not too bad.
Where are we?
Can you point out the location?
This one right here, Rick.
And here we are
down here in the L-16.
NARRATOR: Here,
geologist Terry Matheson
and Oak Island historian
Charles Barkhouse
are supervising the drilling
of a borehole known as L-16.
A borehole where
the team is conducting
new water sample testing
in order to confirm
Dr. Spooner's findings
that gold could be buried
in the Garden Shaft area,
as well as additional
evidence of the believed tunnel
some 103 feet deep.
What's happening?
We're down about 108, and when
we were just reviewing the core,
just a normal logging,
we came across
- a little chunk of wood, just kind of unexpectedly.
- All right.
RICK: What was
the depth of this?
It was in situ ground above,
and in situ ground below.
At this point, we're
thinking another tunnel.
[chuckles]
- RICK: There you go.
- NARRATOR: Wood?
Discovered in situ,
meaning in undisturbed ground,
at a depth of
approximately 106 feet?
If so, is it possible
that the team has
encountered another section
of the tunnel they
recently discovered,
which may potentially lead
toward the Garden Shaft?
Almost every time we drill
anywhere near the Money Pit,
something pops up
that we didn't expect.
And here it happened
again, part of the tunnel.
So, what it means
has to be figured out.
Not only is it
at-at the depth, but
we're in a fairly
under-investigated
- area of the Money Pit.
- TERRY: Absolutely.
And because of that,
it's a prime candidate
for C-14 testing.
- Oh, for sure.
- RICK: 100%
You know, to have
a small chunk of wood
might provide a very unique
window of insight
as to what's going
on in this area.
- Absolutely.
- Yep.
RICK: I think this
retrieval of the wood,
should further our
understanding of this area.
We have a unique opportunity
to investigate an area
that strongly suggests
very early activity, if not
original depositional work.
And we have to take every
advantage of this opportunity.
Water sampling, gold monitoring,
C-14 testing,
eventually, we'll
figure this out.
- Let's see what happens.
- RICK: Okay.
- Thanks, guys.
- Yep. Take care.
- See you. Take care.
- Yep.
NARRATOR: Later
that afternoon...
RICK: Thanks,
everybody, for coming.
You know, guys, generally,
when we sit around
this w*r room table,
it's always about
new things. You know,
- new information, new data, new discoveries.
- Yeah.
NARRATOR: Rick has
gathered in the w*r room
with Dr. Ian Spooner
and other members
of the team regarding
another investigation
focused nearly a half mile
from the Money Pit, on the
western side of the island.
I've asked Ian to
take a look at the LIDAR data.
Uh, we wanted to know
- where the targets are.
- Yeah.
- Okay, we'll stand back.
- Just stand back, and we'll get going.
NARRATOR: One week ago,
the team commissioned
representatives
from Phoenix Aerial Productions
to conduct a drone-based
LIDAR survey of the entire island.
After making a
number of potentially
pre-16th century
discoveries on Lots 7 and 8,
including an
ancient barter token
and a bunk hook, designed
for hoisting heavy cargo,
the hope was that an
extensive geophysical
survey might reveal
more substantial clues,
such as buried structures
or large, valuable objects.
I, like you, this will be
a learning experience
because I'm not aware
of what he's exactly found.
NARRATOR: Now, with his
more than 30 years of experience
studying ground surfaces
and differentiating between
natural and man-made formations,
Dr. Spooner has
completed his analysis
of the LIDAR survey data.
Ian, you've been kind
enough to review the data,
so what've you got?
IAN: So, I took a
look at the LIDAR,
and, in particular, Lot 30, uh,
jumped out, a feature there,
and, uh, that
I think Steve's gonna
take us to right now
and see what people think.
STEVE G.: Sure.
So, I brought this up first.
So, this was supplied to us
from a LIDAR that they ran.
Uh, you'll notice down
here, so it's right in here.
There's the anomaly on Lot 30.
It's about 100 by 150 feet.
IAN: Yeah, I'm
pretty excited by this.
This is very geometric.
It's not some natural feature.
So, the question is, what is it?
RICK: That's
incredibly interesting.
NARRATOR: In the w*r room,
Dr. Ian Spooner
and Steve Guptill
are presenting Rick
and members of the team
with LIDAR images
of a potentially important
discovery on Lot 30,
located on the western
side of Oak Island.
IAN: So, this is very geometric.
And it deserves,
I think, a little bit
o-o-of a more careful look.
Yeah.
RICK: Every one of the
experts has said to us,
look for rectangular features
because Mother Nature
does not do right
angles very well.
Here, we have in front of
us a very rectangular feature.
The inference being that's
a man-made construct.
Anything man-made on this
island should be investigated.
There's no reason not
to try to figure out what
it, what it may represent.
Yeah.
- Yeah.
- GARY: I like that area
'cause it was kind of opposite
where the wharf
would've been on Lot 32,
where we found a wide
variety of metal finds.
- Mm-hmm.
- STEVE G.: I'm gonna turn off
the LIDAR just so
we can see the image.
JACK: Maybe this is
the camp that the
wharf we're looking for
on 32 is associated with.
- GARY: Yeah.
- Mm-hmm.
It's really not that far.
RICK: No, it's
not. You're right.
NARRATOR: Over
the past two years,
Gary Drayton and members
of the team have discovered
abundant evidence
of an old ship's wharf
on nearby Lot 32,
which sits only some 200 yards
from the mysterious
LIDAR anomaly on Lot 30.
Is it possible, as the
team is speculating,
that the two locations
are potentially related?
Two big areas, where
we've recovered artifacts,
by the shore there on
STEVE G.: Yeah.
Makes sense that it could
be some kind of camp.
Yeah. Connects.
GARY: We just got to
find out when they were
using that area.
Yeah.
JACK: If this feature's from
the depositors that
were using a wharf,
then I'd say we're the first
people that ever came across it.
Surprises abound, and
this might be one of them.
Yeah.
RICK: Everything
that we talked about
indicates that that area
should have an
explanation for it, right?
- Yeah.
- RICK: So, Laird,
- not to put you on the spot...
- [chuckles]
How do we go about
investigating this feature?
LAIRD: I think we come in and do
a small test trench by hand
across one of the intersections.
I think we take our
time and make sure
we get all-all the
bases covered.
GARY: And there's
actually one area
close to there that I
haven't got into yet,
on Lot 32.
RICK: Ian, thank you
very much. Appreciate it,
but now it's time to put
the eyes and boots on it
- and see what we can discover.
- Yep.
RICK: Let's head out back.
NARRATOR: Following
their meeting in the w*r room,
as operations continue
in the Money Pit area...
RICK: Anything
over there, Laird?
LAIRD: Nope. Not yet.
Just getting below
the roots now.
NARRATOR: Rick
Lagina and Laird Niven join
Helen Sheldon on Lot 30 to begin
their investigation of the
mysterious, buried feature.
What would be better
to find: pottery or glass?
Pottery.
It changed more
frequently over time,
so you get a better date off it.
NARRATOR: Over the
course of the coming days,
the team will meticulously
excavate a series
of small square test
pits all across the feature
in the hopes of not only
identifying what it may be,
but also unearth
any important artifacts
or valuables that
it may contain.
In order to completely
understand what this is,
I think we need to
define this structure.
We need to find artifacts that
can timeline this structure.
We need to let the
discovery activities
that we conduct tell the tale.
It's very
gravely-looking gravel.
RICK: It is, yeah.
So, we're close.
Just gonna take
a little more work.
NARRATOR: As
Rick, Laird, and Helen
begin investigating
the feature on Lot 30...
approximately
Gary Drayton and Jack Begley
arrive on Lot 32.
- You go first, Gary.
- All right, mate.
Lead us to the treasure.
NARRATOR: Here, they
will search for additional clues
in the area where they
previously discovered
evidence of an
ancient ship's wharf.
What we'll do,
we'll go in lines.
We'll go along the shoreline
and come back down.
- Make sure we cover everything.
- Yeah.
GARY: Right,
let's see if we can get lucky.
Ooh, I can hear some
little chittery-chattery.
I'm looking for good, two-way
repeatable signals,
like that.
Yeah, this one's
got to come out.
Let me try pinpointing
it for you, mate.
[detector squeals]
- It's right there.
- Right there, mate.
[grunting]
- All right, Gary. Work your magic, bud.
- GARY: Thank you so much.
There.
- Right in the bottom there.
- Yeah.
That's exactly where
we thought it was.
That is deep. That's
very impressive.
I just hope it's
something really old.
Careful, mate.
It might be sharp.
What is that?
To me, that looks like
a part of a fire grate.
Whenever you see any
pieces of flat iron like this,
and it's got those ridges.
Yeah.
I mean, this could be old, mate.
To me, it looks like 1700s.
Along with a lot of artifacts
that we've recovered
off this lot.
Yeah. I, uh, I agree.
- Let's bag it and tag it and get it tested.
- Yeah.
And I'm sure there's
some more pieces in there.
Okay, let's double-check then.
- [grunts]
- Whoo!
Wow, look at that.
- That was a surprise.
- JACK: Oh, there's more.
Yeah?
The heck is this?
- That is cool. These look old, mate.
- [chuckles]
This is unusual, mate.
These spikes are substantial.
Eh, I don't know if they're
fasteners or they're tools,
but, either way mate,
there's some oldness here,
- we're holding some ancientness, in our hand.
- That's sweet.
- Yeah, you can see, like, the striations on it.
- Yeah.
These are really, really cool.
- Fantastic. Feel the weight of those, mate.
- Oh, yeah, I'd love to.
Good digging as well.
What I love about
these pieces of iron is
they fit in perfectly
with the time frame
of the old wharf,
that lead bale seal.
Same time frame
- or maybe a lot older.
- 'Cause the wharf
- would've been just right out there, is where we suspect.
- Yeah.
Yup.
The deeper we're
digging in this hole,
uh, the more we're finding.
And these two artifacts,
they're made of iron,
and anytime you
see those striations
along the shank,
then you're talking
about hand-forged iron,
which is always older.
These are just
the type of artifacts
you want to be
recovering in an area
where you think there's
a potential old wharf.
So, let's see what
else is in there.
So, should we
double-check the hole?
Yeah.
All right.
[detector beeping]
- Oh, there's more.
- Wow.
Every signal sounds
better than the last one.
This is a cool, little area.
Oh, yeah, I'm glad
we didn't leave.
GARY: Oh, ho, ho, a screamer!
You can feel it though,
- can't you?
- JACK: Oh, I can see it.
NARRATOR: On Lot 32,
located on the western side
of Oak Island...
This is like a little
Pandora's box of iron.
NARRATOR: Gary
Drayton and Jack Begley
have just found a number
of potentially important clues.
There we go. Come on.
Whoo!
-[laughs] -Look
at that one, Gary.
That is fantastic.
JACK: That's a hefty spike.
GARY: Oh, wow.
I'm not sure if it's a
tool or a wharf pin.
- To me, this reminds me of a wharf pin.
- Oh.
It's got that flat head.
It looks like it was made
to be driven into wood.
So, a wharf pin, you
mean, to stick two pieces of
- wharf wood together and hold them? Yeah.
- Yeah, exactly.
- I've seen how deep you've been digging, mate.
- Definitely.
That's been there
one very long time.
-[both laugh] -NARRATOR:
Could Gary and Jack
be correct that they
have found more evidence
of an ancient wharf?
If so, might it be related
to the French cargo
bag seal found two years ago?
And perhaps, also the
large, rectangular anomaly,
located nearby on Lot 30?
This is fantastic, mate.
This is different kinds of
artifacts in one small area.
Typically, when you find things
close together,
what-what do you think?
- Are they related?
- Yeah.
Normally, I think
activity, mate. Work.
'Cause this could be a-a
loading and unloading zone.
Yeah. Exactly.
This could be, like, a
staging point, inland.
Potentially, we could be
in an area, there could be
a little encampment here.
With a grouping of
finds, that tells me,
it's a place where people
would've spent some time.
This might be the start
of something really, really big.
We just might be at
the tip of the iceberg.
There could be so
much more deeper down,
- as well.
- Yeah.
GARY: All right, mate.
I'll put it in the bag.
JACK: Mm-hmm.
NARRATOR: The
following morning...
as preparations
for the reconstruction
of the Garden Shaft in the
Money Pit area continue...
Oh, look who's here.
NARRATOR: Rick
and Marty Lagina,
along with their
business partner,
Craig Tester, arrive
at the Money Pit.
Hey guys, good morning.
- What's going on? -Hey, guys.
- Craig. Marty. Rick.
Good to see you.
NARRATOR: after being alerted
to a potentially
important find in a new borehole
known as D-17.
Here, they are hoping to
continue tracking the path
of a tunnel discovered one
day ago in borehole L-16,
some 106 feet deep,
which they believe may be
heading toward the Garden Shaft.
TERRY: We've got some
interesting stuff in an area
that we've never found things.
D-17,
from 70 to 71.5,
intersected some wood.
Oh.
- TERRY: Relatively shallow.
- CHARLES: Unusually shallow.
It's odd that it's
at that depth.
So, it's spread out
over quite a bit, and
you can see there's more
than just those few little chunks.
We clipped the edge
of... and broke up a beam,
I would say. It
seemed to break into
six blocks that
looked just about
like what you have in
your hand there, Marty.
MARTY: That looks
like an old, broken edge.
CRAIG: Like they
caught it, an end
of a beam or something.
TERRY: This is 68 to 72.
That's that section
we have there.
Below that, in that same
hole, very soft material.
There was no wood
left or right of it.
I think we're into
another tunnel.
RICK: This might be
completely unknown.
CRAIG: Yeah.
Well, this is a new find.
It's a good indication that
we've got, you know,
something going on in this area.
Right.
This presents another
unique opportunity,
and that is that if we find
a tunnel, and we
get a bearing off of it,
and it leads uphill,
then that presents a
very unique opportunity
to run a series of
holes with the sonic drill.
That's the idea.
MARTY: If you find a
tunnel going upwards,
it almost has to be
an offset chamber.
There's no point in
having an upward-facing
- tunnel, is there?
- No.
So, yeah.
I-I would want to follow that.
NARRATOR: For more than two
centuries, generations of searchers
have been thwarted by seawater
flooding their efforts
whenever they dug below
the 90-foot level.
This has led the Oak Island team
to suspect that the treasure
is most likely located
in a much shallower,
offset chamber.
MARTY: This was unexpected.
This is a previously
unknown tunnel.
We're close to
either excavations
or constructions we're
unaware of, and the most exciting
construction would be
an offset chamber
that holds the treasure.
I've been a big believer
in an offset chamber,
and if it only went to 70
feet, that would be about right.
NARRATOR: Could
Marty be correct,
that this possible tunnel
might lead to the
fabled treasure vault?
If so, could it
also be connected
to the Garden Shaft,
which sets just 20 feet away,
and where high
trace evidence of gold
has recently been detected?
Because we have... hold such
promise in the Garden Shaft,
once we get to the bottom
of that Garden Shaft,
we can do vertical
and horizontal probing.
If we find this
at the bottom of that
shaft as we probe out,
there may be a way to tunnel
to it and find out what it is.
Is it your upward chamber?
From that perspective,
it's incredibly exciting.
Yeah.
A lot of promise in
this area for sure.
- Oh, yeah.
- Okay.
TERRY: All right.
And there's the wood
we've got from D-17.
There is it, there's
the chunk we're
- gonna send away and carbon-14.
- MARTY: Okay.
That's good. Something new.
- Let's keep going.
- TERRY: All right.
NARRATOR: Later
that afternoon...
MARTY: Gary.
- You got something good?
- Yep.
Okay, bring it over here.
NARRATOR: Rick,
Marty, and archeologist
Laird Niven meet with Gary
Drayton and Jack Begley
in the Interpretive Centre
to inspect the
numerous discoveries
made one day ago on Lot 32.
This one came up first.
A nice piece of, uh, decorated,
iron plate, I
guess you'd call it.
And it led to
even better things.
JACK: It's got
crisscrossed lines.
LAIRD: Yeah.
Strength.
Decoration.
MARTY: Part of a stove, maybe?
It's kind of what it
feels like, isn't it?
- Yeah, that's where we went.
- Oh, that's cool.
Probably part of a stove.
- MARTY: All right.
- And it was quite deep.
And then we started
digging deeper.
MARTY: Hmm.
And we found these two pieces.
- Very similar.
- Pins of some sort.
What do you guess?
Some kind of fasteners,
unless they're chisels.
So, if they were
fasteners, that's where
they broke off.
- Yeah.
- Well, they're massive,
whatever they are.
And we found this.
This is my favorite.
- Look at that.
- [chuckles]
That's beautiful.
Gary thought that it
could be a wharf pin.
Yeah, but based on what
Carmen Legge has told us
previously, I think
that's too thick
and not long enough.
- I think this is one of those rock chisels.
- GARY: Yeah.
MARTY: I'm hoping.
It's been pounded on.
Begs the question,
what were they doing
inland from the beach?
We've got so many iron objects.
Finding them is one thing,
having them tell a
story is quite another.
MARTY: Gary shows up in the lab
over here with some very
significant finds from Lot 32.
And it's very intriguing because
there's an awful lot of stuff,
metal stuff in this one spot.
And these all came
out of one hole?
Like how big? Like a
big, giant hole or how big?
Uh, it was deep,
it was maybe a few feet wide.
And we need probably
mechanical means
of digging it up.
MARTY: I know
you're parsimonious
about the use of such things,
but can I bring the backhoe?
- Absolutely.
- All right. Well, let's go.
Let's go find out
what else is out there.
GARY: Excellent.
COTE: Should be good,
eh? Ready, Bill. Bring it up.
- Keep pumping.
- Yeah.
NARRATOR: As representatives
from Dumas Contracting Limited,
and members of
the Oak Island team
continue their work
in the Money Pit area...
COLTEN: I guess
we keep going then.
NARRATOR: Rick and Marty
Lagina, and other members of the team
arrive on Lot 32.
Where am I digging?
Right here, Marty.
NARRATOR: Under the supervision
of archaeologist Laird Niven,
they are about to conduct
a larger excavation,
where Gary Drayton and
Jack Begley have found new,
compelling evidence
of an ancient wharf
some 200 yards from the remains
of a potential encampment
nearby on Lot 30.
All right, mate,
this is the hole
where we dug the
iron artifacts out.
Got it. Okay.
I'm gonna put the
spoils on that side
because it'd be hard to
push them back from this side.
Okay.
Okay. Have at it.
With all things associated with
archeology, Laird is in charge,
but he's allowing
us to dig in this area.
Marty's going to
take the backhoe
and remove the soils gradually.
Gary will get in
and metal detect.
And Laird will supervise.
JACK: Are you
getting any other hits?
Nothing worth
investigating at the moment.
We do know there's
some older stuff deeper.
Marty, around like here
is the original grade.
MARTY: More? Do you
want to get in the hole?
RICK: Do you want
to jump in there?
Yep.
Coming in.
MARTY: I think there's all
kinds of stuff in there. [laughs]
Yeah, there is.
[detector beeping]
That sounds like a good signal.
Hey, all right!
GARY: Two-way repeatable.
Let's see if it's in
pinpointing range.
[pinpointer beeping]
Yep, we're on it.
That is lead sheathing.
- Is it really?
- GARY: Yeah, that's lead sheathing.
MARTY: 300-year-old duct tape.
- GARY: Yep.
- LAIRD: Yep.
- Or older.
- GARY: Yeah.
I think the lead's got
something to do with shipping.
- Me, too.
- GARY: Yeah.
NARRATOR: Lead
sheathing? Found in an area
where the team has previously
discovered evidence of a wharf?
Dating back to the 3rd
century BC in ancient Greece,
lead was commonly used
in the construction and repair
of sailing vessels due to
its versatility and resistance
to corrosion during
long journeys at sea.
Yeah, that's a
nice piece of lead.
Mm-hmm.
They used to
line the hulls of old
sailing ships with
lead sheathing.
JACK: So, it might actually be
- a really significant find.
- GARY: Yeah.
NARRATOR: Could this
piece of lead sheathing
offer more evidence of a ship
visiting Oak Island long ago?
I ain't finished yet, either.
NARRATOR: If so, what else
might the team find to
explain just who was here?
When? And what else
they may have left behind?
Oh, ho, ho, what is that?
Any ideas?
LAIRD: That almost
looks like a handle.
GARY: Flat iron.
Some kind of ridge on it.
Could be off, like,
a little ship's stove.
LAIRD: Yeah.
MARTY: I'd keep digging.
There could be more down here.
- Yeah.
- Okay, coming out.
RICK: We know that
a number of finds on Lot 32
have been associated
with maritime activity.
I.E., the lead bag seal,
wharf pins, ship spikes.
Might there be a
connection there?
Certainly possible.
That's the hope.
[pinpointer beeping]
Look at that.
What is it?
- Oh.
- It looks like some kind of tool.
- JACK: Look at this, Laird.
- Any ideas, Laird?
I think it's hand-forged.
That's just got an
old feel about it.
- Yeah.
- GARY: All of these artifacts we're
pulling out of this
hole, totally different.
- If you wanted to prove that something went on...
- Yeah.
This is the way to do it.
I'm sure we're gonna
find some more.
MARTY: One encouraging
sign with this pile of metal
that we're finding on Lot
to Lot 30 where there
is some sort of anomaly.
Why are all these
artifacts showing up?
[chuckles]
A big chunk of iron.
But there's still
more down there.
MARTY: I mean, every
time Gary waves his
magic wand, another
piece of metal comes out.
Ooh, this is exciting.
You'd do this all day and
all night long, wouldn't you?
Yeah, I could.
MARTY: The hope is that
these are puzzle pieces
that help explain what
happened on this island.
That's the hope.
What is that?
It's a smorgasbord of artifacts.
That what it is, mate.
And this whole area has enough
metal in it to keep you busy
- for the rest of your life.
- Yeah.
Can we take another
shovel-full out of there?
- I vote yes.
- [chuckles]
You can take as much
fill off as you want. Yeah.
GARY: This has been
an amazing experience.
The more we dig in this
hole, the more we find.
It's painting a clear picture
that there was a lot of activity
on the edge of Lot 32.
Look at that. Cooking pot, mate?
Probably a piece
off a fireplace.
- JACK: Nice.
- GARY: Just so many pieces.
This could potentially
be a very important site.
RICK: Have at 'er.
Going in the hole.
MARTY: Find
something good, Gary.
What's that reading?
GARY: It's tough
to tell on this.
RICK: Sounded good.
GARY: Something
wedged underneath here.
This might be
something really cool.
Wow.
What the heck is this?
GARY: Do you want
to check this out, Jack?
- Yeah.
- Look at the scalloped design on it.
NARRATOR: On Lot 32,
while excavating a
site where a number of
mysterious metal artifacts
has recently been found,
near the remains
of an old wharf...
Wow, that's gorgeous.
The team has just
made another potentially
important discovery.
I think there's parts
of a stove here.
You think it's to a stove?
Yeah. Probably.
You might be able to put
some of these pieces together.
GARY: Yeah. Now you're cooking.
[chuckles]
JACK: And we're not done yet.
[detector beeping]
GARY: That sounds sweet!
MARTY: That's a different sound.
GARY: Something in this area.
[beeping rapidly]
GARY: That is sweet sounding.
Oh, look at that! That's nice.
That's like an old strap.
JACK: Wow.
What is that? A
strap? Look at this.
What do you think that's a
strap to, Laird? Any idea?
LAIRD: No.
It could be to a chest.
LAIRD: Quite possible.
RICK: Are these
maritime-related objects?
This is a possible
strap to a chest.
Well, it certainly fits
into the treasure story.
The facts are we've
made significant finds
at a very specific location,
and we have the kind of science
necessary to try to understand
what these items are.
And then you can speculate.
- There was probably a wharf here.
- RICK: Exactly.
Might help explain
some of these finds.
Everything is tied together.
You just have to keep
layering things to derive
all the information
possible from a site.
This has been a pretty
successful dig, eh?
I think I'd like to take some of
the artifacts back, get Emma
to CT scan them and kind
of evaluate what's going on.
What interests us about Lot
that Gary was getting
from one particular spot.
There's an incredible variety.
- No doubt about that.
- Yep.
LAIRD: The agreement
we have with the province
is that if Gary finds a
concentration of artifacts,
we'll go in and set up
a test unit in that area
and determine whether or
not those finds are significant.
If you could just
clean up the loose...
I'll try not to dig any
deeper. I'll just clean this.
Yup. Yeah, and
then we'll come back
with our trowels
and set up a unit.
Good. All right.
It's a mini treasure
trove of items here.
GARY: God, I love this place!
[laughter]
NARRATOR: Two days later...
MIKE: Maybe we'll
get some bedrock
way over here.
NARRATOR: as work continues
up in the Money Pit area...
MARTY: Hey! Hey, guys!
NARRATOR: Rick and
other members of the team
gather in the w*r room
to meet via video conference
with Marty and Craig.
So, Craig, explain to everybody,
we have the wood samples
in front of us here on the table.
- I believe you have the results from the lab.
- Yep.
NARRATOR: Craig
has just received
the carbon-14 test results
from the wood samples
recovered earlier this week
from borehole L-16
at a depth of 106 feet,
and in borehole D-17
at a depth of just 70 feet.
CRAIG: It's good
information. For the L-16...
This was the tunnel
found at 107 feet.
52% from 1724 to 1812.
21.8% from 1648 to 1695.
We can eliminate the 1900s
because we know
historically there wasn't any
tunnels out in that
direction at that time period.
50% at least in
periods that could not
be searcher, is that right?
Correct. More than
that I would say.
Nobody was tunneling
around at 100 feet
at that time period.
CRAIG: No, it
doesn't make sense.
RICK: Craig, you
have one more report?
Yeah, I sure do.
The other one is
D-17, where it looks like
we hit a tunnel at 70 feet.
The results are
almost identical: 49.9%
from 1722 to 1814,
19.2% from 1656
to 1698.
It's a very odd
data point at 70 feet.
You know, the
majority of it puts it
pre-searcher time period.
RICK: That's pretty cool.
MARTY: Wow.
NARRATOR: In the
Oak Island w*r room,
Craig Tester has just
shared carbon-14 results
from two different
boreholes that may date back
approximately a century before
the discovery of the Money Pit.
I mean, the really odd thing
about this is the 70-foot depth.
You know, why was
anybody at that depth?
DOUG: At that depth, it
doesn't seem to correlate
with a searcher's effort to
get to the treasure chamber.
- Yeah.
- NARRATOR: Could the test results
from borehole L-16
and borehole D-17,
which sets just 20 feet
from the Garden Shaft
and a possible
vast deposit of gold,
mean that the team is
close to a major breakthrough
in solving the
We don't have anybody
looking at 70 feet, do we?
Anywhere in the
historical record. Do we?
- CRAIG: Correct.
- That is correct.
STEVE G.: Could be
related to the Garden Shaft
just strictly based on depth.
We know the Garden Shaft
bottoms out at 77 and a half feet.
It would make
sense to tunnel out.
MARTY: That's great.
I think that's the most
interesting result of all,
because at 70 feet it almost
has to be an offset chamber.
That's right.
RICK: D-17 may lead
to what my brother
has often described
as an offset chamber
where treasure is deposited.
Is it exciting?
Absolutely.
Marty's offset chamber within
Shaft? Could be.
Because of the indications
of some human activity
at a depth and an area
previously unknown to us,
there's obviously the chance
that you'll find the one thing.
I mean, nothing would
be better than that.
But that's what this island is.
It's an island of
what-ifs and possibilities,
and you have to chase them all.
What's interesting
is we continue to be
mesmerized by the
Oak Island mystery.
It's complex. It's difficult.
And we just have
to follow the data.
Yes. Exactly.
And the data continues
to be quite provocative.
- Yeah.
- Yep.
So, let's start
getting some real
answers. [chuckles]
- Yep.
- So, thank you, guys.
We'll see you later.
MARTY: Cheers, guys. Good job.
- DOUG: See you.
- MARTY: Carry on.
NARRATOR: As
another incredible week
comes to an end on Oak Island,
Rick, Marty, Craig and
their team have collected
more key pieces to help
complete the Oak Island puzzle.
With meaningful new
discoveries in the Money Pit area,
and on the western
side of the island,
could they now be on
the verge of identifying
just who was behind
the 227-year-old mystery?
And as they prepare for
their most ambitious dig yet,
will a fabled vault of
riches that were left behind
soon be within their reach?
Next time on The
Curse of Oak Island...
- JACK: Oh, there we go.
- GARY: Wow.
The heck is that?
It was very common
during the middle 1700s.
CORJAN: In 1746, King
Louis XV sent two ships
to Oak Island, where they
later created the Money Pit.
RICK: If we can find original
works at the base of this shaft,
it may solve the mystery.
Oh, what's that? Whoa.
Whoa. What's that?
STEVE G.: That's a
view down the tunnel.
Is it possible that this
tunnel could lead to
finding the treasure?
The answer is unequivocally yes.