11x12 - Digging Back In
Posted: 04/17/24 08:30
NARRATOR: Tonight on
The Curse of Oak Island...
-What the hell
have you got there?
-A big chunk of steel.
MARTY:
That could be
the drill that found
the famous Chappell Vault.
Like a small jewelry chest
or something.
ALEX:
Which means it could've been
part of any treasure
that was here.
LINDY:
Look at that. A coin.
-What?
-ALEX: Cool.
LINDY:
Wow.
-There's a boulder.
-GARY: It looks similar to
-the stone roadway.
-BILLY: Yeah.
This could be very important.
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.
♪ ♪
-Hey, Roger.
-Hey, how's it going, Alex?
-Good. Good to see you again.
-Nice to see you.
So, what's the update?
What's going on?
Well, we're finally
moving ahead now.
Good.
NARRATOR: As a new week
begins on Oak Island,
brothers Rick and Marty
Lagina and their team
have good reason to believe
that they are
on course to finally solve
a 229-year-old mystery.
We've pretty well dealt
with all that water situation
-we were dealing with.
-Mm-hmm.
It's all stabilized.
The geofoam is in
and it went well?
Yeah, it was amazing.
It was amazing.
And now we've got
-full control of the water.
-Good.
-RICK: All right, here we go.
-MARTY: Let's do this.
NARRATOR:
Five weeks ago,
the Oak Island team's efforts
to deepen the early
down to a target depth
of 95 feet
were halted when
mysterious voids
outside of the structure
caused it to flood
with salt water.
This is where
our water starts, right here.
And then it comes in
along the side.
NARRATOR:
This made the team wonder
if they had encountered
one of the legendary
flood tunnels
which have thwarted
searchers in this area
for more than two centuries.
Especially since
a seven-foot-high tunnel
was recently discovered
just below the Garden Shaft
which leads
toward the Baby Blob,
an area where water
testing has revealed
high trace evidence of
gold and silver
between 80 and
Tell us what we're going to do.
Well, we're going to
pump some foam in her
and try to get
your voids filled up.
NARRATOR:
But, thankfully, last week,
representatives from
Minova Global began applying
an industrial compound
known as geofoam
to fill the voids,
stop the flow of water
and stabilize the shaft
so that
Dumas Contracting Limited
can continue
deepening the structure
over the course of
the next several weeks
and finally reach the possible
treasure tunnel below.
Now, if we can
get into this tunnel,
and if the tunnel's
original works,
then it probably
leads to something good,
so we could be close.
We're going to geofoam
everything nice and tight,
and then after that,
we're going to excavate,
install a panel, excavate,
install a second panel,
-excavate.
-Okay, so it's basically
digging again?
-Digging again.
-I see you've got
the grab on.
Exactly. We just
started digging,
so we'll be very close
to that 89-foot depth.
At 89 feet, we're getting close
to that 95-foot tunnel.
But I'm really excited
to get down to depth
and see what's down there.
Oh, absolutely.
For sure. For sure.
The last two or three
days have been, you know,
upbeat because the guys
were finally moving ahead.
-Right.
-Getting away from
this water, so yeah.
Right. Perfect.
Well, thank you, Roger.
-Sounds good, man.
-I'll let you get back to it.
-Absolutely.
-Thanks.
Talk to you later.
NARRATOR:
Later that afternoon,
as Dumas continues their work
in the Garden Shaft,
nearly 73 feet
to the southwest...
-STEVE: Hey, Marty.
-MARTY: What's going on here?
So what we're
doing here, Marty,
this hole is about
five feet southwest of H-8.
NARRATOR:
...Marty Lagina joins
Oak Island historian
Charles Barkhouse,
geologist Terry Matheson,
and surveyor Steve Guptill
as they supervise the drilling
of borehole I.25-6.25.
A borehole that, incredibly,
may be on track to locate
a second potential
treasure deposit
in the Money Pit area
more than 180 feet underground.
TERRY:
The plug that fell
out of the H-8 caisson,
that could've
fallen in this direction.
Okay.
TERRY:
Mike, what's up?
MIKE:
I hit the void at 183.
All right,
so let's see what we got.
NARRATOR:
One week ago, while drilling
borehole K-6, just
eight feet to the south,
the team penetrated
a mysterious void
at a depth of 183 feet.
It is a potentially
critical discovery
because the void is
adjacent to borehole H-8,
which the Oak Island team
excavated six years ago
with a 50-inch diameter
caisson that they believe
may have come into contact
with the fabled Chappell Vault
which was first reported
by Frederick Blair
and his drill operator
William Chappell in 1897.
During the team's excavation,
at a depth of nearly 180 feet,
they attempted to
penetrate the possible vault,
and encountered a large void
which caused
the spoils, or plug,
inside of the H-8 caisson
to fall out,
resulting in the believed vault
being pushed deeper
and somewhere off to the side.
-How deep are we?
-Down 78 feet.
We got two more cores coming.
We're gonna
take a look at those.
NARRATOR:
Now it is the team's hope
that with this new borehole,
they can further explore
the void they discovered
last week and hopefully
locate the long-lost
Chappell Vault.
TERRY:
There's the top of the next run.
CHARLES:
TERRY:
Okay, let's carve her up, guys.
-Excuse me, Steve-O.
-STEVE: Sorry, Terry.
No problem. Okay.
There's the top.
-So at some point--
-We got some wood here.
TERRY:
Charles, where do you think
the wood came from?
CHARLES:
It possibly could be
the Chappell Shaft.
TERRY:
That's interesting.
We could be skimming
along the outside edge.
NARRATOR:
The Chappell Shaft?
In 1931, Melbourne Chappell,
along with his father William
and Frederick Blair,
constructed a 12-foot
by 14-foot shaft
down to a depth of 163 feet
in order to locate the vault.
Unfortunately,
they were unsuccessful.
But if the Oak Island team
is correct that they have found
the outer edge
of the Chappell Shaft...
could that offer
an important clue
that they are
in the general area
where the vault is located?
Okay.
Oh, whoa!
MARTY: What the hell
have you got there?
Big chunk of steel.
-There you go.
-Whoa, Mike! What the heck?
This came out of the top
of this sample right here.
-CHARLES: Yeah, really?
-MARTY: Really?
MIKE T.:
Yeah.
MARTY:
Could this be
old-time drill pipe?
Because we know
they drilled in these holes
and we know
they used skinny pipe.
No question.
I think so, it's heavy enough.
That could be
the drill that found
the famous Chappell Vault.
-Perhaps.
-MARTY: That could be it, right?
They used a skinny little drill.
CHARLES:
Back in the 1890s, they did.
MARTY:
If we found
something meaningful here
just below the Chappell Shaft,
we could put down
another caisson.
If we see something
worth getting...
we will get to it.
Well done, you guys.
Follow that pipe on down.
-Find the Chappell Vault.
-MIKE T.: All right.
MARTY:
Go get it.
NARRATOR:
While the operations continue
in the Money Pit area...
GARY:
We're back.
JACK:
It's time to get to work.
NARRATOR:
...along the southern border
of the triangle-shaped swamp,
metal detection expert
Gary Drayton,
Jack Begley
and Billy Gerhardt continue
looking for important clues
near a potentially
or ship's wharf.
What is the battle plan, mate?
Are we going deeper there
or are you taking
this section out?
We'll try to go along the edge
of where that log was.
We are ready for some artifacts,
mate.
BILLY:
Okay, me too.
NARRATOR:
In recent weeks,
the team has made a number
of compelling new discoveries
in this area including
new sections of the stone road,
an ancient chain and hook
that may have been used
to lift heavy cargo,
and evidence of a wooden wall,
which the late Fred Nolan
believed may have been used
to artificially create
the swamp hundreds of years ago.
JACK:
What's that?
-Look at that there.
-GARY: It's a rock, isn't it?
-JACK: No. It's a notched
piece of wood.
-GARY: It's wood?
-JACK: Yeah.
-GARY: Oh, it is.
I thought it was a rock
by the look of it.
Look at the notch in that.
-Yeah.
-That was pretty deep, Billy.
BILLY: Yeah. No.
Well, I mean, you see,
we're below the bottom
of the swamp, right?
You know,
the bottom of the swamp
is up there
where the road is, right?
JACK:
Yeah.
So, is this
a naturally filled beach?
Or was it filled by humans?
It kind of speaks towards
it being filled in.
They were forming
and cutting wood in this area.
Right.
GARY: Let's get Rick
over here, check this out.
JACK:
How's it going, Rick?
RICK: I don't see
a treasure chest.
We're trying, mate.
We're trying.
We have found some
strange pieces of wood.
Let me go grab them.
NARRATOR:
After being alerted
to a compelling discovery
near the stone road
in the southeast corner
of the Oak Island swamp...
JACK:
So, this piece came up
when we were digging
along the muck in the side.
NARRATOR: ...Rick Lagina arrives
to personally inspect it.
Yeah. Look. That's doweled.
If you hold it like that,
-see how the dowel
has gone down?
-Mm-hmm.
RICK:
If I were to suggest
that this is anything
like what we found before,
I think that it's something
like the U-shaped structure.
There's a big log.
NARRATOR: In 2018,
Rick, Marty and the team
unearthed a mysterious
at Smith's Cove known as
"the U-shaped structure."
You got a Roman numeral?
GARY:
Yeah, if it is,
it's a seven, VII.
NARRATOR:
First discovered by Dan
Blankenship in the 1970s,
and believed to be associated
with a flood tunnel
that feeds seawater
into the Money Pit area,
the "U-shaped structure"
featured strange Roman numerals,
and hand-carved wooden dowels.
RICK:
Similar sized dowel,
like the U-shaped structure,
they went in at an angle
and thus, this part is meant to
-hold it in place.
-JACK: Mm-hmm.
NARRATOR:
Is it possible
that the team has found evidence
beneath the stone road
in the swamp
that suggests
it may have been built
by the same people who created
the "U-shaped structure"?
And perhaps
the Money Pit itself?
RICK:
The good thing is, if we decide
this is an outer edge,
then that's where
the best C-14 dates are.
Yeah, but clearly,
shaped wood that was thrown
underneath this stone path.
And that's why
we got to keep digging.
-Yeah.
-Yep.
JACK:
Let's find some more.
RICK:
Let's find some more.
NARRATOR:
As Rick, Jack,
Gary and Billy
continue searching in the swamp,
on Lot 5,
located on the western
side of the island...
Hello, archaeologists.
-Hey.
-Hi.
How's it going out here?
-It's going.
-Going good.
NARRATOR:
...Alex Lagina joins
Jamie Kouba, Fiona Steele
and Lindy Martin
as they carefully investigate
a mysterious,
circular stone feature
and a much larger,
rectangular foundation
that was recently
unearthed below it.
ALEX:
So what's new? How's it coming?
So, what we're doing now,
we've expanded the unit over.
-We're finding artifacts
all the way through the fill.
-Okay.
NARRATOR:
Since acquiring Lot 5
just one year ago,
Rick, Marty, Craig Tester
and the team
have made a number
of discoveries in this feature
that suggest it may
have been a staging ground
for whoever might have buried
treasure in the Money Pit.
These finds include
a 500-year-old
Venetian glass bead,
a 14th-century lead barter token
that may be connected
to the lead cross
unearthed at
Smith's Cove in 2017,
and several metal tools
that have been
scientifically matched
to the homestead
of Sir William Phips,
the 17th-century
English privateer from Maine
who some believe
buried a vast cache
of Spanish treasure
on Oak Island back in 1687.
So, one of the things
that we now realize
is that this sort of linear
feature that we were looking at
isn't actually a wall
that was there.
What we're seeing are rocks
that are going past it.
-Okay.
-JAMIE: So, this
structure may be
quite a bit bigger than
we ever gave it credit for.
Right, but whatever
was happening here,
the bigger it gets,
the bigger the operation, right?
-JAMIE: Yeah.
-Yeah.
JAMIE: The overall size
of the dimensions
speak to more people
being involved
than just, say, a single family.
Right. So, we got
kind of an operation
happening here
that we know nothing about.
JAMIE:
Yes. Exactly.
Uh, it could be exactly
what we're looking for.
JAMIE: Hopefully, yeah.
We got some more work to do.
-Okay. Well, I'll start sifting.
-JAMIE: Perfect.
Thank you. [laughs]
-I'll grab buckets.
-Perfect.
NARRATOR:
While the archaeologists
carefully remove
the soils from the foundation,
Alex will sift
the collected materials
for any clues
and, hopefully, valuables.
FIONA:
Hey, this is kind of
something different.
JAMIE:
Oh, my goodness.
-FIONA: Look how flat it is.
-JAMIE: Yeah.
-FIONA: Look, you can see
almost three rivets on it.
-JAMIE: Yeah.
-Maybe the top of a trunk?
-Decorative, for sure.
-Metallic piece?
-Yeah.
Just, we find a lot of iron,
but we don't often find
a lot of the flatter pieces
and that one looks,
-you know, kind of decorative.
-Mm-hmm.
Oh, yeah. I see that's the rivet
right there, maybe? Yeah.
So that's just something
a bit more decorative.
It hints to something else,
you know?
-It looks like something
you might find on a trunk.
-ALEX: Yeah.
If it is off a chest,
it would be rugged,
it would be a big one.
Yeah.
NARRATOR:
A decorative iron artifact?
Potentially
from a trunk or chest?
If so, what did it contain?
And could it be related
to the trace evidence
of precious metals
that have been detected
in the Money Pit area?
Well, whatever this is,
we have the equipment
in the lab that we can
take a scan of this
and basically see through
all the crust on it
and hopefully get
a better idea of what it is.
So, let's bag it up.
And then we'll await
the results of that.
FIONA:
That's great.
NARRATOR:
As the investigation
proceeds on Lot 5...
RICK:
Ooh. Look at that.
GARY:
What have you found, Rick?
RICK:
I found some wood chips.
NARRATOR: ...Rick Lagina,
along with Jack Begley,
Billy Gerhardt and Gary Drayton,
continue making potentially
important discoveries
in the southern region
of the swamp.
JACK:
Look at this.
Here's a big timber.
There's some other bigger
pieces of wood over here.
Underneath the cobblestone road
or this edge.
Excellent.
Might be some fasteners in it.
-Correct.
-JACK: Yep.
I think it's the edge
of the road.
-Yep.
-Yep.
I think what we have to do,
Bill, is push these back
and then take this
row of rock out of here
to get to the top of that wood,
-be able to have a good look.
-Yep.
RICK:
Stylistically, it might
show some type
of construction technique.
All right.
RICK:
If you have a construct there,
built by humans,
if you can definitively say
that that construct
was a manipulation of the swamp
to some agenda,
boy, that'd be huge.
You know, it makes you think,
"What else might
they have hidden in the bog?"
-Is that a chip of wood?
-No, it's shaped.
I think what we have to do,
Bill, is leave that.
Marty and Craig need
to take a look at it.
BILLY:
Yep. Okay.
-Hey, guys.
-Welcome back, guys.
This is another fine mess
you've made here, I see.
-We have made a heck of a mess.
-Yeah. Yeah.
NARRATOR:
At the southern border
of the Oak Island swamp,
Marty Lagina and Craig Tester
join Rick Lagina and other
members of the team
to inspect the wooden structure
that was just unearthed
beneath the stone road.
-That's the edge.
-Really?
-You believe it ended
right there?
-RICK: Yeah.
There was two logs
underneath the edge of the road.
But it looked really like
they were fitted together.
Like they took one log
and, you know...
Like if you
were building a cabin,
-like that kind of. Yeah.
-Right.
RICK:
There was brush,
just like under
the construct itself.
And smaller logs as though
to underpin the road.
-And then it stopped abruptly.
-Really?
JACK:
Yeah. Yeah.
Swamp muck mixed with bigger
logs on the bottom
-that were running
perpendicular to the road.
-MARTY: Mm-hmm.
JACK:
But it was also well enough
into the structure
of the stones that you can say
it was put down during
the construction of the road.
-I got it, yeah.
-Okay.
MARTY:
There's big timbers
underneath the stone road,
which just underscores that that
was a massive undertaking.
Somebody put that road in
for a specific reason,
and I think they wanted it
to not be found
after they were done.
It could be leading us back
to where the treasure is.
GARY:
And then, just before we got
to the end of the road here,
I mean, we have pulled up some
really, really nice artifacts.
Old-looking chains.
Some really interesting chains.
I haven't seen this chain.
I heard about this chain.
Very unusual.
This looks old.
NARRATOR:
Two weeks ago,
while excavating
the southern edge
of the potentially
the Oak Island team
uncovered a large
hand-wrought chain and hook,
which blacksmithing expert
Carmen Legge
dated to the 16th century.
Is it possible
that this artifact
was once used in the swamp area
to offload cargo
from a ship onto Oak Island?
The chain was
a three-point hitch.
-Hand-forged
by the look of them.
-Yeah.
-Might have even been
a four-point hitch.
-Yeah.
To me, you could stay there,
a nice stable surface,
hook a box or something
very heavy,
-a three-point hitch...
-And then unload out here.
RICK:
Right, because
if you're pulling
with a three-point hitch,
you can pull it
across this heavy ground
and then get it
to the bog and pull it
right up that road.
If you're trying to fit
the chain to the road,
-to me that's an explanation.
-It really is.
-Mm-hmm.
-CRAIG: Yep.
RICK:
I think it's
an important discovery.
We have clearly defined
the extent of the construct
of the road
and where it transitions
to the beach.
Does it align with the idea
that a larger ship offshore,
a tender comes,
brings the material
to a crafted slipway
or wharf or dock?
Sure. It fits perfectly.
It's very interesting
all this stuff you have found.
Hopefully, it can tell
part of the story.
Hopefully, it ties together
to give us a date.
And hopefully, we find
something even better yet.
Yeah.
What's next here?
What are you gonna do next?
We're only beginning
to get to that point.
You're gonna keep digging
underneath where Billy is?
-Yeah.
-Okay, well the best dig
has yet to come, for this.
Let's get it done.
Thank you for the update.
Pretty cool.
NARRATOR:
As the dig for clues continues
in the triangle-shaped swamp...
COLTEN:
That's 118.
-118.
-Thank you, Colten.
NARRATOR:
...and while
the core-drilling operation
in borehole I.25-6.25 proceeds
in the Money Pit area...
-CARMEN: Hey. How's she going?
-ALEX: Carmen.
Welcome to the new
and improved lab.
Oh, right.
Yeah, it looks good.
NARRATOR:
...Alex Lagina,
Charles Barkhouse,
and archaeometallurgist
Emma Culligan meet
with blacksmithing expert
Carmen Legge,
in the newly constructed
Oak Island Laboratory.
ALEX:
So we have finds that were made
on Lot 5 for you today.
-CARMEN: Oh, okay.
-NARRATOR: They are eager
to hear Carmen's assessment
of the copper and iron artifacts
that were recently discovered
within the large foundation
beneath the circular
stone feature.
I think we should start
with this copper.
I-I actually pulled
this out of the sifting box.
I'd love to know
what your opinion is.
Okay.
Uh, I see that the other
pieces are very thin.
-ALEX: Right.
-CARMEN: Except
for this one here,
seems to be a little thicker.
Yeah.
That is thicker,
-it looks like it.
-CARMEN: It is, yeah.
And it's rounded.
-Also tapered as well.
-EMMA: Mm.
Uh, it does look like a bit
of a pattern on the end there.
It has to be
something decorative.
EMMA:
Mm-hmm.
See the little
indentations, parallels.
Mm.
I'm wondering if that
could be some sort of, uh...
...jewelry thing.
Like a small
jewelry chest or something?
Yeah, it is very possible.
Yeah, it is very possible.
-CHARLES: Wow.
-ALEX: That's excellent.
CARMEN: I'm wondering if that
could be a jewelry thing.
Like a small
jewelry chest or something.
Yeah, it is very possible.
NARRATOR:
In the Oak Island Laboratory,
blacksmithing expert
Carmen Legge
has just confirmed
that a number of copper pieces
found one week ago on Lot 5
may have been used
to decorate a small chest
designed for carrying valuables.
-What about these iron pieces?
-All right. I'll have a look.
It's all very thin,
like, uh, off of a strap.
Mm-hmm.
CARMEN:
So it's not for a barrel
or a small round container.
It is a strap to secure a box.
A heavily banded
and heavily fortified box.
What would be
the purpose of that?
Cash box, maybe?
Money box, yeah.
That would be very interesting.
I actually did
a CT scan on that one.
CARMEN:
Very good.
NARRATOR:
Earlier this morning,
Emma analyzed the iron artifact
using two scanning devices--
the first, known as
the SkyScan 1273 CT scanner,
emits nondestructive
X-ray radiation
that penetrates
corrosion on artifacts,
producing high-definition,
three-dimensional images
of them.
The second, known as an
X-ray fluorescence spectrometer,
or XRF device,
can identify the type of metal
an artifact is composed of.
So does it look like
there's two pieces, joined?
EMMA: It does.
There's two materials.
So I did do an XRF point scan
on that material as well...
-ALEX: Mm-hmm.
-EMMA: ...and it was lead.
-Oh!
-EMMA: Yeah.
Oh, okay.
Um, and then the rest
of the body is iron.
My puzzling thing is, why
is the lead in the iron as well?
It is a common thing to find
within old English iron,
is that some lead content,
which fits 1600s, early 1700s.
Mm-hmm.
The dating on the artifact
could fit really well
with the theory
surrounding Sir William Phips,
who was a privateer.
And we have a theorist
who has placed Phips
in this region,
potentially with a ship
full of illicit silver,
in need of a place to hide it.
We know that Phips found silver
on the Concepción.
NARRATOR:
According to the theory
of 32-degree Freemason
Scott Clarke,
in the fall of 1687,
the English privateer
Sir William Phips conspired
with a high-ranking Freemason
from Nova Scotia
named Andrew Belcher
to bury Spanish treasure
they had salvaged
from the shipwreck known
as the Concepción
on Oak Island.
ALEX:
It's intriguing, especially
given that the feature
on Lot 5 appears
to have been covered over.
Yeah.
NARRATOR:
Is it possible that the team
has found more evidence
in the feature on Lot 5
proving that this theory
could be true?
We could be looking
at a small but strongly
constructed box.
Which means it could have been
part of any treasure
that was here.
CARMEN:
That's right.
ALEX:
Thank you, Carmen.
CARMEN:
Very good. See you later.
NARRATOR:
As the team concludes
their meeting
with blacksmithing expert
Carmen Legge,
and while the investigation
in the triangle-shaped
swamp continues...
TERRY:
All right, let's see
what we get up here.
Mike's gonna give us
some material right now.
NARRATOR:
...other members of the team
anxiously supervise
the core-drilling operation
in borehole I.25-6.25...
Here comes the anaconda.
NARRATOR:
...as they have now reached
the target depth
of some 180 feet,
where they hope
to encounter a void
and evidence
of the fabled Chappell Vault.
TERRY:
What's the bottom?
Bottom's 190.
TERRY:
That's about right.
♪ ♪
We've got slush
and loose material.
That'd be representative
of the void,
-almost no recovery here.
-STEVE: Yep.
This is the biggest stretch
where we have nothing
other than slush.
There's our void.
Okay.
Look at this.
There's some wood fibers.
NARRATOR:
Fragments of wood?
Found in the void
more than 180 feet underground
in the Money Pit area?
Is it possible
that they could be related
to the large object
that was pushed aside
by the nearby H-8 caisson
six years ago?
And we might see the plug,
the H-8 plug.
We may hit a chunk of the plug.
The boys will push on.
NARRATOR:
If the team has found
the missing plug from H-8,
and potentially,
the vault in this borehole,
then the next core
will hopefully reveal the proof.
Hey, guys.
Hey, Charles. Welcome back.
Yeah, well, where are we
and what did you find?
-TERRY: An apparent void.
-CHARLES: Oh, really?
It's really quite exciting.
Here it comes.
Last core.
♪ ♪
And you finished up where, Mike?
-MIKE T.: 210.
-TERRY: Very good.
STEVE:
This is one of the most
important targets
in the Money Pit,
'cause if we can find
the lost plug from H-8,
it might help us find
the treasure.
So we're really excited
about this.
What do you got, Terry?
Unfortunately, it's not void.
We're well into bedrock.
That's it.
Well, we don't like to see that.
But there it is.
NARRATOR:
After several moments
of great anticipation,
it appears that the legendary
Chappell Vault remains elusive.
However, is it possible
that it still lies
within this void
perhaps within just feet
of the team's current position?
Oak Island never ceases
to surprise us.
TERRY:
I think we should
call it a day, Charles.
FIONA:
We're gonna go
through the buckets today.
ALEX:
Yeah, we are.
NARRATOR:
Meanwhile,
nearly half a mile
to the west on Lot 5,
Alex Lagina assists
the archaeology team
as they search
for valuable clues
inside the stone foundation.
MOYA:
Oh, my God.
Oh? I think it's a bead.
It looks similar to the one
we had last time, I believe.
Really?
-Oh, that's gorgeous!
-Right?
Oh, wow.
Yeah, look at that.
JAMIE:
That is exactly the same pattern
from the original bead
that we found.
It's probably Venetian.
That's just incredible
to find two beads
from the same piece of jewelry.
-MOYA: Yeah.
-Amazing.
NARRATOR:
Another possible
Venetian glass bead found
in the buried stone foundation?
Given that this type
of Italian jewelry,
which could date to
as early as the 15th century,
was used not only
for fine adornments
but also
as a form of currency...
...is it possible
that they may be related
to the fragments
of the decorative container
that was also recently
discovered in this feature?
ALEX:
So we've got two of these now.
-Yeah.
-NARRATOR: If so,
what else might the team find
as they continue to dig?
ALEX:
Okay.
I will go find you some more.
-Perfect. Thank you.
-Nice job, Moya.
Yes.
ALEX:
The bead in combination
with the decorative iron piece
that we thought
might have gone on a chest,
that is starting to say,
maybe somebody left
a chest of valuables here.
To me, that's exciting.
-Oh! Look at that.
-MOYA: What do you got?
JAMIE:
What did you find?
Oh, wow!
-LINDY: Oh! Look at that!
-MOYA: What do you got?
-LINDY: A coin, maybe?
-JAMIE: What?!
-You found a coin?
-You got a coin?
-LINDY: Yeah.
What?!
-ALEX: Cool.
-[laughing]
NARRATOR:
While sifting through spoils
from the mysterious
stone foundation
on Lot 5 of Oak Island...
ALEX:
Yeah, I think that is a coin.
-FIONA: Really?!
-LINDY: Yeah.
-ALEX: Yep.
Oh, wow.
NARRATOR:
...archaeologist Lindy Martin
has just made a potentially
valuable discovery.
JAMIE:
That's copper for sure.
It like almost tapers
on the edges,
instead of being flat
like modern coins.
ALEX:
Yeah. I don't see a milled edge.
JAMIE:
It looks rounded.
Rounded, exactly. Um...
It's not perfectly regular,
which would say older, I think.
It could be very old.
NARRATOR:
A copper coin?
And without a milled--
or ridged-- edge?
During the late 17th century
in England,
the famed scholar
Sir Isaac Newton,
who was also the Master
of the Royal Mint,
implemented coin designs
with "milled" edges
in order to combat
the counterfeiting of currency.
You know, that really attests to
the importance of screening too.
-Yeah.
-You know?
ALEX:
That's an amazing find.
That's really cool.
NARRATOR:
Is it possible that this coin,
bearing no milled edges,
could date back
prior to the 17th century?
Or perhaps even earlier?
If so, could it help
the team identify
who originally created
this mysterious stone structure?
FIONA:
Can you see anything on it?
Well, there is something
down here at the bottom.
-FIONA: Great.
-And I think the CT scan
will show at least some
details on the front of it.
But I think there's going
to be a little bit of a pattern
that maybe we can identify.
-Good find, Lindy.
-LINDY: Thanks.
-Nice job, well done.
-Thank you.
Both of the sifters
today so far.
-Absolutely.
-LINDY: We're doing our best.
Yeah, you guys are doing great.
The lucky sifters, I guess.
-ALEX: Nice job, everybody.
-LINDY: All right.
-ALEX: Let's find some more.
-LINDY: Let's do this.
NARRATOR:
The following morning...
NARRATOR:
...as operations continue
in the Garden Shaft...
NARRATOR:
...as well as on Lot 5...
Gary, let's find something.
Yeah, it's about time, mate.
NARRATOR:
...back in the southeastern
region of the swamp,
Marty Lagina,
metal detection expert
Gary Drayton
and Billy Gerhardt
continue searching for
another breakthrough discovery
near the potentially
No metal hits.
Nope.
I don't think there's
any metals.
All right.
Let's get ready
for the next load.
MARTY:
All right, here we go.
GARY:
High hopes for this one, mate.
MARTY:
All right, Gary. Come on.
Yep. Let's go
find some treasure.
Come on, where are you?
Wow, there is nothing in here.
This is quiet.
What do we got here?
That looks like
a bit of a barrel stave.
Maybe.
-Yeah, it does.
-GARY: Similar to those
barrel staves
we've found digging
in the swamp there.
MARTY:
Yep.
It looks like a barrel stave,
Gary,
-because it's wider here
than it is there.
-GARY: Yeah.
I don't know
what's going on here.
Probably where it ripped out.
But yeah, I'd say
-that's a bit of a barrel.
-GARY: Yeah.
Well, one thing for sure.
We've got enough of those
barrel staves that were
recovered not too far away,
-we can compare it.
-MARTY: Yeah, that's right.
Well, we're trying to see
whether the idea that this
is an off-loading area
is correct or not.
-A barrel certainly
would fit with that.
-Yeah.
That's how
they transported stuff.
NARRATOR:
A barrel stave?
Found near the stone road,
or ship's wharf?
Could Gary be correct
that it might be related
to the pieces of
wooden cargo barrels
that were unearthed
in this area three years ago,
and which Carmen Legge believed
could be as much
as 600 years old?
MARTY:
Every time we dig in and around
the swamp, we find something.
The stone road.
The paved area. The ramp.
Lots of artifacts.
And so we're going
to continue digging.
We'll do a little
analysis on that,
but I'm wanting
to find more stuff.
Oh, yes, some coins.
-Put it right over there.
-All right, mate.
Something in there for sure.
Nope. What the hell's going on?
MARTY:
Well...
It's catching on something.
I wonder if it's wood or rock.
There's that boulder.
I don't know if that means
that's the end of the road?
I don't know if we want to do
a little shovel work
to check that? It's up to you.
-Gary and I will go have a look.
-Yep.
-Let's go have a look, Gary.
-All right,
let's go have a look.
Check it out.
-Where's the boulder?
-BILLY: To your left.
-Oh, right here?
-BILLY: Yeah.
And that's the first one,
so what you're suggesting
is there could be a row here?
Well, just from my angle
it could be in alignment
with the stone road.
Yeah. Well, what are you
thinking here?
Uh, just take a few shovelfuls
on one side
of the boulder
and the other maybe.
-MARTY: Let's dig.
-Yeah.
-It's a pretty big rock.
-GARY: Yeah.
Ooh, look at that.
GARY: Ooh, look at that.
It kind of looks similar
to the rocks
on the stone roadway.
BILLY:
Yeah. That easily
could be the road extension.
NARRATOR: It is a moment
of great excitement
for Marty Lagina, Gary Drayton
and Billy Gerhardt...
-GARY: That's another
big rock next to it.
-MARTY: Yeah.
NARRATOR:
...as they may have just
discovered another section
of the potentially
or ship's wharf,
in the southeast corner
of the Oak Island swamp.
Another big rock
next to that big rock.
What do you think?
BILLY: Those are
the first two big rocks.
We'll have to dig
a little farther.
So you're thinking these are
-like retaining rocks?
-BILLY: Yeah.
It would only be
the retaining edge
-I would say for sure.
-MARTY: Yeah.
I don't think
it's possible to-to stand
and look at that stone road
and not think that this had
to have a special purpose.
[chuckling]: It's a rather
massive construction.
And it had to be done
for a reason.
What was it for?
I'm prepared to just
see what the data
suggests as we dig more.
That could lead us
directly to what
we've been seeking for years.
Well, what I would say,
Billy, just as you're going
-this way, look for others.
-Mm.
Kind of scrape along.
All right.
I'm going to go start
that pump, Gary.
Yep. I'll check the spoils.
[engine rumbling]
GARY: One thing
that's really exciting
about being in the swamp,
is that possibility that Billy
sticks that bucket in
and next thing you know,
you come up with
some really great old artifacts.
Oh. Three interesting
pieces of wood.
Barrel staves?
We got two strips.
And then this
looks like a handle.
-Yeah, that is--
-Rounded edges.
-It's a peculiar piece of wood.
-Yeah.
Wonder if it was like,
an old pickaxe handle.
-Or an axe?
-Could be, Gary,
it almost looks hand-shaped.
NARRATOR:
A hand-shaped tool?
Could it have been used
in the original construction
of the stone road?
If so, is it possible
that scientific analysis
might help identify
not only its age,
but also who
brought it to Oak Island?
Okay, let's get back to work.
-GARY: Yep.
-There's another rock there.
There's more bigger rocks
coming this way.
-In a line?
-BILLY: Yeah.
MARTY:
Okay, Billy,
we'll go have a look.
-Where was
the original rock, here?
-There. Yeah.
The one's buried and then
there's another one there.
There's a pretty steady row,
right--
And then there's a flat one
lower behind you, Gary.
-See that?
-There's one here.
One there. One there.
Yeah, but what's that mean?
Maybe some buried in between.
MARTY:
I think there
are clues in the swamp,
clearly there are,
I have been absolutely wrong
about the extent
of the workings in the swamp.
I thought there was nothing
there. And there's a lot there.
Some good stuff in there,
I'm sure.
Now, Marty was never
a big fan of the swamp,
but the more discoveries
we have found
in the swamp over the years,
the more I see the twinkle
in Marty's eye.
I think he's beginning
to like the swamp.
You know, we may want to
take that over a little bit,
I don't know if that means
that's the end of the road?
You know, we thought
it might have been the log
but the log was an edge.
You know,
Rick's coming in a little bit.
Let's see what he wants to do.
BILLY: I think we should have
the rest of the guys look at it.
-MARTY: This could be
very important.
-GARY: Yeah.
MARTY: And I'll kick it
around with Rick and Craig
-and we'll decide what to do.
-GARY: I'm telling you, mate,
we are on to something here.
NARRATOR: For Rick, Marty,
Craig and the team,
the 229-year-old
Oak Island mystery
becomes more complex by the day.
But as they keep digging,
drilling,
and applying disciplined science
to the discoveries being made
all across these 140 acres,
one thing appears to be certain.
Oak Island has kept
an incredible secret
for hundreds of years.
And now, it is perhaps
just a matter of time
until the Laginas and their team
unearth the truth behind it.
Next time on
The Curse of Oak Island...
-GARY: Ooh! Big chunks. Oh!
-RICK: Check that out.
-This might tell us
who built this stone road.
-GARY: Ooh.
-Right there.
-Oh, yeah.
It's Latin.
PHILIP DOUCETTE:
These are very old.
They were a precious commodity.
The first hole.
MARTY: Finally, we're drilling
under the Garden Shaft.
-[loud pop]
-Whoa.
-Talk to me, what do you got?
-RICK: We found it.
The Curse of Oak Island...
-What the hell
have you got there?
-A big chunk of steel.
MARTY:
That could be
the drill that found
the famous Chappell Vault.
Like a small jewelry chest
or something.
ALEX:
Which means it could've been
part of any treasure
that was here.
LINDY:
Look at that. A coin.
-What?
-ALEX: Cool.
LINDY:
Wow.
-There's a boulder.
-GARY: It looks similar to
-the stone roadway.
-BILLY: Yeah.
This could be very important.
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.
♪ ♪
-Hey, Roger.
-Hey, how's it going, Alex?
-Good. Good to see you again.
-Nice to see you.
So, what's the update?
What's going on?
Well, we're finally
moving ahead now.
Good.
NARRATOR: As a new week
begins on Oak Island,
brothers Rick and Marty
Lagina and their team
have good reason to believe
that they are
on course to finally solve
a 229-year-old mystery.
We've pretty well dealt
with all that water situation
-we were dealing with.
-Mm-hmm.
It's all stabilized.
The geofoam is in
and it went well?
Yeah, it was amazing.
It was amazing.
And now we've got
-full control of the water.
-Good.
-RICK: All right, here we go.
-MARTY: Let's do this.
NARRATOR:
Five weeks ago,
the Oak Island team's efforts
to deepen the early
down to a target depth
of 95 feet
were halted when
mysterious voids
outside of the structure
caused it to flood
with salt water.
This is where
our water starts, right here.
And then it comes in
along the side.
NARRATOR:
This made the team wonder
if they had encountered
one of the legendary
flood tunnels
which have thwarted
searchers in this area
for more than two centuries.
Especially since
a seven-foot-high tunnel
was recently discovered
just below the Garden Shaft
which leads
toward the Baby Blob,
an area where water
testing has revealed
high trace evidence of
gold and silver
between 80 and
Tell us what we're going to do.
Well, we're going to
pump some foam in her
and try to get
your voids filled up.
NARRATOR:
But, thankfully, last week,
representatives from
Minova Global began applying
an industrial compound
known as geofoam
to fill the voids,
stop the flow of water
and stabilize the shaft
so that
Dumas Contracting Limited
can continue
deepening the structure
over the course of
the next several weeks
and finally reach the possible
treasure tunnel below.
Now, if we can
get into this tunnel,
and if the tunnel's
original works,
then it probably
leads to something good,
so we could be close.
We're going to geofoam
everything nice and tight,
and then after that,
we're going to excavate,
install a panel, excavate,
install a second panel,
-excavate.
-Okay, so it's basically
digging again?
-Digging again.
-I see you've got
the grab on.
Exactly. We just
started digging,
so we'll be very close
to that 89-foot depth.
At 89 feet, we're getting close
to that 95-foot tunnel.
But I'm really excited
to get down to depth
and see what's down there.
Oh, absolutely.
For sure. For sure.
The last two or three
days have been, you know,
upbeat because the guys
were finally moving ahead.
-Right.
-Getting away from
this water, so yeah.
Right. Perfect.
Well, thank you, Roger.
-Sounds good, man.
-I'll let you get back to it.
-Absolutely.
-Thanks.
Talk to you later.
NARRATOR:
Later that afternoon,
as Dumas continues their work
in the Garden Shaft,
nearly 73 feet
to the southwest...
-STEVE: Hey, Marty.
-MARTY: What's going on here?
So what we're
doing here, Marty,
this hole is about
five feet southwest of H-8.
NARRATOR:
...Marty Lagina joins
Oak Island historian
Charles Barkhouse,
geologist Terry Matheson,
and surveyor Steve Guptill
as they supervise the drilling
of borehole I.25-6.25.
A borehole that, incredibly,
may be on track to locate
a second potential
treasure deposit
in the Money Pit area
more than 180 feet underground.
TERRY:
The plug that fell
out of the H-8 caisson,
that could've
fallen in this direction.
Okay.
TERRY:
Mike, what's up?
MIKE:
I hit the void at 183.
All right,
so let's see what we got.
NARRATOR:
One week ago, while drilling
borehole K-6, just
eight feet to the south,
the team penetrated
a mysterious void
at a depth of 183 feet.
It is a potentially
critical discovery
because the void is
adjacent to borehole H-8,
which the Oak Island team
excavated six years ago
with a 50-inch diameter
caisson that they believe
may have come into contact
with the fabled Chappell Vault
which was first reported
by Frederick Blair
and his drill operator
William Chappell in 1897.
During the team's excavation,
at a depth of nearly 180 feet,
they attempted to
penetrate the possible vault,
and encountered a large void
which caused
the spoils, or plug,
inside of the H-8 caisson
to fall out,
resulting in the believed vault
being pushed deeper
and somewhere off to the side.
-How deep are we?
-Down 78 feet.
We got two more cores coming.
We're gonna
take a look at those.
NARRATOR:
Now it is the team's hope
that with this new borehole,
they can further explore
the void they discovered
last week and hopefully
locate the long-lost
Chappell Vault.
TERRY:
There's the top of the next run.
CHARLES:
TERRY:
Okay, let's carve her up, guys.
-Excuse me, Steve-O.
-STEVE: Sorry, Terry.
No problem. Okay.
There's the top.
-So at some point--
-We got some wood here.
TERRY:
Charles, where do you think
the wood came from?
CHARLES:
It possibly could be
the Chappell Shaft.
TERRY:
That's interesting.
We could be skimming
along the outside edge.
NARRATOR:
The Chappell Shaft?
In 1931, Melbourne Chappell,
along with his father William
and Frederick Blair,
constructed a 12-foot
by 14-foot shaft
down to a depth of 163 feet
in order to locate the vault.
Unfortunately,
they were unsuccessful.
But if the Oak Island team
is correct that they have found
the outer edge
of the Chappell Shaft...
could that offer
an important clue
that they are
in the general area
where the vault is located?
Okay.
Oh, whoa!
MARTY: What the hell
have you got there?
Big chunk of steel.
-There you go.
-Whoa, Mike! What the heck?
This came out of the top
of this sample right here.
-CHARLES: Yeah, really?
-MARTY: Really?
MIKE T.:
Yeah.
MARTY:
Could this be
old-time drill pipe?
Because we know
they drilled in these holes
and we know
they used skinny pipe.
No question.
I think so, it's heavy enough.
That could be
the drill that found
the famous Chappell Vault.
-Perhaps.
-MARTY: That could be it, right?
They used a skinny little drill.
CHARLES:
Back in the 1890s, they did.
MARTY:
If we found
something meaningful here
just below the Chappell Shaft,
we could put down
another caisson.
If we see something
worth getting...
we will get to it.
Well done, you guys.
Follow that pipe on down.
-Find the Chappell Vault.
-MIKE T.: All right.
MARTY:
Go get it.
NARRATOR:
While the operations continue
in the Money Pit area...
GARY:
We're back.
JACK:
It's time to get to work.
NARRATOR:
...along the southern border
of the triangle-shaped swamp,
metal detection expert
Gary Drayton,
Jack Begley
and Billy Gerhardt continue
looking for important clues
near a potentially
or ship's wharf.
What is the battle plan, mate?
Are we going deeper there
or are you taking
this section out?
We'll try to go along the edge
of where that log was.
We are ready for some artifacts,
mate.
BILLY:
Okay, me too.
NARRATOR:
In recent weeks,
the team has made a number
of compelling new discoveries
in this area including
new sections of the stone road,
an ancient chain and hook
that may have been used
to lift heavy cargo,
and evidence of a wooden wall,
which the late Fred Nolan
believed may have been used
to artificially create
the swamp hundreds of years ago.
JACK:
What's that?
-Look at that there.
-GARY: It's a rock, isn't it?
-JACK: No. It's a notched
piece of wood.
-GARY: It's wood?
-JACK: Yeah.
-GARY: Oh, it is.
I thought it was a rock
by the look of it.
Look at the notch in that.
-Yeah.
-That was pretty deep, Billy.
BILLY: Yeah. No.
Well, I mean, you see,
we're below the bottom
of the swamp, right?
You know,
the bottom of the swamp
is up there
where the road is, right?
JACK:
Yeah.
So, is this
a naturally filled beach?
Or was it filled by humans?
It kind of speaks towards
it being filled in.
They were forming
and cutting wood in this area.
Right.
GARY: Let's get Rick
over here, check this out.
JACK:
How's it going, Rick?
RICK: I don't see
a treasure chest.
We're trying, mate.
We're trying.
We have found some
strange pieces of wood.
Let me go grab them.
NARRATOR:
After being alerted
to a compelling discovery
near the stone road
in the southeast corner
of the Oak Island swamp...
JACK:
So, this piece came up
when we were digging
along the muck in the side.
NARRATOR: ...Rick Lagina arrives
to personally inspect it.
Yeah. Look. That's doweled.
If you hold it like that,
-see how the dowel
has gone down?
-Mm-hmm.
RICK:
If I were to suggest
that this is anything
like what we found before,
I think that it's something
like the U-shaped structure.
There's a big log.
NARRATOR: In 2018,
Rick, Marty and the team
unearthed a mysterious
at Smith's Cove known as
"the U-shaped structure."
You got a Roman numeral?
GARY:
Yeah, if it is,
it's a seven, VII.
NARRATOR:
First discovered by Dan
Blankenship in the 1970s,
and believed to be associated
with a flood tunnel
that feeds seawater
into the Money Pit area,
the "U-shaped structure"
featured strange Roman numerals,
and hand-carved wooden dowels.
RICK:
Similar sized dowel,
like the U-shaped structure,
they went in at an angle
and thus, this part is meant to
-hold it in place.
-JACK: Mm-hmm.
NARRATOR:
Is it possible
that the team has found evidence
beneath the stone road
in the swamp
that suggests
it may have been built
by the same people who created
the "U-shaped structure"?
And perhaps
the Money Pit itself?
RICK:
The good thing is, if we decide
this is an outer edge,
then that's where
the best C-14 dates are.
Yeah, but clearly,
shaped wood that was thrown
underneath this stone path.
And that's why
we got to keep digging.
-Yeah.
-Yep.
JACK:
Let's find some more.
RICK:
Let's find some more.
NARRATOR:
As Rick, Jack,
Gary and Billy
continue searching in the swamp,
on Lot 5,
located on the western
side of the island...
Hello, archaeologists.
-Hey.
-Hi.
How's it going out here?
-It's going.
-Going good.
NARRATOR:
...Alex Lagina joins
Jamie Kouba, Fiona Steele
and Lindy Martin
as they carefully investigate
a mysterious,
circular stone feature
and a much larger,
rectangular foundation
that was recently
unearthed below it.
ALEX:
So what's new? How's it coming?
So, what we're doing now,
we've expanded the unit over.
-We're finding artifacts
all the way through the fill.
-Okay.
NARRATOR:
Since acquiring Lot 5
just one year ago,
Rick, Marty, Craig Tester
and the team
have made a number
of discoveries in this feature
that suggest it may
have been a staging ground
for whoever might have buried
treasure in the Money Pit.
These finds include
a 500-year-old
Venetian glass bead,
a 14th-century lead barter token
that may be connected
to the lead cross
unearthed at
Smith's Cove in 2017,
and several metal tools
that have been
scientifically matched
to the homestead
of Sir William Phips,
the 17th-century
English privateer from Maine
who some believe
buried a vast cache
of Spanish treasure
on Oak Island back in 1687.
So, one of the things
that we now realize
is that this sort of linear
feature that we were looking at
isn't actually a wall
that was there.
What we're seeing are rocks
that are going past it.
-Okay.
-JAMIE: So, this
structure may be
quite a bit bigger than
we ever gave it credit for.
Right, but whatever
was happening here,
the bigger it gets,
the bigger the operation, right?
-JAMIE: Yeah.
-Yeah.
JAMIE: The overall size
of the dimensions
speak to more people
being involved
than just, say, a single family.
Right. So, we got
kind of an operation
happening here
that we know nothing about.
JAMIE:
Yes. Exactly.
Uh, it could be exactly
what we're looking for.
JAMIE: Hopefully, yeah.
We got some more work to do.
-Okay. Well, I'll start sifting.
-JAMIE: Perfect.
Thank you. [laughs]
-I'll grab buckets.
-Perfect.
NARRATOR:
While the archaeologists
carefully remove
the soils from the foundation,
Alex will sift
the collected materials
for any clues
and, hopefully, valuables.
FIONA:
Hey, this is kind of
something different.
JAMIE:
Oh, my goodness.
-FIONA: Look how flat it is.
-JAMIE: Yeah.
-FIONA: Look, you can see
almost three rivets on it.
-JAMIE: Yeah.
-Maybe the top of a trunk?
-Decorative, for sure.
-Metallic piece?
-Yeah.
Just, we find a lot of iron,
but we don't often find
a lot of the flatter pieces
and that one looks,
-you know, kind of decorative.
-Mm-hmm.
Oh, yeah. I see that's the rivet
right there, maybe? Yeah.
So that's just something
a bit more decorative.
It hints to something else,
you know?
-It looks like something
you might find on a trunk.
-ALEX: Yeah.
If it is off a chest,
it would be rugged,
it would be a big one.
Yeah.
NARRATOR:
A decorative iron artifact?
Potentially
from a trunk or chest?
If so, what did it contain?
And could it be related
to the trace evidence
of precious metals
that have been detected
in the Money Pit area?
Well, whatever this is,
we have the equipment
in the lab that we can
take a scan of this
and basically see through
all the crust on it
and hopefully get
a better idea of what it is.
So, let's bag it up.
And then we'll await
the results of that.
FIONA:
That's great.
NARRATOR:
As the investigation
proceeds on Lot 5...
RICK:
Ooh. Look at that.
GARY:
What have you found, Rick?
RICK:
I found some wood chips.
NARRATOR: ...Rick Lagina,
along with Jack Begley,
Billy Gerhardt and Gary Drayton,
continue making potentially
important discoveries
in the southern region
of the swamp.
JACK:
Look at this.
Here's a big timber.
There's some other bigger
pieces of wood over here.
Underneath the cobblestone road
or this edge.
Excellent.
Might be some fasteners in it.
-Correct.
-JACK: Yep.
I think it's the edge
of the road.
-Yep.
-Yep.
I think what we have to do,
Bill, is push these back
and then take this
row of rock out of here
to get to the top of that wood,
-be able to have a good look.
-Yep.
RICK:
Stylistically, it might
show some type
of construction technique.
All right.
RICK:
If you have a construct there,
built by humans,
if you can definitively say
that that construct
was a manipulation of the swamp
to some agenda,
boy, that'd be huge.
You know, it makes you think,
"What else might
they have hidden in the bog?"
-Is that a chip of wood?
-No, it's shaped.
I think what we have to do,
Bill, is leave that.
Marty and Craig need
to take a look at it.
BILLY:
Yep. Okay.
-Hey, guys.
-Welcome back, guys.
This is another fine mess
you've made here, I see.
-We have made a heck of a mess.
-Yeah. Yeah.
NARRATOR:
At the southern border
of the Oak Island swamp,
Marty Lagina and Craig Tester
join Rick Lagina and other
members of the team
to inspect the wooden structure
that was just unearthed
beneath the stone road.
-That's the edge.
-Really?
-You believe it ended
right there?
-RICK: Yeah.
There was two logs
underneath the edge of the road.
But it looked really like
they were fitted together.
Like they took one log
and, you know...
Like if you
were building a cabin,
-like that kind of. Yeah.
-Right.
RICK:
There was brush,
just like under
the construct itself.
And smaller logs as though
to underpin the road.
-And then it stopped abruptly.
-Really?
JACK:
Yeah. Yeah.
Swamp muck mixed with bigger
logs on the bottom
-that were running
perpendicular to the road.
-MARTY: Mm-hmm.
JACK:
But it was also well enough
into the structure
of the stones that you can say
it was put down during
the construction of the road.
-I got it, yeah.
-Okay.
MARTY:
There's big timbers
underneath the stone road,
which just underscores that that
was a massive undertaking.
Somebody put that road in
for a specific reason,
and I think they wanted it
to not be found
after they were done.
It could be leading us back
to where the treasure is.
GARY:
And then, just before we got
to the end of the road here,
I mean, we have pulled up some
really, really nice artifacts.
Old-looking chains.
Some really interesting chains.
I haven't seen this chain.
I heard about this chain.
Very unusual.
This looks old.
NARRATOR:
Two weeks ago,
while excavating
the southern edge
of the potentially
the Oak Island team
uncovered a large
hand-wrought chain and hook,
which blacksmithing expert
Carmen Legge
dated to the 16th century.
Is it possible
that this artifact
was once used in the swamp area
to offload cargo
from a ship onto Oak Island?
The chain was
a three-point hitch.
-Hand-forged
by the look of them.
-Yeah.
-Might have even been
a four-point hitch.
-Yeah.
To me, you could stay there,
a nice stable surface,
hook a box or something
very heavy,
-a three-point hitch...
-And then unload out here.
RICK:
Right, because
if you're pulling
with a three-point hitch,
you can pull it
across this heavy ground
and then get it
to the bog and pull it
right up that road.
If you're trying to fit
the chain to the road,
-to me that's an explanation.
-It really is.
-Mm-hmm.
-CRAIG: Yep.
RICK:
I think it's
an important discovery.
We have clearly defined
the extent of the construct
of the road
and where it transitions
to the beach.
Does it align with the idea
that a larger ship offshore,
a tender comes,
brings the material
to a crafted slipway
or wharf or dock?
Sure. It fits perfectly.
It's very interesting
all this stuff you have found.
Hopefully, it can tell
part of the story.
Hopefully, it ties together
to give us a date.
And hopefully, we find
something even better yet.
Yeah.
What's next here?
What are you gonna do next?
We're only beginning
to get to that point.
You're gonna keep digging
underneath where Billy is?
-Yeah.
-Okay, well the best dig
has yet to come, for this.
Let's get it done.
Thank you for the update.
Pretty cool.
NARRATOR:
As the dig for clues continues
in the triangle-shaped swamp...
COLTEN:
That's 118.
-118.
-Thank you, Colten.
NARRATOR:
...and while
the core-drilling operation
in borehole I.25-6.25 proceeds
in the Money Pit area...
-CARMEN: Hey. How's she going?
-ALEX: Carmen.
Welcome to the new
and improved lab.
Oh, right.
Yeah, it looks good.
NARRATOR:
...Alex Lagina,
Charles Barkhouse,
and archaeometallurgist
Emma Culligan meet
with blacksmithing expert
Carmen Legge,
in the newly constructed
Oak Island Laboratory.
ALEX:
So we have finds that were made
on Lot 5 for you today.
-CARMEN: Oh, okay.
-NARRATOR: They are eager
to hear Carmen's assessment
of the copper and iron artifacts
that were recently discovered
within the large foundation
beneath the circular
stone feature.
I think we should start
with this copper.
I-I actually pulled
this out of the sifting box.
I'd love to know
what your opinion is.
Okay.
Uh, I see that the other
pieces are very thin.
-ALEX: Right.
-CARMEN: Except
for this one here,
seems to be a little thicker.
Yeah.
That is thicker,
-it looks like it.
-CARMEN: It is, yeah.
And it's rounded.
-Also tapered as well.
-EMMA: Mm.
Uh, it does look like a bit
of a pattern on the end there.
It has to be
something decorative.
EMMA:
Mm-hmm.
See the little
indentations, parallels.
Mm.
I'm wondering if that
could be some sort of, uh...
...jewelry thing.
Like a small
jewelry chest or something?
Yeah, it is very possible.
Yeah, it is very possible.
-CHARLES: Wow.
-ALEX: That's excellent.
CARMEN: I'm wondering if that
could be a jewelry thing.
Like a small
jewelry chest or something.
Yeah, it is very possible.
NARRATOR:
In the Oak Island Laboratory,
blacksmithing expert
Carmen Legge
has just confirmed
that a number of copper pieces
found one week ago on Lot 5
may have been used
to decorate a small chest
designed for carrying valuables.
-What about these iron pieces?
-All right. I'll have a look.
It's all very thin,
like, uh, off of a strap.
Mm-hmm.
CARMEN:
So it's not for a barrel
or a small round container.
It is a strap to secure a box.
A heavily banded
and heavily fortified box.
What would be
the purpose of that?
Cash box, maybe?
Money box, yeah.
That would be very interesting.
I actually did
a CT scan on that one.
CARMEN:
Very good.
NARRATOR:
Earlier this morning,
Emma analyzed the iron artifact
using two scanning devices--
the first, known as
the SkyScan 1273 CT scanner,
emits nondestructive
X-ray radiation
that penetrates
corrosion on artifacts,
producing high-definition,
three-dimensional images
of them.
The second, known as an
X-ray fluorescence spectrometer,
or XRF device,
can identify the type of metal
an artifact is composed of.
So does it look like
there's two pieces, joined?
EMMA: It does.
There's two materials.
So I did do an XRF point scan
on that material as well...
-ALEX: Mm-hmm.
-EMMA: ...and it was lead.
-Oh!
-EMMA: Yeah.
Oh, okay.
Um, and then the rest
of the body is iron.
My puzzling thing is, why
is the lead in the iron as well?
It is a common thing to find
within old English iron,
is that some lead content,
which fits 1600s, early 1700s.
Mm-hmm.
The dating on the artifact
could fit really well
with the theory
surrounding Sir William Phips,
who was a privateer.
And we have a theorist
who has placed Phips
in this region,
potentially with a ship
full of illicit silver,
in need of a place to hide it.
We know that Phips found silver
on the Concepción.
NARRATOR:
According to the theory
of 32-degree Freemason
Scott Clarke,
in the fall of 1687,
the English privateer
Sir William Phips conspired
with a high-ranking Freemason
from Nova Scotia
named Andrew Belcher
to bury Spanish treasure
they had salvaged
from the shipwreck known
as the Concepción
on Oak Island.
ALEX:
It's intriguing, especially
given that the feature
on Lot 5 appears
to have been covered over.
Yeah.
NARRATOR:
Is it possible that the team
has found more evidence
in the feature on Lot 5
proving that this theory
could be true?
We could be looking
at a small but strongly
constructed box.
Which means it could have been
part of any treasure
that was here.
CARMEN:
That's right.
ALEX:
Thank you, Carmen.
CARMEN:
Very good. See you later.
NARRATOR:
As the team concludes
their meeting
with blacksmithing expert
Carmen Legge,
and while the investigation
in the triangle-shaped
swamp continues...
TERRY:
All right, let's see
what we get up here.
Mike's gonna give us
some material right now.
NARRATOR:
...other members of the team
anxiously supervise
the core-drilling operation
in borehole I.25-6.25...
Here comes the anaconda.
NARRATOR:
...as they have now reached
the target depth
of some 180 feet,
where they hope
to encounter a void
and evidence
of the fabled Chappell Vault.
TERRY:
What's the bottom?
Bottom's 190.
TERRY:
That's about right.
♪ ♪
We've got slush
and loose material.
That'd be representative
of the void,
-almost no recovery here.
-STEVE: Yep.
This is the biggest stretch
where we have nothing
other than slush.
There's our void.
Okay.
Look at this.
There's some wood fibers.
NARRATOR:
Fragments of wood?
Found in the void
more than 180 feet underground
in the Money Pit area?
Is it possible
that they could be related
to the large object
that was pushed aside
by the nearby H-8 caisson
six years ago?
And we might see the plug,
the H-8 plug.
We may hit a chunk of the plug.
The boys will push on.
NARRATOR:
If the team has found
the missing plug from H-8,
and potentially,
the vault in this borehole,
then the next core
will hopefully reveal the proof.
Hey, guys.
Hey, Charles. Welcome back.
Yeah, well, where are we
and what did you find?
-TERRY: An apparent void.
-CHARLES: Oh, really?
It's really quite exciting.
Here it comes.
Last core.
♪ ♪
And you finished up where, Mike?
-MIKE T.: 210.
-TERRY: Very good.
STEVE:
This is one of the most
important targets
in the Money Pit,
'cause if we can find
the lost plug from H-8,
it might help us find
the treasure.
So we're really excited
about this.
What do you got, Terry?
Unfortunately, it's not void.
We're well into bedrock.
That's it.
Well, we don't like to see that.
But there it is.
NARRATOR:
After several moments
of great anticipation,
it appears that the legendary
Chappell Vault remains elusive.
However, is it possible
that it still lies
within this void
perhaps within just feet
of the team's current position?
Oak Island never ceases
to surprise us.
TERRY:
I think we should
call it a day, Charles.
FIONA:
We're gonna go
through the buckets today.
ALEX:
Yeah, we are.
NARRATOR:
Meanwhile,
nearly half a mile
to the west on Lot 5,
Alex Lagina assists
the archaeology team
as they search
for valuable clues
inside the stone foundation.
MOYA:
Oh, my God.
Oh? I think it's a bead.
It looks similar to the one
we had last time, I believe.
Really?
-Oh, that's gorgeous!
-Right?
Oh, wow.
Yeah, look at that.
JAMIE:
That is exactly the same pattern
from the original bead
that we found.
It's probably Venetian.
That's just incredible
to find two beads
from the same piece of jewelry.
-MOYA: Yeah.
-Amazing.
NARRATOR:
Another possible
Venetian glass bead found
in the buried stone foundation?
Given that this type
of Italian jewelry,
which could date to
as early as the 15th century,
was used not only
for fine adornments
but also
as a form of currency...
...is it possible
that they may be related
to the fragments
of the decorative container
that was also recently
discovered in this feature?
ALEX:
So we've got two of these now.
-Yeah.
-NARRATOR: If so,
what else might the team find
as they continue to dig?
ALEX:
Okay.
I will go find you some more.
-Perfect. Thank you.
-Nice job, Moya.
Yes.
ALEX:
The bead in combination
with the decorative iron piece
that we thought
might have gone on a chest,
that is starting to say,
maybe somebody left
a chest of valuables here.
To me, that's exciting.
-Oh! Look at that.
-MOYA: What do you got?
JAMIE:
What did you find?
Oh, wow!
-LINDY: Oh! Look at that!
-MOYA: What do you got?
-LINDY: A coin, maybe?
-JAMIE: What?!
-You found a coin?
-You got a coin?
-LINDY: Yeah.
What?!
-ALEX: Cool.
-[laughing]
NARRATOR:
While sifting through spoils
from the mysterious
stone foundation
on Lot 5 of Oak Island...
ALEX:
Yeah, I think that is a coin.
-FIONA: Really?!
-LINDY: Yeah.
-ALEX: Yep.
Oh, wow.
NARRATOR:
...archaeologist Lindy Martin
has just made a potentially
valuable discovery.
JAMIE:
That's copper for sure.
It like almost tapers
on the edges,
instead of being flat
like modern coins.
ALEX:
Yeah. I don't see a milled edge.
JAMIE:
It looks rounded.
Rounded, exactly. Um...
It's not perfectly regular,
which would say older, I think.
It could be very old.
NARRATOR:
A copper coin?
And without a milled--
or ridged-- edge?
During the late 17th century
in England,
the famed scholar
Sir Isaac Newton,
who was also the Master
of the Royal Mint,
implemented coin designs
with "milled" edges
in order to combat
the counterfeiting of currency.
You know, that really attests to
the importance of screening too.
-Yeah.
-You know?
ALEX:
That's an amazing find.
That's really cool.
NARRATOR:
Is it possible that this coin,
bearing no milled edges,
could date back
prior to the 17th century?
Or perhaps even earlier?
If so, could it help
the team identify
who originally created
this mysterious stone structure?
FIONA:
Can you see anything on it?
Well, there is something
down here at the bottom.
-FIONA: Great.
-And I think the CT scan
will show at least some
details on the front of it.
But I think there's going
to be a little bit of a pattern
that maybe we can identify.
-Good find, Lindy.
-LINDY: Thanks.
-Nice job, well done.
-Thank you.
Both of the sifters
today so far.
-Absolutely.
-LINDY: We're doing our best.
Yeah, you guys are doing great.
The lucky sifters, I guess.
-ALEX: Nice job, everybody.
-LINDY: All right.
-ALEX: Let's find some more.
-LINDY: Let's do this.
NARRATOR:
The following morning...
NARRATOR:
...as operations continue
in the Garden Shaft...
NARRATOR:
...as well as on Lot 5...
Gary, let's find something.
Yeah, it's about time, mate.
NARRATOR:
...back in the southeastern
region of the swamp,
Marty Lagina,
metal detection expert
Gary Drayton
and Billy Gerhardt
continue searching for
another breakthrough discovery
near the potentially
No metal hits.
Nope.
I don't think there's
any metals.
All right.
Let's get ready
for the next load.
MARTY:
All right, here we go.
GARY:
High hopes for this one, mate.
MARTY:
All right, Gary. Come on.
Yep. Let's go
find some treasure.
Come on, where are you?
Wow, there is nothing in here.
This is quiet.
What do we got here?
That looks like
a bit of a barrel stave.
Maybe.
-Yeah, it does.
-GARY: Similar to those
barrel staves
we've found digging
in the swamp there.
MARTY:
Yep.
It looks like a barrel stave,
Gary,
-because it's wider here
than it is there.
-GARY: Yeah.
I don't know
what's going on here.
Probably where it ripped out.
But yeah, I'd say
-that's a bit of a barrel.
-GARY: Yeah.
Well, one thing for sure.
We've got enough of those
barrel staves that were
recovered not too far away,
-we can compare it.
-MARTY: Yeah, that's right.
Well, we're trying to see
whether the idea that this
is an off-loading area
is correct or not.
-A barrel certainly
would fit with that.
-Yeah.
That's how
they transported stuff.
NARRATOR:
A barrel stave?
Found near the stone road,
or ship's wharf?
Could Gary be correct
that it might be related
to the pieces of
wooden cargo barrels
that were unearthed
in this area three years ago,
and which Carmen Legge believed
could be as much
as 600 years old?
MARTY:
Every time we dig in and around
the swamp, we find something.
The stone road.
The paved area. The ramp.
Lots of artifacts.
And so we're going
to continue digging.
We'll do a little
analysis on that,
but I'm wanting
to find more stuff.
Oh, yes, some coins.
-Put it right over there.
-All right, mate.
Something in there for sure.
Nope. What the hell's going on?
MARTY:
Well...
It's catching on something.
I wonder if it's wood or rock.
There's that boulder.
I don't know if that means
that's the end of the road?
I don't know if we want to do
a little shovel work
to check that? It's up to you.
-Gary and I will go have a look.
-Yep.
-Let's go have a look, Gary.
-All right,
let's go have a look.
Check it out.
-Where's the boulder?
-BILLY: To your left.
-Oh, right here?
-BILLY: Yeah.
And that's the first one,
so what you're suggesting
is there could be a row here?
Well, just from my angle
it could be in alignment
with the stone road.
Yeah. Well, what are you
thinking here?
Uh, just take a few shovelfuls
on one side
of the boulder
and the other maybe.
-MARTY: Let's dig.
-Yeah.
-It's a pretty big rock.
-GARY: Yeah.
Ooh, look at that.
GARY: Ooh, look at that.
It kind of looks similar
to the rocks
on the stone roadway.
BILLY:
Yeah. That easily
could be the road extension.
NARRATOR: It is a moment
of great excitement
for Marty Lagina, Gary Drayton
and Billy Gerhardt...
-GARY: That's another
big rock next to it.
-MARTY: Yeah.
NARRATOR:
...as they may have just
discovered another section
of the potentially
or ship's wharf,
in the southeast corner
of the Oak Island swamp.
Another big rock
next to that big rock.
What do you think?
BILLY: Those are
the first two big rocks.
We'll have to dig
a little farther.
So you're thinking these are
-like retaining rocks?
-BILLY: Yeah.
It would only be
the retaining edge
-I would say for sure.
-MARTY: Yeah.
I don't think
it's possible to-to stand
and look at that stone road
and not think that this had
to have a special purpose.
[chuckling]: It's a rather
massive construction.
And it had to be done
for a reason.
What was it for?
I'm prepared to just
see what the data
suggests as we dig more.
That could lead us
directly to what
we've been seeking for years.
Well, what I would say,
Billy, just as you're going
-this way, look for others.
-Mm.
Kind of scrape along.
All right.
I'm going to go start
that pump, Gary.
Yep. I'll check the spoils.
[engine rumbling]
GARY: One thing
that's really exciting
about being in the swamp,
is that possibility that Billy
sticks that bucket in
and next thing you know,
you come up with
some really great old artifacts.
Oh. Three interesting
pieces of wood.
Barrel staves?
We got two strips.
And then this
looks like a handle.
-Yeah, that is--
-Rounded edges.
-It's a peculiar piece of wood.
-Yeah.
Wonder if it was like,
an old pickaxe handle.
-Or an axe?
-Could be, Gary,
it almost looks hand-shaped.
NARRATOR:
A hand-shaped tool?
Could it have been used
in the original construction
of the stone road?
If so, is it possible
that scientific analysis
might help identify
not only its age,
but also who
brought it to Oak Island?
Okay, let's get back to work.
-GARY: Yep.
-There's another rock there.
There's more bigger rocks
coming this way.
-In a line?
-BILLY: Yeah.
MARTY:
Okay, Billy,
we'll go have a look.
-Where was
the original rock, here?
-There. Yeah.
The one's buried and then
there's another one there.
There's a pretty steady row,
right--
And then there's a flat one
lower behind you, Gary.
-See that?
-There's one here.
One there. One there.
Yeah, but what's that mean?
Maybe some buried in between.
MARTY:
I think there
are clues in the swamp,
clearly there are,
I have been absolutely wrong
about the extent
of the workings in the swamp.
I thought there was nothing
there. And there's a lot there.
Some good stuff in there,
I'm sure.
Now, Marty was never
a big fan of the swamp,
but the more discoveries
we have found
in the swamp over the years,
the more I see the twinkle
in Marty's eye.
I think he's beginning
to like the swamp.
You know, we may want to
take that over a little bit,
I don't know if that means
that's the end of the road?
You know, we thought
it might have been the log
but the log was an edge.
You know,
Rick's coming in a little bit.
Let's see what he wants to do.
BILLY: I think we should have
the rest of the guys look at it.
-MARTY: This could be
very important.
-GARY: Yeah.
MARTY: And I'll kick it
around with Rick and Craig
-and we'll decide what to do.
-GARY: I'm telling you, mate,
we are on to something here.
NARRATOR: For Rick, Marty,
Craig and the team,
the 229-year-old
Oak Island mystery
becomes more complex by the day.
But as they keep digging,
drilling,
and applying disciplined science
to the discoveries being made
all across these 140 acres,
one thing appears to be certain.
Oak Island has kept
an incredible secret
for hundreds of years.
And now, it is perhaps
just a matter of time
until the Laginas and their team
unearth the truth behind it.
Next time on
The Curse of Oak Island...
-GARY: Ooh! Big chunks. Oh!
-RICK: Check that out.
-This might tell us
who built this stone road.
-GARY: Ooh.
-Right there.
-Oh, yeah.
It's Latin.
PHILIP DOUCETTE:
These are very old.
They were a precious commodity.
The first hole.
MARTY: Finally, we're drilling
under the Garden Shaft.
-[loud pop]
-Whoa.
-Talk to me, what do you got?
-RICK: We found it.