[Narrator] Tonight,
on the thrilling season finale
of The Curse of Oak Island...
-[Marty] Start your engines.
-[Craig] If there's
-a vault below here, this
could tell us. -[Fiona] Wow.
[Jack] It could lead
literally to where
treasure's deposited.
[Rick] Whoa. Check this out.
This is strange.
This came from 200 feet
in the Money Pit?
-That's incredible.
-Oh, yeah.
-[laughs]
-Oh, you got it.
-Oh, my gosh.
-Oh, wow.
It's treasure,
from the Money Pit spoils.
-[Katya] That's amazing.
-[Emma] Yeah. -And it's ours.
[laughter]
[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.
♪ ♪
[Alex] Well, guys,
it's a new day.
So, I'm optimistic here
in Money Pit-1.
Terry, remind me what depth
we finished at yesterday.
-Finished up at 138.
-Okay.
[Narrator] Winter is fast
approaching on Oak Island,
which means the year
will soon come to an end
for Rick, Marty and their team.
But as they excavate a key
target in the Money Pit area,
they may have
all the time they need
to solve a 231-year-old mystery.
[Terry] We're just about
of the actual
solution channel top.
[Alex] So, high hopes.
We're just now getting
to the most interesting depth,
and it's only gonna get better
from here on out.
[Gary] And that's music
to my ears because that means
it could be artifacts
at any level
we're going through.
Mm-hmm.
[Narrator] The
seven-foot-diameter shaft,
known as Money Pit-1 or MP-1,
is located in a region
where soil and water tests
from more than 200 feet deep
in the solution channel
have revealed unnaturally
high traces of silver.
[Terry] Swag time.
All right, Terry,
let's get stuck in.
You got it.
[Narrator] And even
more compelling
is the fact
that those silver levels
match the composition
of the so-called Pitblado coin,
a 14th-century silver coin
reportedly extracted from
the original Money Pit in 1849
by a drilling foreman
named James Pitblado.
[detector beeping]
Big signal here, mate.
[detector squeals]
Is that it, there?
[detector beeping]
[Terry] Wow.
-[Gary] Oh, piece of drill pipe.
-Piece of drill pipe.
-Looks about two inches.
-Yeah.
[Terry] It's a little bigger
than that inch-and-a-half stuff.
So, it's a little different,
isn't it?
-Yeah.
-Okay.
-Be interested to see
how old that is. -Yeah.
Well, that was
an interesting go.
What'd you find?
-Two-inch pipe.
-Two-inch pipe?
-[Terry] Yeah.
-So, the last time
we found two-inch pipe out here,
that dated in the lab
to mid-1800s.
-Right.
-We figured it may be connected
to the Pitblado incident, right?
-Yeah. -I think this is
more of that same pipe.
Yeah.
[Narrator] Earlier this year,
as the team was core drilling
just a few feet
from this location,
they recovered
an identical piece of drill pipe
that was scientifically dated
to the same era
as James Pitblado's
drilling operation.
We are chasing
the collapse of the Money Pit.
So, it's possible
that we are in the vicinity
-of the original Money Pit.
-Exactly.
[Terry] It's an interesting
artifact.
-Hey, guys. -[Alex] Hey.
-[Gary] Hello, mate.
Hey, Adam. How you doing?
So, what do you got?
-We're at 151.
-Great.
Uh, we're gonna push
pretty hard here on this--
these next few, uh, turns.
-Sounds good.
-Sounds good.
Everything from here on out is
gonna be good for us, I think.
-Good.
-Okay, guys.
-Thank you for the update.
-[Adam E.] Yep.
See you, mate.
[Terry] Onward
and downward, for sure.
-Mm-hmm.
-Target depth's about 215.
We've just, we've just
got to get down there.
[Narrator] As the dig continues
in the MP-1 Shaft...
[Marty] Hey, Laird, Fiona.
-I got my support troops
here today. -Uh-oh.
-You sure do.
-Yeah.
[Narrator] ...Marty
brings Rick to the mysterious
stone cradle on Lot 8
to update him
on a potentially important
recent discovery.
So, Rick,
I dug a trench over there
to see if there was
something underneath it.
What if it covered a tunnel?
-Yep. -And then I dug down
to the bedrock.
-Yep. -You both observed
I was pounding on it.
The teeth were scraping.
-And you were hitting it
directly. -Yep.
[Narrator] After the team
previously found evidence
of both silver
and a possible shaft
buried below the mysterious
cradle of stones,
Marty dug a trench
to the side of it
in search of a possible tunnel.
However, he was surprised
to reach bedrock
just six feet down,
which is at a shallower depth
than the cradle feature.
Here's where you come in, Ian.
Laird never hit bedrock
in the stone cradle.
-It's as if this was dug through
the bedrock. -[Ian] Right.
Topographic change of rock
over a short distance
isn't something
I've experienced anywhere.
-Mm-hmm.
-[Rick] It's impossible
to be more surprised
than we were
to find that rock cradle.
It's intentional,
it's purposeful.
So, I think
there's more work to be done
to come to an understanding
of what this is.
Is there something under here?
We need to find out.
The Lot 8 feature represents
one of the most enigmatic finds
on the island.
And Fiona and Laird
are taking their time
to uncover the cradle.
But we're going
to run out of time here.
There's-there's no question
about it.
Perhaps we need to take
a different approach.
Well, if we want to know
how far bedrock is there,
the only thing I can think of
is basically a hammer drill
if you wanted to keep on going
down, down, down here.
You need, like,
a-a pneumatic hammer drill.
-Yeah.
-Yeah.
A hammer drill would work.
[Narrator] Often utilized
in masonry,
a hammer drill is a power tool
that simultaneously
rotates and "hammers"
an attached auger bit
into a hard surface
such as stone or concrete.
The percussive motion allows
the drill to penetrate
denser objects more efficiently
than a standard drill.
And it wouldn't shake
-and vibrate the cradle?
-Nope. No, it doesn't...
-No, doesn't shake, doesn't do
anything. -Okay. Just checking.
It's more that I'm thinking
of shaking the rocks loose
-that I don't wish
to come loose. -Yeah. Yeah.
-What do you think?
-No, it sounds good.
-Yeah.
-[Craig] You know,
if we're not finding
the bedrock, I think
we need to keep on going
just in case there's a shaft
or a tunnel underneath here.
I mean, while we're here,
we should get it done.
You know, we don't want to do it
invasively or destructively,
but I think, to your point,
I'd like to know
where bedrock is.
-Me too, Rick. -I mean,
both of you have said that
many, many times, you know?
Is there something
hiding under here?
[Marty] Let's do this
for right now.
We don't have
the right equipment right now.
Let's go talk to Billy
and see what he's got.
-Yeah. -And, uh, then
we'll come back here and see
if we can get
to the bottom of this.
[Laird] All right.
See you later.
[Narrator] Meanwhile...
-[Steve] Hey, Katya.
-[Katya] Hi, Steve.
-How's it going here?
-Really good.
This area has just
been amazing for us.
We're digging through
a lot of the old spoils
from old searchers.
[Narrator] ...Steve Guptill
joins Katya Drayton
and Billy Gerhardt
several yards south
of the Money Pit area
to search the so-called
Dunfield spoils.
These are several
mounds of earth
that were excavated
from the Money Pit
by Robert Dunfield in 1965,
during his unsuccessful effort
to recover the treasure.
-Could be quite exciting today.
-Well, let's find some treasure.
-Yeah, let's find something.
-[Billy] Yep.
[Rick] Robert Dunfield's efforts
to conduct his big dig,
uh, certainly pushed an--
a lot of spoils piles
from the Money Pit
down the hill,
and they were never
really investigated for clues
to the area we are now intent
on exploring.
So, the hope is that
we will find artifacts
that will help us unravel
what happened
in the Money Pit long ago.
[detector beeping]
-Ooh, hoo-hoo.
-Oh, you got a hit.
-That sounds really good.
-It sounds really good.
[detector squealing]
Ooh, it's small, too,
and nonferrous.
-Right here? All right.
-Yep.
-[Steve] Where would you like
it? -[Katya] Anywhere in front
of me is fine.
That's good.
Yeah, we'll give it
a little pinpoint in the hole.
-See if we can find it.
-Sure.
-[pinpointer beeping]
-Ooh.
-[Steve] Right there?
-[Katya] I'm on it.
-[laughs]
-Oh, you got it.
[Katya] Oh, my gosh.
[Steve] It's very clean.
What is that?
[Katya] I mean, the things
that really don't corrode...
-Mm-hmm.
-...are precious metals.
[Narrator] While searching
spoils that were removed
from the Money Pit
by treasure hunters
more than 60 years ago...
[Katya] I think
that we just found
a silver coin.
-[Steve] Oh, wow.
-[Narrator] ...Katya
has just made a potentially
critical discovery.
[Steve] I've learned
that when you don't have--
what do you call,
the-the beveled edges?
-[Katya] Milled edges. Yes.
-Milled edges.
Okay, so, that dates back
to older.
[Katya] Much.
[Narrator] In the late
Sir Isaac Newton,
who also served
as the Master
of the Royal Mint of England,
was the first to design coins
with milled edges.
This was done in order
to combat counterfeiting.
Oh, you know, you can see
s-something written
-on the edge there.
-[Narrator] Could that mean
that this silver coin
may date back to the 1600s
or even earlier?
We've been looking for silver
in the Money Pit a long time,
and based on what
Dr. Spooner has shown us,
there is a bunch of silver
up there somewhere.
Could be a whole bunch
of that somewhere, right?
And I should run that
back to the lab.
-I agree.
-Good find, Katya.
Thank you.
[Narrator] Later that day...
[Craig] Is there a vault
below here or something?
This could tell us.
[Narrator] ...Rick, Marty, Craig
and other members of the team
arrive at the man-made
depression on Lot 8
dubbed "the stone cradle."
[Craig] Laird, as long
as he's in that square area,
-he can drill multiple holes?
-[Laird] Oh, yeah, absolutely.
In our world, it's transitioned
from archaeology to geology.
[Fiona] So,
when you bring it up,
we'll get the sample.
Start your engines.
[Narrator] Laird
is allowing the team
to punch a three-foot hole
in the bottom of the cradle
with a hammer drill
to collect new soil samples
and look for evidence
of man-made workings
buried deeper below.
[Marty] What if we just
don't even encounter
the bedrock at all?
That would tend
to mean something.
And whatever might be
interesting is deeper yet.
[Fiona] That went down
quite far.
[Rick] Doesn't seem like
it's bedrock.
[Alex] Well,
we're about to find out.
Trade spots,
and I'll take that sample.
It's pretty gritty.
Look at the color in that.
It doesn't look
like bedrock to me.
Okay, well, let's drill
a boulder that is slate
-and see how it compares.
-[Marty] Yeah, let's see what
the difference is and we can see
what the cuttings look like
and the penetration rate
and all that stuff.
[Narrator] In order to be sure
that they have not drilled
through the slate bedrock
beneath the cradle feature,
the team will now drill
into a nearby boulder
that is also composed of slate.
This will allow them to see
if the drill experiences
the same kind of resistance.
[whirring]
I bet you the, uh,
bit's heating up
-a lot more than it did as well.
-[Craig] Yeah, I wouldn't touch
that bit. [chuckles]
[Rick] The conclusion has to be
that it's not on bedrock.
Is there a feature or-or a void
or a tunnel or a shaft
underneath the cradle
or close by?
[Marty] Okay, here's what
we can be certain of:
we're not done with this.
-Mm-hmm. -[Fiona] I agree.
-Not until we get an answer.
[Marty] Of all the frustrating
archaeological waits
we have had to endure,
this one
is the most aggravating.
I thought,
by the end of this year,
we would have figured it out,
but we haven't.
The archaeologists
are incredibly protective
of the site, for good reasons,
but I'd really like to know
what's at the bottom of it,
because I know
there's a good chance
of something really interesting.
[Fiona] Well, I think
it's good that it gives us
a little bit of time
to actually do
some research on this as well.
And we certainly know
it's purposeful
and-and extremely significant.
[Marty] Well, let's run
with that. In the meantime,
we will leave you to it for now.
Thanks. Okay, let's go.
-[Alex] Okay. Thanks.
-[Peter] Thank you, guys.
[Marty] Thank you.
[Narrator] After finishing
their work on Lot 8...
[Josh] Watch your back.
I'm gonna shake down.
Just watch yourself.
[Narrator] ...while the dig
proceeds in the MP-1 Shaft...
[Marty] Welcome back
to the lab, everybody.
Emma's ready with some data.
[Narrator] ...members
of the team meet
to receive a scientific report
on the believed silver coin
found near the Money Pit area.
[Emma] Well, right off the bat,
I'm just gonna confirm
that it is silver.
[Rick] Solid silver?
It's a silver alloy.
What did you get? What percent?
-[Emma] 87%.
-Wow.
-That's good enough for me.
-Yeah.
[Marty] That's a silver coin.
It's a silver coin. Yeah.
-What do you make of that?
-It is very worn.
Um, it took a lot of effort to
get a good image in the CT scan.
What you're seeing
on the screen right now
is all that remains on the coin.
So, you have
the back of the head,
which is very clearly remaining.
You have a very clear "MVS,"
and then some lettering
over here...
-[Steve] Wow. -...which is great
for identification.
So, this is an overlay
of the CT image
on top of the coin that I found
on the coin database.
[Marty] Oh, yes,
you can certainly see that.
-[Laird] Mm-hmm.
-[Emma] And I got
-an exact match with...
-Oh.
...the sixpence, uh,
William III.
-[Marty] Wow.
-[Rick] Really?
[Emma] So, it's English.
-[Katya] That's amazing.
-[Emma] Yeah.
And that all aligns...
...with this coin right there,
and you can see the ribbon.
-[Marty] Perfectly.
-[Emma] Yeah.
[Marty] Oh, yeah.
Now that you show that,
-I can see it right in the coin.
-[Laird] Yeah. -[Emma] Yeah.
[Laird] Cool.
[Rick] What date
are you putting on this?
So, the date range
is 1697 to 1701.
So, the date range
is 1697 to 1701.
-Whoa.
-[laughs]
[Rick] What date
are you putting on this?
So, the date range
is 1697 to 1701.
Wow.
It's so significant.
That is a full hundred years
before discovery
of the Money Pit.
I think it's great.
-Yeah.
-[Narrator] In the lab,
Emma has confirmed
that a silver coin
found in the Dunfield spoils
is more than
three centuries old.
Common people
weren't carrying silver.
-So, this probably
wasn't a worker? -No.
-Somebody of means, right?
-Yeah.
[Marty] A hundred years
before the Money Pit
was discovered
is a heck of a long time.
-[Rick] Very long time.
-[Marty] That's a big deal.
-Mm-hmm.
-[Marty] These late-1600 dates
lead you one of two places:
either that's the time
of the depositor
or searchers that were searching
before the Money Pit
was discovered.
Bottom line,
this is a silver coin,
and I would call it
a piece of treasure.
I think it's an incredibly
important discovery,
but just like almost everything
we've found all over the island,
it continues
to provide partial answers
and then pose
a lot more questions.
[Rick] We found a silver
treasure coin in Money Pit
spoils on Oak Island.
It's treasure,
from the Money Pit spoils.
It's silver. It's-it's...
-it's ours.
-[laughter]
[Rick] It's the end of the year,
and we're hoping
to find more coins,
or a chest or a keg
full of the Portuguese
treasure coins,
but it validates
the reason why we're here.
I'm not willing to give up
on solving the mystery.
I mean, we say it all the time.
Sempre avanti.
"You-you do not stop."
[Marty] Very cool.
A big "well done"
to everybody involved.
-All right, let's go.
-[Laird] See you later.
-[Rick] Thank you.
-[Katya] No problem.
[Narrator] As a new day begins
on Oak Island...
-[Terry] Hey, guys.
-[Peter] Hey, guys.
The two gentlemen
we want to see.
Where are we? How deep?
So, we're about a 195 depth.
Good stuff. 195. Got it.
[Narrator] ...Rick
and other members of the team
monitor the progress
of the MP-1 Shaft,
which has now reached
the solution channel.
Just hoping to find
the one thing.
We're working on it.
We'll keep you updated.
-[Terry] Thank you.
-Okay. Thank you.
-Appreciate it.
-Yes, sir.
Let's go over there
and find something.
[Gary chuckles] Oh.
-[Terry] A lot of muck and mud.
-[Peter] Yeah.
-[detector beeping]
-[Peter] You got something?
[detector squealing]
-Got a signal. Right there.
-Sounds good.
[Gary] It's in here,
whatever it is.
[Terry] Just a heavy chunk
of metal.
Yeah, don't know what it is
until it's washed off.
It's a whatsit.
This is a piece of twisted metal
from the MP-1 spoils
at the moment.
But when it goes back
to the lab,
maybe Emma runs scans
and tell us it's something
completely different.
There's a lot of stuff
caked on it, for sure.
This could be
some kind of bladed tool,
'cause I see a curve on it.
See if you other guys
can make heads or tails of it.
[Terry] It's very heavy.
Whatever it is, it's been
down there a long time.
[Rick] This is really,
really hard.
It's been on there
for a long time.
Yeah, let's bag it, Terry.
[Rick] I don't know what it is,
but it has--
certainly has the appearance
of being old.
[Terry] Thank you.
[Gary] All right. We've got
another load waiting for us.
-[Peter] Okay.
-Let's find some more.
That is strange.
-[Gary] Clean, Billy.
-[Billy] Yep.
[Rick] Check this out.
I washed it and I see this...
-[Peter] Oh, yeah.
-...stain in it.
[Rick] What do you think it is?
[Gary] That sure looks
like exotic wood.
-Why?
-[Peter] Why do you say that?
-[Gary] The colors on it.
-[Rick] Really?
[Gary] And-and the curve.
-[Peter] That shouldn't be here.
-[Gary] Nope.
[Rick] This is strange.
This linearity
and that staining?
It could be palm tree.
Yeah, we don't know
where that's from.
I mean, we're on an island
and we know people
have traveled
from a long way away
to this island by boat.
Well, it'd be really cool
if you're right, Gary.
Uh, to come from
That's incredible.
This is wood from the bottom
of the solution channel
and wood should not
be at this depth,
unless it were pushed down
from above.
-Get a bag, Peter.
-[Gary] Yeah, put it in a bag.
[Rick] We need
to talk to experts.
If this is an exotic wood,
it would lend credence
to an old-world ship
coming to the New World.
All right,
let's take a look at this.
[Gary] Let's get stuck in.
[detector chiming]
[Rick] The year's
come to an end,
we're within a few hammer grabs
of being done,
and I hope we find the one thing
or solve the mystery
or find the treasure.
I still have-- every fiber
of my being believes
that Oak Island is real,
the mystery is real.
I want to know
what happened here.
[Terry] It's a lot
of rounded stuff.
[Gary] No. No solid hits.
[Terry] We're probably
getting very close,
-to the bottom.
-Yep.
-[Peter] Hey, guys. -Hey.
-[Terry] How you doing?
So, we're on bedrock,
bottom of the hole.
[Terry] Okay.
What are the final numbers?
-210.
-Okay.
[Gary] We gave it
a good shot, mate.
[Rick] We did.
Hundred percent, we did.
We should all be quite proud
of what we all did.
[Gary] Oh, yeah.
[Rick] I-I love the fact
that the Money Pit,
even though
it denies us answers,
at the end of the day,
we walk away
with our heads held high.
-Thank you.
-[Adam E.] Thanks, guys.
-[Rick] Thank you.
-[Terry] Appreciate it. -Yep.
♪ ♪
[Rick] Sometimes
you get the ball
across the goal line
and sometimes you don't.
But we did learn some things
and we made some discoveries,
which may be impactful
as we delve into them.
You can't deny the science.
There is silver at depth
down in the solution channel.
I'm not willing to give up
till we find it.
[line ringing]
Hey, Marty.
[Marty] Hey, Rick.
What's going on?
You know, this is
the, uh, last caisson.
[Rick] Good news is that
it was a technical success.
The concept of the treasure
having fallen to depth,
everything we encountered,
would have permitted
that to happen.
There's no question about that.
And we got down.
And unfortunately,
we... we didn't find it.
Right. But if we think about
the year in its totality,
I think there's a lot
to be proud of.
I think there's a lot
to be happy about.
Right.
Okey doke. All right, see you.
[Marty] Welcome, to everybody.
We have reached the end
of this year's exploration,
which makes this
the last meeting.
Hello, Terry and Derek.
-Hello, Marty.
-I think a good place to start
is with this heat map
that Steve made some time ago
to update it
for this year's efforts.
The idea is to say,
"Where are the spots
we have found old artifacts?"
[Narrator] Earlier this year,
surveyor Steve Guptill
created a so-called "heat map."
It illustrates where the team
has made their most
significant discoveries,
noting their approximate dates
of origin
by using different colors.
So far, we have found about
Laird and his own team, they
find hundreds more than that.
We found about
[Steve] And then,
let me go over the hot areas.
Most of the artifacts
that you see
are from the last two years.
If it's in the 1700s,
um, I've been clicking orange.
If it's earlier than that,
I click pink.
-Blue is 1800s to now.
-[Scott] Yeah.
Let me turn off
every color except pink.
[Marty] Wow.
[Jack] There's an overwhelming
amount of evidence
that shows that people
were here earlier
than we originally believed.
[Laird] It's almost
indisputable that
there was island-wide activity
to a fairly large scale.
That's significant, is it not?
[Laird] It is significant.
Yeah. We just need to know
who and why, and when.
-Yeah, and what they were doing.
-Yeah.
-[Marty] Yeah.
-Mm-hmm.
Well, we also know that
the Lot 8 boulder was moved.
And looking up there
on the heat map,
that would have had to be work
that was done earlier.
That's a huge anomaly.
That's a great segue
to go to Lot 8,
and to me, this boulder
came out of nowhere this year.
Something rather significant
had to happen here.
Laird, is there anything
like it in Nova Scotia
-that you know of?
-No. I haven't found
anything like it
in North America.
[Fiona] I think it's much older.
I would not be surprised if it
got us into the 1200 range.
[Narrator] The team
was stunned to discover
a 40,000-pound boulder
on Lot 8 this year
that was covering
the cradle of stones
and a potential shaft
deeper below it.
However, prior to that,
they had found two
curious artifacts on the lot.
One, a lead bag seal that
may date back some 700 years.
And the other was
a copper artifact with symbols
that may be connected
to the Knights Templar.
[Marty] Well, and Rick,
you got some light that you
can shed on the Lot 8 boulder
-from that trip to the Azores.
-[Rick] Yes.
We wanted to find if there is
some evidence that the Templars,
or associated groups
in the 1300s,
needed to safeguard a treasure,
uh, via the Azores
prior to coming to Oak Island.
We went to a megalithic site.
And on the way up the hill,
I just noticed a huge stone,
but it had slots carved into it.
And to me, it's...
it was so similar to the spacing
in the Lot 8 boulder.
That rock has a big void, to me,
purposely built underneath it.
[Marty] Which brings me
to what Scott did yesterday.
[Scott] So, yesterday,
we went and got
a large hammer drill,
a three-foot-long core bit.
And when we drilled in there,
we didn't find bedrock.
Okay, well,
here's what's certain:
there's a lot more work to do
on this boulder on Lot 8,
including digging underneath it.
There still could be a tunnel,
there could be a shaft.
Or there could be treasure.
There could be treasure, Gary.
We need to completely
eliminate any question
as to what might have been done
underneath that boulder.
But let's shift over to Lot 5,
which has been
hugely significant.
So, we have this feature
which became two features
which became three features.
[Narrator] This year, the team
made a number of new discoveries
in the rounded stone foundation
near the shore on Lot 5
that suggest it was occupied
by different groups
over different periods
prior to the discovery
of the Money Pit.
These include a folded coin,
meant to represent
a religious symbol of protection
that may be more
than 300 years old.
They also found
a decorative lead artifact
that may date back
more than 700 years.
And in just the last month,
they began investigating
what was previously thought
to be a modern well
just a few yards away.
But after digging next to it,
they discovered evidence
that it is
a much larger feature,
and may be connected
to the rounded foundation.
[Marty] And my understanding,
Laird,
it wasn't just a domicile.
-Something different than that?
-Correct.
[Marty] We've always looked
for the camp.
If there was
this tremendous activity
at the Money Pit,
it would have taken men
and animals
and support structures
and all kinds of stuff,
and maybe Lot 5
is what we've been looking for.
[Rick] You have evidence here
that substantiates that.
And we have possibly
found a road
that might be a-a way
to move the treasure
here on Oak Island:
the sand road.
And again, it leads us down
a-a path of discovery
in the swamp.
The sand road potentially
changes the whole island.
[Narrator] While excavating
the western side of the swamp...
-[Peter] Still sandy.
-[Narrator] ...the team
was surprised to uncover
a sand-covered cobblestone road
that was lined with eight-sided
wooden survey stakes.
And as they kept exposing
the mysterious feature...
...they found signs
that it may run through
the center of the island
toward Lot 5,
as well as through the swamp,
toward the believed
Portuguese stone road.
I find the sand road
really interesting now.
We were always looking
for a connection
between the Money Pit and Lot 5.
And perhaps the sand road
is the connection.
[Jack] It could lead
literally to a place
where treasure's deposited.
[Marty] Good. Excellent.
The sand road could lead
literally to a place
where treasure's deposited.
Exactly.
I love this little oxshoe
that was found
along that path.
Only mean one thing,
and that's hauling.
[Billy] We thought
that the Portuguese stone road
that we call it was a big job?
Well, you know, look at
the length of this thing.
-[Alex] They might be the
same thing. -[Billy] Right.
[Alex] The sand road is
a continuation of Center Road.
That means that it's there
much earlier
-than we first thought.
-[Marty] Agreed.
And so, we have these
in front of us,
are what we believe to be
a hand cannon
and four stoneshots.
These two
are from previous years.
They're both from the Azores.
But then this year,
we find two more--
actually, Derek found them
on the wash plant--
and here's the ultimate point:
no country significant
was using them after about 1450.
So, what are those doing
on Oak Island?
It really, I think,
is one of the most
concrete dates we have.
[Narrator] When the team
first uncovered
a section of the sand road
in the swamp this year...
-Look at that.
-[Narrator] ...they also found
part of an early firearm
known as a hand cannon.
And that is unusual.
[Narrator] It was
a curious find,
given that they have
now also discovered
four pieces of stoneshot,
three of which were unearthed
in the Money Pit area.
Mm-hmm.
[Narrator] And during
the team's recent trip
to the Azores islands...
[Narrator] ...Portuguese
archaeologist Tiago Rodrigues
affirmed that these artifacts
may not only date back
to the 14th century
but could also be
of Portuguese origin.
Is this enough to prove
a pre-Columbian voyage?
No, but it's a good indication.
[Gary] And a good sign
of treasure,
because you'd need g*ns and a*mo
if you're putting a large
treasure in the Money Pit.
[Marty] Yeah.
And so, finally, conceptually,
we arrive at the Money Pit.
Did a lot of work there,
and what got us very excited
is this right here.
This is the fabled
Pitblado coin.
So, this coin turns out to be
a 1369 to 1371 Portuguese coin.
Extremely rare
and very valuable.
And of course,
that got us all really excited,
including me, who is fixed
on treasure more than story.
-[laughter]
-A chest of these
would be worth just that,
it would be worth
an enormous fortune.
And it did, apparently,
come out of the Money Pit.
So, we got really excited
about this,
and then we chased
the theory of...
"All right, there was
a treasure in the Money Pit,
and the treasure fell
into the solution channel."
[Jack] And scientific evidence
to show
-that it's still down there.
-[Marty] Exactly.
So, it got us all enthused,
and we were able
to get canisters
down into the solution channel.
-Yeah.
-We found lots of things
that shouldn't have been
in the solution channel.
My analysis of that is that
it was proof of concept,
and proves the theory that stuff
could fall down in there.
We weren't successful
in finding the treasure.
But we all still think it's here
because of your work, Ian
and Dr. Fred, because
of the metals in the water.
-[Ian] Mm-hmm.
-I...
I know you have
a potentially new method
that we could zero in
and maybe find the treasure.
-Yep. -Can you bring the group
up to speed on that?
[Ian] Yeah.
A little while ago,
Dr. Michel suggested...
we're having problems
with water.
Water moves around,
gets diluted,
so Fred suggests,
"Why don't we look at wood?"
Because it has the ability
to soak up metal.
Just like a water filter
would soak up metal from water.
And the wood's much better
at soaking up metals than water.
And I think we just need
to do more work with the wood.
The wood's at its early stages.
And we got the data back.
Results from, like,
So, if you've just done
the tests now,
where did you get
the wood to test?
We got it from the outside
of logs and planks
that were in various tunnels
and shafts
throughout the Money Pit.
And something did show up
in Shaft 2A.
Which is, I think,
the unknown shaft.
We're digging up the first ever
searcher shaft on Oak Island.
[Narrator] In 2024,
the Oak Island team
began uncovering a feature
that they believed
to be an early 19th-century
searcher shaft known as Shaft 2,
which according
to historical records,
was located 14 feet southeast
of the original Money Pit.
[Craig] I tend to think
-it's two different shafts.
-[Narrator] However,
during the excavation,
they discovered
another undocumented shaft
some ten feet to the northeast
that they dubbed "Shaft 2A."
This made them wonder
whether they found
an old shaft built
by treasure hunters
or perhaps treasure depositors.
So, in Shaft 2A--
the wood sample from Shaft 2A--
we had the highest amount
of silver we've ever seen.
And also, uh, I think
the third highest level of gold.
[Ian] So, in Shaft 2A,
we had the highest amount
of silver we've ever seen.
And also, uh, I think
the third highest level of gold.
-[Marty] Great.
-There you go.
Well, that's pretty
exciting, right?
It's another direct indication
of treasure, isn't it?
[Ian] With that result,
if we have
this kind of silver--
highest silver we've seen
in something like 2A--
that could mean
that there's silver very, very
close to where that wood is.
[Narrator] After testing
numerous samples of wood
that the team has unearthed
in the Money Pit area
over the years,
Dr. Spooner has found
new evidence of buried silver
in the mysterious shaft
known as 2A,
a structure located
more than 30 feet northeast
of where they detected precious
metals in the solution channel.
-Dr. Spooner...
-Yeah.
...how do you reconcile
the silver
that we're finding
in the wood from 2A
and the silver that we're
finding in the solution channel?
Maybe what we're
looking at here is...
um, a-a variety of sources.
Or multiple deposits.
-Yep. -[Marty] This is
getting interesting.
-Multiple treasures?
-It's a possibility, sure.
-Wow.
-[Ian] What I'm proposing is
we take a much more detailed
look at, uh, metals in wood.
[Rick] Dr. Spooner's
latest report perhaps proves
the worthiness of the idea
of testing the wood
in several of the shafts.
It certainly introduces
new possibilities
that we're chasing after
multiple treasures
on Oak Island.
This is pretty much
a no-brainer.
-Let's continue this.
-Yep.
So, yes. Proceed, please.
Tell us where the treasure is.
We're ready.
-I'll do my best.
-[laughter] -[Marty] Perfect.
Yeah.
[Craig] Well,
I just think it's a very
productive year.
We've had some major finds.
The-the boulder on Lot 8,
the sand road in the swamp...
-Right.
-It just seems like
Oak Island has its secrets
and we've uncovered some.
-Yeah. -So, I want to thank you,
and I think we had a great year.
-Yep.
-[Marty] So,
I thought a long time
about how I would like
to close here today,
and I thought
a good way to do that
might be to use a symbol.
Gary?
[with accent] It's right here
in me top pocket.
-[laughter]
-Top pocket find.
[Marty] Yeah,
top pocket find and, uh...
It's...
this.
This is one ounce of pure gold.
It appropriately has
the Canadian maple leaf on it.
And here's the pure gold
I would like to find.
And we have found pure gold here
from the people of Canada,
from the people of Nova Scotia
and certainly,
the people in this room.
And if we are moving
caissons around next year,
instead of these poker chips,
we're gonna move
this maple leaf around
to decide where to dig,
and hopefully,
find the treasure.
-Yeah.
-Yep.
It goes without saying
how important
you have all become to me.
We're a family.
Because the experience here
is only as wonderful
as it is because of each
and every one of you.
Without you,
without each of you,
these past years of my life
would have been...
...far less rich.
The treasure
and the story are...
...like brothers,
they're together, right?
But the real treasure, really,
is each and every one of you.
This is the true treasure
in life,
what we share now.
Hundred percent.
We are very grateful
to be a part of
your passion
and share it with you.
We would not be here
if you did not share your dream,
not only with us but the world.
Thank you.
-Thank you.
-Yeah. -Yeah, well said.
-I agree.
-Absolutely.
-Yep.
-[Rick] The thank-you that Craig
expressed, the thank-you
that Marty expressed,
the thank-you that
I'm expressing is heartfelt.
It is genuine
and it is important.
Emiliano,
why don't you close out the day?
-Grazie mille.
-[laughter]
-Perfetto.
-[applause]
Okay. Let's go.
-[Peter] All right.
-Thank you all.
-[Rick] Thanks, everybody.
-After you.
[Narrator] The year on
Oak Island has come to an end.
Her legendary secrets
remain unknown...
[Rick] Look at the enormity
of the finds.
[Alex] Fiona, thanks.
[Rick] Look at the early dates.
-[Gary] Thanks, mate.
-[Rick] We have written
maybe not the answer
to the Oak Island mystery
but we have added chapters
upon chapters of information.
Goodbye, all.
[Narrator] However, Rick,
Marty, Craig and their team
have proved one thing:
the quest for answers
to this 231-year-old mystery
is well worth the pursuit.
My whole life,
I've been curious about things.
Very, very curious about things.
It gets me in trouble sometimes.
[Craig] That was
another good year.
[Marty] Yep.
Always bittersweet, isn't it?
How can we have found so many
inexplicable things in one year?
So, there's many reasons
that would make me
come back here
to find this treasure.
We have to be close
to the endgame, don't we?
[Narrator] So far, they have
found more than 2,000 artifacts
and numerous man-made structures
predating the discovery
of the Money Pit.
Some by as much as 800 years.
And they have obtained
mounting scientific evidence
that treasure
really may lie buried
all across the island.
So, next year, when they return,
they will build upon all
they have learned and revealed
to solve the mystery.
[Rick] I'd like a year
where we said, "You know what?
We did it."
That moment has not come,
but that is still my hope.
I won't relent.
I'm quite stubborn that way.
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13x25 - Pure Gold
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Follows brothers Marty and Rick as they search for the infamous treasure on Oak Island.
Follows brothers Marty and Rick as they search for the infamous treasure on Oak Island.