03x11 - Sword Play

[bunniefuu]

Tonight on the curse of Oak Island

there's your artifact we did some tests

on I think it has an interesting story

to tell we're gonna try one more diver

and if he can't do it we're done with

I'm down here zero visibility we little

good this is a little burdensome model

where he thinks the money is is right

here you put an X

let's get steel dog halt figure this

thing off

there is an island in the North Atlantic

where people have been looking for an

incredible treasure for more than

years so far they have found bits of

gold chain a stone slab with strange

symbols carved into it

even a th century Spanish coin today

six men have d*ed trying to solve the

mystery

and according to legend

one more will have to die before the

treasure can be found

as a new week begins in the search to

find treasure on Oak Island Rick and

Marty lagina along with Marty's son Alex

Craig tester and Dave Blankenship have

traveled miles northeast of Oak

Island to st. Mary's University in

Halifax

here we are after you you have to get

the good you can get the goods here's

what you've been waiting for gentlemen

let's see it they are eager to determine

if an object resembling an ancient Roman

sword which was reportedly found in the

waters just off the coast of Oak Island

is real Oh

the hell is this source the Roman sword

that is phenomenal today the team has

arranged to meet with professor miles

McCallum an expert on Roman archaeology

five miles they are hoping he can

determine if the sword they've acquired

could be an important piece of evidence

one which connects the Oak Island

mystery to the ancient Roman Empire in

the lab you are gonna have to ask you

guys to put on some safety glasses and

some lab coats here I'll hold after it

is oh that's it nice bronze silver

although it may seem unlikely that a

Roman sword dating from the reign of the

Emperor Commodus in the second century

AD could find itself in the waters off

Nova Scotia

there are many Oak Island theorists who

believe it is more than possible

in recent decades several ancient coins

identified as being Carthaginian in

origin or found in the coastal regions

just north of Oak Island the

Carthaginians were a seafaring people

who dominated the trade routes of the

Mediterranean during the period from

to BC it has long been speculated

that their knowledge of navigation along

with their shipbuilding and sailing

prowess would have made it possible for

them to successfully navigate the rugged

waters of the North Atlantic

if it plays out that it is in eighteen

hundred year old Roman sword what's

significant does it provide a certain

historical context if it is real yes it

does as far as you know iconography if

it is obviously a representation of

demigod Hercules who's a really

important figure among the Romans

religiously as far as you know how it's

made that's a bit odd normally you'd

expect this to be a single cast piece

does this one not done in one piece then

with respect this I mean looking at it

if we look down the side here you can

see where there's there's a line that

goes right up through there this

suggests to me that it's a bivalve mould

instead of a single lost-wax marker so

something again like this this was never

a functional sword it's simply a work of

art in the year AD future roman

emperor titus led the siege that

conquered Jerusalem in the process his

armies b*rned and destroyed the so

called second temple where the original

temple of King Solomon once stood

when years later the arch of Titus

was erected in Rome to celebrate the

victory it depicted a large golden

menorah one of the sacred objects taken

from the temple which like the Ark of

the Covenant and the Holy Grail many

researchers believe were later buried on

Oak Island

is it possible that the Romans like the

Carthaginians before them could have

traveled to Nova Scotia nearly ,

years ago and if so would a Roman sword

found in the waters off Oak Island

provide the proof give us a percent

percent chance percent chance that this

is something Roman I'm not really in a

position to tell you at this point from

you know just looking at it as we have

it here I'm highly skeptical just based

on the construction technique that it's

actually ancient to would fake that I

don't know you know it could even be a

fake that's not.you know a modern fake

right it could be a fake from the th

or th century from an Oak Island

standpoint it would actually it'd

probably be more significant it was the

s yeoman it could be something it

could actually be an antiquity that was

in the possession of somebody who came

over long after that right to end course

lost it and so that that's probably if

this is something that's old that's a

much more likely explanation why does

somebody go to the effort to duplicate

or fake something that almost no one in

the world has seen I mean I haven't

ruled it out yet it still could have

significance to what we're doing here

it's an intriguing object what is

definitive test to see what definitive

tests you can do a chemical analysis of

the bronze or brass I can put you in

touch with dr. christow Brousseau who's

in the chemistry department and she and

her graduate students can can do the

testing for you great if you're

interested in oh yeah we are all right

well let's do the other testing that

sounds great thank you very much very

informative thanks for coming

well Rick Marty and their partners wait

for the results of the tests on the

sword back on Oak Island Jack Begley

Peter Fornetti and veteran treasure

hunter dan henskee are about to begin an

investigation of their own at Smith's

Cove

so this time we're on an eel grass hunt

right

good luck how about we go back to that

same spot we found the coconut fiber in

- while looking for the source of

the ocean water that flooded the money

pit members of the recently formed Truro

syndicate discovered an elaborate and

ingenious system of manmade box drains

originating at Smith's Cove made up of

flat stones supported by smaller ones

and then densely packed with other

stones the bunks drains appeared to be

similar in construction to the roads

that were built in ancient Rome to hide

the box drains from view they were

covered and by a layer of gravel and

sand under which there were layers of

both coconut fiber and eel grass the

coconut fiber was used to prevent debris

from clogging the drains while the eel

grass helped to soak up the excess water

two years ago dan henskee along with

Peter Fornetti Alex lagina and Jack

Begley found coconut fiber

which when tested was estimated to be

between and years old they're

dating between and AD so it's

did they give you like a degree of

accuracy % do you think that there's

any eel grass that's left in its fibers

for me sure about the longevity the

coconut fiber lasts half way forever but

eel grass I think decays a lot faster

because eel grass decomposes at a faster

rate than coconut fiber finding a sample

at Smith's Cove and then carbon dating

it might provide the Oak Island team a

significant breakthrough it would give

them a more accurate date as to win the

box drains and possibly the money pit

were constructed it might also tell them

whether or not the eel grass was

harvested locally or based on its

species if it was brought to Oak Island

from another region much farther away

but this is pretty close to the area so

that's what I'm guess I'll stand back

and watch out for flying sand and we'll

see what's there we're getting pretty

good at digging holes

shouldn't we have already seen it by now

I have dug a bit on the shore on this

place I believe

oh good job yeah

Oh

while searching for eel grass at Smith's

Cove veteran treasure hunter dan henskee

may have just made an important

discovery

wait that is coconut fiber it might be a

little in there but mostly it's just

some odd vegetation

I won't say it's not eel grass I think

this is the old coconut fiber looks like

horsehair well see to wash it off and

the but I didn't find that much but I

might have missed something yeah because

coconut fiber is known to be one of the

materials used in the construction of

the booby-trapped flood tunnels at

Smith's Cove if the team is founded they

should also be able to find eel grass in

the same vicinity that's certainly a lot

of fibers in it when there were kind of

a that looks like it might be material

or something this is the eel grass

because it's kind of it's in layers

actually maybe you actually found some

eel grass they should bag this if Dan

Jack and Peter have found eel grass and

it can be accurately dated to sometime

before then the team may be able to

figure out not only when the money pit

was constructed but also who built it

and what it was that needed to be so

ingeniously hidden

I'd say we complete our giant as well as

we could today yeah and quick to thanks

to Dan thank you who gets to carry the

shovels sir

hello you do I'm great nothing like

being the old guy

before the Sun sets on another day at

Oak Island

Rick lagina Craig tester and Dave

Blankenship convene in the w*r room to

make a very important call almost time

give them a call yeah I hope we hear all

the right things is what I hope I want

to hear from him that look and the ideas

then get in the chamber and get you

answers so far two previous attempts to

place a diver at the bottom of borehole

x have ended unsuccessfully

nevertheless the team remains more

convinced than ever that not only is

such a difficult time possible but it is

essential if they are ever to find out

once and for all if the mysterious

cavern that exists feet below ground

really is a man-made gateway into the

money pit

complete with antique tools a wooden

chest

and possibly human remains

we're gonna try one more diver the most

qualified diver we could possibly have

found John Chatterton and if he can't do

it we're done with divers what agreed on

that right question about that

John Chatterton is a world renowned

deep-sea and wreck diver with more than

years of experience diving in some of

the most dangerous and difficult

environments from shipwrecks to

underwater structures his desire to

explore and solve underwater mysteries

has taken him to such famed

sunken vessels as the Britannic the

Lusitania the Andrea Doria and the

Titanic it's ringing up see what happens

hey guys John Hart oh yeah we'll be

better when you get here

our preps going okay it was an awkward

entry and exit for a previous dive team

well they had tanks on

use umbilicals at the right technology

we've got the right experience to do

this time to die and we're gonna be

thoroughly prepared you're gonna be

relying on your top man to tell you how

deep you are because you can't see I'm

telling it zero visibility

we don't need visibility to determine

what you guys want

that's a pheromone interest to us all

right

my concern is get him safely from

surface to cavity and back to surface

and for me the troubling aspect of

course would be the drill bar that drill

bar would be down you know feet

below the top of that -inch hole

-inch at we dropped a field finder in

there a well-worn casing instrument and

it seemed to indicate that the top of

the bar was at feet which would put

it feet below the anhydrite surprises

we can't possibly tell you what we're

gonna find but we will get to or at

least as far as is humanly bus okay we

got high hopes for John Chatterton he's

the best based on all our research he's

the best I'm not dissing anybody has

already been in there they they did what

they could if anyone can get down in

that cavity and come up with proof if it

is in the cavity he can so I'm excited

about that

obviously well guys I think you've

covered everything

look we very much look forward to and

appreciate all your efforts we can't

wait to get this started

awesome okay you take care that was a

good day yeah sure was okay let's go do

something else

while waiting for diver John chattered

and to come to Oak Island Rick lagina

and members of his team have arranged to

meet with father-and-son engineers Mike

and Sean Harold thanks for inviting us

out the Herald's have traveled all the

way from British Columbia in hopes of

sharing information that they believe

will help the laginas and their partners

solve the year old mystery this is

what we've affectionately called the

water room hey guys the Herald's are

distant relatives of the now deceased

Oak Island treasure hunter and author

Laverne Johnson from to

Johnson believed he could solve the

mystery by focusing on an area never

explored before

very much look forward to what's in the

box I love Christmas yes okay

so I wonder where we start first of all

this is the book that Laverne wrote

before he passed away he paid for it

himself

and he simply wanted to get his theory

out there so it's all in here he

revealed how he figured everything out

unlike most other oak island treasure

hunters Laverne Johnson believed the

money pit was constructed and

booby-trapped not to protect the

treasure but to mislead and thwart

would-be searchers from finding the

treasures real location this was

laverne's and model that he made up

albeit very crude we actually have a

picture of Laverne with this model oh do

you yeah

yeah that's Laverne using a survey

commissioned by Oak Island treasure

hunter Gilbert Hedden in Laverne

Johnson believed that if he drew a line

between two mysteriously drilled stones

one found at Smith's Cove and another

found north of the money pit and another

drawn from the point of the stone

triangle on the south shore the actual

treasure shaft would be located above

sea level

and at a depth of approximately feet

but after several attempts to prove his

theory correct Johnson ran out of money

and like so many treasure hunters before

him left Oak Island empty-handed

the Byrnes theory is simply degrees

west of true north as where he thought

whoever deposited something there dug

down here and simply tunneled up to high

ground and deposited whatever it was

they were burying okay if you can see

that that's the money pit coming down

and the flood tunnel coming out to

Smith's Cove flooding this tunnel I

think he sure was the high-water mark on

there

it sure does - and that's full of urns

treasure cache right there

which puts it above sea level yeah it

was about two to three hundred feet

north of the money paper okay

that was a very simple theory perhaps

but maybe not I mean it look at we'd

love to go out there actually I think

Jack Charles could assist you in some

way yeah okay you put an X we'll punch a

hole I'll be great Laverne would like

that I say we'd go out there today yeah

let's go find a site let's do it

with another new theory to explore the

Oak Island team arrives at the money pit

but unfortunately one of the key

reference points they'll need in order

to test Laverne Johnston's theory no

longer exists the stone triangle which

used to be located due south of the

money pit

well this is the famous money pit Kerry

based on the work that Laverne Johnson

did it came up with an x marks the spot

but you know one little problem we have

is based on the stone triangle where's

that well that's been moved so we're

gonna try to recreate what he did and

come find x marks the spot

hopefully read rill that and find the

vault find the treasure because the apex

of the triangle pointed north directly

toward the money pit it was considered

an important clue unfortunately during

an extensive excavation by Robert

Dunfield in the stone triangle and

all evidence of its precise location was

destroyed if Sean and Mike Harold are

going to find the area where Laverne

Johnson believed the treasure was buried

they will need to lay out a grid over a

wide area and then drill a series of

-foot deep exploratory holes I'm just

trying to find true north which based on

laverne's theory ran directly through

the center of the money pit so is

about up in that direction so we need to

head uphill feet at this heading and

I'd like to see what's up there okay

let's get started

can you call out the distances jack if

you can sure here's so maybe you

guys can keep an eye on to make sure

he's keeping his bearing

okay what's your mark now Jack feet

that's gonna be interesting to see where

he ends up can you see him I

can't see him

what the hey Charles

come here look at this what do you got

it's a drill Drock I think what you see

a drill Drock in the area where Laverne

Johnson believed the original Oak Island

treasure site is located could this be

the same rock that Laverne Johnson used

to develop his incredible theory that's

gonna be inches across right yeah it's

just really weird Charles that this is

great along the Laverne Johnson line I

mean it doesn't look natural obviously

this is man-made because you look we're

in flat areas all around here then

you've got this bump right so let's

continue on you're very close to the

foot level and then we got feet

beyond that so let's see where we land

all right as in Jack and Charles

continue to measure out a distance of

feet for the team's drilling grid

Craig tester along with Oak Island

theorists Mike and Sean Herold join them

okay so this is about feet so we

need to why don't you go use the GPS

and get us our our final spot all right

but right here

there's a little depression right

interior and through here yeah there's

certainly like a like a bowl type

geometry on this that sort of gives it

the appearance that's something settled

or something potentially is collapsed

down below to give this the shape here a

possible collapse below the ground could

this mean that an underground cavern or

possible treasure tunnel lies buried

somewhere below this is if it's just a

little tough getting back in here right

now we might have to cut down these

trees yep could the Oak Island team

really have found where an ancient

treasure vault lies buried some feet

north of the money pit let's go talk to

Rick let him know what what we found out

here oh good great talk him into drill

in here yeah that's a good idea

let's get steel dawn halt figure this

they all four days after Oak Island

theorists Mike and Sean Harold pointed

out the area where treasure hunter

Laverne Johnson believed a treasure

might be found Rick lagina and members

of his team have brought in a coring rig

they are hoping that by drilling a

number of holes based on Johnson's

precise calculations they will be able

to confirm the presence of an

underground cavern or possible treasure

tunnel we came into it with the idea of

drilling holes throughout the grid we've

now drilled on the easterly side in the

westerly side didn't find anything

unfortunately it's only logical now to

drill in the middle of the shaft right

now okay at this point needs a lot of

luck yep not a lot of luck but luck yeah

be nice to get lucky today a tunnel a

shaft the cavity is not gonna stand up

without support ie wood so we're looking

for wood to come up out of the returns

what do you think it is well I say its

own clothes to sleep for me but it's

still not enough to say his bed drop no

right this isn't the right deal so let's

pull up then go to the other one after

drilling down to a depth of feet and

only finding bedrock Rick lagina decides

to move on to one of the other targets

marked in the grid

although Laverne Johnson only dug his

would cribs searcher shaft down to

feet he regretted not digging the shaft

deeper he often wondered if by doing so

he might have found the actual treasure

vault he spent a good deal of his life

looking

I'm just ready to bring out the core now

this is hole number three I hit

something

that was stopped ahead of the cage we're

gonna come out

stock we're stuck right here I hate

restriction at about feet where you

know was would found at a depth of

feet feet deeper than the searcher

shaft dug by Laverne Johnson in

Thorpe like that it could be in the side

of the I think should be running like

that if it's stock Timbers yeah but you

cord like that that is straight up and

down whatever is there

I don't know that it means anything but

this come up but it's only Greg hunka

woods I know but this is below the

cribbing

feet

okay well sue at Charleston this came up

from to feet rank from the records

what do you know about the deafness

well Rick's from the records they dug

this down to feet your circle yes

here's the weird thing

the core came up like

that's interesting

there's no reason to have any wood

standing on end just like we did in

Valley right on the edge right on the

edge of it yeah in the money pit

the side of the box then become

and maybe me

hit the side of

last year while drilling in the money

pit the team found evidence of a

concrete covered wooden vault first

reported by searchers in

concrete and then wood that's the

description that's what they found in

the top of the vault because most

searcher tunnels are made up of wooden

boards stacked horizontally finding a

piece of wood with the grain running

vertically might be significant it could

mean that Rick and the team have found a

structure similar to the one found last

year can't walk away from this with that

little clue I mean so I'm so tired of

little clues but maybe we drill one and

we get something more than a little clue

yeah it's too enticing I think we want

to drill another hole here if the next

core sample turns up more wood and at an

even lower depth then Rick lagina and

his partners may have found evidence of

a tunnel and possibly a treasure vault

just a few yards north of the money pit

exactly where Laverne Johnson predicted

it would be

let's see what howling things after we

drive this car

so as the steel hits the dirt I mean I'm

hopeful whether we dig whether we drill

whether we measure basically I guess I'm

just hopeful

that's feet there

no wood no nothing we're a lover bird

b*at Scrabble we're in a box or

something this should have been a top of

the bottom to it

no boulders there no boulders but no

wood either

yeah the fact that no ward came out of

the coring barrel offers both the

surprise and a disappointment to Rick

lagina and members of his team

it appears the piece of wood they found

was not part of a larger structure in

other woods intriguing we'll grab a

sample you rip the sample we'll send it

off to get tested but I think for right

now at least temporarily we need to step

away from here because we need to do

other things at this point in time yeah

although today's drilling operation

ended disappointingly Rick lagina and

the Oak Island team are determined not

to give up if anything it is only

renewed their determination to focus

their energy on getting to the bottom of

x as well as getting answers

concerning the other evidence the team

is gathered during the last several days

we can't have three four and five things

going on at once it just it's not

practical so we need to focus on the

agenda we laid out earlier in the summer

we need to finish x we've got other

things we need to work on as well and it

you know you start to get unfocused if

you have too many things going on

thanks yep thank you all that for a

little peace

what if it's like you know English

collectable replica I think that's

important opinion it has now been a full

week since Rick Marty and their partners

submitted the mysterious Roman sword for

testing and they are hoping that the

scientific analysis conducted on the

sword will lead to a breakthrough in

solving the Oak Island mystery

and we are here again yep here we are

st. Mary's let's find out about that

sword shall we

they did a light reflection test which

will help determine with his bronze or

brass and then they're doing Raman

spectroscopy examination on and that's

the one that'll get down to the tiny

little details of it it's kind of like a

fingerprint it's got you know all the

different elements what percent of each

element whoa hi nice to meet you

hi Marty dr. Krista Bruce oh he's an

associate professor of chemistry at st.

Mary's University in Halifax Nova Scotia

she is considered one of the leading

experts in the field of electrochemistry

and the study of the chemical

composition of metals welcome to st.

Mary's

there's our artifact there's your

artifact so you left it with me yep

and so we did I would made we did

some tests I'm if it's a replica from a

certain time period in British history

say or French history that might mean

something - okay so you know if it's a

replica as David said made in well

it doesn't mean too much I guess we can

use it to open really big letters I

think it has an interesting story to

tell so okay so before we start if you

can put the lab code okay you know we're

optimists we're optimist aren't we often

miss Rick we're optimist in general so

we're hoping the sword might be a clue

so when people are in dealing with it

what is it a copper alloy artifact

usually the first question they're

interested in is this at bronze or is

this brass right and so based on whether

it's a bronze or brass is really helpful

in terms of dating the object so what we

did is on the back down here at the

polished tip we removed some shavings

filings of the base metal and that

allows us to do basically look at that

composition of the alloy we determined

percent amount of each of the different

metal components the base metal in this

case is it's a compras ink alloy so that

tells us right away that this is a brass

and the higher doesn't content the more

modern the brass so you know modern-day

brass is you can get up percent

zinc what did you find out about it

here's a percent composition of the main

elemental components and so what you see

is the zinc content is fairly high and

so that suggests a modern brass yeah

close to my I think you're looking

at a post date for this for

sure she was basically putting pins and

the balloon we had constructed for

ourselves but at the end of the day dr.

Bruce so I think we both can't do a

understanding that it was not what we

thought it would be or wanted it to be

yeah I didn't really think they were

little pins going into balloons I

thought she was hitting each time with a

bazooka this thing is dead it's

certainly an interesting piece just not

worth anything

what depends who you ask great took a

collector then might be a you know word

productions look you did a great job

Kristen we appreciate it and even though

this is disappointing I mean it it also

it eliminates you know one one idea so

we can narrow in on what's truly pretty

much puts it to bed you know so I think

I think so many weird things that

happened on Oak Island that that this

would have just you know doubled the

weirdness so that made us think it might

be real because it just seems to happen

there yeah okay great wonderful thank

you very much

as Rick Marty Craig and Dave leave the

laboratory at st. Mary's University they

are content to have received some

definitive answers

although the mysterious Roman sword

discovered in the waters of the shores

of Oak Island some years ago turned

out to be a replica and of recent origin

the

that only by testing and then

eliminating theories no matter how wild

or far-fetched they may seem will they

be able to concentrate on evidence that

refuses to be ruled out

and one such piece of evidence involving

the mysterious box drains at Smith's

Cove is about to provide them with an

answer that could put the entire Oak

Island treasure hunting into sharper

focus than ever before

after a week that saw the testing of

both new evidence and old theories Rick

Marty Craig and members of their team

gather in the w*r room to find out if

the recent discovery of eelgrass made at

Smith's Cove might finally produce some

badly needed information in their quest

to solve the Oak Island mystery well

guys I got some data in from Smith's

Cove I think it's pretty interesting

results the eelgrass and this was the

% probability is from and I

think it ties into some of the people's

theories that are around you know

absolutely Craig there's a number of

possibilities that fall under that time

timeframe you think Templars could fit

into that time frame this surely doesn't

exclude them that's for sure this also

ties into the you know more recent

Portuguese possibility that we've heard

him recently the late s it's

interesting that it comes around to the

five credible theories one of which is

Dan Spanish yeah Dan is always been a

believer in right so that's a

pretty intriguing piece of information

because the eelgrass is probably not

more than five hundred and forty-five

years old it seems to challenge many of

the more elaborate theories involving

everyone from the ancient Romans to the

Carthaginians and the Aztecs but it has

also long been theorized that oak island

serves as the hiding place not just for

one treasure but several and at the

ground far beneath the surface of the

island is a maze of booby trapped

tunnels and treasure chambers

perhaps finding the eelgrass does not

invalidate some of the more incredible

theories so much as it helps to validate

some of the more common ones

what's that's great at least it sold its

pre by a long sh*t

I I see it as only a really big

indication that people were here and did

build Smith's Cove especially prior to

the original finding of the money pit

like this is good definitive proof who

would have laid this down for no reason

I agree

no question well done jack you know it's

important data and you were the bearer

of it well done we appreciate it

well thanks Peter and Dan helped a lot

to the fellowship

thanks you you're welcome absolutely

another good piece of the puzzle that's

what it was yep thusly energized we we

go forth and conquer ready

after a week of setbacks and dead ends

brothers Rick and Marty lagina have

finally gotten one of the most hopeful

pieces of information they've received

to date it validates many of the more

persistent theories concerning Oak

Island it also encourages them to stay

positive and remain focused on their

goal to reach the bottom of the money

pit once and for all but how will they

do it by draining the mysterious

triangle-shaped swamp by digging an

enormous hole

won't they reach it by means of a

man-made tunnel

which reportedly lies feet beneath

the island surface

of the dark and mysterious Warhol

as x

next time on the curse of Oak Island

we're back from the money pit we hit a

cabbage

we put it fun it's a piece of metal any

idea what it is it looks like a little

tiny Oak Island John Chatterton is

confident he's gonna go down to the

bottom it's not if we can do it is how

do we do are you at the bottom of