05x15 - Steel Trapped

[bunniefuu]

Tonight on the curse of Oak
Island.

-We're gonna put the camera in.
-On it.

Let's see what this thing is.

DOUG: We come through
all that undisturbed ground

and then hit something man-made.

RICK:
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!

DANNY SMITH:
Damn it.

-Look at that.
-Oh, my goodness.

-That's clearly a keyhole.

Oh, this was how
they smuggled gold.

There was gold under this cross

and the cross
was covered with lead.

So, there's a chance
that they're out

in Smith's Cove still.

You want to rewrite history,
we're rewriting it now.

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...

mysterious fragments
of human bone,

and a lead cross,

whose origin may stretch back

to the days
of 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.

*

Okay, Mike,
what's the good word?

I don't know if we have
any good word right yet, but...

Well, that's not what
I'm looking for.

NARRATOR: For Rick Lagina and
members of the Oak Island team,

excavating the massive shaft,
known as D.M.T.,

has proven to be more difficult
and frustrating than expected.

-That took a beating there.
-Yeah.

You can see where it was beating
the out of it.

That's where that piece is,
right there.

-Yeah.
-Yeah.

-RICK: That really took
a pounding there. -Yeah.

NARRATOR:
One day ago,

after getting the massive,
60-inch-wide drilling caisson

down to a depth
of some 77 feet,

the team from
Irving Equipment Limited

hit what appeared to be a large
and mysterious obstruction.

An obstruction

which not only caused the
powerful rotating oscillator

to malfunction,

but also broke off a number

of the steel caisson's
cutting teeth.

DAVE:
You're , son.

Look at the state of that.
That's been chewed up.

-Oh, no.
-DAVE: 11 out of 36.

We ain't gonna have
no teeth on it.

NARRATOR: In an effort to break
through the mysterious barrier,

the team next used
a four-ton chisel bit,

repeatedly dropping it
into the shaft.

It's strong enough to slow
that thing down on a free fall.

-That's crazy.
-Lots of crazy things happening.

Yeah, I know. I'm learning that.

NARRATOR:
But even with an estimated

62 tons of force
bombarding it,

the obstruction
couldn't be breached.

Yeah, so if it's tearing this
up, that's not good news.

-Nope.
-And you found the teeth.

-Yeah. -So we're just
gonna be gummin' it to death.

But you don't want to move it?

I don't want to move it.

We spent too much time
deliberating

-as to where to put that.
-Yeah.

We think we're on to a target.

Why did it have to be
this hole, though?

Why couldn't it
have been like that

and they just grab onto it
and pull it up?

GARY: Yeah, 'cause nothing
comes easy on Oak Island.

DAVE: Nope. That's for sure,
you know that.

I'm hoping you get through this
and start delivering

some good stuff over there.

NARRATOR: In their effort
to find the exact location

of the original
Oak Island Money Pit,

and with it, the so-called
Chappell Vault,

the seven-foot-tall
wooden structure

first reported
by treasure hunters

William Chappell
and Frerick Blair in 1897,

the Laginas and their partners

have spent months of planning,

and millions
of precious dollars,

in an effort to pinpoint
the most likely drill sights.

Two weeks ago,

while excavating the shaft
known as H-8,

Rick, Marty and the team

were convinced
they had located the vault

at a depth of some 170 feet.

But after attempting
to carefully drill

into what they believed
to be the surface

of the mysterious
wooden structure,

the entire object
appeared to vanish,

as if it had been
pushed out of the way

and sent even further
below ground.

I think, just as important
and expensive as this is,

I would like to see the hole

just, uh, vacuumed out,

and then we can actually
get a visual of a dry hole.

Well, no question about that,
but can you do it?

We use a camera to go down,

if we get the water out,

to see exactly what the casing
is sitting on and where.

A-And then we'll just...

That would,
that'll be a guarantee.

-So, you'd drop that submersible
in there? -Yep.

RICK: I suppose if you
can do that, yeah.

See with our own eyes.

But I think what we're
gonna do for you first.

Obviously, we got
to bring it up,

because we got to get
that section off

and put the ten-foot back on,

so that we can work
at a comfortable height.

There's nothing better
than eyes and boots.

Absolutely.

NARRATOR:
In order to examine the nature

of the obstruction firsthand,
the Oak Island team

will next pump water and sludge
out of the D.M.T. shaft,

so that it can be explored
with a remote camera.

We need to determine the
orientation of the obstruction,

if not determine what it is
and address it somehow.

But I've always believed

that the best way to make
that type of determination

is eyes and boots
on the ground.

We can all-all believe that
it'd be all the sweeter

finding something
after all this hassle.

MIKE JARDINE:
Man, I hope it pays out.

It will.
I can feel it in my bones.

NARRATOR:
Later that day,

as the Irving team prepares

for pumping operations
at the dig site...

Well, look who's here.

Hey!

NARRATOR:
Rick and Marty Lagina,

along with metal detection
expert Gary Drayton,

welcome author
and Knights Templar researcher,

Kathleen McGowan Coppens,
to the island.

-Hi, Rick, so good to see you.
Good to see you.

-Welcome. -Every time I see you,
it's raining, what is this?

Hi. Gary Drayton.

-Very, very nice to meet you,
Gary. -Pleased to meet you.

-Hello.
-Gary's our metal detector guy

-who happened to find the cross,
along with Rick. -Oh, fantastic!

Well, look, I know you have

a bunch of information
for us, correct?

-I do. I'm excited to show it
to you. -All right.

Do you want to go right on into
the w*r room and get into it?

-Absolutely. Okay.
-Let's do that then.

NARRATOR:
It was three years ago

that Marty and Alex Lagina
first arranged to meet

with Kathleen McGowan Coppens
in Montségur, France,

while investigating
possible connections

between the Knights Templar
and the Oak Island mystery.

ALEX:
Well, this is it, huh?

This is... this would've been
the main part of the castle.

It's been rebuilt
since the Cathars were here.

So, what I'm gonna
show you is that

this is where
they took the treasure.

Down the mountain,
on a pulley system,

and landing safely
in Templar hands.

NARRATOR: It was during
this trip to France

that Kathleen
presented the team

with compelling evidence

that members
of the Knights Templar,

facing persecution
under King Philip IV of France,

fled first to Scotland,

and later sailed
to the New World,

taking with them
priceless religious artifacts,

such as the Holy Grail
and the Ark of the Covenant.

It is her belief
that these sacred objects

along with the Templar's
vast accumulations

of gold and jewels,

were buried on Oak Island
for safekeeping.

In the wake of Rick Lagina's
recent discovery

of a lead cross
at Smith's Cove,

a cross that
is nearly identical

to a 14th century Templar
carving in Domme, France,

the team has invited Kathleen

to come and see
the cross in person,

in the hopes that she can
shed more light

on the artifact's true origin.

Oh, so happy to see you all.
It's great to be here.

Kathleen has a wealth
of knowledge about, uh...

Templars and castles

and medieval connections
to things.

We obviously have something

that we consider to be
very important to show you.

I'm dying to see it.

It's time to blow you away.

-Ooh! -Yeah, hoping you feel
the same way I felt

when I first held this
in my hand.

-There you go.
-Oh, my gosh.

Ooh.

Wow.

-We're gonna put the camera in.
-I'm on it.

NARRATOR:
While waiting for operations

at the Money Pit area
to resume...

-GARY: Stunning.
-It's, it is stunning.

NARRATOR: ...author
and Templar researcher,

Kathleen McGowan Coppens,

has come to Oak Island
to make an in-person evaluation

of the mysterious lead cross

that Rick Lagina
and Gary Drayton found buried

at Smith's Cove
just two weeks ago.

You know, obviously,
I saw photos of it

and I was working from a photo,

but, um, holding it is, uh,

a completely different
experience, isn't it?

GARY:
Yeah, it's unbelievable.

There are a lot of
representations of lead crosses

that span a-a large timeframe.

And that can be anywhere
from, you know,

the early third and fourth
century through the, you know,

12th, even into the 13th,
14th century for lead.

So there are a lot
of different kinds of crosses.

Nothing exactly like this,

but there are some
similar versions out there.

And all of them, really old.
From those days.

Well, and I believe
that this is...

-really old, potentially.
-Yeah.

Alex and I, and my nephew Peter,

had been to France.

We had gone to
Rochefoucauld castle

and also Domme, where Templars
were held in a prison there.

And it is...
it is more than similar.

It is an exact representation
of that figurine.

-I believe Alex has some
photographs. -Yeah, I actually,

I have a photo right here, so
I can show you the similarity.

This is, uh, on the left is a
carving in the wall at Domme,

which was the Templar prison,
and on the right, obviously,

is a photo of that artifact.

-But the side-by-side
is amazing. -RICK: Striking.

KATHLEEN:
Dramatic.

Yeah, it is amazing.

As usual, Oak Island gives us
a lot more questions

-than it gives us answers.
-DAVE: Of course.

But I think that we're being led

to some really amazing
questions.

So, what I did when I was sent
pictures of the cross is

I got in touch with
our Templar friends in Europe,

some of whom you know.

-You've met, uh, Tobi Dobler.
-MARTY: Yes.

Tobi, yes.
I remember him well.

The grand master of the
Knights Templar in France.

NARRATOR: While visiting
Rennes-le-Château

in Southern France
three years ago,

Kathleen arranged for Marty
and his son Alex

to meet with modern day Templar
Grand Master Tobi Dobler.

It was his extensive knowledge
in the ancient order

that gave further credence
to Kathleen's theory--

that a large number of Templars
escaped persecution in Europe

and eventually made their way
to Oak Island,

more than seven centuries ago.

If you were gonna look for the
treasure of the Knights Templar,

right now today, you would look
on Oak Island?

I sent him a picture of this,
and I said, "What do you think?"

And he sent me an explanation

and this very interesting
drawing here.

His first thought was that
perhaps there was gold

under this cross, and that
the cross was covered with lead.

What Tobi showed me was that

the Templars would create
these sort of

what they called pastels,
these sort of rhomboid shapes,

which they would create
out of gold,

and then they would cover it
with lead.

And they would wear them
on cords around their necks,

and that sometimes
they would wear

a central piece in the middle.

So, imagine this as a cross
on a Templar cord

and then surrounded by
these-these pastels,

these rhomboid shapes.

But this was how
they smuggled gold,

and got it out
of the country in a,

in a very safe way without being
detected by guardians.

Tobi was very excited
when he saw this

because the shape of the hole
is the same shape

that was used in the rhomboids
that were found.

And so that was one of the first
things that he, he looked at.

So I just thought
it was very interesting

that his first thought was that
this might have been

part of a Templar necklace that
was used to move gold.

So there's a chance that there's

some of those gold rhomboids

that are out
in Smith's Cove still?

I certainly think so.

Are they gonna be lead,
or are they gonna be gold?

-They're gonna be lead
over gold, we hope. -All right.

Now you're cooking, Gary.

-It is heavy for its size.
-It is heavy.

-It really is.
-I think it's time for us

to go back out there, Gary.

-I hope so.

As far as Oak Island
is concerned,

I've always tried to keep
a very open mind,

and Kathleen has provided us
with some information

that appears to be
highly relevant.

She's a wealth of knowledge
about Medieval everything,

and in particular, she's been
fascinated with the Templars.

She has read a lot,
she's researched a lot.

And there's a possibility
that it's gold inside

this little lead cross.

At this point,
we have to take her word for it.

And she is, as Marty said,
eminently qualified

to speak on such subjects.

Now, you were just in Domme,

but are you aware that
the neighboring town

is called Sarlat

-I did not know that when we
were there. -No, we did not.

We are sitting, right now,
in Nova Scotia,

a place known as New Scotland.

Are we also sitting in a place

that is essentially New Canada?

This idea that there is
essentially a Canada

right next to Domme, which is
where the Templars were,

I think is something worth
looking at.

What if we're looking at
a potentially different idea

for how Canada becomes Canada?

NARRATOR: It has been widely
accepted that Canada

first got its name from the
16th century French explorer

Jacques Cartier, who reportedly
began referring to the area

using the Iroquois word
"kanata,"

meaning "village"
or "settlement."

By the 1700s, fueled by
the spread of the fur trade,

the area known as "Canada"
had grown to refer to all

French-controlled lands
in North America.

But could the name actually
have a much different origin,

as Kathleen McGowan suggests--

one first given to the region

by members
of the Knights Templar?

I did not realize that we were
so close to "Canada"

when we were in Domme.

-Yes.

-ALEX: I'm willing to buy that.
-Sure.

The alternate origin story
for Canada's name.

You know, the connection
with the French is strong enough

that I don't have any
trouble with that.

So, if we're looking
at a different timeline,

and we're saying that the region
was discovered

much earlier than that--
say 300 years earlier--

then I think we have to
start looking at

possibly different
origin stories

for some of the etymology.

Rick, you want to
rewrite history,

-well, we're rewriting it now.
-Exactly.

MARTY:
It's an interesting fact

that this word "Canada"
appears there.

It's one of the strange things
about Oak Island

that somehow you can make these
quasi-coherent,

quasi-logical connections
to so many things

that it just boggles the mind.

So those are my
initial thoughts.

Obviously, there's a lot more
research to be done,

and-and more digging to do,
literally and figuratively,

but I think it's so exciting.

I think this is an amazing
artifact, and I think

it's a potential missing link
to a huge part

of what this island is,
and what it means.

Let's see where it leads us,
right?

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

NARRATOR: Although determining
the exact origin and age

of the cross will still require
weeks of further testing,

Kathleen's research has
provided Rick, Marty,

and the team
with information that helps

to validate their gut instinct

that it is both very old
and of Templar origin.

Her visit also assures them
that they may be close

to a breakthrough--
one that supports

all the reasons they came to
Oak Island in the first place.

When I was a little boy,
I believed

that there was
a wonderful story here.

Far and away exceeds the value
of any temporal treasure,

and I think ththtreasure
is the story.

But I believed it then,
and I believe it now.

MARTY:
Well, listen,

I am positive I speak
for everybody

when I thank you profusely
for coming here,

sharing all this research
you've done.

But here's the part I think...

well, no, I know
you're gonna want to hear.

Now is the good part.
Let's go back,

let's have a look
at all these things.

I am certain you're eager
to do so.

Uh, Rick and Gary and I will
show you around the island,

and, uh, I would love to know
your feelings about it

-as we do so.
-Music to my ears. Let's go.

-Let's do it.
-Let's do it.

NARRATOR: Before Kathleen
departs the island,

Rick, Marty and Gary
take her to Smith's Cove

to visit the site
of their potentially

history-changing discovery.

The hole should be
there somewhere.

RICK:
Careful. Be very careful.

Where was we?
It's probably changed a bit now.

I think it was somewhere
around here,

Yeah.
-Somewhere in here, yeah.

Didn't you do significant
digging in this region

the last year?

We did a bunch, Kathleen.

We dug all over here,

and it's entirely possible

that we unearthed that cross.

We would never have seen it.

We weren't metal detecting then.

That's not what we
were looking for.

-Right.
-Well, all this entire area,

I'm gonna go over again.

So, how challenging is this?

What kind of plan
do you have to create

to really exhaust this area?

MARTY:
Well, superficially, it's easy.

But the problem is if we put
any kind of machinery in here,

which it may come to if we want
to move this stuff around,

we got some pretty significant

permitting issues
to jump through.

The problem comes down to
permitting, as Marty just said,

and David's issue with that
little pond that's out there--

the Atlantic Ocean.

Oh, that pond.

Yeah. There's no doubt
in my mind

that there's more here.

That-that cross is so important,

but it's also-- I think it's
the beginning, not the end.

Good.

We're gathering little bits of
information, collating them,

assimilating them,
putting the Templar clues here,

putting the Rosicrucian
or Freemasonry clues here.

Putting this-- these piece,
puzzle pieces here.

And with people's help,
like Kathleen,

I think we're all compiling
the proper puzzle pieces.

I think together,
we will finally get there.

It's amazing.
There's more-- I--

there's more stuff here,
gentlemen.

I know it, I feel it.

Keep digging, guys.

-I like the way you think.

-Scrappy piece of metal.

Jack Begley and island
historian Charles Barkhouse

oversee the team's
pumping operation

to clear an estimated
7,300 gallons of water

out of the D.M.T. shaft.

We're gonna put the pump in
and try to...

-Yeah.

NARRATOR: If successful,
the team is hoping to expose--

and hopefully identify--
the object that has so far

blocked their efforts
to drill beyond some 77 feet.

Heads up.

MIKE J.:
You got it.

-SCOTT: We're on the bottom now.
-DANNY: Sweet!

MIKE J.:
We're ready to rock!

NARRATOR: While the pump begins
to empty the water

out of D.M.T.,

Rick and Marty Lagina,

along with metal detection
expert Gary Drayton,

arrive at Lot 8
near the middle of the island.

Hey, Gary. The sun has come out,
we got a little bit of time,

let's find something.

-That's a good sign.
-I think so.

-MARTY: You got
your lucky digger. -Yep.

NARRATOR: Today, they are
continuing their search

of the areas surrounding
property owned by Tom Nolan,

son of the late Oak Island
treasure hunter Fred Nolan.

These are basically 50 years
of his work,

you know, his survey work
down on the island.

NARRATOR: It was just two weeks
ago that Tom agreed to work

in concert
with the Oak Island team,

granting them
unprecedented access

to both his father's
detailed maps,

as well as the Nolan property
where Fred made

some of his most
intriguing discoveries.

There's just something
I wanted to show you.

It's a key.

I've never seen anything
like that before.

We have no understanding
of the skeleton key.

I don't know what it means.

I never got to speak
with Fred about it.

But Fred has gone on record
as saying that he has found--

at least, it's his belief--

that he found 11 places
on the island

where he thought that subsurface
treasure had been recovered.

What else might be out there?

NARRATOR: It was Fred Nolan's
belief that the key

to solving the Oak Island
mystery could be found

by examining clues located
on the surface of the island,

as opposed to dozens
of feet below ground.

In his efforts
to survey and map

all 140 acres of the island,

he marked several areas
where he believed

near-surface treasures
were once deposited,

and later retrieved.

After carefully studying one
of Fred's elaborate maps,

Rick has identified Lot 8

as an area that may yield
significant finds.

MARTY: What a pretty day
this turned into.

GARY:
Yeah, it is.

MARTY: Any time we can
go along with Gary,

it's fun, you know, that's like,
it's a mini treasure hunt

in the big treasure hunt,

and every chance we get,
we're gonna do it.

Any day you go metal detecting
is a good day.

MARTY: I've never used
any metal detector.

Except that green one I have
to find nails in trees.

Yeah, this 17-inch coil
makes a difference.

You get better depth,
and coverage as well.

Eh...

That's a scrappy iron signal.

I'm using a little bit
of discrimination.

We'll just go
for the good targets.

Well, this is a good sign,
we're getting into some iron.

'Cause often,
you've got to find the trash

before you can find
the treasure.

-That should be up on the wall.

That doesn't sound too bad,
does it?

Oh, I'll try pinpointing it.

I'm getting it, now.

Oh.

Scrappy piece of metal.

:
Oh, no, it isn't.

Look at that.

-It's a little ornate...
-Oh, my goodness.

...lock plate?

-That's clearly a keyhole.

I mean, we're looking
for treasure chests.

That, clearly,
was an embossed keyhole.

Very ornate, isn't it?

-Yeah, beautiful.
-And... oh, yeah,

this is like a little flower.
See that?

-That's a flower.
-GARY: Yeah, I see the flower

on the left-hand side.

-Right there.

RICK:
Oh, yeah.

GARY:
It looks like a rose.

MARTY:
Huh.

It's just right here
in the middle of nowhere?

-I mean, really. What's it doing
here? -I don't know.

It's not something
a farmer would've dropped

or a trader or a fur trader,
or anything.

I mean, it looks
like it's part of a chest.

NARRATOR:
A chest?

Could this lock plate

have come from one
of the three missing chests

that once belonged
to Captain James Anderson

and rumored to have been buried
on Oak Island?

And if so,
could it also be connected

to the mysterious skeleton key
found by Fred Nolan

and given to Rick Lagina
just two weeks ago?

MARTY:
Honestly, I was quite excited

about the key cover
that Gary found,

because if I can equate them
to mundane things like farmers

and tradesmen
and things like that,

you know,
the utilitarian stuff,

then, it doesn't
really mean much,

but it's hard
to picture a farmer

having an ornate
key lock cover.

So, you know, you immediately
jump to "this was on a chest."

It's somewhat asymmetrical.

This does not match that at all.

The significance, I think,
of being asymmetric

is that I think
this is handmade.

-Oh, I see. -Yeah, I mean
somebody hammered this out.

-RICK: Right.
-MARTY: It's very cool.

I know that Fred had said
to many people over the years

that he had found up to 11 sites
where he thought

that subsurface treasure
had been recovered.

Something had been dug
from underground.

He always claimed that he had
an actual piece of a chest,

-reinforced with iron rods.
-I remember hearing that, yeah.

Let's keep this in mind;

you need to search
this area real well.

We need to find out
what was in there.

-Yeah.
-Yeah. Okay, great.

All right, mate,
top pocket find.

MARTY:
Top pocket find. Good job.

GARY: All right, let's see
if there's anything else

in the area.

TONY P.:
Just let her down a bit more.

today brings high hopes
that they will finally be able

to find out just what it is

that has been blocking their
progress in the D.M.T. shaft.

RICK:
How deep are you?

DANNY:
So 74 feet.

RICK:
And you've got to get to...?

DANNY:
77 feet.

NARRATOR: The Irving drill crew
has spent the past two days

disassembling the steel
caissons and draining water

out of the 77-foot shaft

in order to lower a camera down
and identify the barrier.

Danny, this is Marty's son,
Alex.

-Hey.

Good. Good to meet you.

Good to meet you.

We've got about four more feet
of water in there

we're gonna try to get out.

ALEX:
I mean, this is great.

We'll know
what we're looking at.

RICK: Once we've... figure out
what this obstruction--

and its orientation,

if we feel like we can
get past the obstruction,

whether or not
we go down there, and...

maybe somebody goes down and
puts the proper sling on it,

we might be able to pull it.

Watch yourself.

If we can latch onto it,
if we can see it,

even if we can
just determine orientation.

-Uh-huh. -I think there's
something down here,

but "X" marks the spot right
there, that's where we are.

RICK: I don't want to move,
because I believe

that we're in the area
of investigation,

i.e. where is the vault?

Hey, Danny.

We're showing 87.3

-in the center.
-Great.

We'll dip out as much
of the dirt as we can,

take more water out.

The obstruction
is right at the water level.

Definitely have
a visual really quick here,

'cause right at the water
surface is where it is.

So it's almost like
we can almost see it.

I know for a fact
we'll be able to see that

from up here, and if you wanted
to put the camera down.

-I think we should put
the camera down. -'Cause it's,

'cause it's gonna be...
yeah, there'd be no water.

-That'd be really,
really interesting. -Yep.

NARRATOR: Assisting the team
are remote camera specialists

Tony and Nick Peverill.

They will be using the Spectrum
120 high-definition camera,

which offers a 360-degree view
of underwater environments

to depths
of up to 1,000 feet.

DANNY:
Any more water we take out,

that's gonna be
really, really helpful.

Now we have a plan.
Let's do this.

De-water, camera
and then make some decisions.

-Very good, very good.

NARRATOR: Because the water
in the bottom of the shaft

is full of silt and sediment,

it must be cleared out before
the camera can be inserted.

RICK:
Is that a hard bottom?

That's something hard.

We don't know
if it's steel or rock.

RICK: It looks as dry
as it's gonna get.

MIKE J.: I think we should
go in with a camera right now.

Oh, you want to take
a look

I think so.
I think so right now.

Okay, well,
let's get it rigged up.

Dan, we're gonna
put the camera in.

All right. I'm on it.

I'm hoping for wood.

-We've encountered zero wood.
-Yeah.

-So it sounds like we're where
a shaft's never been. -Yes.

We want to find out
what this obstruction is.

Is it wood

Is it something else?

If it's not searcher,
it's original.

It would have meant that there
was a human presence

at those depths.

And today, we will come
to a greater understanding

of what the obstruction is.

Well, I'm hoping that,
at this point,

we're not looking for clues.

We're looking for the one thing.

Yes, yes.

If we encounter wood,
it has to be a tunnel.

Oh, yeah, right, right.

NARRATOR: Could the obstruction
be the top of a hidden chamber,

or the cover
to some kind of tunnel?

Perhaps one built to access
the original Money Pit?

Going down?

Go down.

Of all the holes that we did
other than H-8,

which showed us things,

this is the most
promising location.

Yeah.

Danny, put it down a bit more?

Yep.

There?

Try to see what this thing is.

CHARLES:
There's not much water there.

DOUG: Does that look
like a clump of mud,

or does it look
like an end of a timber?

-Yeah.

ALEX:
It's just a rock.

JACK:
I think that's a rock, yeah.

Amazing how that clay keeps

-all the water out, huh,
isn't it? -Mm-hmm.

What is this thing?

We have clay bottom.

We have rock.

But I saw nothing down there
that would give us

some understanding
of what this obstruction is.

I don't know how you guys think,
but I think we've seen enough,

or at least what
we're gonna see.

I think we need to go down there
and check it out.

NARRATOR: Although the team is
getting a high-definition view

of the D.M.T. shaft,

the large amount
of mud and clay

still lying
at the bottom of the hole

has made visibility difficult.

And, to make matters worse,

the shaft is starting
to take in water.

ALEX: See there's water
coming in right there?

-RICK: Oh, yeah. -ALEX: I see
the bottom of the casing.

JACK: Are those the holes
for the teeth

right around the sides?

RICK:
There aren't any teeth.

JACK:
Yeah, we're gumming it.

ALEX:
I see nothing.

RICK:
Whoa, whoa, whoa!

Pull up the camera.

-Pull her up.

CHARLES:
Wow, look at that.

-That ain't good.
-No.

What?
If that is indeed
a Whoa, whoa, whoa.l,

Damn it.

NARRATOR:
In a matter of just seconds,

the 87-foot-tall D.M.T. shaft

has filled to the level of
the water table or tide line.

But is it really coming
from the ocean

or somewhere else
deep underground?

In 1804, members of the Onslow
Company excavated the Money Pit

through nine platforms
of oak timbers

down to a level of 90 feet.

It was here that
they reportedly encountered

a grayish-green stone slab

covered
with strange hieroglyphs.

Upon removing the stone,
the pit flooded with seawater

from a tunnel later found
to originate at Smith's Cove.

Since then,
every attempt to get

to the bottom of the Money Pit
has been thwarted

by what many believe
to be an elaborate network

of flood tunnels
and booby traps,

all designed
to protect whatever lies

at the bottom of the pit.

Could this be
what is happening now?

Could the drilling caisson
have penetrated

one of the original
booby

ALEX:
Did you measure it, Mike?

MIKE J.:
Scott measured it.

It's 33 feet from the ground
or something,

like it's always been.

Wow, that was quick.

RICK:
I mean, it's disappointing.

Oak Island has...

is a tough adversary,
if you will.

But, as we always do,

we move forward.

Problem is, we have--
we're no further along

in terms of where is this thing.

Well, hopefully by probing,
we can...

would've been nice
to been probing in the dry,

but, you know, 'cause you
could've physically seen

where it was going exactly,
but...

Let's see
what this probing does.

NARRATOR: The team
from Irving Equipment Limited

will now use
a 25-foot-long piece of steel,

known as an H-beam,

to investigate the bottom
of the D.M.T. shaft.

Using a process
known as probing,

the team will use the beam
in the bottom of the shaft

in order to determine
the size, surface area

and orientation
of the obstruction.

Let's go to the center.

And if it's there, we're gonna
go 12 inches to the left.

Good and solid there.

So, then the question is
what is this?

Yeah, exactly.

You know, could be a piece
of cast steel.

NARRATOR: After probing
the bottom of the D.M.T. shaft,

it is Mike Jardine's assessment

that the obstruction
is most likely made of steel.

If true, it could mean

the object was
placed there deliberately

and hundreds of years ago,
as no existing records mention

the use of steel
by previous treasure hunters.

We've been talking
about this, Rick.

I mean, undisturbed ground
down to there

and you hit on
to something that big,

that he feels is certain
is cast iron or

Is-is this, is this shoring up
the roof of a tunnel?

It could be something
other than that.

You're in the vicinity
of the 90-foot level

that the original Money Pit was
supposed to have flooded at.

-Right, with this, with this
elevation change. -Yeah.

What, I mean, if that is indeed

a big piece of cast iron
or metal at that depth,

how would it get there?

What do you think, Danny?

Um, I just, I... now I know why

the loader bucket
had hot material in it.

That much friction.

Do you think
this is solid metal?

The teeth are all gone
on my can, I'm gonna say yeah.

RICK: I don't know what
to make of this assessment,

that they are encountering
a steel plate at 90 feet.

Well, 90 feet is where the stone
was found in the Money Pit,

where the... where they were
just above the treasure vault.

So, it's an interesting
concept, but prove it.

So, that's where we're at.

That's what we need to assess.

So, if it is, it's intriguing.

It is very intriguing.

Why is it there?

NARRATOR: As the sun sets
on Oak Island...

Okay, well, look, guys.

We have a decision to make.

...Rick Lagina and members
of the Oak Island team

gather in the w*r room
for an emergency meeting.

The shutdown
at the Money Pit site

is costing in excess
of $20,000 per day

and they must now decide
whether to abandon the dig

or find another way
to keep the operation going.

Our options are
somewhat limited.

Um, so I think we should
give Marty and Craig a call

-and find out what their
opinion is. -All right.

I'll get them on the screen.

NARRATOR: Joining the meeting
via video conference

from their offices
in Traverse City, Michigan

are Rick's brother, Marty,

and their friend and business
partner, Craig Tester.

Hey, guys.

-Ah, the fellowship.
-Hello.

RICK:
Indeed. Um...

reason for the call is, uh,

you know, we're kind of, uh,
kind of stymied right now.

We're on this obstruction.

The question is,

is it on a steel plate at...

Pre-Dunfield, we would be
right around 90 feet.

-Okay.
-Here's the problem.

We dropped a camera down there,

and we don't see...

we don't see
this supposed steel plate.

We could see from the camera

that there were no teeth
on the can any longer,

but almost immediately,
mud came in,

and then water poured in,
and in a matter of seconds,

it came up
to static water level.

So we-we lost the opportunity
to go down there in the dry.

-So, the question is...
-So, you're back...

you're back full of water?

Yes. So, the question is,

what-what are our options
right now?

-Okay. -We have preliminarily
looked into getting a diver,

Mike Huntley, to go down hole.

NARRATOR:
Over the past few years,

veteran diver Mike Huntley

has made a number
of exploratory dives

on Oak Island,

including one conducted
earlier this year

in the C-1 shaft.

We have zero visibility now.

We're totally reliant
on what you find. Over.

NARRATOR:
His knowledge and experience--

especially when navigating
zero visibility situations--

has proved invaluable

to the team's
underwater search efforts.

MARTY:
I would do that. Look, Rick,

to go down there "in the dry,"

I think, is mondo dangerous.

Very, very dangerous. To go down

with the static fluid level
on the inside,

I don't think
is dangerous at all.

I mean, not any more
than a normal dive.

-Right. -So, I think
his task is very simple.

What is it stopping this can?

Yeah, Mike basically said
he's available whenever,

but, of course,
it's logistics here.

He needs to-to mob
and get here and...

Yeah, well, tell him
to get after it.

As soon as possible
would be great.

Well, I think it's going to be
very interesting

if the diver can prove it
to be a plate.

I think it's going to be
a very interesting target.

-Yes.
-Hey, look, if it's a plate,

it could be hugely significant.

-Yep.
-It could be the plate

that covers the catch

-that we're looking for.
-All right.

RICK:
Not giving up.

Not at all, not in the least.

I still believe
we'll be successful.

I still believe there's
something there to be found.

Not giving up.

We'll get on arranging the dive,

and we'll keep you up-to-date.

-Thanks.
-All right. See you.

-See you.
-See you later.

NARRATOR:
For Rick, Marty and the team,

what started as a summer
of incredible opportunities

has once again been threatened

by a severe setback.

But one thing
experience has taught them:

giving up is not an option...

and that just when the island
seems unwilling

to unlock its secrets,

something unexpected
is bound to happen.

Something like the discovery
of a human bone

or a mysterious lead cross,

whose origins
may lead to a treasure

far greater
than any ever imagined.

Next time on
The Curse of Oak Island...

You did work
out in Smith's Cove.

DAN B.: That was put in
by the original people.

RICK: There are pictures,
there are measurements,

but no one has been able
to solve the mystery.

-Yeah, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
-Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

CHARLES:
Right there. That's old.

That has a 45 cut in it.

MARTY:
This is a structure.

There's no doubt about that.

What the heck is this?

-Look at that. That's a beauty.
-Oh, wow. Look at that.

-Wow.
-GARY: That is a bobby dazzler.

MARTY:
That's a fantastic gemstone.

-This is treasure.
-Congratulations, guys.