07x05 - Tunnel Visions

[bunniefuu]

Tonight on
The Curse of Oak Island...

Okay, so where is this thing?

We can follow that trail,
it'll lead us directly

‐to the Money Pit.
‐Oh, wow. ‐There it is.

That's a look back in time,
boys 159 years.

This next one should be
right where we want to be.

The French moved their treasure
out of Louisbourg

and stuck it on this island.

So, you're actually looking for
some kind of a French treasure.

Here comes our next core.

This could be it, man.
‐What's that?

‐Ho! What the...
‐We got it.

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.

We're ready to begin.

As a new day begins
on Oak Island,

brothers Rick and Marty Lagina
and members of their team

believe they are finally
on the verge of locating

the main flood tunnel
that runs between Smith's Cove

and the original Money Pit.

We're looking for some sort
of man‐made connection

between Smith's Cove
and the Money Pit.

Specifically,
is there really a flood tunnel?

Where is it?

Is there a convergence point

where the box drains
came together?

There has to be
a connection to it.

If there's a tunnel,
we can follow it.

‐Hey, Doug.
Gentlemen.

‐Hi, Doug. How you doing?
‐Good. Good.

We're just talking about
Cave‐In Pit 2 here

and what we're hoping to find.

‐Cave‐In Pit 2?
‐Yes.

This one's a little closer
to the Money Pit,

but still within that same GPR

ground‐penetrating radar
anomaly.

I know when Craig had
a spot of interest, it was more

to this side of the Cave‐In Pit.

And we are a little bit
on the northern side of it.

We have some
interesting anomalies

five meters down,
seven meters back.

After using ground‐penetrating
radar, or GPR,

earlier this year,
the data collected

revealed the possible presence
of a tunnel

as much as 100 feet deep
beneath the area

between Smith's Cove
and the Money Pit site.

‐Here we go.
‐All right.

The Oak Island team then began

to drill several
exploratory boreholes

just above the beach in an
effort to verify the results

and find hard evidence that
a tunnel does, in fact, exist.

Oh, yeah. We got some
good chunks in here.

Probably of beams.

One week ago,

in the area between the beach
and an old sinkhole

known as the Cave‐In Pit,

a section of hand‐cut
wooden beams

were discovered at a depth
of more than 50 feet.

The most likely time period,
if you will,

is from 1735 to 1784.

‐Yes.

‐ Perfect.
‐ When tested,

these wooden beams
were determined

to date as far back
as the 1730s.

Based on this evidence,
it is the team's belief

that they may have finally
located the main flood tunnel.

If true, it means that finding
the original Money Pit

could be accomplished
within a matter of days.

Finding the real flood tunnel
has been one of my goals

since we stepped foot
on this island.

I mean, if there really is
a flood tunnel,

then everything else
seems like it could be true.

It'd be greater
than an aha moment.

It‐it might be...

It might be the one thing.

Hey, guys.

‐Hey, Jack. How you doing?
‐Hey, Jack.

‐Any good news?
‐No news yet.

‐Not yet. We're not too deep.
‐Okay.

Our target depth is in
and around 100. 100 feet.

How many times, Paul,
have past searchers

hit this flood tunnel that leads

between the Money Pit
and Smith's Cove?

‐It's only been a handful of times, so...
‐Really?

In 1897,

while excavating
what they believed to be

the original Money Pit,

members of the Oak Island
Treasure Company

intercepted what they reported

to be one of the fabled flood
tunnels at a depth of 111 feet.

Measuring nearly three feet
wide by four feet high,

it was made of hard clay

packed with sand
and smooth beach stones.

But shortly after
the tunnel was exposed,

ocean water began
rushing into it,

causing the shaft to cave in.

How many more cores do you think
before we give up? Two more?

Good. They could be deeper

‐than we think.
Yep.

All right. Here it comes.

Come on, sausage!

Okay!

Look out.

What depth are we at, Terry?

This is, uh... this sample
in front of us is 99 to 109.

We are now down
to the target zone.

Oh. What's that, guys?

‐That's sand.
‐Ho! What the...?

This could be it, man.

Wow.

We haven't passed through
any kind of a sand like this.

Seems to be out of place.

‐Really?
‐This could be it.

This sand could be
the manifestation

‐of a bygone tunnel.
‐ No way.

We just went from
highly consolidated soils

into four feet of sand.

The flood tunnel was reported
to be four feet by three feet.

It matches
the historic descriptions

of a sand‐filled tunnel.

A sand‐filled tunnel?

Packed with hard clay
and found some 100 feet deep

beneath the Cave‐In Pit area?

Could it be connected to the
tunnel discovered one week ago

near Smith's Cove?

And, if so, could it mean
the team has successfully

intercepted another part

of the Money Pit's
legendary flood tunnel system?

I haven't seen anything
quite like this.

I usually try not
to get too excited

about these things,
but this excites me.

I think this is a tunnel.

‐We got it.
‐Why don't we give Marty a call,

‐let him know about this?
‐I think so.

Hey, Marty. This is Jack.

Good. We think we found
the flood tunnel

that leads from Smith's Cove
to the Money Pit.

And we'd like to show you guys
if you could come up here.

All right. Awesome, Marty.
I'll see you soon.

Finding the flood tunnel
would be huge to me.

If the data is suggesting
the flood tunnel really exists,

then maybe we can find it.

That's exciting.

I'd like to see
how it interacts

or interfaces with the other

information we have
in the Money Pit.

It's a beautiful day
on Oak Island.

It's beautiful now.

All right, Jack.
You tell me we've made

a major discovery.
Lay it on me.

Well, I think you're gonna think
this is pretty major.

We think, in this four feet,
that we encountered

part of the flood tunnel system.

Based on?

That is extremely uniform sand.

With the tight till above
and below, this could've been...

you know,
this could be a tunnel.

You know, the irony of it is

there is no wood.

You know what, Rick?

Actually,
if I was given the task

of building a flood tunnel

and it was in this stuff,
I wouldn't crib it.

‐No. ‐You know,
if you're given the task

of creating something
that's supposed to last

500 years, a thousand years,

cribbing ain't gonna last.

If you pack it with sand,

that'll stay a long time.

Yeah. The alignment
is great, too.

Uh, there's a line all the way

from the center
of the U‐shaped structure,

and then where we are there
right now,

there's a perfect alignment all
the way back to the Money Pit.

Wow.

A perfect line?

To the Money Pit?

Could this core sample

matching
historical descriptions

of the legendary flood tunnel

mean that the team
is one major step closer

to reaching
the fabled Oak Island treasure?

So, there might actually be
something there

if we dig it out
a little further.

Yeah.
‐ Absolutely.

‐Yeah.
‐Look, it might tell us a story

‐right away.
‐That's what we're hoping.

‐ Let's get it done.
‐ Yep.

While drilling
an exploratory borehole

near the area
known as the Cave‐In Pit,

Jack Begley, Terry Matheson,

Doug Crowell and Paul Troutman

believe they have found
strong evidence

of the main flood tunnel
that leads from Smith's Cove

directly to the original
Money Pit treasure shaft.

But although the evidence
is impressive,

they will need to drill
at least one more hole

in order to verify

their potentially
game‐changing find.

Okay. So, where are we gonna
set up to drill?

‐Where's the next hole?
Yeah, where's the next hole?

‐That's a good point. Well...
Well, are we gonna follow

your thing
and step off to the side?

‐That's what I want to do.
‐The rig's right here.

‐I mean, that's moving it...
‐I'd go...

‐Five feet.
‐Five feet. ‐Yeah.

‐Yeah.
Moving away

five feet
is a good idea to start,

and then we'll see
what we come across.

Well, let's confirm this,

and then we move on.

Eager to confirm

that they have, in fact,

found the path
of the original flood tunnel,

the Oak Island team
will now drill another borehole

five feet to the west

along the same line.

Brennan, I don't hear
that machine running.

I know. I want to get drilling.

‐Talking doesn't do anything.
‐Doesn't do a damn thing.

‐ Right.
‐ Let's get some steel

‐downhole.
‐I agree with that.

Let's get after it.

We'll get 'er done.

Later that day,

as the drilling operation
at the Cave‐In Pit continues...

‐ This looks like a good spot to start.
Yeah.

Jack Begley, Peter Fornetti

and metal detection expert
Gary Drayton

arrive at Lot 27,
a property once owned

by Oak Island treasure hunter
Daniel McGinnis.

Shortly after finding
the Money Pit in 1795,

Daniel McGinnis spent
the rest of his life

searching for what he believed

was an incredible fortune
in gold and treasure.

After purchasing Lot 21,

where he built his home,
the young treasure hunter

also bought several lots on the
southwest side of the island,

including Lot 27.

Although he claimed these acres
were purchased for farming,

recent evidence suggests
that McGinnis

may have also used the land
to look for treasure tunnels

that he hoped
could lead him directly

to the Money Pit's
fabled treasure vault.

We got plenty of bags, I hope.

‐We do. ‐'Cause we're gonna be in for
some digging here.

There has been a lot
of activity on this lot.

Dan Blankenship
believed there to be...

Mm‐hmm.
‐...some sort of cavity

down in the hard rock.

It was a more shallow cavity
than over at the Money Pit.

And after you found that...

‐swage?
‐Uh, yeah, swage.

It's for sharpening
stone chisels,

‐dating back to the 1400s.
‐Right. ‐Yeah.

Feel how heavy that is, Rick.

Wow.

‐Wow!

Three weeks ago,

while investigating Lot 21,

Rick, Gary
and Dan Henskee uncovered

two hammer‐like iron objects.

These are very, very rare.

Incredibly, these objects
were later identified

by blacksmithing expert
Carmen Legge

as ancient rock‐drilling tools,
known as "swages,"

which could be as much
as 600 years old.

This discovery
has led the team to believe

that farming wasn't the only
activity being conducted

on the western portion
of the island.

All right, mate,
let's start over here.

Okay.

What you got?

‐That's modern junk.

Gonna pass on that.

Come to Papa.
Where are you hiding?

I know you're in here somewhere.

Ooh‐hoo, I like
the sound of that.

It's a nice, deep target.

Just in there, mate.

Oh. I think
I got it up right there.

That's a...
that's a nice iron target.

Time to change our luck.

Look at that!

Look‐look at the size of that.

That's chunky.

Definitely looks old.

Definitely tell it's a chisel
with the...

the point, the worked point.

And that looks like
it's had some hammer.

‐Mm‐hmm.
‐I don't think

this would have been for,
like, fine carving.

You think that could have been
a rock chisel?

‐It could be. ‐Made for tunneling
under this lot?

Yeah, well, well,
look at the shape of it.

I mean, you could put your hand
around that.

That's a big whacking chisel.

That is... an hefty chisel.

‐ How old do you think?
‐I think this

could be exactly like the swages
and the hand‐point chisel.

This could go back to the 1400s.

Yeah.

An iron chisel?

Possibly one used alongside
the ancient drilling swages,

which are believed to date back
as early as the 1400s?

Could the team have found
more evidence

of a major tunneling operation

on the western side
of the island?

You think it's special enough

‐to call my uncle?
‐Yeah, I do.

Yeah, this could be
a really cool find.

All right.

Hello. Um, so,

Gary found something
pretty special.

Really.

All right, sounds good.

Bye.

I feel like this is
a huge find for us,

'cause there's
no real logical explanation

besides deep tunnels under
the western side of the island.

Or at least that's
what my mind jumps to.

‐All right, what's the big reveal?
‐Hey, guys.

So, we pull this
out of the ground,

and what does that say
to you, Rick?

Chisel.

Chisel. Yeah.

And look at the point.

What have we found

that this
could possibly fit into?

The... swages.

Exactly.

Are you sure it's a chisel?

Oh, yeah.
You can see it's worked.

It's mushroomed.

But when you put that
in your hand,

that is the type of chisel
that you... you would use

for... for taking chunks
off a rock,

for tunneling.

‐Really?
‐Yep. Wow.

Wow.
Your earliest landowner

we have for this lot is
Dan McGinnis.

‐ Yeah. And it goes
to the point, you know,

what was he looking for?

Could these ancient
tunneling tools

each found on land
once owned by Daniel McGinnis

be evidence that he
not only searched for treasure

in the Money Pit, but also
deep beneath the grounds

of his own property?

And if so, what else
might the team find hidden

below the surface
of the McGinnis lots?

I think this is
a bloody good find.

It is, a great find. It is.

‐Good job.
All right, see you later, guys.

‐ Good job, guys.
See you. Good job, guys.

Later that afternoon...

Always interesting
to look at a core.

...Marty and Rick Lagina

return to the Cave‐In Pit area,

where members
of the Oak Island team

are closely monitoring
the progress

of their second
exploratory borehole.

‐Did we miss?
No, we haven't missed anything.

We're not at that horizon,
not yet.

We're getting close.

‐So, where are we?
‐ Right where we want to be.

‐This next one...
‐108 should be coming.‐ Okay.

But everything is
the same as before?

Up to this point, yes.

Here comes our next core.

‐How do you want it?
This goes that way.

Uh, what's that?

There is some sand in this.

But so far, nothing
that resembles what we believe

was the‐the tunnel.

Bottom line, suppose this was
the first hole you drilled

instead of the one
we just came from

you would have thought
this was unremarkable?

Unremarkable for sure.

Maybe the seismic
will image the flood tunnel.

Yeah.

Seismic will be able
to dial this in.

‐I say that's next.
‐That's next.

Because their second
sonic drilling effort

failed to find more evidence
of the elusive flood tunnel,

Rick and Marty
have decided to abandon

their random
and expensive drilling efforts

in favor of seismic scanning.

It is their hope
that by mapping

the possible voids and tunnels
that might exist underground,

they can better pinpoint the
location of the flood tunnel.

We know there's
a collapsed tunnel.

Where does it go?

You know, we can't just keep
drilling all over the place,

so hopefully,
seismic will delineate that.

‐Let's go.
‐Okay.

We got a lot of work to do.

As a new day
begins on Oak Island...

...Rick Lagina,
along with Craig Tester,

Gary Drayton
and Dave Blankenship...

‐Hey!
‐Alex.

...welcome back representatives

from Eagle Canada,

a geophysical
exploration company

that specializes
in seismic testing.

Pleased to meet you.

‐Scott. Rick. Nice to meet you.
‐Pleased to meet you.

Well, Alex, this looks like

it's gonna be
a major project this year?

‐Absolutely.
‐Okay.

We got...
we got some geophones.

We got some powder.
We're good to go.

‐Some? You better have
a lot more than some.

‐Yeah.
‐Actually, we got, uh...

about 6,500 geophones,
so that's gonna be interesting.

Although Rick, Marty and Craig

have previously commissioned
Eagle Canada

to gather seismic data
in both the Oak Island swamp

and the Money Pit areas,

the eastern portion
of the island

that includes both Smith's Cove
and the Cave‐In Pit

has never been scanned.

It is the team's hope that
by getting a detailed account

of underground anomalies and
possible tunnels in this area,

they can be more strategic
in their efforts

to locate
the elusive Money Pit.

Is the whole team
back again, then?

Uh, yes, and more.
Uh, so last year,

we had about 15 guys,
and this year, we're over 30.

So, at peak because, like,

we'll have different phases,

starting with the cutting
and survey and‐and drilling,

and, uh, at peak,
we'll be about 35.

Wow.

To cover an area

as large as the island's
eastern half or drumlin

will require a record
18,000 dynamite charges.

As each one is detonated,
the resulting sound waves

will then be measured as they
travel through the earth,

effectively creating
a master map

of any potential tunnels, voids

or other man‐made structures
that might exist

as much as 300 feet deep
underground.

If GPR and seismic agree
that there's a tunnel

at a certain location,
then the possibility

of it being valid goes way up.

Why don't you send your guys
on back.

They know...
they know where to go.

Absolutely.
Okay, let's do that.

‐Okay.
‐Good.

Later that afternoon,

as the team from Eagle Canada
begins their preparations...

‐ Gentlemen. Hi.
‐How are you?

...Craig Tester joins
Alex Lagina

and archaeologist Laird Niven
as they meet once again

with ground‐penetrating radar
experts Steve Watson

and Don Johnston.

In light of the recent finds

made by metal detection expert
Gary Drayton,

like the iron swages

and the antique
gold‐plated brooch,

they are eager to conduct
a more thorough investigation

of the property once owned
by Daniel McGinnis.

There is no name that has been
more intimately involved

with the treasure hunt
than the McGinnis name.

Yeah, there's all kinds
of apocryphal stories that...

about the McGinnises
and their strange wealth

and gold chains and things.

We would've searched it already,
but we weren't allowed to.

So, this is gonna be
an archaeological search,

but could provide us with clues.

Okay, Laird's officially
in control of this site

because the McGinnis Foundation
is considered "special places,"

so this is kind of an early part
of the process of doing

an archaeological evaluation
of the area.

Right. Okay.

We're gonna have you guys
come in and do your work

‐and identify anomalies
that could be significant. ‐Yep.

And based on that data,
we're gonna write

a new permit application
for some subsurface testing,

‐some excavation.
‐Excellent.

So, uh, what kind of things
might we see with this?

We'll be able
to see foundations.

Anything where they've dug
in the ground.

So, once you dig in the ground,

it never goes back
to its natural state

because of the way soil is made.

It's many layers
over millions of years,

and when you mix this soil,

it's a different value
than the soil beside it.

And we can see the difference
between what we call

the disturbed soil
and the natural soil.

That's great.

Looking forward to seeing

‐what you guys can come up with.
‐Okay.

‐We'll see what we can find.
‐Okay.

‐We'll check back in.
‐Okay. ‐Good luck.

As Steve Watson
and Don Johnston

begin their GPR
scanning operation,

Craig, Alex and Laird

join Rick, Marty and other
members of the Oak Island team

for a meeting at the w*r room.

So, gentlemen, we have
an esteemed guest today.

I've not been personally
introduced, uh...

Chipp Reid is a naval historian.

He's associated with the U. S.
Naval Institute at Annapolis.

Uh, retired USMC, so for that,
we thank you for your service.

But he's here today because

he's done an extensive amount
of research,

all revolving around possible

military association
with this mystery.

So we look forward
to what you have to tell us.

As an award‐winning
author and researcher,

Chipp Reid has written
extensively

about the naval histories of
both Europe and North America,

especially between
the 17th and 19th centuries,

when Spain, France and England

frequently battled
for control of territories

in the New World.

He has come at the invitation
of Rick Lagina

to present research
he believes will shed new light

on the purpose
of the mysterious,

man‐made structures discovered

last year at Smith's Cove.

If you'd like to tell us
a little bit more about

your background and why
this area of interest for you,

if you can give us
a little bit of that,

then we can get
into the meat of the story.

My specific area of expertise
is Marine Corps

and Royal Navy
and Royal Marine history.

That's what piqued my interest

as to what could be
happening here.

I've got some data that I think
that might... you might

be interested in, uh,
that I believe

could explain
some of the activity

that you've seen
down at Smith's Cove.

It dovetails in
with the archaeology

that's already been discovered.

I've sent a couple of things
off to Steve.

Steve, if you could pull it up
on the screen?

This map is this sketch,
which shows a water battery.

What's a water battery?

A water battery

is an a*tillery position
that's constructed

as close to the shoreline
as possible.

‐Okay.
This type of structure

was common from roughly 1600

till about the middle
of the 19th century.

If we look
at these structures...

I don't know if this structure
looks familiar in any way.

Well, that's the
L‐shaped structure.

Yeah.

That is a very
interesting picture,

because, yes, as soon as you
look at it, you think, "Whoa."

The L‐shaped structure looks
more or less identical.

In the w*r room,

naval historian
and author Chipp Reid

has just presented
the Oak Island team

with astonishing new research

suggesting
that the wooden structures

unearthed last year
at Smith's Cove

which dated
to approximately 25 years

before the discovery
of the Money Pit

could be evidence
of a military fortification

known as a "water battery."

And who else but a military
would have had the manpower

to do something like this?

"When did it begin?"
is the big question.

We know from French
manuscript documents

that the French were active
militarily around here.

And if we look at
the archaeology

that's already come up,

which to me points
to the French military

being on this island
in the early 1700s,

soon after they founded
Louisbourg in 1713...

When the city of Louisbourg
was first established

by the French in 1713,

it was nothing more than
a small fishing settlement.

But by 1720,
Louisbourg had grown

to become one of the busiest
and richest ports

in the New World,
and served as the center

of all French trade
between Canada,

Europe and the West Indies.

This led the French to
construct a massive fortress,

which, by the time
of its completion in 1740,

was considered
the most extensive

military stronghold
in North America.

In addition to over two miles
of stone walls,

built as much as 30 feet high
and eight feet thick,

the fortress also had

a series of secret tunnels
beneath it.

But in 1745, an English colonel
named William Pepperrell

launched a successful campaign
to seize control

of the French fort.

What is interesting
with the French is, in 1745,

Pepperell's men, who came up
to fight at Louisbourg

Pepperell's men didn't find
any gold.

They found nothing.

The French knew that
Pepperrell's men were coming.

Now, again,
if you're a savvy Frenchman,

you're gonna say, "I don't
want them getting my treasure.

‐Let's go hide it."
‐Right.

The best story,
I would say, would be

that the French moved
their treasure

out of Louisbourg
for the 1745 attack,

stuck it on this island,
because it was used for

military reasons prior to that.

So, my guess would be

you're actually looking for
some kind of a French treasure.

What about
the Duc d'Anville expedition?

‐Have you looked into that?
‐Yes.

In 1746,

one year after the British
conquest of Louisbourg,

the French launched
a massive fleet of 97 ships

to reclaim the fortress

and restore French control over
the North Atlantic colonies.

The 13,000‐man army was led

by Jean‐Baptiste Louis
de la Rochefoucauld,

otherwise known
as the Duc d'Anville,

the descendant
of a powerful French family

with ancient ties
to the Knights Templar.

However, during the three‐month
voyage from France,

severe storms plagued
the armada

and led to outbreaks
of typhus and scurvy

among the crew on board.

By the time
the expedition reached Canada,

hundreds of soldiers
had perished,

including the Duc d'Anville
himself.

I found eight pages
of a ship...

what looks like a ship's log.

Two years ago,

Doug Crowell presented the team

with a transcript
reportedly written

by a crewmember
of the d'Anville mission,

and which described the secret
burial of a vast treasure.

"September 8.

"It has been agreed
that a deep pit be dug.

"The pit to have
a secret entrance

by a tunnel from the shore."

I mean, a great quantity

of treasure, and... and they...

they appear to be in this bay.

I mean, it fits in every aspect.

Exactly.

Is it possible

that members
of the Duc d'Anville expedition

came to Oak Island
because of previous knowledge

of a treasure depository
located there?

One built centuries earlier
by the Duc's ancestors,

who were members
of the Knights Templar?

We're certainly not done
in Smith's Cove.

All of the structures we found.

All of the unexplained
activities down there.

It's intriguing.

That's certainly worth further
investigation and research.

If the d'Anville papers
are genuine,

and if they refer
to the reinforcement expedition

that France absolutely sent
to Louisburg...

So, that would corroborate.

They would all
triangulate again.

That's interesting.

I can't speak for anybody else,
but I had not

thought that it was
some sort of fortification.

Hadn't thought that.

Now, thanks to
your presentation,

we're gonna have to digest that.

So, we got researchers
I would love you to pick up

on everything he's laying down.

And it's refreshing, as always,
to talk to a true expert.

So, I don't think we have any
more questions for right now.

I guess I just want to thank you
on behalf of the group.

Thank you very much
for having me.

All right. Thank you very much.

CHIPP:
Thank you.

Later that same day...

How's it going, guys?

Very good, thank you.

...Craig Tester, Alex Lagina

and archaeologist Laird Niven
arrive on Lot 21,

near the McGinnis Foundation,
to check on the progress

of ground‐penetrating
radar experts

Steve Watson and Don Johnston.

Any hits?

Actually, if you look

in front of the well,
there's a pink flag

‐in the middle
of the field there. ‐Yep.

‐ Yeah.
‐So, we had an anomaly there.

‐Okay.
‐It was a very strong anomaly

at about four feet down.

‐Really?
‐Yeah.

But until we can sort of

resolve the image,
we won't know for sure.

But there's something there.

Ground‐penetrating radar,
or GPR,

emits electromagnetic pulses
into the earth to identify

any large objects, structures
or voids that could be buried

up to 15 feet
beneath the McGinnis property.

Is it possible that,
using this method,

the team has already discovered
a void or tunnel?

Can you pull up the line

‐that goes over that?
‐I‐I can.

‐Yeah.
‐Okay.

So, you can see

the ground is different here,

so this has been disturbed.

And then we've got something
down deeper

‐at about four feet.
‐ Four feet deep.

‐How big is the anomaly?
‐ Four feet wide.

And it looked like
it'd been dug down to.

There's definitely
something dug there.

‐That's good.
‐That's‐that's interesting.

The data came out excellent.

We knew there was a couple wells

'cause they're still
at the surface, old stone wells.

But we found another structure
in that area,

so it was great news
to see that.

What it is, at this point
in time, we don't know,

but we'll look into that.

What's interesting

is that the soil
inside this foundation

is different than the soil
on the outside,

‐so it may have been
filled in. Yeah. ‐Okay.

Well, the odd part
of this foundation is,

you see, I don't know
if those are cellar steps or...

They seem to go in
a little too deep for me, but...

‐ Right.
‐ Well, then,

‐it could be a second cellar.
‐Yeah.

‐Yeah.
‐Which would be...

‐pretty cool.
‐Yes, it would.

A possible second cellar?

Hidden below the home
of Daniel McGinnis,

one of the three young men
who discovered

the original Money Pit
in 1795?

But if so,
what was its purpose?

To find out,
the team must first obtain

a special government permit
to conduct

any kind of excavation
in or around the foundation,

one that the GPR data
will no doubt help facilitate.

Okay. Well,
I think that sounds great.

‐We'll let you finish up.
‐Okay.

‐ Thanks, guys.
‐ Okay.

‐Thank you.
‐Thank you.

A new day begins on Oak Island,

and while the team
from Eagle Canada

continues to make preparations

for their massive
seismic testing of the area

between Smith's Cove
and the Money Pit,

brothers Rick and Marty Lagina,

along with
historian Doug Crowell,

head to the island's
southern shore.

They are eager to follow up

on some information
about another,

possibly quicker way to find
the elusive treasure shaft.

Uh, Doug, tell me...
tell me the background of this.

I was talking with Dan Henskee,

and he was telling me

they had, uh, gone through

some of, uh,
Mel Chappell's papers

and there was a tunnel dug

from shaft number nine
down to the shore

to help, uh, facilitate pumping
of the water out of that shaft.

A shaft or a tunnel?

Well, it's a tunnel

that narrowed into a sluiceway
towards the end

‐once it got near the shore.
‐Oh.

If we can uncover this,

perhaps trace a line back to it,
to the actual shaft

that shaft is on some
of the old diagrams

then we've got a landmark
from the past.

Okay. I'm all in.

In 1863, when the location

of the original Money Pit
was still known,

members
of the Oak Island Association

dug a 120‐foot‐deep shaft

known as Shaft Nine

some 100 feet southeast
of the treasure shaft.

To protect it from flooding,
a wooden drain

known as a sluiceway
was constructed.

Built in the form
of a boxlike tunnel,

it acted
as an artificial channel

that directed water
from the flood tunnel

down to the island's
southern shore.

Once the water
was successfully drained,

a second tunnel was then dug
at a depth of 108 feet

toward the Money Pit.

Although the plan
may have worked,

it was never tested.

The Oak Island Association
went bankrupt.

Shaft Nine was abandoned
and virtually forgotten.

Okay, so where is this thing?

‐Right here?
Yep.

Basically, it's this whole
flat area right in here.

See how much water
is coming down here?

‐Yeah. ‐Soon as we dig that,
it's gonna be water.

‐Hey, Rick!
‐ Hmm?

It's gonna be water.

‐That all right?
‐ Nothing we can do.

Just when you dig,
when you grab these,

‐place them over there.
‐Yeah.

Don't put these
in the dump truck.

Okay.

Today is‐is

really, really exciting,
in my opinion,

because we're going to

hopefully find the sluice gate.

We're gonna follow that back
and hopefully encounter

the tunnel
and the shaft itself.

We can follow that trail,
maybe it'll lead us

directly to the Money Pit,
and then the game's afoot.

Those are big rocks.

They are big rocks.

Still quite a few stones there.

We're probably getting close to
where we should start watching

for some wood to come up.

Hey, Billy.

Hey, Doug.

You've got
something bigger there.

Is that a timber?

‐Nah. Pipe.
‐Oh, it's pipe.

‐Yeah, that's...
it sounded like metal. ‐Ah.

The last tooth
was hooking on something.

I say you need to go
another four or five feet.

All right.

‐Let's keep digging.

It was Dan's information
that the...

sluice gate
would lead to a tunnel,

which would lead to Shaft Nine.

Shaft Nine would give us,
perhaps,

some relevant information
back towards locating

the Money Pit proper,

because at the time
that Nine was developed,

the location
of the Money Pit was known.

Hey, Scott.
‐ Hey, Scott.

How's it going, guys?

‐Having any luck?
‐No. We don't see anything yet.

We're about sea level now.

So, where's our thing?

Great question.

I can certainly keep digging.

Okay. Maybe we should try

a couple more scoops
out of the bottom

and maybe knock a piece
of that wall out

‐on the far side.
‐Okay.

Oh, wow. Look at that.

A lot of water coming in there.

There's a lot
of water there, yeah.

Oh, yeah. Look at that.

You struck something there,
Marty.

Yeah, something let go.

It's just pouring in.

It's like a rock drain
or something.

Yeah.

If this is the sluiceway,
it's still functioning.

We're gonna see a shaft
that was dug

when they knew the original
location of the Money Pit.

On a number of levels,
that's pretty inspiring.

I'd say that's your sluice.

‐It's‐it's this way.
‐ Okay, well, take another one.

Right where the water's coming
out, we'll just take, like,

‐a quarter of a bucketful.
‐ Okay.

That gives me hope
that it's still intact.

It might be.
'Cause that's a lot

of water coming down it,
so it's still flowing.

‐Well, yeah, there it is.
‐Oh, wow.

It's a whole box right here.

Holy smokes.

While excavating
near the southern shore

of Oak Island in search
of the wooden sluiceway

believed to connect
to Shaft Nine,

Rick, Marty
and members of their team

have just made what could be

one of the most important
discoveries of the year.

A lot of water.

Goes way back in there.

Ah, there's the top.

Yeah, look, there's wood.

That's a good sign.

‐Well preserved.
Yeah.

That's a heavy piece of wood.

Oh.

Check this out.

Puddled clay.

Oh, look at that.

That‐that's why the wood's
so well preserved.

‐I'd say that's your sluice.
‐ Yeah.

That's a look
back in time, boys.

159 years ago, more or less.

‐And still working.
‐And still working.

‐Yeah.
‐ Well, that's amazing.

‐It still works.
‐ Yeah.

They've engineered it properly.

You can't say they didn't know
what they were doing.

So, what are we gonna do
with this, Rick?

Well, we need to dig it
backwards and expose it.

That's what I was thinking.

I should mark that.

Dan Henskee is the sage.
He's... he is

the royalty, if you will,
of Oak Island now.

It is with his help
and his insistence alone

that we have uncovered
the sluice.

It will go a long way

towards hopefully pinpointing

the location of Shaft Nine.

It's not that deep.

No.

Thus, we can hand‐dig it.

You know, and try to get it back

to where it's not
all broken and busted.

‐And then see where it goes?
‐Yep.

It's pretty cool.
That last scoop

‐was like taking the cork out.
‐ Yeah.

Well, this is the first step
in reestablishing

that landmark up the hill.

‐Yeah. ‐I think this is
a successful day.

‐Good.
‐I have it pinned,

so let's find
the other end tomorrow.

Good deal, Steve.

Good work.
‐ Thank you.

For Rick, Marty and the team,

a week that began
with a frustrating setback

now ends with a discovery
that could offer

a major breakthrough
in their quest

to finally pinpoint
the original Money Pit.

But once the long‐lost
searcher shaft is found,

will it really lead
Rick and Marty

to a centuries‐old vault

filled with priceless gold
and jewels?

Or will it take them
down a different path,

one that will reveal
just why Oak Island's secrets

have been so fiercely guarded
for more than two centuries

and protected by a curse

that predicts
that seven must die

before an incredible treasure
can be found?

Next time on
The Curse of Oak Island...

This looks like a minefield.

The island can't keep its secret
anymore. It can't do it.

Ooh! This is
a 1700s ship's spike.

I discovered Spanish ships

deposit their treasure
on Oak Island,

and they protect it
with flood tunnels.

‐Wow.
‐ Heads up.

‐Oh. ‐Whoa!
‐ Whoa, whoa, whoa!

Hey, there's wood there!

That's a tunnel!