Rick Lagina: ”I Almost Shit My Pants When I Saw This!!!”

Every little finding is a clue to the main big discovery. Rick and his team venture to find treasures in the famous Money Pit. From Dr. Spooner finding something at least 300 years old to discovering a secret object 100 ft below the surface, Oak Island is a place that pushes the boundaries of experts and offers breathtaking revelations. What could be the most substantial finding on Oak Island?

As the team digs deeper into the Money Pit, they come across a big hint that they could be closer to the treasures than ever before. And there is no doubt that other findings are connected. Join us as we delve into the recent huge discovery in Oak Island.

Exploring the Money Pit

After more than 10 years of searching, Rick, Scott Barlow, and Roger Farah went underground in the Money Pit location during Season 10 when the Garden Shaft reconstruction was almost done. A few months before winter halted their year-long investigation, Duma officials thought they might have discovered a tunnel about 10 ft below the Garden Shaft’s bottom.

They prepared and descended the shaft because they had to examine the bottom to locate the tunnel. This prompted Rick and Marty to investigate together by going to the bottom of the hole. They arrived at the Money Pit area to keep track of the probe drilling operation in the Garden Shaft. Now that they’ve reached the estimated depth of the tunnel, it is believed to lead directly westward into the potential treasure zone.

Rick and Marty going underground in the Money Pit area and finding themselves in a situation where other people had been searching for this wealth for hundreds of years was like a child’s fantasy. It was time for the metal detecting expert to see what he could find at the bottom, after all the signs of gold were found in water and wood samples during the reconstruction of the Garden Shaft.

Gary used his metal detector and found a hole 2 ft below the surface by scanning through the dirt and water. The detector finally beeped to indicate that it had found something. The hits are just as important to the team as the level of excitement when they describe it as a non-ferrous metal that could be silver or copper.

Is it possible that Gary has detected evidence of the famous Oak Island treasure in the muddy soil just a few feet below the bottom level of the Garden Shaft? Even though this is exciting, it is also bittersweet because Rick and Marty cannot risk the project’s future or their team’s safety by trying to breach the shaft, finding blue clay and boulders.

This time, Rick Lagina, Tom Nolan, and other team members got ready to dig on Lot 13 just northeast of the swamp to see what they could find. Four feet down, they saw blue clay. While excavating a mysterious boulder formation known as the Quadrilateral, Rick and the team found a potentially crucial clue. It’s exactly the clay found around the Money Pit in 1804.

When searchers began the first major excavation of the original Money Pit at 40 ft, they found a layer of blue clay that acted as a sealant to keep water out of the shaft. Curiously, when the team investigated a circular feature of boulders known as the Eye of the Swamp in 2018, they discovered the same substance.

The team might have now found evidence that the Quadrilateral was created by the same people who manipulated the swamp and constructed the Money Pit. Blue clay is part of the historical narrative of the signs of finding the Money Pit.

The following morning, Rick and the team returned to Lot 13 to have geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner examine the mysterious Quadrilateral feature. He found a layer of clay below the stones. What he saw was a layer of very clay-rich sediment that’s probably pretty thick, which is odd. And if it was assumed to be geologically deposited, then it’s not.

The geoscientist stated that he doesn’t just think so. He further stated that it was in the wrong environment on a hill slope and that it’s a little bit improbable that it would have collected there naturally. He showed that there were also different types of clay seen there that have different colors, which suggest burning or heat—and due to that, it doesn’t go well that the other clay gathered up where there is a sign of heat naturally.

They saw stacked boulders, and the explanation that could go well with that has to be that it’s much harder to get boulders out of a hole than it is to get them in. So, this becomes possibly a safe because the top is sealed to prevent water from getting down below, and boulders sometimes serve as a key to the safe. Due to all this, the thought was that the Quadrilateral is a human construct. The boulders weren’t only put there for fun or games.

Anything that predates the original discovery of the Money Pit provides an opportunity to believe that it may be the original work. But putting this so-called staple in line with the laborious effort it took to create the great Quadrilateral is certainly puzzling. The hidden treasure linked to the Money Pit hasn’t yet been definitively discovered, and the mystery around Oak Island remains a subject of interest and guesswork, but the findings draw them closer to their interest.

Huge Discovery in 900-Year-Old Well

In the case of other discoveries, Jack Begley and archaeologists Laird Niven and Helen Shelton arrive on Lot 26 to continue searching the 900-year-old stone well for clues that might explain who built it and evidence that it contains something of value. The plan was that they would pump it out and then scoop out the debris but save it on a tarp as best they could. Hopefully, by doing that, they’d be able to find an artifact.

The team was especially interested in the well, not only because it is one of the oldest man-made features ever found on Oak Island, but also because a recent water test carried out inside it by Dr. Spooner showed high trace evidence of silver. The idea is that something of value in a place as remote as Oak Island is more likely to be hidden in a well.

Jack was to do the scooping while Laird’s work was to keep the pump clear of debris. The scoop from Jack was handed over to Helen, who carefully sifted through it for clues once it had all dried out. The more scooping, the more the well gets revealed. While digging, they found a sort of nail in it. According to them, it seemed like it could have been longer and sulfuric, which is a sign that it was an older iron from around the 1700s.

Rick confirmed it to be a pretty old metal. It could be from the 1700s—maybe a hand-wrought nail related to a large sailing vessel, because machines came into use for nail production around 1800. Emma Culligan might be correct that this artifact may tell the date of the discovery of the Money Pit in 1795, making all the findings connected. The material identified is pretty heavy, and rust can be seen from its patina. It is seen to be in pretty good condition—like the rust, there’s not much buildup.

Northeast of Oak Island, they had chemist Dr. Christa Brousseau analyze the mysterious iron artifact found. The chemist later found out it was just a fine piece of metal and nothing more. The Money Pit question is: what were they doing there? Were they depositing something? Was that an access point or an exit point to the pit?

Brass Door Handle Found Deep in Swamp

Again, Alex Lagina, Steve Guptill, Gary Drayton, Jack Begley, and Billy Gerhardt return to the triangle-shaped swamp to continue searching for clues on the mysterious stone ramp. The swamp is complex like everything else, but now we have a ramp that goes through the paved area up to the path. So, we’re trying to get to the very end.

The last scoop was searched, and a door handle was found. While investigating the stone ramp in the triangle-shaped swamp, metal detection expert Gary Drayton made an exceptional discovery. He told them they found what looked like a brass door handle. Interestingly, this could be off a ship’s cabinet or a door on a ship. This could also give a date and period and help guess the exact time of happenings there.

It got them wondering if it could be connected to the many other pieces of ships and cargo barrels that the team has found in the swamp over the past several years. And maybe it gives more evidence that the stone ramp and also the types of equipment used in building the Money Pit and the 800-year-old paved area were used to offload something of great value onto Oak Island. A big fact is that it is an artifact.

Italian Caves Linked to the Knights Templar

As operations continued on Oak Island, Rick Lagina together with his nephews Alex and Peter, Oak Island historian Doug Crowell, and researcher Corjan Mol arrived in Camerano, Italy, where they had a meeting with researchers Emiliano Cicchetti and Alberto Riva.

The Knights Templar Order has remained shrouded in mystery since it was established in 1118 in Jerusalem. They were headquartered on the original site of King Solomon’s Temple to protect Christian interests in the Holy Land during the Crusades. They became extraordinarily wealthy by developing one of the world’s first banking systems.

But in 1307, they were disbanded by the Catholic Church and persecuted by the King of France for the alleged crime of heresy. However, some believed that the Templars were targeted because they had come into possession of many priceless religious treasures. Those sacred valuables have never been found, and researchers like Corjan and Emiliano believe that surviving members of the order smuggled them throughout Europe before ultimately hiding them in the New World on Oak Island.

So, they went to the mouth of the Burkano Cave—Venus Cave. The volcanic cave is one of the oldest caves in Camerano. “We have the left and right arms,” and according to Alberto, there is a slight difference. “This arm should be a bit longer than this one,” which is exactly what the lead cross exhibits.

Is there an intimate relationship between the lead cross found on Smith’s Cove beach and what this cross represents? Are they aligned? The thoughts were that there is a connection with all findings.

There’s another amazing underground cave system. It’s about 30 km wide. There are some interesting carvings in these caves, and Fabrizio will show and explain the meaning of those carvings. In a cave system known as the Grande Simonetti in Osimo, Italy, Alex Lagina and his cousin Peter Fornetti have just found an ancient carving believed to have been made by members of the Knights Templar, matching one found on the so-called host stone which was discovered in the 1920s on Oak Island.

Is it possible that Peter and Alex have found a symbol in the Grande Simonetti related to the sacred treasures that many believe the Templar order smuggled out of Europe between the 12th and 14th centuries? If so, could the host stone be a critical clue as to where they are today?

This circle with a dot is represented on the host stone. We are beginning to draw some connective tissue to perhaps Templar involvement on Oak Island.

Roman Coins Found

Despite the decrease in excitement about finding treasure, it’s still interesting to think about how a group of Roman coins ended up on Oak Island. They were found in a setting that seems to belong to the 17th to 19th century.

Archaeologists, historians, and people searching for treasure have always wondered if finding ancient European coins in North America by chance could support the idea of journeys across the Atlantic before Columbus. In 1980, Jeremiah Epstein from the University of Texas at Austin thoroughly studied ancient coin discoveries in the United States and published the findings in Current Anthropology.

Following the usual practice in Current Anthropology, his article includes comments from various scholars and the author’s responses to them. The article and the resulting discussion show an energetic debate during that time. A group of archaeologists supported the idea of early and frequent transatlantic interactions, known as the diffusionist school, while most scholars were less inclined toward such ideas.

From the archaeological investigations conducted on Oak Island thus far, we have learned that extensive farming began in the mid-1700s along with some minor industrial activities. It would not be unexpected if ships routinely discarded weight at the island and some of its landowners repurposed it for their own needs, such as construction. It wouldn’t be surprising if weight dumps from the mainland were transported and repurposed on Oak Island. Some of that weight might have included Roman coins.

Due to the coins they have gotten, it could explain why they needed to have a Money Pit to store up the coins they had—or other treasures.

What’s Next for the Lagina Brothers?

In Seasons 10 and 11, they found some interesting things like Nolan’s Cross, which is a massive symmetrical cross made of five big rocks. It has a human face and a sword image related to the Templar tombs. They also found some Spanish coins from the 17th century and a Roman sword in the past few seasons.

However, the Roman sword was found to be a modern replica, not a genuine sword from 2,000 years ago. Despite this, all these discoveries provide clues about what could be hidden on the island.

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