Rick Lagina “F#ck Marty! I’m Keeping This For MYSELF!”

The Oak Island crew has found some incredible artifacts across the island. With the addition of Lot 5 and the probe drilling operations in the Garden Shaft, the Lega brothers are determined to throw everything they have at the island after 60 years of dreaming of the fabled buried treasure. The hunt for information and their artifacts puts them one step closer to finally putting all the puzzle pieces together.

What incredible artifacts have been unearthed across the island, including Lot 5? How are the Lega brothers using cutting-edge technology and state-of-the-art science to crack the code of Oak Island’s mysteries? Let’s take a look.

Oak Island’s own Alex and Rick Legina make their way to a tent set up outside the Garden Shaft to observe what is going on with the probe drilling currently taking place a few feet away from them. Brandon Vanderho is supervising the team from the tent and explaining what is happening down below to the Legas.

The drill operating crew is busy setting up their equipment in the tight space of the Garden Shaft, their flashlights illuminating the dark space. The uncle-and-nephew pairing, Chad, watches the unfolding preparations. They find themselves extremely hopeful and excited to be embarking on a new chapter.

This is a promising beginning for the entire Oak Island crew as it marks the start of this new probe drilling operation conducted by representatives from Duma Contracting Limited in order to look for valuables just outside the structure. The dilapidated 80-ft deep shaft, which is also being refurbished by Duma Contracting, has not only yielded the crew high trace evidence of gold through water testing, but it may also sit within feet of a possible treasure chamber connected to the original Money Pit.

Rick is hoping to find something substantial with this probe drilling operation in the Garden Shaft, while his brother Marty Lena believes that it is this operation that will truly kick off their treasure hunt. This is where the treasure hunt actually begins.

Alex Lagginina, son of Marty Lginina, is the one with the most questions about this probe drilling operation. He is asking for clarification as to the depth the team is currently working on and learns that they are at 50 ft. Then Alex remembers that when they had previously worked at this depth, they hit a void in the area. He informs Brandon Vanderho of this to give the Dumas team a heads-up.

In a flashback earlier in the summer, the team drilled into a 10-ft high void located several feet southwest of the Garden Shaft. Marty believes that this void could be a sign that they may have an offset chamber nearby. What this means to Marty is that the void actually holds the fabled Money Pit treasure vault that contains Captain Kidd’s buried treasure, a theory he now seeks to prove true or false.

Brandon, the supervisor for the probe drill operation, lets Alex and Rick know that the Duma crew is lining up and getting the probe drill squared away inside the shaft before they begin. Since the Duma contractors have reached a depth of 55 ft in the reconstruction of the Garden Shaft, they are now going to manually probe and drill multiple boreholes that will be able to reach several feet outside of the structure in the hopes of reaching the void and determining what is inside of it.

Rick needs to know if there is some connection between their theories and speculations and the reality of the Garden Shaft. He also believes it is important for the Duma crew to know whether the connection between the void and the possible secret chamber is real, as it will affect the drilling operations. Alex remains optimistic that this operation will reveal the truth today.

The Duma crew collects soil samples as they work. One of the men holds open a plastic bag, and the other places fistfuls of freshly drilled wall dirt into the bag. Rick, Alex, and Brandon watch on through a screen.

When Rick gets an idea, he requests that as the Duma team cuts through the tight wooden lining along the Garden Shaft wall, they should take the wood shavings and set them aside for him. Each wood sample from each of the four walls would then be labeled and sent to the lab to be run through the XRF X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. He lets Brandon know the importance of this testing. Rick speculates that because they have detected high gold values in the area, the wood would act like a sponge and reflect the gold content of the water just outside of it.

Charles Barkhouse, Oak Island’s expert historian, enters the tent, and he is as excited as the rest of the team to see history being made through the monitor. In order not to waste a second of time, Rick starts saying his goodbyes to everyone in the tent, eager to take the water, soil, and wood samples down to Emma Culligan, an expert archaeologist and metallurgist who works out of the Oak Island Interpretive Center.

The next morning, the entire Oak Island team is outside near the Money Pit area under an open-air tent where they have been going through some core samples. From behind them, Emma Culligan carries up the results of the water, soil, and wood samples that Rick collected from the initial borehole drillings. She holds up some plastic bags with samples inside them, holding a sample from her left hand and placing it on a table. Then she says that because the piece in the bag is small, she can do a map scan of it.

The sample she is starting with is from the original Garden Shaft inner lining. From that piece, she detected traces of gold, which confirmed Rick’s theory of the wood absorbing the water just outside of it. The wood that had traces of gold had been taken from a depth of 55 ft inside the Garden Shaft. Marty is most interested to confirm the accuracy of Emma’s testing, and she assures him and the rest of the crew that the results are real.

Terry is interested to know if the gold had adhered to the organic material, in this case, the wood. Emma explains to the gathered team members that the wood did soak in the gold in the water and did so at a rate of 0.11%, 1%, 0.1%, but still that is enough. By Emma’s standards, this is actually a big amount of gold since she explains that it is a lot of parts per billion.

The Oak Island crew excitedly speaks to each other and they float the idea that what they need to do now is to keep checking things like cross-checking the water to other samples to see if they can duplicate this result. Terry says that Emma can find gold, and that’s a valuable superpower. Marty is astonished by this recent finding. The results are incredible, fantastic. Alex and Emma talk about what a significant find this is.

As Marty comments on how close they could be to the treasure, he believes they have some time to pull all of these separate pieces of information together to create a clear view of what they need to do, a map of sorts. Rick gives a speech about how they as a group have always said that science had to be a strong component of their research and search for the long-lost treasure. He then talks about how they have always said that the Garden Shaft would provide a unique opportunity if they were smart and humble enough to learn from all the lost opportunities they have had in the past.

A round of applause is initiated for Emma the metallurgist for bringing such good news to the team. The quest for finding truth and gold is on. Continuing their new outlook of taking every opportunity presented to them, Rick and Alex Legina, along with their friend Billy Gerhart, arrive on Lot 11 near the northern edge of the triangle-shaped swamp. They are out there with shovels in hand, slowly walking through the overgrown grass and plants.

Here, Rick is directing which way Billy should dig around the ancient site, unwilling to allow anything to be torn apart from reckless digging. Having been given the location of a buried well by Tom Nolan, the team is eager to excavate the feature for clues to help solve this two-century-old mystery. Metal detection expert Gary Drayton is accompanying the team to lend his expertise in searching through the newly excavated dirt to check it for any important artifacts and clues.

The previous person to dig up the buried well had been a man named Fred, who did not believe in using metal detection equipment. This gives Rick hope that they will uncover something Fred missed. Rick wants to know the extent of the well before deciding what to do next. Gary and Billy work in tandem to speed up the process, Billy pulling up more and more muck and dirt, and Gary quickly running his metal detector over the freshly excavated areas.

After a moment of scanning, Gary hears his metal detector go off and reaches down into the pile of dirt to pull out a rose head spike. The spike is the same color as the dirt surrounding it; however, its long shape is what captures Gary’s attention. The rose head spike is identified as having been hand-forged and created sometime prior to the discovery of the Money Pit in 1795.

The new question is, how may this spike be related to the buried well that Frank Nolan discovered here more than four decades ago? These areas have always been highly trafficked and manipulated by men, which captures his interest. He wonders if this is a sign that there are more structures hidden out of sight nearby, though he does not understand what they would be used for if there were.

As the team continues to dig around, Gary’s metal detector goes off once more. Alex Lgina is the first to jump up and rush to Gary’s side as he pulls out an object from a pile of dirt that he thinks could be modern. Gary pulls out a hook that looks quite old-fashioned, and he believes it could have been used to bring up water from the well. The hook gets passed to Rick, and Alex leans in to take in the fine details of their latest discovery.

When they pass the hook back to Gary, Alex comments that it looks hand-forged due to the striations on the tip. Gary Drayton then jogs their memories about another bunk hook they found on the island that their blacksmith expert, Carmen, identified as being from the 1600s. The idea that this new bunk hook could be from the same age is accepted by the group.

In a flashback, we see how earlier this year, while investigating Lot 8, which is less than a quarter mile to the west, Gary and Marty Legina found a 17th-century bunk hook.

Gary and Billy meet with blacksmithing expert Carmen Lea to get his analysis of the iron hook that was recovered from the area two days ago. Gary Drayton takes the lead in explaining how they had found the hook while excavating an old well at the side of the swamp. The unusual shape of the hook intrigues them.

Carmen holds up the hook and examines it. When Billy makes the observation that it reminds him greatly of a block and tackle, Carmen examines the long shank of the hook and agrees with Billy’s comment. He explains that the reason for the long shank is because it would hang naturally from a block and tackle.

Originally invented by the great scientist Archimedes in 250 BC, a block and tackle is a pulley device used to manually raise and lower large heavy objects. Carmen holds the hook and demonstrates how its design was meant to make it easy for people to attach and detach it easily when needing to raise or lower something.

Gary is curious to know whether the hook could have been used to lower a bucket into the well near where it was found. Carmen rejects Gary’s theory, stating that the hook they found would have been used for something heavier, given how large and thick it is.

The examination of the hook goes deeper, pointing out how the bottom of the hook is thinner, showing that it was used frequently to move things. The expert blacksmith notes that hooks in a later time period were rounder and not as elongated as the mystery hook they found.

This suggests that a hook like this used on a block and tackle would have been made around the year 1650 to 1690, but no later than that. The conclusion the expert comes to is that the hook was used for moving heavy cargo and dated to more than a century prior to the discovery of the Money Pit in 1795.

In a flashback, we see how three years ago, during an investigation of boulders at the Eye of the Swamp, the location less than 100 yards from the buried well, the team uncovered backfilled organic materials that Dr. Ian Spooner dated all the way back to 1680.

Is it possible that the well was built by the same people who were digging at the Eye of the Swamp? Could this hook offer evidence that the well may have been used to hide cargo of great importance or value? As for the opinion of the blacksmith, Carmen Lea is sure that there was activity at the well and that at one time the hook was used in that well area.

Back on Lot 5, Jack Begley joins metal detection expert Gary Drayton on the western side of the island. The two men are determined to find something on this lot this year. After purchasing Lot 5, Rick, Marty, and the rest of the Oak Island team made some of the most historic finds in the history of the Oak Island treasure hunt.

Among these finds, one is a stone structure that is speculated to date back to the same era as the Garden Shaft. Another find was tools that may be over four centuries old, as well as half of a Roman coin that has been dated to as early as 300 BC. With these incredible finds under their belt, Marty Lena is of the opinion that it is beyond question that the purchase of Lot 5 was the wisest move they could have made.

Gary Drayton, the team’s metal detection expert, along with Jack Begley, stepson of Craig Tester, walk along the island with their metal detector in hand. The choppy signal of the detector gives them some trouble. However, ever since moving into Lot 5, Gary alone is finding one artifact after the other, his expertise shining through and the fresh area giving them more clues.

The Fellowship of the Dig is thriving more than ever before, finding the oldest artifacts they have ever come across on Oak Island. After over a decade of searching, Marty believes that this new lot can give them a piece of the puzzle that will explain who were the people who built the Money Pit and what they were doing there.

They have not yet come to any conclusions about this piece of the cursed Oak Island puzzle, but they are determined to keep searching. Gary Drayton is walking around the woods of Lot 5, tagging each spot of interest that his metal detector finds with a purple flag. The tagging system he has makes their search faster as they can choose to excavate any area at their own pace and keep track over where they have already scanned.

When he begins digging up the soil in one spot, he pulls out a big square nail that he dates from the late 1700s on site alone. He then bags his find for later examination. The next target is only a step away. After a few digs, Gary kneels down and pulls out a chunk of hard-packed dirt. The circular object he finds is made of lead. It is a potentially important artifact.

They are aided by the ornate features of the scalloped-edge token, a possible lead token found on Lot 5, originating more than 2,000 years ago in ancient Rome. Trade tokens were coin-like objects made with different types of metal as well as non-metallic materials that were issued by private entities rather than official governments to be used in place of sanctioned currency. Many cultures have used these sorts of trade tokens throughout history and regions.

Could Gary Drayton be right about this lead trade token being connected to the Roman coin found on Lot 5 earlier in the year? And if it is connected, who brought these coins and tokens to Oak Island, and why? Gary is excited to add lead to the island’s database, and he is also intrigued by the find because amazing results can come from them.

Jack Begley is energized by this find, as unique discoveries on the island often lead to new information for the team to pull apart and add to their Oak Island puzzle. Jack and Gary are quick to take the token to the Interpretive Center to get a few tests going on it. They meet with the archaeologist Leair Nan, Rick Lagginina, and Craig Tester to present their latest find.

Gary Drayton tells the team all about the interesting features he and Jack noticed on the coin-shaped item. The trade token is handed to Leair, their archaeologist, and he notices the two holes punched into it, as well as its brittle nature and lack of markings on the face of the disc.

Leair confirms that the scalloping on the edges is intentional, as they would have had to have been made with a mold. Gary stresses the design of the scalloped edges and how they must signal something. Leair validates Gary’s observations and explains that he wants to clean the disc off before performing an extensive 24-hour XRF scan.

The XRF machine will be able to find the elements that make up the token with non-destructive radiation. Rick believes that the item is totally unique, and they must persevere to begin to understand what it is. Craig is actively trying to come up with an answer for the disc, ruling out its function as a button because the holes in it are not centered enough for that.

They decide that the person who will have more information for them is Emma Culligan, who is both an archaeologist and the resident metallurgist. Now that Emma has completed an extended XRF scan of the mysterious lead disc, she is ready to share her analysis on the object’s contents and potential geographic origin.

Emma shows a picture of the disc that shows two different tones, a dark and a light layer. She explains how she did two long point scans on each of the layers. The light layer is about 99.96% lead, a very high purity number, and then 0.02% is copper and iron. The dark layer has some iron content of about 0.41% and about 0.4% copper and 0.2% silicon.

However, she notes that both of the types of leads are naturally occurring leads, meaning they cannot be ored, and this detail captures her attention. The rarity of such a thing motivates Emma to run another test and XRD scan. The initial minerals she finds are a match from samples found in the mines of Iran, before anyone can become confused or discouraged.

She explains that when a sample matches, it does not determine the accuracy of geographical origin. The fact that a sample is a match does not mean it comes from that mine, but anything that lies on the same geographical belt. In this case, a belt that goes from across Italy near France and Spain. She then brings up another sample that matches these results from the coast of Italy.

Emma concludes that the lead disc must come from a region off the coast of Italy because it does not occur in North America. Marty is interested in knowing the age, but Emma’s professional opinion is that because of the purity of the lead, it could point to it being very old. She suggests that it could be of Roman origin since she traced its history to a mine in Sardinia, which was once a site of Roman mines.

Could it be possible that the lead artifact discovered on Lot 5 could have originated in Italy? If so, does this mean it is related to the Roman coin found earlier in the year and support the theory of researchers such as Zena Halpern and Emiliano Saketi that members of the Knights Templar are connected to the Oak Island mystery? Rick believes that knowing the ore used to create the disc stretches across southern Europe also mimics the trail of the Templars and theorizes that the lead object is associated with that.

He does not want to fully vocalize this idea and recognizes the need for patience and evidence before making this a conclusive statement. Marty acknowledges that once again they have found an object that should not be on the island. All Marty is willing to expound upon is that the shape and appearance of the object could have a deeper meaning to an expert out there that explains the significance to them.

This find will be followed up on by Rick while Marty and the rest of the crew determine that they must dig up more of Lot 5.

The Lena brothers arrive at the Money Pit area to check on the progress of the probe drilling operation within the Garden Shaft. In their tent near the drilling site, they are accompanied by Roger Forton, the Duma Contracting Limited supervisor, as well as Paul Troutman and Charles Barkhouse. They are busy chatting about the depth the drill operators have reached—an incredible 93 ft.

Having reached the approximate depth of the believed tunnel that may lead directly westward into the possible treasure zone, the burning questions are: can they locate the structure? And if so, can they breach it to see what it may contain?

Rick is solemn with the knowledge that today is their last day working on the Garden Shaft because Duma Contracting needs to pack up and leave, giving them only half a day to actively search. The gathered men stand around a monitor observing the drilling. When the drill seems to come to a halt, the probe drill operators struggle to dislodge the drill from whatever it is caught on.

The observers above ground all have their speculations as to what could be detaining the drill and what they suggest should be done. They come to agree that the drill is hitting wood and that they need to pull up the drill and examine what’s down there before they run out of time. Roger Forton contacts his drill operator, Rodney, to stop drilling, pull the rods out, clean out the filing, and make sure everything is bagged for their analysis.

The team knows how evasive Oak Island can be about releasing her secrets. Marty Lena knows that they have to take what little clues they can get and try to figure out what the wood at the base of the shaft could possibly be. Rodney brings up the bagged filing and gives them the disappointing news that if it was wood the drill hit, it was not anything big. However, he does tell them that he is sure he hit wood on the north side.

The Duma crew tells the Lena brothers that they did not have a direct hit or the ability to get into the tunnel, but they were able to go down beside it. The news of the Duma Contracting team failing to get into the tunnel does not deter the Legina brothers. If anything, Rick and Marty seem more determined to head down to the bottom of the Garden Shaft themselves.

They never expected to be able to travel down into the Money Pit together in the decade since they first started their explorations on the island. Marty describes how this is a monumental moment for the brothers as Roger leads them into the fantasy of their childhood come alive. Marty and Rick reflect over the past six decades of dreaming of this life-changing event. Rick is sure that if there is anything to be found in this shaft, it will be under their feet.

They come up with the idea of using a metal detector to help them scope out the extra 5 ft below that the darkness and dirt conceals from them. Rick notes that the coil could be used immersed in water; it could allow them to stand on the edge and get closer to their goal. Rodney uses his walkie-talkie to call Gary Drayton, the metal detector expert, down into the Garden Shaft with them.

Meanwhile, Marty explains that in the last few moments they have left to investigate the shaft, they could at last find the Oak Island treasure. Gary is ecstatic to be the first person metal detecting down in the Money Pit. Someone at the top of the Garden Shaft entrance carefully lowers down the heavy metal detector as Gary reflects on the amount of mud and water below his feet.

The medieval setting gives the crew a thrill. However, behind these ancient-looking walls, Rick warns Gary that the refurbishment included a lot of modern nails which could trigger his metal detector. Gary shows off his CEX3 SA30, his favorite metal detection machine that is able to discriminate between different kinds of objects and metals.

Marty clarifies what they are doing in the Garden Shaft, testing out two different ideas. One of the ideas comes from Rick’s theory that they are at the base of the old shaft and if the previous treasure hunters dropped anything, then it would be here. The other idea they are exploring is the possibility that they are onto something huge—the treasure.

They remove a heavy wooden board to reveal a 2-ft deep hole filled with murky water and muck. Gary assures them that where there is muck, there is treasure, and they make way for him to put his metal detector down into the watery hole under the floorboards. Gary passes the metal detector left and right through the water when it begins to let out beeps indicating that it has detected something very good.

Gary explains that the machine has found a non-ferris target and that this could be gold, silver, or copper, and either way, it is a wonderful signal. Is it possible that Gary has detected evidence of the fabled Oak Island treasure in the muddy soil of the bottom of the Garden Shaft? Or is the metal detector actually picking up signals coming from the bleed tunnel only 10 ft below that runs westward toward the “Baby Blob”?

The team is excited about this promising sign. However, they are also battling disappointment that Duma Contracting does not have the legal permits to extend the shaft deeper. The Oak Island crew desperately wishes to know what lies below, but they cannot risk the future of their project on the island or the safety of both teams by attempting to break through to the bottom of the shaft. The risk of triggering something dangerous in the ground below is too great.

They exit the cold Garden Shaft, frustrated that they have done all they can for the year. The next day is the final “war room” session, and they reflect on their incredible journey researching the mystery of Oak Island together. Rick gives a moving speech thanking the entire Oak Island crew for taking this experience so seriously and so joyfully. Marty thanks everyone for their dedication, and they say their goodbyes for the year.

The next chapter will take place in the spring on the precipice of something great. The Oak Island crew may have detected treasure at the bottom of the Garden Shaft. They have run out of time to pursue their lead, but they are dedicated to solving the mystery of the island in the spring.

The Money Pit has long been a focus in their search for answers and clues to the fabled treasure of the cursed island. Could they have found what they have been searching for all along? Or is this just a new piece of the puzzle to add to their quest?

They have found clues all along the island: ancient coins, bunk hooks, rose head spikes, and buried wells. The various sites and artifacts uncovered on the island have been record-breaking. Now, on the edge of a great discovery, they cannot continue.

They have been building up to this moment for over a decade, only to be stopped by permits and the unknown. Will they ever be able to breach the floor of the Garden Shaft, or will whatever is beneath remain a mystery, lost to time? Let us know your theories in the comments down below. Subscribe to the channel if you are enjoying it so far.