Discoveries That Rewrite the Mystery | The Curse of Oak Island

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Let’s go find something.
Oh, yeah.
NARRATOR: One day after inviting area archaeologist Laird Niven to join the Oak Island team.
So this is the hot spot over here, huh, Gary?
Further down the hill, yeah.
NARRATOR: Brothers Rick and Marty Lagina, along with metal detection expert Gary Drayton, head to lot 24 wow Wow.
where last year the team found a number of potentially significant artifacts related to Samuel Ball.
I think this is the sweet spot, this here area.
Because there’s been so many coins and other interesting stuff coming out of it.
Right.
GARY: I figure if you guys could move these tree trunks, what would you use?
Like a backhoe?
Not using this.
GARY: No, definitely not.
When those stumps come out, we’re going to be able to detect places that’s never been detected underneath the stumps.
Exactly.
And hopefully, there’ll be some more stuff that helps identify the site. Right.
All right.
Well, let’s do it then.
Up with the roots.
RICK: The 3030 metal detector, it’s an extension of Gary’s arm and his brain.
That’s how good he is.
That’s a really good sound.
We might take a spadeful out of it.
RICK: It was very impactful that we must search exhaustively and we mustn’t give up.
I should be able to reach it now.
Is it out?
Come on, baby.
Give me something good.
Look at this.
That’s sweet.
RICK: What is that?
I would imagine it’s a spoon bowl.
And that’s exactly what it is.
LAIRD: It’s a little one.
RICK: Look at that cute little thing.
GARY: That’s a little beauty.
Look at that.
That’s an oldie, as well.
Isn’t it, Laird?
How old, Laird, do you think?
18th century.
18th century?
That’s a little beauty there, isn’t it?
It’s probably copper.

RICK: That is really cool.
GARY: That is a sweet find, and first tree.
RICK: Every piece Gary finds are all important clues.
We’re trying to puzzle together this story.
And we’re hopeful that some of these artifacts will give us a lot of information as to its relevance to [inaudible] the mystery.
If we get a much greater understanding of what happened here, that’s what we’re looking for, answers.
Something definitely happened at this spot right here.
GARY: Without doubt.
All right.
Let’s call it a day, guys.
[music playing] GARY DRAYTON: Oh, this is worth digging, guys.
JACK BEGLEY: What is it?
Well, that is a beauty.
NARRATOR: On Lot 12 near the middle of the island, metal detection expert Gary Drayton, along with Charles Barkhouse and Jack Begley, have just made a potentially important find.
GARY DRAYTON: That’s like a decorative hinge.
I found some beautiful ones that were off chests on Spanish shipwreck sites.
Mm-hmm.
I would say this is very old.
NARRATOR: A decorative hinge from a chest?
Oh, look at this.
Check this thing out.
NARRATOR: Could it be connected to one of the three missing chests that once belonged to the pirate, Captain James Anderson?
And if so, could there be a connection to the skeleton key found by Fred Nolan?
Back in the old days, you don’t take your money and put it in a bank.
People kept it on their property.
They put it in a tin can.
They put it in a chest or somewhere, and they buried it on their property.
Let’s see if there’s any more.
It’s amazing.
I’m still hearing little pieces of iron.
[electronic beep] No chirpy little iron signal.
[electronic beep] JACK BEGLEY: You don’t want to go for it?
No.
CHARLES BARKHOUSE: Here’s something.
What is that?
GARY DRAYTON: Wow.
It’s got a nail in it or it’s got a– You know what that is by the look of it?
That’s a strap of some sort.
No, it’s a hinge.
CHARLES BARKHOUSE: That is a hinge.
That’s another hinge.
Yeah.
That’s exactly what that is.
JACK BEGLEY: Wow.
GARY DRAYTON: Yeah.
These are the type of hinges who come off chests or boxes.
Yeah.
GARY DRAYTON: Look at that.
Saved the best till the last.
JACK BEGLEY: Yeah.
NARRATOR: Another hinge, possibly belonging to a chest?
Could these hinges be evidence that this centuries-old dump site was used not only during the construction of the original Money Pit, but also as a place where treasure was deposited long ago?
If so, what else might this so-called dump contain?
Here’s some pottery.
Yeah.
Is it pottery?
Yeah.
Tiny little pottery shard.
Gentlemen.
Yeah.
Hey, guys.
Hi.
Well, has he danced yet?
Not yet.
No dancing yet.
I mean, we’ve really hammered this area.
It sure looks like it.
Yeah.
And I’m pretty positive this is the site of the dump.
All right.
Well, that’s good.
Let’s– you have a whole bunch of stuff.
GARY DRAYTON: Yeah.
CHARLES BARKHOUSE: Yeah.
There’s a couple of nice finds that came out the end there.
MARTY LAGINA: What are they?
GARY DRAYTON: Hinges.
MARTY LAGINA: Oh, yeah.
GARY DRAYTON: And I’ve found decorative hinges like this off boxes or chests.
RICK LAGINA: I mean, for me, the Nolan property is a mystery within a mystery.
I don’t know what Fred came to know.
But there are answers there.
There’s no question about that.
Who knows what may be excavated out of that?
Who knows how many more items of interest may surface?
MARTY LAGINA: That could be the missing chest.
GARY DRAYTON: Yeah.
So this is a really good first step in terms of cooperating with Tom.
I think that, you know, we find the limits of this dump, and as we go forward with cooperating with Tom, again, this is the first step, but I think it’s a positive first step.
It’s a success.
We were looking for an old dump and we found an old dump.
Yep. MARTY LAGINA: Good job, guys. Carry on.
NARRATOR: Rick Lagina, detection expert Gary Drayton– Look at these flags.
If you see a flag, it’s mine.
NARRATOR: –have arrived at lot 25 in the hopes that critical new clues and evidence of valuables can be found on the property that once belonged to former 18th century American slave turned wealthy Oak Island landowner, Samuel Ball.
Lot 25, mate.
Laird was good enough to let us come in here to metal detect around this Samuel Ball foundation.
NARRATOR: Although he was known as a simple cabbage farmer, from 1786, when he bought his first lot on Oak Island, until his death in 1846, Samuel Ball would mysteriously become one of the richest men in the entire province, ultimately owning nine lots on Oak Island as well as several more on the mainland.
This has led many to speculate that, perhaps, he found at least a portion of the legendary treasure.
Until recently this area was completely off limits to Rick, Marty, Craig, and the team.
However, with the help of archaeologist Laird Niven, they are now legally permitted to conduct supervised surface investigations while Laird and his team carefully excavate the foundation and surrounding area.
But as you can see, there’s a sea of flags here.
RICK LAGINA: And the grid work.
Yeah, the grid work.
And what I’ve been doing is flagging all the nonferrous targets I can get.
Right.
And, well we’ll see what’s here, mate.
OK let’s go see what we find.
I have high hopes for the day.
GARY DRAYTON: Yeah so do I, mate.
There’s no mistaking my pink flags.
I think there’s eight or nine in this area.
There is something interesting here for sure.
All of these are good two-way repeatables.
And it is just there, mate.
What do you think?
All I know is more than likely it’s not iron.
And it should be something good.
Because, I mean, Samuel Bull was here a long time ago, and no one’s ever lived here since the early 1800’s.
See, if you’d moved it– still a good two-way repeatable!
[detector beeping rapidly] Oh– it’s in my hand.
Look at that!
Oh, it’s a bit of lead.
Ore is a great sign.
I think that is not too far off the size of a musket ball.
So this could possibly be– it’s either a lead splash or a musket ball.
When I say a lead splash, that is the remains of musket ball molding.
And I’m sure Samuel Ball made his own musket balls.
But that’s a great sign whenever you find old lead on an old site.
RICK LAGINA: Good news is that it’s a good start, right?
GARY DRAYTON: Yeah.
RICK LAGINA: One flag, one find.
GARY DRAYTON: Yep, exactly.
You’re going to have to mark what we found.
OK.
RICK LAGINA (VOICEOVER): Every find on lot 25 certainly can be partially attributed to Samuel Ball and his life that he created for himself on lot 25.
All right.
Next one’s over here.
RICK LAGINA (VOICEOVER): The man is an enigma.
He’s a mystery.
And slowly, but surely, we’re pulling back the veil on his life, and what he accomplished, and what he did, and maybe what he learned about the Oak Island mystery.
That sounds very, very good.
If I was guessing what this was I’d say that is your typical coin or button signal.
Right there, mate.
Coin or a button on this one, Rick.
OK.
Pretty high bar there.
GARY DRAYTON: Hey we’re metal detecting in a very old area.
Yep, you got out.
Here sounds good.
GARY DRAYTON: It doesn, doesn’t it?
[detector beeping rapidly] Oh!
Oh.
I do not know at the moment.
It looks like– I know it’s fake, but it kind of reminds me of the back of a pocket watch.
NARRATOR: Part of a pocket watch found on the property of Samuel Ball?
Could it have been something he bought with the wealth that he mysteriously came to possess?
Or could it have been part of a valuable discovery that he made while living here?
GARY DRAYTON: That is a steep curve, but it looks like there would have been an old layer, and an old layer, so I am unsure on this one.
I have no idea.
I know it’s fragile.
I know what it is.
It’s a top pocket find.
It really is a top pocket find, mate.
We found it, and we’ll bag it and tag it.
That’s the safest place for it.
On to the next.
Hopefully this one is just as productive.
Hey, Aaron?
Do you want to come check this out?
NARRATOR: In the uplands near the Northeastern border of the Oak Island swamp, archaeologists Miriam Amirault and Dr. Aaron Taylor, continue to search for more evidence that might tell them which direction the mysterious stone pathway is heading.
AARON TAYLOR: Oh, what do you got?
Look what I just found.
AARON TAYLOR: Oh, nice!
Hand-painted.
MIRIAM AMIRAULT: I haven’t seen colors like that.
AARON TAYLOR: Yeah.
Blue, pink, and green.
AARON TAYLOR: Wow!
NARRATOR: Hand-painted pottery?
Discovered near the pathway in the uplands?
Was it left behind by someone after the discovery of the Money Pit in 1795?
Or is it evidence of much earlier human activity on Oak Island?
It’s almost like a– a base of maybe a teacup or something or a bowl.
Do you see that face?
Yeah.
RICK LAGINA: Hey, good morning.
AARON TAYLOR: Hey, Rick.
MIRIAM AMIRAULT: Hi!
Miriam just had a– Look what I just found.
–interesting find.
Oh!
In the black or– Yeah.
Here you go.
RICK LAGINA: What do you make of it?
AARON TAYLOR: Hand-painted. MIRIAM AMIRAULT: Hand-painted.
Isn’t that pretty?
RICK LAGINA: It’s very pretty.
The thing about doing the archaeological work with Aaron and Miriam is that you learn to pay attention.
You learn that the most insignificant fine might be highly revealing.
This is what archaeology is about– finding artifacts, studying them, dating them, and then weaving them into an understanding, a story, if you will, of what happened.
This is certainly quite unique.
AARON TAYLOR: What the ceramics do tell us is that this was exposed when those ceramics came down on it.
RICK LAGINA: Right.
But right now, the question is does this connect to the road?
I mean, is it believable to think that this is all man-made?
Well, we know parts of it are definitely man-made.
In here is definitely man-made.
RICK LAGINA: Right.
AARON TAYLOR: I think it’s stronger that it moves up land at some point.
And the road connects to there.
It’s coming along here, stops, and turns up here.
And that’s why I want to see if Billy’s available to take another bucket width back to see if this is something.
RICK LAGINA: So for right now, I’ll talk to Billy about digging this and digging that.
– Great. – OK.
Thanks, Rick.
Thank you.
Good find, Miriam.
Yeah!
It’s exciting.
Aaron and Miriam have decided that they’re going to take basically a leap of faith.
This road has to go somewhere.
And there are significant clues that have led them to believe that the road has turned upland.
And thus, they’ve chosen to open up some test pits around this stone path.
The hope is that we can follow it in some way, shape, or form.
Billy, if you would be able to pull back this area, then maybe we can see if the road’s coming up there.
BILLY: OK.
That’s the perfect depth, Billy.
That’s great, Billy.
That’s perfect.
I think this is good for now.
Thank you.
OK.
AARON TAYLOR: So we can get in here with our shovels and trowels.
MIRIAM AMIRAULT: If maybe just we can get that little blob out of there?
I’ll get that out with the shovel.
Yeah.
What’s that?
Did you see this?
There’s stone here.
AARON TAYLOR: Wow.
MIRIAM AMIRAULT: I’d say that’s exactly what we’re looking for.
Yeah.
NARRATOR: Evidence of more cobblestones?
Could Dr. Aaron Taylor’s intuition have paid off with the discovery of another section of the stone pathway leading further into the uplands away from the swamp?
If so, just where is it leading?
And what will the team find when they reach its end?
And the stones are here.
So then they stop.
AARON TAYLOR: I’m thinking that’s telling me the road’s probably stopping here and coming up this way.
The path appears to have turned to the upland at this point.
And all the treasure associated thoughts around Oak Island are, of course, based in the money pit.
Well, we’re certainly headed in that direction.
And so I have every reason to hope that we’re following the right path.
[Gary] This is our chance to shine, Rick. -Lot 5. -[Rick] Yep.
[narrator] Rick Lagina and metal detection expert Gary Drayton arrive on Lot 5 to look for more clues that might reveal who built the mysterious stone structures located in this area, and why. [Gary] I’ve gone over all this stuff.
-Mm-hm. -And I’ve got a lot of flags.
I’ve got a dozen flags in this area, and all of these spoils came from the bottom of that hole, so…
it should be the deepest finds.
[narrator] They are starting their search in the spoils that have recently been removed from a circular depression. A fissure where they have found artifacts dating between the 17th and mid-18th centuries. -[beeping] -Pretty good.
Yeah, pretty good.
I’m in agreement, mate. Pretty good.
[narrator] After detecting and flagging a number of potential targets earlier today, Gary and Rick have now received permission from archaeologist Laird Niven to dig them up. -[beeping] -It’s out.
[Gary] Come on. Let’s be something good.
[beeping] -[Rick] Is that… -[Gary] Nope.
[rapid beeping] It’s in my hand.
Which means it’s small.
[Rick] Mm-hm.
[Gary] There.
-[beeping] -[Gary] It’s out.
-A lead shot. -Mm-hm.
-[Rick] Small caliber too. -[Gary] Yeah.
-It’s an oldie. -Very cool.
[Gary] Get the lead tested.
I’d say its period, for the lot…
all the finds we’d finding, they’re going way back to the early 1700s.
Could be anywhere in the 1700s.
Maybe a little bit older.
It could be military.
[narrator] A lead shot? Found in the spoils removed from the circular feature on Lot 5? And possibly dating back to the 1700s? If so, could it be another clue potentially related to the Duc d’Anville’s ship’s log? Which detailed a French naval mission to hide treasure on an island in this area back in 1746. -Right. Let’s find some more. -[Rick] Okay.
[beeping] That could go either way.
Yeah, that was broken up.
[beeping] [Gary] Something good!
[beeping] -That was it. -A shell casing.
Is it? No, it is not a shell casing like that.
It’s an unusual find.
-Oh, is it? -Look at that, mate.
[Gary] I don’t know, it…
You know, the archaeologists are over there.
-Mm-hm. -Should we call Helen over?
-Sure. -Helen, check this out!
Hey, Gary. You guys found something?
-[Gary] Yeah, look at that. -[Rick] What d’you make of that?
[Helen] Oh, look at that.
[Gary] Hopefully, you have an idea of what it is.
[Rick] What is that?
I would say, it’s like, you know, gun-related.
-Yeah? -[Helen] It looks like a sight.
[Gary] Well, it’s really, really special-looking.
And I’m glad you went to gun, because I was thinking old guns.
Yeah.
I mean, to me, that looks like a gun sight, right?
-[Gary] Could be. -[Helen] Yeah, that’s nice.
-[Gary] For sure. -[Helen] Yeah.
Well, thanks for your input, Helen.
Okay.
[Rick] We have found items that we believe have some military context. This may be another of them.
Again, this speaks to an enterprise here could possibly have been conducted by the Duc d’Anville expedition. The good news is, they can be tested.
How about taking this lot back to the lab?
I’m really, really curious.
That copper, barrel-shaped artifact.
That’s special.
Let’s add that to the database and keep going.
[Gary] Okay, mate. Back to the lab. [narrator] Later that afternoon, in the Interpretative Center. [man] So what do we have today? This artifact came off Lot 5.
Not too far off the round feature.
It may be gun-related.
[narrator] Rick Lagina, Craig Tester, and other members of the team meet with archaeologist Laird Niven and archaeometallurgist Emma Culligan, to get their analysis of the artifact found one day ago on Lot 5. So it’s a ramrod guide for a musket.
This would be in there, and the ramrod would come through the front tube, this would be the center tube.
And be held in with a third one.
[narrator] The smoothbore long gun, known as a musket, was invented in Europe near the beginning of the 16th century. Fire!
[narrator] A feature known as a ramrod guide was designed for aiding the operator in the loading of lead or stone projectiles into the muzzle of the musket. And what type of musket?
That’s the million-dollar question.
Exactly.
If it’s a musket, that would make it pretty old then.
Yeah.
-Anywhere from 1600s to 1800s. -Yeah.
-You gotta love that patina. -Yeah.
That tells you it’s really old.
[Laird] The only strange thing is that there’s a little tiny hole here which I haven’t seen in others.
It seems fancy.
Well, it’d be nice to know… French, British…
-Mm-hm. -Yeah.
You know, some nationality to that.
-You want to see the CT image? -[Rick] Sure.
[narrator] Earlier this morning, Emma processed the artifact using a SkyScan 1273 CT scanner. By emitting non-destructive X-ray radiation, the device can penetrate built-up corrosion on objects, revealing clear 3D images of them along with their finer details. [Emma] It’s just loading.
[Rick] The little hole just turned big.
-That’s a clean scan. -[Emma] Yeah.
[both] Yeah.
[Laird] See in the top right?
-[Rick] Yeah. -[Craig] Ooh, yeah.
[Rick] It looks like there’s Roman numerals.
We get those crazy Roman numerals -in the U-shape structure. -Yeah.
The only thing I can think of is that could be, uh…
it could be a regiment, I guess.
-It’s an odd thing to mark. -[Craig and Rick] Yeah.
Those look like V-1-1-1-1, doesn’t it?
-We saw that in Smith’s Cove. -Right.
-On U-shaped structures. -Yeah.
[narrator] In the early 1970s, Rick, Marty and Craig’s late partner, Dan Blankenship, built an earthen coffer dam that surrounded Smith’s Cove on the eastern end of Oak Island in order to drain the area and look for evidence of a legendary flood tunnel system that acted as a booby trap for the original money pit. Dan was amazed to uncover a 65-foot-long U-shaped wooden structure that featured Roman numerals and which he believed was constructed as a surrounding barrier for the flood system. There’s probably a ramrod waiting for us somewhere in that area.
[narrator] Is it possible that the U-shaped structure along with the other features and artifacts that have been found on Lot 5 may be connected to a 1746 ship’s log which detailed how treasure was securely buried in a deep pit on a wooded island? [foreboding music playing] [Rick] Finding the Roman numerals carved on that little bit of ramrod guide, it brought back memories certainly of the U-shaped structure. We’ve never found Roman numerals before on any other artifact, to date.
And to have them found here, I think the two are strongly connected. [Gary] Absolutely fantastic. This has given us hope, that there’s more finds on Lot 5.
I say we give it another shot.
I want to find the rest of it.
-I’m in. -Okay.
All right. Good luck.
-Thank you, Laird. -Thanks, Laird.