The Curse of Oak Island: Hidden Chamber Uncovered by Cutting-Edge Radar (S12)

NARRATOR:
Today, the team is hoping
to not only confirm the location
of the flood tunnel
but also track it back
to the Money Pit area,
and determine just where
the treasure may be buried
deep below ground.

-Hey, Rick.
-Hey.
Kind of soupy, eh?
CRAIG:
Yeah.
RICK:
If we find the flood tunnel,
we follow that up, it should be
a direct line
to “X marks the spot.”
And that’s my hope,
that ultimately,
we solve this mystery
for all the people
that have come before us
looking for answers.
There’s something right there.
That is one weird-looking board.
-(chuckles)
-CRAIG:
Yeah.
CRAIG:
Hey, Billy.
-What’s that?
-It looks like there’s a board
right at the water level
right now.
-Do you see it from there?
-I think so, yeah.
I’ll see if the water
that’s in the hole
might help clean it off.
-Okay.
RICK:
It does look shaped.
CRAIG:
I’m gonna give Steve a call,
have him mark it.
RICK:
As Billy digs, we have
everyone looking
for something
that was built by human hands.
Lo and behold, there’s a board.
I am curious about
who built this structure,
searchers
or original depositors.
(chuckles): It’s difficult
not to want to go down
and put your hands on it
and take measurements.
Unfortunately, it’s too deep.
Hey, guys.
-Steve.
-Hey, Steve.
If you’ll step
right where I’m at
on this side, kind of,
see a board sticking out?
Yep.
BILLY:
Two boards, on this side.
RICK:
Yeah, I see that.
STEVE:
Yeah, it looks like
it’s pretty much on top
of the projected line.
I mean, the Restall survey plan
from ’63 is quite accurate.
So, if the flood tunnel
was gonna be down here
and they really did find it,
it looks like
this wood lines up
with the potential flood tunnel.
-Yep.
-We’re– just got to keep going.
It’s worth digging.
RICK:
I mean, somebody had
to put those boards there.
It’s a curious thing.
-What the heck is it?
-Yeah.
CRAIG:
Billy.
Can you dump
a couple buckets on the wood
to try to clean it up
a little more around it?
(grunts)
♪ ♪
STEVE:
There’s a flat face
about six or eight inches
under it.
RICK:
So, we are looking at
a structure that is
only partially exposed
in the moment.
We’re looking for anything
out of the ordinary in the area.
And here we’re seeing
something out of place,
but there has to be more.
I was hoping something
would show there.
CRAIG:
Yeah, me, too.
-There she goes.
-RICK:
Oh, yeah.
It’s going more. Look at it.
CRAIG:
Watch out.
There’s a crack right there.
-Ooh.
-RICK:
Oh, yeah.
Ooh…
That whole thing’s going.
Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow.
There is a board.
You were right.
That it, you see it there?
CRAIG:
Yep. That’s a big board.
RICK:
We should grab that
-before we start digging,
you know?
-BILLY:
All right.
♪ ♪
Oh, there’s a beam, too.
CRAIG:
Look at that.
I don’t think that’s a board.
It’s a rock, isn’t it?
-CRAIG:
Rock?
-RICK:
Concrete.
-STEVE:
Oh!
-CRAIG:
Wow.
RICK:
Look at that.
CRAIG:
Oh, yeah.
RICK:
See this?
It’s not
uniform thickness. Right?
-Thicker here than it is here.
-CRAIG:
Over here? Definitely.
This is where Emma is gonna be
incredibly helpful.
-Yes.
-RICK:
She said she can,
you know,
with the different mixes,
-she may be able to define
a decade or decades.
-Okay.
So…
We should just
leave it like it is.
NARRATOR:
If the team can verify
that this concrete was made
in the 1960s,
it would likely mean
that it was created
by the Restall family
and that their efforts
to locate the believed
flood tunnel that feeds
seawater into the Money Pit
could soon pay off.
Let’s take– let’s go
take a look at that beam.
We found concrete
and then we find a huge beam.
It’s evidence of work
by human hands.
It could represent
previously unknown work.
It’s exciting.
There might be something here
that will speak eloquently
to what happened here.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR:
Later that afternoon…
MARTY:
Hello, guys.
-RICK:
Hey.
-CHARLES:
Hey, Marty.
-TERRY:
Hi, Marty.
-ALEX:
Hey.
This is
a very interesting war room.
NARRATOR:
…Craig Tester,
along with Rick Lagina
and other members
of the team meet
in the war room as Marty Lagina
joins them via video conference.
RICK:
We have here, probably
the most interesting find,
something that might corroborate
what the Restalls attempted
to do many years ago.
NARRATOR:
They have gathered to hear
a scientific report
from archaeometallurgist
Emma Culligan regarding
the large pieces
of concrete that were recently
unearthed at Smith’s Cove.
This is indeed concrete
’cause concrete is
cement, aggregate and sand.
And this is a pretty simple
cement-concrete composition.
NARRATOR:
Prior to today’s meeting,
Emma scanned the concrete
with an X-ray
diffraction device–
or XRD– which uses X-rays
to determine
the chemical composition
and physical properties
of materials.
What’s really cool about it is,
in the XRD, I did get
a portlandite trace,
which kind of puts it in
the group of Portland cement.
NARRATOR:
Comprised of a combination
of limestone and clay or shale,
Portland cement is the most
common type of cement used
in modern-day construction.
It is often mixed with sand,
gravel and water
to make concrete.
There’s only two locations
in Canada that have portlandite
and that’s Quebec
and then there’s B.C.
And this is most likely
Quebec-sourced.
All of the aggregates
and sand are most likely
Nova Scotia-based
’cause those are all
compositions that I normally see
in our soil and sand.
So there’s
a few key things that can
narrow down a date
for this cement.
So the Quebec location started
hydraulic mining in the 1920s.
And this is
hydraulically-mined cement.
I don’t think
it’s anything post-1980s
cause it’s missing
modern concrete mix.
So I can narrow it down to…
…1920s to 1970s cement.
CRAIG:
They thought
that was the spot
to shut off the flood tunnel.
That’s why they wanted
to cement it.
And they recorded it as having
a direct impact
on the flow of water.
So there was definitely
some sort of connection there.
Exactly.
RICK:
Look,
I’m heartened by it.
The Restalls’ understanding
of the location
of the Vertical Shaft
was very important to them
and it should be to us.
So having said that,
let’s try to find
the Vertical Shaft.
So, this is
our Smith’s Cove survey.
We’re currently
sitting right here.
In that same area, that’s
where we found the concrete,
along the projected line
of the flood tunnel.
And that’s really
important to us because
it confirms that the flood
tunnel system is real.
And it confirms
that the Restalls were
in the right place.
We’re following
a trail of clues.
And I think it’s important
to continue this work.
So, I am heartened by this.
I think we’re
on the trail of something.
So, the only way to do it
is to get back out there.
-Let’s dig.
-Let’s do it.
DOUG:
Go, team.
by Craig Tester
that possible evidence
of a man-made flood tunnel
has been uncovered
over 30 feet below the beach
at Smith’s Cove,
Rick Lagina
and Scott Barlow arrive
to inspect the potentially
historic discovery.
CRAIG:
So, what we’re finding is,
along this wall,
there’s some rocks
that appear to be
probably below where, uh,
the boards were that we found.
BILLY:
Each rock was touching,
you know,
like– it was, like, they were
stacked in, and underneath,
was quite a few
fist-sized rocks in there.
What do you make of it, Craig?
Uh, I don’t know.
It was definitely odd,
’cause you look around
anywhere else and you don’t
see rocks like that.
So, to me, it was man-made.
RICK:
One wouldn’t expect to see
boulders aligned like this.
There’s a linearity to them,
which Mother Nature doesn’t do.
If you confirm the location
of the flood tunnel
and project that line,
somewhere on that line should be
the original Money Pit.
So, it’s exciting.
If it really is a flood tunnel,
means there is a Money Pit.
Think of the laborious effort,
but more– even important
than the laborious effort
-is the plan.
-Mm-hmm.
A plan. A well engineered,
well thought-out,
very cogent application
of money, time,
material and effort
to do one thing
and one thing only, maybe.
And that’s why
this story has endured
and that’s why it continues
to be so fascinating.
-Mm-hmm.
There’s only one thing to do.
Keep digging.
-CRAIG:
Okay.
-Yep.