The Curse of Oak Island: Mysterious Stone Road Provides Clues (Season 11)

Another fine mess
you’ve made here.
-We have made a heck of a mess.
-Yeah.
[narrator] At the southern
border of the Oak Island swamp,
Marty Lagina and Craig Tester
join Rick Lagina
and other members of the team
to inspect the wooden structure
that was just unearthed
beneath the stone road.
That’s the edge.
Really?
You believe it ended
right there?
[Rick] Yeah.
There was two logs
underneath the edge,
but it looked really
like they were fitted together
like they took one log
and, you know–
Like if you were building
a cabin, like that.
Right.
There was brush just, like,
under the construct itself,
and smaller logs
as though to underpin
the road.
-And then it stopped abruptly.
-Really?
[Jack] Yeah, yeah.
Swamp muck mixed with
bigger logs on the bottom
that were running perpendicular
to the road,
but it was also well enough in
to the structure of the stones
that you can say it was put down
during the construction
of the road.
-I got it, yeah.
-Okay.
[Rick] There’s big timbers
underneath the stone road
which just underscores that
that was a massive undertaking.
Somebody put that road in
for a specific reason,
and I think they wanted it
to not be found
after they were done.
It could be leading us back
to where the…
treasure is.
And just before we got to
the end of the road here,
we have pulled up some really,
really nice artifacts.
Old-looking chains,
some really interesting chains.
I heard about this chain.
Very unusual.
This looks old.
[narrator] Two weeks ago,
while excavating
the southern edge
of the potentially
500-year-old stone road,
the Oak Island team
uncovered a large, hand-wrought
chain and hook,
which blacksmithing expert
Carmen Legge
dated to the 16th century.
Is it possible
that this artifact
was once used in the swamp area
to offload cargo from a ship
onto Oak Island?
The chain was
a three-point hitch.
Hand-forged, by the look of ’em.
Yeah. Might’ve even been
four-point hitch.
Yeah.
To me,
you could stay there,
a nice stable surface,
hook a box or something
very heavy, three-point hitch…
And unload out here. Or load.
Right, because if you’re pulling
with a three-point hitch,
you could pull it across
this heavy ground
and then get it to the bog
and pull it right up that road.
If you’re trying to fit
the chain
to the road,
to me, that’s an explanation.
-Really is. Yeah.
-Mm-hm.
[Rick] I think
it’s an important discovery.
We have clearly defined
the extent
of the construct
of the road
and where it transitions
to the beach.
Does it align with the idea
that a larger ship offshore,
a tender comes,
brings the material
to a crafted slipway
or a wharf or a dock?
Sure, it fits perfectly.
It’s very interesting,
all the stuff you have found.
Hopefully it can tell
part of the story.
Hopefully it ties together
to give us a date.
And hopefully we find something
even better yet.
-Yeah.
-What’s next here?
What are you gonna do next?
We’re only beginning to get
to that point.
Oh, you’re gonna keep digging
underneath where Billy is?
Yeah.
Well, the best dig
is yet to come.
With this. Let’s get it done.
[dramatic music playing]
[Marty] Right, here we go.
[Gary] High hopes
for this one, mate.
[Marty] All right, Gary.
Come on.
[Gary] Yep.
Let’s go find some treasure.
Come on, where are you?
Wow, there’s nothing in here.
This is quiet.
What do we got here?
That looks like a bit of
a barrel stave.
Maybe.
[Gary] Similar to those
barrel staves
we found digging
in the swamp there.
[Marty] Yeah.
It looks like a barrel stave,
because it’s wider here
than it is there.
I don’t know what’s
gone on here.
Probably where it ripped out.
But yeah.
I’d say that’s a bit
of a barrel.
[Gary] Yeah.
Well, one thing for sure,
we’ve got enough of those
barrel staves
that were recovered
not too far away.
-We can compare it.
-That’s right.
Well, we’re trying to see
whether the idea
that this is an offloading area
is correct or not.
That barrel certainly
-would fit with that.
-Yeah.
That’s how
they transported stuff.
[narrator] A barrel stave
found near the stone road
or ship’s wharf?
Could Gary be correct
that it might be related
to the pieces of wooden
cargo barrels
that were unearthed
in this area
three years ago?
And which Carmen Legge believed
could be as much as
600 years old.
[Marty] Every time we dig in
and around the swamp,
we find something.
The stone road,
the paved area,
the ramp…
Lots of artifacts.
So we’re gonna
continue digging.
We’ll do a little analysis
on that, but I’m…
wanting to find more stuff.
Oh, yes, some coins.
-Put it right over there.
-Ta-ra, mate.
[Marty] Something in there
for sure.
[Gary] Nope.
What the hell’s going on?
[dramatic music playing]
It’s catching on something.
I wonder if it’s wood or rocks.
[hydraulics whirring]
There’s a boulder.
I don’t know if that means
it’s the end of the road.
Don’t know if we wanna do
a little shovel work to check.
It’s up to you.
Gary and I’ll go have a look.
-[Billy] Yep.
-Go have a look, Gary.
Let’s go have a look.
Check it out.
Where’s the boulder?
[Billy] To your left.
-Oh, right here.
-Yeah.
And that’s a first run,
so what you’re suggesting
is there could be a road here?
Well, just from my angle,
it could be in alignment
with the stone road.
Those are the first
two big rocks.
We’ll have to dig
a little further.
So you’re thinking these
are retaining rocks.
Yeah, it would only be
the retaining edge, I would say.
[Marty] I don’t think
it’s possible
to stand and look at
that stone road
and not think that this had
to have a special purpose.
It’s a rather massive
construction.
And it had to be done
for a reason.
What was it for?
I’m prepared to just
see what the data suggests
as we dig more.
That could lead us directly
to what we’ve been seeking
for years.
Well, what I would say, Billy,
just as you’re going this way,
look for others.
-Mm-hm.
-Kinda scrape along.
All right.
I’m gonna start that pump, Gary.
Yep. I’ll check the spoils.
[dramatic music playing]
[Gary] One thing
that’s really exciting
about being in the swamp
is that possibility
that Billy sticks
that bucket in,
and next thing you know,
you come up with some
really great old artifacts.
Oh! Three interesting
pieces of wood.
Barrel staves?
Got two strips.
And then this looks
like a handle.
-Yeah, that is–
-Rounded edges.
-It’s a peculiar piece of wood.
-Yeah.
Wonder if it was like–
like an old pickaxe handle.
-Could be.
-Or an ax.
Almost looks hand-shaped.
[narrator] A hand-shaped tool?
Could it have been used
in the original construction
of the stone road?
If so, is it possible
that scientific analysis
might help identify
not only its age,
but also who brought it
to Oak Island.
Okay. Let’s get back to work.
There’s another rock there.
There’s more bigger rocks
coming this way.
-[Gary] And in line?
-[Billy] Yeah.
[Marty] Okay, Billy.
We’ll go have a look.
Where was the original rock?
Here?
There, yeah. Other one’s buried,
and there’s another one there.
There’s a pretty steady
row right–
And then there’s a flat one
lower behind you, Gary.
See the…
There’s one here,
one there, one there.
Yeah, but what’s that mean?
Maybe some buried
in between.
[Marty] I think there are clues
in the swamp.
Clearly there are.
I have been
absolutely wrong
about the extent of
the workings in the swamp.
I thought there was nothing,
and there’s a lot there.
Some good stuff in there,
I’m sure.
Now, Marty was never
a big fan of the swamp,
but the more discoveries
we have found
in the swamp over the years,
the more I see the twinkle
in Marty’s eye.
I think he’s beginning to like
the swamp.
We may want to
take that over a bit.
I don’t know if that means
that’s the end of the road.
We thought it
might’ve been the log,
but the log was an edge.
Rick’s coming in a little bit.
Let’s see what he wants to do.
[Billy] I think we should have
the guys look at it.
[Marty] This could be
important.
I’ll kick it around
with Rick and Craig
and we’ll decide
what to do.
[Gary] I’m telling you, mate,
we are onto something here.