The Curse of Oak Island – Season 13 – Mapping It Out – Full HD 1080p

Look at this.
>> Oh my gosh.
>> There’s something here.
>> Could this be a continuation of the stone pen? This is the Blair treasure map. From what we can gather, there were three separate treasure caches.
>> I say we get after it.
>> Yeah. Look at this. This has got to be this stone. There’s an X here.
>> Ringing loud and clear. Oh, got it.
>> Wow.
>> Come see this.
>> Hello, Vanessa. What’s Vanessa?
>> Hey guys, how are you doing today?
>> Excellent. Thank you for joining us. We know you’re super busy.
>> I’ll always take your guys’ call. It’s good to see all your faces.
>> Unlike most new mornings on Oak Island, which begin with brothers Rick and Marty Lagginina and their team searching for evidence of a vast treasure deep in the fabled Money Pit area.
>> It’s been several years, as you all know, since we put canisters down. Today they are beginning in the war room and meeting via video conference with Vanessa Lucido, the CEO of Rock Equipment.
>> You know, there’s nothing like that hammer grab coming out and maybe carrying something we really are looking for.
>> After weeks of drilling in the money pit area, they now believe it is once again time for a major dig operation that could finally reveal the answers to a 230y old mystery.
I got a question. How deep are we going?
>> You know, uh we have acquired a couple of targets that are deep. So, you know, we want to talk about um being prepared for that, being able to go down approximately 220 ft.
>> Yeah, I can do that for sure.
>> After recent groundwater tests identified a region in the money pit area where a large source of gold and precious metals lies buried somewhere below a depth of 100 ft. The Oak Island team has recovered stunning evidence of man-made workings in several locations.
>> This sounds like the Chapel Vault, >> including one where they may have recovered part of the fabled Chapel Vault, a massive wooden chest first reported by treasure hunters Frederick Blair and William Chapel at a depth of 153 ft back in 1897.
Now, in the coming weeks, the Lagginas and their team intend to install large diameter steel quesons in the hopes of retrieving the vault and any other potential valuables that may lie buried more than 200 ft underground.
>> We want to find out from you, are you available, say, in a week or couple weeks, something like that. My my crews always enjoy coming up there and we do have equipment available. Uh we’d love to make this happen for you guys.
>> Well, that’s a great answer. We appreciate that, Vanessa.
>> Couldn’t ask for a better answer.
>> I am very happy with the decision of the group to dig. And by that I mean put down these quesons and see what’s there.
It’s easy to still have hope that there’s treasure in the money pit. The metals in the water has kept my interest going. It’s kept my vigor for this treasure going. It’s time to dig.
>> So, the last time we were there, we did 10 foot diameter shafts. Uh, we went rather large. Are you still thinking that large or what are we talk?
>> We want to do as many as we can. It is kind of a rule of thumb that a smaller diameter canister will go down faster.
Is that not correct?
>> You know, we kind of have our sweet spot. I’d say seven to eight feet, we always are able to move rather quickly.
Um, anything lower than that, you’re not getting as much out. I don’t think you guys would be happy with that. Anything bigger than that, then we’re looking at, you know, increased trucking, increased lead times, that kind of stuff.
>> Well, actually, when we were talking about it internally, we actually were um modeling it at 7 ft. So, that’s perfect.
>> Okay.
>> You know, we’re certainly excited and we’re grateful that Vanessa and her team are coming back.
I wanted to make striden moves forward towards understanding the who, the what, the when, the where, the why, the how. I want all of us to be successful. I want all of us to be excited. I want all of us to find the one thing.
>> Look, Vanessa, from my standpoint, I like everything I’m hearing as far as I’m concerned. You can saddle up the horses and start this way.
>> Okay. Well, let me get with my team and uh we’ll see our availability and hopefully we can get there.
>> All right. You better start making some calls, Vanessa. We want to see you out here.
>> All right, we’ll do.
>> Thank you very much.
>> Appreciate it.
>> You’re welcome. Thank you guys.
>> As the meeting concludes in the war room.
So, Billy, I think we still have to metal detect here.
>> Alex Lagginina along with metal detection expert Katya Drayton and Billy Gard are continuing another important investigation in the northern region of the mysterious triangle-shaped swamp.
>> Once we detect this surface, where do you think you’ll dump it?
>> Well, we were sitting. We know we have a strange sort of rock thing over there.
So, we have to see that if the path is anywhere is through here, right?
>> Okay.
>> In recent years, the Oak Island team has uncovered a number of stunning man-made structures, including a paved area near the middle of the swamp, as well as a stone road in the southeast corner that they believed were used by whomever may have buried treasure in the money pit area.
However, in recent weeks, they have also uncovered a stone pathway near what appears to be a vault-like feature composed of brick and slate in the northern region.
>> So, I think Kata, if you can just metal detect this area here, then Billy, you’ll scrape it off, pile it there, and you can start going over the spoils, and then we’ll work our way back.
>> That’s it. Let’s get to it.
These recent discoveries have made the team suspect that the money pit may not be the only place where treasure is buried on Oak Island.
And if they can uncover more of the pathway, it may possibly lead to other vault structures that perhaps still contain something of value.
>> Maybe this is a a little pathway to yet another of those kind of shallow stone and brick vaults in the swamp. We should keep following it. We need to learn everything we can from it.
I think this is axe cut.
Came out of here.
Could have come from the surface. Hard to say.
It’s pretty dark. The stuff on the top is a lighter color. That looks like it’s in that little bit of a deeper.
>> So, you’re saying it probably came from deep?
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> Let’s add it to the bag.
>> Yeah. I’ll set it aside.
>> Yeah.
>> Another really good indicator that we’re following something man-made is these axe chips that we’re finding. You know, chips from axe cut wood. All right. That is an indicator to me that somebody was working in the in the near vicinity. Was it somebody searching for treasure or was it related to a potential treasure deposit?
>> Hey guys, what are you seeing?
>> I’m not seeing enough to make it obvious like a stack of rocks. Pile of rocks definitely put there by people.
>> We have one I can’t tell the depth. We have one looks like axe cut piece of wood. Set that aside.
So, my hope here is that we’ll find an artifact or artifacts.
>> Okay, let’s keep digging and >> y >> see what we find.
>> Okay.
>> We’ve spent many a long year trying to solve this mystery and it continues to elude us as it has the previous searchers over the last 230 years.
>> The whole trend has been higher elevation there down to lower elevation here for all the layers.
No question. It’s beyond time. And that’s why you continue to work.
>> Wait, what’s that?
There’s something here.
Come here. Look at this.
What in the heck is going on?
>> Oh my gosh.
What in the heck is going on?
>> Oh my gosh.
>> The snake right through the board.
>> Oh yeah.
>> While searching for additional sections of a cobblestone pathway in the northern region of the swamp.
>> It’s just strange to have this right in the middle of the board.
>> Yeah. Rick Lagginina and other members of the Oak Island team have just uncovered another mysterious man-made feature.
>> This is pounding through, >> I think. Yeah, >> that’s strange.
>> Yes, it is. Yeah.
>> Curiously, what was interesting is Fred found all these stakes in this area, >> that would be very interesting to see if these are the old ones like the survey stakes that Fred found when he drained the swamp, >> right?
In 1969, the late Oak Island landowner and treasure hunter Fred Nolan drained the swamp and was astonished to discover several uniform lines of wooden stakes, which were carbonated to as early as the 16th century.
As a professional surveyor, Fred believed that the stakes had been used by someone to create the swamp in order to hide multiple caches of treasure and also speculated that there could be more valuables hidden across the island.
>> There’s another board there.
>> Wait, there’s something here.
>> What’s that?
>> What is that?
>> It’s not a root.
Look at that. There’s a pole board under this board and maybe more boards going that way.
>> Yeah.
>> Not sure what to make of this.
>> That’s curious.
>> Yeah.
>> Anyway, let’s see if this is much bigger than what we currently see.
>> Yeah.
>> Okay, Bill, uncover it slowly and try to get a look at what this represents.
>> Yep.
Is it possible that Rick has just unearthed not only another ancient survey marker, but perhaps a structure that, like the nearby vault-like feature, was built to hide something of value?
>> There’s another board underneath this round piece.
>> Certainly, the planks we’re finding in the north end of the bog are very, very curious. These are intentionally laid out. There’s another board there.
>> We have a multiplicity, if you will, of connect the dots going on here.
How does it fit into the nodes? What is its relationship to the square slate structure and this new stone path?
>> Alex, why don’t you text Lar >> if he’d like to come out and take a look see there’s one level two. Maybe he could recommend a way to take this apart. Maybe it’s level by level.
There’s three. I’ll text him.
>> Because Rick suspects that they could have found a structure that may predate the discovery of the money pit in 1795.
Before the team investigates any further and risk damaging the feature, he has decided to call in archaeologist Leair Nan to have it examined.
>> Hello. Oh, yeah. Lear. Well, the curious thing, what got our attention is that board and that stake driven >> coming up. Yeah.
>> And then there’s three layers of boards.
>> Yeah. Why would these boards be so degraded?
>> I guess it depends on species. It depends on the condition they were in when they were put there.
>> So, I think we get Dr. Spooner in here and he can take the samples, right?
>> In an attempt to date the feature, the team will have geocscientist Dr. Ian Spooner collects samples for carbon testing as soon as possible.
>> I would expose as much as you can for him to have a look.
>> Yeah, let’s finish up.
>> Okay, Bill.
>> Always good to have an excuse to dig a little more.
>> For sure.
>> As the investigation of the northern region of the swamp continues several hundred yards to the west on lot five.
>> Hi, >> how’s it going?
>> It’s going great. Craig Tester joins archaeologists Fiona Steel at Moya McDonald as they excavate a large stone foundation near the shoreline.
>> We’ve actually just opened up this new test pit this morning.
>> Okay.
>> And that’s a feature also that had the the clay from the money pit.
>> That’s exactly right. Over the past 2 years, the team has uncovered not only man-made mortar in the feature that matches clay-like soils for more than 100 ft deep in the money pit area, but also multiple sections that are believed to have been built at different periods prior to the discovery of the money pit.
Additionally, they have uncovered astonishing artifacts, including 18th century pottery, a 17th century coin and Venetian trade beads, and even a 14th century lead barter token that just like the cross that was uncovered at Smith’s Cove in 2017 may be connected to the medieval order of the Knights Templar.
Is this the rock layer that you need to get down to find the artifacts?
>> Mhm.
>> I know my brother thinks that this thing was the focus of attention for multi multi-generations.
Deposition of a treasure, search for a treasure. We have some data that suggests that could be true.
>> We’re exploring this area here where you can see there’s a bit of a space in between the rocks.
>> Yes.
>> We’re trying to see if that’s an entrance way.
>> Mhm.
>> It’d be great if that’s an entrance. The hope is that maybe we’ll find some sort of artifact here that will tie us into whatever was going on in that semic-ircular feature.
>> Okay.
>> I certainly would like Blair and his team of archaeologists to help us understand what Lot Five represents, but the process is slow and we just have to be patient.
>> If we can find something that helps tie the people that were here, especially to the money pit, that’d be huge.
>> I think we are bit by bit. Okay. Well, can I uh do some sifting?
>> Oh, I’d love it if you could.
>> Okay, >> that’s great. I appreciate that.
>> The following morning.
>> I don’t think I’ve seen a full war room like this for a long time, meaning it’s going to be quite exciting.
>> Rick Lagginina has called an important meeting with the team in the war room.
We have to follow where the clues lead us, and the clues come from the research.
>> After the recent discovery of the mysterious empty vault-like structure in the swamp, Rick asked team members Doug Kroll and Judy Rudabush along with historian Terry Dvau to search through different archives known to contain previous searcher records connected to the Oak Island mystery.
>> Terry and Doug went down to the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History.
It was Rick’s hope that they might uncover a clues that could help prove Fred Nolan’s theory regarding multiple treasures being buried on Oak Island. So Doug, I’ll turn it over to you.
>> Well, this Oak Island material that we found in Connecticut really is due to the work of Terry Dvau.
in amongst things that he was researching down there, he noted that this particular individual whose face I think you should be able to see on the screen now, William B. Goodwin. So, William B. Goodwin was born in 1866 and he died in 1950. He was from a wealthy Hartford family that was involved in the insurance business, but his work as a historian really took off as well. He also got involved in archaeology and Goodwin had a habit of coming up to Chester, Nova Scotia every August on vacation. Now Chester is only a few miles away from Oak Island. So with all the drilling activity and treasure hunting that was going on in Oak Island, that was a natural magnet for William Goodwin to go over and talk to people and see if he could help with the treasure hunt. So, we know that he did correspond with many important figures in Oak Island history.
>> In the early 1930s, Connecticut based businessman and historian William B. Goodwin began researching the various treasure hunts that had taken place on Oak Island since the money pits discovery in 1795.
Throughout his life, Goodwin amassed a collection of documents pertaining to the mystery, especially records connected to Frederick Blair, the man who first reported the existence of the so-called chapel vault 153 ft deep in the money pit back in 1897.
So, we found several letters in 26 boxes of Goodwin’s collection that had to do with Oak Island. And Judy and I have spent some time trying to determine what it all means. And one of the things here we found in his notes on Oak Island is Goodwin calls it the Blair treasure map.
Oh, yeah. Blair had in his possession a treasure map. Goodwin saw that map during his time here. And this is his diagram and notations. So, this isn’t the original Blair map. We don’t know where that might be cuz nobody’s ever been aware of it. So, there were three original notations on the map, three stones that were indicated. And from what we can gather from William Goodwin’s notations, he was trying to figure out if this map meant there were three separate treasure caches associated with the west end of the island.
>> This is quite something.
From what we can gather from William Goodwin’s notations, he was trying to figure out if this map meant there were three separate treasure caches associated with the west end of the island. In the war room, historian Terry Dvau, Doug Kroll, and Judy Rudabush have just presented a map of the western end of Oak Island that they believe was based on the records of 19th century treasure hunter Frederick Blair.
>> Was it discovered? Is it still sitting out there? We don’t know at this point.
>> A map that suggests there may be one or several buried treasure caches on the opposite end of the island from where the money pit is located.
>> I’ve always thought that Blair concentrated in the money pit area, but obviously he was looking at other places on the island.
There were three original notations on the map, three stones that were indicated. And one was at the corner of Center Road and the road past McInness house. Another one was out on the beach and another one is further down lot one near the McInness homestead. Yes, exactly.
>> Did McInnesses held on to their land.
They didn’t give it up. And this lot one stayed with the one branch of the family all the way through.
>> Yeah.
>> Shortly after helping to discover the money pit in 1795, Daniel McGinness purchased lot 21 and established a homestead for his family, more than a mile from the fabled treasure shaft.
He would spend the rest of his life farming while also remaining actively involved in money pit search operations.
Over the years, many have wondered why McInness chose to build his home on the opposite end of Oak Island.
Could this map that the team found in the archives of William Goodwin provide the answer? And an even more critical question for Rick, Marty, and the team is, do these possible treasure caches remain hidden today?
>> Those three stones had original notations on them. The one at Center Road had an F11E or or an F Roman numeral 2E beside it. The one on the beach had an F91 written beside it. And the one further down the lot one property had F5 written by it along with this stone here. That’s drawn in by Goodwin. He was exploring this map personally here on the island.
If you look at the rocks with the the notations beside them, if you can interpret F91 to be 91 ft from this rock, is there a treasure 91 ft from the rock on the beach or were they notations that led to a central point?
>> So, he’s using the boulders just like Fred Nolan to try to figure out some treasure location.
>> Right. This does sort of go with Fred Nolan’s idea that there were multiple caches. across the island.
>> The Goodwin or the Blair map certainly suggests that Fred may have been correct, i.e. that there are possibly multiple treasures depositions across the width and breadth of the island, but it is not proof of that. The proof is in the ground hopefully.
Gary, have you hammered this area?
>> No, I haven’t, Marty, because it’s so rough. It’s as rough as a badger’s butt out there. I mean there’s old hilly mounds >> that rock.
>> Yep.
>> I would say the stone on the beach that seems to be the place to start. Did we go looking for these landmarks? Find the stones that are the original landmarks on the original map and try to find out whether there’s any treasure caches nearby.
>> This is good work. This is excellent work. It may lead us to something.
>> Marty’s right. We follow the clues as we have currently interpreted them. So, I say we get after it. Let’s go look.
>> All right. Let’s see if we can find the treasure >> later that afternoon.
>> You find anything yet?
>> Nope. What about you?
>> One shirt. while members of the team continue excavating the round feature on lot five nearly a quarter mile to the west on lot one.
>> Okay, folks. We’re right at the end of center road. So, >> okay, Judy, you have the map with you.
>> Doug Crawl leads the effort to locate four boulders noted on the so-called Goodwin map to find out if they may actually lead to one or more caches of buried valuables.
There’s two large flat stones on the beach shown on the treasure map. One is to the south of Center Road, one’s to the north of Center Road. We’re going to try and find the most recognizable from the description given. It has a large X in its center and it has multiple squares in seams. This sounds like a a framework of squares. Xmax is spelled.
>> Yeah. Let’s head down to the beach. Yep.
>> I can’t wait. Let’s go find this.
The Goodwin map delineates several boulders on lot one. It’s a treasure map. It has an X marks the spot. I mean, it’s classic.
>> Let’s look in this traction.
>> Okay, we’ll check out this way. Okay, mate. We’re looking for a big flat stone. It’s supposed to have a big X on it.
>> We need to find a really good clue, something old, a coin with an intriguing date, anything like that. We’re going to see if there’s anything really actually special about these boulders.
>> Well, there’s a flat rock right there.
>> Oh, and it does have a big X on it. Oh, yeah.
>> Look. Oh, it really does. No mistaking that.
>> This is in the right spot.
>> A carved X on a flat boulder just as the believed treasure map indicated.
>> Hey guys, check this out. Could that mean that the team may be on the verge of a major discovery?
>> Look at that. A very prominent axe.
>> Yeah.
>> All right. Let’s see if there’s anything around it and see if there’s any metals under it as well because if there was something under it, I’d detect it with this.
>> Right. Well, we’ll stand back and give you room.
>> No, nothing underneath it made of metal.
Nope. There’s no metal surround it or underneath it. Not that I can detect.
And according to the notes, this deck stone had an X and these square shapes on it.
>> And I think we found it.
>> Really?
>> Yes.
>> Lead us to it. Let’s go check it out.
Okay, look at here, guys. Seams and squares.
>> That does look like squares. This is not sofa.
>> While following an early 20th century map depicting the western end of Oak Island and which is believed to mark one or more buried caches of treasure.
>> Take a look at the map, you guys. We are now right here with the dot.
>> Members of the team have just discovered a potentially important clue.
Look at this. The original description said that it had an X on the stone in the center of it. There’s a seam of an X here. So, this has got to be this stone.
>> We ain’t going anywhere till we metal detect that. Look at the treasure.
That’s a treasure map.
I go around it, then on top of it. Here we have a point on a treasure map that truly exists. These are real landmarks.
What does it all mean? We have to work to find that out.
>> I’m not getting any it hits unfortunately, but this might be markers sending us somewhere else to find the treasure.
>> Okay, that’s the thing. The map, the way they were interpreting it off this rock is supposed to be 91 ft back inland parallel to center road. So, we run a tape in that way. There should be a kidneyshaped rock.
>> So, if that kidney rock’s there, we’re in business.
Yeah, this is fantastic.
>> Absolutely.
>> As the team attempts to locate the next potential marker on the mysterious treasure map.
>> Hey guys, I’m starting to come down on some things. Want to come check it out?
Several hundred yards to the northeast on Line Five, archaeologist Fiona Steel and other members of the team are carefully excavating a new section of the mysterious round feature that they believe may have once been an entrance.
>> What are you finding?
>> I’ve got glass. I’ve got some proear.
And I just dug up what looks like a rose head nail and another piece of that really shiny high glazed brick.
What do you suppose the date on that particular brick would be?
>> Certainly not modern bricks would have been in use, you know, any anywhere from 1600s onwards.
>> No.
>> Awesome.
>> But I don’t think we really know at this point until we get some comparisons with some other known bricks that were produced in known areas at certain time frames. So once we finish that analysis, I think we’ll have a better idea. The curiosity is we’ve never seen a structure made out of brick here on the island. And yet we continue to find bricks here, there, and everywhere, including this lot five feature and the so-called fault in the swamp. So what does it mean? Emma’s compiling this database, this timeline, and hopefully it will tell us what Lot 5 represents. I await those answers. is also in this area right at the beginning of what we think could be a possible entrance way into this portion of the feature.
So I think that’s pretty encouraging anyway.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.
>> We just have to get down to that layer a little further.
>> As the archaeology team continues to search for clues in the stone foundation on lot five.
>> We’re aiming to try and keep the same bearing as the road.
>> And what shape is the stone? It’s kidney shapes.
>> Back on lot one, Doug, Gary, and other members of the team are using a tape measure to look for another marker noted on the so-called Goodwin treasure map.
A kidney-shaped stone that, according to the map, is located 91 ft from the boulder, marked with an X and square, which the team already located near the beach.
Doug, hold up. That’s it. 91 ft.
So, at 91 ft, there’s one stone here.
Look how it comes in like that way, like a kidney bean.
>> Yeah. This is more kidney bean shape.
>> If you’re using natural stones as markers, then that’s the most fitting description of the shape of this stone.
>> Well, bloody hell, mate. for free. For free. Now, >> what’s got me excited is the landmarks seem to be proving true.
>> Yeah.
>> The fact that we found every single landmark that’s on the map, it shows the map is completely valid for me.
>> Time for some mountain detecting.
>> I can’t wait to see where this leads us.
>> Here we go.
>> Maybe the positions of the rocks are important, and maybe the positions of the rocks will help solve the mystery.
I haven’t got any metal lits around the rock or on top of the rock, but you’ve seen the area. Billy’s guys have got to do some serious clearing in this area.
Oh, we’ve got one more major landmark to find. What’s the description of that boulder, Judy?
>> It has a top cleaved off like lightning hit it.
>> Let’s go to that fourth one and hopefully hit the jackpot.
>> Let’s see if we can find it. So, we’re going to try and find the other landmark on the map. The next stone on the Blair treasure map had a notation beside it.
It said F5, suggesting perhaps that something was buried 5 ft away. I mean, Frederick Blair spent his whole life chasing the treasure, that means if we can find the next stone. This gives legitimacy to the map. We’re hoping that there might be something buried very near the stone.
>> Oh, that’s what we’re talking about.
>> Yeah. Not mistaking this one.
Looks like it was cleaved in half by lightning. I can see both sides right there. And it looks like it was blasted apart.
>> Oh yeah, look at that. So his notes show the big boulder with a hole in the top of it. This is on the proper side.
>> Uhhuh.
>> According to his diagram.
>> Wait, are you telling me that this is the last spot that we really need to find because a treasure is within like 5 ft of where these rocks are? If that’s what the notation means, then a treasure could be within five feet of this boulder. It’s go time, Doug.
We’re going to clear all this area out and hopefully find some treasure.
>> Fingers crossed. I’m going to step back out of the way.
>> Okay.
>> Goodwind did not have a metal detector.
We’re a Dr.
Signal right at the base of it.
That’s exciting.
Let’s dig this up, Jack. Let’s see if we can get to it. It is a thrilling and potentially historic moment for members of Rick and Marty Lagginina’s team.
>> I’ve been waiting for years to see your gold dance >> on lot one near the western end of Oak Island. Gary Drayton has detected a buried metal object right next to a mysterious boulder that was marked on a believed treasure map.
Let’s see.
Ringing loud and clear. Let me pinpoint you.
Oh, singing loud and clear.
Rapid vibration.
Wow.
>> Look at that pin.
Yeah, that’s not rebirth. This is an old andforged piece of iron. If I was putting a date on this, I’d say you’re in the 1700s or a lot older.
>> Really?
>> Wow. And that came from right underneath the boulder.
>> Yeah, it sure looks like some kind of cribing spike that you would use for tunneling.
>> Okay. Weren’t the swages found nearby?
>> Yeah, mate. A stones throw away over there. Thought maybe someone was tunneling.
Who knows? Feel how heavy that is, Rick.
>> Wow. Wow.
>> In 2019, while investigating nearby on lot 21, Gary, Rick, and Dan Hensky unearthed two iron tools designed for digging through rock known as swages.
>> The swages, they were used for major mining or tunneling operation for tunneling. And when blacksmithing expert Carmen Le examined them, >> I would go back as far as mid400s.
>> He believed they could date back as much as 6 centuries.
Who would have thought that we’d find something possibly very important to the treasure hunt in general on the opposite side of the island from the money pit?
>> Yeah.
Is it possible that the team has just found another critical clue to well prove the authenticity of this treasure map? If so, could that mean that something of great value is actually buried in this area?
>> You know what it does for me? It takes this from a rock on a map to a place where there’s been human intervention.
Someone’s been looking here or depositing something. I think what we got to do is go back and inform the guys what we found in regards to this map.
>> It is a top pocket find as far as I’m concerned, but unless you guys are paying me laundry bill, it’s going in the bag.
>> Fantastic day.
>> The following morning.
>> Hey. Hey, Alex.
>> So, we’re trying to keep it drained.
It’s not as nice as it was earlier.
>> So, those are the boards. There’s the stake driven down through it. Right.
>> Rick Lagginina and members of the team meet with geocscientist Dr. Ian Spooner and surveyor Steve Guptil in the northern region of the swamp.
>> That board ends there, but there’s at least one more board underneath and that continues to go that way. Right.
>> They are eager to have them examine the recently unearthed wooden platform and believed survey stakes that are connected to it.
There’s layers to it. Kind of like steps.
>> Mhm.
>> Going down.
>> Okay. What do you make of that again?
>> It’s hard to say.
>> I think that steak is reminiscent of everything I saw along the stone path by the stone road. So, that gets me sort of interested.
>> Look at that. In 2020, after uncovering a massive stone road in the southeast corner of the swamp.
>> This is really cool.
which the team believed may have been built in order to unload some kind of heavy cargo from a ship onto Oak Island.
>> Look at that.
>> That’s cut.
>> The team discovered part of a cobblestone path heading to the north.
It was bordered by a number of similar survey sticks. Survey sticks which Dr.
Spooner carbonated to as early as the 17th century.
>> Some kind of planking. Is it possible that the team has now found a wooden structure in the northern region of the swamp that is connected to the pathway and the stone road? If so, what is its purpose? And could it also be related to heavy cargo that may have been left on Oak Island as much as 400 years ago?
>> From a science perspective, we get some stuff underneath it. That’s something we can put a date on.
>> Yeah. Could it be where the cobble path ends and meets land and they just wanted a transition from the cobble path to dry land and the elevation matches the cobble path to me. It represents something important.
The elevation matches the cobble path.
So I really think the cobble path comes to here. It’s the end of the cobble path and transition to dry land. Somebody threw some wood down as a barrier between the cobble path and the uplands.
>> Maybe.
>> Yes.
>> In the northern region of the Oak Island swamp, surveyor Steve GTO has just informed Rick Lagginina and other members of the team that the newly unearthed wooden platform may be an extension of the nearby cobblestone path.
>> Let’s get those boards out of there. But if so, was it built to lead to another hidden feature?
>> Or perhaps to cover something of great value underneath it. It is wet. So maybe somebody just put some planks down to walk out on.
>> Yeah, >> these boards are so degraded.
>> Yeah, it’s sort of hard to date the boards. But you could date that steak.
What I do is we cut the ends off if we could and I date from right in the center. Yeah.
>> And we’ll see what we’re what we’re working with.
>> Okay.
>> There’s two more boards. The stakes, I’ll be honest, they’re very confusing, but they are purposeful. There is intelligent design to them. There is a reason why those stakes are there.
>> That’s beautiful.
>> What is it? Why would somebody go to the lengths to build a platform on the corner of a bog in close proximity to this cobble path? What is the relationship where they built at the same time and always always why ago?
>> This is the one we found at the surface.
>> Yeah, similar but not as well preserved which can be explained by the fact that it was at the surface.
>> Somebody knew what they were doing.
It’s just one long cut.
>> So now we have two things that are similar in design that we can send for carbon dating.
>> Yeah, I would take both.
>> Right. Everything about this feature is puzzling, but maybe it’s more than one puzzle. Maybe it’s two or three puzzles.
There’s so many questions here. So we have to do some homework here and we have to really think about what this means. So, I’ll take these back and I’ll I’ll let you know as soon as I cut these what what we’ve got. Okay, let’s get some reindeer on and keep digging. Okie do.
>> A day of intense anticipation has finally arrived on Oak Island for brothers Rick and Marty Lita and their partner Craig Tester.
>> It’s time to dig. I always get excited when it’s time to dig, you know.
>> Yeah. This is the year.
>> Yep. After all the Choice Sonic drill program and all the geohysical investigations, we hope we put X’s on the right spots.
>> They along with their team are about to begin a historic operation in the fabled money pit area to solve a 230year-old treasure mystery.
>> We have six or seven spots. We think any one of them could actually bring up treasure or at least pieces of treasure, right?
>> Yep.
>> Sometimes luck is what you really need.
>> Maybe we can get lucky. After completing an extensive core drilling and groundwater testing program over the past several months, they have not only identified multiple locations where evidence of man-made workings and precious metals have been recovered more than 150 ft underground.
This looks like the vault, but also one potential target where they unearthed what could be part of the so-called chapel vault.
a 7 foot high concrete encased chest that was encountered in 1897 at a depth of 153 ft by Frederick Blair and his drilling operator William Chapel.
>> Hey Vanessa.
>> Hey guys.
>> Good morning and welcome back.
Now working with Vanessa Lucino and her company Rock Equipment along with representatives from Solatbashi Canada, the Lagginas and their team are preparing to excavate 7 ft diameter steel quesons at each location down to depths of more than 200 ft if necessary.
And they will begin with the target believed to set directly above the fabled Chapel Vault.
Pull one up. You do one at a time.
>> I have always believed that there is something hidden in the money pit. I think there is a chance that there are multiple treasures in the money pit.
Think about it. There was the original money pit and then there was so-called chapel vault and now it’s up to us to exploit that area. Visa visa the quesons.
you know, after all this exhaustive work we’ve done, if we can come up with something that holding your hand to prove the story, that’s pretty awesome.
>> Yeah.
>> Are you guys in on this? Absolutely.
We’re we’re really excited to get up here and we have all the tools we need to get down there as deep as we need to go.
In the coming days, the teams from Rock and SB Canada will assemble a massive crane and an oscillator which will rotate and grind the sections of steel quesons into the ground. Then an 18 1/2 ton tool known as a hammer grab will be used to remove tons of earth debris and hopefully the legendary riches that people have been looking for since 1795.
Thank you to each and every one of you because without you it doesn’t happen.
Let’s >> do it.
>> All right, let’s get there and dig it.
>> Yeah, you know what? I feel the same way.
>> Let’s get digging.
>> Yeah, we’ll let you guys get after it.
>> Awesome. See you. Thank you.
>> Thanks, guys. As the preparations continue in the money pit area later that morning in the northern region of the triangle-shaped swamp, >> the deeper boards are in much better shape.
>> Yeah.
>> Rick Lagginina has joined his nephew Alex and other members of the team where they are searching for additional possible caches of buried valuables.
This is somewhat substantial board.
>> They are all of different dimensions.
>> Curious thing, where are the nails?
Where are the nail holes? And there’s nothing in the boards.
>> Right.
>> Seems to be quite a few more rocks at least right in through here.
>> Several weeks ago, the team was astonished to uncover part of a cobblestone pathway which led them to a buried brick and slate vault-like structure.
>> Okay, here’s something. Although no valuables were found, >> the team recovered tools and a lead artifact within it.
>> That’s odd.
>> Suggesting it may have been built more than three centuries ago.
>> Oh my gosh.
>> This steak right through the board.
>> Oh yeah.
>> And just last week as the team continued investigating the stone pathway in the hopes of finding more hidden vault-like features. There’s a board here, then drops down to this board. They discovered a strange wooden structure.
>> Bill, you’re going to dig that away and see if there’s more boards there.
>> Yeah.
>> Okay.
>> Now, the team is carefully investigating the structure in the hopes of determining its purpose and find out if it might be covering something important or valuable.
Look at that thing.
>> Look at that piece of shaped wood.
>> Really?
>> Yeah. It was roughly 3 ft deep.
>> Pretty cool.
>> Yes, it is. Yeah, >> that’s definitely worth keeping.
>> Yeah. Stylistically, Lar might be able to tell us the date.
>> Yeah, should be identifiable.
>> It’s unique, that’s for sure.
>> Shaped wood found some 3 ft deep underground in the swamp. Could it be related to the structure that the team discovered much closer to the surface?
Or perhaps another one further below?
>> What is this piece of wood doing at this depth? I mean, this is quite deep for anything to be there, but it’s suggestive certainly of the possibility of multiple treasure catches. But at the end of the day, you have to hold the proof in your hand and keep eyes on target.
>> One thing we’re sure is that we continue to show that people were working in the swamp for something, right? The boards didn’t get there on their own, >> right? Well, it certainly continues to remain of interest, right? So, let’s finish this little area.
>> Yeah.
>> And hopefully we’ll find some answers, not just questions.
>> Keep after it. Good luck.
>> As the excavation continues in the swamp, several hundred yards to the northwest on lot five.
>> Hey, Fiona.
>> Hello, Jack.
>> So, how’s progress on this test pit coming?
>> This is actually a really interesting pit. Jack Begley joins archaeologist Fiona Steel and her assistant Todd Langs as they continue to investigate a mysterious round foundation near the shoreline.
>> The whole point of this test pit is to see if it’s an entrance way. There’s a gap in the rocks and the bonus tiein is that this is the one area of the entire structure that we found that money pit soil. While meticulously uncovering this foundation over the past 2 years, the team has discovered man-made mortar that matches soils from more than 100 ft deep in the money pit area. Additionally, they have unearthed multiple sections of the feature along with an array of coins and artifacts that incredibly have been dated to between the 14th and 18th centuries.
>> What spot would you like me to start at?
If you don’t mind starting through here, you can see where it’s higher. That would be really, really helpful.
>> These discoveries have made the team suspect that the feature was used and modified by different groups over a number of eras when treasure may have been deposited in the money pit area.
>> Let’s get digging.
>> However, the varied finds have additionally made the team wonder if the feature might also have been used to hide valuables.
Oh.
So, look at that. I think it’s a hinge piece. Wait, what is it? Well, if you look at it, it’s triangular. And if this piece flapped over, it was probably a small hinge. What type of a hinge would that be? Cuz it doesn’t look like it’d be that big for like a front door.
>> It just wouldn’t have been a very big door >> or a hinge to a box or a chest.
>> We can’t rule that out either. H >> could Jack Begley’s suspicion that this hinge might have come from a box or chest be correct? If so, where is the rest of it as well as its contents?
>> We should bag it.
>> Yeah, that’s exactly the type of thing that we’re looking for. Yeah, >> guys.
>> What is this, Don? You’re not going to believe this.
>> Oh, no way.
>> Wow.
>> Is that a diamond?
>> Oh, no way. Wow.
>> Is that a diamond?
>> I don’t know.
>> Well, it sure looks like it. Or at least cut glass of some sort.
>> While excavating near the mysterious round feature on Lot 5.
>> Holy smokes.
>> Members of the Oak Island team have just made what could be a historic discovery.
>> Oh, that’s really shiny. Look at that.
Look at the star pattern on the back.
You can totally see it. Wow.
>> That’s a piece of treasure, Todd. For sure.
>> It might have popped off of some jewelry.
>> I could see this being maybe a ring or a necklace.
>> Yeah. Well, that’s what I was thinking because it looks like it was sat in something.
>> Wow, that’s really cool. Look at that.
Look at that up close.
>> Looks like a gemstone or it could be glass. It would have been valuable back then cuz even to make this type of glass was an art.
a possible diamond or glass gemstone.
Over the past decade, the Lagginas and their team have found numerous pieces of treasure across the island that predate the discovery of the money pit, including goldplated buttons, silver coins, and even gemstones.
One such find, which was discovered on lot 21 back in 2018, was made of purple glass and is believed to be at least 500 years old.
>> That’s the type of thing you’d expect surrounded by a bunch of coins.
>> Yeah.
>> Is it possible that the team has just found another piece of treasure in the round foundation on lot 5? If so, could that mean there are many more valuables waiting to be discovered on this side of Oak Island?
>> What’s it doing on lot five? What’s it doing around this feature? It makes me think that maybe there is some sort of further connection to the treasure hunt and maybe we’re near where they had a deposit.
>> Well, that that’s giving us another piece of a puzzle here that that we’ve already been a little flabbergasted about.
>> Wow. I love that you found that. You can definitely say now you found a bit of treasure on Oak Island.
>> That is is special.
>> Takes the cake, huh?
>> Yeah. I think if we take that back to the lab, that that CT scanner should be able to pick up a little bit more of the design to see exactly what it is.
>> You know what? That is a top pocket find if I’ve ever seen one.
>> Oh, yeah.
>> And you could say it’s actually a dazzler.
>> Yeah, that’s quite the dazzler.
That’s an awesome find, Todd.
>> Later that afternoon, as search efforts continue in the northern region of the swamp, and preparations for a large-scale dig proceed in the money pit area, some 500 ft to the east near Smith’s Cove.
>> See, we got a bigger, better, redder machine.
Rick Lagginita and Scott Barlo join Billy Gard to examine a new industrial machine known as a wash plant, which will act as another key component in the money pit excavations.
>> We use a lot of the same stuff that the old wash plant uses. So, I feel pretty good about about that part of it.
>> But this is different, right, Scott?
>> Yeah. I mean, it’s the same principle.
Um, it’s just a little bit more modern.
>> As the massive hammer grab removes tons of earth or spoils from within the steel quesons in the money pit area, the materials will be transported to the wash plant where they will be fed and funneled through metal grates known as grizzly bars in order to remove larger rocks and other debris. The spoils will then be passed through a tool known as a chopper, which will break up and remove thick clays.
From there, the spoils will be deposited onto a shaker deck, where they will be sprayed and washed with water and then separated and sorted by size onto three separate conveyor belts. The resulting piles will then be carefully searched by hand for important clues and signs of possible treasure.
>> Hopefully, this is going to speed things up and we can keep up with what’s happening up there. This will give us the ability to do more quesons in the same amount of time.
>> Yeah. With this, we’re not leaving any stone unturned. Right.
>> Yep.
>> At the end of the day, what do we all want? We want this. We want to hold something in our hand. And this gives us the best place. Right. Right.
>> Oh, don’t worry. I think we’re all going to be down here standing there with our hand out.
>> I appreciate both of you guys working together and getting this stuff done.
For sure.
>> So, >> okay. Let’s get back on the ball field and continue to play.
>> Okay.
>> Thanks, Bill.
>> Later that afternoon.
>> Well, look at here.
>> Hey, man. Rick Craig Tester and other members of the team welcome blacksmithing expert Carmen Le to the Oak Island Laboratory.
>> So Carmen, thank you for coming. This particular item in front of us here is interesting. It was found in association with an actual treasure map.
>> Oh, okay.
>> Xmax is spelled.
>> Let’s go find this.
>> One week ago.
>> It does have a big X on it. Doug Kroll, Judy Rudabush, and historian Terry Dvau led a search on the western end of Oak Island based on a believed treasure map related to the records of 19th century treasure hunter Frederick Blair. The map who reportedly drilled into the so-called Chapel vault back in 1897.
Curiously, Blair’s map denoted three boulders on the western end of the island that he believed were man-made markers pointing to additional treasure deposits more than a half mile from the money pit area.
>> That’s what we’re talking about.
>> Yeah, no mistaking this one.
>> Incredibly, after finding the boulders depicted on the Blair map, iron signal right at the base of it.
>> Oh. Metal detection expert Gary Drayton discovered a large handro iron spike buried more than a foot below the surface.
>> Well, I’ll have a look at this.
>> Today, it is Rick and the team’s hope that Carmen can help them determine what it may have been used for and just how old it may be.
>> Well, it is very old. It was beat out from a blob of a section of iron. It is a large pen. We’ll say the fibers in here are not consistent all the way through. And if it came as round stock, which would be after 1760, the fibers through there would be very consistent. This was formed round by hand.
>> If you had to put a use for that, what would be the use? This size and length and shape of it is very typical if you want to provide an anchor so that you have something to grab a hold to pull something up. This is typical if you wanted to maneuver a boulder.
>> Either the boulder was moved on top of the pin or somebody pounded that pin down alongside the boulder on an angle.
>> There is a little bit of a bend to it.
This was under stress. Yeah. And if these rocks were moved, it would that would certainly bend it. Emma, do you have any idea about the age of the metallergy?
>> Yeah.
>> To further aid Carmen’s analysis prior to the meeting, archometallergist Emma Culligan scanned the spike with the X-ray fluorescent spectrometer, a device that emits non-destructive radiation to reveal an object’s elemental composition.
Compositionally, I would say it’s blast furnace made. So, it’s high temp iron.
There’s some magnes in it, but not consistently throughout. It’s not clean enough for me to say 1600s. So, I’d put it in the late 1700s. I might push it back to mid700s, but >> I tend to agree with you to a point. I think it’s older than mid700s.
That’s quite remarkable.
>> I think it’s older than mid700s.
>> Certainly not 1600s. You know, we can roll that in.
>> In the Oak Island Laboratory, blacksmithing expert Carmen Le has just shared a stunning assessment of the iron pin that was found one week ago on lot one. And that is based on >> uh just because of the fibers through there and the metal was formed under high temperature.
>> He believes that it may have been used to position a large boulder which was depicted on a mysterious treasure map of the western end of the island and could predate the discovery of the money pit by more than five decades.
I’m thinking 1720, 1730, maybe 1740, >> you know, around 1740. That’s Duke Donv.
And uh, you know, they were coming over here to to take on the British.
>> I found eight pages of a ship’s log. In 2017, Oak Island historian Doug Croll discovered part of a ship’s log in the provincial archives regarding a failed attempt by France to seize Nova Scotia from Great Britain in 1746.
September 8th, it has been agreed that a deep pit be dug and treasures securely buried. The pit to have a secret entrance by a tunnel from the shore.
However, it also detailed the burial of a large cash of valuables in an area near or potentially on Oak Island. The admiral in charge known as the Duke Donvi was a member of the Roshvakal family, a family of nobles who are believed to have been associated with the Knights Templar.
>> It fits in with that.
>> Yeah. Does the map derive from something they were doing their activities?
Although the team has wondered if the Duke Donv may have been connected to the believed valuables buried in the money pit. Could this spike offer a clue that Don V’s crew also carried out a secretive operation on the western end of the island? If so, could that operation have been related to the so-called Blair Treasure map?
>> You know, to me now there’s meaning behind that map. I think it’s fantastic.
If this artifact is from the early 1700s to mid700s, then that gives us a possible timeline for that map to have been created. Gives you a good starting point.
>> Good starting point.
>> Carmen has been quite enlightening and we really appreciate you taking time.
>> Oh, for sure. Glad to help.
>> The following morning.
>> Hey. Hey.
>> Hey, everyone. Vanessa.
>> Hey.
>> How are you doing?
>> Good. This is great.
>> This is great.
>> This is exciting.
>> Rick, Marty, Craig, and the entire Fellowship of the Dig in the Money Pit area.
>> Finally, this year, we’re going to dig.
After months of tireless work and focused research, the massive excavation to recover the fabled chapel vault from a depth of more than 150 ft is about to begin.
I’ll just say something here. Doug and I were talking about it. For 230 years, people have come here to this tiny speck of an island in the North Atlantic to try to solve the longest running treasure hunt and an incredible mystery.
And every one of them, every one of them, including every one of you believe. And I think it is very appropriate to call this case on true believer because the people that have come before us have persevered through tragedy, through all kinds of adversity, and yet they came and they saw. And now it’s up to us to conquer. So Doug, if you’d step up and name this and sign it for all of us.
>> We’ll do.
>> We all believe in something about this island.
>> All right, let’s name it.
>> All right.
>> This story, this mystery that has endured for 230 years that something happened here long ago, dog.
>> So on some level, true believers seem to fit.
I think that in a transformational moment that this hopefully will become, I think it’s very appropriate that the ladies should come to the table. And Katya, I think you now have earned two spots. You have earned the metal detecting position and you have earned a spot on the archaeological team. So, I’d like you to press the button. Ladies, if you’d be kind enough to come up. Let’s get this started.
So, first thing you’re going to do is go ahead and turn her on.
>> Okay.
Okay.
So, see how she’s moving back and forth.
Okay. Now, you’re going to go forward again.
>> Nice job. You’re oscillating.
>> Let’s get down to that cold.
Now that the oscillator is grinding the 7 foot diameter queson into the ground, it is the team’s hope that within the next few days, >> they will recover a legendary chest of valuables and the answers people have been seeking since 1795.
>> All right, everybody, let’s get back to work.
>> Y >> later that morning.
>> Hey.
>> Hey, guys.
So, I called you in today to look at this kind of seemingly innocuous artifact. I find it really exciting.
It’s a little glass jewel.
>> Rick, Marty, and Alex Lagginina join archaeologist Lair Nevin and archaeologist Emma Culligan in the Oak Island Lab.
>> Emma did her analysis of it. They are eager to receive Emma’s scientific report on the glass gem-like artifact that was found one day ago near the round feature on lot 5.
>> It is a really high content of lead. So that high of a lead composition you wouldn’t see in modern glass especially glass wear. It’s really clean, really controlled composition. I’ve never seen that before.
But then Lar took a look at it. It’s what we call paste.
So it’s flint glass, high lead content glass that was ground up and then pressed into a mold. So this would be in France when this was first developed in the early 18th century. French jeweler George Friedri St Ross invented what are known as simulated gemstones by adding the elements of bismouth thallium and lead to groundup glass powder.
He developed a pastel-like substance that once heated and placed into a mold created an artificial gemstone that nearly equal the brilliance and value of actual diamonds.
French high society were walking around with things like this and it became all the rage.
>> So 1734 would have been the invention or the introduction of this kind of crystal.
>> Interesting.
>> Yeah.
>> I do have mid to late 1700s lead glass in the database.
>> Correct.
>> And this has a 10% higher content of lead than that glassear.
So age-wise, early to mid- 1700s, it does fit compositionally.
>> What it squarely fits is the Duke Dunve’s expedition.
>> That’s a cool find.
>> Yeah.
>> What it squarely fits is the Duke Donv’s expedition.
It is a potentially revealing moment in the Oak Island Lab. The glass gemstone that was found near the round feature on lot 5 has just been scientifically proven to be a kind of high value to jewelry that was created in France back in the early 18th century.
>> Were both men and women wearing these?
>> Yes. This means it could be another key piece of evidence that connects the Oak Island mystery to the Dutvi, a French admiral who may have buried a vast treasure in this area back in 1746.
>> So somebody of importance and wealth was on lot five at least say visiting at a minimum or or overseeing >> Mhm.
>> a whole bunch of activity.
>> It’s a crude structure. I mean, maybe a worker’s camp or something >> and a connection to the money pit through the soil.
>> Could Alex and Marty’s suspicion be correct that perhaps the round feature on lot 5 may have been used as a camp during an operation to bury valuables in the money pit and explain why the mortarlike material found in the round feature matches soil samples recovered from deep underground and near the location where they are currently conducting. a large scale excavation >> that underscores that somebody of importance was there.
>> I think so.
>> Mhm.
>> Somebody with wealth.
>> And then throw in the date. That’s pretty significant.
>> Lar, I mean, you’ve excavated all around the province. This first one of these you found.
>> It is. Yeah.
>> That’s probably to me one of the most significant things on lot five.
>> Yeah. Excellent data. Excellent find.
Excellent analysis. Thank you. Food for thought for us, but hopefully we can find more stuff in the money pit. Let’s go find some more. Go find the brothers and sisters that >> we’ll do.
>> Later that afternoon.
>> That was a bigger scope.
>> We’re almost to our first target depth of interest.
>> While the excavation continues in the money pit area.
You just want to check that cuz that’s where the boards were.
>> Alex Lagginina joins Katcha Drayton and Billy Ghart in the northern region of the swamp to continue searching for clues near a mysterious wooden structure.
>> There is one.
>> It’s looking like there’s no metal in them.
>> Yeah.
>> Do you want to dig them out a little?
>> I’m going to just a little.
Well, uh, this wood structure, whatever it is, keeps going at least as far as here.
It seems to end here and then right after it is a rock right at the same level. So, maybe we just scrape this off. Maybe there’s a rock platform or something.
>> Yep.
>> This is the problem with digging in the swamp looking for man-made features. The difference between something that’s natural and something that’s made by people can be really slight if we don’t go slowly and carefully consider everything that we see.
Oh my god.
That’s enormous.
There’s a couple rocks here and there’s even one lower.
I think these rocks were piled here except for that big one. Piled rocks.
Could the team have found another section of the cobblestone path? or perhaps a structure like the slate vault that they uncovered just a few yards away.
>> So, I think we should call Dr. Spooner in and have him take a look.
>> Yeah, >> let me send him a text here.
Well, we have this open question about a lot of the features we find in the swamp. Are they real, natural, or man-made? And we have Dr. Spooner to help us to determine what they are and a date range.
Hey, Alex. Hey. So, we kept digging this way. The port ends here and there’s a rock there.
>> Right.
>> So, the question for you is, are these rocks glacially deposited or were they piled here after the swamp was in place?
>> I’ll have to get down there.
>> Yep.
Okay.
The top of the pile of rocks, if that’s what it is, it’s at the end of the board. Okay.
This feature to me it’s probably influenced by people uh mainly because of this stacked rock.
>> My guess this is a similar construct to what we saw in the stone road.
>> Yeah.
In 2020, the Oak Island team was astonished to uncover a massive stone road in the swamp’s southeast corner that they believed was constructed to offload some type of heavy cargo from a ship onto Oak Island.
The team has wondered if the road was used as a starting point to transport something up to the money pit. So, if Dr. Spooner is correct that Billy, Alex, and Katya have uncovered a similar feature in the northern region of the swamp. Then just what might it lead to?
>> I’m interested where it goes.
>> And so, um, I certainly wouldn’t stop digging.
>> Yeah.
>> Let me know if you find anything else.
Happy to come down.
>> Okay. Okay.
>> Thank you. You’re welcome.
>> Thank you, Dr. Spooner.
>> Thank you.
As a new day begins on Oak Island.
>> Vanessa, Adam.
>> Hey, >> how are we doing?
>> Doing great.
>> Yeah, it’s going well today.
>> Marty Lagginina arrives in the Money Pit area to monitor the excavation of TB1.
>> Right now, we are at about 87 ft with the dig.
>> Okay. If the data from their recent core drilling operation is correct, they are not only digging at the location of the original money pit, but may be on course to recover the Fable Chapel vault at a depth of some 150 ft.
>> All right, here we go.
>> Exciting.
>> Yes, >> there’s wood.
Oh, we got some wood there.
>> Yeah, we do. Yeah, >> we got some beans here.
>> We’re going to let YouTube get back to work. We’re going to go check out this wood that’s coming up. Thanks a lot.
>> We start to encounter wood. We have to look at it as it comes out because there’s wood and then there’s wood. Wood that’s hand huned. Wood that might be oak. would that could be indicative of the original logs in the money pit.
Those would mean something and maybe the stuff coming up means something.
>> All right, what do we have here? This is actually a whole log, but you can see how it’s kind of fitted and placed in.
That’s a wooden structure. And this could be a perhaps a support beam.
>> Evidence of a wooden structure unearthed some 90 ft in the TB1 shaft. If so, just what has the team discovered?
>> And you can see that that is tapered and there’s axe cut right there.
>> Where do you think that’s axe cut?
>> An axe or an ads is cut into that right there.
>> Because Terry believes that the wood has been hand cut with an axe or an ads, which is a kind of pre- 18th century cutting tool. Could that mean that the team has recovered evidence of the original money pit? If so, might this be a critical clue that they are on course to retrieve the Covenant Chapel vault?
>> We’re trying to find the money pit or the one of the vaults. So, makes an extraordinarily interesting area to be working in.
>> Okay, sounds like a plan.
>> Carry on.
>> We’ll do.
>> As the excavation continues in the money pit area, several hundred feet to the east at the wash plant.
>> We have something stuck up here. Other members of the team are carefully sorting through the spoils that have been removed from the TV1 queson for potential clues and valuables.
>> Thanks Charles.
>> I’m going to text Rick. That’s cool.
>> So a text comes in when you think about what we found in the queson of the possibilities of what might be in the spoils piles. Got me excited. So, I go down to the wash plant to see what they discovered.
>> Hey, fellas.
>> Hey, how’s it going out here? So far, so good.
>> Derek found this on the belt.
>> Cool.
>> Look at that.
>> Yeah, it’s irregular and it’s square and it seems to be broken off at the ends.
>> And Gary Drayton’s measure is if it’s old, it’s heavy, right? This is somewhat heavy for it size.
>> Yeah, that could be old. couldn’t be part of original work. I guess we’ll find out when the lab takes a look at it.
>> We’re going to bag it and tag it and it’ll go back to the lab. Okay.
>> Well, it’s a good sign that we’re fine and things like that. We could see something very interesting come through the machine. So, >> absolutely.
>> Yeah. Well done.
>> Yeah.
>> Bottom line is things are working well and that’s what’s really key.
>> That’s right.
>> Well, you’re getting back to work. If you need me down here, I’m happy to volunteer.
>> Oh, it’s all good. Anyways, thanks guys.
>> All right. Good luck. While the sorting of spoils continues at the wash plant, >> they’ve been doing very well.
>> Back in the money pit area, Alex Lagginina has joined Katcha Drayton and Terry Mat as the excavation proceeds deeper in TB1.
>> Okay. Before these freshly removed spoils are transported down to the wash plant, KACA conducts a preliminary scan for signs of anything composed of metal.
>> Whoa. See, >> it’s not that, is it?
>> Um, no.
>> No, it’s still there.
>> It’s still there.
>> Okay. Look at that.
>> More wood.
I’ll be back.
>> You’re on it there.
That’s it.
Wow.
That’s it.
Wow.
>> Huge spike.
>> Yeah, it looks rock. Looks old.
>> Old is good.
>> Mhm.
>> Just after the Oak Island team recovered possible evidence of the original money pit some 90 ft deep in the TB1 shaft, Alex Lagina and Ka Drayton have just made another potentially important discovery.
>> What do you got there? We >> found a very big spike.
>> Spike.
>> That’s really something. Wow.
We’ll find some neat stuff. Oh, yeah.
>> Find some interesting stuff for sure.
>> Some just bizarre stuff. I mean, we’re finding wood from We don’t even really know.
>> Hey.
>> Hey, Rick. How you doing?
>> What’s up?
>> Kind of interesting.
>> Yeah. So, we hit a lot of wood. 91 ft below grade. These are limbs that have been cut off here. Cut off there. And there’s the mate to this just over the ground there. We have all kinds of data that strongly hints that there is something to be found here. You just have to stay the course and be patient.
Is this an opportunity to find the one thing? Maybe even the the treasure itself. Sure it is. This area is of significance. I’ve got my fingers and my toes crossed because I well and truly believe that we will find something in this location.
That’s definitely rot iron. You can see it there.
It’s extremely heavy. So, I think this might tell us a story. So, we need to pay attention. I’d like to take this to Emma. If it is very old, that tells us, you know what, guys? We’re close to something.
>> Yeah. Exactly.
>> Find the one thing, everything else will follow.
>> For sure.
>> At some point, all will be revealed.
>> Absolutely.
>> You know, look, it’s it’s phenomenal.
So, thank you.
>> All right. Thank you. Yeah. Look how much it drops when they when they turn it.
>> Good progress.
>> A day of unrivaled hope and anticipation has begun on Oak Island for brothers Rick and Marty Lagginina and their team.
>> Vanessa, >> what’s going on?
>> The pressures are starting to drop. This is definitely loose now. Like we’re way through something.
And that is because in the fabled Money Pit area, they are conducting a massive excavation that may soon reveal the answers to the 230y old treasure mystery.
>> Hey. Hey.
>> Hi, Rick. How you doing?
>> What’s up?
>> The dig is at 95 ft.
>> Mhm. Right on.
>> So, we’re about 3 ft away from that target area.
>> First of the first of many.
>> Yeah.
>> After breaking ground one week ago.
>> Nice job. You’re awesome.
>> Under the supervision of Vanessa Lucido and her company Rock Equipment along with representatives from SB Canada.
>> This is great. Let’s dig.
>> Yeah.
>> A 7 ft diameter steel shaft dubbed True Believer 1 has reached a depth of nearly 100 ft and is believed for a number of reasons to be located within the original honey pit.
First, it is in this area where recent groundwater tests have revealed high traces of precious metals below the 100 ft level.
Second, it is near that depth where the team has retrieved remnants of a mysterious wooden tunnel.
>> This looks like football. And third, it is where a previous core drilling operation this year recovered possible evidence approximately 150 ft deep of the fabled Chapel Vault, a 7t high container that was first reported by treasure hunters Frederick Blair and William Chapel back in 1897.
>> Really interesting. For the last four feet, the casing has gone in ridiculously easy.
>> Oh, really? We are not oscillating. That casing is just going >> dropping. It’s just dropping.
>> Yes.
>> What do you think it might be?
>> This would either mean sand or easy soft soil >> to a cavity, right? Some void or something like that that we are just installing it through.
>> We’re still only about 3 and 1/2 ft away from our very first target horizon. And that is 98.5 to 99. We hit the top of what we think might be a tunnel.
>> Right.
>> So, we’ll watch what the grab’s bringing up and what that material is.
>> Yeah. That that’s going to be an imperative, right?
>> Yeah.
>> As the TB1 shaft advances deeper towards the possible tunnel, an 18 1/2 ton tool known as a hammer grab is being used to bring the spoils and hopefully evidence of man-made workings to the surface.
>> At the end of the day, it’s what comes out of the hole that probably tell us exactly what we’re into. Patience will ultimately carry the day for sure.
>> As the excavation proceeds in the money pit area >> later that morning, >> I’ll cut this down. You can dig that way a little bit maybe and see what you see.
>> Yep.
>> Alex Lagginina has joined Katcha Drayton and Billy Ghart in the northern region of the swamp.
>> We’re right on the edge of the sound path.
>> Yeah. I’ll just pull off a couple inches and then hope for something good.
>> They are searching for additional sections of a mysterious cobblestone pathway that was unearthed in this area several weeks ago and which was ordered by a number of wood survey stakes.
>> We are really close to that brick and slate structure here.
>> Yeah.
And what was most curious about the pathway was that it led them to a mysterious vault-like feature made of brick and slate.
A structure which archaeologist Lar Nan believes may have been created prior to the discovery of the money pit in 1795.
>> Is that pottery?
>> Yeah.
Look, looks like maybe the handle to a jug.
>> Beautiful.
>> There’s the potential that this pottery was just used in, you know, the domestic occupation and everyday life. All right.
And then there’s a potential that this was used by somebody hundreds of years ago who may have put treasure here.
>> This could be pretty important to the search. Here’s more of that lighter pottery. Oh, we’re finding a lot in this area. You never know what the littlest finds could be. Hopefully, this can be the first clue to finding a new structure in the swamp.
>> Now, as the team finds more evidence of human activity, they are hoping to also uncover new sections of the pathway and perhaps additional vaults that may still contain something of value.
Hey, Billy. Why don’t we do this side?
There’s rocks in here. I think if we take another scrape, it’ll be obvious if it’s a structure.
>> Yep.
>> At this point, we’re really just trying to follow this stone path where it leads. As far as it pertains to the treasure hunt, to me, the most useful information is where it goes. But this is on the edge of the peritted area, and we didn’t expect to find anything like this here. So hopefully more artifacts will bring it to light.
>> I think that is undisturbed.
Those don’t look like stack rocks to me.
>> Yeah, we can go deeper though.
>> Yep.
>> While the Oak Island team has the freedom to dig as much as they choose in the money pit area. Because the swamp is a wetland, they must obtain separate permits from the provincial government to explore its numerous regions.
>> Hi.
>> Hey. What have we found?
>> Uh, we got some pottery.
>> So far, lots of pottery, >> but no more of the path.
>> Okay. I I I do think we’re done here.
We’re at the end of the permitted area.
>> Pretty much. Yeah.
>> Unfortunately, we’re not finding cobbles in this northern area. We’re at the limits of our permit. I think we need to expand our permit to do more work in the area. We know for a fact the swamp was heavily manipulated. I don’t think we yet have even a competent understanding of what the swamp is hiding. Perhaps something associated with where X marks the spot is.
There’s still a lot of work to do. We got to puzzle piece what we think happened here. And I think that there is still more to find.
>> Okay, >> sounds good.
>> After concluding the dig in the swamp.
>> Hey, big brother.
>> You always ask me about Bravo Tango. Is this Bravo Tango?
>> We’ll see.
Rick and Alex Lagginina return to the money pit area as the hammer grabb tool is about to begin removing materials from some 100 ft deep in the TB1 shaft which is just above the team’s target depth of 109 ft.
>> So the material at the bottom of the can is very soft. It does kind of speak to a void somewhere.
So that’s interesting because we knew that we had a zone of interest here.
Anything could be in this quesad. It could be something that is highly significant.
We’re approaching the depth of the tunnel. You should encounter a lot of wood if it is indeed a tunnel. There’s a top, there’s a bottom, there are sidewalls.
So my hope is that this will be very definitive in supporting the idea that there was a tunnel at this depth.
Whenever we the fellowship are watching the hammer grab, we really have high hopes that the very next scoop every time is going to be something hugely meaningful.
>> Oo, look at that >> wood, baby.
>> Yeah.
But we’re at about 110 111 ft right now, which is the very end of our first zone of interest. And that’s a lot of wood we’re bringing out.
>> And it’s all short timber. It’s kind of like a tunnel.
>> Yeah, I agree, Gary. It looks like a tunnel.
>> See if there’s anything in that tunnel.
>> And that’s a lot of wood we’re bringing out, Gary. It looks like a tunnel.
>> Yeah, really does. See if there’s anything in that tunnel.
in the money pit area upon reaching a depth of nearly 110 ft in the TB1 shaft.
>> That’s the Oak Island team has just recovered evidence of a mysterious wooden structure.
>> What’s interesting to me is we ain’t found any metal fasteners in there, which leads me to believe that it’s an older construction.
>> Yeah.
>> Look at this, my friend.
>> What you got, Terry? Pretty sure that’s a dowel.
>> Yeah, it is. It looks like it’s broken, doesn’t it?
>> Wow. This speaks to relatively old material.
>> Yeah. Is it go through the other side?
>> We’ll have to wash it up and we’ll have a look.
>> Okay, mate.
>> I think I’m going to show this to Murray.
>> Good catch.
>> There’s more wood.
>> This is definitely an older style of construction. They’re using dowel pegs.
And when we get this wood tested, maybe it’s original timbers from the construction of the money pit, which means we’re getting closer to finding treasure.
>> Hey, Terry. An interesting piece of wood, mate.
>> Yeah, it’s got grooves.
>> Look at that. Just show it to Marty.
>> Oh my. What do you think of that, Marty?
>> There’s an interesting >> Oh, yeah. That’s Mark.
>> Yeah.
>> The Roman numeral number three there. Is that what that >> That’s This looks like a pretty distinct three to me. And look, we got a dowel there.
>> It’s the same as the U-shaped structure.
And it implies the same construction.
>> Same construction methodology for sure.
>> I think that’s really cool. Yeah.
In 2018, Rick, Marty, and the team excavated Smith’s Cove in an effort to uncover the remains of the legendary flood tunnel system believed to feed seawater into the money pit. During the dig, they uncovered a massive wooden feature that was first discovered by Dan Blankenship in 1971, which he dubbed the U-shaped structure.
>> You got a Roman numeral? If it is, it’s a 7 V11. A structure that not only feature carved Roman numerals and wooden dowels, but is also believed to have been built as part of the booby trap system by whoever buried valuables in the money pit.
Is it possible that the carved Roman numerals and the nearly identical wooden dowel offer evidence that the team is in fact digging in the original money pit?
So, if this is that old, then that means we are very close to the money pit, right? Which we’ve been suspecting forever.
>> It’s basically the oldest looking wood we’ve found. Could be the cribbing from the depths of the money pit.
>> I think we’ve been fairly convinced that the TB1 area is roughly the site of the original money pit. There’s a lot of evidence that there is still something here. We’re zeroing in on possibly finding the treasure.
>> Hey, Vanessa.
>> Hey, >> Vanessa.
>> And some new numbers for you guys.
>> What do you got?
>> We just took a measurement. We’re at 117 with the dig.
>> And then what we’re really chasing is the treasure vault below in 150 ft.
In the spring of 1897, Frederick Blair and William Chapel reportedly drilled into a 7 foot tall wall that was encased in concrete at a depth of some 153 ft. After extracting their drill rod, they were astonished to find traces of gold on the bit and an ancient piece of parchment with the letters VI written on it.
These discoveries have made people wonder if the Oak Island treasure may include not only objects of great value, but also important historical documents.
>> We’re picking up now.
>> Is it possible that the Lagginas and their team might soon be able to finally reveal the truth?
>> All right, keep digging. Okay, >> full speed ahead. Well, >> then let’s hope we come up with the goods.
the following morning as the excavation in TV1 continues.
>> First of all, I’d just like to say welcome to Scott Clark and John Edwards.
I think all of us will learn some very impactful things.
>> Thank you very much, Rick. Rick Lina has gathered members of the team in the war room for an important meeting with researcher John Edwards as well as author and 32nd degree Freemason Scott Clark.
>> You all are well aware of them coming here before and their areas of interest and today they’re going to enlighten us further. So gentlemen, I look forward to your presentation. Thank you very much.
Last year I came to Oak Island, Rick, as you know, to present some books that I had acquired in Israel um in 2019. And what interested me about the books mostly was the handdrawn images, ciphers, and Masonic symbols and crusader symbols as well as references to biblical treasures from Jerusalem.
I have acquired two ancient books. One was the whole genuine works of Flavius Josephus. The publication date was 1812.
And then the second book has a publication date of 1763.
One year ago, when John first presented the team with these books, which he purchased from a private collector in Israel, it was due to his belief that they may be connected to the Knights Templar, a medieval Christian military order who some researchers claimed buried a vast treasure, including religious artifacts, on Oak Island between the 12th and 14th centuries.
According to John, these books are part of a five volume series, one of which contain an image of Oak Island and codes that John believed pointed to a buried treasure cache in the northern region of the swamp.
I can feel the rocks under my feet here.
When the team investigated the area, they did not find buried valuables, but instead a man-made feature composed of boulders that may have served as a marker to indicate that something could be buried nearby.
So, what was interesting about the book supplied to me by the seller when I acquired them is it has a map of Oak Island, and I thought that these were significant to solving the Oak Island mystery and maybe even finding a treasure here on Oak Island.
So, what’s really interesting, the map shows a square-like structure or a vault that actually points to a place on Oak Island. That place seems to be at the north end of the swamp.
And what’s interesting about the map, as soon as Scott and I both saw it, we both immediately remarked that looks like the vault-like feature found at the north end of the swamp. WA.
>> It’s pretty spot-on.
>> That’s pretty cool.
>> The vault length feature in the map is outlined exactly like the vault length feature found in the swamp to a tea.
>> All right. In the war room, researcher John Edwards along with 32nd degree Freemason Scott Clark have just presented the Oak Island team with a potentially critical clue. That’s pretty cool.
>> An image from a mysterious book containing secret codes and ciphers related to the missing sacred treasures of the Knights Templar. a book, which also features a map of Oak Island, and a possible image of the brick and slate vault that the team recently uncovered in the triangle-shaped swamp.
>> I think the map and the book definitely suggests something’s going on.
>> Somebody went to a lot of trouble to encode these books. If someone was trying to hide something, they would definitely want you encoded.
>> You just have to figure out who.
>> Absolutely. So we started to do a deep dive in the books. Within the books are clues that are encoded using a process of underlining specific letters to spell out words, phrases, and names. One of the names is that of John Een.
John Een was a longtime Freemason in Annapolis Royal, which is the oldest lodge in all of Canada. And this was a lodge where again the clues all seem to point directly to Oak Island.
>> Located 62 mi northwest of Oak Island, the city of Annapapolis Royal was originally established by French settlers in6005 and became home to the first Canadian lodge for the secretive fraternal organization known as the Freemasons in 1738.
So what’s interesting about the name John Een, we see a lineage in his family of Masons. John Een’s great-grandson Thomas East and Richie was also a member of the Annapolis Royal Lodge from at least 1818 onwards.
The Masonic Lodge was held at a place called the Sinclair Inn.
So in the Sinclair in there are painted murals. There is one particular painting of what many people think is a crusader tent.
Some people are calling it a a Templar tent. It looks very much like the tents used during the Crusades and later adopted by Freemasonry.
>> Yeah. And we know the Crusader tent was used when the Ark of the Covenant or any other holy artifacts were traveling.
>> Y >> the books seem to suggest that there’s biblical treasures connected to crusaders going to Nova Scotia.
>> So what may be here on Oak Island is those types of religious treasures.
>> Oh yeah.
When we consider the image of the Sinclair in could be a crusader tent when the Templars were officially disbanded in 1312, their assets were given to the Knights Hospitaler.
>> The hospitalers eventually became the Knights of Malta and they actually continue to this day um as the Knights of Malta.
In 1312, Pope Clement V and King Philip IV of France dissolved and persecuted their own military order known as the Knights Templar.
The church claimed that the Templars, who had fought for Christian interest during the Holy Wars, known as the Crusades, had become corrupt and committed acts of heresy.
However, some researchers believe that the true reason for the disbandment was because the templars had come to possess a vast treasure which included sacred artifacts such as the holy grail, the manora from the temple of King Solomon and the ark of the covenant.
Many templars were arrested and executed, but others escaped and their sacred treasures have never been located.
While some believe that a group of Templars fled to North America and hid a portion of the priceless valuables on Oak Island, it is speculated by researchers such as John Edwards and Scott Clark, that a large collection of the sacred artifacts were entrusted to related organizations such as the Knights of Malta, a secretive fraternity with links to the Freemasons, who were known to have had a presence in Canada dating back to the early 17th century.
>> So people may not realize that the colony of Acadia, which is now Nova Scotia, was actually founded by a member of the Knights of Malta.
So his name was Isaac Dazzle and he was a knight commander of the order of Malta. Yeah.
So the five books also had several depictions of this Solomon temple’s manora. The cross shown above the manura is an eight-ointed cross. It is associated modern day with the Knights of Malta.
So if you look at the page I have marked here in the back, you can clearly see the location in the book of the Malta crosses intentionally placed. We’re referencing both the temple of Solomon and the temple of Jerusalem.
>> And it literally mentions the word Malta right below it.
>> Yep.
We definitely believe that the books show it is a multigenerational endeavor linking biblical treasures to Oak Island and we’re finding actual correlations with things found here on Oak Island like lot 5 and the stoneike structure of vault out in the swamps. So I’m pretty excited that we’re actually finding physical evidence to match what the books are telling us.
>> Interesting. Could John Edwards and Scott Clark have actually uncovered critical clues suggesting that different groups connected to the Knights Templar have made repeated visits to Oak Island in order to hide and protect sacred religious treasures?
If so, could that explain the vault-like structure in the northern region of the swamp, a mysterious round feature on lot 5, where the team has found artifacts dating to between the 14th and 18th centuries, and perhaps even the chapel vault, believed to be buried in the original money pit. It has always been my thought that this was a multi-generational attempt to focus on one singular objective and that is to hide something of significance on Oak Island may have started with Templars and then some of these participants were actually endeavored to keep it hidden for later generations to come back and find it. So there is now an imperative to try to understand uh the possibility of the Knights of Malta having something to do with the work done on Oak Island.
The books have become increasingly important. I think the Knights of Malta are an incredibly complex organization.
They survived the Templar expulsion.
They inherited what the Templars had.
They were represented in Nova Scotia.
They survive to this day. We might have a possible connection to who in terms of the who, what, when, where, why, and how. All of us have a lot of homework to do. John Scott, thank you very much for presentation.
>> Thanks. Thank you. Thanks, Rick.
>> Having said that, we need to go to work.
later that afternoon as Rick and members of the team anxiously monitor the excavation of TV1 in the money pit area.
>> Okay, let’s take a look.
>> Awesome.
>> On lot 5 located on the western side of Oak Island.
>> Hey Gary, I like that sound.
>> Yep. Having a beeping good time. Marty Lagginina has joined metal detection expert Gary Drayton and Jack Begley to investigate an area near the rounded stone foundation.
>> There’s a lot more flags around here.
>> Okay, let’s do them.
a stone foundation where the team has uncovered not only man-made mortar that matches soil samples from more than 100 ft deep in the money pit area, but which archaeologist Lar Nan believes may have been constructed and modified during different time periods prior to the 19th century.
>> Let’s see the spoil piles down there.
>> We don’t. Following the team’s meeting earlier today with John Edwards and Scott Clark, Gary detected and marked a number of mysterious metal targets buried near the surface. Now, after receiving permission from Lair Nett, Gary, Marty, and Jack are eager to find out just what they could be.
>> I’ll go on one side of this.
>> There were at least two different occupations here. The main one that they keep finding artifacts about is mid 1700s, but perhaps a much earlier one.
We’re hoping lot 5 can shed some light on the story of Oak Island.
>> Ooh, great. Is that Is that not Ferris?
>> Yeah.
>> Yep. It’s right there. Brilliant.
Oh, something good coming up here.
Yeah, there’s a lot of rocks here and stuff sticks to him.
There he is. He’s right on top.
>> What?
>> Where is he?
>> I don’t even see it.
>> Right there.
>> Nice and round. What have we got?
>> Wow.
>> There he is. He’s right on top. Wow. I thought it was a coin or a butt on the top of it. That’s a nice copper nail. On lot five, located on the western side of Oak Island, Marty Lagginina, Jack Begley, and Gary Drayton have just made a potentially important discovery near the mysterious Stone Foundation.
Yep, that’s a copper nail.
I have found a few of these nails on the Treasure Coast beaches of Florida connected to 1600s and 1700 shipwrecks.
These were from the inside of the ship.
>> Mhm.
>> Due to their ability to resist corrosion in salt water, copper nails were commonly used in the construction of European sailing vessels dating back to as early as 3500 BC.
If this copper nail made its way to Oak Island on a large ship, could it be an important clue that might help identify who constructed or later modified the round feature on lot 5 prior to the discovery of the money pin?
>> Got another pile in.
>> As often occurs on lot 5, we make a very significant find. On shore, you have no real reason to use a copper nail. So, this very much suggests a maritime uh influence of some sort, a ship. So, lot five could be a big part of figuring this whole thing out. And what went on over at the money pit?
>> Oh, I got it.
>> Sounds good.
>> Yeah, it sounds >> could be right just right there.
>> Yeah.
Let’s see if I can pinpoint it.
Look >> in your hand.
It’s another >> It’s another one.
>> Well, this is a little bit different.
>> It’s smaller, but it looks like it’s the same make. Is that copper, too?
>> Yeah. Small copper. Now, this is 100% boat related. I’m really hoping that the metallurgy or just the overall style will give us a definitive date because that round feature, it looks like it was built at an earlier time than most the artifacts that we found. So, it could give us the original date when that was built.
>> Yeah. Well, here’s the thing. Both Coerndale speak of uh ships.
>> Yeah.
>> And that’s kind of new here. We still don’t know what the hell this is and who made it. Oh, >> and uh that may be a clue. So, we need to get back to the lab and find out what they say about it. Let’s go.
>> Okay, buddy. Great day.
>> Yeah, that was good.
>> The following morning, >> today’s treasure.
>> Yeah, you got that wrong.
>> So, we’re at 147.
>> As the excavation in the TB1 shaft proceeds toward a target depth of some 150 ft.
Hey, great to see everybody.
>> Hey, Carmen.
>> Jack Begley and other members of the team welcome blacksmithing expert Carmen Le back to the Oak Island Laboratory.
>> What you got from it?
>> We recover these two nails on lot 5.
They are eager for Carmen to examine the two copper nails that were recovered one day ago near the round feature and determine if they could predate the discovery of the original money pit in 1795.
>> Well, with this one here, it has a very large head onto it. Flat topped underneath is sloped to the shaft.
>> Yeah.
square tapered nail all the way down except for the right underneath the head as well.
Fortunately, I know what these are. And they’re copper sheathing tacks or clouts. These nails are very typical for um fastening these sheathing sheets to the underside of the boats.
>> Yeah. And now these could been used for other purposes if they had a bunch on the ship, >> but its main use is for sheeting along the whole >> side of ships. Yeah, >> these are major seago ships.
I would like to know if if there’s any lead or arsenic content in these nails.
That will help me date it for you.
>> Those sound like questions for Emma.
Earlier this morning, marchetist Emma Culligan scanned the copper nails using the X-ray fluorescent spectrometer or XRF, a device that identifies the elements in an object’s composition to help determine when they were created.
>> So, it is a copper alloy, so it’s a pure bronze alloy. There is lead content, so they’re consistent lead. So it looks like there’s arsenic.
>> In my opinion, this is 1700s.
Somewhere between 1720 to 1760.
>> Wow.
>> In my opinion, this is 1700s. Somewhere between 1720 to 1760.
>> Wow.
In the Oak Island Laboratory, blacksmithing expert Carmen Le has just given his assessment that the two shiprelated copper nails found one day ago on lot 5 could predate the discovery of the money pit by as much as 75 years.
So why was it there in that area?
>> It could be evidence of who created the feature on lot 5 and where they were from. Are there any other people or persons that could be related to that time period?
>> Yes. Could be the Knights of Malta.
>> Really?
>> Mhm.
>> Wow. More intrigue. Could Jack’s notion be correct that these copper nails offer evidence to support the theory that members of the Knights of Malta, who are known to have been connected to the medieval order of the Knights Templar, may have visited Oak Island decades before the discovery of the Money Pit.
There’s a lot of speculation as to the relationship between the Knights Templar and the Knights of Malta. We know that they were in the area. They were in the Nova Scotian area during the early 1700s.
Maybe they were actually following the steps of the Templars and maybe they were helping to make a deposit of their own. Any artifact that predates discovery of the money pit is really something special because this was left possibly by the depositors of the treasure. So, this gives me hope that we’re zeroing in on a who done it.
>> Yeah.
Thanks for coming by, Carmen, and and weighing in your opinion because it really helped.
>> Yep. I’m glad I could help a a little.
You know, I wish you good luck and anything I can do to help, I will.
>> All right, we’ll give you a call when we find some more.
>> Very good.
>> As the meeting concludes in the lab, >> those pressures are getting pretty high right now.
>> We’re on some.
>> An intense situation is developing in the money pit area. All right. What depth do you think the teeth are at right now?
>> Say 160.
>> Upon reaching a depth of 160 ft in the TB1 shaft, where the team hopes to encounter a concrete encased chest known as the Chapel Vault, the steel quesons have hit a mysterious obstruction.
>> Was she cutting through it?
>> She’s trying to.
Come on. As eager as the team is to find out what they may have discovered, it could take some time for the queson to breach the obstruction and allow the hammer grab to bring more spoils and potential valuables to the surface.
>> We want to get to death, >> so we got to get down there.
>> We’ll get through it.
Meanwhile, near the wash plant located several hundred feet to the east. Hey Marty, go over there. You tell me things.
>> Charles Barkhouse and Marty Lagginina are inspecting artifacts that were found in the recently unearthed TV1 spoils.
>> Got a few things to show you here, Marty.
>> More leather.
>> More leather. Think that shoe leather or a glove?
>> Hard to say. The stitching is quite quite broad on those.
>> Yeah, it’s more like shoe leather, isn’t it?
>> Yeah.
>> Well, it could all be carbonated. So, >> that could help solve something.
>> And we found this. And it might not be anything, but it it kind of looked to me like concrete.
>> Look at that.
Yeah, it looks very like concrete.
>> Yes.
>> A piece of possible concrete. The same material that reportedly encases the legendary chapel vault.
>> Good job. Thank you.
>> Is it possible that this concrete could be a major clue regarding the obstruction that has just been encountered approximately 160 ft deep in the TV1 shaft.
>> Keep up the good work. Go on. We’ll we’ll feed you plenty of material.
>> Okay, sounds good. We’ll fight it.
>> Oh yeah.
>> While Charles Bark house oversees the operation at the wash plant.
>> Later that afternoon, our pressures are dropping. So that means whatever we’re cutting through is hard at first, but we’re cutting right through it. So my dig is at 160 ft.
Marty Lagginina has joined Rick and other members of the team in the money pit area. Now that the queson has breached the possible obstruction, a breakthrough discovery could be just moments away.
>> Diggs at 160.
>> Yeah, >> it could be the treasure vaults. We’re about to get into totally new territory.
>> Mhm.
>> Yeah.
So the normal high intensity is heightened in this case because we’re very close to the vault. Now we’re thinking, hey, the next thing is going to be a handful of dloons or something, you know, a chalice, something. We really are thinking that you can feel it.
>> Are you feeling those tremors occasionally?
>> No, I just did.
Really?
That ain’t good.
>> It’s caving.
Hey, stop. Caving in.
Holy.
>> Hey, stop. It’s caving in.
>> It is a critical moment in the money pit area. Yeah, we’re caving >> as representatives from Rock Equipment and SB Canada are inspecting a potentially catastrophic cave in beneath the TB1 case.
>> Hey, Vanessa.
>> Hey, >> you got a problem?
>> We’re having caving.
>> What does that mean?
>> This place has been Swiss cheese, right?
We tried to, you know, make it as comparable as we could before we started drilling. So, I did expect some sort of caving around things. This one’s a little bit bigger than I’m comfortable with moving forward at the moment.
>> After more than two centuries of previous treasure hunting activities, >> let’s go look.
>> Which have left abandoned tunnels and backfilled shafts buried across the money pit area. The ground surrounding and beneath TB1 suddenly starts to collapse.
>> This is a huge deal. This is how disasters occur.
>> You want to look up in there, but you can see it’s starting to c Oh my god.
Yeah, >> there’s only a certain amount of iron that’s supporting that very massive oscillator and that is sitting on the ground. And if the ground is is caving away, the whole thing can cave away. I am very concerned about this. This is not good.
>> That’s 30 ft drop all the way right here.
>> Oh, that is huge.
>> It’s a lot of material. Yeah, >> but it suggests there’s something down swallow and all that stuff.
>> As I’m peering down, the situation appears somewhat grave. Something’s happening underground that is taking an enormous amount of material and swallowing it. What would be able to advance the queson?
>> Let’s just decide what we’re going to do.
>> Is this becoming unsafe to the point where we have to remove the oscillator?
We have to move off of this area, which is our priority target number one. So, there are a lot of issues going on. Is it likely we’re really going to advance this casing? We’d like to proceed if it’s saved.
>> We’re far from Quinton right now.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> So, we’re going to back fill that area up >> and then we’re going to be monitoring, you know, every couple feet making sure we’re not having any caving, >> but um >> it is setting us back a little bit. We keep losing the material. I can’t guarantee we’re going to keep advancing.
If that stabilizes and we do it, we’ll keep going. Just see what happens.
>> Yeah.
>> Yes.