Narrator: Tonight on the curse of oak island...
Steve g.: We need to connect
the cobble path in the swamp
to this path that leads to the money pit.
-That may be our "x" on the ground. -Yes.
Narrator: It's the historic season finale.
-Gary: Oh, my gosh. -Steve g.: Wow.
-That's old. This is off a ship. -It's off a ship.
Jack: That might actually be the thing that solves the mystery.
-Rick: Oh, oh, oh. -Charles: What do you got?
-What is that? -I've never seen anything like that before.
-Aaron: It's incredible. -This is the first direct evidence
-of real treasure. -(laughter)
narrator: There is an island in the north atlantic
where people have been looking for an incredible treasure
for more than 200 years.
So far, they have found a stone slab
with strange symbols carved into it,
mysterious fragments of human bone,
and a lead cross whose origin may stretch back
to the days of the knights templar.
To date, six men have died
trying to solve the mystery.
And, according to legend,
one more will have to die
before the treasure can be found.
♪ ♪
ian: There is every reason to believe,
down in those holes, that there is
something close by that contains a very large
amount of silver.
Doug: I guess I'm still trying to get a mental picture
of how much silver it would take to give these levels.
Like, is it a handful of silver or is it
-a gerhardt dump truck load of silver? -It's a gerhardt dump truck.
-Marty: Aw, baby. -Jack: Oh, no way!
Narrator: In the war room, geoscientist dr. Ian spooner
has just shared a report
of the water sampling tests conducted earlier this week
in a number of boreholes across the money pit area,
including borehole c-1,
with brothers rick and marty lagina,
their partner craig tester,
and members of their team.
The empirical scientific data may confirm
what people have been trying to prove for 226 years:
That a vast treasure really does lie buried on oak island.
I'm trying to refrain from getting too excited,
but-but I'm starting to. How rare is this?
-That's what I'm trying-- yeah. -Ian: Well, it's rare.
I don't think it's a common thing that I've ever seen
in water samples in nova scotia.
Marty: C-1 is uncontaminated.
I mean, I can't see how c-1 would have contamination in it.
And it was in that hole that the shiny gold thing
was found that we're still looking for
to this day. If that was
-a golden alloy of such, you know, -ian: Mm-hmm.
Maybe that was one piece of what we're looking for.
-Yup. -Ian: Yeah.
There's something down there.
If you took a huge-- a room like this full of silver,
put it down there, you would have
a similar signature that you have here in the water.
Doug: Wow.
Narrator: Ever since oak island historian charles barkhouse
first recommended that rick, marty and craig
drill the borehole known as c-1
five years ago, it has continued to leave them
wondering if it might be connected
to the original money pit treasure shaft.
Right there. What the hell is that?
Narrator: After the original six-inch borehole
encountered a ten-foot-high void,
or chamber, some 170 feet deep, containing a mysterious
shiny gold object embedded in the wall...
Rick: It's your gold color.
Charles: Yeah, there's another piece of it there, too.
Yeah, another piece.
(machine whirring)
narrator: ...The team expanded the hole
to a four-foot diameter,
allowing numerous dive operations
in the subsequent years,
attempting to verify just what was down there.
What's this? Is this another one?
I can see gold.
Narrator: These investigations,
although non-definitive so far, have led to the discovery
of a possible tunnel leading away
from the mysterious chamber,
as well as at least three more gold-colored objects
embedded in the wall.
Marty: To me, the results of the water study, thus far,
are the most significant thing that has occurred
in and around the money pit.
Rick: Now we have evidence
that there's a high concentration of treasure
connected to c-1. It's more than significant.
It's an aha moment.
To me, this is the first direct evidence,
direct indication, of treasure that we've had.
-Yup. -Everything else we've run has been inferential, right?
We look for cavities, and we look for things
that might be associated.
-This is a direct measurement. -Right.
So, would you go back to the same locations
and take sediment samples?
Yeah, I would like to look in the sediments because,
especially in c-1,
any metals available in the water should attach to that.
-Well, we can get you that. -I can just core it with my corer.
-That'd be great. -Yeah.
If this were June, I think we might try
to marshal forces to exploit this discovery.
But, as it is, time is closing in,
weather is closing in.
There's just not enough assets to enable that to happen.
But we can follow up on this testing
and really put our minds to trying to come up with
the options that this discovery presents.
Marty: Excellent. Excellent data and, honestly, really exciting.
You know, first direct indication of the metals we seek
-and the story they might tell. -Mm-hmm.
So, thanks, and I think it's time to get back to work.
-Yup. -Marty: Thanks.
Rick: Thanks, guys.
-Alex: Gonna core c-1? -Ian: Yup.
Narrator: The following morning...
I'll let you lower it down.
Narrator: ...While dr. Spooner and alex lagina prepare
to collect sediment samples from borehole c-1,
in the uplands near the northeastern border
of the man-made, triangle-shaped swamp...
Charles: There's all stones under here, rick.
Look. Stone, stone, stone.
Narrator: ...Rick lagina and charles barkhouse
continue working with archeologists
dr. Aaron taylor and miriam amirault,
heavy equipment operator billy gerhardt,
and metal detection expert gary drayton
to uncover more sections of the cobblestone pathway.
-Ooh. Look. -Charles: What you got?
-Oh, that's definitely a piece of pottery. -Oh, that's a...
-Yeah. Yeah. -Charles: That's, like, the bottom of a plate or something.
Narrator: Now, with just a few days left
before the first snowfall is expected on oak island
and the end of major search activities
that they will be able to conduct this year,
it is their hope to determine just where the pathway leads
and if any valuable objects can be found hidden within it.
Hey, guys.
Hey, aaron.
How's it going?
Rick: Well, you tell us.
-Here's what we've come up with. -Aaron: Holy cow.
Rick: That just came out of--
-I dug that out of right there. -Okay.
So we have the annular ware,
british ceramic, comes in 1751.
Then we have the creamware,
which comes in 1762, '63.
See, you have such a different variety.
Rick: The question was raised:
Will this road lead us to x? Possible treasure?
Sure. It's a possibility,
but the hope is that we'll find some artifacts
which can be tested to create
a proper timeline and an understanding
of why that feature was built.
But this certainly is a very unique feature,
and we have to follow it to the end.
Aaron: All right, this is great, you guys.
I'll go get a bag for you.
But, in the meantime, you can just keep putting your artifacts
-in this little dustpan. -Rick: Okay.
Aaron: And just keep going, and I will
-be back shortly. -Okay. -Okay.
(sighs)
(knocking on wood)
♪ ♪
-definitely seems to be more rock back here. -Yeah.
♪ ♪
-rick: Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. -What do you got?
What do you got?
That is something different there.
Round. Look at that.
See that?
Charles: What is that? Metal? What is it?
Oh, I can see it's round, yeah.
What is that?
Rick: That is like nothing I've ever seen before.
Heavy, too.
It's defninitely different. Look at that.
Narrator: In the uplands near the northeastern border
of the swamp, rick lagina has just made
a peculiar discovery along the cobblestone pathway.
Charles: That's cool.
Rick: The coloration on it is strange.
There's some markings on the end, too.
-Is there? -Look at it.
See that right there?
Charles: Yeah.
Some kind of a number, isn't it?
-Is that "55"? -I see a five.
Do you think it's some kind of a weight or something?
Narrator: A possible metal weight?
Found along the stone pathway bordering the swamp?
What might have been its purpose?
Could it be a tool of some kind?
Like the possible stonemason's t-square
discovered two weeks ago near this area
and which was carbon-dated to as early as 1632?
That, without question, is the strangest thing
I've seen come out of the ground.
It does look like a number on that side right there.
Rick: That is a prime candidate for xrf.
Oh, yeah. For sure.
Narrator: X-ray fluorescence analysis,
or xrf,
is a process which employs non-destructive radiation
in order to determine an object's chemical composition.
It will also identify whether or not the metal used
to make the artifact is of a precious nature.
This is a significantly interesting area.
Anyway, let's see what else we can find.
Charles: Okay.
Narrator: As rick and charles look for more clues
along the stone pathway in the uplands...
Gary: Smell that, steve?
That's the smell of treasure.
Narrator: ...On lot 32,
near the southwestern border of the swamp,
metal detection expert gary drayton,
surveyor steve guptill,
and heavy equipment operator billy gerhardt,
are hoping to make more important discoveries
of their own.
It was near this area that, just one week ago,
gary found a lead bag seal
bearing a mysterious cross-like symbol
and which might date back to as early as the 14th century.
Gary: Now we're in the deeper layers.
Now we stand a chance.
♪ ♪
there's something there.
Let's have a look. Oh!
Yeah, you're right, billy.
Look at that.
-And it came from very deep. -Gary: Look at that, steve.
That is definitely... That's old.
-Steve g.: That looks old. -Look at that. That's an old piece of wood.
It's got that nice, crude round hole.
Wouldn't be too small to be part of a wharf.
-Yeah, I know. -Gary: I would imagine this is off a ship.
-Billy: It's off a ship. -Yeah. Wow.
Narrator: Could gary be correct?
That they have unearthed a piece of wood
that came from a ship?
If so, might it be connected to the pieces
of possible ship's railing found in the southern portion
of the swamp one month ago?
Or perhaps the massive 200-foot- long ship-shaped anomaly
detected in the swamp by seismic scanning in 2018?
Gary: This is nice, mate.
It kind of reminds me of a latch.
-Like to close a door. -Billy: Yeah.
-On a door or a hold, right? -Gary: Yeah. -Steve g.: This is really close
to the ship's railing that we found right there.
And this lines up with our ship anomaly.
So, I mean, if we're going to find parts of a ship,
-this is where we're going to find it. -Yeah. Yeah.
I'd be very surprised if that weren't off a ship.
-That's a really cool find, mate. -Yeah.
-Steve g.: That's a great find. -Gary: Yeah, it is great.
-Steve g.: Good eye, billy. -Billy: Yup.
Narrator: The following morning...
-Rick: Hey, guys. -Alex: Hey.
So, guess what we're going to talk about.
-Swamp! -Rick: There ya go!
Narrator: ...Rick lagina and members of the team
have arranged to meet via videoconference
with marty and craig,
who have returned to michigan
for important business.
I sent you on some pictures about this item
that I found, and it's-- it's very strange.
I showed it to doug and scott.
We put it on the microscope last night and doug
-thought he saw something. -Doug: Yeah.
It had milled edges on it.
-Hmm. -The ends are indented,
and there seems to be some markings inside them.
The closest comparisons we can find
-are trade weights. -Wow.
Narrator: A possible trade weight?
Recovered along the cobblestone pathway in the swamp?
Dating back to the middle ages,
as europe became the center of world trade,
merchants used trade weights as the standard method
for weighing different kinds of goods.
Now the question is:
Just exactly what type of goods
was this trade weight being used to measure?
And the xrf says that it's mostly copper.
It weighs 45 grams.
That's just about as close as you can get
to one-tenth of a pound.
-Yeah. -Mm-hmm. -Aaron: And, doug, tell them
the interesting part about what it might mean.
We were just trying to see if the 45 grams matched
an ounce measure in any culture or time period.
And the only thing that seems to line up right now
is a troy ounce, which, of course, a troy ounce
is used to measure precious metals.
Hmm.
Narrator: A troy ounce?
Believed to have originated as far back
as the early 14th century in troyes, France,
the so-called troy ounce
was a unit of measurement equal to approximately 31 grams
and was specifically employed for weighing precious metals
such as silver or gold coins.
Is it possible that this trade weight
may be connected to the other potentially
telling discoveries made on oak island this year?
Such as the 15th-century pieces of wood cargo barrels,
also found along the stone pathway,
or perhaps the massive amounts of silver
that have just been detected deep in the money pit area.
I don't think the average farmer
would have a set of trade weights.
But these things were in use for a long, long time.
And they were used by, generally speaking,
whoever was handling the money.
Somebody with means, somebody with metals to divide up.
It suggests to me a level of sophistication
on whatever it is we're chasing.
Honestly, it does look very like a balance weight
for trading something that would be valuable
-down to the tenth of a pound. -Alex: Mm-hmm.
Marty: And, aaron, you have to give it context, right? If it's found
next to a bunch of other stuff that are quite old,
-it's really hard for it to be modern, right? -Aaron: Yeah, you know,
that's what we can associate it with.
-Yeah. -Rick: You know, I just think
that some very strange items are coming out
-of the road and the path. -Aaron: Yeah.
We've started to leapfrog up the hill,
and we're finding evidence of a road.
-Yup. -Aaron: And, eventually,
hopefully, we'll end up figuring out where this road is going to.
Yeah. Hopefully before the weather and time
closes us out, we'll find more things.
-Yup. -Get after it.
We'll get back out there. See ya!
Marty: Bravo tango. Here we come.
-Ian: Hey, aaron. Hi, miriam. -Hey, guys.
Hi, miriam. Hi, aaron.
So we've got a little something
to show you guys.
Narrator: One day after discovering
a possible treasure trade weight,
rick lagina and geoscientist dr. Ian spooner
return to the uplands near the northeastern border
of the swamp.
Aaron: We're trying to see if this cobble is a path
and if it's continuing,
so we came down on these stones.
Narrator: They are eager to receive an update
from archeologists miriam amirault
and dr. Aaron taylor on their investigation
of the cobblestone pathway feature.
We're coming down on a burn layer.
-We've got concentration of charcoal. -Rick: Right.
You've got stones looking sort of circular.
Something might've happened here
that displaced the stone, but now there seems
there's a hearth in the middle of the road.
We don't have an explanation for that.
Well, we've got coal
on the, uh, cobble pathway and on the stone road.
We've got slag.
So we've got the sense of perhaps a forge.
Narrator: A forge or blacksmith's furnace
found along the pathway?
If so, could it be more evidence
of major human activity centuries before the discovery
of the money pit in 1795?
And might it be another important clue
connected to an effort to hide something
of great value on oak island?
Rick: One would have thought that,
when we uncovered the stone road,
that it would have been an easy understanding
of where that stone road led.
But we don't at this point.
It's frustrating because
we have these tantalizing clues--
the slag, the coal, an early date for the road.
We're close, but we're not there.
So, my next question is, of course,
where do you go next?
So, I think we go back up to where you're standing,
uh, just to get a complete look at what this is.
Miriam: Especially because we have cobbles right in that corner,
-and we'd want to see if they keep going. -Aaron: Yeah.
So, that's what we'll do. We'll just keep taking
this back and, you know, I probably
want to expand that way again.
No, look. It's a great, great plan,
but time and weather conspire.
-So let's get after it. -Aaron: Yeah. All right.
-Okay. Good luck! -See you soon. -Aaron: Thank you.
Narrator: As archeologists miriam amirault
and dr. Aaron taylor
continue their investigation in the uplands,
later that afternoon...
-Alex: Hey, rick. -Rick: Hey.
Where did all that dirt come from?
We keep digging and we keep coming up with more dirt.
Narrator: ...Rick lagina heads to lot 25,
where archaeologists laird niven
and liz michels, along with alex lagina and david fornetti,
are finishing up their investigation for the year
at the 18th-century homestead
that once belonged to samuel ball.
Is there another shovel?
There's a square-headed one here.
Narrator: This year, the team has made a number
of compelling discoveries in their quest to find out how
the former american slave turned farmer
mysteriously became one of the wealthiest landowners
in nova scotia by the early 19th century.
Rick: As you look outward, what is the potential
for further understanding of samuel and his life?
What is going on here?
I think we've got a lot more work to do
just around the cellar, and then I think
what I'd really like to see is more historical work done.
To get some ideas of economic status.
This is the biggest evidence.
-The size of the home? -Laird: Yup.
But no smoking guns yet.
Well, we have that one-- that one button.
Yeah, we had a nice, neat timeline going with sam ball
until you found that button.
-And then it just... -Alex: Yeah, exactly.
Narrator: In addition to gaining a better understanding
of just how large a home mr. Ball had
for a supposed simple cabbage farmer,
the team also found a number of compelling discoveries,
including a british naval officer's button...
...As well as the remains of a massive
100-foot-long wharf bordering his property.
Is it possible that samuel ball's personal story
may be more connected to the oak island mystery
than anyone ever knew?
I marvel at the man, but at the end of the day,
yea or nay: Do you think
he has any association with the treasure?
Liz: Well, I think there may be some credibility
to a version of the story.
You know, it's not totally out of the question
that he found something.
Alex: We know he was enterprising.
I mean, if you look at what he achieved, it's a lot.
-Yup. -I think, I'm gonna go back to the button.
I think the biggest thing that we found here that might tie him
to the treasure story is that button and the wharf.
-Wow. -Alex: Not necessarily
that he found anything but now he is connected with a group
that could have pulled this off.
See, that all just changes
everything we think of samuel ball.
An incredible, incredible human being.
-Exactly. -Rick: Samuel ball
is certainly part of the story of oak island.
Whether or not there's a direct connection
to the treasure mystery, we don't know.
But the man's story needs to be told.
This really does give us some insight into who he was,
and it's quite amazing.
Yeah.
I mean, it just reeks of history, right?
-Good job, everybody. Thank you. -Laird: Thanks, rick.
Narrator: Later that afternoon...
Rick: Please tell me you've found the road.
(laughter)
narrator: ...Rick lagina, along with
his nephews, alex lagina
and david fornetti, return to the uplands
near the oak island swamp for an update
from archeologist dr. Aaron taylor
on his investigation of the cobblestone path.
I'm confident we found the road.
And what leads you to that?
Behind us here we have
what I'm fairly certain is
part of the road or pathway.
It's got definite boundaries.
It's cobblestone. It's about nine feet in width,
which is close to what the swamp path-- road has been.
It's heading up this way and...
Towards the money pit.
Narrator: Could archaeologist dr. Aaron taylor be correct
that the stone pathway is indeed leading
toward the money pit area?
It is giving a sense that
it's going in that general direction.
Narrator: If so, could it provide rick,
marty, craig and the team
with a road map to where massive amounts of silver,
and perhaps other items of great value,
lie buried on oak island?
The road may be heading towards the money pit.
Of course that's-that's... That's important.
It's critical to try to connect these areas
that are significant in terms of solving the mystery.
That is the real aha moment.
All right, what I'd like to do
is we should all rally to the war room
and have a discussion about what we've learned, what we've done,
what they might mean for the future,
-and where we go next. -Yup.
-Aaron: Great. Agreed. -Alex: Sounds good. -David f.: Sounds good.
Rick: Doug, if you could bring everybody up.
Hey, everybody.
-Hey. -Hey, everyone. -Hey!
Narrator: Just after the first snow of another harsh,
north atlantic winter has fallen,
rick lagina has gathered members of the team for a final,
albeit bittersweet, meeting in the war room
to assess what has been the most successful year of discovery
in the entire 226-year-old oak island mystery.
And by the way, I'm looking at a bunch
of somber-looking people on this screen right now.
What the hell's the deal here? This has been a great year.
This is good. This is good stuff.
Narrator: Joining the gathering from their offices
in traverse city, michigan, are marty lagina
and craig tester, along with jack begley.
I am amazed when I think about it.
The amount of work in a covid-abbreviated year.
I never would have thought
that we would be sitting here
contemplating how much positive
work has been accomplished this year.
It's been quite remarkable.
What I would like to do
is assess the value of the work done,
where we are with that work, and where do we go from there.
So I think we all agree
we made, what I believe, was a really quite amazing discovery
in the swamp. I think I'll turn it over to aaron and miriam,
who have done the majority of the work.
Aaron: Sure. I think if anyone said
they expected or anticipated finding
a stone road running through a swamp,
I would say they're lying.
(laughter)
it ran for 600 feet along the swamp.
The fact that there's no paper trail for this,
a feat of engineering this large,
it would have taken a lot of men to construct it.
It's incredible.
Yeah, um, I agree.
I think for us, the biggest thing to make us wonder,
"is this related to the treasure?" was the fact
that there's nothing written, really, about this.
Aaron: When you start looking at it,
it might be heading to the money pit.
Narrator: Although some have speculated in the past
that the triangle-shaped swamp may have been artificially made,
this year the oak island team proved it.
It began with the discovery of a massive stone road,
or possible ship's wharf,
running along the southeastern border of the brackish bog
giving credence to the long-held theory
by fred nolan that the swamp was once open ocean.
This, of course, was followed by the discovery
of the cobblestone pathway
running along the entire eastern border of the swamp
where the team made incredible discoveries
such as iron ringbolts,
as well as pieces of 15th-century keg barrels,
offering evidence of an operation
to unload heavy cargo from a ship and onto oak island.
The question that lingered all year,
and which may now have been answered,
was just where it was leading?
I just think that the labor-intensive work
of a swamp road, we'll call it, and the money pit were--
I think they were done at different times,
and I think the earliest construct was the road
because you have to cover that problem
of logistics before you can develop
an agenda such as what was done in the money pit.
Some of the survey stakes
give dates going back to the 1600s.
And I agree, and we've talked about that,
that possibly being two, three and maybe even
-four periods occurring. -Yeah.
Marty: This is a massive thing that's hidden.
And it explains why there's no paperwork, right?
I mean, you don't create paperwork
if you want to keep something hidden.
I mean, how significant is this?
Ian: This was not built
by fishermen or farmers, in my opinion,
because it speaks to some other purpose.
I'm glad you said that, mate, 'cause there is a purpose
to all these artifacts on this table.
Which, if there's a treasure operation,
someone depositing treasure on this island for centuries,
this is what you expect to see.
Coal, you've got the ox shoes,
oxes, beasts of heavy burden,
which would have been moving treasure inland.
And that fantastic ringbolt.
That would have been used for guiding the oxes
along the trails.
All of these artifacts were before
the story of the money pit.
These artifacts must surely lead us to treasure.
Rick: Steve is going to bring up
the mapping that he did of the artifact finds,
and I think it will be very informative.
So, I'm going to share my screen with everybody.
So, as you can see, there's a substantial amount
of work done by everybody this year.
That's without the artifacts
and the metal detecting finds, so I'm gonna turn those on now,
and you guys are, I would think, are gonna be quite impressed
of how busy the island actually gets.
-Ian: Geez. -Doug: Wow. -Rick: Wow.
Steve g.: Did you guys see how the island filled in rather quickly?
We found 700 objects this year.
It's twice as much as last year.
Marty: When I see all those finds, it's gratifying.
There is concrete evidence of substantial works
prior to 1795 and a lot of them.
A lot went on on that island.
None of it documented.
We started looking for patterns.
And it started with the ox shoes.
Well, the ox shoes this year started to tell its own story
and it had to do with traveled areas, and it goes
to the cobble path.
I think it's one of many. I referred to it
earlier in the year, the cobble path,
as the oak island interstate
because I don't think there's one path.
I think there's multiple paths.
Narrator: In the oak island war room,
surveyor steve guptill
is presenting a map he has created
based on the hundreds of discoveries
the team made this year.
He believes it offers evidence
that numerous hidden ancient pathways may exist
beyond the one they unearthed
along the eastern border of the swamp.
Steve g.: I'm going to show you guys one of these paths.
So earlier in the year, after the stone road was uncovered,
rick wanted us to project that road north
through lot 15.
So, gary and I, and jack,
we staked this road and, as you can see,
throughout the year, gary made multiple finds on that.
Yup.
-(detector beeping) -ooh, look at that!
-Michael j.: What's that? -A little baby ox shoe.
Narrator: Over the course of this year,
while metal detecting on lot 15
between the swamp and the money pit area,
gary drayton and members of the team
made a number of compelling finds
offering evidence of extensive human activity
including a number of ox shoes, ax heads,
and even a chinese cash coin
that dates back as much as ten centuries.
Is it possible, as steve guptill believes,
that gary also discovered another pathway
leading away from the swamp?
If so, then where does it end?
Perhaps at the original money pit?
Or at another location
where something of great value lies hidden?
So, we need to connect
the cobble path in the swamp
to this path of gary finds that leads to the money pit.
That may be our x on the ground.
-It could very well be. -Marty: Okay, well,
my next question, laird, I've asked you before.
When you look at that speckled elephant in front of you there,
if we went to ten different islands in mahone bay
and searched it as closely as we've searched this,
-would we find all this stuff? -I honestly don't think so.
-This is unique? -That's one word for it.
(laughter)
rick: There you go.
What this tells me is it's imperative
that we find out where the road goes,
and where it ultimately ends up. That's gonna provide
real narrative, real understanding,
and maybe, maybe help us
in terms of where we go
-in the money pit. -Yes.
So let's start at the money pit and then proceed.
It was doug and steve and charles
who spent the majority of the time at the drill table.
And terry, of course, so...
Doug, if you want to sum up
-that work... -Doug: Well, we did start with the money pit.
C-1, at the start of the year, charles, the indications that
-there was more than one shiny gold thing there. -I know, yeah.
And now with dr. Spooner
and, uh, dr. Lukeman's work,
c-1 is now of high interest to us.
So, I mean, there are a lot of mysteries
in the money pit still to be solved.
Speaking of that, I know you just got
the results back from c-1.
-What were they? -Ian: Yeah.
Alex and I went and took some sediment samples
from the bottom of c-1.
And the idea being that maybe
that sediment is telling us a little bit
about where the high copper and zinc and trace silver
are coming from.
But the sediment is very low in those elements.
So, what that's telling me right now
is that something's happening in that water
as it moves around, where it's picking up metals.
Because if it's not coming from the sediments,
it can only be coming from one other thing.
Gary: Treasure.
-Ian: Well, you said it. -Yeah.
Yeah, so that's pretty exciting.
Marty: There have been several times
in the last several years
where I kind of wanted to quit.
Then the island gives you something.
I mean, something is leeching
metals into that water.
Uh, and one of those metals is silver.
And by the way, gold won't show up
because it's just not soluble.
But silver is often associated with gold.
Narrator: Could marty's speculation be correct
that the great quantity of silver
detected in the water in c-1
may also suggest a strong likelihood
that there are other objects made of precious metals
somewhere down there as well?
If so, could the gold-colored objects
the team has seen embedded in the walls of the cavern
170 feet below ground
offer more tantalizing evidence
that marty's notion is true?
Marty: I think it's the most exciting thing that's happened
in the last ten years and the last 220 years.
-Yup. -Marty: My final word on this
is that, honestly, before this direct indication of metals,
I was very, very lukewarm on the big dig.
Now I think the big dig is right back on the table.
Ultimately, we always knew that the only way, really,
to answer the questions on oak island,
vis-à-vis the money pit,
certainly, was some sort of dig.
So, I agree, in concept.
But, is a big dig...
Well, billy would go 300 feet
and, you know, or 200. Is it 100?
Or is it large cans?
I mean, the whole discussion
rounds to one simple fact, and that is that
there's more work to do in the money pit.
Yes.
Rick: I think we need to look at the data
before we make any sort of commitments in the money pit.
Can we use the tools at our disposal
to get it down to a very specific location?
-And that would be the hope. -Marty: So...
We let the scientists run with it a little bit,
and we keep the big dig as a possibility.
-Does that sound good, rick? -I agree.
What I... What I propose
at this point is somewhat of a ritual.
I think it's appropriate, especially this year,
when we achieved far more than
we had hoped for, given the covid situation.
So what I would ask is: Where do we go from here?
I think it's been a fantastic year.
You think about it, we've been to places searching where
we probably wouldn't have bothered searching before.
And I'm really looking forward
to going back to the swamp,
and I can't wait to get stuck in.
(laughter)
david f.: You know, to me,
I feel like we were on the right path,
and as long as we keep going down
and using the science to make informed decisions,
we, you know, we-- I don't want to say we can't lose,
but, um, you know, I hope that
we can get closer, if not find what we're looking for.
Jack: Yeah. If we keep up at this pace,
you know, I think we're gonna find this sucker eventually.
(laughter)
I think it's progress on all fronts.
There's evidence of significant work done in the swamp, uh,
which-which could be the infrastructure used
in the deposition.
An optimistic new spot in the money pit to investigate.
We've discovered and know a lot more about
the features surrounding the money pit
than we've known in the past.
Like I said, progress on all fronts.
I'd say he's all in. What would you say?
(laughter)
-craig? -Well, I think
we had an amazing year.
And, I guess, time to take a break.
We have a tremendous amount of data
that we all need to go through.
So my hope for next year is, uh, that-that covid
is, uh, either a thing of the past or very manageable,
so I can get out there a lot more and help you guys.
-Marty? -Marty: Well, most of what
needs to be said has been said, rick.
So, I'll just say very succinctly, um...
Silver in the water.
So, we continue to dig both figuratively for information
and literally for this treasure.
And that's what we do.
Uh, I will say this, I'd like to say this,
that tom and rick were correct.
There are answers in that swamp for sure.
And, again, something that's indisputable
is that if this had all been left to me,
none of this would have been found.
So, what does this really speak to?
Uh, I think it really speaks
to rick lagina's persistence, leadership.
You know, he has been single-handedly
leading us into this, and-and look what we have.
So, I think-- I think everybody
should be proud of what we did.
And, um, I know everybody is thinking this,
and I just want to say it.
We are truly impressed and honored to be led
by you in this endeavor.
-Amen. -Hear, hear! -Yes.
Okay, well, now I'm not gonna be able to talk anymore
because now I'm emotional, so now it's all on...
Now it's all on you guys.
It's all true. It's all true.
-I appreciate it, certainly. -Others: Yes.
For me, I think I can sum up how I feel.
Two words: Humble and grateful.
Humble because...
For the kind words
that my brother articulated.
I really, really appreciate that.
♪ ♪
and humbled by the fact that we've been, um,
lucky enough to participate in this.
It's a wonderful story.
It always will be.
It belongs to each and every one of us
because we have labored so...
Mightily to try and solve it.
And not only us but...
Tom's father, dan, david,
the people that we have lost
and the people that have come before us long ago
who we owe a debt of gratitude to.
And grateful for all of you.
Because marty said, you know, about leading,
but you can't lead if people don't follow.
And, uh...
I appreciate...
...And respect all of you.
We'll follow you anywhere, mate.
Others: Yes.
That's why we're here.
I appreciate it. More than you know.
Okay. Let's get it done!
-Gary: Yup. -Marty: Amen.
Good season! Well done, everyone!
-Yes! -Gary: Stay safe.
-See ya, guys. -See ya, guys.
Charles: Safe travels.
Marty: This year went incredibly well, given the obstacles.
Rick did a phenomenal job of pulling it together,
and really making significant discoveries
when, at the start of this year,
we thought we weren't gonna get on the island at all.
-Ian: See you soon. -Gary: All right, mate.
-David f.: Until next time? -Charles: Yeah, until next time. -Gary: Yup.
Marty: It's gratifying to see that team
having produced what it produced.
And with this "metals in the water" analysis,
we've got to be closing in on the treasure. We've got to be!
It just can't hide forever if it's still there. It can't.
We're gonna get it.
-Rick: See you, guys! -See ya.
Rick: I've said it before. I think
the story of what happened here is the real treasure.
And I think we've made significant progress.
Are we closer to finding an actual physical treasure?
I think the clues are adding up that, ultimately,
we'll get either ourselves there or someone there.
Narrator: For more than two centuries,
determined people have tirelessly worked to solve
the oak island mystery.
Most operated on a fervent faith
that their efforts were worth it.
Six men even gave their lives.
Since he was just a young boy,
rick lagina has also embodied a deeply held faith
that something of incredible value lays buried on oak island.
But now he and his brother marty,
along with their faithful team,
have the scientific evidence.
And as they move forward,
might they also prove something much more profound?
That solving the oak island mystery
is their destiny.
Rick: Oak island, at some point, will be understood
in its entirety, and, uh,
I look forward to that day,
and I hope it's us.
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