NARRATOR: Tonight on The Curse of Oak Island...
Looks like we have one or two shipwrecks right here.
DOUG: Wow.
We hear you.
MARTY: We have found several things on Lot 8.
-It’s very old. -Age?
-1500s. -MARTY: Well, how about that?
-Another one coming in. -It’s got to be bobby-dazzlers
and top pocket finds, mate.
Wow.
Doesn’t get any better than this.
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,
man-made workings that date to medieval times,
and a lead cross whose origin may be connected
to 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.
♪ ♪
-PETER: You ready? -RICK: Yeah.
A little chilly, but... Yeah,
-it’s chilly. -I want to do some work so I can get warm.
-Yeah. -GARY: I’m really, really happy, mate.
This is the level of the gold and the silver
water tests, mate.
There’s got to be some gold
and bobby-dazzlers in there.
That’s the hope, isn’t it?
-Yeah. -That’s the hope.
NARRATOR: Despite the onset
of the harsh North Atlantic fall season,
the outlook remains bright for brothers Rick
and Marty Lagina and their team
as they press forward in their quest
to solve the 227-year-old Oak Island mystery.
GARY: Fingers crossed on this one.
NARRATOR: As they are now approaching a depth
of 100 feet in their ten-foot-diameter shaft,
known as DH-82,
they have much more than mere faith
driving their hope for a major discovery.
DH-82 is located
at the center of the massive crater-shaped excavation
that was conducted
by treasure hunter Robert Dunfield in 1965,
which caved in at a depth of 143 feet
due to the believed
man-made flood tunnel originating at Smith’s Cove.
This not only suggests that Dunfield
was digging in the original Money Pit,
where the legendary Chappell Vault
is believed to lie buried somewhere below 150 feet,
but it was also at this location where Rick,
Marty and the team detected high traces of both
gold and silver during water tests earlier this year.
RICK: So, I think it’s exciting
just simply because it’s backfilled
from the Dunfield dig.
They didn’t have metal detectors.
They were looking for treasure. Right?
They weren’t going through their spoils
piles like you’re about to do.
-No. -So, look, your top-pocket
finds, your bobby-dazzlers, might have to
do with the fact that, long ago, they found something
-and didn’t know it, and that’s down that hole. -Yeah.
PETER: I’m hoping Dunfield missed it.
-Oh, yeah. -PETER: Let’s get in there, Gary.
All right, mate.
MARTY: The Dunfield dig has always been
interesting in the sense that
we want to try and find what Dunfield might have missed.
He never got deep enough based on
the Chappell Vault data.
-Nothing? -No.
MARTY: If this vault exits,
we should hit it in this area.
Each time we dig, we look for it.
-RICK: There’s some timber. -GARY: Excellent.
Certainly getting full grabs,
-that’s for sure. -GARY: Yeah.
We’ve just got to get that gold and silver
now to hold in our hands.
Wait and see.
-All right. -Ready?
Yeah.
Let’s find some good stuff.
NARRATOR: Over the past two weeks,
while excavating DH-82
and sifting through mounds of old spoils
that Dunfield unearthed but never thoroughly searched,
the Oak Island team has made a number
of compelling discoveries,
including potentially ancient tools,
evidence of a wooden structur,
and a leather shoe sole that could date back
to the 13th century.
I think DH-82, in particular,
is-is a very good choice.
I love the fact that the empirical evidence is
showing there’s treasure in this area.
So, there’s reason to believe that the story,
the mystery, will get solved.
Here comes another one.
GARY: This is it, mate.
Here we go.
Oh, look at that timber.
PETER: Oh, wow.
GARY: Yeah, that’s a big piece of wood, isn’t it?
RICK: I’m gonna see if we have a tape measure.
-Okay. -All right.
The timber is very interesting,
and it’s very interesting for one reason.
There’s a lot of data that can be retrieved from it,
i.e. C-14, it’s big enough
for dendrochronology.
I’m just gonna measure that log to see
if it corresponds with the tunnel height.
We can do species identification.
It’s a treasure trove of,
potentially, very interesting information.
Yup, four-two.
And that probably would’ve been driven in the ground,
so a four-foot-high tunnel,
give or take.
If it had a roof, you add another six inches,
eight inches.
Interesting, though.
IAN: Yeah.
It would be a four-foot-high tunnel.
Was that the height they were?
-A lot of them were that height. -Yeah.
All I know is, this was done with purpose.
BILLY: Yeah, it looks like somebody had an axe and then they just
tried to square this end up for the post, right?
-Yeah. -So, what do you think?
-Oak? -I think so, yeah.
NARRATOR: Could Rick Lagina’s speculatin that the team has unearthed
a timber from a tunnel
some 100 feet deep be correct?
-That’s a lot of wood. -Yeah.
NARRATOR: Earlier this year,
while drilling a borehole known as D-2
just eight feet to the southeast,
they also recovered evidence of a tunnel at the same
approximate depth that dated to as early as 1488,
along with metal containing high traces of gol.
I don’t know what else you’d build
with a four-foot-two log.
(laughter)
It’s not a shaft.
NARRATOR: Is it possible that the team
has found another section of the same structure?
And if so, could it mean they are close
to discovering the legendary vault?
Gary? There’s only one way to figure that out.
You, sir, have to find something.
Oh, yeah. Let’s find some history.
NARRATOR: As Rick Lagina continues supervising
the excavation of the DH-82 shaft...
MARTY: Carmen Legge, welcome back to Oak Island.
-Howdy. How are you? -Good.
-Nice to see you, Craig. -Nice to see you.
NARRATOR: ...his brother Marty and their partner Craig Tester
are meeting with blacksmithing expert
Carmen Legge in the research center.
We have actually found several things that I
helped dig up on Lot 8, so I want to show those to you.
-How about we start with this right here? -All right.
MARTY: This one I remember because I dug it.
And I thought it was just a chain, but now I,
I don’t think so.
Well, it is a couple links of a chain,
-so you got that part right. -Okay.
NARRATOR: One week ago,
while searching an area on Lot 8,
where they are awaiting a permit to excavate a large
buried metal anomaly that was detected
earlier this year,
Marty and Gary unearthed a large chain-like object
as well as part of a suspected ancient tool.
CARMEN: It’s an unusual chain.
Very well made, too.
This chain was not made for strength.
It was just made to contain something.
Blacksmith-made?
CARMEN: Yes, oh, yes. Very old, very old.
This would be a typical boom chain.
So, it would contain something that
was floating in water, you know, like, uh, boom logs
or some lumber or something like that.
NARRATOR: A piece of a boom chain?
Dating back to as early as the Middle Ages,
boom chains were often used to link
floating logs together in bodies of water
in order to create barriers to deter passing ships.
Is it possible that this piece of a boom chain
was used as part of some kind of defensive barrier
created by someone on Oak Island centuries ago?
If so, for what purpose,
and could it be connected to
the large metallic anomaly
that the team hopes to excavate in the coming weeks?
MARTY: All right, well, how about...
Yeah, how about that?
CARMEN: You can see that, uh, it’s just a slight bit of concave to it.
-MARTY: Yes. -This is only one of two
things that I can think of that this could be.
It’s a hook driver for driving down the iron bands
on barrels to tighten them.
-Yeah. -The only other thing is
it could be a chinking iron
for driving oakum
into the planks outside of a ship.
MARTY: What is oakum? What is it?
Oakum is a mixture of hemp and tar to seal
the boards around the ship.
-Okay. -CARMEN: I still want to say
-this is a chinking tool. -MARTY: Mm-hmm.
CARMEN: It’s the right size, it’s the right shape,
it’s got the right dimensions to it.
You can see that something been hitting
-that for many, many times. -MARTY: Okay.
How old do you think that is?
They’ve been using them since
the time of building ships, so 1500s.
-Seriously? Wow. -CARMEN: Yes.
MARTY: That is quite remarkable.
MARTY: How old do you think that is?
They’ve been using them since the time
of building ships, so 1500s.
-Seriously? Wow. -CARMEN: Yes.
MARTY: That is quite remarkable.
NARRATOR: In the Oak Island Research Center,
blacksmithing expert Carmen Legge
has just informed Marty Lagina and Craig Tester
that a metal artifact discovered
on Lot 8 could be related
to ship construction and predate the discovery
of the Money Pit by as much as three centuries.
MARTY: Why on Lot 8? You know? Nobody ever lived there.
Might’ve been some sort of staging area there for repairs.
Mm-hmm.
NARRATOR: Over the past five years,
the Oak Island team
has unearthed evidence
of numerous centuries-old wharfs
and potential shipping statios
at Smith’s Cove, adjacent to Lots 32
and 25,
and even in the triangle-shaped swamp.
Is it possible that the team has found another
location where a major operation involving
large sailing vessels visiting the island took plac?
And in an area where they await a permit
to excavate a large, mysterious metal object?
There’s no evidence of habitation there.
So, it becomes more significant that we’re
finding these things on Lot 8.
We need to, once again, search through
that area to find answers, concrete answers.
Something that helps us with the overall treasure hunt.
Carmen, always a pleasure and always, uh,
very enlightening. We got some more pondering to do.
Thank you very much, sir.
Very good. I want to see some more stuff.
-We’ll find you some more stuff. -Okay.
-MARTY: Cheers. -CRAIG: Take care.
NARRATOR: As Marty and Craig conclude their meeting with Carmen Lege
in the research center,
and while the excavation in the Money Pit area continues..
We’re at 124.
-124? -GARY: So, we’re moving.
PETER: That’s good.
RICK: Dr. Lee Spence, Tony, thank you for coming.
What we’re about to undertake is important.
NARRATOR: ...Rick Lagina, along with his nephew Alex
and members of the team, have gathered in the war room
to plan a highly anticipated dive operation with Tony Sampson
and renowned underwater archaeologist Dr. Lee Spence.
We do have some data, uh, provided by CSR GeoSurveys.
Dr. Spence, you have had an opportunity
-to look at some of that data. -Very interesting.
NARRATOR: With more than 50 years of experience
as a treasure hunter and underwater explorer,
Dr. Spence has located more than 100 shipwrecks
and discovered more than $50 million in artifacts
and treasure dating back to as early as the 15th century.
RICK: What we ask of Dr. Spence is
to look at that CSR data,
that mag data, and see if you can suggest
to us what these targets might be,
and whether or not you saw anything worth, uh,
Tony diving on.
-So, Steve, if you could bring that data up. -Sure.
So, there are the anomalies supplied
-to us from CSR. -RICK: The reason
for the dive, obviously, is to try to explain
-those two mystery targets up there. -TONY: Yeah, exactly.
And that’s the Frog Island Shoal one.
RICK: As you can see, there’s a number of targets
around the island, but those are probably
-the two most interesting. -LEE: They should be.
TONY: We’re heading towards the Frog Island Shoal, mate.
NARRATOR: One week ago, Rick, Marty,
and Craig commissioned
representatives from CSR GeoSurveys Limited
to conduct a magnetometer survey
across the northern waters surrounding Oak Island.
JACK: Oh, oh.
-Is that a hit? -COLIN: That’s a hit.
-Yeah. -NARRATOR: Incredibly,
the scans identified
a number of compelling anomalies,
including one adjacent to Lot5
and also a massive object
near Frog Island, to the east of Oak Island.
One that could potentially be the wreck
of a large sailing vessel.
This area up here,
if I had done this mag and-and
I saw these targets,
I would think, "Okay, looks like we have one or two
-shipwrecks right here." -RICK: That’s great.
MARTY: Well, that’s exciting. Here’s a man
who really knows what he’s talking about.
Dr. Spence thinks that the anomaly
near Frog Island is indeed a shipwreck.
For our purposes, it could be a shipwreck
that helps us solve our mystery.
Here. This looks like a shipwreck to me.
RICK: That’s one off of Lot 5?
Yes. Now, this is very shallow water.
You can have shipwrecks in extremely shallow water,
but y’all have all of this geology here,
and so, there are lots of things that it could be.
NARRATOR: Although Nova Scotia law
restricts treasure hunting in open waters, it is
the team’s hope that, if they can find
evidence of a wreck, they can acquire a special
permit to investigate it more thoroughly.
So, what-what’s your approach, then?
Looking at the Frog Island Shoal one,
I would take the handheld mag out.
And if you’ve got a six-foot linear feature
down there, you know, then the heart
starts to beat a little bit because it might be, might be
a cannon or an anchor or something.
Well, I think all that can be said at this point is,
-"Go find a shipwreck." -Okay. -Yes.
We will, indeed.
NARRATOR: While Tony, Dr. Spence, and members
of the team prepare for their dive operation...
...later that afternoon...
That’s about the biggest hammer grab yet.
...Rick Lagina, along with other members of the tea,
continue to monitor the excavation
of the DH-82 shaft.
Two thumbs up?
RICK: Hey, Andrew.
Where are we?
-Really? -Yup.
Well, that’s spot-on, 140 to 160.
-What are we gonna see? -It could be anything.
From this point forward, it could be anything.
If there is a consensus about the Dunfield excavation, is that
he didn’t get as deep as he wanted to,
and we have a rough idea of where he stopped.
Yes.
As far as how deep Robert Dunfield got
with his excavation,
it was right around 140 feet.
So, we’re right on the cusp of entering new territory,
and thus the possibility that you’ll see something
at this depth increases dramatically.
-What’s up? -I can’t get a bite.
ANDREW: It’s slipping off on you?
Yeah. It’s terrible.
Hey, Rick.
144 with the caisson right now,
and Danny’s in high pressures now.
-Really? -ANDREW: Yup.
RICK: Andrew mentions that
the pressures have gone up on the oscillator.
That means we’ve encountered something solid.
So, let’s see what the oscillator is on.
GARY: Another shot at glory.
-Ready? -Yup.
It’s our moment to shine.
(beeping)
We got a signal here, though.
Just there.
The Peter push.
You got it out, mate.
All right, let’s see what we got.
What the heck is that?
It’s crazy.
GARY: What the heck is that?
A double-ended spike.
NARRATOR: In the Money Pit area,
the team has just unearthed
a potentially important clue at a depth of some
140 feet in the DH-82 shaft.
GARY: Well, that’s little, isn’t it?
-Sail cloth needle. -Yeah, could be.
NARRATOR: A possible sail cloth needle?
Dating back in use to the first century,
sail cloth needles were designed
for the purpose of making and repairing the sails
of large ocean vessels.
Found a cool find, Charles.
NARRATOR: In 2016,
while excavating the four-foot-wide GAL-1 shaft
located just seven feet southeast of DH-82,
Gary discovered an identical artifact.
-What is it? -Looks like a sail cloth needle to me.
NARRATOR: But just how would sail cloth needles
come to be buried deep in the Money Pit area?
Could it possibly be explained
by the theory held by some,
including the late Oak Island landowner Fred Nolan,
that a massive sailing vessel may have been dismantled
in order to construct the original treasure shaft?
We’re about to get to that 150 feet level, mate.
We got that coming up.
We could really do with an Hail Mary find now.
Yup.
-Let’s get stuck in, then. -Yup.
GARY: Come on, me beauty.
RICK: When we’re at the 150-foot excavation depth,
it’s exciting and troubling at the same time because
this is the exact elevation
that Robert Dunfield wanted to get to,
but then he lost the hole.
So, if there’s something to be found,
I should think it would be within the next ten feet.
-PETER: Nothing? -GARY: No.
Nothing. Not in that one.
No metals anyway.
No clay backfill in that one.
No. It’s becoming quite clear we’re close to the bottom.
Rick, Andrew’s coming in.
Did they just measure?
This could be interesting, gentlemen.
-Hey, gentlemen. -TERRY: There he is, the man of the hour.
-How you doing, man? -Good. How are you guys?
-Very good. -ANDREW: Good, good.
I guess we got news.
I don’t know if it’s the news we’re looking for.
Michel’s having a little bit of a hard time,
he said, with the material down there.
Very, very hard
for him to get a bucketful, but
it seems quite dense.
Uh, right now, we’re at 153 with our excavation.
The can’s acting as if we were into rock.
-RICK: Sobering. -ANDREW: We’ve kind of exhausted
-all the resources now. -Right.
NARRATOR: The news that the DH-82 shaft
has now encountered bedrock
at a depth of 153 feet--
the exact reported depth of
the fabled Chappell Vault--
is nothing short of devastating.
RICK: I mean, to date,
DH-82 has been surprising
because we found artifacts from previous digs.
We also found evidence of some sort of tunnel.
And we’ve gone past the 150-foot level,
and yet there’s nothing to be found.
It’s disappointing, to say the least.
We full-- well and truly expected
to find something at that depth.
You know, you can try to advance the can,
but I don’t think you’re going to, and then we’ll call it.
-Yeah. -TERRY: It’s a bitter one.
A bitter pill to swallow.
-RICK: Thank you. -Thanks, guys.
NARRATOR: The team has now excavated three
ten-foot-diameter shafts where water testing
in previously drilled six-inch boreholes produced
high traces of both silver and gold.
And yet
they have recovered no further signs of treasure.
You know, it’s disappointing,
but there’s a lot of data.
I think what we encountered here,
it all needs to be looked at, and a proper plan developed.
The best is yet to come.
NARRATOR: Now, with only a few remaining
weeks before the onset of winter,
the team has a critical decision to make:
where to excavate a fourth and final steel-cased shaft
this year in the hopes of recovering the treasure that
scientific evidence suggests is somewhere deep below.
RICK: I think we need to take a step back
and try to come to an understanding
of where to put the next can.
We’ve retrieved a lot of information, and we need to
try to step back and put it together.
Persistence and perseverance.
We’re gonna get there. I know it.
Sempre Avanti.
Always keep moving forward.
Thank you, guys.
-See you, Rick. -Yup.
NARRATOR: The following morning,
as Rick, Marty, and Craig
begin preparations
for how to proceed in the Money Pit area...
TONY: So, we’re about on the spot now, guys.
NARRATOR: ...Alex Lagina and his cousin David Fornetti
join diver Tony Sampson and hs team, along with underwater
archaeologist Dr. Lee Spence,
to investigate the waters
between Oak Island
and neighboring Frog Island.
TONY: What do we got for depth, Ryan?
19 feet.
TONY: 19?
-Sweet. Okay. -Great.
Let’s kit up and, um, we’re gonna splash this one.
We’re gonna drop the anchor, Jamie.
NARRATOR: Tony and Dr. Spence
will be conducting a dive in an effort to collect
more data regarding the metallic anomalies
that were detected during the recent magnetometry surve.
ALEX: The target today is a cluster
of magnetometer hits
that could be a shipwreck on Frog Island Shoal.
NARRATOR: However, due to environmental restrictions,
they will only be able to perform a noninvasive
investigation of the ocean floor
using cameras and handheld scanning devices.
-Okay, you ready to go? -DAVID: Away we go.
NARRATOR: If evidence of man-made objecs
or human activity is found,
the team can apply for a permt
to dig up, as well as remove objects from the area.
Hopefully they get a hit soon.
NARRATOR: Because the ocean floor is covered with vegetation,
Tony Sampson is utilizing an Aquascan DX-200
handheld magnetometer,
which emits magnetic pulses capable of detecting iron
targets buried up to 23 feet below the ocean floor.
(buzzing)
Surface to diver, we hear you. Over.
(buzzing continues)
Surface to diver, we hear you. Over.
NARRATOR: At a depth of some 20 feet in the waters between
Oak Island and nearby Frog Island, diver Tony Sampsn
and underwater archaeologist Dr. Lee Spence have just
confirmed that some kind of a large metallic object
is buried beneath the thick vegetation on the ocean floor.
Copy you, Tony. That’s great news.
Do you see anything sticking out from the bottom?
Anything prominent? Over.
Copy. Fingers crossed they see something.
Really. We need permission to move
the silt and see what they’re actually finding.
To get a permit, we need to lay eyes on
something underwater that comes from a shipwreck.
A magnetometer hit is not gonna be enough.
We need Tony or Lee to see something.
A cannon, a coin,
timbers from a ship.
Something on the bottom.
NARRATOR: Because the silt and vegetatin
is preventing Tony and Dr. Spence from seeing
the metal object or objects they’ve just detected,
they are now expanding their search area
in order to look for any visible debris that
could help determine just what they have found.
(buzzing)
We hear you. Go ahead. Over.
NARRATOR: Another magnetometer hit?
Is it possible that Tony and Dr. Spence
have found more evidence of human activity
and possibly the remains of a shipwreck?
If so, could it be connected to the recent ship-related
discoveries that the team has made in the Money Pit?
Copy that. Nothing visible? Over.
Copy that.
Mag hits in the silt, and nothing on the rocks.
Copy you.
We’ll see you on the boat soon. Over.
LEE: Well, there were actually two areas out on that shoal
where we did find a reading that was buried,
that could be part of a ship.
But so much of the bottom-- there were large rocks
and a lot of kelp growing,
and it could have easily
hidden a wreckage that’s ther.
-Very interesting dive. -Yeah.
I’m absolutely convinced that there’s a shipwreck there.
-Hey. -Hey.
-Hi, guys. How you doing? -How’d it look?
Well, you know, there was a reef line there, we could see it.
-There was structure. -Good.
But everything solid had kelp on it.
And so that kelp could’ve been hiding part of a shipwreck.
Like a fluke of an anchor sticking up.
Right. So, you think maybe further investigation.
Oh, I definitely think that. No question about it.
I would not write off.
Right. Okay, well, that’s-that’s good.
I mean, I-I would love it. But whatever
we’re getting is below the silt.
-ALEX: Yeah. -LEE: They’re never going to issue us a permit
because it’s going to be buried and we can’t see it.
Right. Right.
All of the evidence, and even
the expert, is saying there’s a shipwreck here,
but none of it is enough to get an excavation permit.
Our only hope, really, would be to come back and hope that
just the natural action of the tide
and maybe some storms uncover some evidence of a shipwreck,
at which point we can
get an image of it and then
apply for an excavation permit.
It’s great. This is our most promising spot,
and if you go down there and you think that it
-warrants further investigation, I think that’s good. -Yeah.
Should we continue with the shipwreck investigation?
Hundred percent.
So, a continued dive program
is warranted.
Late winter, early spring, because that’s when
the water clarity is best.
Well, I think, yeah, we’ll probably have
to keep Lee here for another year, I think.
(laughter)
Okay, let’s pull anchor and get out of here, guys.
NARRATOR: Later that afternoon...
MARTY: Most important thing we do here in the war room
is talk about where we’re going to actually dig.
We have all of Steve’s data available.
NARRATOR: ...Rick and Marty Lagina,
along with their partner Craig Tester
and other members of the team,
gather in the war room to decide
where to excavate their fourth and final
ten-foot-diameter shaft in the Money Pit area.
So, where do you guys want to go?
I want to go back over on the east side to-- I think
it’s DE-11 is what I’m calling kind of the center of it.
And it’s outside of the Hedden Shaft.
Hamilton supposedly indicated he thought he went
through a tunnel leading to the vault
and didn’t realize it and thought it was a flood tunnel.
NARRATOR: During the summer of 1940,
treasure hunter Erwin Hamilton and his team
built a six-by-six-foot shaft extension down to a totl
depth of 170 feet that originated from the bottom of
the 12-by-24-foot shaft that his predecessor Gilbert Hedden
had constructed just three years before.
At a depth of 150 feet, Hamilton’s crew intercepted
a four-foot-high tunnel that they simply believed
to be a booby trap and continued on, hoping to
encounter the Chappell Vault just a few feet away.
Unfortunately, they made no further discoveries
and abandoned the shaft’s construction soon thereafter.
-Hey, Jack, check this out. -Whoa.
However, last year, while searching
through the spoils of a borehole known as OC-1,
which was excavated in 2019, just northeast
of the Hedden Shaft
and Professor Hamilton’s extension,
the team recovered a rose-head spike
from a depth below 150 feet that was coated in a kind of
man-made cement substance, similar to that
reportedly encasing the fabled Chappell Vault.
If you had to pick a spot where the vault
-is, is that it? -CRAIG: Yeah, I would say so.
So, there’s another piece of information that helps support
this location. I mean, you know we’ve
done a bunch of water testing.
We did have three wells very close
to this proposed caisson location
that did test for precious metals
right in this area right here.
I’m pretty sure that is centered around DE-11, isn’t it, Craig?
-Right. -RICK: Good location.
That’s most curious.
NARRATOR: Traces of gold detected in the area
of DE-11, located some ten fet to the east of where the team
has recently excavated three ten-foot-diameter shaft?
Is it possible that Craig has chosen a location that might not
only mark where the tunnel they have previously discoverd
leads but also where they will find the fabled treasure vaul?
I would go with, with Craig’s spot.
I think there’s a pretty broad consensus amongst us.
Well, yeah. I-I-I say that we do that.
JACK: D.M.T.-2.
-For my brother. -STEVE G.: I like that.
That’s fine with me.
Nobody’s gonna argue with you on that one.
Yep.
CRAIG: Jack brought up the point,
he wanted to name it D.M.T.-2
for my son Drake Maxwell Tester.
He passed away five years ago.
You know, obviously tugs at the heart,
uh, but I’m glad we’re naming another shaft after him.
-Okay, well, Steve, go pin it. -Yep.
-MARTY: We’ll just stay the course. -STEVE G.: Okay.
NARRATOR: As a new day dawns on Oak Island,
and while representatives from Irving Equipment Limited
and ROC Equipment make preparations for the excavatin
of the D.M.T.-2 shaft...
RICK: This is certainly a target of interest.
...Rick Lagina, along with his nephew David Fornetti,
surveyor Steve Guptill, and Ok Island historian Paul Troutman
arrive at Lot 8,
located on the western side of Oak Island.
We need to find a hard target
that we can investigate that can explain the CSR
-mag hits in this area. -Yes.
NARRATOR: Earlier this year, a magnetometry survey conductd
in this area identified a large metallic
anomaly at an undetermined depth.
One week ago, Marty Lagina and Gary Drayton
discovered a ship-repairing tool nearby
that could date back to as early as 1500.
Let’s clear off the surface here.
NARRATOR: Now, Rick and the team will be conducting a follow-up
scanning survey to better identify
what the buried anomaly could be so that they can apply
for a government permit to excavate it.
So, I’m gonna scan this way, come back this way, scan
on the other side, and maybe another side.
So, that way we have it in both directions, and hopefully
-we see something and anything that’s disturbed. -Okay.
In order to scan the area of interest, Paul Troutman
is utilizing an OKM Gepard ground-penetrating device.
It works by emitting radio waves into the ground
that bounce off potential objects, voids,
or man-made structures down to a depth of as much as 130 fee.
The receiver then generates
both two-dimensional and three-dimensional images
of any anomalies detected, as well as their approximate depth.
(beeping)
Okay.
That’s one run.
Let’s save it here and see what we have.
Okay, so let me show you the features here.
So... so we have a first anomaly at five feet,
-second anomaly at 19, 20. -A larger one.
-Yes. -And we can rotate this in 3D.
So, it looks like that’s
a pretty linear feature right there.
-RICK: Mm-hmm. -It’s kind of interesting.
-Yep. I agree. -Yep.
NARRATOR: Two possible anomalous features at depths
of five and approximately 20 feet?
And in the same location where
a large metallic object was detected earlier this yea?
Since the historical records indicate that no
homesteads were ever established on Lot 8, just
what could be buried here?
I hope this is a man-made feature.
RICK: I agree.
-You mind if I take a look? -Sure, go ahead.
You can see here this is Paul’s walk path.
RICK: Mm-hmm.
DAVID: So I’d be curious to know,
so how far in was that anomaly?
You see there it’s about...
seven and a half feet into the walking path.
Right about where that rock is.
Right, so to me this one
anomaly down here is the one that’s more interesting.
If you look, it does look like a square.
Almost kind of indicative of a shaft,
when you think about it, because the area around it
is raised, and this just sinks right down in here.
I mean, it’s an interesting feature.
I can see a square depression.
Whether it’s truly square or not, it’s a clear depression.
You can see defined lines on the sides.
Steve?
Yeah, I agree with these two.
It looks very square or rectangle-ish.
Could Paul, David and Steve’s speculation that they have
located a possible shaft in the same location where metal
has also been detected deep underground be correct?
If so, perhaps this data will help the team
obtain a permit to find out for sure.
MARTY: This spot on Lot 8,
it’s just a real intriguing area
because it also has all those surface finds all around it.
It’s worth a dig.
The depression seems to be rectangular.
Why the large rock there? There’s always been the thought
that stones are markers on this island. I don’t know.
The only way to truly tell is to dig.
-Yep. -PAUL: Exactly. -I agree.
We just keep moving.
PETER: Yeah, first hammer grab’s going in.
GARY: Treasure’s where you find it,
and I’d be happy to find it in here.
RICK: All indications are, there might be something
in this area, but you guys got to find it first.
ANDREW: We’re gonna find out.
NARRATOR: After completing his investigation on Lot 8,
Rick Lagina joins other members of the team
in the Money Pit area as the excavation of their new,
ten-foot-diameter shaft, known as D.M.T.-2, is now underway.
Some work was done here...
-Okay. -...long ago.
We don’t have a rationale for it.
NARRATOR: Based on water testing that was conducted earlier this yer
in previously drilled boreholes, which produced high trace
evidence of silver and gold, the team is hopeful that with
D.M.T.-2 they will finally intersect
the original treasure shaft.
It is also in this very same location
where two years ago they recovered possible
evidence of the fabled Chappell Vault
at an approximate depth of 150 feet.
-It’s no match for us, Rick. -See what these teeth can do.
-(laughter) -All right, thank you both.
-Thanks, Rick. -Be here in a few minutes.
Just give me a call when the shiny stuff comes up.
Perfect.
RICK: We have hopes for D.M.T.-2.
There are some interesting clues that suggest
this area might be of interest.
-Here comes some more of the Fellowship. -Oh, yeah.
RICK: And there’s a historical narrative that
strongly suggests something was at that 150-foot level.
-Morning, guys. -Morning, chaps.
-You guys ready for D.M.T.-2? -Yep. -Yep.
More importantly, you ready to find some treasure?
-Always. -Yep.
I mean, my big interest here is,
-that’s where we got that really high gold. -Yes.
-Yeah. -So, we’ll be taking
samples to see if we get that really high gold again.
Well, I’m rolling my sleeves up. I want to find some gold today.
I want to see that gold dance.
Tell me about it.
It’s about time, isn’t it? It’s long overdue.
-It is long overdue. -Yeah.
I believe there’s gonna be a Drayton
two-step coming up after this can.
Based on the data, I think we’re close in
vicinity of the historical Money Pit.
Each time we dig, we try and contain ourselves,
but each time we hope this is it.
I mean, we really, really do.
What’s the rundown?
Well, the excavation depth’s right around six foot.
What’s the target depth?
Well, we know Hamilton found wood at 150.
But, look, you got to, you got to let
the empirical evidence speak.
Right? Whatever comes up out of the hole,
you find something, fasteners.
Or if we find wood, adze-cut wood with dowels in it,
that would indicate something far, far older.
Yeah.
RICK: I’ll be honest, I never thougt that the puzzle would be
quite so grand and quite so large and quite so complex.
But we’re here to make discovery.
We’re here to explain the mystery,
so we always are hopeful because
I am 100% convinced
that the story, the mystery, will get solved.
These next hammer grabs should show up some, some timbers.
Yeah.
Today’s the day, mate.
RICK: Let’s find something good.
NARRATOR: For Rick, Marty,
Craig and their team,
a week that saw both disheartening setbacks
and promising new developments
has ultimately ended with hope that historic discoveries
may soon be recovered not only deep below ground
but also in the waters that surround Oak Island.
And now, as they begin their most critical
and consequential dig so far,
one thing is for certain.
Nothing can break their resolve to find the answers.
Next time on The Curse of Oak Island...
There’s just a big layer of rocks
right across this whole area.
It’s just like the paved area.
This looks clearly man-made.
We have got an hit.
I’m hoping it’s a big jewelry box down there.
Look at that.
It could be one of the stones
from a Masonic high priest breastplate,
who had buried the Ark of the Covenant
on Oak Island centuries ago.
GARY: Holy schmoly! Heads up.
The vault, we’re about 30 feet above it right now.
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