Narrator: Tonight on the curse of oak island...
(honking)
Rick: It's an exciting day
Because they're going to dig the garden shaft.
That's a big machine.
Bill p.: We're excited to be a part of it.
This year will be the year.
We've hit the tunnel that'll point it
Directly towards the garden shaft.
Look at the color on this.
Wow. What the heck is that? You're right.
Laird: Something I've never seen before.
It's such a "wow" thing.
This is no way it's modern.
Ed: It does have some iconography.
It could be some sort of religious object.
Rick: Wow.
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,
Manmade 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.
♪ ♪
I got a feeling this is going to be 38.
Narrator: A new day of search activities has begun
On oak island at the site known as the money pit.
(clears throat)
Hey, colten. 38 feet down?
You got it.
-38 feet. -38 feet.
Narrator: And while a strategic core-drilling
Operation continues in search of important clues
That could help solve a 227-year-old mystery...
-Good morning, paul. -Hey, rick.
-How's it going? -How are you?
Narrator: ...Nearby, brothers rick and marty lagina
And their team
Are preparing for a historic excavation
Of the so-called garden shaft
With representatives from dumas contracting ltd.
In the hopes of finding a legendary treasure vault.
I think you'll find that as you get deeper and deeper
Into this project, no pun intended,
I think you're going to say to yourself,
"you know what? I wonder what the next foot will tell us."
Hopefully, you'll be as excited as we are for the project.
Oh yeah, that's starting already.
(laughter)
Okay, that would be probably the outside wall there.
Narrator: The garden shaft is an approximately 80-foot-deep
Wooden structure that the oak island team
Unearthed in 2017.
Although it was first thought to be
Nothing more than an abandoned 19th-century searcher shaft,
Wood samples, collected from the bottom of the feature,
Have recently been dated to 1735,
60 years prior to the discovery of the original money pit.
There we go.
Narrator: And even more astonishing
Were the results of water testing
Conducted just over a month ago by geoscientist dr. Ian spooner.
We've sampled wells within the money pit area.
And we found gold in, uh, the garden shaft.
(laughter)
Rick: The garden shaft is certainly in close proximity
To something at a level that is previously unknown to us.
Why are the high gold values there?
I would love for the garden shaft
To be the original money pit,
But I think it's too preliminary to make that assessment.
What are the next steps here, then?
They're going to build the top part.
Then we're going to form up today,
And then the concrete after that.
Simon: So this pad will essentially be
Holding the entire structure.
Oh, wow.
Once we lower eight feet at a time,
We'll be drilling probe holes
16 to 20 feet below us,
Looking for any abnormalities as well as voids.
I see.
Narrator: Once the steel
And concrete foundation
Is completed at the surface,
A massive 109-ton crane will be used,
Along with a 3-ton hammer grab,
To excavate the muck and water out of the old shaft.
Meanwhile, a new waterproof structure
With platforms every eight feet will be constructed
Down to a total planned depth of 80 feet,
Allowing the laginas and the team
To hopefully reach the answers that people have sought
For more than two centuries.
Marty: We're gonna actually establish a presence underground.
It may be a little bit emotional.
I mean, my brother rick for sure has wanted
To get underground for a long time.
Seems like just yesterday we were digging that.
Yep.
Rick: To be underground in the money pit
Where so many people who have come before us
Have had that same experience,
It'll be a very... Almost cosmic moment for me.
I-I really look forward to the experience.
To actually put eyes and boots on that target
To try to understand it more completely.
We really hope that this will help write
At least a new chapter...
A few pages, yeah.
...In the ongoing search for-for answers.
-And-and I truly think it will. -Yeah.
We're glad you're a part of this and we really look forward
To getting to the bottom of it.
Bill, I think we should let them get to work.
I agree. Let's-let's see what's in the bottom of that.
Simon: Sounds good, gentlemen.
-All righty. Take care, guys. -You, too.
Stay safe.
Oh, yeah. For sure.
Narrator: As representatives
From dumas contracting ltd.
Continue their work in the garden shaft...
-Terry, we got a core coming. -We have incoming.
...Some 75 feet to the south...
This is going to be 48.
Forty-eight.
Thank you, colten.
We got it covered, man. Appreciate it.
...Geologist terry matheson
And oak island historian charles barkhouse
Are overseeing the drilling of a new borehole
On the team's strategic grid known as n.5-17.5.
At this location, they plan to not only collect
More water samples for gold testing analysis,
But will also attempt to encounter a wooden tunnel
Some 103 feet deep underground.
Terry: Oh, wow. That's fantastic.
We are in the tunnel.
Narrator: After first encountering this structure five weeks ago
And preliminarily carbon-dating it to the 17th century,
The team conducted a sonar operation,
Which indicated it may be
Heading in the direction of the garden shaft.
Whoa, what's that? Whoa, whoa. What's that?
-That's the view down the tunnel. -Scott: Oh, wow.
Narrator: And just one week ago,
The team recorded incredible images inside of it
Using a specialized underwater camera.
Rick: It-it's awesome.
Terry: A move in the right direction.
This hole is to give us information to look for,
-You know, this possible tunnel. -Yeah.
Marty: We are trying to determine with more drilling
Where this tunnel goes that we found.
The hope is that it'll come back
With a more definitive carbon date,
Maybe even more early than the others.
So, what it means is we have to chase it.
Any time you drill in the money pit area,
It could get very interesting, as we have seen in the past.
Exactly. So here we go.
Narrator: As construction in the garden shaft,
Along with drilling, continues in the money pit area...
-Jack: You flagged right up here? -Doug: Yep.
Narrator: ...Metal detection expert gary drayton
And jack begley arrive on lot 8,
Located nearly half a mile away
On the western side of oak island.
With all the finds we've recovered on lot 8, mate,
It makes sense to have this area cleared.
You're right. It has been so thick in the middle of lot 8.
This is the middle.
-Gary: Yeah. -And we really haven't hunted in here yet.
Yep.
Narrator: Lot 8 has become a key location
For the team in recent years,
After a number of compelling discoveries were made here.
These include a semi-precious garnet gemstone,
Believed to be connected to the knights templar,
As well as a mysterious formation of paving stones,
Similar to the 12th-century paved area
That was discovered in the swamp.
And just this year, they unearthed a bunk hook,
A tool designed for lifting heavy cargo,
Which has been dated to the 16th century or earlier.
Let's strike up the magic wand, mate,
And let's put this area on the map.
-The treasure map. -Yeah.
Narrator: Now, after billy gerhardt has cleared trees
And heavy foliage from the lot
Where gary has already scanned, and flagged,
A number of metal targets,
With archaeologist laird niven's permission,
Gary and jack are hoping to find more clues
That might explain just who visited lot 8
Prior to the discovery of the money pit
And what else they may have left behind.
(detector beeping)
Oh, music to my ears, mate.
Good-sounding signal, right there.
♪ ♪
(detector beeping)
Gary: Oh, it's in the top.
Jack: (chuckles) all right.
Oh.
(detector beeping)
Ooh.
(detector beeping)
Has a nice ring to it.
-Ooh. -Oh. Bit of chain, mate.
This could be the missing link.
That's what that is, mate. A bit of chain.
D-do you know your date ranges for chains at all?
I know that the older chains have got an oval link.
And these have got oval links.
It looks like it's hand forged.
So, what-what would a chain that thin be used for?
Well, if you've got a chest or a box,
Like a strongbox, they used to put chains
About this size around there to secure and then they'd lock.
-Just to keep it closed. -Yeah.
Narrator: Could gary be correct that this chain link
Might not only be ancient,
But was also designed to secure a strongbox or chest?
Could it be related to the bunk hook recently found nearby?
And if so, could they both be connected
To the semi-precious garnet gemstone as well?
Lot 8 throws us another artifact.
-Love it, mate. Let's bag it. -Yes.
Gary: Now, we're way out
In the middle of the island on lot 8.
I'm hoping that this chain link
Is somehow involved in hauling.
Hauling treasure.
All right, mate, next flag's over there.
See what we're sounding like.
(detector beeping)
Sounds like a good-sounding signal.
Just there, mate. Dig us something good up.
Jack: Oh, it's coming up.
Thank you, sir.
(detector beeping)
You might have moved it out.
(detector beeping)
-It's that. -Jack: Whoa.
(detector beeping)
Gary: Ooh, yeah. This is fantastic.
Jack: Whoa, what the heck is that? You're right.
Gary: Oh, wow.
-This is stylized. -It's got some fancy designs.
Narrator: While searching lot 8
On the western side of oak island,
Gary drayton and jack begley have just unearthed another
Potentially significant discovery.
Gary: I'm not going to mess with this too much.
Jack: No, no, don't.
Gary: Look at that.
Brilliant, mate.
-Jack: Whoa. -Gary: Wow.
Jack: There's markings all over
The front and the back, both sides.
Then you can tell by, like, that blue-green look
That it's got copper in it.
Gary: Yeah.
That looks really old.
It looks like an highly decorative piece.
It could be a large brooch. Could be a belt plate.
Could be an headdress decoration.
It-it's got to be down in the ground for like a couple
Hundred years, I'd think, to get a patina like that on it.
No, a lot longer than that, believe me.
A lot longer? Wow.
I've found roman coins that come up looking like this.
And I'm hoping that this is the same date range
As that garnet brooch
That we found not too far away from here.
I know you keep referring to it as a brooch.
I have a different possible interpretation.
Narrator: One year ago, rick lagina
And members of the team
Met with 32nd degree freemason scott clarke
Who presented them with his belief
That the garnet gemstone,
Found on lot 8 by rick and gary back in 2017,
Was once part of a masonic breastplate
Used in a profound ritual connected to the knights templar
And one of the most sacred lost treasures ever known to mankind.
Scott clarke: The breastplate was used in a specific
Masonic ritual meant to mimic the retrieval
Of the ark of the covenant
From a secret vault underground.
Wow.
Narrator: Is it possible that jack and gary have just found
Another clue that could help validate scott clarke's theory?
And might it also explain the oval chain
And bunk hook that were discovered on lot 8 as well?
Gary: Thanks.
Right, let's see, without damaging it too much...
Jack: We need to get this right back to the lab immediately.
Gary: I'm in agreement, mate. Straight back to the lab.
Here you go, mate, if you'll look after that.
Wait till they see this in the lab.
(jack laughs)
Narrator: After finishing their search on lot 8...
Craig: Hey, smiley guys.
(laughter)
Wait till you see what we found.
Narrator: ...Gary and jack meet with rick lagina,
Craig tester and archaeologists laird niven and emma culligan
In the oak island interpretive centre.
Gary: Okay. It's lot 8, it looks really, really old.
It's got a lovely patina on it.
But the design is spectacular.
Oh, wow.
Jack: Put it under the microscope.
Let's check it out.
Narrator: Using the fisherbrand 425 series microscope
And a c-mount 10 megapixel digital camera,
Laird will be able to take photographs
Of the magnified artifact and its finer details
At a resolution of as much as 90 times their actual size.
Gary: Wow, look at that color.
Jack: You can tell there's got to be copper in there.
Gary: Yep.
Laird: Try to zoom out a bit.
Rick: Can you turn it over?
Oh, it's relatively thick, isn't it?
There you go.
Jack: Yeah, you can see it's got markings on it, too.
Laird: Yeah.
Gary: It's just got an old look, an old feel about it.
But that's a raised something right there.
Laird: Yeah.
That patina is brilliant.
What's your first thought?
My first thought when-when I saw it was that it's military.
But why is it here? It shouldn't be on lot 8.
And neither should've that brooch, which was recovered
Not far away from this.
Yeah.
Do you mind if I pop it in the xrf real quick?
All right.
Hopefully, we'll get some nice surprises
With the metal readout.
Narrator: In order to confirm the metal composition of the artifact,
Emma is now using the x-ray fluorescence device,
Which emits non-destructive radiation.
Okay, the scan is done.
Rick: Whoa.
You'll see the copper alloy's way up there.
Emma: That's 95% copper.
So, if you look at the iron component,
It's almost as equal as the zinc.
And it is pretty small levels.
So, it could be old.
-Boom, baby. -(laughs)
Laird: It's mostly copper.
There's zinc in there as well, and iron,
Which makes it definitively a copper alloy.
Which has been used for thousands of years.
This piece is so unique and potentially very old.
I think next steps
Are to ct scan based on the xrf results,
Clean it very delicately,
So we can get a better look at it.
Yes.
Narrator: In an effort to obtain
Much clearer images of the artifact,
And hopefully identify what it could be,
Laird will now place it in the computed tomography,
Or ct, scanner for up to 24 hours.
By emitting non-destructive radiation,
The device can penetrate the corrosion
That has built up on the object over time
To reveal its finer details.
Rick: This thing is strange.
And I don't want to get too excited.
But it's definitely different.
Uh, lot 8 seems to be where we, you know,
Make very interesting finds.
That makes it curious what activities
Were conducted on lot 8.
I think we just need to
Use science to determine whether or not
There's some sort of connection between all of these artifacts.
Would we like them to tell a story?
Yes, we would.
It's a very curious piece.
Yep.
You guys need to go and find some more.
Yeah. Coil to the soil.
-Let's go. -(laughter)
Laird: All right, see you later.
-Craig: See you later. -Rick: Thank you, emma.
Emma: See you.
Narrator: Later that afternoon...
-Craig: Gentlemen. -Charles: Hi.
Craig: We got the tunnel?
Yeah.
Narrator: ...Craig tester arrives
With other members of the team
At the money pit, after being alerted
About a potentially important development
In borehole n.5-17.5.
Terry: We seem to have encountered a tunnel.
We got a singular beam right here.
So, this post or base support
For what seems to be a vertical beam here,
Is sitting directly above
Material that has not been disturbed.
This is from 99 to 103.
That should be the top
Of where we have encountered, uh, the tunnel previously.
-The tunnel should start here. -Yeah, exactly.
It's above the area where we expected to see it.
Craig: Now, we were expecting the tunnel
At 102 or 103 feet down.
And we hit wood higher than expected, 99 feet.
Maybe we encountered a separate structure?
Two tunnels, maybe?
Narrator: In recent weeks,
The oak island team has encountered
The same five-foot-high tunnel at a depth
Of 103 feet in four different boreholes
And believe it could be leading
In the direction of the garden shaft.
So, now that they have unearthed new evidence of a tunnel,
But at a depth of only 99 feet,
Could it be part of the tunnel they have been tracking?
Or is it a completely separate tunnel
That was previously unknown to them?
If that's the case,
Who built it? When?
And where does it lead?
Terry: It's an enigma, that's for sure.
Craig, what do you think?
Let's take this a little deeper,
Just to mark it.
Let's you and I head back and start figuring out
What this means and where to drill next.
Okay, all right.
-Craig: See you, guys. -Scott: Thanks, guys.
Terry: All right, talk to you soon.
Narrator: As a new day begins on oak
-Roger: You guys ready? -Daniel: Yeah.
Narrator: ...And while the team from dumas contracting ltd.
Works to complete the new steel and concrete foundation
Around the top of the garden shaft...
Roger: Yep, perfect.
-Brandon: 33 to 38. -Thank you, brandon.
-Brandon: 38, okay. -38. 33 to 38.
Narrator: ...Nearly 40 feet southwest,
Geologist terry matheson
And oak island historian paul troutman
Are supervising the drilling
Of a new borehole known as f.25-14.4.
Based on the direction of craig tester,
The team has chosen this location
45 feet northwest of borehole n.5-17.5
Where they discovered evidence of a tunnel
At a depth of 99 feet one day ago.
-Brandon: 48. -Paul: 48.
Narrator: Because they had originally been tracking a tunnel
Some 103 feet deep,
Which is believed to be heading toward the garden shaft,
They are hoping to determine
If there are actually two different structures
Below ground in this area.
Terry: This hole, f.25-14.4,
That placement we feel is going to hit that tunnel
If it passes through there?
Yeah, and-and potentially
-There is more than one tunnel here. -Right.
Paul: The other thing, too, is to try to delineate
Whether it continues up north to south
In this direction, going to the garden shaft.
So, maybe we'll get a hit here.
Maybe this will give us some good information.
Terry: Cross our fingers.
Narrator: As operations continue in the money pit area,
Rick lagina arrives at the interpretive centre.
-Rick: Wow. That is impressive. -Laird: Yeah.
Narrator: Here, archeologists laird niven,
Helen sheldon
And emma culligan have just completed
The computed tomography scan
Of the mysterious artifact
Found one day ago on lot 8.
Rick: That's very different than the way it looked the other day.
Laird: Yep.
Has it been folded?
Yes, it's been folded three times.
Laird: So you can actually see the fold there,
See the overlaying fold.
Rick: So, these raised areas you see
And the recessed areas,
That's not because of the folding?
-No. -It's not artificial?
-No, no, no. -This is...?
Laird: So, you can see these markings are a, deliberate
And b, something I've never seen before.
But strange, strange symbols.
Here's the other side, too.
And it's fragile.
It's been in the ground for a long time.
I want to go through each little design.
If I measure them out and if they're not consistent,
Then you know it's not stamped,
It was handcrafted.
Laird: The implication is that is if it's handcrafted, it's older.
Rick: We have to find a way
To put a date to it
-Because it-it's such a "wow" thing. -Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
What is this?
You thought maybe military.
-Do you...? Have you come off of that? -Yes.
And, really, apart from that, I don't know
If it was on some clothing
Or if it was on, uh, something more ceremonial.
We don't know yet.
Narrator: Could archaeologist laird niven be correct
That this artifact was used for a ceremonial purpose?
If so, might it offer evidence
Of the masonic rituals that some, like scott clarke,
Believe took place long ago on lot 8
In relation to sacred treasures
Connected to the knights templar?
Rick: Helen, what do you think?
Are you as mystified as the rest of us?
I am as mystified as the rest of you.
It's, um, very thin.
It appears quite decorative.
I've never seen anything quite like that before, so...
This is definitely an intentional decoration.
There's no way this can be modern?
Not to me.
And helen?
It doesn't strike me as being modern.
Like, not 20th century.
Rick: It's the symbology of the piece,
The-the design of it,
They are unique characters.
The iconography involved here is...
It's like nothing I've seen on the island.
We're gonna look into it.
I think there's information
Within that symbology.
Mm-hmm.
And I think we need to follow this.
So, we need to reach out to people
And, uh, see what they think.
-Yeah. -Rick: Okey-doke.
I'm going to let you at your business.
-Okay, all right. -Thank you. That-that was cool.
It is neat.
Narrator: While rick lagina concludes his meeting
In the interpretive centre...
...Back at the money pit...
It's blue-grey till, but it's a little soft.
...Terry matheson,
Paul troutman
And other members of the team
Continue supervising the drilling operation
In borehole f.25-14.4
As it approaches the target depth of some 100 feet.
Terry: This is pretty mundane stuff, just as we expected.
Um, take a look at what comes up next,
That'll be very important.
-Brandon: Got one more bag. -Steve: Got one more?
So, basically, it's, uh, caved in to 99
-After I pulled that other one out. -Scott: Okay.
Just well-bedded sediment here.
Paul: We got wood right here, 103.
Terry: Oh, wow. That's it, right there.
Scott: That's interesting.
Where did they experience the drop?
It dropped from 99 down to 103.
This intersection right here
Is sitting right on top of some muck.
-That's probably the floor. -Terry: Exactly.
Scott: This would put this tunnel
-Coming from a higher elevation. -Yep.
Steve: So, right now we've got real evidence
That we have two different tunnels
At two different elevations
Essentially in the same location.
So, there's a lot of investigating for us to do.
-We've hit two tunnels, right? -That's right.
Exactly.
Yep.
Terry: I think rick might want to see this.
Paul: Yep.
-Terry: We should let him know. -Paul: All right.
-Paul: Hey, rick. -Rick: Hey, guys.
What have we got?
We dropped from 98 to 103 and a half.
There's the wood at approximately 103.
We've hit the tunnel.
The question is, of course, "which tunnel?"
Narrator: In the money pit area,
Rick lagina joins members of the oak island team
Where they have just drilled into
A possible man-made structure
In borehole f.25-14.4,
Located just 37 feet southwest
Of the garden shaft.
Our target was the tunnel that we've been chasing in the south.
-But we may have hit another tunnel. -Really?
But right now we have good confidence at about 103 feet
Was the floor of this tunnel.
So-- which is-is higher,
Higher than our tunnel that we've been chasing.
Rick: Is it possible
That this tunnel, at this elevation,
Would have allowed another tunnel to come very near it?
Might one or both of these tunnels be associated
With original work in the garden shaft?
It's possible.
Yeah, you could still project a line
To the garden shaft from where we have our tunnel.
Those two purple lines go right through.
I agree. I totally agree.
So, that makes our life a little bit more confusing
And-and it gives us all a little bit more work,
Or at least homework.
-So, our next step is to review the data... -Rick: Yep.
Scott: ...And how it compares to our tunnel
That we've been chasing to the garden shaft.
Yep. So, let's glean some more information
From what we've already done
-And then try to decide how to move forward. -Yep.
-Right on. -All righty. Thank you, guys.
Steve: When we have something, we'll fill you in.
Narrator: Later that afternoon...
Steve: So, as you know, we just finished f.25-14.4
And we were trying to determine
-If that was part of our tunneling system from this year. -Yep.
Narrator: ...Rick lagina arrives at the research centre
To meet with surveyor steve guptill
And project manager scott barlow
To formulate a new plan
For where to drill next in the money pit area.
We had a successful tunnel hit.
However, we believe it's probably not our tunnel.
As you know, j-15.25,
It was the last confirmed hit
In the tunnel we've been chasing this year.
Right.
Steve: And that's where we've left off.
Up until this point, we're pretty confident
That this is our tunnel that we've been chasing northwest
To the garden shaft, based on the drill program
And sonar work, up to this green circle.
Now, we're into a bit of a problem.
You see this big green circle?
Rick: Yep.
Steve: That's our muon setback.
And you see this red line? That's our muon power.
So, those are two obstacles we have in our way.
Narrator: Late last fall,
The oak island team installed muon tomography sensors
Deep underground in five boreholes
Across the money pit area.
These devices are detecting
Subatomic particles that originate from outer space
As they penetrate the earth's surface.
The collected data will be used to generate
A detailed map of underground anomalies
Including tunnels, voids and large objects
Such as a treasure vault.
We kind of find ourselves in a bit of a,
You know, boxed-in effect.
Narrator: However, this potential breakthrough operation,
Which will take several more months to complete,
Presents an unfortunate obstacle for the team's drilling program.
Rick: The muon detectors are collecting data as we speak.
They cannot be moved and you need to
Have a ten-foot setback around each of the, uh, detectors.
Unfortunately, that compromises our ability
To follow these tunnels.
So, we have to try to find another way around the issue.
Can you extend the purple line
-Of the original tunnel for me? -Steve: Oh, I sure can.
I'll extend it through our money pit pad for you.
-Okay, there we go. -Rick: Okay, perfect.
There is a spot there where I'd be comfortable drilling.
Where's that?
Rick: Come right. Down.
-Right there. -Steve: Right here?
I'll put a point there.
Rick: I'd be comfortable drilling that.
We're only like a foot in, maybe.
When they created that setback, they said to us...
Yep.
..."we're being overly cautious."
Scott: That's right.
I-I think that's a safe location as well.
Mm-hmm.
But if we do drill there,
And we do hit, what does it tell us?
The objective for me is we want to get a sonar down there
And image it to the south and to the north.
It may be open.
It may be open quite a distance to the north.
And that would be very helpful to know that
Because it's such close proximity to the garden shaft.
It might be a potential target for tunneling
Or expanding the bottom of the garden shaft.
Yep.
That's my vote.
That's about as far north as we can go, given the setback
For protecting the muon hole.
So, I think we try to reacquire the tunnel there.
Yep.
And we're going to adjust every time we drill a hole.
This is not a fixed grid.
This is jumping from one piece of data
To the next piece of data to the next piece of data.
Steve: Yep. I like that.
Maybe there's a little bit of gold at the end of this rainbow.
Rick: Maybe.
Okay, well, we have a plan.
That's where we're going to go next.
Okay?
All right. You and I should head back.
-Should we go get prepped then? -Yep.
Okay, let's do that.
Rick: Well done, guys.
Terry: I want to say three or four feet
Of well-bedded material here.
We saw this in a couple of previous holes.
Ij-15.25 is going to fulfill
-Its promise, I think. -Yeah.
Narrator: As another day of exploration
Begins on oak island,
Terry matheson, along with charles barkhouse
And paul troutman, are supervising the drilling
Of a new borehole known as ij-15.25.
Charles: Well, we got another core coming.
Narrator: Located 16 feet south
Of their previous drilling location,
And at a safe distance
From the nearby muon detecting test hole,
In the coming days, the team hopes to determine
If there could be two man-made tunnels
Between 99 and 108 feet deep
That lead toward the garden shaft,
And, potentially, the legendary oak island treasure.
Potentially, some of the projections show
It could go to the garden shaft.
We'll just have to keep following the clues.
Terry: Right on.
I'm just gonna shove it down dry to 18 feet, see what we got.
Narrator: As the core-drilling operation in the money pit continues...
Rick: Uh, I think we all know
Uh, that the item before us
Is probably the most unique and interesting item
That gary has discovered this year.
Narrator: ...Rick lagina gathers with members of the team
In the war room
For a meeting that they hope
Will lead to potential answers
Regarding the mysterious copper artifact
Found two days ago on lot 8.
Uh, we've reached out to, uh, dr. Ed barnhart.
He has an extensive resume
In the field of archaeology.
Gary, we have him on remote video.
-So, if you could bring him up. -Yep, sure.
-Good morning, dr. Barnhart. -Hello, mate.
-Good morning. -Welcome to the war room.
I know that we have sent you off a picture of the item
We have here and our hope is that you can, uh,
Render an opinion as to what it might represent,
Based on your experience.
Well, I've spent a lot of my career in mesoamerica.
I've also done a lot of work in north america and south america.
So, I have a pretty good range of the americas in general.
I specialize mostly in archeoastronomy
And ancient sciences, but that includes metallurgy.
Here we have, uh, what appears to be a metal object
And it does have some iconography on it.
It has a number of elements that might turn out to be diagnostic
Where we can really say, you know, where it came from.
And it looks like it has some element
Of perishable materials, too, that we might be able to date.
So, yes, I'm really interested in
Digging into it deeper.
Dr. Barnhart, in your experience, um,
Does anything just jump into your head
When you first look at it?
We initially, at first glance,
Thought, "oh, there's a pattern on there."
Well, the pattern is intriguing, but it's, uh, purely geometric.
I wish we had a foot or an arm sticking in there somewhere,
But geometry is kind of all over the planet,
So that does not narrow it down for us
About what region or what time.
Initially, we thought it was stamped,
But the symbols on it,
If we can call them symbols,
Are not uniform.
It's quite irregular in terms of its design.
And that's what made us think that, you know,
Certainly this was an artisan or-or hand-created.
Right. It's basically embossed.
Ed: I think you're right on the money there.
If it isn't a consistent, uh, shape
To each one of the things we can see,
Probably handmade rather than a factory.
That in and of itself leans towards an older date.
But the material seems to be
Some sort of copper-based plating.
There are not a lot of things made beyond gold and silver.
Things that were alloy technology
Are few and far between in the americas.
So, it's already, uh, a long shot
That it's from the americas, being the material it is.
Rick: Upon initial visualization of this item,
Can you reflect on what it might be?
Sure. It's probably something that once covered an object.
As decoration?
As decoration, yes.
But it's some sort of ornate
Metallic cover to an object.
Europeans did a lot of that.
They covered boxes and furniture.
So, it could have come from afar.
It does have some iconography on it,
So it could be some sort of religious object.
Rick: Really?
Wow.
Narrator: In the war room,
Renowned archeologist dr. Edwin barnhart
Has just given rick lagina and members of the oak island team
His preliminary assessment
That the copper artifact found two days ago on lot 8
Appears to be ancient,
And possibly of european origin.
To go back to the "decoration" on it,
Is there any inference you can make?
Because it is quite strange.
And the back and the front are very different.
Ed: It's ornate, so it was an object
Meant to dazzle someone.
But what we have left in this fragment is geometric.
It-it may well be the border of some picture that would've been
Much more telling as to, uh, its culture or origin.
An object in isolation is an enigma.
-But I love me a mystery. -(laughter)
So if you give me more information, I'll dig deeper.
Rick: Well, we would certainly appreciate that.
In our lab here, we have an xrf and an xrd.
We can send you off those reports.
And we will look forward to any response
Or any inferences you can make
Based upon those reports.
Excellent.
Well, thanks for involving me in this little mystery.
I'll take a look and get back to you.
-Thank you, dr. Barnhart. -Thank you.
-Rick: Take care. -Gary: Cheers.
Ed: Great, thanks a lot.
Narrator: Following the meeting in the war room...
(thunder crashing)
...Despite the harsh turn in the weather...
Mike: There's the big daddy.
-Roger: There's our friends. -Rick: There they are.
Narrator: ...Rick lagina, along with roger fortin,
Eagerly welcome representatives from irving equipment ltd.
Who are delivering a 109-ton crane
Needed for the next phase of construction
In the garden shaft.
With this piece of gear, y-you're set to rock and roll.
Oh, absolutely, absolutely.
-Morning, gentlemen. -Roger: Good morning. How are you?
-Morning. -Morning.
I think I certainly recognize the two of you.
-You know this fellow, right? -I know michel, absolutely.
How you doing?
Michel: Good, good, you?
So, roger can speak to where they're at,
But I think, you know,
This is the-the key, critical component, right?
Oh. Yeah. We're at the point right now
-Where you guys are coming in at a perfect time. -Bill p.: Awesome.
Roger: Because we need your help to get that hammer grab down there
And get excavating. So, we're all anxious
And we're all raring to go.
-Yeah. -Perfect.
Bill p.: We'll offload from the trailer
-And start to put the crane together. -Yeah.
Once it's complete here,
We can crawl up to site,
And we're ready to roll.
-Yeah, I love the sound of that. -Awesome.
-Roger: Yep. -Awesome.
-Rick: Let's get after it. -Roger: All right, sounds good.
-Bill p.: Thanks, guys. -Roger: Talk to you later.
-Bill p.: Talk to you later. -Roger: Yep.
Rick: We have real data
That strongly suggests
That the garden shaft might have
Some answers to understanding
The complexity of the oak island mystery.
Bill p.: Come this way another foot or two. That's good.
Narrator: Now that the steel and concrete foundation
Surrounding the garden shaft has been completed,
In the coming days, the massive crane
Will be used along with a 3-ton hammer grab tool
In order to remove the muck
And sediment from the old, dilapidated shaft.
This will allow the representatives from dumas
To begin construction of the new waterproof shaft
Down to a level of at least 80 feet.
-Michel: Are we good? -Bill p.: Yeah.
Marty: Is it possible that we've come full circle?
We applied all this technology
Only to arrive where the original searchers started?
By digging a shaft down, we might actually learn
What happened here and potentially recover a treasure.
It's romantic as can be. And it's exciting.
We're going to actually go underground.
But the cool thing to me is
That we're coming clear back to what the original searchers did,
Only maybe this time we'll be successful.
Bill p.: This way a bit.
Rick: There's a lot of hope it will tell a story
That is related to the mystery.
-Whoa, good. -Awesome.
-Roger: Pretty exciting. -Rick: Yes, it is.
As much work as you've done for the prep,
-This is when it starts. -Oh, yes. Oh, yes.
Narrator: The tireless efforts of rick, marty, craig and their team
May soon be rewarded with the ultimate validation.
One that would be not only for themselves,
But also for the generations
Of devoted searchers who came before them.
As more clues surface that may soon identify
Just who was behind the oak island mystery,
Could this team be one last dig away
From revealing a vast treasure hidden deep below?
Or will the mysterious forces
Of the island once again intervene to stop them?
Next time on the curse of oak island...
Alex: Here we go.
Rick: We're going to run
A geophysical investigation in the swamp.
-Whoa. -Big one?
Jeremy: Yeah. Big hit.
Fantastic.
(cheering)
-I see it. -Oh, I see it as well, look.
Oh, I mean, this is nice.
Oh!
The bottom dropped right out from under you.
-That's right. -This is not a natural cavity.
-That doesn't happen. -We better get a camera down it.
Scott: Here we go.
-Keep going. -There's the edge of something.
Wait, no. Stop.
Some sort of like pedestal sticking up.
Captioning provided by a+e networks