Tonight on the curse of oak island...
We got wood here, gentlemen. It's got to be a tunnel.
Yeah. This is a tunnel pointing towards the garden shaft.
-Absolutely. -There it is, mate.
-Look at that. -Wow.
This is a first for oak island, which is fantastic.
So, in terms of where it is from,
-You've got a roman empire going on here. -There we go.
Marty: We're chasing the gold in the money pit.
Wow. There it is.
-That's what we're looking for. -Yeah.
-Finally. -(laughs)
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.
♪ ♪
Charles: We've got a core, gentlemen.
They're coming fast and furious.
-Furious. -Yeah, exactly.
Narrator: A new day
Of excitement and anticipation
Has begun on oak island
For brothers rick and marty lagina,
Their partner craig tester,
And the other faithful members of their team.
-Charles: What do you got? -Adam m.: 24.
Charles: 24.
Narrator: After more than a decade
Of historical research, tireless efforts,
And the application of science,
They may finally be zeroing in
On the fabled money pit treasure vault.
Morning!
-How are you? -Morning, guys.
-Welcome to the table. -Morning.
How are you?
-Good. How are you? -Marty: Ian.
-What have we got? -Ian: Uh...
Blue-gray till. But we don't see any sign of
Disturbance or anything like that.
Let's say lightning strikes.
What does that mean? What's the implications of it?
You both get what you want.
We find the one thing that indicates a deposit
And we find gold, hopefully. So...
-That's what we're looking for. -Yep. -Yeah.
Narrator: Currently, the team is drilling
A borehole known as dn-13.5,
Located 14 feet west of the garden shaft
In an area that has recently been dubbed the blob.
It is within this 70 by 25 foot zone
That recent water testing has indicated
A massive deposit of gold lies buried
Somewhere between a depth of 80 and 120 feet.
The area in pink there would be exactly where the gold is.
Marty: Wow.
Narrator: One week ago,
While drilling a borehole
Just 13 feet southwest known as cn-11...
Right there. Look at that. That is very unusual.
Narrator: ...The team recovered
Disturbed soils at a depth of 118 feet,
Suggesting to geologist terry matheson
That man-made workings may be located nearby.
That's a great puzzle, though, isn't it?
One of the things that keeps me coming back
-Is it's very complex. -It's a world-class puzzle.
-Yep. -Yeah.
Narrator: Now, it is rick,
Marty, craig,
And the team's hope that their second effort
Within the blob at borehole dn-13.5
Will pinpoint the workings
And valuables that they may have narrowly missed one week ago.
Rick: The so-called blob, it's a very intriguing location.
This is an area
That we have not intensely investigated
Prior to this moment.
Marty: I am very much focused this year,
As I've said many times,
On chasing the gold in the money pit.
This could be where it's been hiding all those years.
Hopefully, we'll hit something.
-Yep. -If it's there, we should find it.
-That's what I'm holding out hope for. -Marty: Well, guys,
We're gonna let you carry on, and rick and I are gonna go
Dig up some cool things. Right?
-We're gonna go find treasure. -Let's go.
-Rick: Thank you. -Marty: See you guys. -Ian: Okay.
Narrator: As the drilling operation
Continues in the money pit area...
Gary: Perfect timing.
-Hey, guys. -Hey, there, guys.
Hello.
Narrator: ...On lot 26,
Located on the western side of oak island,
Archeologists laird niven and helen sheldon
Join metal detection expert gary drayton
And jack begley
To begin a methodical investigation
Of a mysterious stone well.
We came in, we had a little scan of the area,
And as you see, we've got some flags down here already.
So, whoever was using this well, might've lost some artifacts.
Laird: Yeah, that might give us a clue.
I wouldn't have pictured myself down here at this well,
But that early date that dr. Spooner got
From down there is really intriguing for me.
Ian: You wouldn't know it was a well.
Narrator: Also last week,
After rick and craig directed geoscientist dr. Ian spooner
To test the water and collect sediment
-From the feature... -Ian: Excellent.
There you go.
It was one of our
Only silver hits
Outside of the money pit.
Narrator: ...The team was stunned
To find that it not only
Contained evidence of possible treasure,
But also proved to be one of the oldest
Man-made structures ever discovered on oak island.
The date I got on the twig at the bottom
Was 1028 to 1172.
(whistles)
The lot 26 well is unique in many ways.
I've found it interesting from the moment
David and I first found that well.
The relevance of the carbon date here,
I.E. Late 11s,
I don't, as of yet,
Have an understanding
Of how impactful it will be in terms of
Understanding the oak island mystery.
But it's certainly an interesting feature.
I am bemused and befuddled by that well.
What story is it telling us?
So, what are you guys gonna do?
It doesn't look like a well right now.
-Mm-mm. -We're gonna cut some soil away
From two, uh, quadrants
To get a look at how it's constructed.
If we find something in the soils,
Artifacts possibly.
That was dropped while it was in use?
Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
Gary: Any artifacts down at the bottom of there
Should be in really good condition.
-Yeah. -Gary: So, if this was a well,
And someone was sitting there,
You'd drop stuff and...
-Or you'd hide things. -Gary: Yeah. Oh, you hide things. Yeah.
-Laird: Yeah. -Jack: Do you think,
Eventually, you'll end up draining the well
And then digging some of the material out?
That's the hope. We'll talk to
Dr. Spooner about the best approach.
I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of it.
(laughs)
Laird: I've been curious
About the lot 26 well for a long time.
I've excavated a land-based well before.
I've never excavated one like this.
The biggest mystery about this well is its location.
It seems the strangest place to have a well.
It's near the shore and next to a pond.
So, what led people there, you know?
And when did it lead people there?
So, I'm excited to-to get this started.
Yeah. Is there any way that I can help out?
-Clear the topsoil off and delineate the rocks. -Okay.
Narrator: While jack remains to help laird and helen
Expose more of the mysterious feature...
-Gary: I think we're gonna be in for a great day. -Peter: Okay.
-I'll pull this first flag. -All right, mate.
Narrator: ...Less than 50 yards away,
Gary joins rick and marty's nephew,
Peter fornetti, to search for clues
In the surrounding area that could help explain
Just who created the stone well
More than 800 years ago.
Ooh, it sounds actually a little bit better now.
-Okay. -It's just there.
Gary: Hopefully, it's not surface junk.
Oh, it isn't, look.
-Look at that. -What is that?
Gary: More than likely, it looks like a door holder.
Peter: Like a hinge?
Yeah, like a hinge.
A hanger. A door hanger.
One end would've been driven
Into the wooden frame of a door,
And then the door would've
Been hung on this. A swinging door.
It's been there a while, by the look of it.
It's all encrusted.
Peter: Do you know what era
This is typical of?
Gary: I know they go way back.
Something like that, is that wrought iron, or no?
Yeah, it's probably wrought iron, hand-forged...
If it is wrought iron, it's pre-1830s or so.
Yeah. Oh, yeah.
Narrator: Could gary and peter
Have found an ancient hand-forged artifact
On lot 26?
One curious fact about this four-acre property
Is that it was once owned
From the late-1700s to the early-1800s
By samuel ball,
A man who came to oak island as a humble cabbage farmer,
Only to mysteriously become
One of the wealthiest landowners
In all of nova scotia.
We're close to this well...
-Yeah. -...But we're far away
From known establishments.
Yeah.
Narrator: Because the remains
Of samuel ball's 18th century homestead
Sits nearly 100 yards northwest of this location...
Gary: All right, mate, we'll bag it
'cause we know it's potentially old.
That's why we got to dig everything.
Exactly.
Narrator: Is it possible that gary
And peter have found evidence of a much older structure
That may be connected to the mysterious stone well?
If so, might it also be an important clue
That could help explain the great fortune of mr. Ball?
The next flag is by another tree down there.
All right, let's go to it.
-All right, here's the next one. -Yep.
(beeping)
Ah, I love that sound.
That's a nice, sweet tone.
I know one thing: This is super deep,
And we're tagging it.
(beeping)
You've shaken it out, mate, on that last lot.
Yep. There it is, mate.
What the heck is that?
Gary: Ooh, look at that.
(chuckles) I know what this is.
This looks like a pipe tamper.
Narrator: On lot 26,
Located on the western side of oak island,
Metal detection expert gary drayton
And peter fornetti
Have just made a curious discovery
In the vicinity of a mysterious 900-year-old stone well.
Gary: Back in the day,
People would've had tobacco in a pipe,
And they would've used this to pack it down.
This is nice and the first one we've found on oak island.
-I love a first on oak island. -Yeah.
This does look like an oldie to me.
This looks like it's copper alloy.
It's nice and crude.
Now, putting a date on it is difficult.
Peter: This'll be an interesting one
-To throw in the ct scanner to look for... -Yeah.
...Some sort of monogram or maker's mark.
Yeah, because some of them did.
They had the initials
Or lettering
-On there of the owner. -Okay.
I know one thing, mate, if it is a pipe tamper,
It's a smoking find.
Let's bag it.
Gary: All the artifacts that we are recovering
On lot 26 are really important to me
'cause these artifacts will tell a story
And, hopefully, we can get to the bottom
Of this little mystery on lot 26.
Um, and the next flag
-Is over there. -Okay.
Gary: I'm hoping these are good 'cause we're close to the well.
Here's the next one.
Yep.
(beeping)
Just there, mate.
That should be it.
(beeping)
That's singing, mate. That's a screamer of a signal.
Right down the middle.
Right down the pike, mate. Come on, artifact.
I think we're about to save a little bit of history.
It's there.
-Oh, yeah. -Oh.
That's like a swing door
Or a gate fastener.
It had some ring bolts on it, and it just fit in the top.
This is the second one of these objects
We have found in this area.
We find a lot of one-offs on oak island.
Now, we've got two
Very similar iron artifacts.
They do seem out of place.
It's not the type of area that you'd expect
To find artifacts associated with doors.
We have to have them "carmen dated."
So, here's a little bit of history,
-And hopefully carmen legge... -Yeah.
...Can shed some light on it.
All right, mate. Keep moving.
The artifacts are piling up on lot 26.
Narrator: The following morning,
While search activities continue on oak island...
Doug: I'm really looking forward to these results.
Alex: Yeah, me, too.
You know, I'm looking forward to seeing how it's done.
Narrator: ...Alex lagina and doug crowell
Have traveled some 300 miles northwest
To the university of new brunswick
In fredericton, nova scotia.
You know where chris's office is?
-Yeah, top floor. -Okay.
Narrator: They have come to witness a scientific test
That will be conducted on the hand-forged,
Cut coin that was found four weeks ago on lot 5.
A coin which numismatist sandy campbell
Believes not only dates to as early as 300 b.C.,
But is also of roman origin.
Hey, chris.
-Hi, gentlemen. Good to see you. -How's it going.
-Yeah. Nice to see you. -How are you?
-This is brandon. -Hey, brandon. -Hey.
Narrator: Dr. Chris mcfarlane is
A professor of geochemistry
Who has helped the team determine
The geographic origins of numerous discoveries
That have been made on oak island.
Most notably, the 14th century lead cross,
Which originated in southern France
And is believed to be connected
To the religious military order of the knights templar.
We got the item
-You guys sent down. -Alex: Yeah. Yeah.
Well, so, the thing about this is
We've had an expert in ancient coins look at it.
And the expert told us
That it's possible that it's actually a roman coin,
Which would be pretty incredible.
It's the first of its kind on the island.
Hopefully, we should be able to tell you something about that.
Hopefully, pin it down to a country,
-But, minimum, a region. -Great.
I mean, the best we can do is to get it in the machine,
Have a look at it.
-So, let's go. -After you guys.
Narrator: Certain metal alloys
Have been determined to contain unique chemical signatures
Known as "isotopes," that are specific
To various geographic regions around the world.
By using a process known as laser ablation,
Microscopic samples will be removed from the coin,
Which can then be analyzed for their isotope values,
To hopefully determine just where the artifact was created.
Okay, so, this is where we get everything
-Sorted to get into the machine... -Mm-hmm.
...Including the custom sort of universal holder.
-Mm-hmm. -It allows us to put odd-shaped things
Into the laser ablation system.
Boucher: I'll just stick this in the cell,
And we'll be good to go.
I'm always hoping that, with any of these tests,
We get, like, a smoking gun,
A conclusive match to put the pieces together.
I don't think there's any way to assemble the truth of what
Happened on oak island without scientific analysis.
Boucher: All right, our sample's in.
We'll analyze it with a laser in the icp-ms.
We'll have a look at what comes out.
-All right. -Okay.
Everyone I have asked about the roman coin
Has the same reaction:
Befuddlement.
Have a seat, guys. We'll look at this stuff.
Marty: We don't know when.
We don't know why, but
Our coin expert doesn't waver.
He says it's a roman era coin. It's very, very old.
Boucher: Yeah, so, we've got the ablation going right there.
At the minimum, I think it's another one of those outliers
That pushes the time period back,
And it shows, yet again,
That all kinds of things happened here long ago.
So, we have to figure out what that means.
Yeah, so this half-coin certainly
Has enough lead to get a pretty good number out of it.
In fact, of all the stuff
We've ever done, you know, lead artifact-wise,
This one gave some of the best data.
Great.
So, all the little black dots are the data
From the database of european
And other, you know, international sources
Of lead mines and other prospects.
Uh, we can also look at the actual
Area ellipse that we measured.
And when we go through the filtering process,
We end up with about eight possible occurrences.
I can tell you pretty confidently where it's not from.
We have more or less discounted, you know,
Germany as a likely source because it's so far
Removed from the main mass of the lead isotope database.
And that's similarly true for greece and the u.K.
Ultimately, in terms of where it is from,
That really leaves the iberian,
You know, peninsula,
Mediterranean, spanish origin.
There we go.
The roman empire included the iberian peninsula.
So, pretty much, you got a roman empire going on here.
(laughs)
Chris: In terms of where it is from,
We have an iberian peninsula
Circa mediterranean, spanish origin.
It's pretty good.
Narrator: At the university of new brunswick,
Geochemist dr. Chris mcfarlane
And his colleague brandon boucher
Have just determined that the cut coin,
Recently found on oak island's lot 5
And which is believed to be of roman origin
And more than 1,500 years old,
Was likely created in Spain.
I think that's really good info
Because we've narrowed down where we think it was made
Or at least where the lead in the coin came from.
Doug: Yeah.
It still works well with the coin expert's idea
That it's a roman coin because the roman empire
At one time did include these areas.
Narrator: In 206 b.C....
(man yelling)
...The roman empire began a nearly 700-year-long occupation
Of the iberian peninsula
Which today consists of Spain and portugal.
The romans mined the territory for riches like gold and silver,
As well as other metals
That were used for the production of tools,
Weaponry and currency such as copper, tin and lead.
But if the half-coin, found on lot 5
Was created in Spain more than 1,500 years ago,
Who could have brought it to oak island?
And could it potentially be related in some way
To the 900-year-old stone well on lot 26?
Alex: There's just something a little more mystical,
A little more magical, about a potentially roman coin
Turning up on oak island.
At least, in the ten years that I've been here, um,
This is one of the more exciting things that we've found.
Just because it's so out of place.
It makes you ask so many questions.
You know, what is it doing here? How did it get here?
What is it telling us?
And can we possibly tease out
A little bit more information from it?
It's exciting.
If it keeps bearing out that it's that old,
It's the oldest thing we've found by far.
We don't know where this supposed treasure came from.
Maybe this fell out of it. You know? Who knows?
So, it's cool for that reason.
But we want to kind of follow the science,
And we want to learn as much as we can trust
About this coin and hopefully not leap to conclusions.
Well, we've got numbers now.
I'll leave the context to you guys.
We'll keep working on that angle,
But we really appreciate it, guys.
Thank you as always.
If we learn more, we'll let you know.
-Chris: Yeah. It was great. -Alex: We'll see you soon.
Narrator: The following morning...
Tedford: It gets pretty tight down there.
...As the drilling operation
Continues in the money pit area...
-Doug: Hey, marty. -(others greeting)
-Marty: Morning. -Gary: Hello, mate.
I'm ready for some news.
...Alex lagina and doug crowell
Have returned to the island to share their report
With rick, marty, craig and other members
-Of the team. -Rick: So,
I'll turn it over to you two.
Alex: Yeah. So,
This is the...
Half-coin, and we brought it
To chris mcfarlane for laser ablation testing,
'cause it does contain a little bit of lead.
We got a really good sample in the machine.
And so chris's conclusion was
That the most likely source for this coin is Spain
Or the iberian peninsula.
The roman empire was there.
Jack: Wow. So it is
Possibly a roman coin.
Roman, baby!
(chuckling)
Alex: We've identified this lead
As coming from Spain, but,
You know, it's the iberian peninsula.
And portugal is on the iberian peninsula, too.
Correct.
Alex: We were just there investigating
A potential templar connection.
So portugal and the templars are still in play.
Great point.
Corjan: Oh. Good morning.
-Welcome to portugal. -Rick: Thank you.
Narrator: One year ago,
Rick, alex, doug and peter
Investigated a number of sites in portugal
With researcher corjan mol,
Where the knights templar maintained strongholds
Between the 12th and 16th centuries.
This symbol is definitely on the 90 foot stone.
Rick: It's perfect.
Narrator: Incredibly,
They not only saw numerous stone carvings that have
Also been found on oak island over the last two centuries...
Alex: The stone path looks exactly like this.
...But also a stone road that dated back to the roman era,
One identical to the stone road
Uncovered in the oak island swamp back in 2020,
Which is believed to be at least 500 years old
And of portuguese origin.
Is it possible that the roman half-coin
May have once been in the possession
Of a portuguese templar knight
And offer more evidence that the secretive medieval order
Could really be connected to the oak island mystery?
Jack: Would a coin like that
Have been in the coffers of the knights templar?
Like, could that have been part of their treasure at the time
-When it was lost? -Sure.
-Yeah. I don't see why not. -Gary: Yeah.
Craig: I mean, to me, you know,
We're searching for a treasure.
And if a group came here and put a treasure in,
They may have taken part of the treasure
And, as a token of-of the job they did and the...
And the camaraderie,
They-they cut up a few coins and passed them
To the-- to the members.
Quite possibly, yeah.
Guys, this is an exotic thing.
And so exotic theories come to mind.
Sometimes things like that,
If it's cut cleanly,
What if a pact was made
Between somebodies
And the coin was brought out?
This ancient roman coin.
You clip it.
One person gets one piece,
One person gets the other.
And then if the emissaries ever meet,
If the coin matches,
They know it's for real.
Rick: It's eminently plausible.
If there were secret societies involved,
-Perhaps it's something like that. -I agree.
It's like a passport key, right?
-You-you prove... -Yeah.
-You prove who you are. -Yeah.
We often have trouble eliminating any theories
When we find new data, because a lot of them fit.
Things like a very, very early portuguese settlement,
Unknown voyages from the new world,
Perhaps templars.
It's got to be something of an outlier,
Why that coin is there.
And it could lead us to all kinds of other theories,
Because that is well before discovery of the money pit.
Rick: Here's my takeaway--
That little coin has stimulated
-Very spirited discussion in this room. -Alex: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Rick: And that's a cool thing.
I mean, I love marty's thing about,
You know, basically, it's a secret code ring
Out of a special k box, right?
-(chuckling) -yeah.
But the only way we're gonna find out is
If you guys get back out and find
Its brothers and sisters, gary.
Yeah. Roman brothers and sisters.
(chuckling)
Or iberian brothers and sisters.
(chuckles)
That little coin is pretty cool,
But we got to get out and get to work.
And hopefully find some amigos
-And amigas. -(chuckling) -craig: Okay.
-Marty: There you go. -Rick: See ya.
Alex: See ya. See ya, marty.
Gary: Bye-bye.
Narrator: Later that afternoon...
Charles: Here we go. You got another core.
...In the money pit area,
Oak island historians charles barkhouse
And paul troutman...
-It's disturbed. Yeah. -Okay.
...Continue supervising the drilling operation
In dn-13.5.
Down to 99.
Charles: 'kay.
Narrator: Having reached the target zone
Between 80 and 120 feet deep,
Where a large source of gold is believed to be located...
-It stiffened up right at the bottom there. -Okay.
...Every passing moment
Comes with greater anticipation for the team.
We've got wood.
-Got the wood? -Yeah.
Right here.
Paul: Oh, look at that.
-Same wood contact. -Charles: Yeah.
Paul: Eight inches here.
-Charles: This would be 93.5. -Yes.
It's really interesting.
Could be a collapsed tunnel.
Charles: I'll let craig know.
Charles: It's definitely wood.
Paul: Oh, look at that.
93 to 95 feet.
Narrator: It is an exciting moment in the money pit area...
And mike said it has stiffened up.
...As the team has just recovered evidence
Of a wooden structure in borehole dn-13.5
At a depth of nearly 100 feet.
Could be a tunnel. It's really interesting.
A borehole located where recent water testing
Has suggested that a large source of gold
Lies somewhere close by,
Between 80 and 120 feet underground.
It's got to be a tunnel.
Question is, does it go a little further?
If we could, it would be nice to sink another hole,
-Just to see if it continues. -Yeah.
I mean, we got to follow it now.
-If-if we can, we have to follow it. -Yeah.
Absolutely. I agree.
Rick: The finding of the wood
Or a possible tunnel in the so-called blob,
It's exciting,
Because we are in an area that...
Certainly merits further investigation.
Where does it go?
Can we figure out who built it?
When was it built?
That's really what this is about.
It's how do we exploit the find of this tunnel.
-Craig. Terry. -Wow.
-Hi, paul. How you doing? -How's it going? -Good.
Craig: That's good.
Paul: It's, uh, dn-13.50.
Found it at 93 to 95.
Oh, that's great. And there it is.
Okay. Wow.
You got a pretty good ch-chunk of wood here.
Yeah, it's fairly firm there.
And above,
Uh, it's relatively firm.
Undisturbed material and relatively firm below.
Why this free-floating piece of wood is just sitting there,
There's no rhyme or reason for it to be that way.
This is where we are at dn-13.5.
Terry: This is really, really interesting.
Uh, this looks like the continuation
Of this tunnel that we hit here out of dn-12.5.
Now we're over here at dn-13.5,
Five feet further to the west.
We're starting to get a really good east-west alignment
Back towards the garden shaft.
Craig: Yeah. To me, this is
A tunnel, which it looks like, and it goes
By the garden shaft or under it.
Narrator: Earlier this year,
At a depth of 95 feet,
The team unearthed handworked wood in borehole dn-12.5,
Just five feet to the west
Of where they are currently drilling in dn-13.5.
Could terry and craig be correct
That both boreholes encountered a tunnel
That may be heading toward the garden shaft,
Located just 12 feet to the east?
Three months ago,
The team was stunned to find out
That this flooded 80-foot-deep structure may not only predate
The discovery of the money pit by half a century or more
But also contains high trace evidence of gold.
Cote: We had to put some planks in this corner right here.
This corner, it was those two-by-sixes missing.
Narrator: In order to find out what may lie at the bottom
Or in the nearby vicinity...
...Rick, marty and craig hired a mining company
Named dumas contracting limited
To begin reconstructing a new waterproof vertical shaft,
One that will also allow for horizontal tunneling
If evidence of treasure is discovered nearby.
But, unfortunately,
Due to permitting issues regarding safety protocols,
The provincial government has forced the team
To delay the project until those concerns are resolved.
We have two wells now. They're-they're fairly close.
But, in general, they're pointing towards
The garden shaft.
-Yes. -Terry: Yeah. -So...
Paul: Same horizon.
Are these connected?
Potentially, could be.
The quest is exciting right now.
Things coalesce around that garden shaft.
There's some evidence it was a man-made structure,
A hundred feet below the surface right there.
Rehabbing the garden shaft will be a big deal in the story
Of oak island.
I'm hoping
Dumas is coming back
And they're gonna get us underground.
And I think it could yield answers.
There's a lot of anomalous, weird things going on
In this area that we still don't understand.
It's unlike any other area in the money pit.
-Definitely bag this sucker up. -Yes.
-We'll get a sample. -Uh, we may want to do dendro on that.
Getting a water sample.
Terry: Absolutely. Okay.
Narrator: In order to fully explore
The believed treasure zone in this location of the blob,
The team will continue drilling borehole dn-13.5
Down to a depth of 120 feet.
They will also have the wood scientifically dated
While testing a water sample for further evidence
-Of gold. -Paul: Okay.
I'll head out to get the kit, and I'll be back when I have it.
-Terry: Okay, good. Talk to you soon. -Craig: Okay.
Narrator: While the drilling operation continues
In the money pit area...
(scraping sounds)
Jack: Hey, helen. Hey, laird.
-Helen: Hi, jack. -...Jack begley returns to lot 26
To once again assist archaeologists laird niven
And helen sheldon as they investigate
The mysterious 900-year-old stone well.
-Jack: The well looks clear. -Laird: Yeah.
-This is the center of the well here, right? -Yeah.
It's kind of oval-shaped.
Yeah.
And you can see the three rocks there.
Those are in there permanently. Those have been built into it.
See, ideally, what we'd want for testing
Is find a wooden artifact...
-Somewhere in there? -...That we could test.
Helen: Yeah.
-Jack: Is there any way I can help out? -Sure.
We need some more of this sod stripped back.
Sure. I'll do what I can.
Helen: So, this coarse, sandy matrix
Seems really consistent all the way around.
Laird: So we've done as much historical research as we can.
We've got water testing done and core testing done--
Things like that.
So it's time now
For us to begin taking off
All the vegetation that's overgrown--
And there's a lot of vegetation--
So we can look at it, get an idea of its size
And hopefully an idea of how it was constructed
And perhaps find a clue as to who constructed it.
We'll take these little rocks off.
Leave these ones in.
But then we can move all of these.
The loose ones.
Right? And then
Really get a good idea of the structure from there.
-So it's coming up slowly. -Helen: It is.
Yeah, it's turning out to be a pretty interesting area, eh?
Between you and gary's finds and...
-...What we're uncovering. -Yeah. -H-hopefully
The source of that silver is somewhere in the well.
-Yeah. -Or maybe it's coming
From somewhere near here.
Who knows?
Jack: You have the hope
-Of a treasure hunter, laird. -(chuckling)
Narrator: As a new day begins on oak island...
Helen: I've never seen one this close to salt water before.
Yeah, it's turning out to be a pretty interesting area, right?
...And the archaeological investigation continues
At the stone well on lot 26...
(clanging)
Scott: Hey, carmen.
Well, hello. You got some more goodies this time?
Doug: You know we do.
...Oak island historian doug crowell and scott barlow
Have traveled some 50 miles to northville farm
In centreville, nova scotia.
They are meeting
With blacksmithing expert carmen legge
To get his professional analysis of the metal artifacts
That were discovered two days ago near the ancient stone well.
So, we brought a couple of things that, uh,
Gary has found on lot 26.
They're both found in close proximity to each other.
I'll let you have a look and see what you think they might be.
-All righty. -It has that...
...Uh, hinge appeal to it.
But kind of curious on what you think they are.
-Can I see the other one, too, scott? -Yeah.
They both have a similar shape to them.
Yeah, this one is more encrusted.
They're both the same thickness.
These are broken pieces off of a cutting tool.
-These are from a bush scythe. -Oh, wow.
Narrator: Dating back as much as 5,000 years,
Bush scythes were used throughout europe and asia
As cutting tools in the field of agriculture.
However, when european cultures,
Including the spanish, english and portuguese, began exploring
North america by the 15th century,
Bush scythes became essential tools on large sailing vessels.
And the bush scythes would be used to hack off all the bushes,
Small shrubs and anything up to about an inch and a half.
And they would smash 'em off and...
Get a encampment area cleared
So that they could, uh, come ashore,
Put up a little habitation or something like that
-Sort of thing. -Yeah.
Um, actually, if you look behind you there,
You'll see a bush scythe leaned up against the wall there.
You can bring that over and we can com-compare.
And show you exactly what part this is.
Yeah. This is what I remember, except, the ones we had,
They were much longer.
Yeah. It's a lawn blade or a grass blade.
And if we compare it with that one,
You can see it's-it's the exact match.
Scott: Yeah, that's-that's identical.
Doug: So, if you were gonna put
A date range to-to these ones,
What-what would you think?
These are much older.
The way these are made and shaped,
I'm gonna say probably middle 1600s.
Wow.
Narrator: Bush scythes
Possibly dating back more than 150 years
Prior to the discovery of the money pit in 1795?
Since no one is documented to have settled on oak island
Before the 1760s,
Who brought these tools to lot 26?
Could it have been someone that was looking
For something of great value in the 900-year-old stone well?
Or was it someone who actually repurposed it
To hide valuables there themselves?
Rick: The bush scythe dating to the 1600s,
It's interesting.
And then you transition to dr. Spooner's work
Indicating 1198 from the well.
H-how is that possible?
The only explanation I have in my mind
Is that the enormity of the work done on oak island
Was done in stages.
There was a infrastructure stage,
A depositional phase, a implementation phase,
A logistics phase.
Perhaps done over a long period of time.
There are nuances to telling the story,
And we need to make certain
That we're not misunderstanding any of it.
Scott: And, again, it reinforces that people were probably around here
A little before we thought they were.
Carmen: Oh, absolutely.
Uh, these-these are before any, uh, uh,
Settlement or habitation here in nova scotia.
It-it is uncommon to see one this old.
Doug: Why would you need a...
Bush scythe on oak island in that time period?
Scott: And to find two of them-- it almost suggests
There may have been multiple people there
Trying to clear an area.
This could have been a-a-- very possible
That this was a point of entry to the island,
Where people were coming ashore here.
-You've got my mind wandering now. -(chuckling)
-Scott: We'll let you get back to work. -Thanks, carmen.
-Carmen: All right. See you later. -Scott: Thanks.
Narrator: Later that afternoon...
-Rick: Hi, guys. -Alex: Hey. -(others greeting)
Hello.
Thank you for joining us.
...Rick and marty lagina,
Craig tester and members of the team
Have gathered in the war room
For a video conference with representatives
From dumas contracting limited.
Everybody knows how important the garden shaft project is
-To everything we do this year in the money pit. -Yeah.
Narrator: Six weeks after having to halt reconstruction
On the garden shaft in the money pit area...
Cameron: We are very much interested
And remain committed to this project, rick.
...Cameron carter, the vice president
Of technical services and development at dumas,
Along with his colleagues, have
A critical update to share with the team.
Look, uh, the bottom line is we're hoping
For good news today.
Well, um, I hope the team can appreciate
The scrutiny that we are receiving
From the regulatory bodies in nova scotia.
They want
This project to proceed in a safe manner,
Uh, as does dumas and as does
All the stakeholders that are engaged in this work.
There have been some hurdles that we're trying
To remove from our way to ensure that we can proceed
On the garden shaft rehabilitation
In the most safe and appropriate manner.
-Yes. -Rick: I think,
On our side, we believe the very same thing.
But do you have an update for us?
Where do we sit? Where do we go from here?
Yep. Certainly.
We do have some news here, rick.
Rick: Do you have an update for us? Where do we sit?
Where do we go from here?
Yep. Certainly.
The commitment that-that the government has made to us
Is that they're going to work with us
In an expedited manner,
As efficiently as they can.
And, quite simply, I can't ask for more than that.
We have confirmed with the government
That they are in receipt of the additional information
That's been provided by dumas
That we are in the opinion satisfies
All outstanding requirements, uh, for authorization.
As we sit here today,
We are not in receipt of the authorizations to proceed
With the garden shaft rehabilitation,
But we do anticipate
That it should be received this week.
-Scott: Good news. -Marty: That would be cool.
-Craig: Great. -Wow.
There was a huge sigh of relief
In the entire room, because,
Finally, we'll be able
To move this project forward.
The dumas people should be proud
That they brought their team together
And responded in a very timely manner.
Again, we thank you very much for all the hard work.
We're excited about the potential
That this has in terms
Of solving the mystery and, uh,
-Look forward to seeing you guys. -Okay. Thank you.
-Rick: Thanks, guys! -See you guys. Thank you. -(others saying bye)
-Appreciate it. Take care. -Bye! -Goodbye.
Thank you.
It looks like we might just get it in
Under the wire on all this stuff.
Rick: Everything appears to be
In-in place to expedite the permitting process.
We get eyes and boots on the ground.
We keep moving forward.
Get the shaft done.
See what's-- see what's down there.
It's that simple.
-Craig: Okay. -All right.
-Simple. I like simple. -Alex: Yep. Yep.
Narrator: For rick, marty, craig and their team,
As another extraordinary week comes to an end,
They are more confident than ever that the veil
Which has shrouded oak island in mystery
For more than two centuries will soon be lifted.
But as the clues continue to mount all across the island
And the dig in the money pit area resumes,
Will the ultimate secret of what happened here long ago
And what purpose it served
Finally be revealed?
Perhaps only time
And the mysterious forces of the island
Will tell.
Next time on the curse of oak island...
Jack: We're gonna drain the well to search the bottom.
Oh. Look at that. Looks handwrought.
Christa: This is one of the older objects
-You've found. -Wow.
Pharoah: You have four lines
Measured from nolan's cross
Perfectly intersecting at the garden shaft.
Rick: Wow. Let's get the answers at the bottom
-Of that shaft. -Absolutely. Absolutely.
Gary: That is a stairway to treasure.
-Let's go for the gold! -Alex: Yes! -(laughter)
-That's what we want. -Jack: Yeah. Let's go.
That is awesome.
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