NARRATOR: Tonight on The Curse of Oak Island...
FIONA: What is this?
-FIONA: Oh, look at that. -Oh, my God.
That looks like the handle of something.
We suspect that it's from the 1700s.
Even earlier.
-Really? -JEFF: Absolutely.
MARTY: We have an opening into this cavern.
-Yeah. It looks man-made. -It's amazing.
Okay. Going in.
MARTY: We're all eager to see
-Aladdin's cave. -ALEX: Stop!
-STEVE: What is that? -ALEX: Wow.
This is different.
This is way different than anything we've seen.
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.
♪ ♪
PAUL: Hey, Steve. Alex.
Everything's set operating, Paul?
Yep. We just need to attach the camera
and then we should be good to go.
NARRATOR: A new day of fresh excitement and anticipation
has begun on Oak Island
for brothers Rick and Marty Lagina and their team.
So I guess we're gonna get a look down the hole?
Yes, we are.
We'll see what the camera has to say.
NARRATOR: They, along with underwater imaging expert Blaine Carr,
are about to begin
a two-step operation in the Money Pit area
that they hope will reveal
the answers that could help solve
a 228-year-old treasure mystery.
So we're gonna enter the cave today at 140 to 142 feet.
Aladdin's cave, as you deemed it last year.
So, what do we hope to see
once we get to the bottom of the hole?
Treasure chests, doubloons.
We want to know whether this cave is natural
or whether it's been influenced by people.
RICK: Secondarily to that,
we'd like to see a way in and a way out.
The primary targets
we were looking for were tunnels, vaults,
and of course, any high-density anomalies
that could reflect treasure.
NARRATOR: One week ago,
representatives from Ideon Technologies
presented a stunning report on data that had been collected
deep underground over the past two years
all across the Money Pit area.
Today what we're gonna be discussing are results
from the Money Pit targets of interest.
NARRATOR: Five devices known as Muon detectors
had been placed at various depths
in previously drilled boreholes
to scan for possible voids, tunnels and large objects.
Incredibly, a number of potential targets
were identified suggesting that there could be
multiple treasure deposits buried in the Money Pit area.
Two were located at depths of 65 and 115 feet respectively,
near the 82-foot-deep mid-18th century Garden Shaft,
which the team is currently refurbishing
and deepening for extensive investigations
with a company named Dumas Contracting Ltd.
So, this is quite interesting for us.
This low-density anomaly perfectly overlaps the void
that you guys call Aladdin's cave.
NARRATOR: However,
another compelling target
was identified several feet to the southwest
within a deep cavity
that was first discovered one year ago
that has been affectionately named Aladdin's cave.
It's not some simple cave.
It kind of extends out.
NARRATOR: A cavity where water testing
has also detected trace evidence of silver and gold
some 150 feet underground.
The borehole we're gonna put the camera down
is in borehole L-14,
and L-14 appears in this cavity or cave
on the southern end as we know it.
So we're pretty keen on this. Let's have a look.
All right, so I'm gonna go open the hole
and I'm gonna start lowering.
Okay. Let's go.
NARRATOR: Now, after drilling a new borehole
into Aladdin's cave,
the team will first investigate it
using a high-definition camera
to look for more definitive evidence
that it may have been artificially created,
and also what it might contain.
Okay. Lights are on.
-You good? -You're good.
Just go for it.
NARRATOR: If they are successful,
Blaine will then conduct a comprehensive sonar scan
to create a detailed map of the feature.
PAUL: Okay, so, we can see the water.
RICK: I mean, we're gonna run the camera down first.
Why not put eyes on that void and see if we see anything?
Because if we happen to see a feature down there
that we can orient off with the camera,
it will be helpful to the 3D mapping sonar.
We should almost be to the water by the look of it.
Okay.
-Now you're right there. -There.
RICK: So, hopefully, this photographic imagery
will help us come to a greater understanding
of what this cave represents.
PAUL: We're still seeing the side of the casing
as it's going down.
Where are we at?
PAUL: Right there, stop. We're right into it now.
-ALEX: Yep. -RICK: There.
-PAUL: Right there. -ALEX: That's the edge of the casing, I think.
Okay. Rotate around.
ALEX: Yeah. Those are the teeth, right there.
MARTY: You want him to lower it another foot?
Yeah. Can you go down another six inches to a foot?
There we go. A little bit more...
and... stop there.
So this would be the actual cavity here.
Got to be a couple feet in by now.
ALEX: Yep.
Well, there's the wall. Isn't that the ledge?
-PAUL: Yeah. -MARTY: It is a ledge.
As we break into the cavity, we can start to see
the walls, the sides of this cave.
So I would think there's something else there,
but that something else could be covered by silt
and might not be obvious.
I want to get under that ledge.
Okay, Steve, can you really slowly lower it,
like, three inches.
There you go.
RICK: It looks like it's open.
-To me. -BLAINE: Yeah.
Now you have a much bigger opening.
RICK: That's good that it's open,
-because that means we can map it. -BLAINE: Yeah.
RICK: The expansiveness of Aladdin's cave,
it's quite interesting, very exciting.
We see some features.
It's certainly very plausible that the camera is not seeing
something which may be on the floor of the cave.
-Do you want to lower it down even more? -MARTY: Yes. Yes.
-ALEX: Yeah. -We'll see what you can see on the bottom.
MARTY: We need to see exactly where the bottom is,
without any doubt.
Go.
ALEX: I think we're facing down now.
So, Steve, just very slowly, another six inches or so.
-Six? -ALEX: Yep.
That's good.
Little bit more. Same again, please.
RICK: There. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Hold up.
Spin around 360.
-There. What's that? -BLAINE: What's that?
ALEX: I can't tell if that's...
-the bottom or... -PAUL: I'll wait for it to settle out.
ALEX: There we go. There's something.
Visibility is actually better than we've seen.
What's this over here on the right?
Something sticking out.
Right there.
This piece, right in here?
The way the shape is is kind of angular.
-RICK: That flat thing, you mean? -BLAINE: Yeah.
That's a piece of debris or something.
This is a very exciting thing and it's important
to see whether it's man-made or not.
I think there's a chance
the treasure might be placed there,
which would answer a lot of questions.
I mean, we're not gonna see anything more here, are we?
ALEX: I don't think so.
I think that's all we're gonna see.
Slowly come out of the hole now, Steve.
Yes, sir.
RICK: Bottom line is
this is open enough to map it.
-And that's what's good. -Yep.
We should be able to find out if there's anything else
other than just being a cavity with the sonar.
So, whether there is a tunnel or some other feature.
Then let's get going with the sonar, right?
I mean, we've seen what we need to see here.
Okay. We're gonna get a scan of that cavity.
-Perfect. Let's go. -PAUL: Okay.
-MARTY: Let's do this. -PAUL: Sounds good.
NARRATOR: While members of the team make preparations
for the sonar operation in Aladdin's cave...
-LAIRD: Hello. -CRAIG: Hello.
RICK: Good morning.
Hi, guys.
What do we have today?
Well, I got the magnetometer analysis back.
Good.
LAIRD: Yeah, Saint Mary's University
processed the data for us.
-Yeah. -Okay. Sounds great.
NARRATOR: ...Rick Lagina and his business partner
Craig Tester
join archaeologists Laird Niven
and Jamie Kouba
in the Interpretive Centre.
Surprises?
Yes, there are surprises.
-Great. -(Jamie chuckles)
NARRATOR: They are about to see a report
regarding an extensive magnetometry survey
that was recently conducted
around a mysterious circular stone feature
on Lot 5,
located on the western side of Oak Island--
a feature which may have been created
more than a century before the discovery
of the Money Pit in 1795
and which is also located in the area
where the team has not only
unearthed a 14th-century lead barter token,
which may be related to the lead cross
discovered at Smith's Cove in 2017,
but also four Roman coins
dating back as much as 2,000 years.
What we are hoping to see are walls.
-Mm-hmm. -Stone features.
-Yeah. -Even voids.
Okay.
NARRATOR: Now, after having the survey data processed
by experts from the anthropology department
at Saint Mary's University
in Halifax, Nova Scotia,
Laird and Jamie are prepared to share the results.
So this is what it looks like
on the magnetic susceptibility.
This area right through here is our around feature.
So if we could turn this on its side,
it would look like a big hole, right? Um...
There's your highlight. That kind of gives you an idea.
So, around it, we're noticing
some rather large features that actually suggest
that there is a stone feature underneath it
that is larger than the round feature.
Oh.
So our feature is actually much more substantial.
RICK: Wow.
JAMIE: We're noticing a stone feature underneath it.
that is larger than the current feature
that we are aware of.
Wow.
It's quite large, too.
Yeah.
NARRATOR: In the Oak Island Interpretive Centre,
archaeologist Jamie Kouba
has just presented the magnetometry data
suggesting that the potentially
17th to 18th century circular depression on Lot 5
appears to have a much larger feature buried beneath it.
So, our feature is actually much more substantial.
It's a pretty good size structure.
It's kind of odd.
So I'd really like to explore that, too.
Yeah. It's-it's exciting.
Great.
When I look at it,
to me, it's quite daunting because
we're still engaged in trying to determine
the extent of the circular feature.
But now we have a large structure,
which continues to puzzle.
So I think there's a lot of work that needs to be done
before we can associate these various structures.
What does that tell you
in terms of why this one is here?
To me, it suggests that this wasn't somebody
who was staying there for a week or two.
They built a structure.
-They lived there. -LAIRD: Yeah.
That could be separate.
Yes.
Those may be completely different time periods.
-LAIRD: Yeah. -JAMIE: Yeah.
Obviously, until we dig, we don't know what it is.
-Yeah. -LAIRD: I agree.
I hope we can find some way
to identify a time period for when whatever that is
-was put in. -Yeah.
I think that is the key to us
finally solving the mystery,
I feel. (laughs)
I'm dying to answer the question of "who were these people?"
Yeah, we're dying to answer the who, what, when,
where, why, and how on the whole island, right?
-JAIME: Right. -Yes.
RICK: That's what we wanted to do from day one.
Slowly but surely, I think we're making progress.
The belief that this was a multi-generational effort
on the part of people-- sure, that's all possible.
Hopefully, there will be a find that explains
the possible relevance of Lot 5 to the original work.
There is a very unique story and maybe multiple stories
now on the island.
-Yeah. -RICK: And sometimes I think,
"Wow, how can...
how can it be so rich, so interesting, so compelling?"
Yeah, absolutely.
This is definitely telling a story.
-Yeah. -RICK: It's a testament
to all of our beliefs that something is uniquely here,
meaning story or treasure or both.
-Yeah. -JAMIE: Yeah.
Maybe we're on the cusp of getting some real answers.
-I hope so. -That would be nice.
-CRAIG: Okay. Appreciate it. -RICK: Let's go, Craig.
-CRAIG: Talk to you guys later. -JAMIE: See you guys soon.
RICK: Thank you.
NARRATOR: The following morning...
CHARLES: Hey, Paul.
Hey, Charles. How's it going?
-Good. How are you? -All right.
NARRATOR: ...while the team awaits
the return of Blaine Carr
to conduct the sonar scan
of Aladdin's cave,
Charles Barkhouse arrives in the Money Pit area
for an update on the operation to deepen the Garden Shaft.
PAUL: We're assembling the shoe.
CHARLES: Okay.
So this will be to protect ourselves from the soil itself.
Okay.
So, you just dig underneath this
and then put another section in?
-Is that how it works? -Yeah. Yeah.
So this is gonna be
one section of the shoe.
We got five of these piled one on top of the other.
Oh, okay.
NARRATOR: After installing a protective metal frame
known as a shoe
at the bottom of the 82-foot-deep Garden Shaft,
in the coming weeks, Dumas will extend the structure
down to a total depth of some 95 feet,
where the team hopes to breach a seven-foot-high tunnel
they have encountered in numerous boreholes
leading to an area known as the Baby Blob.
It is here where water testing has detected
the highest trace evidence of gold, silver and other metals
between depths of 80 and 120 feet.
How long is it gonna take you to actually get this down there?
It's gonna take us maybe a couple hours
once we get everything fitted.
Well, that's-that's really fantastic.
-Yeah. -I wish you luck.
-Very good. -I'll be checking in again.
-Take care. -Very good.
CHARLES: Carry on, Paul.
PAUL: Yeah. Will do.
NARRATOR: As the operation continues
in the Garden Shaft...
JACK: Hey, everybody.
-FIONA: Morning. -JAMIE: Morning!
So, you guys just got started back
-on this round feature, right? -Yeah. Yeah.
NARRATOR: ...Jack Begley joins members
of the archeology team on Lot 5,
where they are meticulously searching for new clues
within the mysterious circular stone depression.
In the magnetometer data,
it appeared that there's a larger rectangular feature
underneath the round feature.
And how is that oriented-- over on this side?
We think that this right here
is the outside of the wall, so...
It kind of appears that it goes
all the way out and around, so...
Once we do more work, we'll be able to see the walls
-more clearly. -Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
Well, I think I'll get to screening
and let's figure out
-what's going on here. -Perfect.
Yay. Thanks.
Take your bucket first, Lindy.
JAMIE: The round feature is covering up
something that's a lot larger than we thought.
And so, we're going to see
if we can uncover the entire thing.
So, in archeology,
we would love to be able to just tear something apart
with an excavator to find the answers faster,
but we just can't. It's very destructive.
So, instead, what we're gonna do is very careful
and very methodical excavation of this structure.
FIONA: There's a couple of bigger pieces of creamware, Jamie.
-Look at those. -Oh, nice.
FIONA: Good sizes.
JAMIE: What we're doing is we're putting test pits
directly over top of the feature, and, essentially,
we have a delineated area that we're excavating
and taking it further and further out,
and hopefully, find the edges of this whole thing
and uncover it.
NARRATOR: As the archaeologists
dig around the stones,
exposing more of the feature
and hopefully the larger structure beneath it...
All right, time to get dirty.
NARRATOR: ...Jack will carefully sift through the spoils
in search of artifacts or clues that may be related
to the 228-year-old mystery.
-Oh, look at that. -Yes, Jack found those.
-Those are good, big pieces, too. -Yeah.
It's gonna be enough for... to put a vessel together soon.
JACK: Well, the real stuff that we're looking for is,
like, at the bottom of this feature entirely, right?
FIONA: And we were finding different ceramics
when we were down a little deeper, too.
-JACK: Older ceramics. -MOYA: Yeah. -FIONA: Yeah.
We haven't even hit pay dirt yet.
JACK: There's a lot of work to do
and we really want to try to find a wall.
Because if there are walls around this feature,
if they lose artifacts
in the initial construction of this building,
that can tell us a beginning date
of when this was originally built.
♪ ♪
Give it a good shake.
Oh. Oh, wow.
Look at this.
JAMIE: Oh, my gosh.
JACK: Oh, wow. Look at this.
Definitely a square fastener. Like a nail.
Yeah. Absolutely. Like, hand-cut.
NARRATOR: While searching the spoils excavated
from the mysterious stone feature on Lot 5 on Oak Island,
Jack Begley and archaeologist Jamie Kouba
have just found a potentially important clue.
Could that be a rose head?
I kind of wonder if maybe...
Because notice how much bigger the head is
compared to down here, even.
-It makes me think it's, like, 1700s. -JAMIE: Yeah.
I will say, the older the iron, the more it corrodes outward.
And so I think it's interesting
that there's almost these, like, bubbles of corrosion.
That kind of tells me that it could be older.
NARRATOR: So-called rose head spikes
are hand-forged iron fasteners with hammered heads
that resemble the petals of a flower.
Although they were generally used
in the construction of buildings
and large sailing vessels as late as the 19th century,
the Oak Island team has found
similar fasteners in the Money Pit area
that have dated back to as early as the 17th century.
We have to put it in the CT scanner.
JAMIE: Yeah, I can't wait to get it analyzed.
It's definitely not modern, for sure.
-JACK: Yeah. -(chuckles)
-I'll get back to sifting. -JAMIE: All right.
NARRATOR: Could Jamie Kouba be correct
that this spike may offer more evidence
that this feature on Lot 5 may have been created
more than a century before the discovery of the Money Pit?
FIONA: Okay. What is this? Is this...
Oh, you know what, I think that's...
That's a big chunk of metal.
-Oh, my God. -JACK: What is it?
That looks like the handle of something.
Look at that. It's beautiful.
What is that?
FIONA: It's like a tool of some sort.
It's not very heavy.
JAMIE: That is hollow.
And it's, it's really light.
-Yeah. -You're right.
JAMIE: Why is it hollow? That is bizarre.
Almost feel like there'd be
a piece of wood that'd be jammed in there.
Like at the end of a tool.
-Like a handle. -JAMIE: Oh, my God.
Jack, you're brilliant.
They had a wood handle in it.
RICK: A structure of this size presents
a possible answer to: where were the people
associated with the original construct of the Money Pit?
Let's figure out what happened there.
But we've got a lot of work to do.
FIONA: Let's see if the rest of it's down, still, in the dirt.
-I'll get back to sifting. -Okay.
JACK: Good luck finding more.
NARRATOR: As Jack and the archaeologists
continue their investigation on Lot 5...
-PAUL: Hey, Rick, Marty. -ALEX: Hey.
-So, how are we doing? -Good.
...Rick and Marty Lagina
join sonar expert Blaine Carr
and other members of the team
in the Money Pit area...
BLAINE: It's your brand-new, shiny, 3D sonar.
MARTY: Ooh, baby!
NARRATOR: After obtaining video one day ago
of possible man-made workings
some 150 feet underground
in a large cavern known as Aladdin's cave...
We can tie a rope to it.
Let's do that.
We'll start putting it down the hole that way.
Yeah.
NARRATOR: ...they are now scanning it
with a sonar device
in order to determine its exact dimensions
and to also see if there are tunnels
leading into the feature.
Okay, Scott. Good.
Okay. Going in.
NARRATOR: The Echologger DASS710 sonar device
emits high-intensity radar pulses
that reflect off of objects and barriers,
such as the walls of a cavern,
in order to produce a three-dimensional map
of the underwater environment.
140 feet down hole, right now.
Go on in and let's look at this.
BLAINE: We've got it in a position where it's getting returns.
-It's starting to spit out data. -Oh, yeah. I see it. Yeah.
PAUL: What we're seeing looks like
the outline or perimeter of the cavity.
How long will it be before we have
kind of a picture to look at?
I think what we'll do is we're gonna let it run
-and we come back in the morning, -Okay.
hopefully everything will be finished
and we're gonna see up into this cavity.
MARTY: All will be revealed.
I can wait till tomorrow to get good data.
Let's let it do its thing.
BLAINE: Absolutely.
MARTY: I got dibs on the lamp.
NARRATOR: While the sonar operation continues
in Aladdin's cave on Oak Island...
Right this way.
-Thank you, sir. -You're welcome.
NARRATOR: ...50 miles northeast
in the city of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia...
-How are you? -Not too bad, sir.
-How're you doing today? -Good.
NARRATOR: ...archaeologist Laird Niven
and Oak Island historian Doug Crowell
have arrived at Nova Tactical
to meet with weapons expert Jeff Parker.
We have something we're hoping you can enlighten us on.
Absolutely.
This is an artifact found on Lot 5
on Oak Island.
We suspect that it's a ramrod guide.
Looking at it, your suspicions would be correct.
That is an unusual find.
NARRATOR: Three weeks ago, while investigating the spoils
from the mysterious feature on Lot 5...
It almost looks like a sight.
NARRATOR: ...the team unearthed
a potentially ancient ramrod guide
designed for muzzle-loading firearms.
LAIRD: It looks like "VIIII."
Yeah.
NARRATOR: The artifact was inscribed
with Roman numerals representing the number nine.
However, rather than the conventional symbols of IX,
the characters were denoted by a V
followed by four I's.
Curiously, this is the same style
of Roman numerals that were discovered on a section
of the so-called U-shaped structure
that the team unearthed at Smith's Cove in 2018.
These were predominantly used to hold the ramrods in place
on either the muskets themselves...
Right.
...or even on their smaller counterparts
on flintlock handguns as well.
-Really? -Yeah.
Just due its overall size and length,
I can say that it would be fixed up to a smaller rifle
or one of the flintlock handguns.
Which is interesting because a rifle's expected...
-Yes. -...on an island.
-Yes. -You know,
for people hunting and things like that.
-Yep. -A handgun, I wouldn't think so much.
Yeah. Very, very interesting find.
Laird and his team in our lab have been able to identify
some unique markings on that particular piece.
LAIRD: Yeah. It has Roman numerals.
-VIIII. -Mm.
That's definitely not something you would typically find.
Especially on a piece like this.
That is something that I, quite honestly,
have not seen before.
Is there a first used
and last used for this type of rifle?
We suspect that it's from the 1700s.
-Even earlier. -Yeah.
The period date for this particular artifact
could date anywhere from the 16th century
all the way up to about the late 1700s.
-DOUG: Really? -JEFF: Absolutely.
DOUG: Wow.
JEFF: So this would date anywhere
from the 16th century
all the way up to, like, the late 1700s.
-Really? -Absolutely.
NARRATOR: At Nova Tactical in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia,
firearms expert Jeff Parker has just given his assessment
that the ramrod guide that was recently found on Lot 5
could predate the discovery of the Money Pit
by as much as two centuries.
During the 1800s, they moved away from muskets
and then when Winchester Repeating Arms
developed their repeating rifle, largely, muskets fell off.
You know what I'm hearing, Laird--
that this particular piece
would fit into William Phips' time.
Yeah.
NARRATOR: Nearly two months ago,
members of the team unearthed an iron latch
in the mysterious feature on Lot 5
that was designed for lifting heavy cargo.
Astonishingly, metallurgical analysis revealed
that it was a compositional match
to artifacts known to have belonged to Sir William Phips,
the 17th century privateer and politician
who is believed by some
to have buried a vast cache of treasure
on Oak Island in 1687.
Could Doug be correct that this ramrod guide
could offer further evidence that this theory is true?
Makes you wonder how that was lost, eh?
We didn't find the other parts of the gun, but we found this.
-They might still be out there. -Yeah.
-We've got some more work to do.
-(all laughing) -We do. For sure.
Can't thank you enough for your time, sir.
It has been my pleasure, guys. Appreciate you guys coming in.
-Thank you. -Thank you very much.
-LAIRD: Excellent. -DOUG: Take care.
-LAIRD: See you later. -JEFF: Take care, guys.
NARRATOR: The following morning...
Well, the rain has set back in big brother.
Yeah.
At least those guys are staying nice and dry.
NARRATOR: ... despite the heavy rains
that are once again challenging the team's efforts...
ALEX: Hey. Come on in. Take a look.
NARRATOR: ...Rick and Marty Lagina arrive
at the Money Pit for an update
on the ongoing sonar scan being conducted
more than 150 feet deep in Aladdin's cave.
What's going on, what am I looking at?
The sonar, as far as we can determine,
is sitting a foot, maybe two, off the bottom.
-Right. -BLAINE: So what we're seeing
is a pretty solid wall face over here.
MARTY: Is there any evidence that this is natural or man-made?
If you had to guess, right now.
Now, the geologist might look at this and say,
"Yeah, that's natural erosion."
But that's a flat face.
And there is a distinct possibility that
that was carved out.
Well, the obvious thing is this right here.
Doesn't that look like an entrance?
It's possible there is an opening there.
You have a flat face
and something sliding down underneath.
I can't see where it's sloping into,
so we're gonna have to look at this
in the software that Paul has.
Well, that's interesting.
All the other so-called cavities
are filled with, you know, sand and stuff.
-Yep. -Yeah.
That's a pretty smoothed out cavity.
This is different.
This is way different than anything we've seen.
ALEX: Yep.
RICK: It's imperative that we let
the sonar map the entirety of the room.
Our interest is define the extent of the cavity,
see if there's a way in.
So, we have to be patient and wait for the data.
MARTY: Every time we do anything, I'm hoping
for indices of treasure!
That's why we're here.
What we can see indicates
that it's a wide-open cavity,
so I would think there's something else there.
Okay.
Let's let this gentleman finish everything up.
Really, I would like you
to kind of put it all together
and then come to us with results, please,
and recommendations
-once you have a chance to digest it all. -Yep.
MARTY: All right. Let's go.
NARRATOR: While the sonar operation continues
in the Money Pit area...
MARTY: Gentlemen.
These are a couple pieces found on Lot 5.
We're gonna have Emma bring up the results.
NARRATOR: ...Rick, Marty, Craig
and Peter Fornetti meet with Laird Niven
and archaeometallurgist Emma Culligan
in the Interpretive Centre
to review Emma's analysis of the two artifacts
found one day ago
in the mysterious stone feature on Lot 5.
Can you bring up the indeterminate object?
The indeterminate object.
Do you want the CT or the XRF?
-I think CT first. -EMMA: Okay.
NARRATOR: Earlier this morning,
Emma processed each artifact
using the SkyScan 1273 CT scanner,
which emits non-destructive X-ray radiation
that can penetrate built-up corrosion
in order to reveal finer details.
She also scanned them
using the X-ray fluorescence spectrometer,
or XRF device, which can identify the types of metals
that make up each objects' composition.
EMMA: This is the CT.
This is interesting because it was certainly attached
to something.
-Is that a nail or something? -Is that a real rivet?
EMMA: Yeah. So, there's two holes, at least.
MARTY: I see what you're saying now.
This would've been attached.
What does the metallurgy say?
EMMA: It's pretty pure iron.
There's no modern indicators, so that's a good thing.
No manganese?
No manganese. Okay.
-So it's old. -EMMA: Yeah.
So, in looking at this compositional lineup,
it does have a high aluminum to silicon ratio,
which is a consistent characteristic I've seen
with late 1600s, 1700s English artifacts.
Is it a match for the Phips' stuff?
EMMA: Yes.
It is matching William Phips' artifacts.
MARTY: There you have it, guys.
RICK: Wow. That's exciting.
EMMA: It is matching William Phips' artifacts
pretty closely.
NARRATOR: In the Oak Island Interpretive Centre,
archaeometallurgist Emma Culligan
has just informed the team
that an iron tool handle found one day ago on Lot 5
is a compositional match to other artifacts
known to have belonged to the 17th-century politician
and privateer Sir William Phips.
MARTY: When you show that sort of compositional likeness,
are those two likely related?
EMMA: Yes, there's a possibility.
That is a unique characteristic that is
tied to William Phips' artifacts
which is, yes, late 1600s, 1700s
-iron from England. -MARTY: Interesting.
You know, there's no denying that you have some points
of connective tissue between the Concepcíon
and the salvage of it
by Sir William Phips and the island.
We know that Phips found silver on the Concepcíon,
and I believe some of the treasure
from the Concepcíon was secreted to Oak Island.
Very interesting.
NARRATOR: In 2021,
32nd-degree Freemason Scott Clarke
presented an incredible theory
regarding Sir William Phips' possible connection
to the Oak Island mystery.
In 1687, Phips discovered the wreck of
the Spanish treasure galleon known as the Concepcíon,
which sank in 1641
off the coast of the Dominican Republic
with more than 100 tons
of silver, gold and jewels.
Following an initial recovery
of some 34 tons of silver,
Phips, who was knighted by King James II of England
for his efforts, was ordered to make
a second salvage of the wreckage.
In preparation for that mission,
Sir William Phips recruited Captain Andrew Belcher,
a high-ranking Freemason
who owned property in Mahone Bay,
where Oak Island is located.
Curiously, after completing
the secondary salvage operation,
Phips and Belcher returned to England
with only a small fraction of valuables
compared to the original recovery from the Concepcíon.
SCOTT: I strongly believe
that Belcher and his comrades were actually
transferring treasure from the Concepcíon
to the Oak Island area.
Wow.
Here's what's interesting,
and really sort of gratifying about
this potential Phips connection to this island:
We know he was in these waters.
We know he had treasure.
He had motive and opportunity.
It feels like a realistic theory to me.
It would be interesting to see what Carmen says about that.
Yeah, show it to Carmen. Yep.
Okay, what's this other one?
LAIRD: The other one's called a fastener.
Again, from the southeast quadrant of Lot 5,
the circular feature.
It almost looks like it has
some specialized purpose.
-The CT should show us more. -EMMA: Yeah.
This is the fastener.
You've got the flat head, and there is tapering
on all sides, so it's definitely hand-forged.
What's the metallurgy?
No modern indicators.
And then I am seeing a high aluminum silicon content,
which is what I am seeing
in the artifacts from William Phips.
It matches our man Phips again.
Yeah.
RICK: You know, that's recorded history,
that the majority of the recoverable
precious metals on the Concepcíon were silver.
Right? And silver went missing.
We have high silver in the water here on the Money Pit.
We're making our way towards
connecting Sir Williams Phips here on Oak Island,
and these stand representative of that.
NARRATOR: Could the numerous discoveries
that the team has made on Lot 5
that have been scientifically matched
to artifacts connected to Sir William Phips
be related to the high trace evidence
of precious metals that have been detected
some 100 feet underground near the Garden Shaft
or explain the recent muon tomography scans
along with the indications of valuables
nearly 150 feet deep in Aladdin's cave?
MARTY: We know that Phips was in these waters.
We know that silver or gold was missing from the Concepcíon.
You know, to me, it's starting to look like
Lot 5 was some sort of staging area for something.
Yeah.
RICK: It's a very curious observation
backed up by science.
Right now, I don't think
any of us around this table are gonna say
Sir William Phips was not part of the Oak Island mystery.
But there's a lot more work to do
-on the Lot 5 feature. -Yeah, yeah.
Okay, let's get back out there.
I want to find the damning thing. The proof.
-Yes. -Let's go.
-RICK: Thanks, Laird. -MARTY: Thanks, Emma, as always.
EMMA: Thank you.
NARRATOR: The following morning...
-JACK: Hey, Rick. -MARTY: Hey, Rick.
-Hey, everybody. -MARTY: All right, today
we get to find out a little bit more about Aladdin's cave.
NARRATOR: ...Marty Lagina has gathered the team
in the war room,
with Rick Lagina joining via video conference,
for a highly anticipated report
from sonar expert Blaine Carr
regarding the mysterious cavern
known as Aladdin's cave.
We're all eager to see what you've got to show us.
Okay, so, the view that we're looking at here
is looking straight down.
MARTY: Okay.
BLAINE: So, we're gonna try to just slide it up
into a 3D image.
So, you can see the yellow-green.
Mm-hmm.
BLAINE: That's sloping down.
This darker red is the wall
in between us and the floor of the cavern.
That being said,
we can't see the bottom.
The aspect of the sonar looking out--
the wall is blocking us
-from seeing any further down. -Mm-hmm.
What I can see--
see those blue lines crossing over
what look like two gaps?
-MARTY: Yeah. -BLAINE: It looks like
an opening right through here.
-MARTY: Really? -BLAINE: Yeah.
BLAINE: There may indeed be
an entrance and exit into this cavern.
MARTY: That is amazing.
So, there may indeed be an entrance, exit
into this cavern.
-Oh. -MARTY: So, perhaps
we have an opening into this cavern.
-Correct. -Well, this is all real interesting.
NARRATOR: In the war room,
underwater imaging expert Blaine Carr
has just presented compelling sonar data
revealing a possible tunnel entrance
some 150 feet deep in the Money Pit area,
connected to the large cavern
known as Aladdin's cave.
So, I think you have the potential
for man-made ingress into a natural
-cavern. -Right.
What's the size of the cavity?
Without being able to see the bottom,
I just don't know the right answer,
because it's on a slope.
So, it varies.
It does slope off in one direction
about 30 degrees.
Which is why the sonar can't see to the bottom of that hole.
-Okay. -MARTY: I was real interested
in what you might see on the floor.
Well, because the floor is sloping away,
it's hard to say what may or may not have been there.
Yeah, sure.
But if anything was gonna
be there, I mean, gravity's gonna take everything
to the bottom of that slope.
Right. Something could be buried in there.
For sure.
Maybe the treasure.
I suppose it's quite possible.
RICK: I'm pleasantly surprised,
that there might be
a way into the cave.
It'd be even more interesting
if we saw some man-made feature in there.
Perhaps it's buried in the silts on the floor.
It's an interesting thing to investigate.
It's something that makes you go, "Hmm,
-we need to see more of this." -Yeah.
There's some indication that the cave
has some things that aren't natural cave-like.
It could be some sort of treasure chamber.
That's why we're spending all this money
and time investigating it.
And it checks a lot of the boxes.
Let's put it this way: we can't walk away
from this thing without knowing what it is.
It's unique.
So, what I would do at this point,
if we're really interested in seeing something else,
-Yeah. -is we would move over
about five, six feet.
-Mm-hmm. -Put another hole down
so the sonar could now see
back into this area and tell us,
are we indeed in an isolated cavern
or is there an opening?
-Right. -BLAINE: And see
if this actually carries on.
Yep.
I would dearly love
to put a hole right there,
but I don't know.
Rick, what do you think? What do you want to do?
I think you have to put another hole in
to get a different perspective.
Yep.
But you can't walk away. You have to exploit it
-as much as we can. -MARTY: All right.
I think we're all in agreement
as to that particular point.
Let's get some more data.
-Sounds good. -MARTY: All right.
Back to it. Let's go.
We're gonna find that treasure.
JACK: I agree.
NARRATOR: As another week of compelling discoveries
and potential revelations comes to a close
for Rick, Marty and their team,
they may be closer than ever
to finally solving a 228-year-old mystery.
But as the dig continues
for critical clues,
what might they find?
Priceless religious artifacts?
A vast cache of gold, silver and jewels?
Or will they discover that all of the above
have been waiting for centuries
to be recovered from deep below?
Next time on The Curse of Oak Island...
MARTY: All right. Here we go. Let's do this.
We're going underground in the Garden Shaft.
What in the hell is going on here?
ROGER: It's crazy. We're encountering a lot of water.
MARTY: I don't like the sound of that.
JAMIE: Oh, look at this.
JACK: Oh, wow.
HELEN: It's pre-Money Pit discovery.
This could have been used in the Money Pit.
-PAUL: Going in right now. -RICK: We're gonna run
a camera in Aladdin's cave.
-SCOTT: Whoa, whoa, whoa! -MARTY: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
SCOTT: Oh, my God. Look at that.
MARTY: It could be man-made.
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