MATTY: Was it an American navy captain
who stole a vast treasure during the Revolutionary War?
I have Captain James Anderson's sea chest.
-Wow. -MATTY: A pioneering band
of Freemasons with sacred riches of medieval origins?
The Knights Baronet might be responsible
for a treasure buried on Oak Island.
MATTY: Or perhaps a famous explorer
who had a priceless ulterior agenda.
Oh. What do you think this is?
RICK: What is book binding material doing in the Money Pit?
Do you think it's Shakespeare's manuscripts?
♪ ♪
ALAN BUTLER: It's time to connect the dots
to Oak Island.
Basically, I've connected the dots.
MATTY: Ever since the deep shaft known as the Money Pit
was discovered in 1795 on Oak Island,
thousands of discoveries have been made,
suggesting someone went to a lot of trouble
to hide a vast cache of treasure.
These include believed tunnels
found approximately 100 feet underground,
stone roads and pathways
hidden beneath a brackish swamp,
religious artifacts and megalithic structures
that date back more than five centuries,
and even high-trace evidence of silver and gold.
It's left brothers Rick and Marty Lagina
and their team contemplating six ultimate questions:
Who, what, when, where, why and how?
And it's also led to many researchers
coming forward to declare that they have the answers.
It is true there's been a vault's worth of theories
brought forth that have all been supported
by finds made right here on the island.
So, until a treasure is actually found
that might help explain everything,
the most logical theories would point
to whoever was known to be in the area
at the time prior to the discovery of the Money Pit,
and who had something very valuable to hide.
That brings us to the first entry in our countdown.
Number ten: the Knights Baronet theory.
JAMES: So, the Knights Baronet are connected
to the Knights Templar,
and that connection goes right through Nova Scotia.
And it might be responsible
for a treasure buried on Oak Island.
MATTY: In recent years,
James McQuiston, an author
and fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland,
has made several presentations to Rick,
Marty, Craig and the team about his top suspects:
the Knights Baronet.
Established in Scotland by a nobleman,
Sir William Alexander, in 1625,
this organization of the first documented Freemasons
established the colony in North America
that came to be known as Nova Scotia,
or "New Scotland."
That was the ultimate plan.
And if you look at the overall list of the Knights Baronet,
25% of them had some kind of connection
back to the Knights Templar.
They may have had Templar wealth in their families
because when they were, uh, dissolved,
where's all that stuff going to go?
MATTY: Over the years, many have speculated
that a vast treasure connected to
the medieval order of the Knights Templar,
which included holy relics such as the Ark of the Covenant
and the Holy Grail,
were transported from Europe centuries ago
and hidden in the ingeniously constructed Money Pit.
During a subsequent presentation...
MARTY: Hey, James.
MATTY: ...James spoke on why the Knights Baronet
may have been the depositors.
So, here's the theory in a nutshell.
Unfortunately, the French attacked Nova Scotia,
leaving the Scots ousted in the spring of 1632,
and I believe they took shelter in Mahone Bay,
and Oak Island is at the back of it.
So, it would be the perfect place to hide back there
and bury what they couldn't take back with them
or didn't want to take back with them.
MATTY: Based on his thorough research,
James believes he's not only figured out
who was behind the mystery
but also why nearly every team of searchers
over the past two centuries
has included high-ranking members of Freemasonry,
including Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1911.
But is there actual evidence?
Peter, if you can impart to them what your perceptions were
-about the wall. -Sure.
Just the way that the outside rocks
are sort of structured to-to lean in on a wall,
which is a classic way of holding a rubble wall together.
MATTY: In 2022,
the team investigated a stone wall on Lot 26
that struck them all as oddly constructed.
This included archaeologist Laird Niven,
who found charcoal within it
that was carbon-dated to as early as the 17th century.
And when forestry technician Peter Romkey examined it,
he believed he recognized the technique.
PETER ROMKEY: It was almost like it had a foundation of small rocks.
-Mm. -And that would be, uh,
very similar to, uh, castles and large structures
that were built in England and Scotland.
MATTY: The potentially Scottish-designed wall
on Lot 26 is only one of many discoveries
made by the team dating to the 1600s.
GARY: Rick, check this out.
What have you got, Gary?
MATTY: But, in 2020,
while investigating the possibly man-made swamp...
IAN: It's one piece of wood.
MATTY: ...they unearthed what could be
a smoking gun for the Knights Baronet.
-RICK: Check this out. -Hey, guys. What have you got?
GARY: We're hoping you can tell us.
Oh, God.
-Wow. -IAN: It's got to be a tool.
AARON: Yeah, I was going to say, like something for
-architectural or... -GARY: Yeah.
-Yeah, like a little carpenter's square. -Yeah.
MATTY: It was a wooden T-square
used for masonry, and, incredibly,
it was scientifically dated to 1632,
the exact year that James McQuiston believes
the Knights Baronet buried Templar treasures
in the Money Pit.
Finding a tool that may have been used
to help construct the Money Pit is compelling.
But how about finding an official military record
potentially describing its construction?
That brings us to the next top theory on our list.
Number nine: the Duc d'Anville theory.
I found eight pages of a ship...
what looks like a ship's log.
What's really interesting is
it appears to be a ship's log that indicates
that they were here in advance of the French fleet
that was coming over in 1746.
MATTY: In 2017, team historian Doug Crowell
dug a partial transcript out of provincial archives
detailing a secret French naval mission
to hide valuables in Nova Scotia
as they battled Great Britain for control of the territory.
The effort was led by Jean Baptiste de La Rochefoucauld,
also known as the Duc d'Anville,
an admiral whose family had believed ties
to the Knights Templar dating back
to the 12th-century Crusades.
DOUG: And if you go through these eight pages,
they're actually talking about
the vast amount of treasure they have on board.
They're worried about losing it
because, basically, they're in enemy territory.
So, this transcription I've handed out to you,
I'm just going to read through it really quickly here.
So, on September 6, the ship's log was:
"At midday, we reach a deep bay
"with several hundred small islands, wooded to the shore.
"The great quantity of treasure on this vessel
"makes it unwise to jeopardize it
"in any engagement with the enemy.
"September 8: It has been agreed that a deep pit be dug
"and treasure securely buried.
"The pit to have a secret entrance
by a tunnel from the shore."
On September 13: "Down 67 feet.
"Pit seems damp from seepage of seawater.
Have decided to go deeper to dry soil."
RICK: And it ends.
And that's where it ends.
CRAIG: But it is amazing. I mean, a great quantity
of treasure, and that they appear to be in this bay.
In my mind, there's no doubt that
they're pointing right to Oak Island.
MATTY: Is it possible that the Duc d'Anville's men
dug the Money Pit in 1746
and buried a vault of treasures
that may include priceless Templar relics?
Well, in addition to numerous artifacts
that date to that very time period,
they've also found 18th-century structures across the island,
such as the so-called Garden Shaft,
an 82-foot-deep feature
containing high-trace evidence of gold.
We're drilling down on the top ten treasure theories
that Rick, Marty and their team have heard
in their quest to solve the 228-year-old mystery.
And while many revolve around groups
who visited the island centuries ago,
the next one on our list
involves someone who actually lived here.
Number eight: the Captain James Anderson theory.
STEVE A.: I can show you guys more things.
I have Captain James Anderson's sea chest.
-Wow. -Sea chest? Like a treasure chest?
Yeah. Just like a treasure chest.
-We would love to see that. -MATTY: In 2017, members of
the fellowship traveled to Wolfville, Nova Scotia
to visit Steve Atkinson,
a descendant of the 18th-century privateer
Captain James Anderson.
-He was quite a character. -Yeah.
That's a very good way to describe him, yeah.
MATTY: Believed to have been from Baltimore, Maryland,
Captain James Anderson
was a Freemason who made a living
as a pirate and privateer
before becoming a naval captain for the United States
during the American Revolution in the late 1700s.
However, after being given command of a ship
loaded with valuables, he fled to British territory
in Canada, where he purchased
Lot 26 on Oak Island
and resided there until 1788.
Is this it here?
STEVE A.: That's the baby.
-PETER: Wow. -ALEX: Holy crap.
-Look at that thing. -Here you go.
MATTY: As to what became of the valuables
that Captain Anderson looted,
Steve Atkinson offered a relatively inspired guess.
CHARLES: Wow.
STEVE A.: Now, all those keys he has in his hand...
-Can I see them for a sec? -ALEX: Sure.
STEVE A.: That one opens that treasure chest.
Maybe some other ones, could be...
ALEX: I couldn't help noticing there are four keys.
STEVE A.: Could there have been more treasure chests on the island?
That's what I wonder.
MATTY: Is it possible
that Steve is correct and there might be
three more chests full of treasure on Oak Island,
care of Captain James Anderson?
Well, it just so happens that on Lot 26,
where the mysterious stone wall is located,
there is also a stone well,
a well where the team detected
high-trace evidence of silver in 2022.
MARTY: The Captain Anderson investigation
is interesting because it shows, once again,
the colorful history on this bloody little island.
If Oak Island tells you anything,
this island is all about
the what-ifs and the possibilities.
You have to follow every lead.
Whether or not Captain James Anderson
is connected to that silver detected in Lot 26
remains a mystery, at least for now.
But the individual at the center of our next top theory
might not only explain that silver hit
but also that Gerhardt dump truck load
that might be buried in the Money Pit.
Number seven: the Sir William Phips theory.
CLARKE: I've found, I believe, significant information
that really strengthens, uh, the idea
of there being silver in this area.
-Interesting. -MATTY: In 2021,
Scott Clarke, a 32nd-degree Freemason,
presented his startling research
along with a very plausible theory.
Many people are actually familiar with William Phips's
discovery of the Concepcíon back in 1687.
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.
There's no question about that.
MATTY: In 1641,
the Nuestra Señora de la Pura y Limpia Concepcíon,
a 600-ton Spanish galleon
that was loaded with more than 100 tons of silver,
sank in a massive hurricane off the northern coast
of the modern-day Dominican Republic.
It remained lost for more than 40 years
until Captain William Phips,
a British politician from the Massachusetts Bay Colony,
found the wreck in January of 1687
during a salvage mission that was financed
by the English crown.
Utilizing indigenous free divers,
Phips made an unprecedented recovery of silver artifacts.
CLARKE: When it was brought back to England,
the treasure was weighed in at over 34 tons
and valued at about 205,000 pounds,
which would be 50 million U.S. dollars in today's currency.
-That is remarkable. -ALEX: Yeah.
CLARKE: Phips was knighted by King James
and treated as a hero in London. It was very big news.
Wow. So, he was pretty important.
CLARKE: Yeah. And this is about the time
when Captain Andrew Belcher comes into the picture.
He was to become the assistant
of the newly knighted Sir William Phips.
MATTY: Captain Andrew Belcher
was a well-known merchant and freemason
from Cambridge, Massachusetts.
And, according to Scott Clarke's research,
Belcher became a close aide to Sir William Phips
during his second mission to salvage
the rest of the Concepcíon's sunken riches.
CLARKE: So, in September 1687,
Phips returned to the wreck of the Concepcíon.
And during the second expedition of the treasure,
Phips brought back to England
what was only valued at 10,000 pounds.
He literally found 1/20 of what he found the first time.
DOUG: He came back with less than expected, right?
-CLARKE: Much less. Yeah. Yeah. -Yeah.
CLARKE: I basically found a 1688 letter
that shows that Captain Andrew Belcher
was caught with one of Phips's ships
in the Mahone Bay area
at the exact time that Phips was coming back
from the second attempt,
where he allegedly, officially, did not find as much silver.
The letter also states that they burnt a ship
at Port L'Hebert,
which is very close to Oak Island.
I strongly believe that Belcher and his comrades
were actually transferring treasure from the Concepcíon
to be taken to Nova Scotia.
MATTY: But could Scott Clarke's Sir William Phips theory
explain the discovery that geoscientist Ian Spooner
and his colleague Dr. Matt Lukeman made
by testing water in the Money Pit area
back in 2020?
IAN: So, I've got one question to ask.
Do you think there's treasure in the Money Pit?
Oh, I like that lead-in.
(laughter)
No, you know, I'm serious.
-Do I? -IAN: Yeah.
Small chance.
I-I do. I absolutely do.
Right.
So, Doug, can you bring, uh,
-bring up the presentation? -DOUG: I can.
IAN: Great.
That image shows the wells. There were 12 of them.
We took the samples, and what Matt did
was take the initiative to scan it through the whole spectrum,
and that's when some interesting things came up.
Really?
IAN: At the end of the day, there is
every reason to believe,
down in those holes that there is
something close by
that contains a fair bit of silver.
DOUG: I guess I'm still trying to get a mental picture
of how much silver it would take to give these levels.
Like, is it a handful of silver,
or is it a Gerhardt dump truck load of silver?
-It's a Gerhardt dump truck. -MARTY: Oh, baby.
JACK: Oh, no way.
(laughter)
So far, we've covered several theories
about the Oak Island Mystery
involving people and events
from documented history.
And while they are all compelling and plausible,
the next top theory on our countdown
is, without a doubt, rock solid.
Number six: Alex Lagina's H+O Stone theory.
ALEX: Let's go.
MATTY: In 2022, Rick Lagina,
along with his nephews Alex and Peter,
and Oak Island historian Doug Crowell
visited several ancient sites in Italy
that served as strongholds for the Knights Templar
between the 12th and 14th centuries.
During the trip,
researcher Emiliano Sacchetti
showed them numerous caves and medieval churches
containing carved symbols that have also
been found over the years on Oak Island.
-Rick. -RICK: Hmm?
Right here.
MATTY: And at the church of Santa Maria Nuova
in the city of Viterbo...
Hmm. H-I-C.
Which in Latin means "here."
MATTY: ...Alex noticed something
that sparked an incredible theory
about one of the most intriguing carvings
ever discovered on Oak Island:
the H+O Stone.
In the 1920s, a massive boulder
was observed on the island's northern shore
featuring a number of strange symbols.
Believing that it was a marker for buried treasure,
searchers blew it up with dynamite
so they could dig beneath it.
Unfortunately, nothing was found,
but a large fragment of the boulder
that came to be known as the H+O Stone
has tantalized treasure hunters ever since
as to what the symbols could possibly mean.
So, in the church, we saw this.
-Right? -RICK: Mm-hmm.
What does that mean?
-"Here." -If you do this...
...you get the H+O Stone.
And this symbol, we've learned today,
-means Templar-related relic. -RICK: Mm-hmm.
And what have we found that the symbol at the end means?
Some have interpreted it to be gold.
ALEX: Yeah.
If you put it all together, I mean, there's the possibility
that the H+O Stone represents,
"Here, Templar gold."
You may have just filled in the blank.
Or a blank or blanks.
ALEX: Yeah.
Has Alex Lagina actually figured out
the source of the gold that's been detected right here,
deep in the Money Pit area?
Well, maybe only more time and digging will tell.
But even if it is Templar gold down there,
the question is: Who put it there?
Well, that's where the next top entry on our countdown comes in.
Number five: the Sir Francis Bacon Theory.
I actually claim to have found
the treasure map leading to Oak Island.
And this is found
in a most unlikely book,
concealed in codes.
And the book I'm talking about
is the great folio with the plays of William Shakespeare.
MATTY: In 2013,
Norwegian filmmaker and Freemason Petter Amundsen
laid out his take
on a theory that has actually been considered
by many researchers over the years.
That the original writings of William Shakespeare,
which are missing, by the way,
were actually authored by a cabal of secret authors
led by the 17th-century English nobleman,
scientist and politician named Sir Francis Bacon.
Curiously, Bacon was also believed
to be a member of a secret society of intellectuals
known as the Rosicrucians,
an organization with strong connections
to-- drumroll-- the Knights Templar.
PETTER: There is a coded map in Shakespeare, which I found.
It takes you up in the sky and brings you down
to Nova Scotia, leading you to Oak Island.
MATTY: Within the first printed edition
of the Shakespearean folios,
which were financed by Francis Bacon
in the early 1600s,
Petter noticed oddly capitalized letters
and misspelled words, along with misnumbered pages.
-I brought some props. -Good.
MATTY: It is his belief that these errors
were purposeful and actually make up
an encoded treasure map
that aligns with the megalithic formation
of six boulders on Oak Island
known as Nolan's Cross.
PETTER: This is Nolan's Cross.
Now, I say that this cross
is more than one symbol.
And I will show you why.
If you add a few more points
like this.
Between these stones, there are certain paths.
The geometry indicates
that we are talking about a Tree of Life.
MATTY: The Kabbalistic symbol known as the Tree of Life
was highly regarded
by both the Rosicrucians and the Templar Order.
Petter believed that the cross
is only what you see on the surface
and that the four other points of the Tree of Life,
known as sefirot, lie hidden below ground.
Whew.
There is the Kingdom Stone.
MATTY: So, with the help of Marty and Alex,
he was able to find one of them.
ALEX: Well, the stone itself is interesting
because you'd think there'd be the other half of it somewhere.
MATTY: Petter's theory is that Francis Bacon
led the effort in the early 17th century
to hide priceless Templar treasures,
along with the original Shakespearian manuscripts,
on Oak Island.
And he isn't the only theorist who strongly believes this.
Bacon wrote that one of the best ways to instruct people
is to create a treasure hunt.
MARTY: Oh, really? That...
-that S-O-B. -That's quite compelling.
MATTY: In 2018, author and Oak Island historian
Randall Sullivan shared insight
on Bacon's known writings
that may be directly related to the Oak Island mystery.
RANDALL: You may know this, Rick, that...
one of Bacon's works, uh, uh,
is about creating a perpetual spring.
-Mm-hmm. -Yeah, and the very first line
of his instructions is:
"Dig a pit upon the seashore."
MATTY: Could the Bacon/Shakespeare theory explain the evidence
of silver and gold discovered deep in the Money Pit area?
Or perhaps the pieces of parchment
that have been unearthed during drilling operations
over the years by previous searchers
and the Laginas' team, as well?
Many of the theories that Rick, Marty, Craig
and the team have heard during their quest
to solve the Oak Island mystery have been proven plausible
by discoveries they have made over the past decade.
But the next one on our countdown
has been supported by a legend
that goes back over 600 years.
Number four: the Prince Henry Sinclair theory.
According to the traditions of the indigenous people
of Nova Scotia known as the Mi'kmaq,
in 1398, a man arrived on their shores
with an army and many ships,
befriended them and taught them new methods
for navigating the waters and fishing.
They came to worship him as a god named Glooscap.
According to many researchers, this man was actually
a Scottish Prince named Henry Sinclair
who may have come to Nova Scotia in order to hide
the order's sacred treasures on Oak Island.
ALEX: Look at that.
CHARLES: Absolutely magnificent.
MARTY: Yeah, that is beautiful.
MATTY: In 2014, Rick, Marty
and members of the team traveled to Scotland
to look for clues that might help prove
Prince Henry journeyed to Oak Island.
There, they visited Rosslyn Chapel,
a mysterious church
that had been constructed by Henry's grandson William
in 1446, nearly 50 years prior
to the so-called discovery of North America
by Christopher Columbus.
FIONA: The legend here
is that Prince Henry Sinclair,
in 1398, sailed to the New World
and brought back with him corn.
And there are other carvings such as the aloe vera
and trillium, which again is a North American plant.
And, interestingly,
our botanist believed that the trillium was trillium,
so we have to believe
that the people who carved this chapel
were far-traveled.
MARTY: Corn is a New World crop.
And one of the key things
is that there appears to be a carving of a trillium.
Trilliums would have been unknown
to the people who built that chapel
had they not been to North America.
ANDREA: Well, I have an interesting tale
-to tell you all. -DOUG: Excellent.
MATTY: If the Sinclair legend seemed plausible
after the team's trip to Scotland in 2014,
it was mapped out in historical detail
during their recent trip to Italy in 2022.
ANDREA: I have a very famous map
from the late, very late 17th century.
-And it says here... -Oh, there it is.
...right there in Canada,
discovered by Antonio Zeno in 1390.
So, this suggests that the Zeno brothers
had landed and discovered
this part of North America.
MATTY: At the University of Rome,
Professor Andrea di Robilant
shared his research and a map that suggested
two Italian navigators named Nicolai and Antonio Zeno
actually helped Prince Henry Sinclair
make the voyage to Nova Scotia.
ANDREA: It is rather startling
because we realize that they travel to Iceland.
After Iceland, they sail to Greenland.
And very, very possibly,
to the coast of North America, along Nova Scotia.
ALEX: Oh, wow.
That puts a foothold for the Zeno brothers
in Canada, so they could be associated
with the Oak Island stories.
-Yes. -CORJAN: And then Henry Sinclair
in North America.
According to the ancient traditions
of the Mi'kmaq people,
Henry Sinclair really did journey to Nova Scotia.
So, could he have been the one
who actually carved the H+O Stone?
Well, even if he did beat Christopher Columbus
to North America, believe it or not,
the next theory on our countdown
suggests they both could be related
to the Oak Island mystery.
Number three: the Christopher Columbus theory.
JEFF: I think one of the hardest challenges
in any conversation is to get to the truth.
MATTY: In 2015, researcher Jeff Irving presented Rick,
Marty, Craig and the team with what certainly sounded like
a pretty incredible scenario.
What I think we're looking for is the Ark of the Covenant.
At this point, I will tell you that I believe
Christopher Columbus was responsible
for the Ark coming to Oak Island.
MATTY: It may surprise some people,
but Christopher Columbus
was actually directly connected to the Knights Templar.
His wife, Filipa Moniz Perestrelo,
was the daughter of Bartolomeu Perestrelo,
who served as the grand master
for the Portuguese sect of the Templar Order.
And even though Christopher Columbus's mission
to North America in 1492
was financed by the Spanish crown,
his ships traversed the Atlantic Ocean
with the Portuguese version of the Templar cross
emblazoned on their sails.
But what gives Jeff Irving's theory its strongest footing
was discovered in 2020,
as the team searched the spoils
of a recently drilled borehole in the Money Pit area.
ALEX: Oh.
Yeah, what is that?
ALEX: What do you think this is?
-Careful there. -Yeah, I don't want to...
Looks like leather almost.
It for sure looks like leather.
-Like a heel. -A toe. Or a heel.
-Yeah, it could be a heel. -A heel.
MATTY: It was a boot heel, to be exact,
that the team immediately submitted for carbon dating.
Talk to us, Craig. What do we got?
I've got two time periods,
but there's such a small gap between them,
it's basically one time period.
95% sure this is what it is:
1492 to 1662.
-1492? -Isn't that amazing?
Holy crap.
Columbus could have been
wearing this shoe.
(laughter)
We're down to our top two Oak Island theories.
And while the others we've covered so far
have been propped up by trails of clues,
this next entry on our list
has a literal road supporting it.
Number two: the Military Order of Christ theory.
MARTY: Wow.
RICK: It's quite impressive.
MARTY: It's incredibly impressive.
Stand right there, and you'll get a real good perspective.
Unbelievable.
MATTY: For decades, there has been speculation
that the triangle-shaped swamp in the middle of Oak Island
might be man-made.
But when the team drained and meticulously excavated
the southeast corner of the brackish bog in 2020,
they pretty much proved it to be true.
That-that looks exactly like an old Roman road.
AARON: It's possible.
You know, indicates probably a loading
or unloading from a ship.
MATTY: The stone road, or possible ship's wharf,
connected right to a cobblestone pathway
that possibly leads in the direction of the Money Pit.
But who could have created it and then hidden it so well?
TERRY: This is a type of road
that was built in Europe in the 1500s.
CHARLES: Wow.
If you look for the way roads were generally made
by people in Nova Scotia,
what comes to my mind is the Portuguese.
The Portuguese were active in Nova Scotia
from 1522 up till
no later than, uh, 1583.
MATTY: When Terry Deveau, the president
of the New England Antiquities Association,
speculated that the road could be 500 years old
and of Portuguese origin,
the team was certainly intrigued.
And then, in 2021,
they found a piece of cannon metal on Lot 4
and two small stone shots,
one of which came from deep in the Money Pit area,
that other experts believed
were of the same cultural vintage.
-Corjan. -CORJAN: Oh, good morning.
-Welcome to Portugal. -Thank you.
MATTY: This prompted researcher Corjan Mol
to invite Rick and members of the team
to visit a number of medieval sites and churches
in Portugal.
RICK: Oh, wow.
-That's impressive. -DOUG: Wow.
MATTY: While there, Corjan shared his theory
that members of the Portuguese sect of the Knights Templar,
known as the Military Order of Christ,
may have visited Oak Island in the 16th century.
-ALEX: Hey, guys? - ...generational.
You might be interested in this one over here.
-DOUG: Oh, yeah? -Yeah.
Oh, that's interesting. I can see it from here.
ALEX: So, this symbol is definitely on the 90 Foot Stone.
MATTY: At numerous locations where the Portuguese Templars
held strongholds between the 12th and 16th centuries,
the team saw carvings and structures
that have also been found on Oak Island.
What I can't help compare it to is the design of the Money Pit.
MATTY: This even included a 90-foot-deep ceremonial well
that appeared to be a replica of the Money Pit.
CORJAN: Oh, look at that.
ALEX: So, I would say that's a match to this.
MATTY: At a military museum in Lisbon,
they saw a 500-year-old cannon
that was a perfect fit for the stone shots
that were discovered on the island.
Look at how beautifully constructed,
I mean, rough and raw, but look at the curvature.
Look at the degree of slope remains constant.
It's beautiful.
ALEX: If there is a Portuguese connection to the construction
of the road in the swamp, maybe this is the blueprint.
MATTY: But the smoking gun for Corjan's theory
was found in the town of Alqueidão da Serra.
There, Rick and the team walked down
a Roman-era stone road
connected to a cobblestone pathway
that was an exact match to the one unearthed in the swamp.
We were gonna drive up in a chariot.
We changed our minds.
I'm so glad to see this show is finally on the road.
(laughter)
RICK: And it is. It's beautiful.
You could've taken a snapshot of this,
and you could've taken a snapshot
of the stone path on Oak Island,
and you wouldn't tell the difference.
To me, that matches up perfectly.
We've now covered nine theories about the Oak Island mystery
that have all been supported by artifacts,
structures and scientific evidence
found right here on these 140 acres.
So, which one is true?
The short answer is they might all be.
And there's one more theory out there
that might help explain that.
It's also the top treasure theory on our countdown.
Number one: Zena Halpern's Knights Templar theory.
ZENA (over phone): Hello?
-DOUG: Hi, Zena. It's Doug. -Hi.
MATTY: In 2016,
the late, New York-based author Zena Halpern
shared her incredible research
with Rick, Marty, Craig and the team.
DOUG: We have the map that shows Nova Scotia,
we have a map of Oak Island, and then we have the cipher.
MATTY: Zena's work centered on 12th- and 14th-century maps
featuring Oak Island, along with a mysterious cipher
that she believed had been created
by members of the Knights Templar.
MATTY: The Templar Order had been founded in Jerusalem
during the 12th century to fight for Christian interests
in the Holy Land during the Crusades.
It is believed by many
that while headquartered on the original site
of King Solomon's Temple, members of the order
discovered many priceless religious treasures
and then established satellite strongholds all across Europe.
It is known that in the 14th century
the Knights Templar were suddenly disbanded by the Pope
and the king of France based on charges of heresy.
However, some believe the true purpose
was to commandeer their treasures.
Many Templars were imprisoned and executed,
but their treasures were never found.
We're uncovering something here
that people haven't seen for hundreds of years.
MATTY: In 2017,
the fellowship uncovered a massive stone-paved feature
that had been constructed across
the middle of the swamp...
Oh, holy crow.
What are we looking at?
I think something really important here.
MATTY: ...which Dr. Spooner was able to carbon-date
when he found a branch lodged within it.
There's the dates we're getting.
-Wow. -Yeah.
What are they?
Around 1200 A.D.
Medieval.
-Medieval, baby. -(laughter)
TERRY: This is quite a thing you've found here. Beautiful well.
MATTY: And you'll recall
the stone well on Lot 26.
You know, the one that contains high-trace evidence of silver?
Dr. Spooner was able to date that, as well.
The date I got was 1028 to 1172.
JACK: Oh, no way.
That is really cool.
-12th century, right? -Yeah.
MATTY: So, if Zena may have been right that the Knights Templar
visited Oak Island in the 12th century,
was she also correct that they returned some 200 years later?
Well, the team has not only found evidence
of a wooden structure just north of the swamp,
where Zena's believed 1347 Templar map
indicates the presence of a dam...
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
MATTY: ...but in 2017, Rick and Gary Drayton
made one of the most profound discoveries
in the history of the treasure hunt.
Holy...
Holy schmoly, all right.
-RICK: It's a cross. -GARY: That's a cross.
MATTY: Thanks to cutting-edge scientific testing,
the small lead cross found at Smith's Cove
was proven to have originated in Southern France
and made from lead that was mined in the 14th century.
It was an exact match to a carving
that Rick and members of the team saw
in a 14th-century Templar prison in Domme, France,
and a mirror image of a Templar cave
that they recently visited in Camerano, Italy.
So, is it possible that Zena Halpern
uncovered the true origin
of the Oak Island treasure mystery?
RICK: I do think that there was
a cabal, a group of people
or entities or organizations
that information was passed down
over centuries, perhaps even millennia.
So, does that mean there were successive attempts
to construct something, to conduct some enterprise
and that it was done over centuries?
I don't have any other explanation.
After finding so many clues
that range across so many centuries,
is Rick Lagina correct that Oak Island contains
the secrets of a multigenerational
treasure conspiracy?
Well, the only way to find out is to keep digging.
And that's exactly what the fellowship is going to do
when season 11 starts in just a matter of weeks.
Until then, as always,
keep the faith and have a great night.
Uh, no pun intended.
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