NARRATOR: Tonight, on The Curse of Oak Island...
This is the first hole in the southern edge
of the Golden Egg.
You could definitely hide a treasure chest in there.
Whoa. I think we're on wood.
LAIRD: We have this hollow area.
FIONA: This is nothing
like anything else you've seen on the island.
How bizarre.
-Oh! -Oh, wow.
SANDY: This is a pretty cool item.
You're pre-1650.
MARTY (over phone): So, the plot thickens.
Again.
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.
♪ ♪
MARTY: Guys, I've asked us to come here
because this is kind of the crew that is
planning the well drilling.
And I would just like
to make sure we're all on the same page.
NARRATOR: As a new day in the quest to solve
a 229-year-old treasure mystery begins on Oak Island...
Let's get these next holes decided.
NARRATOR: ...brothers Rick and Marty Lagina,
along with their partner, Craig Tester, are meeting
with members of their team in the Research Center
to discuss their current search operations
in the legendary Money Pit area.
What have we drilled so far?
Right here.
Here's what we've done.
We've done 20 boreholes this year.
-They're all on that board. -MARTY: Okay.
And we haven't found any indication
of spendables?
-STEVE: No. -SCOTT: Correct.
Okay.
STEVE: So, in and around the Baby Blob
and the pie area we have four left.
SCOTT: So, from here
we'll probably move up into the-the golden circle,
whatever you want to call that.
MARTY: I've been focused very much
on these metals in the water.
After our recent go-around with the scientists,
they seem to say that that had the most potential
to be where the metals are coming from, wasn't it?
Yeah.
We put together in blue there, an area we call the pie.
NARRATOR: Over the past three years,
geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner
and his colleagues, chemist Dr. Matt Lukeman
and hydrogeologist Dr. Fred Michel
have conducted numerous groundwater tests
in previously drilled boreholes all across the Money Pit area
and have come to a stunning conclusion:
a massive source of gold, silver and other metals
is buried somewhere between 80 and 120 feet underground.
IAN: The yellow, that's Fred's sort of special
area of interest,
mainly because that's where we got
persistent high copper, lead, zinc and tin.
NARRATOR: And while their most recent tests have suggested
that the treasure lies buried
inside of a 2,500-square-foot region known as the Pie,
Dr. Michel believes that it is most likely hidden
within a mere 30 by 15-foot oval-shaped area.
We need a name for this golden circle,
golden oval, golden ellipse.
All of those are too difficult.
Let's call it the Golden Egg from here on out, okay?
-Yep. -And let's hope that that name is prophetic.
RICK: Dr. Michel thinks
this is an appropriate place to find something.
So, all I'm saying is
let's put in a grid,
cover it as extensively as we can
while safeguarding any monitoring wells in the area.
Yes. Okay.
MARTY: You know, Marty, the offset chamber
that you have long believed in?
It's very possible that it could be
-within the Golden Egg. -Yep.
Now we are talking the same language, Rick.
I want to see bits of metal come up.
Gold-colored metal.
NARRATOR: While the team has recently
conducted large-scale excavations in an attempt
to locate the original Money Pit,
which has been lost
for more than a century due to previous searcher operations,
Marty has suspected that no one has found
the elusive treasure because it lies at the end
of a secret underground tunnel
in an offset chamber.
Could Rick be correct--
that the so-called Golden Egg
is where the legendary riches are hidden?
MARTY: I have felt for a long time
that if something was concealed here,
it wouldn't have been at the bottom of the Money Pit.
But to drill an offset chamber or chambers--
that has always made sense to me.
I'd like to go here first, though.
And then kind of follow this line
and put the wells on side to stay away from the others
until we cover the thing.
-Okay. -MARTY: We have the Golden Egg,
where most likely the metals are coming from.
So, we have to drill a bunch of wells in there,
sufficient to evaluate it.
So, our first well, by the sound of it, is gonna be EN-13.
So, 13 is covering
-the Baby Blob and the Golden Egg. -MARTY: Yep.
-Seems like a good idea. -SCOTT: Yep.
This is what we need to do.
MARTY: Okay. This is the year.
Let's go back. We're looking for treasure.
SCOTT: We're not gonna find it in here.
MARTY: (laughs) That's a good point, Scott.
We're not.
NARRATOR: Later that morning...
-CHARLES: Morning, Rick. Morning, Alex. -RICK: Good morning.
Well, I'm hoping that you guys are gonna be
very successful today, right?
We got our fingers crossed, yeah.
NARRATOR: Rick Lagina and his nephew Alex arrive
in the Money Pit area
where geologist Terry Matheson
and Oak Island historian Charles Barkhouse
are supervising the drilling
of the team's first potential target
inside the Golden Egg.
A borehole known as EN-13.
TERRY: This is hole EN-13.
First hole, in the southern edge
of the southern portion of the Egg.
You could definitely hide a treasure chest in there.
RICK: Look, this Golden Egg is novel.
This is new.
It's a large area,
and there's no record of it in the historical narrative.
That's quite exciting,
but it's important to be very disciplined in how
we explore, so that, when you leave,
you know it's either there or it cannot be there.
We're gonna leave no ground, no place where a treasure chest
-can duck away and hide. -RICK: Right.
'Cause that's what this... what we're endeavoring
to do with the sonic drill program, right?
-We're trying to come up with a caisson location. -Yes.
NARRATOR: Over the following weeks,
if the team's core-drilling operation
encounters compelling evidence of the believed treasure
that has eluded searchers since 1795,
Rick, Marty, and Craig will commission
a number of seven-foot-diameter steel caissons to be installed
in the hopes of finally retrieving the fabled riches.
We got a ways to go. Target horizon's
-about 80 feet away, gentlemen. -Yep.
Well, hopefully, we'll find something here.
NARRATOR: While the core-drilling operation continues
in the Money Pit area,
on Lot 5, located on the western side of the island...
-LAIRD: You ready? -JACK: Let's see what we got.
NARRATOR: ...Jack Begley and archeologist Laird Niven
are also searching for answers
between two mysterious stone features.
These are two nonferrous hits,
which just means they're not iron.
-Yeah. -And they're so close to the rectangular feature.
If we can tie these two features together, that's just a bonus.
Yeah.
NARRATOR: Although they sit
nearly half a mile away from the Money Pit,
these two stone features have yielded
some of the most compelling and confounding discoveries
that are potentially related to the Oak Island mystery,
including a cut British silver coin
and Venetian trade beads dating to the 16th century,
a 14th century barter token, which, like the lead cross
that was unearthed at Smith's Cove in 2017,
may be connected to the medieval order
of the Knights Templar,
and an iron spike that is possibly
more than 800 years old.
There you go.
NARRATOR: These discoveries suggest
that both features may have been used
by different unknown groups of people
over a number of centuries
and have compelled the provincial government
to designate them as culturally significant "special places."
In light of that, Laird is supervising Jack Begley
as he methodically searches for metal targets
that were detected and flagged earlier today
by Gary Drayton.
One can say that, you know, with some assurance, that
whatever the structures are on Lot 5
were utilized for quite some time,
earlier than the original discovery of the Money Pit.
So, I would like a complete and clear understanding
of what the relationship might be
between Lot 5 and the Oak Island mystery.
There you go.
Try that.
Oh!
LAIRD: Oh, wow.
JACK: Oh, look at that.
It's a coin.
Oh, wow.
NARRATOR: On Lot 5 of Oak Island,
while searching for clues
between two mysterious stone foundations,
Jack Begley and archeologist Laird Niven
have just made a potentially valuable discovery.
Do you know what type of coin that is?
LAIRD: The edges are really worn.
I'm seeing...
...not letters, but markings.
Yeah, I see that.
LAIRD: The edges are what
really kind of
make me think it's older.
My initial impression of the coin was that the patina
makes it look very old and very worn.
So, that may give us a good idea about
the function of the feature and perhaps some idea
whether it dates earlier than we thought.
We have found a lot of coins scattered
-around this area. -Yeah.
And thinking about it, some of the oldest ones
were those Roman coins.
Do you think it goes that old?
Uh, it could.
NARRATOR: Incredibly, between
2022 and 2023,
the team unearthed four coins on Lot 5
that have been verified by numismatist Sandy Campbell
to be Roman in origin
and dated to between 1,500 and 2,000 years old.
And while numerous
coin experts have advised the team
that such coins may have been in circulation
as late as the medieval period
of the 14th century in Europe,
who may have brought them to Oak Island
remains a tantalizing mystery.
It'll be interesting to see if it's something exotic.
JACK: Exotic coins are no stranger on Oak Island.
I mean, that's got to have
some specific story of its own
in order for it to get here.
That's why I think it's so important to identify this.
It may give us a better idea of who was here
and what they were doing.
Mm.
Maybe we should have
Sandy Campbell take a look at it.
We might be able to figure out
-Yeah. -exactly what type of coin it is.
I think that should get back to the lab as soon as possible.
JACK: I can't wait to show the guys this.
LAIRD: Should be interesting.
NARRATOR: Later that afternoon...
TEDFORD: All right, let's go get it.
That's good.
NARRATOR: ...while the core-drilling operation proceeds
in the Money Pit area,
back on Lot 5...
ALEX: You know, the feature's grown a lot.
...Alex Lagina joins Laird Niven
and other members of the team as they investigate
the rounded stone foundation near the shoreline.
Is this the edge of it,
-do you think? -LAIRD: We think so.
We have this odd
-outer perimeter. -ALEX: Mm-hmm.
The cut coin came from this area.
FIONA: That's where all
the maroon till was, too, that matched
the Money Pit soils.
That's why I think it's so important to open this area up.
NARRATOR: In addition to discoveries
such as the 14th-century barter token
that the team has uncovered at this feature,
they also discovered an artificial,
mortar-like soil several feet deep
that, when analyzed by team geology expert Moya MacDonald,
was found to match other soils discovered
not only more than 100 feet deep in the Money Pit area
but also beneath the bottom boulder of Nolan's Cross,
the megalithic formation that may date back
to as early as 1200 AD.
We are about to expand
the archeological grid over here anyway.
Yeah. Exactly.
ALEX: As we go down,
we should have a good chance of finding
-more artifacts. -LAIRD: He'll shovel,
you'll bucket, I'll screen?
Okay. Let's do it.
NARRATOR: These discoveries
have led the team to speculate
that whoever created the Money Pit
and Nolan's Cross may have used
both of the features on Lot 5
as a base of operations,
and then deliberately buried them.
What I find so fascinating
is how did they
make the structure this big
in such a crude manner and have it last?
-Right. -You know, maybe that was
part of the reason it was buried, or was it buried
for some other mysterious reason?
What was it for, right?
ALEX: Yeah.
Plus, we're finding all kinds of artifacts,
which is saying that people were here a lot.
I mean, this is obviously part of what was intended
-to be covered up. -Yeah.
-ALEX: So, we'll keep at it. -FIONA: Yeah.
So, I'm starting to hit rocks here.
FIONA: Oh, more.
ALEX: Yeah.
So, I'm hitting rocks.
-Yeah. -I think that I'm coming down
more of the structure.
-FIONA: Yeah. -This structure
-keeps getting bigger. -Absolutely.
NARRATOR: Another possible section
of the stone foundation? If so,
just how much more extensive
could this buried feature be?
And what else might the team discover
once they uncover it?
One of the most incredible discoveries
we've made on Lot 5 so far
is this connection between
these archeological features and the Money Pit.
It's starting to suggest
that maybe they were part of the Oak Island treasure deposit,
and then were hidden.
So, uh, somewhere under us could be more structure,
and we're gonna have to do this to get there.
This means we've got a lot more work to do.
ALEX: Yeah.
NARRATOR: The following morning...
LAIRD: Hopefully, there's something
to find in this area as well.
NARRATOR: ...as Laird
and the archeology team carefully work
to expose more of the rounded stone feature on Lot 5...
-ALEX: Hey. -CHARLES: Morning, Alex.
ALEX: How are we doing?
Got another core coming.
NARRATOR: ...in the Money Pit area,
Alex Lagina joins his Uncle Rick
and other members of the team
at the core- drilling operation
in borehole EN-13
within the so-called Golden Egg...
-TERRY: Adam, what do you got? -Eighty-nine.
Eighty-nine.
...the region where the team has detected
high trace levels of silver and gold
between 80 and 120 feet underground.
TERRY: Yeah, this is some pretty solid interface here.
The next run will hopefully give us something better.
-We may hit the mother lode. -Bravo Tango.
There's every reason
to believe that within the area
there lies some
source of these metals, i.e. treasure.
Every time the steel goes down the hole,
you're hoping it'll find treasure or a void
or a vault or a offset chamber or a tunnel.
We'll just have to be patient and see what we find.
TERRY: Here it comes.
That's a lot of core, Adam.
-It got really loose at the bottom. -Okay.
That's some good news. Thank you.
That seems to change, right?
TERRY: It got soft right at the bottom.
Sounds like soft ground beneath.
That bodes well for our potential target.
That's a good sign.
Absolutely.
Whoa.
Solid.
Hey, Mike.
I think we're on wood.
It got real stiff.
-Really? -Yeah.
I should actually get this out,
though, in case something happens.
-You go for it. -(laughs)
He thinks that they might be on wood.
-Wow. -If Mike thinks he hit wood,
-he's not often wrong. -No.
CHARLES: There's nothing that, from the historical record
that we know, actually occurred in this area.
-Yeah. -CHARLES: To me, that says "depositor."
Yep.
Time's gonna tell as to whether we're into
a treasure vault, I hope.
ALEX: This could be the one.
CHARLES: There's nothing that, from the historical record
that we know, actually occurred in this area.
To me, that says "depositor."
ALEX: This could be the one.
TERRY: Let's hope he pulls up some wood
and we've got a structure.
Maybe we'll get a doubloon today.
NARRATOR: It is an intense moment
in the Money Pit area for Rick Lagina
and members of the Oak Island team.
We'll have a good look here now.
NARRATOR: While drilling borehole EN-13
in the possible treasure zone,
dubbed the Golden Egg...
What do you got, Adam?
-Ninety-nine. -Ninety-nine feet. Thank you.
...evidence of a possible structure has been encountered
at a depth of nearly 100 feet.
-How you doing? -Good.
You felt like you just caught something?
Well, it was really soft at the top here.
Felt like it, anyway.
And then, got super stiff.
It is a little soft. Let's carve it up.
Most of the intersections at about
this level get soft.
But it gets relatively firm here.
But no wood.
And this is... this is relatively soft material.
We're in fertile territory. This looks pretty good, Mike.
So, we could be close to something.
NARRATOR: Because underground structures
cause the soil and sediment immediately around them
to be less compacted than natural, undisturbed earth,
could geologist Terry Matheson be correct
that the drill may have just missed
some kind of man-made object or construct?
If so, might it be something
that contains the large source of precious metals
that have been detected in this area?
We're through that zone of interest,
but that is suggesting something--
something might be close.
We could go back.
I'd just move over here.
-TERRY: No problem. -RICK: Right, and the next hole,
we're five feet away.
-Yeah. -So, if there's
something there, we should be able
to find it in that hole.
ALEX: Any utility in
grabbing a sample of the water
for metal testing?
RICK: I'd like to see
Dr. Spooner take a sample.
All right. Good luck, guys.
-We'll see you later, all right? -TERRY: You bet.
NARRATOR: The following morning,
as geoscientist
Dr. Ian Spooner collects
a water sample from borehole EN-13
in the Money Pit area...
-CHARLES: Hey, Sandy. -CRAIG: Hey, Sandy.
-CHARLES: Good to have you back. -JACK: Welcome back.
Thank you. Good to be back.
NARRATOR: ...Craig Tester
and members of the team
meet with numismatist
Sandy Campbell in the Oak Island laboratory.
They are eager for him to examine the coin
that was discovered between the two stone foundations
on Lot 5 just one day ago.
Let's have a look.
So, this is, obviously,
a pretty cool item.
So, right off the bat,
the shape-- it's irregular,
which speaks to it
being hammered rather than struck.
So, you're pre-1650
-to start. -Oh, no way.
SANDY: And then, you know, it comes down to
what we may be able to pull off the coin
from a design point of view.
You know, we're-we're seeing
an animal here, I think, maybe.
What kind of animal?
SANDY: It kind of looks like a horse.
But in all likelihood, I...
I think it's Roman.
-Wow. -Wow.
Giddyup.
So, Emma, maybe you can shine a little light
on what the, uh, alloy would be on this piece?
EMMA: Sure, can do.
NARRATOR: Prior to their meeting,
archaeometallurgist Emma Culligan scanned the coin
using an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, or XRF.
A device which emits non-destructive radiation
that can identify an object's chemical composition.
EMMA: It is copper based.
And it's 70% copper, um, 16% lead,
so there's a high lead content
that we do not see in modern coins.
And it definitely, yeah, it puts it medieval and pre.
And high contents of, um, arsenic and then sulfur.
So, yeah, a composition that we do see in Roman coins.
It ain't the first Roman coin that we found on Lot 5.
I'll send Rick a text.
Two words.
"Roman, baby."
-Exactly. -(laughing)
GARY: Another Roman coin off Lot 5.
Those are the words I love to hear on Oak Island.
This is turning into a pretty special lot.
Wow, what a impressive group of smiling faces.
-Mm-hmm. -Good reason for it. -What's up?
CRAIG: Let me call Marty first.
-Okay. -CRAIG: Let's get him involved, too.
-What do you got? -CRAIG: We're getting closer.
We found a coin on Lot 5
and, uh, Sandy's here.
And we thought we'd bring you up to date.
We've done some investigating with Emma
in terms of metal content.
You know, all the evidence, to me,
points to it being late Roman.
When you say late Roman, can you put a time frame on that?
Two to 300 AD.
It's a copper coin that traded as currency
for a long period of time.
SANDY: You know, the Vikings were great to repurpose.
So, when they would come across war chests of Roman coins,
they would repurpose it into their own coinage.
Well, when we were in Reykjavik, in Iceland,
we went to the museum there
and there were Roman coins.
We know for a fact,
artifacts such as those crossed the North Atlantic.
NARRATOR: In 2023, Rick and members of the team
traveled to Europe in order to investigate
an incredible theory:
that approximately 800 years ago,
members of the Knights Templar
transported priceless religious treasures to Oak Island
with the help of sailors who were descendants of Vikings.
And during their travels through Italy...
-Oh, wow. -Wow.
-NARRATOR: ...the Netherlands... -Oh, is this it?
NARRATOR: ...Denmark and Iceland,
they were astonished to see Templar and Viking symbols
and artifacts that are strikingly similar
to others that have been found on Oak Island.
EMLILIANO: This museum hosts some Roman coins.
Perfect.
NARRATOR: And at the National Museum of Iceland,
they also saw a number of Roman coins.
Is it possible that the Roman coins
the team has found on Lot 5
offer further proof of a connection
between the Knights Templar and the descendants of Vikings?
Well, remember, we went to Europe and to Scandinavia
to track east to west.
How would an old-world treasure and an old-world mystery
come from maybe even the Middle East,
across the continent of Europe
and possibly vis-à-vis the Templars connection
or association with the descendants of the Vikings?
We know the Norse traveled
t-the North Atlantic long, long ago.
I think we need some solid artifactual evidence
that says descendants of Vikings on Oak Island.
But I wouldn't rule it out.
This find will make five Roman coins we've found.
It must have something to do with at least, at the minimum,
what happened on Lot 5.
But what is it saying about the people that inhabited Lot 5?
Or the people that visited Lot 5?
I don't know what it's saying.
At least not yet.
I think it's incredibly important.
Because there has been strong suggestions or hints
based on the current work to date
that there is a tie to the Money Pit.
There ya have it. Marty, you--
Exactly. That's what you were gonna say.
Let's all get out there, there's a lot of work to do, right?
CHARLES: Absolutely.
ALEX: Do you feel that there's more features to be found?
Or do you think we're actually moving away from it now?
-I think it's too early to tell. -Right.
We have this much fill on top of the original surface.
NARRATOR: Following the incredible revelation
that a fifth Roman coin has been discovered
on Lot 5 of Oak Island,
Alex Lagina helps Laird Niven
and members of the archeology team
expose another possible section
of the mysterious rounded stone foundation
that sits near the shoreline.
FIONA: This is really weird.
I'm getting some rock patterns.
ALEX: Yeah, that kinda looks placed, doesn't it?
FIONA: You can almost see them in a line.
LAIRD: I'm getting rocks here, too.
Which could relate to yours.
What it looks like is these rocks were placed here,
and then this, we have this...
-Yeah, that-- That's weird. -...hollow area.
-You hear that? -FIONA: I do.
LAIRD: That's like one of the weirdest things I've ever seen.
I mean, I can feel it in my feet right here.
FIONA: I was gonna say that. That's vibrational.
How bizarre.
NARRATOR: A potentially hollow area
in the rounded stone foundation?
Given the fact that Laird Niven believes this entire feature
was deliberately hidden by someone long ago,
is it possible that the team has just discovered
an additional buried compartment?
If so, just what might they find as they carefully excavate it?
ALEX: Archeology is really the only way we're gonna get any answers.
But the north half of Lot 5
is now what's called a special place,
which means the rules have changed.
So, it's a tedious process.
Um, it takes a lot of time.
You have to be very careful about what you're doing
and very meticulous about how you record it.
And this is a huge feature.
It's exciting because there's much more to this structure
than we believed at first.
We're already looking at a feature
that's much bigger than what you'd expect.
And it seems to keep going here.
I mean, it will be something.
Uh, maybe it's an extension of this feature.
Maybe it's a new feature.
(chuckling): I don't know the answers.
Never had this happen before.
FIONA: And this construction is nothing like anything else you've seen
on the island in regards to structures.
It's so crudely built, and I find that strange,
that it would be this large.
It's built for a purpose
and we don't even know what that end looks like.
FIONA: Mm-hmm.
ALEX: So, the feature continues.
It doesn't make any sense,
but I know we've got to keep digging.
LAIRD: Yeah.
See what we can find.
NARRATOR: As Alex and the archaeology team continue uncovering more
of the mysterious foundation on Lot 5...
RICK: What's going on?
There's a lot happening right here.
It's kind of, for me, a first-time experience.
NARRATOR: ...Rick Lagina has arrived in the Money Pit area
after being alerted to a potentially major development
near the recently drilled borehole known as EN-13
in the so-called Golden Egg.
A borehole where, one day ago, the team believes
that they nearly drilled into a possible man-made structure
approximately 100 feet underground.
IAN: Right there, that's the drill hole EN-13.
And I just sampled FN-13,
in the yellow cone there,
-right under the yellow cone. -RICK: Yep.
And I was bailing it, and I thought there was thunder.
Boom, boom, boom.
And, uh, it was coming out of the-the well.
RICK: Really?
You've never heard that underground before?
No! No, honest to God.
It was really quite extraordinary.
It went on for about 30 seconds.
RICK: What do you make of that?
My thought is that when they were drilling EN-13 there,
we know they were in soft ground,
-that they're near something. -Mm-hmm.
And now it's moving around air within it.
The implication being there's something open down there?
Yes. This thing's collapsing.
So, to collapse, it means there has to be a void.
-RICK: 100%. -IAN: Yep.
IAN: This thing's collapsing there.
RICK: That's quite interesting.
NARRATOR: In the Money Pit area, geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner
has alerted Rick Lagina that, just minutes ago,
a structure of some kind may have collapsed
deep underground while he was collecting
water samples from borehole EN-13.
A borehole located in the so-called Golden Egg
where Dr. Spooner also believes
the legendary Oak Island treasure
may be buried between a depth of 80 and 120 feet.
We know we've drilled a million holes here,
and we've had monitoring wells nearby
and I've never heard that.
If things are moving around
down there, there's an opening.
Dr. Spooner revealed
he heard some sort of collapse underground.
I never heard anyone talk of that before, so,
might there be a chance here
to-to discover the treasure once and for all? Sure.
There's all of these clues that strongly suggest
this area holds significant interest.
So, I think something's going on here.
-Something's going on here. -All the chemistry has
-kind of pointed to that. -Yeah.
So, you know, here's... here's one example.
If you hold it up to the sun, you can see the discoloration
in it, the yellow color.
-Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. -Yeah, that wasn't there beforehand.
-You just took a sample? -Yeah.
-After that? -Yes.
The darker water can indicate
-we're closer to, uh, wood, a source of wood. -Oh.
So, I'm very interested 'cause we have not seen this
-at this well before. -Hmm.
And if that's the case, then we've moved something around.
There's some, almost a direct connection from something.
Yes.
IAN: I think the underground collapse
probably means that we're in and around an open chamber.
So, what we think is that this event moved water
from a tunnel or a shaft,
and all of this is critical
to understanding where the metals are coming from.
So, it's a good place to have a very strange event occur.
Well, that next hole will be very interesting.
IAN: Yes. Hopefully we'll just... we'll drill there,
we'll hit it, and we'll actually hit something
that can help us explain the metals.
Okay. Well, thank you for the update.
-Yup. -We need to keep our wits about us.
IAN: Yup.
NARRATOR: The next morning...
DOUG: Well, gentlemen, as you know,
last year, we ended off our east-to-west journey in Iceland.
And it-it was an incredible experience.
NARRATOR: ...Rick and Marty Lagina
are meeting in the research center
with Oak Island historian Doug Crowell
and researcher Emiliano Sacchetti.
Following the discovery of another a Roman coin--
which the team believes may be connected
to descendants of Vikings--
Doug and Emiliano have a new
and potentially important development to discuss.
We learned that by 875 AD,
the Norse had reached Iceland,
and by 985 AD, they had reached Greenland.
But what's more intriguing is,
the only known Viking settlement
on the North American continent,
the L'Anse aux Meadows site in Newfoundland,
was, uh, active in 1021 AD.
Seems like that's our next destination.
So, what I'm hearing is that what you want to do
is continue the trip. Follow the trail.
-Right. -(laughs) Yeah.
NARRATOR: Located in modern-day Newfoundland, Canada,
approximately 625 miles northeast of Oak Island,
L'Anse aux Meadows is a Viking settlement
that was established more than 1,000 years ago,
and has been designated by the Canadian government
as a National Historic Site.
Today, it is the only officially-recognized
Viking settlement in North America.
However, according to the 13th-century writings
known as "the Viking sagas,"
members of the Viking culture
and their descendants may have actually traveled
and explored much further to the south.
RICK: The descendants of Vikings are very important
to understanding how an old-world treasure
might have come to Oak Island.
I believe they were integral
to the ability of someone or someones
to come across the North Atlantic
to the Maritimes and do this work on Oak Island.
Well, you guys put together that if the Templars
had anything to do with this, the logical way to get here,
at that period of time,
was through the Vikings' descendants.
Right? I mean, they were good at it.
-Absolutely. -MARTY: Yeah.
Plus, we know that the Vikings
and their descendants were active
in Greenland and, um, in Newfoundland
between 1021 and 1347 at least.
I mean, we got from Europe to the North Atlantic.
Now you need to get from Newfoundland
somewhere down around these shores.
Are we going to bring the things that we suspect possibly
could be related to the Vikings' descendants?
We-we can certainly get permission to do that.
-What about the arrowhead? -Absolutely.
-ANE: Good morning! -Hi.
NARRATOR: In 2023,
Rick, Doug, Emiliano
and other members of the team
visited the Ladby Viking Museum
in Kerteminde, Denmark.
And there, they showed curator Ane Jepsen Nyborg...
Wow!
NARRATOR: ...a photo of an iron arrowhead
that was reportedly discovered on Oak Island
by geologist and treasure hunter Robert Dunfield in the 1960s.
ANE: It is very interesting to me
because this is the type of artifact
that I could find tomorrow
in an archaeological dig around here.
-Perfect. -Wow.
Now, there... there is something
that I don't think you're aware of yet.
-Uh-oh. -It just came to our attention.
So, uh, around 1885,
a very unique and ornate whistle was found
on Oak Island near Smith's Cove.
-Hmm. -And let me show you this artifact.
Now, what's interesting about this whistle
is that it came into the possession
of Mary B. Steward.
She was a wealthy New Yorker
who helped finance the 1932 expedition here on the island.
She had this whistle examined by museums in New York.
And at the American Museum of Natural History,
they reported to her
that this was most likely of Scandinavian origin,
and made out of walrus tusk ivory.
And this is important, because that is what
the descendants of the Vikings were collecting and trading
in Greenland in the 1200s.
So, here we have another artifact
found on Oak Island that could be related
to that group of people.
Okay, that's-that's very interesting.
Absolutely.
-MARTY: That's very interesting. -DOUG: Absolutely.
This piece here was supposedly found on Oak Island?
DOUG: Yes, and it could potentially be
a Viking-related artifact.
NARRATOR: In the Oak Island Research Center,
Doug Crowell and Emiliano Sacchetti
have just revealed to Rick and Marty Lagina
an archival image of an artifact,
possibly of Scandinavian origin,
that was reportedly discovered
on Oak Island in the late 19th century.
EMILIANO: Well, I kind of disagree
with what the archeologists say about L'Anse aux Meadows,
because I don't think it's the only
Norse site in Canada.
Think about it. 400 years, only one camp?
I think there are other sites in Canada,
and maybe one is here.
MARTY: Right. So,
when did they discover L'Anse aux Meadows?
-In the 1960s. -MARTY: Yeah. Okay.
So, if that one was hidden until 1960,
-why would it be the only one? -EMILIANO: Yeah.
-Yeah. -DOUG: Well, this is another mystery, and this is why
I think maybe, since we have found other things on the island
of possible Scandinavian origin,
this could be indications of prolonged activity
-by descendants of the Vikings or the Templars. -Yeah.
DOUG: Maybe they came down from L'Anse aux Meadows
in Newfoundland to hide something,
-and I think that's what brought 'em to Oak Island. -Yeah.
NARRATOR: In addition to the five Roman coins
that were discovered on Lot 5
and the potentially 800-year-old structures--
like Nolan's Cross
and the paved area in the swamp--
in recent years,
the team has also unearthed a pickaxe
in the Money Pit area,
as well as a decorative lead artifact on Lot 13,
which have both been scientifically traced
to Scandinavia.
Could Doug Crowell be correct
that these finds offer evidence
that Norse descendants of the Vikings
helped members of the Knights Templar
hide a vast treasure on Oak Island?
And if so,
might the team find further evidence
at L'Anse aux Meadows that will help them prove it?
MARTY: If something happened in the 1200s here,
it almost has to have a component
of the Vikings' descendants.
Based on everything we know right now, it almost has to.
Um, there weren't a lot of other people
who knew about this place then.
It's entirely possible
that they could have brought the Knights Templar
or anybody else to Oak Island
for purposes of depositing something.
So, I want to just chase that.
I think we should mount an expedition.
-I-I... -I really do. I want to go this time.
I totally agree. There's...
There's always something to learn.
-Yes. -MARTY: Yeah.
You know, we just found another Roman coin on Lot 5.
My suggestion would be, go to L'Anse aux Meadows
and see what you can find.
-Absolutely. -RICK: I can stay,
hold down the fort here. I mean,
we'll get a full lowdown of what happens there,
and new perspective, new insight is always a-a big thing.
-Yeah, I'm in. -MARTY: I'm in!
We will give you a full report.
-Right, guys? -EMILIANO: Yeah.
-Yeah. -Yes. Okay. Let's go. -Yeah? I'm good.
-MARTY: Let's make it happen. -DOUG: See you, gentlemen.
RICK: Bon voyage.
NARRATOR: For more than two centuries,
the Oak Island mystery has confounded historians,
scientists and faithful adventurers.
Who could have engineered such complex underground workings
in the Money Pit area?
Where did they come from?
And just what did they leave behind?
After more than a decade,
Rick, Marty, Craig
and their team have gathered incredible evidence
suggesting that the answers to those questions
could rewrite the history of North America.
As they keep digging
and following the trail of clues,
will all soon be
revealed?
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