-Tonight on the curse of oak island... -Gary: It's here.
-Big, chunky piece of iron. -Aaron: Wow.
This is something to do with tunneling.
The road seems to be angling towards the eye of the swamp.
-Michael j.: Look at this. -Marty: Wow.
What the hell is that?
Steve g.: I think that's a cannonball.
Somebody was trying to protect something.
It's rock on rock. They're stacked.
Rick: There's a big hole.
You can put your hand right in there.
There might be something in there. Could there be
treasure here? Yeah.
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,
mysterious fragments of human bone,
and a lead cross whose origin may stretch back
to the days of 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.
♪ ♪
-rick: Morning. -Aaron: Hey, rick. How are you?
Good. How are you?
Good, thank you very much.
Okay. There's a couple things, right?
We need to know where we're going.
-Aaron: Mm-hmm. -Is the pathway going to the upland?
Does it... You know, do we need to continue to go that way?
Yeah. I think
right now, it looks like it's possibly splitting,
but that's why we're focusing
-here on this middle part. -Rick: Okay.
Narrator: For brothers rick and marty lagina and their team,
the triangle-shaped swamp continues to reveal clues
suggesting that it may hold the keys
to solving the now 226-year-old oak island treasure mystery.
Most notably,
a recently uncovered stone pathway
running along the eastern border of the brackish bog,
which now appears to be heading in two different directions.
Okay, how can I assist you?
I think this is the critical spot
for figuring what-what this road is doing.
So, I was thinking I'm gonna work back over there,
and I'd like to take my shovel at it
-and take a better look. -Rick: Okay.
You could jump in there, uh, with miriam and come this way.
-And let's see if there's a boundary on that. -Rick: Okay.
My gut tells me it's gonna turn uphill,
um, but, you know, until we get
this area cleared out and then a swamp boundary defined,
uh, we won't know for sure.
-So, that's our game plan today. -Rick: Okay.
-So, I'll jump in. I'll help miriam here. -Miriam: Yeah.
-Perfect. -Cool. -And, uh,
whatever you need, you just tell me, and I'll help.
Perfect. Thank you.
Narrator: In recent weeks,
the team has found not only ancient pottery
along the stone pathway
but also iron ringbolts
possibly used to dock a large ship
for the purposes of offloading heavy cargo
as well as pieces of wooden keg barrels
that may date back as far as the early 15th century.
When aaron renders the opinion
that the path might be separating,
one going towards the upland
and one continuing along the eastern edge of the swamp,
the hope is that the path to the upland
leads up to the money pit or somewhere in close proximity.
Marty: This pathway could lead to a very significant clue.
It may lead us to information
and possibly lead us to treasure.
So, we clearly have to follow the stone pathway.
Aaron: That's kind of interesting.
-Hey, miriam. -Yeah?
You want to come here for a sec?
-Take a look at this? -Miriam: Sure.
What do you got?
Aaron: So, just as I'm uncovering this,
I'm not sure
if it's part of a road feature.
Uh, I think these are intentionally placed.
I don't know if that signifies, um, you know, a road.
-Yeah. -Or what I've seen before
is this looks like the-the cellar feature of a building.
-Really? -Aaron: Yeah.
This looks like
there's intentionally placed stones.
Courses of stones.
-One on top of the other. -Rick: Mm-hmm.
-It's incredible. -Oh, gosh, yeah.
Narrator: The possible remains of a cellar?
Located along the stone pathway leading out of the swamp?
But who built it? When?
And could it be connected
to the evidence the team has recently found
of heavy cargo being moved in this direction?
Aaron: To me, right now,
it looks like a cellar feature,
but it's still too early.
Rick: Another mystery.
I don't need another.
-What is it? -(all laughing)
aaron and miriam see
the straight, angular lines to this rock feature,
and they're indicating the possibility
that it may be a foundation or a cellar.
And if it is some sort
of a structure constructed and used by-by humans,
what is the relevance of it so close to the so-called path?
Aaron: Well, I'll get back to it,
and I'll try and have an answer for you
-by the end of the day. -Okay. Perfect.
Thank you.
Narrator: While members of the team
continue their investigation near the swamp...
Charles: So, if we don't hit something at 88, 87
on this one, do we still continue on this grid?
It's all predicated on probably hitting the tunnel again.
-Yeah. -Narrator: In the money pit area,
geologist terry matheson
and oak island historian charles barkhouse
continue overseeing a core drilling operation
that, for the past several weeks,
has consistently encountered a wood-cribbed tunnel
located some 90 feet deep.
Terry: That is wood.
We're probably at the edge of a tunnel.
Narrator: A tunnel
which has been carbon-dated to as early
as 1648, nearly 150 years
prior to the discovery of the original money pit.
Today, they have begun a new borehole
known as cd-2.5
in the hopes they will once again hit the tunnel
and hopefully the location
of the fabled treasure vault itself.
Rick: The possibility that we've intersected a tunnel
at 80-plus-foot horizon,
it's interesting because...
I'm not sure that there's ever been a tunnel
at such a shallow depth.
All right, charles. Let's take her home.
Marty: Tunnels are showing up here
where they shouldn't, so there's
another giant, pop-out-of-nowhere mystery.
Is it searcher, or was it the original depositors?
I want to believe
we're really close to the money pit
because that could be really exciting.
Terry: And a one, and a two.
Up! (grunts)
let's give her a slice.
-Charles: Pretty solid stuff, terry. -Terry: Yep.
Okay, wow.
-There's definitely some wood in there. -Charles: Yep.
Terry: This is a fairly significant intersection of wood
compared to our other ones.
Yeah.
We got more wood, terry.
Terry: Wow.
-That's a chunk there. -Charles: Yeah.
-This'll be 83.5 to 88. -Charles: 88.
We're in cd-2.5,
and again, we're hitting wood. Hey, scott.
And we've done this consistently over six holes,
and that's definitely exciting.
Hey, rick.
-Okay. -Hey, rick. How you doing?
-Good. How are you? -Interesting times.
Look what we hit.
We've got some good stacked cribbing, and the continuation's
-right down there. -But there's no more wood down there, right?
Oh, there's wood,
but it's not, uh, it's not as, uh, consistent.
Rick: Where are we on the grid? Are we too far away
for this to be the shaft in c-1?
No. C-1,
these small ridges are two and a half,
so we're five feet right now.
Five feet away.
From the exterior wall of c-1.
Well, that's good news.
Narrator: It is in borehole c-1,
first excavated five years ago,
that the team has discovered
not only a massive cavern
some 170 feet deep underground...
-Glen: Here we go. -Narrator: ...But subsequently,
compelling video evidence
of four different gold,
metallic-looking objects embedded within the walls.
That's definitely a gold object right there.
Narrator: Leading the team to speculate
that c-1 may be connected to the original money pit.
But could this tunnel feature
located just five feet away and much shallower
at a depth of just 90 feet
be connected to it?
We came looking
for a tunnel associated with c-1.
We may have found it. That's good news.
Yeah.
I want to go back now. You guys can stay here.
Let's get to some steel down the hole,
and then we'll see what tomorrow brings.
-All right? -Okay. -Okay. Thanks, rick.
Rick: Thanks, guys. Appreciate it.
Narrator: While the drilling operation
in the money pit continues,
back near the pathway
on the eastern border of the swamp...
-Aaron: Hey, guys. -Miriam: Hi.
Hey, aaron. How are you? Miriam?
-Both: Good. -Narrator: ...Rick lagina
has invited geoscientist dr. Ian spooner
to inspect the mysterious stone structure
along with archaeologists
dr. Aaron taylor and miriam amirault.
Aaron: So, this was looking
more and more like a sort of a cellar feature.
I think this is some sort of foundation.
Right.
It's rock on rock. They're stacked.
It's like nothing we've seen before
in that it's vertical.
This looks like
a feature, uh, separate from that.
-Aaron: Yeah. -Rick: But one question.
Is this contemporaneous with this road?
Are they two different times, two different purposes?
I don't think this can just be a coincidence.
I think if we can figure out what this is,
it'll really go a long way in telling us what that is.
Ian: Yeah. It just deserves
-more treatment. -Aaron: Yeah.
I think miriam and one other person
can handle this,
and then I want to show you
something really exciting over here
-which I'm gonna put more resources towards. -Okay.
Narrator: While the newly discovered stone foundation
has become a focus of investigation for the team...
Careful coming down here, guys. It's loose.
...With the harsh fall weather fast approaching,
they must now carefully divide their resources
and also remain focused on identifying
just where the two branches of the stone pathway
are ultimately leading.
I'm pretty sure we've caught the-the road coming this way,
and it seems to be angling towards the eye.
Ian: Where's the eye?
Right over there.
Narrator: One branch of the stone pathway
heading toward the so-called eye of the swamp?
It was here,
at the northernmost point of the triangle-shaped swamp,
where, last year, the team found
a mysterious circular feature made of boulders
as well as evidence of a backfilled shaft.
Although the team will need to carefully continue uncovering
the pathway to verify it,
could the eye of the swamp
possibly be one location on oak island
where something of great value was hidden long ago?
Rick: We need to make certain that that is a road
and not just a jumble of rock,
because this island is full of jumbles of rock.
-Yeah. -With that said,
I'm gonna head back and find this road.
-Okay. Good. Thank you. -Thank you.
-Miriam: We've got a lot to do. -Aaron: Yeah.
Narrator: As a new day begins on oak island...
Rick: I do believe that all of us
will find this very interesting.
...Rick and marty lagina,
along with members of the team,
have gathered for a video conference
to once again meet with author
and oak island theorist james mcquiston.
Rick: Hey, james.
Narrator: Although james previously presented his theory
that a 17th-century scottish order
with direct ties to the knights templar
known as the knights baronet
were connected to the oak island mystery,
he has recently discovered what he believes to be new details
about how a vast treasure came to be buried in the money pit.
We're quite familiar
with his research about the knights baronet
and their possible connection to oak island
and the oak island mystery.
So, james,
-take the floor. -Well,
I was hoping today to talk about the three types of men
that came to oak island when it was first being settled
and when the search for treasure began.
These men came from the freemasons,
they came from the knights baronet,
and my latest discovery
is that a lot of 'em came from the plymouth colony
of massachusetts.
And these three groups
have one thing in common besides oak island
and that is a connection
to sir william alexander,
the founder of nova scotia.
Narrator: Sir william alexander,
a scottish nobleman who lived from 1567 to 1640,
not only helped establish nova scotia,
which was previously known as acadia,
but was also the founder of the knights baronet.
So, here's the theory in a nutshell.
The followers of a group of scottish knights
created by william alexander
settled in nova scotia during the early 1600s,
and this is historic fact.
They were
the freemasons.
Narrator: Stretching back to the initial discovery
of the money pit in 1795,
the secretive fraternity of builders known as the freemasons
have been intimately connected to the oak island mystery.
Not only have prominent searchers been members,
such as daniel mcginnis, melbourne chappell
and even a young franklin delano roosevelt in 1911
before he entered politics.
But sacred symbols associated with the organization
have also been found all over the island.
These include the letter "g," representing god,
triangles...
And-- all the more curious today--
a depiction of the all-seeing eye.
The first man to be initiated
as what we would today refer to as a freemason
was william alexander the younger.
And his father was sir william alexander,
the founder of nova scotia.
William alexander was an investor
in the plymouth colony of massachusetts.
He and his son, william the younger,
were on the council of the plymouth colony.
Narrator: The plymouth colony?
Possibly connected to the oak island mystery?
Located in what is today plymouth, massachusetts,
the plymouth colony was established in 1621
by english separatists who sailed to north america
aboard the famed ship known as the mayflower.
It not only became a new home for those fleeing
religious persecution
but, curiously, its official flag eerily resembled that
of the knights templar.
But just how might america's first known european settlement
be connected to a vast treasure
believed to be buried in the money pit?
It was the people from plymouth who petitioned the king
of great britain to give the french colony of acadia
to alexander,
'cause they feared an attack by the french forces.
So, in 1621,
the french land of acadia,
at least on paper,
became the scottish land of nova scotia,
which is latin for "new scotland."
so, the plymouth colony settlement
was directly responsible for nova scotia being established
by william alexander.
Unfortunately, the french attacked nova scotia,
leaving the scots ousted in the spring of 1632
and unable to sail directly across the north atlantic
back to great britain due to the bad spring weather.
And I believe they took shelter in mahone bay,
which would have been the best place to take shelter,
and oak island is at the back of it.
So, it would be the perfect place to hide back there
and buried what they couldn't take back with them
or didn't want to take back with them.
And so I think the treasure was connected
to these three groups of people that I mentioned,
the freemasons, the knights baronet
-and the plymouth colony... -Mm.
...Who were all aware
of the oak island treasure.
So, years later,
the freemasons, the knights baronet,
and the families from the plymouth colony,
descended on oak island as landowners and treasure hunters.
Several of the most famous searchers for treasure
on oak island came out of the plymouth colony legacy
and some landowners as well.
First, we have franklin delano roosevelt
and his grandfather, warren delano jr.
Well, what I discovered is
that warren delano jr. Descended from three plymouth colony men,
and franklin roosevelt descended from at least four.
Marty: Well, how about that?
James: It's been said long before I got involved
in this search that these men were pursuing
an old family legend.
With so many important oak island families
coming to nova scotia from the vicinity of the plymouth colony,
there could be no greater way to connect oak island
to the very colony responsible for the founding of nova scotia
by sir william alexander.
Rick: I have the most respect for james' research.
As you sit there and you listen to the information,
it puts you back in your chair because
we know c-certainly that the delano family
and the roosevelt family side
were certainly interested in the hunt.
But, really, all of these people directly associated
with the oak island story?
That's strange.
It's hard to think that all of this
can be a coincidence after listening
to all those names.
I mean, it's really amazing
that you did all that.
I have to admit, the treasure story's amazing.
There's something there,
and your theory is entirely plausible.
Uh, it gives us, kind of, the energy
-to keep going. -Rick: It speaks
to the importance of doing research.
Research is so critically important.
I think we're only in its infancy here on the island,
-recognizing the importance of it. -Yeah.
Rick: I-I just want to say, we thank you for all the hard work.
I hope somehow we can work together
to figure out exactly what the heck happened up there.
Rick: You're welcome back at any time.
It's quite remarkable. What is it, charles?
How many piece puzzle and how many pieces missing?
A thousand-piece puzzle
-and 600 pieces missing. -There you go.
Charles: Maybe james has added a few pieces.
(chuckling)
narrator: Later that afternoon...
Gary: This is gonna be a fantastic day.
...Metal detection expert gary drayton,
along with rick and marty's nephew david fornetti...
-All right, chaps? -Hey, guys.
...Join geoscientist dr. Ian spooner
and archaeologists dr. Aaron taylor
and miriam amirault near the eastern border of the swamp
to help them investigate the mysterious stone pathways
and possible cellar feature.
Aaron: So, as you can see,
we've opened up some more areas
-and we have this trench here that billy dug. -Yeah.
-Gary: Okay. -And then we have spoil piles.
-Gary: Yeah. -We have this area here.
Gary: Wow.
And, finally, uh, miriam
is down on what we think might be a cellar feature,
so that's very exciting.
-So any artifact out of that is really important. -Yeah.
'cause if that's a cellar,
that means there was a structure there.
-Yeah. -Yeah. -Okay, mate.
David and I will start at the end
-of the trench. -Beautiful.
-Okay. Fingers crossed. -Ian: Great. Thank you.
(detector turning on)
oh, I see all the cobbles.
(beeping)
here we go, david. I got a signal, I believe.
(low beeping)
I do believe it's in that angle.
Just there. It's in that wall.
David f.: Let's see if we got it.
Let me see if I can pinpoint it.
(rapid beeping)
that's way down there.
You know what, I should really call aaron over here
and let aaron dig this out with his trowel,
'cause if this is in situ, this could be important.
Aaron!
-Yes. -Come and check this out, please.
David and I got a-a signal over here
-and it looks to be in that area there. -Mm-hmm.
-Ooh. -(beeping)
ooh, that is a strong signal. It's there.
-Aaron: It's right there. -It's right there.
Aaron: What the heck is this thing?
Narrator: Near the eastern border
of the triangle-shaped swamp,
gary drayton has just obtained a signal with his metal detector
that something of importance could be buried
in the recently discovered foundation
near the stone pathway.
-You want me to hit it again, mate? -Aaron: Yeah. Please.
(metal detector beeping)
gary: Oh, it's down there, all right.
Aaron: Wow.
-That's a screamer. -David f.: Yeah.
That's gonna be something good.
-(chuckles) -whatever it is.
I mean, this is fantastic.
Aaron: Here we go, boys.
Oh, you got it out.
Good work, aaron.
Now, what are we dealing with?
Aaron: It is very heavy.
Gary: Oh, that's a great sign.
The heavier it is,
the older it should be.
Aaron: I don't know what it is.
Gary: I know what it is.
It's a caster. It's a-a caster wheel.
You think about it, we're on an island
with lots of tunnels.
Now, you would need a little dolly...
-Aaron: That's exactly what it is. -...With casters
on the bottom.
That is. That's a little wheel
off a caster.
The type of little trolley that you would need
if you were running a long tunnel.
And it makes sense if you think about it.
A wheel off a-a little tunneling cart
because we found tunneling picks
not too far away from here at the back of the swamp.
Narrator: Designed for furniture
as well as trolley or mining carts,
casters are components that contain wheels
for the purpose of moving objects with ease
and in multiple directions.
Could gary drayton be correct
that this caster might have been utilized
for a tunneling operation on oak island?
If so, could it be connected
to previous evidence the team has discovered,
such as the tunneling tools also known as swages
found one year ago on lot 21
which could date to as early as the 15th century?
David f.: So, I think the question remains.
Is this from depositors, or is this from searchers?
Gary: More than likely depositor.
-Aaron: Good job, guys. -Gary: I think this was off
a tunneling car. This is fantastic.
-What an artifact! -Aaron: Yeah.
-I'll bag that. We'll get that to the lab asap. -Excellent.
That is fantastic.
David f: Get back to work, gary.
Narrator: As the investigation
of the stone pathway continues...
Charles: I think you'll be interested in this.
Terry: Let's have a quick look.
Narrator: ...And while terry matheson
and charles barkhouse
oversee the core drilling operation
in cd-2.5
in the money pit area,
at the wash table near 10-x...
Steve g.: For data sense,
northwest of the money pit, we went to 150,
160 feet, if I remember correctly.
Narrator: ...Surveyor steve guptill
and treasure hunter michael john
are sifting through the spoils
from a borehole known as e-5.25.
I have high hopes for this can. We're gonna find that one thing.
Narrator: Excavated two years ago as part of the team's search
for the elusive money pit treasure vault,
the five-foot diameter e-5.25 has become of interest
once again to rick, marty and craig tester
due to its close proximity to their current drilling grid,
which appears to be tracking a man-made tunnel
some 90 feet deep underground.
It is their hope
that a more meticulous search of the e-5.25 spoils,
which have remained carefully stored on the island,
will produce valuable clues that were missed
during the borehole's original excavation.
Okay, let's explore.
Steve g.: What is that? (clears throat)
is that just wood, or is that fiber?
-Michael j.: It looks like fiber. -Steve g.: It's a fiber.
I don't know what it is.
You think it'd be coconut fiber?
Could be.
Narrator: Possible coconut fiber?
Found in the spoils of borehole e-5.25?
As one of the most compelling clues
ever discovered by the various companies
that have conducted large-scale investigations on oak island
over the past two centuries,
coconut fiber, which does not exist
in nature anywhere in the northern hemisphere,
was uncovered in mass amounts beneath smith's cove in 1850
and thought to be used as a filtering agent
for the legendary money pit flood tunnels
as well as in the money pit itself
when it was first excavated to the 90-foot level
in 1804.
If this substance proves to be coconut fiber,
could it mean that e-5.25
is connected to the original treasure shaft?
If so, what else might they find in these spoils?
Steve g.: I know we've found
a lot of coconut fiber in smith's cove,
and it'd be really exciting if we could find coconut fiber,
because this would at least help us
connect e-5.25 to the money pit.
-Okay. -I think
-it's important enough we should bag. -For certain, yes.
-Steve. Look at this. -Yes.
Oh, wow.
What do you think that is?
Narrator: At the money pit wash table
located near 10-x,
michael john and steve guptill
have just made a potentially important discovery
in the spoils of borehole e-5.25.
Steve g.: You know what that looks like to me?
I think that's a cannonball.
-Yeah. -Or a grapeshot of some sort. So, yeah,
I don't know how old these can date.
I know they can date old.
But a grapeshot or a small cannonball.
-That's about the size. -That's right.
-Yeah. -Narrator: A small cannonball
or possibly grapeshot?
Used as artillery in both land-based and naval warfare
dating back to the 15th century,
grapeshot was made of materials such as metal,
stone or clay which were tightly packed into clusters
and fired from cannons in order to cripple
and sink warships on the high seas.
-One week ago... -Yeah, we got it out, mate.
Narrator: ...Michael, along with gary drayton and david fornetti,
discovered three heavy iron objects
buried in a mound on nearby lot 15
that were determined to be parts
of an early 17th-century english-style cannon.
Is it possible that michael has now discovered
a piece of artillery that may be connected
to that very weapon?
And in a borehole that might also be near
or even intersecting the original money pit?
-All right, prepare to astonish me. -Here we go. (chuckles)
narrator: Arriving on the heels
of this potentially important discovery
are marty lagina
and archaeologist dr. Aaron taylor.
Marty: What the hell is that?
It's got an interesting weight to it, eh?
Do you have any ideas?
Aaron: Um...
Right now, I'm not sure.
-Let's hear yours. -Michael j.: Um...
Grape-grapeshot.
Like, some sort of a weapon.
-Grapeshot? -Michael j.: Yeah.
Yeah, that's... It's pretty interesting,
-whatever it is. -Michael j.: It is, isn't it?
-Yeah, I think so, too. -Marty: You know what,
you could be right. Maybe it is grapeshot.
I think it's a cool find.
We need to get a lot of eyes on that,
and somebody might know what it is.
When I see this little rock cannonball thing,
I know immediately who needs to have a look at it.
Gary needs to have a look at it.
He's found such things before.
And laird needs to have a look at it.
Aaron: It's definitely worth collecting.
I'll tell you what. Even if it's nothing,
I'll put it on my desk.
(all laugh)
narrator: Later that afternoon
in the oak island research center...
-Marty: Hey, guys. -Doug: Hey, marty.
Narrator: ...Marty lagina meets up
with oak island historian doug crowell,
along with gary drayton and archaeologist laird niven,
to share the team's latest discovery.
I-I still think this little artifact here... You guys
haven't seen it yet, but I think it's something.
-Have y-you seen this, gary? -Gary: I'm hoping
that it's something similar that I've recovered in England.
Yes, it is.
I was hoping that
this stone was exactly like this.
Marty: What is it?
This is a dress stone or a gunstone.
This is really, really old.
This is a projectile, mate.
-Marty: Is it? Well, that's what... -Before the days
of cannonballs. Iron cannonballs.
They called them dress stones
because the guys were out looking
for stones of a certain size.
They've become known as gunstones,
uh, but it's a projectile.
It was fired out of a blunderbuss
on an old ship.
Yeah.
Narrator: Dating back
to before the 17th century,
a blunderbuss is a firearm
with a short, large-caliber barrel
that featured a flared muzzle.
Known as the predecessor to the modern shotgun,
the blunderbuss was a single-shot weapon
that utilized gunstones, iron musket balls
and other projectiles.
Incredibly,
it was also a type of weapon
long associated with the pilgrims
who founded the plymouth colony.
Could this discovery actually be evidence
that helps corroborate james mcquiston's theory
of who might have been behind the oak island mystery?
Marty: Well, I was wondering, when it
got handed to me, I said, "that's grapeshot."
-because it was black. -Yeah.
-At the time, it was wet. -Gary: Mm-hmm.
-And then I realized it's not iron. -Gary: That looks
a similar size to a canister shot made of iron,
which is centuries newer than this.
This is really old.
Doug: The reason they stopped making those
is because it was more economical
to make the cast-iron ones.
They used to employ stonemasons and whatnot to make them.
-That's really pretty cool. -Yeah, that is nice.
I did not expect
to be holding one on oak island.
I've found a lot of them.
I used to collect 'em.
And it was always close to battlefields
in England. Old, old battlefields.
-Laird? Let laird take a look. -It's like a medieval projectile.
You got any familiarity with that, laird?
Laird: I mean, this-this one, I think,
-was just-- it was just pecked. Pecked and pecked and pecked. -Mm-hmm.
-Well, what the hell's that doing here on this island? -Gary: Yeah.
Well, what the heck's a medieval cross doing
-in smith's cove, mate? -(chuckling)
the hand-point chisel, the swages,
going back to the medieval days.
Marty: So this thing could be more significant than I thought.
-Doug: That is really cool. -Yeah, good for michael, huh?
Gary: It just goes back to why
we wash the spoils as well.
We'd have missed that.
Marty: I always seek
confirmation from experts in their field.
So when laird and gary both say, "yep, that's what that is."
and then especially because the little bit of research says
that stone cannonballs were
phased out a long time ago.
You know? Here's another potential clue
that this is very ancient.
Well, I hear broad consensus
that this is a pretty significant find.
So, here's what I'd like to do.
I'll give it to you, doug.
You can measure it carefully.
-Get its volume. -Yep.
Calculate its density.
Maybe even if you can run terry to ground,
why don't you do the acid test on it?
-Let's see if it is limestone. -Okay.
I'll get it processed into the archives.
-And, gary, let's go find something. -Yeah.
-Leave no stone unturned. -That's right, bud.
I get energized when they actually turn up something.
Gary: Yeah, that's fantastic.
Rick: I won't say the cavalry's here,
but we're-we're somewhat of a help.
Well, we can use all the help we can get.
Narrator: Although another day will soon come to end
on oak island,
rick lagina and steve guptill
arrive at the eastern edge of the swamp,
hoping to make at least one more important discovery
with archeologists dr. Aaron taylor and miriam amirault
as they continue their investigation
of the believed stone cellar.
Okay. Where do we want to go and what are we...
What are we doing?
I think we've caught this boundary here
-of what we're calling a cellar feature. -Mm.
Aaron: So, the idea is we want to...
-Find this boundary... -Mm-hmm.
...And that boundary.
-Mm-hmm. -So, if we could get you guys helping us,
just keep pulling back.
-I think, maybe, a shovel might be good up there. -Okay.
-And I might focus on that area. -Okay.
And you three keep pulling this back.
And then once we know the size of it...
-Mm-hmm. -...Then we can start removing these stones
in the center.
And I would anticipate,
if it is a cellar, we're gonna find
some interesting things at the bottom.
Rick: Okay, well, miriam, you're in charge.
-(chuckles): Okay. -You tell us what to do,
-and hopefully we find something today. -Aaron: Yeah. All right.
Rick: As we are-- aaron and miriam,
myself and others, we've all taken our turn
at troweling and shoveling this area,
it's exciting.
The shovel
is my metal detector.
And it's miriam's and aaron's as well.
And you get a sense of: It's-it's discovery, right?
It's a little-- tiny little aspect of the treasure hunt.
It's probably down here, right? Not here?
Yeah. So, we're assuming if it's a structure,
it's all gonna be level.
So, yeah, it should all be kind of at...
This level.
And if you're reaching, like...
A blueish kind of sand,
it's underneath that.
Rick: All right.
Maybe get... A trowel.
Oh.
It's a piece of ceramic.
Any way to tell what kind?
Well, you can see on it,
it's been printed.
There's a print on it.
-Your eyes are better than mine. -(laughs)
(sighs) it looks kind of like white refined earthenware
with a print on it.
Oh.
Narrator: Earthenware pottery?
Found in the believed stone cellar?
Common in modern times
but also dating back to as early as ancient rome,
earthenware is a light-colored type of pottery composed of clay
and manufactured under the extreme heat of fire.
The question is,
did this piece of earthenware once belong
to one of oak island's past inhabitants
from the last two centuries
or to someone much earlier
who may have come here to hide something of great value?
Yeah, I'll bag that up.
This whole road is definitely
a transitional area 'cause everything's changing
at this point--
in terms of artifacts,
in terms of soil,
in terms of it moving upwards.
I think it's definitely going to help us
understand where this road is leading
and if it has anything to do with,
you know, the treasure story or the money pit.
I'd say that's burnt, wouldn't you?
Yeah.
So, we've been finding other pieces of burnt wood
in and around here.
Um, if you have, like,
charcoal staining in the soil,
like, if it's dark and black...
Rick: Might be something coming up here.
Miriam: Yeah. I think it's just a burnt piece of wood.
Not necessarily, like, a...
-Like, a burn feature. -Right.
All right. Well, I'll just keep going then.
Miriam: Okay, yeah.
Hey, miriam.
There's a cavity here.
Miriam: Yeah, cool.
That's a good sign.
Narrator: In the mysterious stone cellar
near the pathway bordering the swamp,
treasure hunter michael john
has just discovered what appears to be
a void, or cavity, beneath it.
And you see how the soil gets darker
when you're, like, underneath the stones?
-Michael j.: Mm. -So, that's original soil
-that they would have, you know, -yeah.
Been putting these stones on top of.
Okay.
Rick: When michael said, "hey,
I can reach down this far,"
my first thought was, "wow, there really is the possibility
that there might be something down here."
-so, should I stop digging around here? -Yeah, I'd say
-you're at a good depth there. -Okay, good.
-Stop there. -All right. All right.
Rick: You know, what I find interesting
about this ongoing work with the path
and this so-called foundation work is
that we can get eyes and boots dirty.
That's really the key, right?
Because, at any moment, you remove one rock,
there may be the aha moment.
-I mean, it could be the root cellar. -Michael j.: Yeah.
Anthony graves' farm is right over there.
-He easily could have put a house up there by the money pit. -Mm-hmm.
But he chose here. Now, why did he choose here?
I think that's the most intriguing aspect of graves.
You know? Was it because of this?
Was it still being used during his time?
Narrator: In 1857,
a farmer named anthony graves
purchased most of oak island from the family of john smith,
one of the three young men
who originally discovered the money pit,
after smith had passed away.
Curiously, after graves built his home near joudrey's cove,
north of the swamp,
rumors began to swirl,
as he would occasionally purchase goods on the mainland
using spanish coins made of both silver and gold.
Is it possible, as rick speculates,
that anthony graves made a valuable discovery in this area?
And if so, what else could still be here,
just waiting to be found?
-You can put your hand right in there. -Miriam: Yeah.
And it keeps going.
-My hands are too big, but... -(laughs)
-there might be something in there. Like... -Steve g.: Right.
Rick: Voids like that don't just happen.
-It goes down there for a while. -Yeah.
Steve g.: So, do you think treasure
-could be here? -You know,
I think graves was every bit a mystery man
-as samuel was. -Mm-hmm.
Did he have access to some found treasure?
Maybe.
Obviously, if this is an out building, as you suggest,
you're not gonna-- there were no banks.
-You hide your money, right? -Mm-hmm.
Well, you're not gonna hide it in your home,
-'cause that's where "people would look." -mm-hmm.
You'd hide it here.
Could there be treasure here?
Yeah, there could be.
How many stories
have we all heard about "treasure finds
in old barns," in the floor of the barn
or in the-- you know, behind the wall?
It's possible that there might be something in this structure,
but we have to prove it's a structure first.
Then we have to find artifacts to date it.
Would I love to pull up a bag of coins out of there?
Of course.
This is a treasure hunt after all.
All right. We probably should opt for peeling this off.
-That's a lot of dirt to move by hand. -Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Until we found this, I always thought that...
Somebody hid something in all--
-in at least one of all these rock walls. -Mm-hmm.
-Yeah. -But, just like the money pit,
you have to hold it in your hand.
-And we haven't held it in our hand yet, so... -Here.
It's possible.
It's certainly possible.
We got to keep digging.
(chuckling)
narrator: If rick, marty, craig and their team
are gaining confidence in anything,
it's that the ultimate discovery
that has eluded treasure hunters for 226 years
is now another day closer
to finally being within their reach.
And as they continue scouring documented history
in an effort to complete the oak island puzzle,
perhaps with a drill rod,
a metal detector
or one scrape with an archaeologist's trowel,
the final piece will be put in its place.
Next time on the curse of oak island...
Terry: Oh! We got a shaft here, and maybe it's the money pit.
Aaron: Wow. That's super cool. This would indicate
that there was a structure in here.
(beeping)
ooh! Look at that.
-Michael j.: What's that? -This is old.
It's typical of early time periods.
With the narrow caulk on the back, it means
it was scottish that did this.
Jack: Oh, no way!
This came from underneath the pathway,
and they're from one time period.
-Wow. -That's really cool.
That's stunning.
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