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00:01Cryptic symbols.
00:03The symbol is definitely on the 90-foot stone.
00:06Matching carvings found in a medieval church.
00:09That's perfect.
00:11Yeah.
00:12A megalithic formation of boulders,
00:14possibly connected to priceless holy treasures.
00:17If they created Nolan's cross,
00:19it would be in the form of the elongated cross.
00:22Yes.
00:23A stone robe.
00:25It's something similar with what you have in Nowak Highland.
00:29Hidden in the triangle-shaped swamp.
00:32It looks the spitting image.
00:34Yeah.
00:35And a sacred masonic well.
00:37Wow.
00:38It is rather spectacular.
00:40Matching the exact design of the original money pit.
00:44Beautiful.
00:45It certainly is.
00:47Season 10 of The Curse of Oak Island is almost here, Acorns.
00:51And when brothers Rick and Marty Lagina,
00:53along with their team, roll back across this causeway,
00:56they'll launch their most groundbreaking attempt yet.
00:58to find the treasure that people have been looking for since 1795.
01:03But they'll also keep working to try to reveal
01:05just who was behind this great mystery.
01:08And although many intriguing suspects have emerged over the years,
01:11tonight we're going to focus on the team's startling discoveries
01:16that all point to the most compelling one.
01:19Get ready.
01:20This is Oak Island's Top 10 Portuguese Connections.
01:24Is it a coin?
01:29I believe this is a coin.
01:31For nine seasons now, the world has watched in awe
01:35as the Laginas and their team have made discovery after discovery.
01:40You think it could be gold?
01:42After discovery, suggesting that a vast treasure
01:44really does lie buried on Oak Island.
01:46That's a fantastic gemstone.
01:47This is treasure.
01:48Congratulations, guys.
01:49And while numerous pieces of evidence and treasure
01:51have emerged indicating that it might be of English, French,
01:53or even Spanish origin, the clues that point to the Portuguese
01:56have added up more in recent years
01:58than almost all the other things that we've seen
02:00have emerged indicating that it might be of English,
02:02French, or even Spanish origin,
02:04the clues that point to the Portuguese
02:06have added up more in recent years
02:08than almost all the other things that we've seen.
02:10And even though all of these groups are known
02:13to have been exploring the area near Oak Island
02:15by the 17th century, the item that kicks off our countdown
02:19just might be the proof that the Portuguese got here first.
02:22Number 10, the Overton Stone.
02:25So is it this way?
02:26Pretty much.
02:27Okay.
02:28Okay.
02:29Let's go.
02:30Let's go.
02:31Back in 2015, Terry Davo, the president
02:33of the New England Antiquities Research Association,
02:36met Rick, Marty, Craig, and some of the individuals
02:38who were more than one of the people of the New England
02:40in this area, but they were more than one of the most common
02:41years.
02:42That's a valid reason.
02:43All of these groups are known to have been exploring
02:44the area near Oak Island by the 17th century.
02:46The item that kicks off our countdown
02:47just might be the proof that the Portuguese got here first.
02:50Number 10, the Overton Stone.
02:53Met Rick, Marty, Craig Tester, and Dave Blankenship in Overton, Nova Scotia to show them this amazing boulder featuring a number of stunning carvings.
03:03The rock here is probably located on the highest point in quite a distance around.
03:12So now you can see the carving quite clearly here.
03:15It's very beautiful.
03:16It has four main elements, a cross that's in a circle, an eagle feather, these two things behind the eagle feather that I interpret as tobacco leaves, and a moon, crescent moon.
03:37That is quite remarkable.
03:39And isn't that a Templar cross?
03:41For a number of years, the most romantic theory regarding the origin of the Oak Island treasure is that it might very well be connected to the medieval order of the Knights Templar.
03:56Formed in the 11th century during the Crusades, and first headquartered on the original site of King Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem,
04:04Many researchers believe that the Templars discovered priceless religious treasures deep below ground, including the Holy Grail, Solomon's Golden Menorah, and even the Ark of the Covenant.
04:17The Templars were disbanded and persecuted in 1317 by Pope Clement V and King Philip IV of France.
04:25And it's been suggested that the true reason was due to the order's possession of these treasures.
04:31It is known that a number of them escaped, and that these sacred relics have never been found.
04:38So, where could they have gone?
04:40One possible theory is that they first went to Portugal, where the Templars had strongholds between the 12th and 16th centuries.
04:48But, could the Overton Stone be evidence that surviving members also journeyed across the ocean to Nova Scotia in order to hide their treasures?
04:57Okay, so if you had to say, most likely this old, and most likely this sort of thing, what would your answer be?
05:06Well, I think it's clear that the carving is a genuine historical artifact, and quite old.
05:13Possibly up to 500 years old.
05:16What about the circle and the four dots?
05:21Does that have any special meaning to it?
05:24That is something I would like to pursue.
05:26So, you have the cross with the circle that obviously is a Christian symbol.
05:32Right.
05:32So, from my mind, this is diagnostic of Portuguese.
05:42I do have evidence that puts the Portuguese in Nova Scotia between 1500 and 1580.
05:48And you know they were here then, how?
05:50There are a few records that have survived, in particular maps.
05:54Portuguese were great cartographers, and we've got a rich collection of maps, where they named all kinds of different areas along the coast, including this area as well.
06:06So, if the Overton Stone is evidence that the Portuguese came to Nova Scotia as early as 1500,
06:14could there be evidence they also visited Oak Island, some 140 miles to the east?
06:20Well, that takes us to the next item on our countdown.
06:24Number 9, Nolan's Cross.
06:28In 1981, legendary Oak Island landowner and treasure hunter, Fred Nolan, discovered five cone-shaped boulders that formed a megalithic cross in the middle of his property.
06:42At the center, he discovered a sixth boulder, carved into the shape of a human head.
06:48A human head that some believe is intended to represent St. John the Baptist.
06:54You've landed in the Templar heartland.
07:03Tomar is a city on seven hills, like Rome, like Jerusalem.
07:10So, it's a really special place.
07:14Beautiful, absolutely stunning.
07:17So, this is the town center.
07:19This is the church of St. John the Baptist, who was the patron saint of the Knights Templar.
07:24In 2021, Rick Lagina and members of the team traveled all the way to Tomar, Portugal, in order to investigate potential ties between the local sect of the Templars and the Oak Island mystery.
07:38It was 1307 when King Philip and the Pope actually brought them to their knees.
07:46That's correct.
07:46So, the official abandonment of the Knights Templar organization was 1317.
07:51It was 1317.
07:53The Portuguese king, Dinis, did something very clever.
07:56He just rebranded the Templars into the order of Christ.
07:59So, what he did, he invented a new name and a new logo.
08:03So, instead of the Templar cross that we will see on the shield of Gualdim, he made a square cross with the flattened edges and another cross in the middle.
08:14This is the cross that you will see, for example, on the ships that went to America.
08:18And then, over time, it got a little bit longer until it ended like this today.
08:22So, on the church, you see the elongated cross of the order of Christ.
08:27Wow.
08:28So, when we look at that representation that you have.
08:31This one here, yeah.
08:32Yes.
08:32When I look at Nolan's cross on Oak Island, then I see this representation.
08:37The longer part of the stem, Nolan's cross, possibly could indicate Portuguese influence.
08:45Can we make that assessment?
08:48Yes.
08:49If the cross you have, it's in this shape.
08:53So, it's kind of like a fingerprint, then.
08:55If they created Nolan's cross, it would be in the form of the elongated cross.
09:00Yes.
09:01Put it that way.
09:08The long-stemmed Templar cross, Nolan's cross, they are quite similar.
09:13Each stem is much longer than the arms.
09:15There's something to this.
09:17An actual connection between Portugal and Oak Island.
09:19So far, we've covered possible connections to the Oak Island mystery that may very well place the Portuguese in the area, if not on the island itself, centuries before the discovery of the money pit in 1795.
09:35But the next top item on our list goes much deeper toward connecting the Portuguese to treasure, 90 feet deep, to be exact.
09:43As the incredible story goes, in 1804, when the Onslow Company conducted the first major excavation of the 13-foot diameter money pit shaft, they encountered oak platforms every 10 feet down to the 90-foot level.
10:06There, embedded in the center, they found a large, rectangular stone slab with curious symbols carved into it.
10:15Years later, a substitution cipher was used to translate a tantalizing message.
10:21Forty feet below, two million pounds are buried.
10:24That message has yet to be proven, since once the stone was removed for further digging, the pit flooded from an ingenious booby trap that has thwarted every attempt to dig below that depth.
10:36But who could have carved that alluring message?
10:41We might be looking at what I think is the oldest Templar commandery or place in Portugal, maybe in Europe.
10:49Wow.
10:49During Rick's trip to Portugal in 2021, he and members of the team met with researcher Corian Maul and historian João Fiandero at the church in Fontarcada, a site built by members of the Knights Templar back in the 12th century.
11:05What that tells me then is whatever the earliest understandings and foundations of who the Templars were might reside within the church.
11:16Correctly.
11:16We will find symbolism in some details of the church.
11:26That was what they did at the time.
11:29Cool.
11:30You know, the church presents a unique opportunity to learn something today, and I propose that we go visit.
11:36Let's go to church.
11:37Let's go to church.
11:38Up to you.
11:38Up to you.
11:46Oh, wow.
11:50That's impressive.
11:52Wow.
11:54This looks like Castle Lake.
11:57In a sense, yeah, it is a fortress.
12:02Yes.
12:03It's God's fortress in a certain way.
12:05That's the general idea at the time.
12:09Why don't we split forces?
12:11Peter, Alex, why don't the three of us look for symbols on this side, and we can look for symbols on that side.
12:17Yeah.
12:17Yeah.
12:18Okay, let's see what we can find.
12:19It was Rick and the team's hope that on the walls of this sacred medieval fortress, which featured hundreds of ancient carvings...
12:28Every one of them has a symbol.
12:30It's just unbelievable how many symbols there are on a wall here.
12:33They might find just a small clue to support the theory that the Portuguese might be connected to the Oak Island mystery.
12:41Hey, guys.
12:42Moments later...
12:43You might be interested in this one over here.
12:46Rick's nephew, Alex, found what appeared to be a major one.
12:50It's interesting.
12:51I can see it from here.
12:52So this symbol is definitely on the 90-foot stone.
12:57Actually, I have a copy of that picture right there.
12:59Yeah, right there.
13:00Yeah.
13:02Right there.
13:03It's perfect.
13:04Yep.
13:06You know, what's curious is it's even got the same slant.
13:09I know.
13:09I know.
13:11This is the only one of these maker's marks we've seen.
13:14This is unique right here.
13:16Did the person who carved the 90-foot stone have a connection to the Knights Templar and Borshko?
13:22We know that that type of symbology has the potential to tell us many things.
13:27One of the things about the 90-foot stone we've always tried to evaluate is,
13:31is there a clue to who wrote it in the symbols that were used to formulate the cipher?
13:37Mm-hmm, yeah.
13:38Now we have another option to consider, maker's marks.
13:41You have to take that information and think to yourself, okay, is this part of a mason's mark?
13:47And does that make it imperative that we understand what these mason marks possibly are telling us?
13:52Finding a matching symbol from the 90-foot stone not only made for an enticing Portuguese connection,
14:00but it also presented one directly linked to the believed treasure.
14:03But then, just what can the treasure be?
14:07That takes us to the next item on our countdown.
14:12Number seven, the H.O. Stone.
14:16For context on this historic Oak Island relic, we have to go back to 1921.
14:21That year, treasure hunters noticed a massive boulder covered in carvings on the island's northern shore.
14:30Believing that it might mark the spot for buried treasure,
14:33they blew it up with dynamite and then conducted a dig.
14:37Nothing was found, but a large fragment that remained intact from the boulder
14:42featured distinct carvings of an H, a small cross, and an O with a dot in its center.
14:48Just after seeing the carving from the 90-foot stone inside the church in Fontarcata,
14:54Corian and Zhao led Rick, Doug, Alex, and Peter into a courtyard
14:59where they were eager to share this next major clue and connection.
15:04So here we are at what I think is one of the most interesting features of this church.
15:09Big Templar cross.
15:10And it's configured with the sun to the left, the crescent moon to the right.
15:19This, to me, screams Night Templar commandery very early.
15:27The circle and the dot in the center of the cross,
15:30that's one of our symbols on a stone we call the H.O. Stone that was on Oak Island.
15:34I've never seen it on a cross like that before.
15:36It is a symbol used by the Templars in Portugal.
15:41Okay.
15:42And I think the circle and the dot is an early alchemical symbol for gold.
15:48Yes.
15:51Is it possible that the large boulder that got blown up over a century ago on Oak Island
15:58might not have marked the spot of buried treasure,
16:00but simply explained in code just what lies hidden nearby in the money pit?
16:07I'm curious your take on this, your interpretation, Jal.
16:11Do you feel that the H.O. Stone could be Portuguese in origin?
16:16It's very interesting.
16:19It could be definitely European.
16:22And if we're saying that the Portuguese were in Oak Island,
16:28it would be something made by them.
16:31Seeing the O symbol on the H.O. Stone represented on the wall of the church,
16:36that means something.
16:37That represented something.
16:39It's not decorative.
16:40And I think there is a direct connection to Oak Island.
16:44So there's some information there.
16:46I just don't know what it is at this point.
16:49From what we did today, it sounds like this is maybe,
16:51this is the infancy of the Templars.
16:53We may have found some connections here.
16:55Yes.
16:55When it comes to trying to solve the Oak Island mystery,
17:02Rick, Marty, Craig, and the team spend as much time scouring the whole island
17:06for helpful clues as they do on our countdown.
17:08Number six, the lot four cannon.
17:14Let's go, Navigator.
17:15You done.
17:16In 2021, the Oak Island team was trying to validate a reported 14th century map of Oak Island
17:23that the late author Zena Halpern had given to them.
17:26It was Zena's belief that the map, which featured marked locations,
17:30had been created by members of the Knights Templar.
17:33And one of the key sites known as the Hole Under the Hatch appeared to exist on Lot 4.
17:40All right.
17:40The center of this location, this is a large anomaly,
17:42is about another 10 feet in here.
17:44But since this is open, we should start here.
17:46What do you think?
17:46Yeah.
17:46I should be able to winkle my way around here.
17:49I know it's overgrown, but...
17:51You sure?
17:51Yeah.
17:52I can get in here, mate.
17:53No snipping of any trees.
17:54Okay.
17:55After conducting a magnetometer scan of the area,
17:58the team did detect a significant anomaly on Lot 4.
18:02But they needed a permit in order to dig.
18:06That's when they called in metal detection expert Gary Drake
18:09to look for important clues that might help the effort.
18:13Did it hit?
18:14That's a screamer.
18:15That sounds great.
18:17Yep, just here, mate.
18:19Don't know what that is.
18:24Don't dig in, mate.
18:27You got it out.
18:29Fingers crossed.
18:32It's in my end, whatever it is.
18:35Ooh.
18:36Interesting piece of metal.
18:37What is that?
18:39I was thinking an old...
18:40...was.
18:42The team had chemist Dr. Krista Brousseau conduct a scientific analysis.
18:47It is definitely a copper alloy.
18:49It has pretty high tin content,
18:52so it's kind of consistent with what's called a tin bronze or a bell metal.
18:57A specialty metal.
18:58Yeah.
18:59When was this alloy identified?
19:01In other words, when did it come into use?
19:03I would say it's older, yeah,
19:05because the copper contains arsenic,
19:07and usually that's been removed by more modern refining methods.
19:11Would the presence of arsenic in both suggest that the bell metal
19:15would come from the same suspect as the button?
19:17No, I don't think so.
19:19Well, when you go back to the screen,
19:21you'll see at the last sentence there,
19:23it says bell metal was used to construct early cannons
19:26by the Spanish and Portuguese.
19:28Yeah.
19:29So the tin gives the metal strength and rigidity,
19:34so it's been used historically for bells, obviously,
19:39but also from the production of cannons.
19:42Finding a possible cannon fragment of Portuguese origin on Lot 4
19:46was more than intriguing.
19:48But what in the heck was it doing on Oak Island?
19:52Perhaps the next item on our countdown can explain.
19:56Number 5, the Stone Shot.
19:59Come on, baby!
20:01Over the past six years,
20:03the Laginas and their team have excavated
20:05more than 20 massive steel-cased shafts
20:08in search of the legendary treasure.
20:10And while the valuables have remained elusive so far...
20:14Okay, let's explore.
20:16In 2020, while searching the spoils excavated
20:20from the E5.25 shaft,
20:22treasure hunter Michael John
20:24and surveyor Steve Guptill made this discovery.
20:27Steve, look at this.
20:30I think that's a cannonball or a grape shot of some sort.
20:34So, yeah, I don't know how old these can date.
20:36I know they can date old.
20:37But a grape shot or a small cannonball,
20:40that's about the size.
20:41That's right, yeah.
20:43Steve was right.
20:44It was a small stone cannonball
20:46and unearthed from more than 100 feet deep
20:49in the Money Pit area.
20:51Then, one year later,
20:53Rick Lagina and Gary Drayton found a second piece
20:56along a possible pathway
20:58between the swamp and the Money Pit.
21:00So, where did they come from?
21:02Gentlemen, hello.
21:03Hello.
21:04Hello.
21:04Dr. Rayside, welcome to the war room.
21:07To find out,
21:08the team had geology professor Dr. Robert Rayside examine them.
21:13So, you looked at these two round, smallish rocks.
21:17What is your opinion?
21:19Well, when I first saw the rocks,
21:20I had anticipated that they were probably something
21:22that had been picked up from a beach somewhere,
21:24but then I got a chance to look at them with a hand land.
21:28There are small green minerals in each one.
21:30My best guess is that these are actually olivine-bearing rocks,
21:34an olivine gabbro and an olivine basalt.
21:37Basalt is a rock that erupted volcanically,
21:40and a gabbro is a rock that never quite made it to the surface.
21:43Would that be likely to be found on Oak Island?
21:46Definitely not.
21:48Yeah, I like that.
21:51And the composition of the rocks are quite unusual
21:53for anything I would expect to see here in Nova Scotia.
21:56Where else in the world might they be?
21:58They form generally in hotspot volcanic island chains.
22:03So, something like the Azores or the Canary Islands
22:06would be the obvious places, I would think.
22:11One of the main possible origins that Dr. Rayside suggested,
22:15the Azores Islands are in, you guessed it, Portugal.
22:20And while the team very much respected his expert opinion,
22:24in 2021, Rick, Doug, Alex, and Peter
22:28took a replica of one of the stone shots
22:31to the Military Museum in Lisbon, Portugal.
22:34So, the reason why we're here is
22:36we have some artifacts that we have found on the island,
22:40and we were hoping that you can affirm
22:43that the stone shot which we have
22:45is exact match to what you may have here in the museum.
22:49Okay, no problem.
22:51Rick, there's one.
22:52Could we expect our stone shot
22:56to be made in the Azores or here on the mainland?
23:00Yes, definitely.
23:01Wow.
23:03They could use very small calibers
23:04for these type of cannons.
23:06Those type of weapons were mainly used on ships.
23:10Oh, wow.
23:11If we could see a cannon
23:13that would shoot that stone shot such as that,
23:16we would love to see it.
23:17Yeah, we have it here,
23:17so if you could come with me, okay?
23:20Love to.
23:20We puzzle now over
23:22why was that stone shot found down in the money pit?
23:26This one could be used on the ship.
23:29Are they an artifact
23:31that was absolutely connected to Oak Island
23:33and perhaps here to this land?
23:36So, this right here?
23:37Yes.
23:37This is 15th, 16th century
23:42with a 4-centimeter caliber
23:44and fires a half-a-Portuguese-pound iron ball.
23:49I've got one of the replicas here.
23:52We can try it.
23:53It's pretty corroded here, so...
23:55Oh, look at that.
23:58Pretty close.
23:58So, I would say that's a match to this.
24:03That's big.
24:03That's huge.
24:07When the money pit was discovered in 1795,
24:10people thought there must be a treasure vault
24:12hidden deep inside of it
24:13due to its sophisticated construction.
24:16They also thought that for someone
24:17to go through all that trouble to conceal it,
24:19there must be something down there
24:21of immeasurable value.
24:23Well, in 2020,
24:24the team found another ingeniously hidden structure
24:27in the triangle-shaped swamp,
24:29and it has become
24:29the next top Portuguese connection
24:32on our countdown.
24:35Number 4, The Stone Road.
24:37I'm going to start pinging it right now.
24:40Okay.
24:40Do you want me to take you away
24:41from shore a bit, buddy?
24:42Yeah.
24:44It all started when geoscientist
24:45Dr. Ian Spooner
24:47noticed something odd
24:48in an old aerial photo of the swamp,
24:50a possible structure
24:52submerged in the southeast corner.
24:55How's the penetration looking?
24:57It's incredible.
24:58It looks really good right now.
25:00To figure out what it might be,
25:02he conducted a sonar scan
25:04with diver Tony Sampson.
25:05Yeah.
25:06And right here,
25:09a big drop-off.
25:10Big drop-off.
25:11Right here.
25:13It's like a wall.
25:14Fantastic.
25:15Yeah.
25:16And so here's...
25:18Right off the bat,
25:19it's kind of cool.
25:19But after the team drained the area
25:22and uncovered the entire feature...
25:24That's impressive.
25:26Yeah, so it's not vertical.
25:28It's angled up.
25:30This is nicely stacked.
25:31It is beautifully stacked.
25:32Yeah.
25:33What they thought might be a wall
25:35turned out to be a road.
25:37Like an old Roman road.
25:39It's possible.
25:40You know, indicates probably
25:41a loading or unloading from a ship.
25:43It made the team wonder
25:45if they had found
25:46the secret unloading port
25:48for whatever might lie buried
25:50in the money pit.
25:50It means to me
25:52that something rather massive
25:55was occurring
25:56well before the discovery
25:58of the money pit on Oak Island.
26:00Could it be an indirect indicator
26:02of treasure?
26:03Yes.
26:03Because why go to all this expense
26:06and construct this road
26:07that seems to have been constructed
26:09to be hidden?
26:10But then,
26:11just who actually built it?
26:13And when?
26:15To me,
26:15the 1500s or earlier,
26:17people that came here from Europe
26:20were used to building roads that way,
26:22with stone.
26:23Wow.
26:24Enter Terry DeVoe,
26:25the president of the
26:27New England Antiquities Research Association,
26:29who gave his educated opinion
26:31on both of those questions.
26:34If you look for the way
26:35roads were generally made
26:38by people in Nova Scotia,
26:40what comes to my mind
26:42is the Portuguese.
26:44Terry's analysis
26:45would be followed
26:46by an incredible journey
26:47that would further connect
26:49the stone road
26:49to the Portuguese.
26:51But before we get to that,
26:53we need to reveal
26:53the next top item on our list.
26:57Number three,
26:58the Cobblestone Pathway.
27:01First scan coming up.
27:02In order to...
27:03Even in the upland there,
27:05where we thought it ended,
27:06it might still continue.
27:08Incredibly,
27:09there's a good chance
27:09the stone road
27:10is under us right here.
27:11The stone road
27:12appeared to extend
27:14into the uplands
27:14of the island
27:15on lot 15.
27:16But in order to prove it,
27:18the fellowship had to dig.
27:20If there's a road,
27:22that's what we're after today
27:23and clues.
27:24Yeah.
27:25I've been wanting to dig this
27:26ever since we're out here
27:28delineating this thing.
27:29Building on the groundwork
27:31of his son and nephew,
27:33Marty Lagina brought in
27:34a backhoe
27:35to see if another
27:36historic construct
27:37really did lie hidden
27:39just beneath the surface.
27:42Whoa, whoa, whoa.
27:43Look at this.
27:45That could be the road.
27:47You may want to take a look.
27:48Really?
27:53There's a lot of cobble there.
27:55Yeah.
27:57Kind of looks like down there.
27:58It does.
27:58Yes, it does, yeah.
27:59Yeah.
28:00All right.
28:00Well,
28:01I'm going to go dig over there.
28:02Yeah, that's a good start.
28:04It was astonishing.
28:06The more they dug,
28:07the more evidence
28:08of a cobblestone path appeared.
28:10This is getting interesting, Billy.
28:12It wasn't exactly
28:13the same kind of feature
28:14as the road in the swamp,
28:16but it had the team
28:17immediately speculating
28:18on what it might be.
28:22Wow.
28:23So you've done some work here
28:24since I left.
28:25Yeah.
28:26That's impressive.
28:27So what do you think?
28:28Well, we all have in our mind
28:29that it's a nice cobble path
28:32coming up here,
28:33so they're hauling something up.
28:34So they're still filling.
28:35They're filling in low areas
28:36just to make a path.
28:37Yes.
28:37Yeah.
28:37If you look down here,
28:39the road went through here,
28:40we think.
28:41Yeah.
28:42It essentially comes off
28:43of the stone road
28:44in the swamp.
28:45Well, we are in
28:46kind of like a central area.
28:47You've got the money pit
28:48over there,
28:49paved area,
28:50swamp.
28:51Somewhat rudimentary.
28:52Yeah.
28:52Just like here.
28:55And that brings us
28:56back to the stone road.
28:59And the most compelling evidence
29:01the team saw in 2021
29:03connecting it
29:04and the pathway
29:05for that matter
29:06to the Portuguese.
29:08Well, look at,
29:09look at how beautifully
29:10constructed.
29:11I mean, rough and raw,
29:12but look at the curvature.
29:14It was in the medieval
29:15Templar stronghold
29:17of Alcadao de Serra,
29:18Portugal.
29:19Look at the degree
29:20of slope remains constant.
29:22It's beautiful.
29:23If there is
29:24a Portuguese connection
29:25to the construction
29:25of the road
29:26in the swamp,
29:27maybe this is the blueprint.
29:28The stone road
29:30uncovered in the
29:31southeastern corner
29:32of the Oak Island swamp.
29:34Looks a lot like
29:34the stone path.
29:36Yeah, it looks
29:36the spitting image.
29:37Yeah.
29:39Just fabulous.
29:45I'm here.
29:46Match is a tunnel feature
29:47that Rick Lagina
29:48and members of the team
29:49saw recently
29:50all the way
29:50across the ocean.
29:52And it's the next
29:53top Portuguese connection
29:55on our countdown.
29:56Number two,
29:59the five finger drains.
30:03It was back in 1850
30:05when members
30:06of the Truro Company
30:07realized that the seawater
30:10that had been flooding
30:11the money pit
30:11since the removal
30:12of the 90-foot stone
30:14appeared to raise
30:16and lower
30:16with the daily tides.
30:19After building
30:20an earthen cofferdam
30:21around Smith's Cove,
30:23they began excavating
30:25and were stunned
30:27to discover
30:28five stone box drains
30:29in the shape of a hand
30:31beneath layers
30:32of coconut fiber
30:33and eelgrass,
30:34which acted as a filter
30:35to keep sand
30:36and silt out.
30:38The drains...
30:39Oh, good morning.
30:41Welcome to Portugal.
30:42During their trip
30:43to Portugal in 2021,
30:45after the carvings
30:46that matched
30:46the 90-foot stone
30:48and the HO stone
30:49as well as
30:50the stone road
30:51and pathways
30:52resembling those
30:53connected to the swamp.
30:55So here we are.
30:55Welcome to the
30:56Convento de Cristo.
30:58Impressive.
31:01Researcher Corian Maul
31:02and historian
31:03João Fiandero
31:04showed Rick
31:05and the team
31:05another...
31:06...under the convent
31:07and they had
31:07a very special way
31:09to indicate
31:09where the aqueducts
31:11are underground
31:11and I think
31:12you're going to find
31:13an interesting connection
31:14there perhaps
31:15to Oak Island.
31:15Are we allowed
31:16to go underground?
31:17I'll show you now.
31:21I'll show you
31:22how they indicated
31:22the underground
31:23water stream.
31:26So the first time
31:27I was here
31:27I noticed this hand
31:28on the wall
31:29with this strange
31:31extended middle finger.
31:34It's clearly a hand.
31:36Yes,
31:37as far as I know
31:38there's five or six
31:40of those
31:40in the convent
31:41and they indicate
31:43the aqueduct.
31:45So these hands
31:46actually indicate
31:47how the water flows
31:49beneath the convento
31:50which reminded me
31:52a little bit
31:53of the finger drains
31:54on Oak Island.
31:57On Oak Island
31:58the so-called
31:59finger drains
32:00were rock
32:02and then a cap rock
32:03over the top of it.
32:05Is that how
32:05these are formed?
32:06Yes.
32:08Under these
32:09you have
32:10you have
32:10a square pipe.
32:12Like a square gutter.
32:14Yeah.
32:14With a capstone.
32:15With a capstone.
32:16That's exactly
32:18the way it's described.
32:19Right?
32:20It's a finger drain.
32:21Yeah.
32:22On the island.
32:24A finger drain.
32:25There you go.
32:26If there was ever
32:28a connection
32:30to Oak Island
32:31this is it.
32:32Finger drains
32:33in this convento
32:34built by the Templars
32:36or at least
32:37Templar influenced
32:38exactly as we
32:40understand them
32:41in Smith's Cove.
32:42It doesn't get
32:43any closer connection
32:45than that
32:45at least not yet.
32:47We saw the hand there
32:48you know
32:48the bottom of the
32:49of the wall
32:50and then
32:51it lands
32:53here
32:54you see
32:55the stones here
32:56then the next hand
32:58Jordan Air
32:58I mean
32:59from what we've seen.
33:01Yeah.
33:03I am back
33:05right where
33:06the Oak Island mystery
33:06first began
33:07in 1795
33:08the Money Pit.
33:10Thanks to the efforts
33:11of Rick, Marty, Craig
33:12and the rest
33:12of the fellowship
33:13we now know
33:14there's scientific evidence
33:16of a vast treasure
33:17comprised of silver
33:18and gold
33:19somewhere below
33:20the 90 foot level.
33:21But
33:21what is it?
33:23and who put it there?
33:24Perhaps both
33:25those questions
33:26can be answered
33:27by the top
33:27Portuguese connection
33:29on our countdown.
33:30So
33:30here it is.
33:34Number one
33:35the initiation well.
33:38Welcome to Sintra.
33:40The Templar Knights
33:41came to here
33:41and they
33:42managed the land
33:44for a long time.
33:45On their last stop
33:47in Portugal
33:47one year ago
33:48Rick Lagina
33:49and members of the team
33:50were treated
33:51to a tour
33:52of Quinta da Regalera
33:53an early 20th century
33:55Masonic wonderling
33:56that had been built
33:57upon a 12th century
33:58Knights Templar stronghold.
34:00There's indeed
34:01something here
34:02that will remind you
34:04very much
34:04of Oak Island.
34:06The initiation well
34:07that is the masterpiece here.
34:10Let's go.
34:11I'd love to.
34:15Yeah.
34:15It's easy to walk past.
34:17The beauty
34:18is inside.
34:20And as they entered
34:21through a stone passage
34:22they could hardly comprehend
34:24what they were seeing.
34:27Wow.
34:30Wow.
34:30It's deep.
34:32What is this dimension?
34:34The diameter?
34:3513 feet.
34:38Which is...
34:38That's awful from earlier.
34:40That chamber at the bottom
34:41I mean
34:42it's very Masonic
34:43at its core.
34:45What I can't help
34:45compare it to
34:46is the design
34:48of the money pit.
34:49The initiation well
34:50has nine platforms.
34:53The nine floor
34:54sounds like something
34:55that we have
34:56possibly on Oak Island.
34:58Yeah, the money pit.
34:59Yeah.
34:59Okay, let's go down.
35:05Smooth and easy
35:06because watch your steps.
35:10When you look at the well
35:12there are nine levels.
35:14We know there were nine levels
35:15in the original description
35:16of the money pit.
35:17We know
35:18that the original money pit
35:20was 13 feet in diameter.
35:22It's curious
35:23if that is not a coincidence
35:26and it seems as though
35:28it is not.
35:29And where was
35:30that information derived?
35:32And why was it important
35:33to replicate it?
35:35What does it mean?
35:36I don't know.
35:40Oh man.
35:41So you would
35:42perfectly see
35:44that Oak tree
35:45from here, right?
35:46There was even
35:47an Oak tree limb
35:48hanging over the center
35:50of the well.
35:51Just like the one
35:53that was observed
35:53by Daniel McGinnis
35:55and his two friends
35:56John Smith
35:56and Anthony Vaughn
35:57when they discovered
35:58the money pit
35:59in 1795.
36:02It is rather spectacular,
36:03isn't it?
36:04Yeah.
36:05Remember the rest halls?
36:06Thought there was
36:07a spiral staircase
36:08around the money pit?
36:10Mm-hmm.
36:11Now, it is a fact
36:12that the initiation well
36:14is a construct
36:15dated to about 1910,
36:16well after the discovery
36:18of the money pit.
36:20However,
36:21the spiral staircase
36:22that encircles the well
36:23was eerily identical
36:25to a discovery
36:26that wasn't made
36:26until 1963
36:28by the Restall family,
36:30a spiral tunnel
36:31encircling
36:32a portion of the shaft.
36:35What we've seen here
36:36is a vision
36:38that was not inspired
36:39but instructed
36:40by knowledge
36:42from the past
36:43which has been carried forward
36:44from the Knights Templar
36:46into the order of Christ
36:48into the Masonic thought
36:50leading all the way up
36:52to this.
36:52Right.
36:53I truly believe
36:54in what we have learned
36:56in Portugal.
36:57It only enhances my belief
36:59that Oak Island
37:01is part of this legacy.
37:03I think we continue
37:04to persevere
37:05with that hope
37:06and for that
37:07we thank you.
37:08Could the initiation well
37:12in Sintra, Portugal
37:13really be the ultimate evidence
37:15that a sacred treasure
37:16of Portuguese
37:17or Portuguese Templar origin
37:19lies buried
37:20in the money pit?
37:22Well, Rick, Marty, Craig
37:23and the team
37:23will be back soon
37:24working to redouble
37:26their efforts
37:26to try to find out
37:27for sure.
37:28From what I'm hearing
37:29and seeing on the island
37:31season 10
37:32of The Curse of Oak Island
37:33is going to be jam-packed
37:35with revelations.
37:36Until then,
37:36as always,
37:37keep the faith acorns
37:38and have a great
37:39Templar night.
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