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00:00Look at this.
00:01Oh, it's beautiful.
00:02Oh, I have those.
00:03Whoa.
00:04Whoa.
00:05See right there?
00:06Yep.
00:07That's massive.
00:08That's been in there a long, long time.
00:09Yeah.
00:10That could be another malt.
00:11Welcome to Malta.
00:12Oh, look at this.
00:13It's quite amazing.
00:14It's just absolutely incredible.
00:15That's stunning.
00:16Is this?
00:17Blueish.
00:18Clay.
00:19Blue clay.
00:20It was one of the keys in working in the money pit.
00:21This is evidence of what happened on Oka Island.
00:26There is an island in the North Atlantic
00:29where people have been looking for an incredible treasure
00:33for more than 200 years.
00:36So far, they have found a stone slab
00:39with strange symbols carved into it.
00:42Man-made workings that date to medieval times
00:46and a lead cross whose origin may be connected
00:49to the Knights Templar.
00:51To date, six men have died trying to solve the mystery.
00:56And according to legend, one more will have to die
01:02before the treasure can be found.
01:05A couple of objectives here for this group.
01:20And this is a perfect group because we're going to talk
01:22about the swamp, and we got the players right here.
01:26As another brisk fall day begins on Oak Island,
01:30brothers Rick and Marty Lagina and their team remain hopeful
01:35that before another harsh North Atlantic winter sets in,
01:39they will be able to finally solve a 230-year-old mystery.
01:44I like this group to kind of decide, you know,
01:47we don't have much time left.
01:48What do we want to accomplish?
01:50Rick's off in Malta right now, but when he comes back,
01:52it'd be nice to give him a happy surprise.
01:57With search activities currently on hold
01:59in the Money Pit area,
02:01as representatives from SB Canada and Rock Equipment
02:05prepare the site for the team's deepest excavation yet
02:09in search of a fabled treasure.
02:11Rick Lagina and other members of the team
02:14have traveled to the European nation of Malta
02:17to investigate an incredible theory.
02:22That numerous treasure deposits were made on Oak Island
02:25between the 12th and 17th centuries
02:28by the medieval order of the Knights Templar
02:31and a related group known as the Knights of Malta.
02:36And while Rick is away, Marty and Craig
02:39are leading the effort to search for possible clues
02:42and valuables across Oak Island
02:45with a focus on the triangle-shaped swamp.
02:48So what are we going to do?
02:50Well, the big thing we're looking for in the swamp
02:53at this point in time is artifacts,
02:55something they can say who or when.
02:57I'd like a why too, Craig.
02:59All this weird digging and manipulating in a swamp.
03:02For what reason?
03:03The north area is where we found the vault.
03:08Yeah.
03:09In recent years, the team has been astonished
03:13to uncover numerous man-made structures
03:16throughout the swamp,
03:17including a massive paved feature near the center,
03:21which has been dated to as early as 1200 AD,
03:25and a stone road in the southeast corner
03:28that is believed to be as much as 500 years old.
03:32Doesn't that look like a vault to you?
03:35And this year, after uncovering sections
03:38of a mysterious cobblestone pathway
03:41in the northern region of the swamp,
03:43incredibly, the team uncovered
03:46an empty brick-and-slate vault-like feature
03:49that may be more than 300 years old.
03:53Rick thinks, you know, that vault is just one of many,
03:58and it sure could be.
03:59So we've got a big area that we could explore yet.
04:02Steve, can you show where we're expanded to?
04:05OK.
04:08That area there.
04:11Now, the team will expand their search
04:14into the main body of the swamp,
04:16with the hope that even more important
04:19and potentially valuable secrets
04:21are still waiting to be revealed.
04:24So we did dig in here,
04:26all the way up to the road.
04:29Now we can expand westward,
04:31and we can do everything north.
04:34Hmm.
04:35I've already staked this out.
04:36It's a huge area.
04:37And so there's a lot of ground we can dig.
04:40The swamp, as much effort as we've expended there,
04:44and as much material as we've moved,
04:46we still probably only looked into about,
04:48I don't know, maybe 20%.
04:50That leaves 80% unexplored.
04:53So there's plenty of room for more mysteries.
04:57You know, I know a big brother Rick
04:59would certainly be delighted
05:01if we uncover another one of those vaults
05:03with a clue or something in it,
05:05which might also help us to understand why it's there.
05:08Yeah.
05:09All right.
05:10Billy, ask me what time it is.
05:11What time is it?
05:12It's time to dig.
05:13Let's go.
05:15As Marty and Craig conclude the meeting
05:18in the War Room on Oak Island,
05:23more than 4,000 miles to the east
05:25on the island nation of Malta.
05:29Wow, look at this.
05:31What a beautiful day.
05:33Unbelievable.
05:34Rick Lagina, along with his nephews,
05:37Alex Lagina and Peter Fernetti,
05:40and other members of the team...
05:42Hey, Matthew.
05:43Hi. How are you?
05:44Good.
05:45...have arrived in the capital city of Valletta
05:47to visit the historic site known as Fort St. Elmo,
05:51a 16th century structure
05:53that was built by members of the Knights of Malta.
05:56Welcome to Fort St. Elmo.
05:59This is just one of the many historical fortifications of Malta.
06:04But this one is a symbol for Malta
06:07because it proves the building skills of the Knights.
06:12And that's why today we're here with Matthew Balsan,
06:15who's an archaeologist, specialised in hospital studies.
06:18He's gonna give us valuable insights.
06:21So, the Knights came to Malta in 1530.
06:25It was the Knights who actually placed us on the map
06:28and transformed us into an island fortress.
06:32After they set foot on Malta,
06:34after they set foot on Malta,
06:36they realised they had to start and construct something.
06:38Now, that was something which was on the mind of the order
06:41ever since 1305,
06:43ever since the Templars were subdued by the papacy.
06:47The Knights of Malta always worried
06:49that the same will happen to us.
06:52In the 12th century,
06:56the order of the Knights Templar
06:58was established by the Catholic Church
07:00to defend Christian interests in Jerusalem
07:03during the Holy Wars, known as the Crusades.
07:07With the military and medical support of a related group,
07:11the Knights Hospitaller,
07:13who later became the Knights of Malta,
07:15the Templars waged many successful campaigns
07:18for nearly two centuries
07:20and built fortified strongholds
07:23throughout the Middle East and Europe,
07:25some with elaborate tunnels
07:28and underground water systems.
07:31The order also grew incredibly wealthy
07:34by establishing a sophisticated banking system
07:38and were rumoured to have found
07:40a number of priceless religious artefacts,
07:43including the Holy Grail,
07:45the golden menorah from Solomon's Temple,
07:48and the Ark of the Covenant.
07:51Treasures that some researchers believe
07:54the Templars began secretly transporting
07:57across the Atlantic Ocean around 1200 AD
08:01and buried them on Oak Island.
08:04But then, in the early 1300s,
08:08the Catholic Church and the King of France
08:11suddenly persecuted and dissolved the Knights Templar
08:14on controversial charges of heresy.
08:17Many were imprisoned and executed,
08:20but much of their remaining wealth
08:23and rumoured religious treasures were never found.
08:27It has been speculated that these valuables
08:30were transferred to the Knights of Malta,
08:32along with secret knowledge
08:34about an established vault on Oak Island.
08:37And curiously, it is known that the Knights of Malta
08:42had a presence in Nova Scotia as early as the 17th century.
08:47We brought some artefacts with us from Oak Island
08:49that we'd like you to take a look at if you would.
08:51Sure.
08:52Is there a place we can do that?
08:53Yes, we can.
08:54Up inside the fort.
08:55Excellent.
08:57Sounds like a great idea.
08:58I'll follow you there.
08:59Now, in Malta, Rick and members of the team
09:03are hoping to learn more information
09:05about possible connections to Oak Island
09:08that might explain the mysterious structures in the swamp
09:12and artefacts they have found including the 14th century,
09:16possibly Templar-related lead cross,
09:19a button with a starburst design
09:22which may be connected to the Knights of Malta,
09:25and a pickaxe recovered from deep in the Money Pit area,
09:30which scientific analysis has suggested
09:33could be of European origin.
09:36The reason for any of our research trips
09:38has been one single purpose,
09:41and that is to try to come up with answers
09:44regarding the Oak Island mystery.
09:46We believe that there was a trail to be followed here in Malta,
09:50hopefully associated with the Knights of Malta.
09:53We have a pick that we found.
09:56This was found in our Money Pit area.
09:58We put down a caisson.
10:00The name of the caisson was RF1,
10:02and this was found below 145 feet in the ground.
10:06Oh.
10:10Yes.
10:11So, this is a pickaxe,
10:14which was also employed locally.
10:17I can tell you no different
10:18than the ones used hundreds of years earlier.
10:21But this, the Maltese word for this is ba'un,
10:23because you are digging with it.
10:25Ba'un means digging,
10:27especially in the quarrying process.
10:30First, they would cut out huge blocks of stone,
10:33then cut them down with this.
10:36But pickaxes were also used in the digging
10:39of underground tunnels, for example.
10:42And this was employed in Malta for centuries.
10:46And their marks are quite visible,
10:49even after centuries.
10:53Wow.
10:54When the knights arrived here in the 1500s?
10:55Yes.
10:56That was already in use.
10:57Yes.
10:58Yes.
10:59It was already in use.
11:00Yes.
11:01The pickaxe is quite an ancient tool locally.
11:03Yes.
11:04In Valetta, Malta, at Fort St. Elmo,
11:07a stronghold built by the Knights of Malta
11:09in the 16th century.
11:10Historian, Matthew Balzan,
11:11has just suggested that a pickaxe
11:13could be a stronghold built by the Knights of Malta
11:14in the 16th century.
11:15A stronghold built by the Knights of Malta
11:16in the 16th century.
11:17Historian, Matthew Balzan,
11:18has just suggested that a pickaxe recovered six years ago
11:33by the Oak Island team from deep in the Money Pit area
11:37is the same kind of tool that was once used by the Knights of Malta
11:41in the construction of their elaborate tunneling systems.
11:45Would a tool like that be used in limestone?
11:50Yes.
11:51It was the predominant tool to be used in cutting the stones
11:55with both the soft rock and even the hard rock.
12:00Did they make use of clay as a resource as part of the fortifications
12:04or anything else that they did?
12:06Partially, yes.
12:07Most of the clay is in the northern part of the island.
12:11We have a particular substance.
12:14It's called dafoon.
12:16It's made out of the product of clay.
12:18It's made out of broken pottery.
12:19OK.
12:20Which would be crushed and mixed with the limestone
12:24for waterproofing purposes.
12:26Oh.
12:27We brought lots of broken pottery out of the Money Pit area.
12:29We sure have.
12:30We certainly have.
12:31It's made out of the money pit.
12:32When the Money Pit was first excavated down to a depth of 90 feet in 1804,
12:38searchers reported finding a heavy man-made clay substance
12:43that had been used as a sealant to keep water out of the shaft.
12:48Curiously, the team has found not only heavy clay,
12:52but also small fragments of pottery during their excavations in the Money Pit area.
12:58The depth that we found this on the island,
13:01that's the type of material that's down in the Money Pit.
13:04Quite similar.
13:05Is it possible that those substances, as well as this pickaxe,
13:12could be evidence that might connect the Knights of Malta to the Oak Island mystery?
13:17It's incredible.
13:19The Knights of Malta, they were craftsmen extraordinaire,
13:23just like the Knights Templar.
13:25Both organizations built incredibly complex structures.
13:30Is there some overlap that the construction techniques learned by one
13:36were exchanged with the other?
13:39It's hard to believe that each arrived at their unique abilities and talents
13:44without some sort of cooperation and some sort of interaction.
13:48You know, Matthew, we want to say thank you.
13:51It is only through help from people like yourself
13:54that will allow us to move this story forward.
13:57Most welcome.
13:58My pleasure. Thank you.
14:00While Rick and the team continue their investigation in Malta,
14:05back on the western side of Oak Island...
14:08We're still getting stuff in here.
14:10That corner is basically done.
14:13Yeah.
14:14Helen Shelton, Moya MacDonald,
14:17and other members of the archaeology team
14:19are searching for clues in a mysterious round feature
14:23near the shoreline of Lot 5.
14:26Ever since Rick, Marty, and the team began excavating the structure in 2022,
14:33it has yielded a number of important discoveries.
14:37These include varied types of stone constructs in the feature
14:42that suggest it was used as a campsite by number of groups during different time periods.
14:48A mortar-like substance matching soils from over 100 feet deep in the Money Pit area.
14:57And the so-called Starburst Button, which researcher Judy Rudabush has potentially connected to the Knights of Malta.
15:05We're doing good today.
15:08The archaeologists have made some very interesting finds that suggest there were multiple people here.
15:15So are there connections between Lot 5 and the original depositional work?
15:19I hope that we can get to the point where Lot 5 will reveal its secrets.
15:28Oh, nice. Look at this.
15:30Whoa.
15:31Whoa.
15:32Whoa.
15:33Whoa.
15:34Oh, that's so pretty.
15:36Look at that.
15:37That's amazing.
15:38That's a great find.
15:39Hey, Helen, come look at this.
15:41Found something?
15:42Yeah.
15:43Check this out.
15:44Oh, my heavens. Look at that.
15:46It's huge.
15:47It's huge, huh?
15:48Wow.
15:49So that's a slipware decoration.
15:51Okay.
15:52So it's glazed, and they put the slip on it, and then they would trail an object through it to make that wiggly pattern.
15:59These coarse earthenwares, they have a wide date range.
16:03It falls well within, like, our mid to late 1700s.
16:06You can also find it earlier, but it didn't change that much over time.
16:09The interesting thing is, over there in that pitch, that's where the starburst or the sunburst button came from.
16:15Oh, that's right.
16:16Yeah.
16:17Right.
16:18This area is actually quite interesting now.
16:20Mm.
16:21A piece of earthenware pottery that dates to the 18th century or earlier?
16:28Could it be connected to whomever left the starburst button in this feature?
16:32And if so, could it offer more evidence that members of the Knights of Malta might be linked to the Oak Island mystery?
16:40Nice.
16:41Very nice.
16:42Awesome.
16:43Yeah.
16:44Well, keep digging.
16:45Keep digging.
16:46As the archaeology team continues their investigation on Lot 5.
16:53Hey, Billy.
16:54What is the plan?
16:55We're going to keep going in this general direction?
16:57We'll take slices this way, because we found a vault right over there.
17:01We've never really explored around here.
17:03Gary Drayton, Billy Gerhardt, Steve Guptill, and Charles Barkhouse are searching for more evidence of man-made workings and valuables in the northern region of the swamp.
17:17I'm hoping we find another vault as well. That vault was really cool.
17:22When you find something strange and out of place, like the square-shaped vault, and it's on Oak Island, I think it's a logical conclusion there might be more of them.
17:34I don't know.
17:35Maybe there's something inside it.
17:37So we need to look for them.
17:39Look at that.
17:40What do you see?
17:41Look at that timber right there.
17:43See right there?
17:44Right there.
17:45We've already uncovered a piece of timber, which is a great sign, because we have found some incredible man-made structures.
17:55Hopefully, we're close to an old feature.
17:58Hey, Charles.
17:59Hey, Marty.
18:00How are we doing?
18:01There's quite a substantial log right there.
18:04You came at a good time, because we're just trying to figure out what this is.
18:09Yeah, let's have a look.
18:10That was a big log.
18:23Yeah.
18:24It does look like there could be real potential that something might have been built up here, right?
18:29Yeah.
18:30Could Billy be correct that the team has just found part of another man-made structure buried under the muck in the swamp?
18:39If so, just what might they reveal as they uncover more of it?
18:44There's another log right there.
18:45See that?
18:46Yeah.
18:48Little one.
18:52My view would be that's been in there a long, long time.
18:55That's an important piece there.
18:57Looks like it's cut on that end, too.
18:59It's notched like a structure.
19:03Hopefully, it's something we could uncover here.
19:06In the northern region of the Oak Island swamp, Marty Lagina, along with other members of the team, have just discovered evidence of another man-made wooden structure.
19:23Okay, let's start with things that are absolutely for sure.
19:28For sure, somebody built this to get out here.
19:30I don't think there's any way to argue that.
19:31No.
19:32The question is, why and who?
19:34Yeah, were they looking for the vault that we found, or did they know that that one was there because they...
19:39There's another one.
19:41A whole bunch of activity occurred in the swamp.
19:44The swamp was manipulated.
19:46If not man-made entirely, at least manipulated.
19:49It would have been used for something very, very important and very secretive.
19:54But none of this is easy work, particularly long ago.
19:58Why somebody would do something like that remains a mystery.
20:02Billy, we're only going to find out by digging.
20:04Yep.
20:05Let's dig.
20:06And see what we see.
20:07The following morning, while the team works to uncover the mysterious wooden structure in the swamp on Oak Island.
20:21More than 4,000 miles to the east in Valletta, Malta.
20:26Hello.
20:27Good to see you.
20:28How are you?
20:29Hi.
20:30Nice to see you again.
20:31Nice to see you again.
20:32Hi.
20:33So guys, we are in the heart of Valletta.
20:36Researcher Emiliano Zacchetti has arranged for Rick Lagina and other members of the team to meet investigative journalist Jean-Paul Mifsud for a guided tour of one of Malta's most mysterious and renowned features.
20:51Jean-Paul Mifsud is going to be our guide today.
20:55And we're going to go down and take a look at the underground part of the city, the one who was built by the Knights of Malta.
21:03Mm-hmm.
21:04As a kid, this was our playgrounds, you know.
21:08All these tunnels, if you move back in time over 400 years ago, this was just like a hill.
21:15The Knights took this hill, Mount Shibaras, and designed all the fortifications and the defense.
21:26But also, in case of siege tunnels, Valletta is like a grid, and there are tunnels underneath each street.
21:40These tunnels were then used by the Knights.
21:43Wow.
21:44Incredible.
21:45Be very careful walking down and your heads.
21:49Have fun down there.
21:50I've got an appointment at the Archives, so it's too close to that appointment for me to go down.
21:53Okay.
21:54All right.
21:55See you, Doug.
21:56See you.
21:57In 1565, after defending Valletta from an attempted invasion by the Ottoman Empire, the Knights of Malta began a major renovation of the city to create a stronghold for their order.
22:11The new fortification included a vast network of underground tunnels that were dug out of the limestone bedrock.
22:20These tunnels offered not only a safe haven in times of war for the Knights and the citizens of Valletta, but also served as secure storage facilities and featured elaborate cisterns for collecting and controlling water.
22:36And according to some researchers, the tunnels may have also served as a hiding place for Templar-related treasures before they were transported to the new world.
22:51It's just absolutely incredible.
22:54As we are introduced to this underground area, it's massive.
22:58It's a highway literally underground.
23:01Various tunnels, cisterns, chambers were developed and built to sustain a siege.
23:09I think it was representative of the skills necessary to construct a chamber or a vault or a room that could hold treasure.
23:21These were the original cisterns.
23:25The function of this was obviously for the water and it's two cisterns.
23:34So there is a connecting arch there.
23:39It will go in and even further down.
23:43It's a bit deeper also.
23:45And at the end, there is a small connecting tunnel which links both reservoirs.
23:54So this was done in 1570.
23:56That's the era.
23:57The way I hear the story, it was in response to the great siege that they did all this.
24:01Yes, it was a direct response because the Knights were convinced that the Ottomans were going to try another great siege.
24:10So there's an acute threat.
24:12Yeah.
24:13We're looking for reasons they may have taken an interest in other locations, even as far as Oak Island.
24:20This is evidence that they might have been thinking that way.
24:23That they needed to safeguard things.
24:27It certainly seems to be the right time frame.
24:29By that time, they'd realize that they'd be susceptible to attacks here.
24:33And it might be an idea that we need to move what we have.
24:36And we take them to Nova Scotia.
24:38And they deposit something on Oak Island.
24:41In 1632, the French Sea Captain and Knight of Malta, Isaac de Rosely, led an expedition to North America in order to establish France's colony of Acadia, known today as Nova Scotia.
24:57Curiously, the colony's headquarters were at Fort Point on the La Hague River, just 15 miles south of Oak Island.
25:07Is it possible that Isaac de Rosely's expedition was also related to a secret mission?
25:14One designed to safeguard another cache of Templar-related treasures in the New World on Oak Island.
25:22So now, let's go and have a look at the tunnels.
25:27Let's go.
25:28Perfect.
25:29Okay.
25:31After you, sir.
25:32Everything that we have seen regarding the efforts of the Knights of Malta, it's an incredible undertaking.
25:38They needed structures like these to protect their possessions, to protect themselves.
25:44That's easily explainable here, the why.
25:47On Oak Island, it's not quite so easy to explain, but perhaps some answers lie within.
25:53It's almost surreal.
25:55In the Knights era, this would have been the passageway, which passes exactly underneath the street, up at the top.
26:05You can really see the difference in the tools that they used.
26:09It's a kind of rock which you can chisel away straight.
26:13Is this clay?
26:15It's grayish, blueish.
26:18It's softer than the limestone.
26:20The blue clay played an important role because you have, like, a natural sealant.
26:26Did you come across something similar on your island?
26:31Yes.
26:32We know that waterproofing with blue clay had to be done in the money pit.
26:36Okay.
26:37Around whatever they're hiding in there.
26:47Is this clay?
26:49It's grayish, blueish.
26:51Did you come across something similar on your island?
26:56Yes.
26:57We know that waterproofing with blue clay had to be done in the money pit.
27:00Okay.
27:01Around whatever they're hiding in there.
27:03While exploring an underground tunnel system in Valletta, Malta, that was constructed in the 16th century by members of the Knights of Malta.
27:12Rick Lagina and members of the team have just found a potential clue that might be related to the Oak Island mystery.
27:20Waterproofing was one of the keys of working on the island because it was an island.
27:25Is it possible that Rick and the team have just seen a waterproofing method in tunnels that were created by the Knights of Malta,
27:34which matches the reported design of the original Oak Island money pit?
27:39We know, based on our work in the money pit, that blue clay was used to waterproof things.
27:46The shafts in particular, perhaps the tunnels.
27:49That's amazing.
27:50Mm-hmm.
27:51Might it be replicated here?
27:53Because we know that they needed some way to waterproof the aqueducts and the underground cisterns.
27:59So it's quite impactful to see it here.
28:02This kind of limestone you don't encounter on Oak Island until you get very deep.
28:06Yep.
28:07The legend tells of flood tunnels on the island.
28:10This speaks to the capability of these people of experience with tunneling.
28:15And when we talk about potential suspects on the island, like the Knights of Malta,
28:21we're standing in the work of a group of people at the end of the 1500s.
28:26I mean, they did it.
28:28Yeah, you're standing on it.
28:30The original description of the original find of the money pit,
28:34where the treasure would have resided, you could see the same things.
28:39There was no cribbing.
28:40You could see the strike marks on the walls.
28:42It was that tightly consolidated.
28:45It was very competent ground.
28:47Could this have been done long ago on Oak Island?
28:50I'd say it's definitive.
28:53All of the things that we see exhibited of the Knights of Malta's capabilities underground
28:59certainly are exemplified underground in the money pit.
29:02We have limestone.
29:03We have blue clay.
29:04And someone found a way to move water from the ocean to the money pit.
29:09So is it possible that this same type of work by the same peoples,
29:14might that have been used to do the same type of work on Oak Island?
29:19It's possible.
29:20And at some point, that may be provable.
29:24You have led us to a place that affirms to us some of the work on Oak Island was known and conducted
29:30during the timeframes that we have great suspicion of, 1500s, times of the Knights of Malta.
29:37So for that, we are extremely grateful.
29:39Thank you very much.
29:40Thank you very much.
29:41Well, for us, there's more to see in Valletta.
29:45So let's resurface.
29:48Thank you so much.
29:49As Rick Lagina and members of the team continue their search for clues in Malta,
29:56over 4,000 miles to the west on lot five of Oak Island.
30:01Nice, loose subsoil.
30:02Isn't that compared to what we had in the other pits?
30:04Yeah.
30:05Jack Begley joins Helen Sheldon and other members of the archeology team as they dig for more artifacts
30:12and potential valuables in and around the mysterious stone foundation.
30:17We just have to go slow.
30:19Yeah.
30:20Lot five always just keeps getting better and better.
30:24And being able to dig on the side of the feature today where that starburst button was found,
30:30I'm hoping we can find some other related artifacts to give us an earlier date.
30:43Oh, wow.
30:46Oh.
30:47Look at that.
30:48Oh, look.
30:49Looks like there's more.
30:50Oh, yeah.
30:51Oh, look.
30:52Oh, my goodness.
30:53There's a few shards together.
30:55Yeah.
30:56There's a lot of shards.
30:57Oh, what a nice piece.
30:59I bet you those would fit together.
31:00Yeah.
31:01It's everywhere.
31:02Look at all this.
31:03It's everywhere.
31:04This is great.
31:06That's almost like a whole plate.
31:07It is almost like a whole plate.
31:09Look at that.
31:10You've got the foot ring that fits on there.
31:12Yeah.
31:13It's the base.
31:14Oh, this is great.
31:15There's tons of it here.
31:16So this looks like creamware here.
31:18Yeah, creamware.
31:19Okay.
31:20Yeah.
31:21So that's pretty neat.
31:22Yeah.
31:23We're looking at something, you know, from the late three quarters of the 1700s.
31:25Yeah, it's awesome.
31:26Pottery from the late 18th century?
31:30Because the team has found artifacts dating to as early as the 14th century and a number
31:37from the 17th century, is it possible that they are now finding evidence of yet another
31:43period when this feature was occupied?
31:46Somebody ate off that plate.
31:47Yeah.
31:48If so, who was it?
31:51And what was their purpose?
31:53This feature has actually been really interesting and has been changing our thoughts all along.
31:57Initially, when we started looking at things, it looked like it could have been perhaps a
32:01basic homestead.
32:02Yeah.
32:03Do you want to stop banging it?
32:04Because I think you've got the rest of the plate there.
32:07There's a whole plate here.
32:08I'll open it for you.
32:09But as we started going along and finding more and more artifacts, now I'm starting to
32:14think that it could have been multi-generational and having some bit of conspiracy to do with
32:19the money pit itself.
32:21There's definitely some ties and it's really making me rethink who was here and what were
32:27they doing.
32:28So this is definitely an artifact rich layer.
32:32If we're finding that right here, that much intact, I'm excited to see what else is in
32:37here.
32:38Yeah, exactly.
32:40Oh my goodness.
32:49What have you got?
32:50Oh, look at this.
32:52Oh, it's beautiful.
32:57Oh, it's beautiful.
32:59I think this is a button.
33:01It's got a little pattern on it kind of.
33:03That looks really fragile.
33:05Can we take a look?
33:06Yeah.
33:07While excavating the mysterious stone foundation near the shoreline on Lot 5, archeology assistant
33:14Ethan Green has just made a potentially important discovery.
33:18Look, you've got the shank and everything.
33:21It's fully intact.
33:22Yeah.
33:23Hey, Helen and Jack, you've got to come check this out.
33:27Yeah.
33:28You've got to look at this.
33:29Ethan just found this.
33:30Oh my heavens.
33:31Whoa.
33:32There's something on there.
33:33Yeah.
33:34That's not just a flat mark.
33:35He had good eyes.
33:36He can see it too.
33:37What do you think it is?
33:38It kind of looks like a flower to me.
33:39I think the fact that it's got any kind of pattern on it is going to be fascinating.
33:43Yeah.
33:44Yeah.
33:45An ornate button featuring a flower design?
33:48Could Fiona Steele be correct that it may bear a key clue that might help identify just
33:54who left it in this feature on Lot 5, a feature that the team believes may be connected to one
34:01or more operations to hide something of value in the money pit.
34:05Keep in mind, we found the starburst button right over there.
34:08Yeah.
34:09Like we're talking a few feet away.
34:10Yeah.
34:11So if this is anything similar, then that's pretty exciting.
34:13Yeah.
34:14There is that connection between the starburst button and the Knights of Malta.
34:19So who knows?
34:20This new button we just found could relate to that starburst button.
34:25It could have an insignia or something on the face of the button that could give us more
34:31information to whether or not the Knights of Malta were on Oak Island.
34:34We're going to have to take that to the lab and do some scans on it.
34:39Emma will tell us how old that is.
34:41Yeah.
34:42And exactly what it's made of.
34:43Yeah.
34:44Yeah.
34:45Ethan's on a roll.
34:46Yeah, he is.
34:47He really is.
34:48Back to safety, Ellen.
34:49That's it.
34:50Back to it.
34:51Nice, fine.
34:52Ethan.
34:55The following morning on Oak Island, as the investigations continue in the northern region
35:01of the swamp.
35:02We're running out of time.
35:04Dig.
35:05And on lot five.
35:06This could probably still come down a bit.
35:08Yeah.
35:09Some 4,000 miles to the east off the coast of Malta.
35:14From one island to another.
35:16One beautiful island to another.
35:17Yeah.
35:18Rick Lagina and members of the team are being transported to the island of Gozo, where the
35:24Knights of Malta established one of their strongholds in 1565.
35:28We brought some of the artifacts.
35:29Yeah.
35:30Because maybe we can find some connection.
35:32There, the team will visit the Citadel of Victoria in the hopes of making more possible connections
35:41between the Knights of Malta and the Oak Island mystery.
35:45It's beautiful.
35:46Even though the beauty, the aesthetics of what we are about to see, we are focused.
35:53We mustn't lose fact of the magnitude of the possibilities that we are beginning to hopefully uncover.
36:01Is this the place?
36:02Yeah.
36:03This one.
36:04We are here in Malta to hopefully prove the connection between the Knights of Malta and Oak Island.
36:12Hey, Dennis.
36:13Hey.
36:14How are you?
36:15How are you?
36:16Dennis Darmanin is a Maltese historian and leading expert on military artifacts and buttons.
36:22And today, Cory and Malta and Emiliano Sacchetti have arranged for Dennis to analyze the starburst button
36:29that was found on Lot 5 one year ago.
36:32Well, sir, we have a button to show you.
36:35Oh.
36:36Our archaeologists, they believe it has the potential to be one of the oldest buttons we've found on the island.
36:41Let's see.
36:44There we go.
36:45That's all right.
36:46There it is.
36:48Ah.
36:49Well, the pattern is more likely a Spanish pattern.
36:52Mm-hmm.
36:53That's interesting.
36:54Because some members of the Knights of Malta came from Spain.
36:57Of course.
36:58And what I can add to that is I did come across a similar pattern here.
37:05And according to the sizes, they were either worn on a waistcoat or else they were worn the larger sizes on their coats.
37:14I would date it to about 1650, not later than 1675.
37:19Mm-hmm.
37:20That's crazy.
37:22That may indicate the period of construction for that feature on Lot 5.
37:26Yeah.
37:27Correct.
37:28It's more than 100 years before the discovery of the Money Pit.
37:31Yeah.
37:32It's quite remarkable.
37:33Yeah.
37:34Yes.
37:35I quite, I quite agree.
37:36And this design was quite sort of trendy.
37:39But the more elaborate adds to the prestige of, of, of the owner.
37:44Okay.
37:45So we know in Nova Scotia in the 1630s, we had the presence of Knights of Malta.
37:51Yes.
37:52So this button may connect to the Knights of Malta.
37:54Yes.
37:55That's quite remarkable.
37:59Amazing.
38:00In the historic citadel, located on the Maltese island of Gozo, Rick Lagina and members of the team have just learned from historian and button expert Dennis Darmanin that the button bearing a starburst design, which was found on Lot 5, dates back to the 17th century.
38:19And could be connected to the Knights of Malta.
38:33So these uniforms were highly personalized.
38:36Yes.
38:37Yes, they are.
38:38They would wear the fashion of the time.
38:39Yeah.
38:40These buttons were more trendy with the aristocratic level.
38:43So the Knights would hold their status and what they wear.
38:47Yeah.
38:48So we'd like to show you a picture of a uniform that might have had a button like that with the swirl on it.
38:55Sure, sure.
38:58I'd like to get your thoughts on that.
39:01Yes.
39:02It's a similarity.
39:04Either it's a button exactly like it or of a larger size.
39:10Mm-hmm.
39:11Because a coat button, it would be larger than, let's say, a vest button or a waistcoat button.
39:17Right.
39:18So with this starburst button in particular.
39:20Yeah.
39:21There is a possibility that this button would have been worn by somebody, a member of the Knights of Malta.
39:25Oh, yes.
39:26I agree.
39:27Well, that's a pretty exciting possibility.
39:29I find that to be very, very interesting.
39:30Yeah.
39:31If Dennis Darmanin is correct that the so-called starburst button may very well have come from the uniform of a member of the Knights of Malta, could it help prove that the order was connected to the Oak Island mystery?
39:50It would also explain the mortar-like material that was found in the round feature on Lot 5 that matches soils from over 100 feet deep in the Money Pit area.
40:00We have the research which kind of brought us here in the first place that really spell out Malta.
40:07But then we have this mysterious button that seems to kind of be tying everything together.
40:11So I think that's an exciting possibility.
40:13It's true.
40:14We now have a visit predating the discovery of the Money Pit by a significant amount of time.
40:21But to what end?
40:23This may be the button that explains what the Lot 5 feature possibly represents.
40:28You know, Dennis, we can only solve the treasure hunt by looking to the past in order to understand what lies ahead of us.
40:36Yes.
40:37You have certainly given us great insight and we really, really appreciate it.
40:41Well, my final comment is, I'm always here to assist.
40:47Thank you very much.
40:48It's an honor.
40:50Although thousands of miles currently separate members of the Oak Island team, their new discoveries, both on the island and halfway across the globe, may have brought them ever closer to the answers they seek.
41:07And now, as their long journey to solve this mystery continues, perhaps it is now only a matter of time before the ultimate revelation is pulled from deep underground.
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