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00:00:01Tonight, on The Curse of Oak Island...
00:00:03Here we go.
00:00:04The strategy is to figure out where that treasure went way deep.
00:00:09A special two-hour premiere.
00:00:11Oh, looks like we broke through the ledge into the solution channel.
00:00:14Oh yeah, that's it for sure.
00:00:15If we're gonna hit, this is the one that should pay.
00:00:18Woo-hoo!
00:00:19What's that?
00:00:20It could be a gold or a silver coin.
00:00:21In the original money pit.
00:00:22Found this item on the drill bit.
00:00:23In 1849.
00:00:24I believe this is your one thing, Rick.
00:00:26This may be what lies below.
00:00:29That's a game changer.
00:00:30Fiona just found this.
00:00:32No way.
00:00:33Early stuff.
00:00:34We're changing Nova Scotian history, really.
00:00:35Hit something hard, so I'm gonna pull it up.
00:00:37Please do.
00:00:38Could we hit a vault?
00:00:39We're hoping to find a coin, something.
00:00:41What is that?
00:00:42That's a chunk of metal.
00:00:43It's very thick.
00:00:44No, we may be onto something.
00:00:45See how shiny that is?
00:00:46Oh my god.
00:00:47I can confirm that it is silver, likely from 1367 to 1383.
00:00:50Does that look like a Templar cross?
00:00:52Yeah, it does.
00:00:53Yeah.
00:00:54It's real.
00:00:55There is an island in the North Atlantic where people have been looking for an incredible treasure for more than 200 years.
00:01:08So far, they have found a stone slab with strange symbols carved into it.
00:01:13Man-made workings that date to medieval times.
00:01:17And a lead cross whose origin may be connected to the Knights Templar.
00:01:23To date, six men have died trying to solve the mystery.
00:01:28And, according to legend, one more will have to die before the treasure can be found.
00:01:36So, here we are again, on our way to Oak Island.
00:01:52How are y'all feeling?
00:01:54Well, it's exciting because I'm basically satisfied that something happened on Oak Island that's outside of recorded history.
00:02:02Yep.
00:02:03We're finding more things that say that the legend is true.
00:02:06Absolutely.
00:02:07For brothers Rick and Marty Lagina, their partner Craig Tester, and the members of their team,
00:02:13a new chapter in the world's longest-running treasure hunt is about to begin on Oak Island.
00:02:20For me, I just want it solved.
00:02:24And I do believe there'll be success this year.
00:02:27Yeah.
00:02:28Beginning in 1795, when three young men first discovered an ingeniously designed shaft,
00:02:36that reached more than 90 feet deep, known as the Money Pit.
00:02:41Generations of treasure hunters have tried and failed to uncover a legendary fortune.
00:02:48And now, after spending more than a decade finding clues that suggest a vast treasure is indeed hiding deep below ground.
00:02:59Rick, Marty, Craig, and their team are determined to write the definitive chapter of the Oak Island mystery.
00:03:06And away we go.
00:03:10We begin a new year with this mission statement.
00:03:14Let's solve it.
00:03:15Let's find the answers.
00:03:17We're here.
00:03:18Our hopes are as high as they've ever been.
00:03:21And I'm really and truthfully pretty excited about it.
00:03:25Hey, everybody!
00:03:26Hey!
00:03:27We're back!
00:03:28Hey, chaps!
00:03:29When you walk into the museum, everyone is smiling.
00:03:34There's a certain energy in the room.
00:03:36There's a sense of commitment.
00:03:38Hey, partner.
00:03:39And I draw inspiration from them.
00:03:42Welcome, everybody.
00:03:44Back to the quest, right?
00:03:46Yep.
00:03:47So let's start with this.
00:03:49If you try and make sense out of everything other people have done and what we've done the last 12 years,
00:03:54what makes sense is that the treasure has gone even deeper in the Money Pit and is now in the solution channel.
00:04:02That's right.
00:04:03In 1804, a large stone bearing strange carved symbols was discovered in the center of an oak platform exactly 90 feet deep in the Money Pit.
00:04:15Upon its removal, the shaft flooded with seawater that was fed from a reported cobblestone tunnel that originated 500 feet away at Smith's Cove.
00:04:28Over the next two centuries, numerous companies of treasure hunters dug more than a dozen adjacent shafts and tunnels,
00:04:36all in the hopes of bypassing the believed booby trap and recovering whatever had been so skillfully buried at the bottom of the Money Pit.
00:04:47Each one fell victim to flooding and cave-ins.
00:04:51This resulted in the ground across the Money Pit area becoming unstable and prone to collapse.
00:04:57One year ago, Rick, Marty, Craig and the team believed that their efforts to solve the mystery would finally pay off.
00:05:08After groundwater testing pinpointed a large source of precious metals more than 100 feet underground.
00:05:16They began digging a series of seven-foot diameter steel shafts.
00:05:21What is that?
00:05:22But while recovering numerous artifacts, including digging tools that predated 1795.
00:05:29We found this concrete.
00:05:31And also obtaining possible evidence of a treasure vault nearly 160 feet deep.
00:05:38Stop.
00:05:41It's caving.
00:05:42It's caving all the way back.
00:05:44The earth beneath two of the shafts, known as TB1 and TOT1, suddenly collapsed.
00:05:52This has led the team to suspect that the treasure has now fallen to more than 200 feet deep and now lies in a natural feature in the bedrock known as a solution channel.
00:06:04A geological term for a large cavity that forms over time due to limestone dissolving in groundwater.
00:06:12I am just really, really enthusiastic that it resides deeper.
00:06:16And with that, Scott, you've been doing a ton of work on that.
00:06:19Why don't you tell us the thoughts on that?
00:06:21So, as you know, we want to look in the solution channel to try to find the treasure.
00:06:25Yeah.
00:06:27So, Steve and I sat with Rick and we've came up with a drill program this year.
00:06:30So, Steve, you want to bring up the map there and we'll talk about the holes that we want to do?
00:06:33Okay.
00:06:35So, now we're looking at a map of the solution channel.
00:06:38The green is the solution channel.
00:06:40Yes.
00:06:42So, my understanding of the solution channel is between anywhere between 150 and 220 feet is a moving mud river with different depths.
00:06:50Yes.
00:06:51So, it's not a mud river, it's a gold river down there.
00:06:57Now, the total area in the solution channel is less than 5% that we've actually explored.
00:07:02So, Scott and I and Rick sat and discussed this.
00:07:05And this is what that map looks like.
00:07:08So, we're going to start the boreholes this year in around top one.
00:07:13Okay.
00:07:14If these are the holes, Rick, you want to drill the green things?
00:07:16Yep.
00:07:17What I want to do is systematic drilling.
00:07:20We're going to drive the casing down around 210 feet because we want to explore the solution channel at depth.
00:07:28So, if we found something with the drilling program, we would then turn over to this gleeful planning of a recovery effort.
00:07:37Absolutely.
00:07:38That would be fabulous.
00:07:39Okay.
00:07:40So, that wraps up the first part of this discussion about the money pit.
00:07:43Now, I think that is the focus of treasure.
00:07:47But Fiona and Laird would say, wait a minute, there's a lot more to this story as far as what actually happened on this island.
00:07:55So, Laird, I'll kick it over to you and why don't you pick up and summarize all that.
00:08:00Yeah, we're really excited about getting back to Lot 5 given all of the artifacts we found.
00:08:04And we're starting to see that story on Lot 5 expand within itself.
00:08:09Yeah.
00:08:10The soils from the round feature and feature 2, the rectangular feature, that matched the soils from the area of the money pit at depth.
00:08:21And to me, that's huge.
00:08:23Absolutely.
00:08:24After acquiring Lot 5 from the estate of Robert Young in 2022, the Oak Island team discovered a rounded stone foundation near the shoreline and another rectangular feature several yards to the south.
00:08:41Both had been deliberately buried and have produced astonishing clues that suggest they were related to the money pit and were used by multiple groups as base camps between the 14th and the 18th centuries.
00:08:56These finds include a mortar-like substance, matching soil samples unearthed from more than 100 feet deep in the money pit area.
00:09:07A lead barter token, which just like the 14th century lead cross that was recovered at Smith's Cope in 2017, may be connected to the medieval order of the Knights Templar.
00:09:20Several Venetian trade beads, as well as two garment buttons that have been matched to the kinds worn by members of the Knights of Malta.
00:09:30A group who descended from the Templar order and who are known to have inhabited parts of Nova Scotia as early as the 1630s.
00:09:40We haven't been able to find another feature in Nova Scotia that matches what's happening on Lot 5.
00:09:46Yeah.
00:09:47So this year we're hoping to expand our excavations around the round feature that will give us even more insights into the who, what, where and why on Lot 5.
00:10:00Right.
00:10:02Look, everybody knows that I think the research is an important facet of our work.
00:10:08So we have been actively engaged in following the clues we have come to learn of to date.
00:10:15That includes possible Templar connections, certainly the Knights of Malta connection.
00:10:20Yep.
00:10:22Ever since the Laginas and Craig Tester began their quest to solve the Oak Island mystery in 2006.
00:10:29They have been investigating the incredible theory that the Order of the Knights Templar and related groups began transporting priceless religious treasures from Europe to Oak Island as much as 800 years ago.
00:10:45Oh, wow.
00:10:46And during the past several years, they have visited numerous former Templar strongholds in countries such as France, Scotland, Portugal, Italy, and Malta, where they have seen amazing evidence that it could be true.
00:11:05There's something there that you might recognize for that cross evidence such as symbols meant to represent religious artifacts that have also been found over the years on Oak Island.
00:11:20It's just absolutely incredible tunnels that matched the reported design of those found deep underground in the money pit area.
00:11:29The stone path looks exactly like this.
00:11:31And even a stone road in Portugal that is nearly identical to one they themselves unearthed in the Oak Island swamp back in 2020.
00:11:42So, the research continues to evolve and I think there's a real chance that it will be highly enlightening.
00:11:50I love it.
00:11:52I'm very enthused because I think there is potentially an answer this year as to why we haven't found this treasure, at least in the moment.
00:12:00I want to get to the bottom of that.
00:12:01I want to get to the bottom of that.
00:12:03So, we've got a lot to do.
00:12:04We've got the team to do it.
00:12:05Yeah.
00:12:06Yep.
00:12:07So, I'm eager to get started.
00:12:09Jack's eager to get started.
00:12:10He's got some stuff at home he's finishing up on.
00:12:13I see a lot of eager faces.
00:12:14Yeah.
00:12:16For me, it's always about you guys.
00:12:19About the people.
00:12:20We can throw science at this.
00:12:21We can throw technology at this.
00:12:22But look at each other and realize that within each of us, that's where the real importance lies.
00:12:29Let's figure out who, what, when, where, why and how.
00:12:32Let's really commit ourselves to doing that.
00:12:34Well said.
00:12:35Yep.
00:12:36I do know one thing.
00:12:37The answers aren't in this room.
00:12:40Well, let's get going.
00:12:41You're here.
00:12:42All right.
00:12:43Let's do it.
00:12:44Let's make it so.
00:12:45Hello.
00:12:46I see we're drilling.
00:12:47Following the team's meeting in the Interpretive Center, Rick Lagina and Craig Tester join other
00:13:00members of the team in the Money Pit area as their first core drilling operation of the
00:13:06has begun in borehole J6, a borehole located just five feet south of the seven-foot diameter
00:13:15TOT1 shaft, which was dug one year ago.
00:13:19It was at that location where the team recovered a pickaxe more than 160 feet deep that was dated
00:13:27to as early as the 16th century.
00:13:30And it was also where a massive cabin occurred at nearly 180 feet that caused tons of earth
00:13:37and possible valuables to fall into the solution channel more than 200 feet underground.
00:13:45We're down only about eight feet.
00:13:47Just the very first run.
00:13:48It's the beginning.
00:13:49But, I mean, I think this is a really good bet that we're going to find some treasure in
00:13:52this solution channel.
00:13:53All you got to do is find one thing.
00:13:55One thing.
00:13:56The strategy this year for the Money Pit is to figure out where that treasure went way
00:14:03deep.
00:14:04Where did it fall into the so-called solution channel?
00:14:07And what is also different from the other years is we are absolutely going deep with
00:14:12every one of them.
00:14:13200 feet.
00:14:14Maybe even more.
00:14:15If everything works out, we got a good chance of finding something here.
00:14:18We're about to find artifacts and be searching at a level well below where any seeker has gone.
00:14:23All the more reason to keep a really close eye on these cores, because the slightest thing might
00:14:29be the most important thing.
00:14:30Time's going to tell as we get a little deeper.
00:14:35As the core drilling operation continues in the Money Pit area.
00:14:41Later that afternoon.
00:14:42Hey.
00:14:43Hey.
00:14:44How are you?
00:14:45All right.
00:14:46Rick Lagina, his nephew Peter Fernetti, and metal detection expert Katya Drayden arrive
00:14:54on lot five, where archeologist Laird Niven and Alex Lagina are investigating the mysterious
00:15:02rounded feature near the shorelines.
00:15:05We thought we'd come over and see if we can help.
00:15:09Yeah.
00:15:10The artifacts we found there are all concentrated on the west side between the rectangular feature
00:15:15and the round feature.
00:15:17So, I'd be really interested in having you go carefully over the east side.
00:15:22I'm excited to see what we can find here.
00:15:25Thank you, Laird.
00:15:26You're welcome.
00:15:27Appreciate it.
00:15:28There's always the hope that you will find some piece of the puzzle that will tell you
00:15:32the whole story of what happened as to when this occupation occurred, who was here and
00:15:37what were they doing.
00:15:38I would say that's one.
00:15:48I would say right in there.
00:16:05Let's try it with the pinpointer now that we're deeper.
00:16:10Come out.
00:16:11Come out.
00:16:14There it is.
00:16:15I found it.
00:16:21That's the last of it.
00:16:23Yeah.
00:16:28Heavy.
00:16:30What do you think?
00:16:31Heavy?
00:16:33It's got some weight to it.
00:16:34Yeah.
00:16:35It's not light.
00:16:36Some sort of fastener?
00:16:37Not modern.
00:16:38No.
00:16:39No.
00:16:40It's interesting to be that far away, right?
00:16:41Yeah.
00:16:42Because they're looking for clues as to what else might be here.
00:16:46Lot 5 is certainly interesting.
00:16:49This fastener.
00:16:51Is it possible that it's evidence of a structure or structures?
00:16:57Sure.
00:16:58The story of Lot 5 continues to expand.
00:17:01I don't know that we're even close to having an answer yet.
00:17:06A possible iron fastener?
00:17:08Because the team has made similar discoveries in both of the nearby foundations, could Rick's
00:17:14notion that this may be evidence of another potential structure be correct?
00:17:19So that's a bag and tag for sure.
00:17:22And that's a CT scan object.
00:17:25Emma will tell us what that is.
00:17:27No question about it.
00:17:28Sounds great.
00:17:29Good finding?
00:17:30Right.
00:17:31Good digging.
00:17:33We can go see if there's anything else in there.
00:17:35As the investigation on Lot 5 continues.
00:17:40Here we go.
00:17:41Down into the solution channel.
00:17:43And while the core drilling operation proceeds deeper in the Money Pit area.
00:17:48Over on the eastern end of the island at Smith's Cove.
00:17:52Let's go find something, guys.
00:17:54Billy!
00:17:55Billy's here.
00:17:56Marty Lagina, Craig Tester, and metal detection expert Gary Drayton join Billy Gerhardt to
00:18:04further investigate the massive collection of spoils from last year's excavations in the
00:18:09Money Pit area.
00:18:11Billy, this whole pile came out of the caissons.
00:18:15What we know is, though, it came from deep in the Money Pit area.
00:18:18Yeah.
00:18:19And we found that old iron.
00:18:20I mean, that old iron went back to the 1600s.
00:18:23Yeah.
00:18:24What is that?
00:18:25It looks like it's part of a tool.
00:18:28After finding the potentially 16th century pickaxe during the excavation of TOT1 at the
00:18:34end of last year's search.
00:18:36That could be a really old tool, mate.
00:18:38Yeah.
00:18:39The team began scouring through the Money Pit spoils that were deposited here at Smith's Cove.
00:18:44And, incredibly, they found an iron chisel that was dated to the same approximate era.
00:18:51Whenever there's a lot of iron, there's a possibility of iron masking.
00:18:55There could be a gold or a silver coin waiting for us, mate.
00:18:58All right.
00:18:59Well, let's get going.
00:19:00Yeah.
00:19:01Now, the team is continuing to search the remaining spoils in the hopes of recovering
00:19:08more artifacts or evidence of treasure.
00:19:11This might be something.
00:19:12I can see it.
00:19:13Just can't pull it out.
00:19:14We're going to try and get over there.
00:19:15Yeah, you can see it sticking out the hole.
00:19:16Where is it?
00:19:17Right there?
00:19:18Yep.
00:19:19There it is.
00:19:20Got him.
00:19:21There it is.
00:19:22What you got, Marty?
00:19:23What is it?
00:19:24What is it?
00:19:25What's that?
00:19:26Woo-hoo!
00:19:27Well, that's interesting.
00:19:28What you got, Marty?
00:19:29A pin.
00:19:30I don't know if it's old or a...
00:19:31Yeah, Craigor.
00:19:32That looks old.
00:19:33Yeah.
00:19:34Yeah.
00:19:35At Smith's Cove, while searching spoils excavated from more than 180 feet deep, in the
00:19:40money pit area last year, Marty Lagina and other members of the team were in the
00:19:41world.
00:19:42What's that?
00:19:43What's that?
00:19:44What's that?
00:19:45What's that?
00:19:46What's that?
00:19:47Oh, that's interesting.
00:19:48What's that?
00:19:49What's that?
00:19:50What's that?
00:19:51What's that?
00:19:52What's that?
00:19:53What's that?
00:19:54I don't know if it's old or a...
00:19:55Hey, Craigor.
00:19:56That looks old.
00:19:57Yeah.
00:19:58At Smith's Cove, while searching spoils excavated from more than 180 feet deep in the money
00:20:05pit area last year, Marty Lagina and other members of the team have just uncovered another
00:20:12potentially important clue.
00:20:14Yeah, that's right there, I think.
00:20:17Yeah.
00:20:18It's old.
00:20:19I don't know.
00:20:20I wonder if it's a possible crib in Spike.
00:20:23No, I think it is.
00:20:24Only when you're building cribbing, like cribbing for a shaft or something.
00:20:29Yeah.
00:20:30A possible cribbing Spike?
00:20:32Potentially used to connect large beams of wood together?
00:20:37Because no previous searchers were known to have built shafts that deep underground,
00:20:42could the team have found more evidence of the original money pit?
00:20:47If so, what else is still waiting to be discovered in these spoils?
00:20:52Yeah.
00:20:53So this should be good.
00:20:54Yeah, I'll probably need this digging out.
00:20:56It might be on edge.
00:20:58We're all on edge.
00:20:59Right?
00:21:00Where is it?
00:21:01Right there.
00:21:02See that area there.
00:21:03Try pinpointing.
00:21:04Oh, it's there.
00:21:05That was a little bit off.
00:21:06Oh, there we go.
00:21:07That's more like it.
00:21:08Hmm.
00:21:09That is a tool of some kind.
00:21:10Look at that.
00:21:11Yeah.
00:21:12Wow.
00:21:13That is unusual.
00:21:14That's got the look of being old as well.
00:21:15Yeah, it is.
00:21:16No question.
00:21:17It's not new.
00:21:18Definitely has some heft to it.
00:21:19I thought it was like a chisel when I first picked it up.
00:21:20It could be.
00:21:21Yeah.
00:21:22Yeah.
00:21:23It could be.
00:21:24Yeah.
00:21:25Yeah.
00:21:26It could be.
00:21:27Yeah.
00:21:28It could be weird.
00:21:29Yeah.
00:21:30I'm not surprised at all at what came out of that spoils pile that could be very significant.
00:21:34Once again, possible proof that somebody other than searchers were way deep in the money pit.
00:21:38Still, we have to keep going through the spoils carefully because anything here could be something that could be very significant.
00:21:43And we picked up where we left off last year.
00:21:45We were finding great things.
00:21:46It's great.
00:21:47Yeah.
00:21:48It's great.
00:21:49It's great.
00:21:50It's great.
00:21:51It's great.
00:21:52It's great.
00:21:53It's great.
00:21:54It's great.
00:21:55It's great.
00:21:56It's great.
00:21:57It's great.
00:21:58It's great.
00:21:59It's great.
00:22:00It's great.
00:22:01It's great.
00:22:02It's great.
00:22:03We were finding great old tools, artifacts in these spoils.
00:22:08And we have just pulled up another one, which could potentially go back to 1600s or older.
00:22:13Yeah.
00:22:14Okay.
00:22:15I'll bag it.
00:22:16Nice one, Billy.
00:22:17Another good artifact.
00:22:18Good.
00:22:19Finally, a decent pipe.
00:22:22Not bad.
00:22:23Not bad.
00:22:24Not bad at all.
00:22:25Good digging, guys.
00:22:27Yeah.
00:22:28I mean, the gold's still in there, right?
00:22:30Oh, yeah.
00:22:31It is.
00:22:32That's the hope.
00:22:37The following day, while the drilling operation continues in the Money Pit area.
00:22:45There are moments around this table that have been really quite impactful in terms of our understanding of this mystery.
00:22:52And today is one of those days.
00:22:53In the war room, Doug Kroll has arranged for the Laginas and members of the team to meet with a man he has been corresponding with for several months, named Steve Solomon.
00:23:05Well, I'm really excited to say we have a really special guest with us today, Steve Solomon.
00:23:10Steve is prepared to present what Doug believes could be a major breakthrough in the 230-year-old treasure mystery.
00:23:20Well, Steve's got something to reveal to us today about the gentleman by the name of James Pitblado and a really prominent Oak Island family, the Archibald family.
00:23:30Well, Steve is a member of that Archibald family.
00:23:33Interesting.
00:23:34Charles, you and I have talked about this so-called Pitblado incident forever.
00:23:39Right.
00:23:40So tell everyone what the Pitblado incident is about.
00:23:45Well, James Pitblado was a foreman with the Truro Company, and they were here from about 1849 to 1851.
00:23:53And there was an incident that happened in the original Money Pit.
00:23:57In the summer of 1849, members of the Truro Company conducted the first major excavation of the Money Pit since it had flooded after the removal of the 90-foot stone back in 1804.
00:24:14After constructing a platform nearly 30 feet deep in the shaft, which was still flooded below,
00:24:21Company foreman James Pitblado oversaw a drilling operation to find out what might be buried below the 90-foot level.
00:24:31Incredibly, at 98 feet, a hard wooden surface was penetrated before the auger bit passed through what was described as nearly two feet of loose metal pieces,
00:24:43another hard wooden surface, and then another two feet of loose metal.
00:24:49The workers excitedly suspected the two stacked treasure chests were buried some 100 feet deep in the Money Pit.
00:24:58Upon extracting the auger bit, James Pitblado was seen removing a reported shiny object from its tip.
00:25:05But when confronted, he would not reveal what it was to anyone on the island.
00:25:11So Pitblado approached a gentleman by the name of Charles Archibald, and they attempted to buy the eastern end of the island.
00:25:21So whatever was found on that auger enticed him to leave his job and attempt to purchase the eastern end of the island.
00:25:30So it had to be something really significant.
00:25:32Wow.
00:25:33Charles Dixon Archibald was a businessman from Londonderry, Nova Scotia, who served as the manager of a mining company named Acadian Ironworks.
00:25:44Curiously, members of his family had helped to finance an earlier search for treasure on Oak Island in 1804.
00:25:53After meeting with James Pitblado, the two approached landowner John Smith, one of the three young men who originally discovered the Money Pit in 1795 and offered him a considerable sum to acquire the eastern end of Oak Island.
00:26:10The proposal was refused, and no one has ever confirmed what was found by James Pitblado.
00:26:19After that incident, they went to the town of Lunenburg and put in an application.
00:26:23And this is an excerpt out of that application to dig on Oak Island.
00:26:27Having been represented to me that certain persons have discovered the situation of certain hidden treasure beneath the surface of the earth on Oak Island.
00:26:36And then it goes on with the legal stuff for the town person to sign it.
00:26:39And it's on this particular day, Charles Archibald.
00:26:42This was from 1849.
00:26:44Interesting.
00:26:45So I want to talk a little bit more about the family.
00:26:48But first, I would like to show you what contributed to this application.
00:26:52And I believe this is your one thing, Rick.
00:26:55I know you've been looking for this for years.
00:26:56Wow.
00:26:57I am on the edge of my seat.
00:26:59Hold it up so Marty can see it.
00:27:03This is a coin.
00:27:13This is a silver Portuguese coin.
00:27:16That's what came out of the hole?
00:27:18Yes.
00:27:19This was a coin that was passed on from the Archibald family.
00:27:22My mother-in-law was given this by great nana, Edith Archibald.
00:27:26And it was given to me from my own research.
00:27:29I believe it's from about 1367.
00:27:32I mean, that's incredible, right?
00:27:35Like in every sense of the word.
00:27:37Yes.
00:27:38In the war room, Steve Solomon, a man with historic family ties to the Oak Island treasure hunt,
00:27:45has just presented Rick, Marty, and the team with a potentially 14th century silver Portuguese coin.
00:27:52A coin that he believes was retrieved from some 100 feet deep in the money pit back in 1849.
00:28:00How big is that?
00:28:02What's the diameter say?
00:28:04A little bigger than a quarter.
00:28:06I mean, I was just wondering how such a thing would be carried up by the auger, but that easily could be.
00:28:10Yeah.
00:28:11Over the winter, Marty, we researched what a pod auger looked like.
00:28:16And its dimensions are more than enough to allow a coin to settle into the mouth of the bed.
00:28:21The coin is spectacular.
00:28:24It's quite beautiful, artfully made, hand-struck.
00:28:29Well, that certainly raises an eyebrow, doesn't it?
00:28:32It's a very smallish coin.
00:28:34It's the kind of thing that would get stuck in a drill bed.
00:28:38We want to confirm what type of coin it is, of course, but the condition of that coin is quite remarkable for something that's been around since the late 1300s.
00:28:48Yeah.
00:28:49Thinking about the treasure being deposited way back, it's also, if it was in circulation, it would be all worn off, right?
00:28:55It just looks to be in really good shape.
00:28:58Yeah.
00:28:59The fact that it is in such good condition might represent that it came up out of, say, one of the sealed cases,
00:29:04where it's been sealed for many years and has not been subject to any of the water, dirt, elements.
00:29:11I mean, what caught my imagination was that this coin was Portuguese, right?
00:29:15And what theories have we been looking at that might involve the Portuguese?
00:29:19We're, of course, we're looking at the Templars finding sanctuary in Portugal.
00:29:24Knights of Christ.
00:29:25Knights of Christ.
00:29:26And involving into the Knights of Christ.
00:29:28Yeah.
00:29:29Of course.
00:29:30The Catholic military order known as the Knights Templar were formed in the early 12th century
00:29:37to fight for Christian interests in the Holy Land during the Crusades.
00:29:42They amassed great wealth by establishing an elaborate banking system, but were also rumored to have discovered priceless religious artifacts,
00:29:52including the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant.
00:29:56In 1307, they were disbanded and persecuted by King Philip IV of France and Pope Clement V on charges of heresy.
00:30:06Many were arrested and executed, but much of their treasures were never found.
00:30:12The order rebranded themselves where they could find refuge in countries such as Portugal,
00:30:18where they were known as the Knights of Christ.
00:30:21In 2021, when Rick Lagina and other members of the team visited former Templar-related strongholds across Portugal.
00:30:30The circle and the dot in the center of the cross.
00:30:33That's one of our symbols on Lee Joe's stone.
00:30:36They were stunned to see numerous stone carvings matching symbols that have been found on Oak Island.
00:30:43Is it possible that after nearly two decades into their quest for answers,
00:30:48the team is finally looking at a genuine piece of the treasure that people have been seeking for 230 years?
00:30:57So, I think what happened was Pit Blado found this item on the drill bit,
00:31:02and he goes to Charles Dixon Archibald, who had the Acadian Mining Company at the time,
00:31:08and he says, listen, there's treasure on that island, and here's the proof.
00:31:13And then we know by the paperwork that Steve has that it is Charles Dixon Archibald that was approached by Pit Blado.
00:31:22Pit Blado went to him and he showed him something so convincing that he took these steps to try and take over the treasure hunt on the island.
00:31:31Yep.
00:31:32And the only thing that got in their way was they were given the right to hunt for treasure on Oak Island on unoccupied lands.
00:31:39Well, we know the Truro Company maintained their license on the money pen.
00:31:43So, while they gained right to hunt on the island, they didn't gain right to hunt in the money pen.
00:31:47Uh-huh.
00:31:48This is a really thrilling and exciting thing that's happened on Oak Island.
00:31:53And the story all makes sense. It really does.
00:31:56It's difficult to make up a story like the Pit Blado story itself.
00:32:02This coin is singularly unique in terms of its importance for one simple reason.
00:32:08There is a narrative associated with the coin.
00:32:11We have an artifact and we have a possible association with that famed incident, the Pit Blado incident.
00:32:19That's quite convincing.
00:32:21To give him, obviously, more credibility.
00:32:24The way this coin ended up in my possession is the direct line from the Archibald family.
00:32:29So, when Steve approached us, we wanted to see if the framework was truly there for this coin to have been passed down from Pit Blado to Steve's branch of the family that you see in this chart.
00:32:42Charles Dixon maybe was left with that coin because he had to go to the government and secure a treasure trove license and all of that.
00:32:52Charles Dixon Archibald was related to Thomas Archibald.
00:32:57And when Charles Dixon Archibald kind of left the province pretty much for good in the 1850s and then he died in 1868,
00:33:04if he had left that coin behind with the members of the family that were still here in the province,
00:33:09then it's very plausible that it came down through Steve's family.
00:33:14And the Pit Blado family, members of that family, were actually married into the Archibalds over time.
00:33:19They were, yeah.
00:33:20This is quite something.
00:33:23This coin has been with the family for three years.
00:33:27I think it came up in 1849. I do.
00:33:34And it's bent too.
00:33:36Yeah, it is slightly bent.
00:33:38My question is, can the heat that's generated by that auger,
00:33:41could this have been picked up and by a slight amount of heat potentially have curled?
00:33:46Having drilled a lot of stuff, anything powerful enough to drill through oak and a cask is powerful enough to bend the coin.
00:33:55Yeah.
00:33:56Yeah.
00:33:57It adds credence to the story.
00:33:58Yeah.
00:33:59I think this all makes sense and it has a high likelihood of being the object that was found.
00:34:05If anybody's head isn't reeling like mine as to what theory this fits.
00:34:11Yeah.
00:34:12I mean, come on.
00:34:13Yep.
00:34:14If it's true about the loose metal, there could be a coin in there from 1307, right after the Knights Templar disband.
00:34:22Or even earlier, the Crusade times, right?
00:34:24Yeah.
00:34:25Because there's nothing that precludes them from adding to their treasure cache over time.
00:34:29Correct.
00:34:30We know the work, the carbon dates here on the island, we call it a multi-generational attempt, but there might have been a series of operations needed to set this in motion.
00:34:42Mm-hmm.
00:34:43This could be part of a generational event.
00:34:45Correct.
00:34:46Yeah.
00:34:47Our modern minds think we can traverse half the globe in an afternoon.
00:34:52Back then, if there was a plan initiated to save or protect something, they understood that it was a transatlantic voyage.
00:35:02Months just in the sailing.
00:35:05Months again, if not years, in the final completion of the task.
00:35:10My biggest problem with it is I wish I had seen it come out of the drill bit.
00:35:14Of course.
00:35:15My favorite thing about it is that everything, if we just assume that all of it is true, then that really focuses our dig.
00:35:21We believe the area we're investigating this year.
00:35:24Mm-hmm.
00:35:25Could we bring it to the lab and have Emma do some metallurgy, look at it and render an opinion?
00:35:31Of course.
00:35:32Is that coin 51% likely or better that that's the coin that Pit Blado has found?
00:35:39I, on a jury, would vote yes.
00:35:42I think the data is compelling.
00:35:44Let's go aggressively look for this treasure down deep because that's where it must have gone.
00:35:49I agree.
00:35:50Yep.
00:35:51If this coin were 100% known to be what came out of the money pit, it's the strongest thing we've ever found.
00:35:58And I think we're looking at, with a high degree of probability, the coin that was found that day so many years ago.
00:36:07To me, it's proof that something is at the bottom of the money pit.
00:36:13There's nothing like that moment.
00:36:16You see it, you hold it in your hand, you know how close you are to the one thing.
00:36:23It's a real reason to be hopeful.
00:36:26This, even though there's some blanks that have to be filled in, this very possibly is what lies at the depth of the money pit.
00:36:36And how many years have we spent talking about what lies below?
00:36:41This may be what lies below.
00:36:44Yeah.
00:36:46We can't say thank you enough.
00:36:48Big time, yes.
00:36:49Very much so.
00:36:51Appreciate it.
00:36:52Yeah, thank you.
00:36:53Let's move forward.
00:36:58We hit the bedrock plateau in J6.
00:37:00We're down to 178 right now.
00:37:02We're still in the bedrock.
00:37:04We haven't popped out into the open solution channel.
00:37:07Let's hope we're gonna pop out short.
00:37:08Yeah.
00:37:09Yeah.
00:37:11After the incredible revelation of the 14th century Portuguese coin, in the money pit area, operations manager Scott Barlow, Charles Barkhouse, geologist Terry Matheson, and surveyor Steve Copptill eagerly monitor the progress of borehole J6.
00:37:30So we've hit the ledge.
00:37:31We're gonna hopefully get down through the ledge, and we're gonna get back down into the solution channel and look for that treasure.
00:37:37Hopefully we find something down below, because as we saw with DOT 1, we found material made by man, deeper, absolutely.
00:37:45Because the drill has passed through the ground soil and is currently cutting through rock, it is Terry's belief that they're drilling through an outcropping or ledge of bedrock, and that the solution channel will hopefully be encountered several feet deeper below.
00:38:04We came into this year, not so much looking to data collect anymore, but treasure hunting.
00:38:10Absolutely.
00:38:11Yeah.
00:38:12You know, Steve Solomon brought a Portuguese coin to the island, right?
00:38:15Yeah.
00:38:16I'm excited about that coin.
00:38:17I mean, if we find a coin deep in the solution channel, predating searchers, that's huge, right?
00:38:23Yeah, absolutely.
00:38:24If there's something down there, this is where we're gonna find it.
00:38:27Yeah, we gotta cross our fingers.
00:38:33Oh, did we break through?
00:38:35I don't know.
00:38:40Looks like we broke through the ledge into the solution channel.
00:38:43The rods just started going down pretty quick there.
00:38:45Oh, yeah, that's it for sure.
00:38:47That's it.
00:38:49As the drill comes down and encounters the bedrock ledge, it really pushed through there.
00:38:53It fell down deeper, so we know the solution channel has got some hidden cavities in it on our ledges.
00:38:59We're waiting for that next core to come up, hopefully containing some treasure.
00:39:03So the rest of this should be very interesting.
00:39:05We'll see if there's any of that debris field that we're looking for, the falling treasure.
00:39:08Yeah.
00:39:09Okay, guys, I've got some other things I gotta go check on, so please keep me informed what's gonna happen.
00:39:14I'm really excited about what may be down here.
00:39:16Of course.
00:39:17I think we're only in the infancy of trying to understand the solution channel.
00:39:22I don't know what's in there.
00:39:24I know what we found to date, and it is quite compelling.
00:39:28We have to have patience because we believe whatever was above fell to those depths.
00:39:36What's wrong?
00:39:37178.
00:39:38178.
00:39:41So here's the bedrock from 168 down to 178, and here's the little bit of mud where we opened up into the solution channel where we popped out.
00:39:57Let me go, Scott.
00:39:59Every hole is a little mini treasure hunt in and of itself.
00:40:04What I would like to do is to find something, the one thing, and then immediately turn our resources to a large-scale recovery effort.
00:40:15Clear.
00:40:16Anyway, we're gonna go another 20 feet now from 178 to probably finish at 198, and we'll see what we got.
00:40:24Then we'll have an artifact of three.
00:40:26Could be the one thing Charles, you never know.
00:40:28Yeah.
00:40:29What we're really looking for is treasure that could be sitting in a pocket at the bottom of the solution channel in around 210 feet.
00:40:37So every sloppy mess we see in those cores becomes exciting.
00:40:45Wait.
00:40:50So...
00:40:51Yeah.
00:40:52It's soft, then I hit something hard.
00:40:54Yeah, this is the pay zone.
00:40:56We're really very hopeful about very good recovery in this zone.
00:40:59Okay.
00:41:00That's good.
00:41:01How deep?
00:41:02What's your depth?
00:41:03Kyle?
00:41:04188.
00:41:05188.
00:41:06Excellent.
00:41:12He's hung up right now on something hard at that 188 level.
00:41:16I mean, that's the whole reason we're drilling right here.
00:41:18Absolutely.
00:41:21The next core sample is gonna tell the tale.
00:41:23It will.
00:41:24What I'd really like to see is a coin or an artifact that says treasure.
00:41:28That's what we need.
00:41:30Your mind goes to all kinds of possibilities that as we're drilling down in the money pit area, going to the solution channel, could we hit a vault?
00:41:39We're hoping to find a jewel, a coin, something that changes a ball game here completely.
00:41:43We have a core, gentlemen.
00:41:44Hopefully we get something here.
00:41:45Here's hoping.
00:41:46What do we got, Kyle?
00:41:47188.
00:41:48188.
00:41:49188.
00:41:51See what we got.
00:41:52As the drill goes down, if it hits something hard, the hope is that we will find the man-made obstruction, the actual vault or treasure.
00:42:07I mean, that's always the hope every single time.
00:42:11And I hope at some point it comes to fruition.
00:42:14It's a gypsum boulder here at about 185.
00:42:18It's pretty tight.
00:42:20Not likely what we might have run into.
00:42:24Gypsum is a naturally occurring rocky mineral that is often used in the production of plaster and cement.
00:42:32However, due to its relatively soft composition, it is geologist Terry Matheson's opinion that it would not explain the obstruction that the drill encountered.
00:42:42Now's the time we can find an artifact or two.
00:42:49Absolutely.
00:42:55Very loose material.
00:42:58If we're going to find an artifact, it's going to be in something like that.
00:43:01Absolutely.
00:43:02It's a little cakey, but anyway, okay.
00:43:05Thank you, fellas.
00:43:07Thanks a lot.
00:43:13Slush right there.
00:43:16So there's some debris that fell off of the wall.
00:43:19This is actually bedding, so that's not what we really want.
00:43:23He had something that was a little harder.
00:43:25It's hard to say what we might have run into.
00:43:27Perhaps the bit pushed it deeper.
00:43:30Because the team is not finding evidence of the obstruction,
00:43:34is it possible that the drill bit made contact with a hard object and perhaps pushed it deeper into the sludge and water-filled solution channel?
00:43:44If so, what was it?
00:43:46And might they encounter it again at a greater depth?
00:43:50We're only at 194, so we'll see what happens.
00:43:53We're planning on going at least to 210.
00:43:55Yeah, at least 210.
00:43:56Yeah.
00:43:57All right, guys.
00:43:58I'll get into your wake.
00:44:00Normally, when we're drilling and you hit something, you can still deflect off.
00:44:04But hopefully, the drill rod, it was able to keep its verticality.
00:44:08We're trying to go deep to the bottom of the solution channel.
00:44:11And if we can find something, then it's a whole different ballgame.
00:44:19Hey, guys.
00:44:20What are you doing?
00:44:21Charles, Terry.
00:44:22Welcome.
00:44:24Anything so far?
00:44:25Yeah.
00:44:26Okay.
00:44:27We hit something solid at 190 feet down that may have pushed into the solution channel.
00:44:34We have a core.
00:44:36What's going on?
00:44:37How far did you get?
00:44:38213.
00:44:39213.
00:44:40Did you hit bedrock?
00:44:41Yes, sir.
00:44:42Wow.
00:44:43Okay, this is the whole enchilada, then.
00:44:46Okay.
00:44:50Okay.
00:44:51Okay, let's cut this right about here.
00:45:00It's a little firm.
00:45:03Yeah.
00:45:04More than I'd like.
00:45:11Just a little too dense.
00:45:12Yeah.
00:45:13That's nothing.
00:45:16I hope we don't have to drill every inch of that solution channel.
00:45:19I hope we find the one thing here shortly.
00:45:21But you have to cover the solution channel in its entirety.
00:45:26You just got to get after it.
00:45:28It's disappointing, but we're going to keep mapping out the bottom of that solution channel until we find what we hope we're going to find.
00:45:33Yep.
00:45:34And we'll move on to the next hole.
00:45:36That's right.
00:45:44A new day begins on Oak Island.
00:45:47And while the core drilling operation continues in the Money Pit area.
00:45:53Nearly half a mile to the west on lot five.
00:45:55These are the spoil piles from last year of the round feature, so I'm really excited to see what we can find here.
00:46:02Metal detection expert Gary Drayton and Peter Frenetti join the archaeology team as they continue to investigate the large stone foundation near the shoreline.
00:46:14They're using sifters, but sometimes some stuff can go through that quarter inch screen.
00:46:20Oh, give it one last shot.
00:46:22Mm-hmm.
00:46:23Today, Gary and Peter have been directed to search through a pile of spoils that were removed last year from the mysterious round feature for any clues that could help determine who occupied it and, most importantly, why.
00:46:43Yeah, this could be something, Pete.
00:46:46This sounds like it's non-ferrous.
00:46:49Well, I know the rules is we have to stand down for the archaeologists to dig these targets because we're in this special area.
00:46:59Let me call Fiona.
00:47:01Fiona!
00:47:03We got a target!
00:47:05Oh, great!
00:47:07Because the round feature was designated by the government of Nova Scotia as a special place in 2024.
00:47:14Gary and Peter must obtain permission from one of the team's accredited archaeologists before digging up any targets in this area.
00:47:24Yeah, we've got a target here, Fiona.
00:47:29You think it's non-ferrous?
00:47:31Hmm.
00:47:32Yeah, a little piece of non-ferrous there.
00:47:35It's ringing up loud and clear.
00:47:36Yeah.
00:47:37Just there, please.
00:47:38I'm out.
00:47:46You know what? This, you can tell, this is in between the spoils piles, so this would be something probably more in situ.
00:47:52Well, it's looking like it so far.
00:47:53I see.
00:47:54An in situ target, meaning that it is not in the previously removed spoils, but rather in the ground near them?
00:48:03No.
00:48:04I'll try to pinpoint.
00:48:06See what we got.
00:48:07Here we go.
00:48:10If so, could Gary have identified a new area outside the rounded feature that contains potential clues or evidence of treasure?
00:48:23Oh, look at this.
00:48:24Yeah, I had a feeling it was going to be a little bit of lead, a tiny little bit of squash lead shot.
00:48:29A lead shot or bullet? Ever since acquiring Lot 5 three years ago, the Oak Island team has unearthed a number of gun-related artifacts, such as musket balls and a ramrod guide from a rifle that could all date as far back as the 17th century, more than 100 years before the discovery of the money pit.
00:48:54That probably created somebody's supper one day.
00:48:57Yep.
00:48:58Oh, yeah.
00:48:59Could the team have just found more evidence of people who may have used this site as a camp while possibly hiding valuables in the money pit?
00:49:09If so, who were they?
00:49:12If that had been a gold nugget now, we'd all be dancing.
00:49:15Should we flag this little area as well?
00:49:17Sure.
00:49:18Yeah.
00:49:19I mean, that was on the ground, so that's great.
00:49:21Do we let us search this?
00:49:22Yeah.
00:49:23Yeah.
00:49:24No, absolutely.
00:49:25I think we're just going to try and stay away from any of the perimeter of the feature, because we're going to still dig there.
00:49:29But I think it really would be good to detect on this side, because realistically, most of the artifacts have all been kind of on the west side of the feature.
00:49:36Yeah.
00:49:37I find it very strange that we're not finding as many artifacts right here.
00:49:40Let's find some treasure in this area.
00:49:42Go for it.
00:49:43No, this is perfect.
00:49:44So I'm going to get back over here.
00:49:46Anything we can do to help you guys.
00:49:47Awesome.
00:49:48Cheers.
00:49:53Got something?
00:49:54Yeah.
00:49:55It's iron.
00:49:56Let's take this out and see what we've got.
00:49:57Okay.
00:49:58Just there, please.
00:49:59Hopefully, it's a chunky old thing.
00:50:00I like me chunky old things.
00:50:01Especially on lot five.
00:50:02Lot five is the lot that keeps on giving.
00:50:05We're finding artifacts that were here well before the discovery of the money pit.
00:50:12So we want to work together with the archaeologists to metal detect.
00:50:18And my number one objective for lot five is to get some answers to help us.
00:50:23We're finding artifacts that were here well before the discovery of the money pit.
00:50:27So we want to work together with the archaeologists to metal detect.
00:50:31And my number one objective for lot five is to get some answers to help the archaeologists tell
00:50:36the story about what's happening in the future and how that relates to the money pit.
00:50:41Dope.
00:50:42What was making all that noise?
00:50:48Oh, here it is.
00:50:53Oh, what the heck is that?
00:50:56That is something.
00:50:59I mean, look at the shape of it.
00:51:01Yeah.
00:51:02Yeah, look.
00:51:03You see it's got these bumps on it.
00:51:05I don't know if these are corrosion and it's just encrustation on it or not.
00:51:12Yeah.
00:51:13It looks like it has some sort of shape to it.
00:51:16Yeah.
00:51:17Like a design of sorts.
00:51:18My first thought was like door hinge almost, like the locking mechanism.
00:51:23Yeah.
00:51:24A piece of a possible door hinge?
00:51:27If so, could it be related to the nearby rounded feature?
00:51:31This could still tell a story and help solve the mystery.
00:51:35Yeah.
00:51:36We're not too far from the round feature.
00:51:37The people on lot five would have had locks of some kind.
00:51:43They could have had chests and doors that needed locking.
00:51:47And I'm looking forward to seeing what the archaeologists dig up about this find.
00:52:02Got something?
00:52:03The bigger piece of iron.
00:52:07Fiona, when you get a chance, can you come over here?
00:52:09Sure.
00:52:11Yeah, we're close to the round feature.
00:52:13I like your location over here.
00:52:15We haven't found a lot over at this side of this round feature.
00:52:18Well, I'm hoping this is something interesting.
00:52:21It's an iron, it, but it's substantial.
00:52:28Go for it.
00:52:33Oh, that's going to be tricky.
00:52:46Oh, well done.
00:52:47Wow.
00:52:48That's really deep.
00:52:49I wonder if I should grab my trowel just in case.
00:52:51I was thinking that.
00:52:52Yeah, okay.
00:52:53I'll be right back.
00:52:54Maybe it would be a good idea to trowel it out.
00:52:55Just to be safe.
00:52:56I mean, we're in worm tickler territory now.
00:53:00Okay.
00:53:01I'll pinpoint it for you, Fiona.
00:53:02Okay.
00:53:05Oh, it's a streamer.
00:53:07Right there.
00:53:08It's really deep.
00:53:09Yeah, it is.
00:53:10That's about ten inches.
00:53:14Yeah, I can see it right here.
00:53:16And it is a substantial size.
00:53:19I just don't want to break it, right?
00:53:22Here's a piece.
00:53:23I think that looks like glass.
00:53:24That's glass.
00:53:25That's the older stuff.
00:53:26Then look at the color of it.
00:53:27And that's pretty green.
00:53:28That's looking like older glass.
00:53:29You know what?
00:53:30There's all sorts of things down here.
00:53:31To be honest, I'm seeing some coarse earthenware now too.
00:53:35So the fact that we've got coarse earthenware, you've got glass and a big piece of iron, I think we need to not dig this up right now.
00:53:45Yeah.
00:53:46Yeah.
00:53:47I want to take out just a bit of the roots.
00:53:48I think we'll just make it a little bit bigger.
00:53:49This may just be a pile of something that got thrown here, but what if it's something else?
00:53:53Yeah.
00:53:54What if this is another part of a foundation?
00:53:55We are not that far away from this feature, because we found the starburst button right over here, which is literally four feet away from us.
00:54:10We found the spiral button right over here.
00:54:13We found the spiral button right over here.
00:54:16far away from this feature because we found the starburst button right over here and which is
00:54:20literally four feet away from us we found the spiral button right over here and that's really
00:54:26really close to to this oh wow this could potentially be be part of whatever's going on
00:54:31over at this feature another potential section of the mysterious round feature on lot five and mere
00:54:39feet from where the team uncovered two ornate buttons that may be connected to the 17th century
00:54:45order known as the knights of malta a religious order who just like the portuguese knights of christ
00:54:52descended from the knights templar we're in total agreement and a new knows what else is down
00:55:00well that's what i'm thinking too so we'll we'll hold this for now and if you're okay to keep going
00:55:05with the rest of it for sure due to provincial regulations because fiona believes that gary
00:55:12and peter may have found another part of the rounded feature she and the archaeology team must now
00:55:18perform further excavations of this site to locate the large metal object and whatever else may be
00:55:24buried here now we've found this who knows what else is waiting for us over here this is really encouraging
00:55:32it's treasure time yep as the investigations continue in the money pit area this is just
00:55:43starting to hit gravel and on lot five okay everybody this is the first of what are going to be hopefully
00:55:50a whole bunch of sessions in the lab yeah rick and marty lagina along with other members of the team
00:55:58meet with archaeologist laird niven and archaeometallurgist emma culligan in the oak island laboratory
00:56:05while emma is still conducting scientific analysis of the 14th century silver coin
00:56:12she has prepared a report on the chisel that was recently found in the muddy pit spoils
00:56:18from last year's large-scale excavations
00:56:20what did you find out emma all right so the chisel did get a good strip of bare metal from this
00:56:28area right here so i have the compositions up here earlier today emma scanned the iron artifact
00:56:36using an x-ray fluorescence or xrf device a device that emits non-destructive radiation
00:56:43to identify an object's chemical composition which can help determine when it may have been created
00:56:51it lacks any modern alloying element like manganese or any other element that would normally find
00:56:58which indicate older brilliant this is definitively not modern
00:57:02so we would comfortably put it in the 1700s sweet yeah and it could potentially be older
00:57:11wow look those days yeah the chisel is actually very exciting that's before
00:57:17the story of the first treasure hunt efforts on oak island so it could be part of an original deposit
00:57:24i think it's interesting it's a great find it to start off the year like this you have an
00:57:30old tool found it at depth in the money pit this is not the one thing but we're getting there all
00:57:37right i'm satisfied well done we'll get you some more there's gonna be some more finds coming and
00:57:44i'm hoping it's made of gold and silver well as rick always says we gotta go find it yep see you later thank you
00:57:52the following morning hey terry charles hey alex in the money pit area alex lagina joins geologist
00:58:07terry matheson and oak island historian charles barkhouse as they continue monitoring the drilling
00:58:14operation in borehole h.5 8.5 what depth are we at what they're going to bring up in a second here is
00:58:23from 168 to 170. okay and anything so far or what's coming up right now should be a good clean run
00:58:29there oh here we go come here could be something in the barrel there something's sticking out it looks
00:58:34like what you got adam what is that that looks like some steel to me yeah it does that's a chunk of
00:58:46metal yeah a large metal object extracted from nearly 180 feet deep in the solution channel you know
00:58:58finding this piece of metal i mean he's very excited because we're not sure what it is anything below
00:59:03150 is a really interesting level for us to search because we don't know the exact location of the
00:59:10original money pit i don't know i don't know what that is interesting hey scott check that out
00:59:23very thick i agree it's really substantial
00:59:26you know we may be onto something yeah let's spit it out spit it out yep
00:59:34we're drilling down pretty deep here at this point in the solution channel
00:59:38first thing we need to do is get it out of there and have a look and see what it is
00:59:41it's still sitting right there that's another piece that's another piece
00:59:56see what it is we can take a look on the table yeah
00:59:59a second metal object found in the solution channel the questions that now arise are just
01:00:11what could they be and who may have left them buried in the money pit area
01:00:15what's the depth go 178. so let's have a look here this is the bottom this is where the chunk was sticking right out
01:00:33that looks like a chunk of old drill rod yeah it does that was projecting out the bottom that was what
01:00:38we were looking at just twisted up there pretty tight yeah yeah look at that another chunk
01:00:45yeah i'd say you're you may be looking at the whole piece right there though
01:00:50full enchilada the whole chunk you know what i mean like it was very small damn it's buckled a couple
01:00:54of ways yeah this is good somebody else was here in this area we know other treasure hunters throughout
01:01:00the search have come really really close to the point that they got indications that they had hit
01:01:05something yeah and i love finding old drill steel especially here in the money pit because like i
01:01:09said they didn't get the recovery back from that so they never got to check what's below that yeah
01:01:14interesting it's about the right size to be a two inch diameter casing which could have been the
01:01:19casing for that pot auger potentially brought back that silver coin we saw yeah yeah so actually james
01:01:25pit played over he was seen taking something out of the pot auger he put it in his pocket he didn't
01:01:31show up the next day hey and you know another reason for casing to still be in the ground
01:01:35is if your driller quits and walks off the site because he found something that's right
01:01:41look i think emma's going to be able to test this and tell us whether this dates to the 1840s
01:01:46right on if it does and it means we're we're in the same vicinity if that dates to 1849. yeah
01:01:53the fact that the team has found pieces of what appeared to be drilling rods from previous searcher
01:01:59activity may actually be a critical clue that they are now drilling down through the original money
01:02:05pit we might be able to determine which company it came from if it's 1850 and earlier earliest
01:02:11searchers knew where the money pit was that means we could be onto something there could be something
01:02:15below it it could be the remains of the vault and then of course 178 feet we still have you know 30
01:02:23plus feet to drill and we really don't know what's at the bottom of the solution channel in this area yet
01:02:28well let's keep our fingers crossed yeah all right exciting great day
01:02:37while the drilling operation continues in the money pit area this is 180
01:02:44later that afternoon
01:02:49what do you think kenzie have you found anything i'm not much over here rick and alex lagina arrive
01:02:56on lot five as members of the team continue investigating the mysterious round feature
01:03:03you still have iron louse thing yeah and a possible new section of it where a large
01:03:10metal object was detected just one day ago there's definitely more in here
01:03:15that's it it almost looks like an iron bar what a weird looking artifact would they just have like
01:03:27metal around that they could use to fashion tools with a blacksmith would have a stock
01:03:35it is an odd looking piece so i think we keep it dirty and take it to ammo oh it's still pretty cool i'm
01:03:42excited to see what else might be in here good stuff i think lot five continues to evolve we're all
01:03:50quite puzzled by the uniqueness of the structure and it continues to grow larger so all of these artifacts
01:03:57could be highly relevant we have to bring them to the lab we need more of these finds to hopefully fill
01:04:03in those gaps and give us those answers oh what's this hey look at this oh that looks good i don't think
01:04:17i've seen anything like this before i can tell you what it is really yeah stuff with your slipware
01:04:27oh i've heard of that yeah yeah and this is one of the earliest pieces we haven't found any more of
01:04:32this before so when you say early how early are you talking stuff just slipware is like 1675 to 1770.
01:04:41well that's a game changer alex rick yeah we've got something to show you all right
01:04:50so fiona just found this this is what we call staffordshire slipware it dates 1675 to 1770.
01:05:00that's pretty good that's really exciting actually so early stuff we know we're not done here on lot
01:05:08five by a long shot we're finding these earlier artifacts that are hinting at an occupation in the
01:05:141600s in this whole new test pit all of which seem to predate the treasure hunt in the money pit we're
01:05:21going to expand the pit dig down deeper and hopefully we can find more artifacts like that
01:05:26or better who knows what we're going to learn well you can tell our work here is definitely not done on
01:05:31lot five i mean this is starting to intrigue me when you're looking at these date ranges that's really
01:05:36encouraging to me i have to remember this feature is completely undocumented yeah we're changing nova
01:05:42scotian history really oh absolutely i have long believed that the 1750 and onward date is searcher
01:05:49era because of the preponderance of fines if you're a searcher you don't care that people make note of
01:05:56your activity we have the earliest dates around 1200 and then we have that middle ground right the 14 15 early
01:06:051600s when you think of it long ago they viewed time differently than we do oh yeah all the big
01:06:14projects like castles cathedrals and all that stuff if you look at generations years yeah yeah and so
01:06:19that's what i think happened here could rick's notion be correct is it possible that this potentially
01:06:2617th century pottery was left by one of several groups who may have occupied lot five while also hiding
01:06:34something of great value in the money pit if so what else might those mysterious people have left here
01:06:41for the team to uncover that's really cool i hope i can find one of those yeah find a big piece i'll work
01:06:49on it believe me i've been trying hopefully we'll find more
01:07:02alex yeah i think i found a no way how in the heck did you find that
01:07:20how in the heck did you find that that's a bead hey laird tansy found a bead oh really yeah
01:07:33while excavating the round feature on lot five archaeology assistant tansy rudnicki
01:07:40has just uncovered another potentially important clue honestly i can't believe she even found it it's tiny
01:07:47excellent wow you want me to hand it to him yeah don't drop it there you go oh look at that tansy
01:07:57you found it pretty deep right i mean you're getting close to sterile soil there it looks like yeah
01:08:03moya had found a similar bead almost at the similar depth that you're going to
01:08:06and she found it right over here in what we call the yard but we've also found two other venetian beads
01:08:12which were uh the striped ones it had blue and red stripes on it those two venetian yeah those were
01:08:17venetians but the other one that to me is the most interesting is the green wound bead that we found
01:08:23over in the test bit over there who found that i found that one yeah that was exciting because that
01:08:28was one that you said had a really old age range or date range on it it's walled glass which means forest
01:08:35glass and it was produced in forests in northern europe it was like 1200 to 1500 i mean it was old
01:08:45believe it or not this is what we call a seed bead i can see why yeah like is it so small for that very
01:08:50reason yeah probably not worn as you would think beads are it's probably embroidered which is pretty
01:08:58cool is there a way to get like an age or a date on it we can probably find if it's most likely venetian
01:09:06but the venetians just kept that tradition up over hundreds of years probably on the earlier side of
01:09:11what we're finding here yeah in 1291 artisans in venice italy began producing decorative glass beads
01:09:20that soon became a highly sought form of currency as well as status symbols used to adorn ceremonial
01:09:28garments jewelry and religious artifacts over the past two years the oak island team has found four
01:09:36venetian trade beads in and around this stone foundation on lot five that could date back to
01:09:43between the 16th and 17th centuries two of which may even be connected to the knights of malta
01:09:51however they have also recovered a so-called forest glass bead in this location which scientific
01:09:59analysis determined could date as far back as the 10th century is it getting to the point that it's an
01:10:07unusual amount of beads for a site like this the number of beads and the variety we have seems to be
01:10:12unusual well and they're scattered yeah everywhere i know i know given the number of potentially ancient
01:10:19and valuable trade beads as well as the 14th century barter token that the team has found in this
01:10:26feature is it possible that it may have been used not only as a base camp long ago by different groups
01:10:34of people but also as a place to hide valuables if so what else might the team find as they continue
01:10:44to excavate it hey rick hey i know one thing when people are standing here talking something's been
01:10:50found take a look oh my gosh it's a little seed bead class but well congratulations well done yeah
01:11:01one thing that's curious when you speak about going back in time we now have this possible connection
01:11:07to a 1360 1380 portuguese coin can that the date of that go back to that time it could
01:11:17before i think we've investigated who could have come here now we have what appears to be pretty
01:11:24good hints of connected tissue in the form of the coin and we're looking for other things that we might
01:11:30help that connection so like the beads would be one if we can trace these beads back to a portuguese
01:11:34merchant yeah then that helps us have more confidence in in what the coin might be telling us
01:11:39you can see how they're finding that little thing's kind of the tip of the iceberg yeah really the bottom
01:11:43line is there's probably more here yeah and that's cool cool all right you guys can go back to work
01:11:49i need to take this back to emma okay see what we can find out fair enough try to find more everybody
01:11:54get ready to pull out the gold coins as the investigation on lot five continues all right here we go
01:12:038.5 8.5 178 to 188 we're going at it right now guys here we go over in the money pit area other
01:12:13members of the team closely monitor the core drilling operation in borehole 8.5 8.5 as it
01:12:21reaches deeper into the mysterious solution channel this is a very hot spot for drilling 186 is deeper
01:12:28than any search that we know of has been exactly that's why we're going to look at these areas in
01:12:34much more detail
01:12:41that's a dark water looks like we've got a sample
01:12:47here comes the core here comes see what's in store
01:12:50what do you got adam 188 thank you
01:13:03somewhat bedded and firm unfortunately look at that
01:13:08and there's the top thank you very tight clay rich material slightly looser here
01:13:15look at that now this material is different that is loose material although much of the core is made
01:13:24up of hard clay-like material which terry believes is undisturbed the looser soils in the core could
01:13:32suggest evidence of the solution channel which means they could potentially contain something of value
01:13:40i'm going to run over with the metal detector go ahead charles
01:13:48you know thanks steve
01:13:51oh you have something there's something in here right here okay
01:13:58i got a hit right here guys it's in here somewhere
01:14:00look at it it's all shiny what is all that stuff you see how shiny that is okay that's shiny
01:14:11what is that
01:14:16see it right there yeah that looks like steel
01:14:19okay we'll bag it anyway let's not bag it yep yep upon drilling to a depth of some 190 feet
01:14:28in the money pit area members of the oak island team have just unearthed another potentially
01:14:35significant clue from the mysterious solution channel okay let's start breaking her down
01:14:40okay this will be a broken piece of metal from what air i don't know
01:14:45something in here and there okay that's it that's it right there more pieces of metal
01:14:56could the team have found additional evidence of previous searcher activity
01:15:02or could this be a clue connected to someone who buried valuables in the original money pit centuries
01:15:08ago so we'll be sure we get every little fragment we're going to bag it all take it back to the left
01:15:15okay guys i'm going to go check on a couple of things here around the island i'll be back if
01:15:18something is up in that last bar give me a call would you please we'll do take care right now we've got
01:15:23another core coming up here it comes guys you know over the years we've looked at a lot of cores
01:15:31we've run the pinpointer over a lot of cores full-on anaconda here but after seeing the coin
01:15:37that steve solomon has 214 right there i mean your mind just kind of goes to the possibility that
01:15:43are we going to get another one of those and that that would be amazing to find the one thing to put
01:15:49in rick's hand okay there we are there's the bedrock interface right there where we go into solid bedrock
01:15:55it 212 but from 201 down to about 208 i think we got a lot of slushy material yeah
01:16:09okay that's clear this material is not what we're looking for yeah not what we're hoping to find
01:16:15let's get a sample of those loose materials back to the lab so that emma can tell us exactly what's in
01:16:20there although the team did not recover clear evidence of treasure in this borehole they will
01:16:26collect samples of the soil from the bottom of the solution channel so that they can be tested for
01:16:32traces of precious metals back in the lab finding those metals that great depth beyond which searchers
01:16:39at least recorded searchers have been to it proves that the collapse is real and that's the enterprise this
01:16:47year to explore those depths to hopefully find what we believe has fallen okay i'll get some pictures
01:16:55and write this up we'll move on charles okay more information from the bottom of the solution channel
01:17:04the following morning while the drilling of a new borehole begins in the money pit area
01:17:10and the archaeological dig proceeds on lot five you know as everyone knows steve solomon was kind enough
01:17:20to bring this coin to the war room meeting the other day rick lagina and other members of the team
01:17:27meet with archaeometallurgist emma culligan and steve solomon in the lab we turn to emma as we always do
01:17:34to see what the coin is saying to us emma has just completed her scientific analysis
01:17:41of the believed 14th century portuguese coin that was reportedly recovered from the original money pit
01:17:47back in 1849. okay so i've done a full report on the coin it's made of 0.375 silver it's got a high
01:17:59copper high silver content it's got a slight bend right but other than that it's in perfect condition
01:18:07beautiful coin yeah so i can confirm that it is a real portuguese coin it is consistent with every
01:18:16coin that i've compared it to that is confirmed okay it's a tornas the escudo uh ferdinand the first
01:18:24from portugal most likely from 1367 to 1383. it's real that's cool yeah ferdinand the first also known
01:18:34as the handsome reigned as the king of portugal from 1367 to 1383. it was a period when the knights of
01:18:44christ a rebranded order of the knights templar maintained numerous strongholds across the country
01:18:51and had meaningful influence on the crown due to their economic power and military might
01:19:01is it possible that this coin reportedly found deep in the original money pit back in 1849 could be
01:19:09another clue linking a vast templar treasure to the oak island mystery
01:19:13emma would you get it larger the bottom of the coin a little bit to the left
01:19:24that looks like a templar cross does it to you guys oh yeah yeah good catch that's an interesting
01:19:31catch judy because if that's a templar cross the knights of christ they're of course one of our suspects
01:19:36for deposition here on the island a possible templar cross has judy rudenbush just made a critical
01:19:44observation that offers more evidence to suggest that the knights of christ may have been one of the
01:19:51templar related groups who buried something of great value on oak island between the 12th and 17th centuries
01:19:58there's a lot of interesting things about the coin that i think we can
01:20:05push further what do you make of a six-pointed star on the sides
01:20:12funtericata funtericata over top of the doorway funtericata over the doorway we might be looking at
01:20:18what i think is you know the oldest templar commandery or place uh in in portugal maybe in europe wow
01:20:25during the team's visit to portugal in 2021 oh wow one of the most profound sites they toured was a
01:20:3312th century church in the town of font arcana that once served as a house of worship for the knights
01:20:39templar and later the knights of christ we will find symbolism in some details of the church there
01:20:48they not only saw a carving of a star that matches the one on the 14th century coin this symbol is
01:20:55definitely on the 90 foot stone but also a symbol inside the church that was reportedly etched into
01:21:02the legendary 90-foot stone haven't we learned over these many years that the smallest clue relays some
01:21:10really important information there is something that that coin is saying this is incredibly interesting
01:21:17fascinating really this coin strongly hints to me supporting the idea of a multi-generational attempt
01:21:25because for one simple reason we have dates that precede this 1367 date supported by hard science
01:21:33that's quite significant to me the likely presence of this coin at depth years ago means that there's a
01:21:40lot more like it down there and if there's a lot more like it it's quite likely to be deep and i think
01:21:47we're on to a very rational effort this year to get down into the solution channel so we're not going
01:21:52home without doing that yeah look we're all quite fascinated with it well i don't know about all of
01:21:58you but it'd be nice to talk to a coin expert absolutely for sure and you know what steve solomon we owe
01:22:04you a debt of gratitude we're very grateful that you're now unfortunately for you you're part of the
01:22:08family yeah thank you i appreciate being here there are probably a lot more ancient coins to be found
01:22:17so let's get going the 230th year in the search for a vast treasure on oak island has just begun
01:22:26and thanks to the efforts of rick marty craig and their team it has already produced a discovery
01:22:34that may validate the tireless efforts of all the faithful believers who came before them
01:22:42now as the team digs deeper than ever in the money pit area and across the island what else might they
01:22:50bring to the surface chests full of 14th century silver coins or could there be even more profound
01:23:00and priceless secrets that have waited centuries to be revealed
01:23:09this season on the curse of oak island ready let's get going if it's there we should find we just need
01:23:15to find the right spot we have to figure out where that treasure fell into the solution channel whoa
01:23:22we're probably into the void who was here here it is right there it's got some sort of design on it
01:23:27why were they here this is clearly roman like 250 270 80. what do you think it would fetch sky's the limit
01:23:35a chest of coins such as that could easily be a billion dollars find some treasure boys it's a treasure
01:23:42island to treasure story whoa whoa another feature in the swamp what in the world is happening this
01:23:47feature could help us unwrap the whole mystery oh this is a jewel jeweled crown hell no yeah it's a
01:23:54megalith a huge boulder look at this tunnel see if there's anything in here what do you think of
01:23:58that it looks like gold yeah lift that boulder up and see what's underneath it roll our dice and see
01:24:04if something's come up you got it it's what i'm looking for wowzer there
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