- 20 minutes ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:01Tonight on The Curse of Oak Island.
00:03It's a brand new area we haven't explored on the western side.
00:06Oh.
00:07Oh, we got here.
00:09Look what I'm getting here.
00:10Oh!
00:12So I've done a CT scan.
00:13You can see it faintly right here.
00:15Oh.
00:16We'll all be damned.
00:18Yeah.
00:18That might tell a story.
00:20Whoa!
00:22We're probably into the void.
00:23If there's the one thing, he could have it in that four barrel right now.
00:27Yeah.
00:28There you go.
00:31There is an island in the North Atlantic where people have been looking for an incredible treasure for more than
00:39200 years.
00:41So far, they have found a stone slab with strange symbols carved into it.
00:47Man-made workings that date to medieval times.
00:51And a lead cross whose origin may be connected to the Knights Templar.
00:56To date, six men have died trying to solve the mystery.
01:02And according to legend, one more will have to die before the treasure can be found.
01:21Okay, team.
01:22This is the part of this whole venture I like honestly the most.
01:25Another bright morning has dawned on Oak Island.
01:29And in the laboratory, Rick and Marty Lagina and members of their team are gathered to learn more about a
01:37recent discovery.
01:39Catchy and I found something that we thought was really, really cool.
01:43It's a coin for sure.
01:45And we're about to find out what exactly this is.
01:49Ooh.
01:52Wowzer.
01:53One week ago, Marty and Katya Drayton discovered a coin with a curious design on Lot 5.
02:00And in the same area where the team previously found five Roman coins that could be as much as 2
02:07,000 years old.
02:09So yeah, so I've done an XRF.
02:12So compositionally, it's copper-based.
02:15There is iron.
02:17There is calcium.
02:18But you see there's a silver content also.
02:20And that's a good sign.
02:21That usually indicates an older alloy.
02:26That's amazing.
02:28Emma says the composition of the coin has silver.
02:31And so I think it could be very valuable.
02:34Everything about this, once again, makes you feel like, geez, I'm not wasting my time and money here.
02:40This is, this is for real.
02:42I popped it into the CT scan to get a better look at it.
02:46Cool.
02:48That's ancient.
02:50Oh my God.
02:52So you have the figure standing left.
02:56And we do have the lettering.
02:59Office in A.
03:00Which is N for Novum.
03:02So ninth.
03:03So it's the ninth workshop.
03:05Can't tell which region.
03:07Because the mint mark is gone.
03:09But that would be like in the Roman vicinity.
03:12And if we take a look at the other side.
03:15So you have the head bust facing right.
03:17And you can see it faintly right here.
03:19It looks like a crown.
03:21It looks like a crown.
03:21And a really distinctive pointed, like I don't know, it's a really sharp nose, sharp chin.
03:26And these features, you only see them with Claudius II.
03:31So you have the workshops, you have the composition, and then you have Claudius II.
03:40And that puts it more towards like 250, 270 AD.
03:45So this is a Roman coin.
03:47So this is a Roman coin.
03:47Yes.
03:49Roman baby.
03:53Without a doubt.
03:54Without a doubt.
03:56Without a doubt.
03:57Marcus Aurelius Claudius, also known as Claudius II, reigned as the emperor of Rome from
04:04268 to 270 AD.
04:07The team has never found evidence of habitation on Oak Island dating back to that era.
04:14So how did the six Roman coins get here?
04:18We'll all be damned.
04:19Yeah.
04:20We have very few certainties on this island.
04:22Well, there's one.
04:23That is a Roman coin.
04:25Yeah.
04:25I mean, we used to say it with a little bit of hesitation.
04:27Like, you know, we're having a hard time believing it ourselves, but we can't discard
04:32it anymore.
04:32It does have a high surrounding silicon layer.
04:37Does that imply it's been there a long time?
04:39Yeah.
04:40How about that?
04:41What were the other metals that Dr. Spooner was finding in the water in the money pit?
04:47Lead, tin, copper, and zinc.
04:49So those are all elements that were found in this coin.
04:51The silver Pibleto coin is 1367 to 1383 and has similar elements, too.
04:59The fact that the composition of the so-called Portuguese Pit Bledo coin and the Roman coins
05:06match the traces of precious metals that were detected deep in the money pit area raises
05:12an important question.
05:14Could they all be related?
05:16I have always believed that what happened here on Oak Island happened long ago.
05:21And so it's not out of the bounds to suggest that this might be part of the treasure.
05:28Right?
05:29Yeah.
05:29Mm-hmm.
05:30The interesting thing now is when was it deposited?
05:34Yeah, exactly.
05:35That is what would be interesting to know.
05:37I think Sandy Campbell can certainly tell us something about that coin.
05:42We should have him look into this further.
05:44Well, as you often tell me, Matt, that's a great find, but you guys need to go back out
05:49to Lot 5 and find some money.
05:51Exactly.
05:52Let's do it.
05:52Let's go.
05:53All right.
05:53See you later.
05:54Good job.
05:58Later that morning, as the team prepares their next drill location in the money pit area.
06:06So, as we know, it's a very aggressive search agenda this year.
06:10We have a lot of things going on.
06:12I know you've done your homework.
06:14You have the permits.
06:15Rick meets with Steve Guptill, Scott Barlow, and Billy Gerhardt in the Oak Island Research
06:21Center to plan another major investigation, a large-scale dig in the triangle-shaped swamp.
06:28The swamp has been incredibly generous to us in terms of finding things.
06:33Think about the timelines that have been associated with the swamp.
06:391200s, 1300s, 1400s, we've always thought that the bog held secrets,
06:45and those secrets might have something to do with the money pit, right?
06:48Yeah.
06:48Mm-hmm.
06:50During the past decade, Rick, Marty, and the team
06:54have uncovered numerous stone structures in the swamp.
06:58These include a massive paved area near the center of the bog,
07:02which has been scientifically dated to the 13th century,
07:07a stone road in the southeast corner, which may be more than 500 years old
07:13and is believed to be of Portuguese origin,
07:15and a cobblestone pathway in the northern region,
07:20which led the team to an empty, vault-like feature
07:23that has been dated to as early as the 17th century.
07:27We found some incredibly unique things from the swamp,
07:31things we haven't been able to explain as of yet,
07:33but it suggests numerous groups may have deposited things here on the island.
07:39Once you understand the totality of the work in the bog,
07:43then you can apply maybe a possible connection to the money pit.
07:47And who was behind this mystery?
07:50So, Steve, where are your areas of interest?
07:53So I have an area I'd like to start us at.
07:55It's just west of the paved area. You can see it here.
07:58It's a brand-new area we haven't explored on the western side.
08:01That end of the swamp is kind of like the area around the vault, right?
08:04You know, we traveled across it 100 times, didn't know the vault was there,
08:07so, you know, I think that the same types of finds can exist in that corner.
08:11Hopefully there's another one, and hopefully it's not empty.
08:13Yep.
08:14We drained the swamp, and I think all that really remains is, you know,
08:19get the excavators in place and start digging it.
08:22Yep.
08:24Let's get to work.
08:27Later that day...
08:30All right, guys, western side of the swamp, brand-new area for us.
08:34Rick meets with members of the team to begin their new investigation
08:38in the western region of the swamp.
08:41We're only 180 feet off the paved area.
08:43That's just straight east of us.
08:44Yeah, and I love those dates from the paved area.
08:48It's 1200s, and we've seen a certain coin this year,
08:53a Portuguese coin from the 1300s.
08:56We might be in for a bit of pork and cheese.
08:59Every year, the swamp surprises us.
09:01The bar every year keeps raising, right?
09:04Yeah.
09:05Let's get digging with it, Billy.
09:10I'm really excited to be back in the swamp.
09:13It's been good to us in the past.
09:15We've found a lot of really nice artifacts in the area,
09:18and hopefully we are going to find some artifacts today.
09:29Oh, it's clean at the moment.
09:40Whoa!
09:42Wow, look at that!
09:48What have we got here?
09:53Steak!
09:54Did you see that, Billy?
09:54You just moved the steak.
09:56Yeah.
09:56While digging near the western edge of the Oak Island swamp,
10:00Rick Lagina and members of the team
10:02have just discovered an interesting clue.
10:06Is that one of the sharpened old wooden steak posts, Rick?
10:10Yeah, it looks like it.
10:12What do you think?
10:13It does look like one of those older style ones,
10:16the way it's cut like that.
10:20That ain't saw.
10:23No, that's an axe cut.
10:25Yeah.
10:26A hand-cut wooden steak?
10:29Curiously, the team discovered a number of similar steaks one year ago
10:33in the center of the swamp, lining the cobble path.
10:36These steaks were carbon dated to as early as the 17th century
10:41and led them to the vault-like feature.
10:47So that would be your first connection that this potentially
10:49at one point in time was a path.
10:51So that could be a really old wood steak.
10:53Is it possible that the team has uncovered evidence of another pathway?
10:58If so, just what might it lead to?
11:03What have we got here?
11:05Whoo!
11:07Look at that!
11:10That's definitely a steak there.
11:11Yeah, there's one right there.
11:14Yeah.
11:14Oh, yeah.
11:15Good eye, Rick.
11:18Oh, that's a little mini work about, isn't it?
11:21Like the ones we've seen on the north side of the swamp.
11:23Mm-hmm.
11:24And the dating on those came back from 1630s all the way to mid-1700s.
11:29The question is, what do all these steaks mean?
11:31Mm-hmm.
11:32This steak is strikingly similar to the steaks that we found in the north end.
11:37The steaks might be referencing some work that is yet undiscovered in the bog.
11:43It is incredibly exciting.
11:45It's odd to have so many steaks in one area, right?
11:49Yep.
11:49We need to date these to really understand their importance here in a very tight area.
11:55Yeah.
11:56But you still need to find artifacts.
11:59Oh, yeah.
12:00The metals will tell the story in this place.
12:03You know?
12:04I'm open for coins.
12:06Cross our fingers.
12:07As Rick and the team proceed with their excavation in the swamp, several hundred yards to the west on Lot
12:155.
12:15This almost feels like this is that top layer of soil because it's soft.
12:19But I notice it's more gravely when you get over there, but that could be from that little pile.
12:23It's from the pile, I think.
12:24Archaeologist Fiona Steele and other members of the team continue their investigation of a mysterious rounded feature near the shoreline.
12:33Okay, your turn for the coolest find ever.
12:36Okay.
12:36Ever.
12:38In recent years, the team has uncovered evidence suggesting that several different groups conducted secret activities here at different times
12:47while possibly hiding valuables on the island.
12:51These include a number of buttons and Venetian trade beads that may be connected to the Knights of Malta, a
12:58religious military order that descended from the Knights Templar.
13:03Lot 5 is an example of the extraordinary complexity of this island and what happened here.
13:10The multi-generational theory fits with a lot of the dates we found.
13:15I want to keep going because I want to figure this out.
13:26Oh, my God. Look at this.
13:29Might be a pipe stem.
13:33Hey, pipe stem!
13:34Oh, that's great.
13:36It's got a really small borehole.
13:38Like, really small.
13:40You can actually get an idea of the date range from the size of the boreholes.
13:44So, if you get a smaller borehole, it's more likely a more recent pipe stem.
13:49But if you get a really big borehole, it can age it quite a bit.
13:53I always have stuff with me that we can use for this.
13:57This is what we use to check the boreholes with.
14:01All right. So, this one is a 4 64ths, which is what I'm expecting.
14:05Let's see. And look at that. That fits perfectly.
14:09So, that's saying that this pipe stem was made sometime between 1753 and 1800, which actually fits in exactly with
14:17what the mean date range of all the artifacts that we're finding here.
14:20Nice. I think that's pretty cool.
14:22The artifacts we have, in general, from Lot 5, these artifacts still predate 1795.
14:30So, they predate the discovery of the Money Pit.
14:33To me, that's what makes our work on Lot 5 so significant.
14:39Wow. I'm glad we found that. That's great.
14:46Tansy, look what I'm getting here. Check this out.
14:51Foddery.
14:52Oh, wow. It's a big boy.
14:54So, we're going to take it out in two pieces.
14:58There's one.
15:01It's so shiny. Isn't that great?
15:04Let's see what magic...
15:05Oh!
15:08That's gorgeous.
15:09That's really pretty.
15:11Wow.
15:12If you hold that one, let's get the other piece out.
15:14Yeah.
15:19There we go. So pretty.
15:22Wow. Those will go together.
15:24Look how big that bowl would have been.
15:26It had to have been a big utilitarian type of bowl.
15:29It was probably used for food purposes, preparation of some sort, whether it was breads or preserved fruits.
15:35I find with these coarse earthenwares, it could be anywhere from 1600 to 1800, but this little design on it
15:41will help date it.
15:43Good job.
15:45Fragments of an ornate earthenware bowl that may have been used to contain food?
15:50There are no records that any settlers ever lived on Lot 5.
15:55So if Fiona is correct that this pottery may date back to the 17th century, it's a potential clue that
16:03could help identify who was here.
16:06The things that we've been finding on Lot 5 have been giving us more of an indication of multi-occupational
16:12use of the lot itself.
16:14That's pretty blatant and evident.
16:16So it's getting more and more curious as we're going.
16:20Every piece adds to the puzzle and tells us more and more.
16:24Yeah.
16:24That's great. Beautiful find.
16:30The next day...
16:32The find is quite remarkable.
16:35Laird, I would think you would have to agree.
16:37Finding that is incredibly impressive.
16:40Oh, absolutely.
16:42Rick and members of the team meet once again in the lab regarding another find made two weeks ago on
16:49Lot 5.
16:51Tansy, we thank you for that.
16:53It's stunningly beautiful.
16:55It is.
16:56An ornate glass bead that Tansy Rudnicki uncovered in the rounded feature.
17:02Laird, Emma, tell us what this is and what it may mean.
17:05So I do have an XRF result.
17:09So the composition, we have a whole bunch of elements in it.
17:14The color is due to the copper content that you see right here.
17:19So that's what makes it a lovely, lovely blue.
17:22But here's the compositional averages in the comparison with other artifacts found on Oak Island.
17:28Our bead is the one in blue.
17:31The composition of the glass itself.
17:33The closest match that it lines up with are the Venetian beads that we've collected over the years.
17:41It would be interesting to know if any of these are associated with the activity that was going on with
17:46the Knights of Malta.
17:59So it'd just be curious to see if maybe they brought some beads with them.
18:02They would have 100% brought beads with them to trade with the indigenous people in that area.
18:08In the Oak Island lab, Emma Culligan and Laird have just informed the team that it's possible that the glass
18:16Venetian bead found on Lot 5 could be connected to the Knights of Malta.
18:21So it's what we call a seed bead for obvious reasons.
18:25It's the size of a large seed.
18:28They were introduced in the second half of the 1600s.
18:32It would be interesting to know if any of these have ever been found at Fort Point because as we
18:37all know,
18:38Isaac de Rasly came over and made his capital on the Le Havre River.
18:43In 1632, a French naval captain and prominent member of the Knights of Malta named Isaac de Rasly helped establish
18:53the French colony of Acadia, which is now known today as Nova Scotia.
18:59Curiously, de Rasly established his headquarters at Fort Point on the Le Havre River, just 15 miles south of Oak
19:07Island.
19:09If Venetian beads have been discovered at Fort Point, could that offer more evidence of a connection between the Knights
19:17of Malta and the Oak Island mystery?
19:19We can check with the archaeologists at Fort Point, see what they may have for beads that were recovered from
19:26their archaeology.
19:27That'd be great.
19:28Strange as it sounds, that little simple bead might tell a story.
19:33Mm-hmm.
19:34So, thank you, Emma.
19:36Thank you, Laird.
19:37Having said that, we'd better get all back to it.
19:39Mm-hmm.
19:40See you later.
19:41See ya.
19:43Later that day, as the investigations in both the swamp and on Lot 5 continue...
19:52J.5, 8.5, guys.
19:56All right.
19:57We're still about 12 feet above what we conventionally think of the top of the solution channel.
20:05Over at the Money Pit area, the core drilling operation reaches a depth of nearly 140 feet in a new
20:12borehole known as J.5, 8.5.
20:16Here, the team hopes to penetrate the natural cavity known as the solution channel and recover evidence of treasure.
20:26Previous holes have shown us how convoluted it is.
20:29We've run into actual ledges within it and soft plot below 190.
20:34Hopefully, this one will get into an even looser area and some kind of a chest.
20:38Yep.
20:39One full of silver coins.
20:41It's all but we live in hope.
20:43Did a treasure fall down to the depths of the solution channel?
20:47We don't know.
20:47We don't want to be driven by possibilities.
20:49We want to be driven by facts.
20:51And the fact is, right now, we are nowhere near done exploring the extremities of this void.
21:00And we need to continue to be very disciplined in our approach.
21:03But we mustn't relent.
21:05We mustn't give up.
21:06We're not there yet.
21:07I want the one thing.
21:15Whoa!
21:16Whoa!
21:17That was interesting.
21:18What happened?
21:19He just lost his rods.
21:21That means we're probably into the void.
21:24I'll ask him how far they seem to have dropped.
21:29Adam.
21:29Hey.
21:30How far did they drop?
21:3148 feet.
21:33Okay.
21:34And that's into a loose area?
21:35I'm assuming.
21:36Yeah.
21:36That's what we're looking for.
21:37Okay.
21:38Go get her.
21:38Oh, we'll see you.
21:39Yeah, yeah.
21:39Thanks.
21:41Here.
21:43Hey, Terry.
21:43What did he say?
21:44So that was interesting.
21:46Okay.
21:46So we're into a loose area, 148 to 158 or so.
21:50The rods just dropped right out.
21:52Now we go deeper to see what they find.
21:56I mean, I got my fingers crossed here, gentlemen.
21:58We are in a really interesting point.
22:00Let's hope.
22:01And this is exactly what we're looking for.
22:03We're dropping down into an open space in the solution channel below 150 feet.
22:07If we trace this to the bottom, we could find a lot of amazing things before bedrock.
22:14Whoa.
22:15That is an extraordinary washed out void of material.
22:21168.
22:22Wow.
22:2368.
22:24Whoa.
22:24The rods were 15 feet down.
22:2815 feet?
22:2915 feet.
22:29So is that a solution channel, you think?
22:32Huh.
22:33Exactly so.
22:33That's kind of a void in an open space.
22:35You could lose a whole lot of treasure.
22:37So out of the 20 feet, that's all you got.
22:40Wow.
22:40Wow.
22:41Yeah.
22:41So that bodes well, gentlemen.
22:43I think this is getting very interesting.
22:46It's not over yet.
22:48I'm going to run the pinpointer over this.
22:51So when we pull a 20-foot run, and we only have a few feet of material in it, that
22:56says we've
22:56passed into a relative void where only a small amount of the solid material has been encountered.
23:01And if we hit that kind of a situation, we know we're into the void in the solution channel.
23:06Clear.
23:07That tells us we could encounter an artifact anywhere between there and the bedrock.
23:14Hey!
23:19Adam, how we doing?
23:21I'm at 188.
23:23Wow.
23:23And I haven't hit anything hard.
23:26All we got is loose void.
23:28That's it.
23:29Thanks.
23:31What do you got?
23:33So, he has dropped another 20 feet.
23:36He went from 168 to 188, and he's still got nothing solid.
23:40So he's going to push forward from 188 to 198 to see if he can hit something solid.
23:46Yeah.
23:46Given what we know, it's a 30-foot void, give or take.
23:49That's exciting.
23:50I think objective number one is to find the bottom of the solution channel.
23:54Absolutely.
23:55We're excited because what is below us right here has not been searched by anyone ever,
24:02and we're going to be the first people to look at that.
24:06Hopefully, we'll find something at the bottom because treasure is very dense,
24:10and it will drop through the material in the solution channel and settle at the bottom.
24:16We have a core, gentlemen.
24:20The sample that we have in that core barrel is very important.
24:23We've just passed down through a huge amount of loose area.
24:25If there's a debris field, if there's a broken-up treasure chest,
24:29if there's the one thing, he could have it in that core barrel right now.
24:33Let's go.
24:38168 to 198 right in front of us, gentlemen.
24:40We're looking for aspects of the debris field that have fallen treasure, yes?
24:45Exactly.
24:46Here he is.
24:47Hey, Rick.
24:47How are you doing?
24:48Hello.
24:48Very loose area here, Rick.
24:51168 to 198 and J.5 to 8.5.
24:54Okay.
24:55Let's see it.
24:56Let me see it.
24:56All right.
24:57In the Money Pit area, Rick has joined the team to inspect fresh drilling cores recovered from the solution channel.
25:04This material is relatively watery, void-like material.
25:09And from 198, we should go to about 218 or 215 before we hit bedrock, Rick.
25:16So it should be another swath of interesting material at the bottom of the solution channel.
25:31Unfortunately, no hits with the pinpointer.
25:33Well, let's see what the next one looks like.
25:35I think this next run is the most important.
25:37That would be the hope.
25:38This hole in particular, it's soft enough for something very heavy to have migrated downward to the point where it
25:46would fall to the lowest possible point, i.e. the bottom of the solution channel.
25:52We just have to find it.
26:00It's getting ridiculous.
26:01Like I'm 228 right now.
26:04That's so weird, man.
26:06Adam, how we doing?
26:08228.
26:10228?
26:10228.
26:11Wow.
26:12That's one for the record books.
26:14And loose all the way down?
26:15Yeah.
26:16Nothing.
26:16Well, it's loose, but I can feel it.
26:19Do you think you're going to be able to retrieve that?
26:20It's going in the rods right now.
26:22Okay, thank you.
26:22Yep.
26:26Well, you don't see that every day.
26:29228, no bedrock.
26:30What?
26:31What are they going through?
26:32Just water?
26:33Well, it's loose material as well.
26:34It looks like he's going to be able to get a sample, so it looks like we're going to have
26:3730 feet more of core coming up.
26:40I agree.
26:40It's highly unusual in fact that you're not in bedrock at 228.
26:45It's incredibly interesting.
26:46Yeah.
26:48Previously drilled boreholes that have reached the bottom of the solution channel.
26:52Have suggested that the mysterious natural cavity has a maximum depth of some 220 feet.
27:00However, has the team now discovered evidence that it could be deeper in some areas?
27:07Presenting a whole new challenge to finding the believed treasure.
27:12The solution channel is wide, it's expansive, it's deep.
27:16I think it's a little bit larger and certainly deeper than we had thought.
27:22Generally, the bottom is 218, 214.
27:26Well, we're 14 feet past that.
27:28I think what it tells us is we have a lot more work to do to truly understand the solution
27:34channel.
27:35It certainly presents some unique challenges.
27:38Will there be issues that arise that we haven't anticipated?
27:41Sure, there will be problems, but we're not going to give up. It's that simple.
27:47Jump in and I'll guide you in.
27:51If there were something of some significance, it would easily fall through what we just had on the table.
27:57Exactly.
27:58Yes.
27:59Here we go.
28:00Let's hope it's a good one.
28:02He can be very hopeful.
28:03Look.
28:04Peter thinks it's hopeful.
28:06I'm on board.
28:07I'm cautiously optimistic.
28:09There you go.
28:09That was the worst. There you go.
28:10The drill bar has basically fallen almost 100 feet with no hindrance.
28:17Your immediate thought is, well, here absolutely is the collapse zone.
28:23What other explanation is there?
28:25And if there's a collapse zone, then we may be close to something.
28:30So 198 all the way down to 228 and no bedrock yet.
28:36But a lot of loose material.
28:37So you've got a lot of work to do here with your pinpointer, I think, Charles.
28:40Hell yeah.
28:41Okay, so for 30 feet of drilling, we got about 12 feet of loose material.
28:49Clear.
28:50Unfortunately, in this section, we didn't hit it.
28:53Let's see where he hits bottom and we'll see what he brings back up.
28:59If he's pounding, that's bedrock.
29:03It is a nice white powder.
29:05That's bedrock.
29:09Let's see what we got up above the bedrock.
29:14Here we go.
29:18What do we got?
29:22228, 233.
29:23The rock was at 229.
29:28So, yeah, it looks like you got about a foot of loose material.
29:31It's a good four feet of bedrock.
29:34Yeah, it's clear.
29:37J.5, 8.5.
29:39Seems to have come to an end here at 233 below grade.
29:42We hit bedrock at 229 below grade.
29:45It gave us information.
29:46Exactly.
29:48What do you think about this, Adam?
29:49It's been the most interesting one to me to date.
29:52Bottom line is, I'm an eyes and boots guy.
29:54When the driller of record says, this is something different, you can put your nickel on that.
29:59It's different.
30:01Absolutely.
30:02Based on what we're seeing, the theory that the treasure would fall deep down in the solution channel still is
30:09alive and well.
30:10One of the reasons for doing the sonic drill program was, okay, where's an area where we might put a
30:16caisson down?
30:17Incremental information is incredibly important to help us determine that.
30:22Yeah.
30:22We need to make a decision where we go next.
30:25Yeah.
30:27As the team plots their next borehole location in the Money Pit area.
30:33Sandy, thank you for coming down once again.
30:36Appreciate it, Rick.
30:37Rick and Doug meet with coin expert Sandy Campbell in the research center to get his analysis of the Roman
30:44coin that was recently found on Lot 5.
30:48You know, as soon as I pick the coin up, it's quite obvious what it is.
30:53This is clearly Roman Empire period.
30:56It's in remarkable condition for a coin that's been buried for quite a while.
31:02I think we'll need a CT to get a more definitive portrait.
31:08Laird and Emma have actually provided us with a couple of images from the CT scanner.
31:13Okay.
31:13Let's have a look.
31:15Yeah, the CT is pretty clear.
31:19You know, the reverse is quite spectacular, very definitive legend.
31:23You know, somebody's standing holding an oak leaf.
31:29The obverse here is probably Claudius, which makes it 3rd century AD.
31:37That's what Laird and Emma said.
31:40Yeah.
31:41No question in your mind, it's a Roman coin.
31:43No, no question.
31:45It's a pretty obvious design and period of Roman Empire.
31:51But of all the Roman, this is, you know, perhaps the most remarkable piece that's been found to date.
31:58What do you make of Roman coins being found on this island, though?
32:01Like, how many Roman coins have been found elsewhere in Nova Scotia?
32:04I would say nothing that I'm aware of.
32:09I'm puzzled how so many Roman coins could land on this island.
32:14The question that would be in my mind is, who brought it?
32:18Right.
32:19You know, Roman coins traded as currency into the 1500s quite regularly.
32:25They were monetarily used, and that's what possibly brought them to this island, in my opinion.
32:30Who brought them is a different story.
32:33Here's a scenario that starts to paint itself in my mind, though.
32:36The people that were carrying out the work to create the money pit may have been carrying this as currency
32:42in their pockets.
32:43I think that is a distinct possibility.
32:47Incredible.
32:51If you have people on the island building habitations for the work, perhaps in the money pit, and they're losing
32:59their personal possessions along the way,
33:02these coins might have been actually the pocket change of the workers working to deposit a treasure in the money
33:07pit.
33:07So this, to me, may not be the actual treasure they were depositing, but it's evidence.
33:13Yes, yeah, it could be.
33:14In the Oak Island Research Center, Sandy Campbell has just validated the possibility that the Roman coins found on Lot
33:245 may have been dropped by those who buried a treasure in the money pit.
33:29I wouldn't discount it.
33:31You know, 13, 1400s, this stuff was in use all through Europe.
33:36If you walked into any merchant anywhere in the world, you know, whether it's the new world or the old
33:42world, that had monetary value.
33:45It's mind-numbing that this stuff continues to get unearthed.
33:52Mm-hmm.
33:53One of the interesting things about Roman coins is they've often been found in places we've investigated the activities of
34:01the Templars, right?
34:02Mm-hmm.
34:03Another twist.
34:05Here we have the coins.
34:07The Roman coins have been found in Iceland.
34:10During their numerous trips to European sites, where the Templar order was believed to have operated between the 12th and
34:1814th centuries,
34:19the team has been shown Roman coins from the same eras that they have found on Oak Island.
34:25This is 4th century.
34:274th century.
34:27Yeah.
34:28We were told ours were from 5th century AD.
34:32If those coins were in active use right up through the 1200s, then they could be associated with activity of
34:40the Templars.
34:42This, sitting here on this table, might be representative of that cultural context.
34:48Perhaps with Nolan's cross and then the so-called Pipledo coin.
34:52Right.
34:53Is it possible that the ancient Roman coins could actually represent another Templar connection to the Oak Island mystery?
35:02And could they be related to other possible Templar structures such as Nolan's cross?
35:08As well as reported discoveries like the silver Portuguese coin.
35:13The wealth associated with the possible treasure in the money pit might have been gathered from all over the world.
35:18And Templars, as we have learned, assimilated power, influence wealth, and specifically knowledge.
35:29So, it may be that this coin is Roman, but you have to take the clues and the data as
35:36presented to you.
35:37But you have to analyze that data with a very open mind because it could all be connected.
35:44We need to rededicate ourselves to continue to look intensively at Lot 5 and the adjacent lots and the money
35:53pit for irrefutable proof.
35:55All right.
35:57So, Sandy, thank you for coming down. Really appreciate it, as always.
36:01I appreciate the invite and, again, it just, it's always interesting to see something new and different.
36:08It just deepens the mystery, in my opinion.
36:11It does do that.
36:12Yeah.
36:14It's incredibly interesting.
36:15Roman coins were found on Oak Island.
36:17It's just more bizarre.
36:21Later that day...
36:24It's a good place to start, Charles.
36:26Yep.
36:27Back on the trail of artifacts, mate, on Lot 4.
36:30I love it.
36:32Charles joins Gary on Lot 4.
36:35Encouraged by the new discoveries of the glass bead and the Roman coin.
36:40You ready to get stuck in, mate?
36:42Let's do it.
36:43Okay.
36:43Let's start here.
36:44You find them, I'll dig them.
36:46Rick has instructed them to search an area on nearby Lot 4, where excavated spoils from the round feature on
36:53Lot 5 have been deposited.
36:56It's a bit of a jumpy signal, Charles.
36:58It's more than likely going to be a piece of elongated iron.
37:03You never know.
37:08Let's get stuck back in.
37:10You've digled some dirt around.
37:14Think it's out?
37:16Yeah.
37:16I believe so.
37:24Yeah, just a little nail up.
37:26Yep, yep.
37:28Burn it.
37:31Keep going.
37:31Yep.
37:39Ooh, we got a nice banging signal here, Charles.
37:42Ooh, I like the sound of that, Charles.
37:45Nice one?
37:45Yeah, a real good one.
37:46This could be a coin or a button.
37:49Well, let's hope.
37:49This has got potential, mate.
37:52Just there, please.
37:52Right there?
37:53Okay.
37:58That's a lot of roots.
37:59Yep.
38:01X marks the spot.
38:05Yep.
38:06Take a look-see.
38:08Right.
38:09Let's see what we've got.
38:14I can't see it.
38:18It's in my hand, mate.
38:19And I can feel it.
38:22This is the fun part, mate.
38:25Let's see what we've got.
38:28Ooh.
38:28Ooh.
38:32Ooh.
38:39What have we found, Charles?
38:41Look at that, mate.
38:43Some kind of lead strip.
38:45That's interesting.
38:47While searching for clues on lot four, Charles and Gary have just made a curious discovery.
38:54Look at the beveled edges.
38:56I see that.
38:57You know what this reminds me of?
38:59What's that?
38:59It reminds me of an arm of a lead cross.
39:05Really?
39:05It looks like there's an hole at the top.
39:08Yeah.
39:08If you are making a cross, a lead, and you want to tack it onto something, it would need holes.
39:14Right.
39:14So we could be in Templar country.
39:16Yeah.
39:18A lead artifact with similar features to the 14th century lead cross that was found at Smith's Cove in 2017?
39:28Members of the Oak Island team have seen this exact cross design at 12th and 14th century Templar related sites
39:36in Dome, France.
39:38In Camerano, Italy.
39:41And near Reykjavik, Iceland.
39:44And perhaps even more incredible is the fact that in 2022, while investigating the mysterious round feature just a few
39:54yards away on Lot 5, Gary and Jack Begley unearthed a lead barter token that was scientifically matched to the
40:02lead cross.
40:04You see that?
40:06This looks really old.
40:07Yeah.
40:09Is it possible that Gary and Charles have found another key clue that could help prove a Templar connection to
40:16the Oak Island mystery?
40:18Let's put this in the bag where it belongs.
40:21Even a little piece of lead like this could tell a really big story.
40:27It's one of those metals you can have tested and you never know.
40:31Imagine if this piece of lead is a match to a certain medieval artifact we recovered in Smith's Cove.
40:40Medieval lead cross, baby.
40:43I'm sure there's more artifacts waiting for us, but we need to get to the lab.
40:47I can't wait to see what this is.
40:49Let's go, man.
40:50All right, mate. Good digging.
40:52Excellent.
40:53Absolutely brilliant.
40:58Generations of treasure hunters have believed that something of immense value lies buried in the money pit.
41:05Now Rick, Marty and their team may have not only touched a piece of those fabled riches,
41:12but have found incredible new clues that could help identify just who was behind this mystery.
41:19So despite the murky questions that remain in the solution channel, this team will keep searching for the truth, no
41:29matter how deep they have to dig.
41:35Next time on The Curse of Oak Island.
41:38Hold it. Whoa, whoa, whoa.
41:39Another feature in the swamp.
41:41What in the world is happening?
41:42This feature could help us unwrap the whole mystery.
41:45Something this small has fallen to the bottom of the solution channel.
41:49Here it is right there.
41:50Could be a chunk of a coin.
41:51It's got some sort of design on it.
41:53If it's a silver coin, that's treasure.
41:55It's what we're looking for.
41:56Yeah.
41:56Be prepared to be gobstruck.
41:59This is going to be special.
42:00This is quite pure.
42:01Yes, absolutely.
Comments