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The Curse of Oak Island Season 13 Episode 25
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00:00positive oh check this out this is strange this came from 200 feet in the money pit
00:05that's incredible oh yeah oh you got it oh my gosh oh wow it's treasure from the money pit
00:12spoils that's amazing yeah and it's ours
00:19there is an island in the north atlantic where people have been looking for an incredible
00:25treasure for more than 200 years so far they have found a stone slab with strange symbols carved
00:33into it man-made workings that date to medieval times and a lead cross whose origin may be connected
00:41to the knight's templar to date six men have died trying to solve the mystery and according to
00:50legend one more will have to die before the treasure can be found
01:10oh guys it's a new day so i'm optimistic here in money pit one terry remind me what depth we
01:16finished at yesterday finished up at 138 okay winter is fast approaching on oak island which
01:22means the year will soon come to an end for rick marty and their team but as they excavate a
01:29key
01:29target in the money pit area they may have all the time they need to solve a 231 year old
01:36mystery
01:38we're just about 12 to 20 feet short of the actual solution channel top so high hopes we're just now
01:44getting to the most interesting depth and it's only going to get better from here on out and that's
01:48music to my ears because that means there could be artifacts at any level we're going through
01:54the seven foot diameter shaft known as money pit one or mp1 is located in a region where soil and
02:02water tests for more than 200 feet deep in the solution channel have revealed unnaturally high traces of
02:12silver
02:13all right terry let's get stuck in got it and even more compelling is the fact that those silver levels
02:23match the
02:24composition of the so-called pit blado coin a 14th century silver coin reportedly extracted from the original
02:31money pit in 1849 by a drilling foreman named james pit blado
02:42big signal there mate
02:52is that it yeah
03:01Oh, piece of drill putt.
03:03Piece of drill putt.
03:04Looks about two inches.
03:05Yeah.
03:06It's a little bigger than that inch and a half stuff.
03:08So it's a little different, isn't it?
03:10Yeah.
03:11OK.
03:11I'm interested to see how old that is.
03:13Yeah.
03:14Well, that was an interesting go.
03:16What'd you find?
03:17Two-inch pipe.
03:18Two-inch pipe?
03:19Yeah.
03:20So the last time we found two-inch pipe out here,
03:23that dated in the lab to mid-1800s.
03:25Right.
03:25We figured it may be connected to the Pit Blado incident, right?
03:28Yeah.
03:29I think this is more of that same pipe.
03:31Yeah.
03:32Earlier this year, as the team was core drilling
03:35just a few feet from this location,
03:38they recovered an identical piece of drill pipe
03:40that was scientifically dated to the same era
03:43as James Pit Blado's drilling operation.
03:47We are chasing the collapse of the Money Pit,
03:49so it's possible that we are in the vicinity
03:51of the original Money Pit.
03:52Exactly.
03:53It's an interesting artifact.
03:56Hey, guys.
03:57Hey.
03:57Good morning.
03:58How you doing?
03:59Well, we're at 151.
04:01Right.
04:02We're going to push pretty hard here
04:03on these next few turns.
04:05Sounds good.
04:06That's good.
04:06Everything from here on out
04:07is going to be good for us, I think.
04:10Yeah.
04:10Good.
04:11Hey, guys.
04:11Thank you for the update.
04:12See you, Mike.
04:14Onward and downward for sure.
04:16Mm-hmm.
04:17Target depth's about 215.
04:19We just got to get down there.
04:20As the dig continues in the MP1 shaft.
04:26Hey, Laird.
04:27Fiona.
04:27I got my support troops here today.
04:29You sure do.
04:30Yep.
04:31Marty brings Rick to the mysterious stone cradle on Lot 8
04:34to update him on a potentially important recent discovery.
04:39So, Rick, I dug a trench over there
04:41to see if there was something underneath it.
04:43What if it covered a tunnel?
04:46Yeah.
04:46Then I dug down to bedrock.
04:48Yeah.
04:49You both observed I was pounding on it.
04:51The teeth were scraping.
04:53And you were hitting it directly.
04:54Yep.
04:56After the team previously found evidence
04:59of both silver and a possible shaft
05:01buried below the mysterious cradle of stones,
05:05Marty dug a trench to the side of it
05:06in search of a possible tunnel.
05:10However, he was surprised to reach bedrock
05:13just six feet down,
05:15which is at a shallower depth than the cradle feature.
05:18Here's where you come in, Ian.
05:21Laird never hit bedrock in the stone cradle.
05:23It's as if this was dug through the bedrock.
05:26Right.
05:26Topographic change of rock over a short distance
05:29isn't something I've experienced anywhere.
05:31Mm-hmm.
05:32It's impossible to be more surprised than we were
05:35to find that rock cradle.
05:37It's intentional.
05:38It's purposeful.
05:39So I think there's more work to be done
05:41to come to an understanding of what this is.
05:43Is there something under here?
05:44We need to find out.
05:47The Lot 8 feature represents
05:48one of the most enigmatic finds on the island.
05:52And Phil and Laird are taking the time
05:54to uncover the cradle.
05:56But we're going to run out of time here.
05:58There's no question about it.
06:00Perhaps we need to take a different approach.
06:03Well, if we want to know how far bedrock is there,
06:06the only thing I can think of is basically a hammer drill
06:09if you want to keep on going down, down, down here.
06:11You need like a pneumatic hammer drill.
06:14Yeah.
06:15Yeah.
06:15A hammer drill would work.
06:18Often utilized in masonry,
06:20a hammer drill is a power tool
06:22that simultaneously rotates and hammers
06:25an attached auger bit into a hard surface,
06:28such as stone or concrete.
06:30The percussive motion allows the drill
06:33to penetrate denser objects more efficiently
06:35than a standard drill.
06:38And it wouldn't shake and vibrate the cradle.
06:40No, it doesn't shake.
06:41It doesn't do anything.
06:42Just check it.
06:42It's more that I'm thinking of shaking the rocks loose
06:44that I don't wish to come loose.
06:45Yeah.
06:46What do you think?
06:47No, it sounds good.
06:49Yeah.
06:50You know, if we're not finding the bedrock,
06:53I think we need to keep on going just in case
06:54there's a shaft or a tunnel underneath here.
06:57I mean, while we're here, we should get it done.
06:59You know, we don't want to do it invasively or destructively,
07:02but I think, to your point,
07:03I'd like to know where the bedrock is.
07:05Me too, Rick.
07:06I mean, both of you have said that many, many times.
07:09You know?
07:09Is there something hiding under here?
07:11Let's do this for right now.
07:12We don't have the right equipment right now.
07:14Let's go talk to Billy and see what he's got.
07:15Yeah.
07:16And then we'll come back here
07:17and see if we can get to the bottom of this.
07:19All right.
07:20See you later.
07:24Meanwhile...
07:24I caught you.
07:25Hi, Steve.
07:26How's it going here?
07:27Really good.
07:27This area has just been amazing for us.
07:30We're digging through a lot of the old spoils from old searchers.
07:35Steve Guptill joins Katja Drayton and Billy Gerhardt,
07:39several yards south of the Money Pit area,
07:41to search the so-called Dunfield spoils.
07:45These are several mounds of earth
07:47that were excavated from the Money Pit by Robert Dunfield in 1965
07:51during his unsuccessful effort to recover the treasure.
07:57It could be quite exciting today.
07:58Let's find some treasure.
08:00Yeah, let's find something.
08:00Yep.
08:03Robert Dunfield's efforts to conduct his big dig
08:06certainly pushed a lot of spoils piles in the Money Pit down the hill.
08:12And they were never really investigated for clues to the area we are now intent on exploring.
08:18So the hope is that we will find artifacts that will help us unravel what happened in the Money Pit
08:24long ago.
08:32Oh, you got a hit.
08:33That sounds really good.
08:34It sounds really good.
08:38Oh, it's small too, hand on Ferris.
08:41Right here?
08:41Yep.
08:42All right.
08:44Where would you like it?
08:45Anywhere in front of me is fine.
08:51This way?
08:53Yeah, we'll give it a little pinpoint in the hole, see if we can find it.
08:59Ooh.
09:00I'm on it.
09:02Oh, you got it.
09:04Oh, my gosh.
09:08It's very clean.
09:09What is that?
09:11I mean, the things that really don't corrode are precious metals.
09:17While searching spoils that were removed from the Money Pit by treasure hunters more than 60 years ago.
09:23I think that we just found a silver coin.
09:26Oh, wow.
09:27Katya has just made a potentially critical discovery.
09:31I've learned that when you don't have, what do you call it, the beveled edges?
09:34Milled edges.
09:35Milled edges.
09:36Yes.
09:37Okay, so that dates back to older.
09:39Much.
09:41In the late 17th century, Sir Isaac Newton, who also served as the master of the Royal Mint of England,
09:48was the first to design coins with milled edges.
09:52This was done in order to combat counterfeiting.
09:56Now, you know, you can see something written on the edge there.
09:59Could that mean that this silver coin may date back to the 1600s or even earlier?
10:06We've been looking for silver in the Money Pit a long time.
10:09And based on what Dr. Spooner has shown us, there is a bunch of silver up there somewhere.
10:14Could be a whole bunch of that somewhere, right?
10:16I should run that back to the lab.
10:17I agree.
10:18Good find, Katya.
10:22Later that day.
10:24You deserve a vault below here or something.
10:27This could tell us.
10:29Rick, Marty, Craig, and other members of the team arrive at the man-made depression on Lot 8, dubbed the
10:36Stone Cradle.
10:38Laird, as long as he's in that square area, he can drill multiple holes.
10:43Oh, yeah.
10:43Absolutely.
10:44In our world, it's transitioned from archaeology to geology.
10:47When you bring it up, we'll get the sample.
10:49Start your engines.
10:51Laird is allowing the team to punch a three-foot hole in the bottom of the cradle with a hammer
10:56drill, to collect new soil samples, and look for evidence of man-made workings buried deeper below.
11:04It's going.
11:06There he goes.
11:08What if we just don't even encounter the bedrock at all?
11:11That would tend to mean something.
11:13And whatever might be interesting is deeper yet.
11:16That went down quite far.
11:18It doesn't seem like it's bedrock.
11:19Well, we're about to find out.
11:22Trade spots.
11:23And I'll take that sample.
11:29It's pretty gritty.
11:33That's enough?
11:34But look at the color in that.
11:36It doesn't look like bedrock to me.
11:39Okay.
11:40Well, let's drill a boulder that has slate and see how it compares.
11:43Yeah, let's see what the difference is and we can see what the cuttings look like and the penetration rate
11:46and all that stuff.
11:47In order to be sure that they have not drilled through the slate bedrock beneath the cradle feature, the team
11:54will now drill into a nearby boulder that is also composed of slate.
11:58This will allow them to see if the drill experiences the same kind of resistance.
12:09It's a little bit harder.
12:10It's kind of what I thought.
12:13That's not bedrock.
12:14No.
12:17I bet you the bit's heating up a lot more than it did as well.
12:19Yeah, I wouldn't touch that bit.
12:22The conclusion has to be that it's not on bedrock.
12:25Is there a feature or a void or a tunnel or a shaft underneath the cradle or close by?
12:33Okay, here's what we can be certain of.
12:35We're not done with this.
12:37I agree.
12:38Not till we get an answer.
12:40Of all the frustrating archeological weights we have had to endure, this one is the most aggravating.
12:47I thought by the end of this year we would have figured it out, but we haven't.
12:51The archeologists are incredibly protective of the site for good reasons, but I'd really like to know what's at the
12:58bottom of it because I know there's a good chance of something really interesting.
13:02I think it's good that it gives us a little bit of time to actually do some research on this
13:06as well.
13:06And we certainly know it's purposeful and extremely significant.
13:10Well, let's run with that.
13:11In the meantime, we will leave you to it for now.
13:14Thanks.
13:15Okay, let's go.
13:16Okay.
13:17Thank you, guys.
13:19After finishing their work on lot eight.
13:22Watch your back.
13:24I'm going to shake Dylan.
13:25Just watch yourself.
13:26While the dig proceeds in the MP1 shaft.
13:30Welcome back to the lab, everybody.
13:33Emma's ready with some data.
13:34Members of the team meet to receive a scientific report on the believed silver coin found near the money pit
13:41area.
13:42Well, right off the bat, I'm just going to confirm that it is silver.
13:46Solid silver.
13:47It's a silver alloy.
13:49What did you get?
13:50What percent?
13:5287%.
13:53Oh, that's good enough for me.
13:55Yeah.
13:55That's a silver coin.
13:57It's a silver coin.
13:58Yeah.
13:58What do you make of that?
14:00It is very worn.
14:01It took a lot of effort to get a good image in the CT scan.
14:06What you're seeing on the screen right now is all that remains on the coin.
14:10So you have the back of the head, which is very clearly remaining.
14:16You have a very clear MVS.
14:19And then some lettering over here.
14:21Wow.
14:22Which is great for identification.
14:24So this is an overlay of the CT image on top of the coin that I found on the coin
14:30database.
14:31Oh, yes.
14:32You can certainly see that.
14:34Mm-hmm.
14:35And I got an exact match with the sixpence William III.
14:41Wow.
14:41Really?
14:42So it's English.
14:43That's amazing.
14:45Yeah.
14:46And that all aligns with this coin right there.
14:50And you can see the ribbon.
14:52Perfectly.
14:52Yeah.
14:53Oh, yeah.
14:54Now that you show that, I can see it right in the coin.
14:56Yeah.
14:58Cool.
15:00What date are you putting on this?
15:02So the date range is 1697 to 1701.
15:06Whoa.
15:10What date are you putting on this?
15:12So the date range is 1697 to 1701.
15:17Wow.
15:18It's so significant.
15:20That is a full hundred years before discovery of the money thing.
15:23I think it's great.
15:25Yeah.
15:26In the lab, Emma has confirmed that a silver coin found in the Dunfield spoils is more than three centuries
15:32old.
15:34Common people weren't carrying silver.
15:36So this probably wasn't a worker?
15:37No.
15:38Somebody of means, right?
15:40Yeah.
15:40Mm-hmm.
15:41A hundred years before the money pit was discovered is a heck of a long time.
15:45A very long time.
15:46That's a big deal.
15:47Mm-hmm.
15:48These late 1600 dates lead you to one of two places.
15:52Either that's the time of the depositor or searchers that were searching before the money pit was discovered.
15:58Bottom line, this is a silver coin, and I would call it a piece of treasure.
16:01I think it's an incredibly important discovery, but just like almost everything we've found all over the island continues to
16:08provide partial answers and then pose a lot more questions.
16:12We found a silver treasure coin in money pit spoils on Oak Island.
16:18It's treasure from the money pit spoils.
16:20It's silver.
16:21It's...
16:22It's...
16:22It's ours.
16:25It's the end of the year, and we're hoping to find more coins, or a chest or a keg full
16:30of the Portuguese treasure coins.
16:32But it validates the reason why we're here.
16:35I'm not willing to give up on solving the mystery.
16:38I mean, we say it all the time, sempre avanti, you do not stop.
16:43Very cool.
16:44A big well done to everybody involved.
16:47All right, let's go.
16:48See you later.
16:50No problem.
16:53As a new day begins on Oak Island...
16:57Guys.
16:58Hey, guys.
16:58The two gentlemen we want to see.
17:00Where are we?
17:01How deep?
17:02So we're about at 195 down?
17:04Good stuff.
17:05195.
17:05Got it.
17:06Rick and other members of the team monitor the progress of the MP1 shaft,
17:11which has now reached the solution channel.
17:15Just hoping to find one thing.
17:18We're working on it.
17:19We'll keep you updated.
17:21Appreciate it.
17:22Yes, sir.
17:26Go over there and find something.
17:29No!
17:30A lot of muck and mud.
17:32Yeah.
17:33Got something?
17:37A signal, right there.
17:47It's in here.
17:48Whatever it is.
17:50Looks like a heavy chunk of metal.
17:51Yeah.
17:52Don't know what it is until it's washed off.
17:53So what's it?
17:55This is a piece of twisted metal from the MP1 spoils at the moment.
18:01But when it goes back to the lab, maybe Emma runs scans and tell us it's something completely different.
18:09There's a lot of stuff caped on it, for sure.
18:12This could be some kind of bladed tool, because I see a curve on it.
18:17See if the other guys can make head and the tails of it.
18:21It's very heavy.
18:22Whatever it is, it's been down there a long time.
18:25This is really, really hard.
18:27It's been on there for a long time.
18:29Let's bag it, Terry.
18:31I don't know what it is, but it certainly has the appearance of being old.
18:37Hey, got another load waiting for us.
18:39Yeah.
18:39Find some more.
18:48Yeah, that is strange.
18:50Good morning, Billy.
18:50Yep.
18:56Check this out.
18:56I watched it and I see this.
18:58Oh, yeah.
18:59The stain in it.
19:00What do you think it is?
19:02That sure looks like an exotic wood.
19:05Why?
19:05Why do you say that?
19:06The colors on it.
19:07Really?
19:08And the curve.
19:09That shouldn't be here.
19:10Nope.
19:12This is strange.
19:13This linearity and that staining.
19:15Could be palm tree.
19:18Yeah, we don't know where that's from.
19:20I mean, we're on an island and we know people have traveled from a long way away to this island
19:25by boat.
19:26Yeah, it would be really cool if you're right, Gary.
19:27You know, it would come from 200 feet in the money pit.
19:29That's incredible.
19:32This is wood from the bottom of the solution channel.
19:35And wood should not be at this depth unless it were pushed down from above.
19:42Get a bag, Peter.
19:43Put it in the bag.
19:43We need to talk to experts.
19:45If this is an exotic wood, it would lend credence to an old world ship coming to the new world.
19:54All right.
19:54Let's take a look at this.
19:56Let's get stuck in.
19:58The year has come to an end.
20:00We're within a few hammer grabs of being done.
20:03And I hope we find the one thing or solve the mystery or find the treasure.
20:07I still have every fiber of my being believes that Oak Island is real.
20:13The mystery is real.
20:14I want to know what happened here.
20:19A lot of rounded stuff.
20:26Oh, no solid hits.
20:29We're probably getting very close.
20:31To the bottom.
20:32Yeah.
20:35Hey, guys.
20:36Hey.
20:36How you doing?
20:37We're on bedrock, bottom of the hole.
20:40Okay.
20:42What are the final numbers?
20:43210.
20:44Okay.
20:47We gave it a good shot, man.
20:49We did.
20:50100% we did.
20:53We should all be quite proud of what we all did.
20:56Oh, yeah.
20:57I love the fact that the money pit, even though it denies us answers.
21:03At the end of the day, we walked away with our heads held high.
21:08Thanks, guys.
21:08Appreciate it.
21:09Yep.
21:12Sometimes you get the ball across the goal line, and sometimes you don't.
21:15But we did learn some things, and we made some discoveries, which may be impactful as we delve into them.
21:23You can't deny the science.
21:25There is silver at depth down on the solution channel.
21:29I'm not willing to give up until we find it.
21:35Hello.
21:36Hey, Marty.
21:37Hey, Rick.
21:38What's going on?
21:39You know, this is the last caisson.
21:43Yeah.
21:43Good news is that it was a technical success.
21:47The concept of the treasure having fallen to death, everything we encountered would have permitted that to happen.
21:54There's no question about that.
21:55Yeah.
21:56And we got down to 10.
21:58We bottomed out, and unfortunately, we didn't find it.
22:02Well, you know, Rick, I agree.
22:04It sounds like proof of concept is there.
22:07We know it can happen, but we missed.
22:09And we were both hoping for the one thing being found here, and that one thing being distinctly treasured.
22:16Right.
22:16But if we think about the year in its totality, I think there's a lot to be proud of.
22:22I think there's a lot to be happy about.
22:25Yeah.
22:25Well, Rick, you know, thank you for the news.
22:28I'll digest it.
22:30Actually, I've been meaning to mention this to you.
22:32Dr. Spooner has an idea on how we could refine and maybe understand what's really going on in the Money
22:40Pit area and where that treasure still could be.
22:42So we all need to assemble in the war room.
22:45Right.
22:45We'll let him present his idea, and I think you'll like it.
22:49Okey-doke.
22:50All right.
22:51See ya.
22:53Welcome to everybody.
22:54We have reached the end of this year's exploration, which makes this the last meeting.
22:59Hello, Terry and Derek.
23:01Hello, Marty.
23:02I think a good place to start is with this heat map that Steve made some time ago to update
23:08it for this year's efforts.
23:10The idea is to say, where are the spots we have found artifacts?
23:16Earlier this year, surveyor Steve Guptill created a so-called heat map.
23:21It illustrates where the team has made their most significant discoveries, noting their approximate dates of origin by using different
23:28colors.
23:30So far we have found about 800 artifacts island-wide.
23:33Laird is his own team.
23:34They find hundreds more than that.
23:35We found about 1,200 artifacts this year.
23:38And then let me go over the hot areas.
23:40Most of the artifacts that you see are from the last two years.
23:42If it's in the 1700s, I've been clicking orange.
23:46If it's earlier than that, I click pink.
23:49It was 1800s to now.
23:51Yeah.
23:52Let me turn off every color except pink.
23:55Wow.
23:57There's an overwhelming amount of evidence that shows that people were here earlier than we originally believed.
24:03It's almost indisputable that there was island-wide activity to a fairly large scale.
24:11That's significant, is it not?
24:13It is significant.
24:14Yeah.
24:15We just need to know who and why and when.
24:18Yeah, and what they were doing.
24:20Yeah.
24:20Mm-hmm.
24:21Well, we also know that the Lot 8 boulder was moved.
24:24And looking up there on the heat map, that would have had to be work that was done earlier.
24:29That's a huge anomaly.
24:31That's a great segue to go to Lot 8.
24:33And to me, this boulder came out of nowhere this year.
24:37Something rather significant had to happen here.
24:40Laird, is there anything like it in Nova Scotia that you know?
24:43I haven't found anything like it in North America.
24:46I think it's much older.
24:47I would not be surprised if it got us into the 1200 range.
24:52The team was stunned to discover a 40,000-pound boulder on Lot 8 this year that was covering the
24:58Cradle of Stones and a potential shaft deeper below it.
25:02However, prior to that, they had found two curious artifacts on the lot.
25:07One, a lead bag seal that may date back some 700 years.
25:12And the other was a copper artifact with symbols that may be connected to the Knights Templar.
25:19Well, and Rick, you've got some white that you can shed on Lot 8 boulder from that trip to the
25:23Azores.
25:23Yes.
25:24We wanted to find if there is some evidence that the Templars or associated groups in the 1300s needed to
25:33safeguard a treasure via the Azores prior to coming to Oak Island.
25:38We went to a megalithic site, and on the way up the hill, I just noticed a huge stone, but
25:44it had slots carved into it.
25:46And to me, it was so similar to the spacing in the Lot 8 boulder.
25:54That rock has a big void, to me, purposely built underneath it.
26:00Which brings me to what Scott did yesterday.
26:02So, yesterday, we went out and got a large hammer drill, three-foot-long Corbett.
26:06And when we drilled in there, we didn't find bedrock.
26:10Okay, well, here's what's certain.
26:12There's a lot more work to do on this boulder on Lot 8, including digging underneath it.
26:18There still could be a tunnel. There could be a shaft.
26:20Well, there could be treasure.
26:22There could be treasure, Gary.
26:24We need to completely eliminate any question as to what might have been done underneath that boulder.
26:29But let's shift over to Lot 5, which has been hugely significant.
26:33So, we have this feature, which became two features, which became three features.
26:39This year, the team made a number of new discoveries in the rounded stone foundation near the shore on Lot
26:455
26:45that suggest it was occupied by different groups over different periods prior to the discovery of the money pit.
26:53These include a folded coin, meant to represent a religious symbol of protection that may be more than 300 years
27:00old.
27:01They also found a decorative lead artifact that may date back more than 700 years.
27:08And in just the last month, they began investigating what was previously thought to be a modern well just a
27:15few yards away.
27:16But after digging next to it, they discovered evidence that it is a much larger feature and may be connected
27:23to the rounded foundation.
27:26In my understanding, Laird, it wasn't just a domicile, something different than that.
27:31Correct.
27:32We've always looked for the camp.
27:34If there was this tremendous activity at the money pit, it would have taken men and animals and support structures
27:41and all kinds of stuff.
27:42And maybe Lot 5 is what we've been looking for.
27:44We have evidence here that substantiates that.
27:47And we have possibly found a road that might be a way to move the treasure here on Oak Island.
27:53The sand road.
27:55And again, it leads us down a path of discovery in the swamp.
28:00The sand road potentially changes the whole island.
28:04While excavating the western side of the swamp.
28:07Still sandy.
28:08The team was surprised to uncover a sand-covered cobblestone road that was lined with eight-sided wooden survey stakes.
28:16And as they kept exposing the mysterious feature,
28:20they found signs that it may run through the center of the island toward Lot 5,
28:26as well as through the swamp toward the believed Portuguese stone road.
28:32I find the sand road really interesting now.
28:34We were always looking for a connection between the money pit and Lot 5.
28:39And perhaps the sand road is the connection.
28:42And it could lead literally to a place where treasure is deposited.
28:48Good. Excellent.
28:52The sand road could lead literally to a place where treasure is deposited.
28:57Exactly.
28:59I love this little ox shoe that was found along that path.
29:03I only mean one thing, and that's all it.
29:06We thought that the Portuguese stone road that we call it was a big job.
29:09Well, you know, look at the length of this thing.
29:12They might be the same thing.
29:13Right.
29:14This sand road is a continuation of center road.
29:17That means that it's there much earlier than we first thought.
29:20Agreed.
29:21And so we have these in front of us are what we believe to be a hand cannon.
29:27And four stone shots.
29:29These two are from previous years.
29:31They're both from the Azores.
29:33But then this year we find two more.
29:35Actually, Derek found them on the wash plant.
29:37And here's the ultimate point.
29:39No country significant was using them after about 1450.
29:43So what are those doing on Oak Island?
29:45It really, I think, is one of the most concrete dates we have.
29:50When the team first uncovered a section of the sand road in the swamp this year.
29:55Look at that.
29:56They also found part of an early firearm known as a hand cannon.
30:01But that is unusual.
30:02It was a curious find.
30:04Given that they have now also discovered four pieces of stone shot.
30:09Three of which were unearthed in the money pit area.
30:12It's a very interesting piece.
30:13And during the team's recent trip to the Azores Islands.
30:17The hand cannon were common in the 1300s, yes.
30:21Portuguese archaeologist, Thiago Rodriguez, affirmed that these artifacts may not only date back to the 14th century, but could also
30:30be of Portuguese origin.
30:33Is this enough to prove a pre-Columbian voyage?
30:37No, but it's a good indication.
30:39And a good sign of treasure because you'd need guns and ammo if you're putting a large treasure in the
30:45money pit.
30:46Yeah.
30:47And so finally, conceptually, we arrive at the money pit.
30:52Did a lot of work there.
30:53And what got us very excited is this, right here.
30:57This is the fabled Pit Plato coin.
31:00So this coin turns out to be a 1369 to 1371 Portuguese coin.
31:07Extremely rare and very valuable.
31:10And, of course, that got us all really excited, including me, who was fixed on treasure more than story.
31:17A chest of these would be worth just that.
31:20It would be worth an enormous fortune.
31:21And it did, apparently, come out of the money pit.
31:24So we got real excited about this.
31:26And then we chased the theory of, all right, there was a treasure in the money pit and the treasure
31:33fell into the solution channel.
31:35And scientific evidence to show that it's still down there.
31:38Exactly.
31:39So it got us all enthused and we were able to get canisters down into the solution channel.
31:44Yeah.
31:44We found lots of things that shouldn't have been in the solution channel.
31:47My analysis of that is that it was proof of concept and proves the theory that stuff could fall down
31:53in there.
31:54We weren't successful in finding the treasure, but we all still think it's here because of your work, Ian and
32:00Dr. Fred, because of the metals in the water.
32:02Mm-hmm.
32:03I know you have a potentially new method that we could zero in and maybe find the treasure.
32:09Yep.
32:09Can you bring the group up to speed on that?
32:11Yeah.
32:13A little while ago, Dr. Michael suggested we're having problems with water.
32:18Water moves around, gets diluted.
32:19So Fred suggests, why don't we look at wood?
32:22Because it has the ability to soak up metal.
32:24Just like a water filter would soak up metal from water.
32:27And the wood's much better at soaking up metals than water.
32:30And I think we just need to do more work with the wood.
32:33The wood's at its early stages.
32:35And we got the data back.
32:37Results from like 15 sort of random samples.
32:40So if you've just done the tests now, where did you get the wood to test?
32:44We got it from the outside of logs and planks that were in various tunnels and shafts throughout the money
32:51pit.
32:52And something did show up in shaft 2A, which is, I think, the unknown shaft.
33:02We're getting up the first ever searcher shaft on Oak Island.
33:05In 2024, the Oak Island team began uncovering a feature that they believed to be an early 19th century searcher
33:13shaft, known as Shaft 2.
33:16Which, according to historical records, was located 14 feet southeast of the original money pit.
33:23I tend to think it's two different shafts.
33:25However, during the excavation, they discovered another undocumented shaft, some 10 feet to the northeast that they dubbed Shaft 2A.
33:35This made them wonder whether they found an old shaft built by treasure hunters or perhaps treasure depositors.
33:43So in Shaft 2A, the wood sample from Shaft 2A, we had the highest amount of silver we've ever seen.
33:50And also, I think the third highest level of gold.
34:07Great. There you go.
34:08Well, that's pretty exciting, right? It's another direct indication of treasure, isn't it?
34:12With that result, if we have this kind of silver, the highest silver we've seen in something like 2A, that
34:17could mean that there's silver very, very close to where that wood is.
34:23After testing numerous samples of wood that the team has unearthed in the money pit area over the years, Dr.
34:30Spooner has found new evidence of buried silver in the mysterious shaft known as 2A, a structure located more than
34:3930 feet northeast of where they detected precious metals in the solution channel.
34:45Dr. Spooner, how do you reconcile the silver that we're finding in the wood from 2A and the silver that
34:52we're finding in the solution channel?
34:53Maybe what we're looking at here is a variety of sources or multiple deposits.
35:01Yep.
35:02This is getting interesting. Multiple treasures.
35:04There's a possibility, sure.
35:05Yeah.
35:05Wow.
35:07What I'm proposing is we take a much more detailed look at metals in the wood.
35:12Dr. Spooner's latest report perhaps proves the worthiness of the idea of testing the wood in several of the shafts.
35:19It certainly introduces new possibilities that we're chasing after multiple treasures in Oak Island.
35:25This is pretty much a no-brainer. Let's continue this.
35:28Yep.
35:28So, yes. Proceed, please. Tell us where the treasure is. We're ready.
35:32Do my best.
35:36Well, I just think it's a very productive year. We've had some major finds. The boulder on Lot 8, the
35:42sand road in the swamp.
35:44Right.
35:44It just seems like Oak Island has its secrets and we've uncovered some.
35:48Yeah.
35:49So, I want to thank you and I think we had a great year.
35:52Yep.
35:52So, I thought a long time about how I would like to close here today and I thought a good
35:58way to do that might be to use a symbol.
36:01Gary, right here in me top pocket.
36:04Top pocket find.
36:05Yeah, top pocket find and it's this.
36:11This is one ounce of pure gold. It appropriately has the Canadian maple leaf on it.
36:16And here's the pure gold I would like to find.
36:18And we have found pure gold here from the people of Canada, from the people of Nova Scotia, and certainly
36:25the people in this room.
36:26And if we are moving caissons around next year, instead of these poker chips, we're going to move this maple
36:32leaf around to decide where to dig.
36:34And hopefully find the treasure.
36:37Yeah.
36:38Yep.
36:39It goes without saying how important you have all become to me.
36:45We're a family.
36:48Because the experience here is only as wonderful as it is because of each and every one of you.
36:53Without you, without each of you, these past years of my life would have been far less rich.
37:04The treasure and the story are like brothers. They're together, right?
37:10But the real treasure, really, is each and every one of you.
37:16This is the true treasure in life that we share now.
37:21100%.
37:21We are very grateful to be a part of your passion and share it with you.
37:27We would not be here if you did not share your dream, not only with us, but the world.
37:37Yeah.
37:37Well said.
37:38I agree.
37:39Absolutely.
37:40Yep.
37:41The thank you that Craig expressed.
37:42The thank you that Marty expressed.
37:44The thank you that I'm expressing.
37:46It's heartfelt.
37:46It is genuine.
37:47And it is important.
37:49Emiliano, why don't you close out today?
37:52Grazie mille.
37:55Perfecto.
38:00Okay.
38:00Let's go.
38:01Thank you all.
38:03Thanks, everybody.
38:04After you.
38:05The year on Oak Island has come to an end.
38:08Her legendary secrets remain unknown.
38:11Look at the enormity of the finds.
38:13The owner, thanks.
38:14Look at the early dates.
38:16Thanks, Mark.
38:16We have written, maybe not the answer to the Oak Island mystery, but we have added chapters
38:22upon chapters of information.
38:24Goodbye, all.
38:25However, Rick, Marty, Craig, and their team have proved one thing.
38:31The quest for answers to this 231-year-old mystery is well worth the pursuit.
38:38My whole life I've been curious about things.
38:40Very, very curious about things.
38:41Gets me in trouble sometimes.
38:42Oh, it was another good year.
38:44Yep.
38:45Always bittersweet, isn't it?
38:46How can we have found so many inexplicable things in one year?
38:49So there's many reasons that would make me come back here to find this treasure.
38:54We have to be close to the end game, don't we?
38:57So far, they have found more than 2,000 artifacts and numerous man-made structures predating the
39:06discovery of the Money Pit, some by as much as 800 years.
39:11And they have obtained mounting scientific evidence that treasure really may lie buried
39:17all across the island.
39:21So, next year, when they return, they will build upon all they have learned and revealed
39:30to solve the mystery.
39:33And like a year where we said, you know what?
39:36We did it.
39:38That moment has not come.
39:39But that is still my hope.
39:41I won't relent.
39:43I quite stubborn that way.
39:45Bye.
39:47Bye.
39:49Bye.
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