Original subtitles

Tonight on The Curse of Oak Island

Look over there, Marty.

-Is that a wall? -RICK: Yep.

Yeah, there it is right there.

I think it’s a shaft.

-(beeping) -I see it!

Yeah, that’s 1700s all over it, mate.

JAMES: The Knights Baronet

are connected

to the Knights Templar

and might be responsible for a treasure buried

on Oak Island.

GARY: All right, here we go.

-What do you got? -I don’t know yet,

but it looks shiny!

NARRATOR: There is an island

in the North Atlantic

where people have been looking for an incredible treasure

for more than 200 years.

So far, they have found a stone slab

with strange symbols carved into it,

mysterious fragments of human bone,

and a lead cross whose origin may stretch back

to the days of the Knights Templar.

To date, six men have died trying to solve the mystery.

And, according to legend,

one more will have to die

before the treasure can be found.

♪ ♪

CRAIG: It looks like

it’s gonna be a windy day.

RICK: Yes. Yes.

MARTY: It’s not gonna be a good time for anybody.

CRAIG: We’ll see.

(horn honks)

MARTY: Well, let’s go tell them

-the news, Craiger. -Yep.

NARRATOR: It is a tense

and critical moment

-on Oak Island... -Hey, guys.

-RICK: Hey. -MARTY: Gentlemen.

...as brothers Rick and Marty Lagina,

along with their partner Craig Tester...

-CRAIG: It’s cold out there. -...have called

an important meeting in the war room

to discuss a troubling new development.

MARTY: Well...

the operators’ union is going on strike.

There’s nobody out at...

-up at Money Pit. -Well, w-wait. What do you mean?

MARTY: It means we’re going silent

up there,

is what it means, Jack-- nobody to run the crane.

We got the word this morning that they were on strike.

NARRATOR: Earlier today, Marty,

Rick and Craig were informed

that the unionized Nova Scotia crane operators

announced a strike in an effort

to secure higher wages for its members.

Is it just the crane operators, or everybody?

It’s always solidarity.

So everybody’s gone.

JACK: What does that mean

for us, though?

We can’t dig.

Zero dark thirty.

MARTY: You know,

we’re up against it here.

-Yeah. -So...

it’s a blow.

It’s a big blow.

RICK: Because time and weather

is closing in.

NARRATOR: With only a few weeks left

before the onset of winter,

Rick, Marty and the team must decide

how to make the best use of the time they have left,

especially if the strike lasts

what could be as long as three full weeks.

With this window of time,

we should put it to good use in Smith’s Cove.

-I mean, it’s important. -JACK: Yes.

Yes, of course. I’ve been managing my time

at the wash table to make sure that we could fit in room

for a fifth can and its spoils.

But if we aren’t gonna do the fifth can,

I would like to go through some of the Smith’s Cove stuff.

Jack, that’s music to my ears.

GARY: So we’re lucky--

we can jump over to Smith’s Cove and...

-do some more excavating in that area.

-Yeah. Yeah,

we can see what we come up with. As far as our work,

it shouldn’t interfere at all.

Yes.

There’s a bunch of opportunity there

that’s certainly intriguing,

especially in light of this... minor setback.

MARTY: All right, so, there is

a lot of work to be done while we wait

for a decision on the strike.

There’s Smith’s Cove,

-to continue excavation. -Absolutely.

There’s a bunch of cuttings to wash.

-Jack, get suited up. -Yep.

Treasure hunting, and life in general,

one door closes, another good one opens.

They said that to Churchill when he didn’t get elected.

They said,

and he said,

"Well, it is very truly well disguised."

(laughter)

I think at this point, we have a lot of data.

It’s like Mom putting a puzzle together--

you can’t see the picture till the puzzle’s together.

And I think the puzzle’s not done yet.

The situation has given us lemons,

and we’re gonna try and make lemonade out of it.

I think there are some answers here

and very much look forward to... to doing that work.

I was prepared for seawater.

I was prepared for hurricane.

I was prepared for collapse.

I was prepared for equipment breakdown.

I was prepared for all manners in which the curse could get us,

but I was not thinking about a strike.

So it’s interesting how...

how the island just... just throws you something.

But you know what?

We are gonna... sempre avanti.

We’re gonna move forward.

We’re gonna just deal with the facts,

and we’re gonna see what we can do.

So, let’s get back after it.

RICK: I hope we find the one thing.

NARRATOR: Following their meeting

in the war room,

Rick and Marty, along with Charles Barkhouse

and metal detection expert Gary Drayton,

head to Smith’s Cove.

Here, heavy equipment operator Billy Gerhardt,

continues to expose

a mysterious wood structure which was discovered

while searching for the so-called "convergence point,"

the place where the five stone flood box drains meet

and which, if found, could lead directly

to the Money Pit treasure vault.

-Look. Look over there, Marty. -GARY: Yeah.

RICK: Look at how it’s

peeling that away. See that?

Just sticking out. You can just see the end of it, right there.

-Yeah, there’s a round... -Like a 2x4.

There’s a round-- see that round thing over there, Rick.

-GARY: That’s like a log. -Whoa!

GARY: Yeah, there’s timbers

all over there.

MARTY: Yeah, I would dig back

behind there.

If they were trying to stop something, it’s that way.

NARRATOR: When this structure

was first unearthed two days ago,

the team was uncertain whether it was constructed

within the past 200 years by one of the many search teams,

or one of the original depositors,

sometime before 1795.

The water is coming right here, for sure.

-See it pouring right there. -Yeah.

NARRATOR: Equally intriguing

is the question

of its intended purpose,

as the steady flow of water running directly through it

seems to suggest that it may have some connection

to the flood tunnel system.

GARY: When’s the last time

this saw the light of day?

MARTY: Yeah.

GARY: It’s amazing how many structures

-are still down there. -MARTY: Yeah.

-GARY: Is this a known one? -No.

MARTY: Another of many structures

in Smith’s Cove that we didn’t know were there.

There are probably upwards, or getting close to,

a dozen at this point.

Some of which were known

and many of which were unknown, at least to us.

People didn’t keep very good records.

Could be a shaft.

-CHARLES: Could be. -Well, couldn’t it be Restall?

He did some shafts down here.

Oh, yeah. We know he did dig a number of pits

along the shore trying to find the converging point.

MARTY: It’d be nice

if Restall had found

the flood tunnel and tried to block it right there.

Exactly.

NARRATOR: In 1959,

motorcycle daredevil- turned-treasure hunter

Robert Restall, along with his wife Mildred,

moved to Oak Island with their two young sons,

Bobby Jr. and Ricky.

For six years, the family endured

primitive living conditions and harsh North Atlantic weather,

all while conducting major search operations in the swamp

at the Money Pit and at Smith’s Cove.

I feel that the treasure is here

and that we can get it,

and we’re going to stay here until we do.

NARRATOR: In 1965,

Robert Restall claimed

he was close to finding the key to shutting off the water

that thwarted searcher efforts to locate

the original Money Pit and, for this reason,

was within weeks of solving the Oak Island mystery.

Unfortunately, later that summer,

Robert Restall, his son Bobby Jr.

and two coworkers died in a tragic accident

in one of the many exploratory shafts

they had dug near Smith’s Cove.

Could the shaft that Billy Gerhardt has uncovered

be the one that Robert Restall believed

might be instrumental in solving the Oak Island mystery?

RICK: I find the Restall work

to be exceedingly interesting.

They didn’t just arbitrarily pick locations.

-They chose them for a reason. -I’m hoping that...

that it really is a structure to stop

the water that they thought was flooding the Money Pit.

Ends right there.

Then it goes back that way.

I think it’s a shaft.

But, I mean, we’ll see when we get down deeper.

Yeah, there it is right there.

-You got a wall, Rick? -Yep.

Right there.

You are right, Marty. It’s a shaft. Wow.

-I see it! -This is military.

Yeah, that’s 1700s all over it, mate.

It could literally be a half a billion dollars

in treasure buried on Oak Island.

CHARLES: That’s really

pouring out now. Look.

NARRATOR: At Smith’s Cove,

brothers Rick and Marty Lagina,

along with Charles Barkhouse,

metal detection expert Gary Drayton

and heavy equipment operator Billy Gerhardt are continuing

to expose an old wooden shaft at the edge of the beach.

It is a shaft the team believes may have been dug

by legendary searcher Robert Restall

more than 50 years ago

and which could lead them directly

to the original Money Pit treasure shaft.

RICK: Right there.

Is there another wall going back there, Rick?

Yep. The wall goes back like that.

It’s right here...

but it’s way...

-Yeah, I see that. -...way back there.

It’s not very square.

No.

No, not at all.

Definitely ends right there.

They feel they were close to something.

Perhaps they put the shaft through the flood tunnel.

-Could be. -And that’s why we’re

getting all the water in.

RICK: I think it’s, uh,

part of the Restalls’ work,

to come to an understanding of... of, you know,

what had been done in Smith’s Cove.

I mean, there’s still a lot of questions to be answered

by a simple process of excavating.

Yeah, but it’s the most interesting

of the new structures. Of the unknown structures,

to me, it’s the most interesting.

-It’s a rather small shaft. -CHARLES: It is.

RICK: Unless it was small

because they thought

-they were dead-on something. -CHARLES: Right on it, yeah.

Well, the interesting thing is, we’re still seeing water

coming out, and that’s where water

was coming out at the end of the crane pad.

And it did... it tested a little bit of dye here, right?

NARRATOR: Five weeks ago...

Okay, hit the button. Start it up.

-Okay. -...the Oak Island team

conducted

a test at the Money Pit site, which involved pumping

thousands of gallons of ocean water,

mixed with nontoxic red dye, into borehole C-1.

MARTY (over radio): The dye has been cast.

NARRATOR: They were hoping to locate

the fabled flood tunnel

believed to be connected to the treasure shaft.

If we’re looking for red, guys, I’d say that’s red.

NARRATOR: Within hours

of beginning the dye test,

Gary Drayton alerted Rick, Marty and the team

to what appeared to be red-colored water

flowing out of Smith’s Cove

near where they are currently digging

water, which then tested positive

for traces of the red dye.

-11.98. -Whew.

That’s a good positive indication.

Well, here-here’s the thing.

Steve Guptill’s gonna be here tomorrow,

so he has that red dye position GPS’d.

-Okay. -He can GPS this, overlay it,

or-or at least compare and see

-how close we are to that. -Yeah.

And then, given the fact

that the Restalls were certainly interested in this area,

the red dye association, and now, hopefully,

we cut a trench, and we can finally,

once and for all, find a box drain or a remnant of.

-Uh, that’d be spectacular. -CHARLES: I’d say.

-See you later, Billy. -See you guys.

RICK: Okeydoke.

-(thunder rumbles) -NARRATOR:

Later that same day...

...Jack Begley and metal detection expert Gary Drayton

head to the island’s western shore,

to an area known as Lot 1.

Now, where’d you want to go around here, Gary?

Well, if there’s a big boulder, and there’s coins over there,

there’s got to be coins next to these big boulders.

Let’s check it out.

-After you. -You got a shovel?

NARRATOR: Before the harsh winter comes,

Jack and Gary are hoping to find more artifacts

similar to the gold brooch

and decorative lead object found earlier this year

on the western side of the island.

To me, coming from a shipwreck, treasure-hunting background,

these large rocks are great anchor points.

Boats would come up, and they’d moor up to these rocks.

Oh!

They would lose stuff, coming to shore.

It should be on the beach here.

And then, it gets caught on the rocks?

Yup. Uh, the rocks help trap stuff.

(beeping)

That sounds good.

That’s a small iron target.

I think we’ll pass on that one, mate.

Hang on a minute.

-Is that pottery? -Yeah.

-That’s old pottery, as well. -Oh!

-GARY: Look at that. That’s... -That’s the same type of blue

that we’re finding in the Money Pit.

Exactly! And we’re finding it here!

We’re back in the 1700s, mate, with this blue-glazed pottery.

NARRATOR: Pottery? From the 1700s?

And similar to the pieces that the team has also found

deep underground in the Money Pit.

-Really good eye, Gary. -You know what we should do?

What?

I think we should move some of this stuff out of here.

-Yeah. -Do you want to pull it forward

and-and winch this up and get this out of here, mate?

Sure, I’ll try to get it as close as I can.

JACK: We’re finding pottery,

and this piece was made a long time ago.

This pottery could actually be treasure, because

pottery this nice was

of high value back in the day.

It proves to me we’re on the right path.

-Here we go, Gary! -All right, mate.

Standing clear!

(whirring)

All right, that’ll do it!

Nice one, Jack!

-(beeping) -Yup, I’m getting a signal!

On my way, Gary!

GARY: It’s nonferrous,

two-way, repeatable.

-(detector whining) -Just there, mate.

GARY: That is sweet.

All right, get in here.

-(beeping) -JACK: Oh, it’s out already.

-Yeah, it’s...

All right, let’s see what this metal is.

I thought I was on it.

(beeping)

(beeping continues)

(beeping)

-I see it! -Hey!

Is that a coin?

JACK: Is it?

-GARY: Aah! It’s a button. -Button. Button.

What type of button do you think it is?

That is typical 1700s cuff button.

-Right on the wrist? -That would have been

on a shirt cuff. Yeah.

Do you think a modern civilian would wear that,

-or is it more military? -Yeah.

This is more military.

Do you see that color, mate?

It looks like there could be writing there.

Yeah. I was seeing gold gilding on there.

(Jack gasps)

Yeah, that’s 1700s all over it, mate.

This is gold gilding, by the look of this.

Oh, yeah! That looks just like the button

-we found in the Money Pit. -Yeah.

It says plated. It’s a button.

NARRATOR: Two years ago, while searching

through the spoils excavated

from the borehole known as GAL-1...

CHARLES: That’s got some marks

on the side of it.

NARRATOR: ...Rick, Marty, Charles

and Gary were astonished

to discover a gold-plated

18th century British military button.

Could these two artifacts,

found on opposite ends of the island, be connected?

If so, might they have been left behind

by someone searching for something of great value?

Or by someone depositing something for safekeeping?

Ah, I don’t want to rub it too much in case I mess it up...

And probably, this side was all gilded,

back in the day, as well.

So, this would have been like a fancy officer’s button,

because only they would’ve had the nice, gold buttons.

-That’s nice. -It means that we’re gonna have

to search a lot more

-on the western side. -Yup.

I’m thinking we come back

when we’ve got more tide to play with,

because the tide’s coming in, look.

-Sounds good. -All right, mate, let’s go.

NARRATOR: As a new day begins

on Oak Island... The Knights Baronet

had certainly enough time

-Welcome to Oak Island. -Thank you.

NARRATOR: ...Rick Lagina and members

of the team welcome

an important visitor to the war room.

Guys, I just want to introduce James McQuiston to you.

perhaps, the Oak Island mystery.

-Right here, sir. -Right here? All right.

NARRATOR: As an author and researcher,

James McQuiston specializes

in stories that connect descendants of the legendary

Knights Templar to their possible history

in North America.

Although he does not have a particular theory as to

where the Oak Island treasure might be buried,

his research has convinced him that not only

did members of the Knights Templar come to Oak Island

as far back as the 14th century,

but that they and their descendants

continued to come and deposit treasure here

during the course of the next 400 years.

RICK: James McQuiston is a fellow

of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.

Well versed in Scottish lore,

the history of the Scottish clans.

His theory revolves around that central core issue.

To that extent, James, I’m gonna turn it over to you.

I’ll be honest, upfront, what I’ve learned of it,

I find it incredibly interesting and intriguing,

and I think we all very much look forward

to what you have to tell us.

Well, thanks for having me, and, um,

I’m gonna tell you a story today, but you won’t

find it written anywhere else, because I found it

piece by piece, just like you folks are finding things

piece by piece on this island.

So, I want to start out with the story

of the Knights Baronet of Nova Scotia.

And how they came about was actually because

King James I of England,

who also happened to be King James VI of Scotland,

wanted to oust the French Catholics living at Port Royal.

So, he went to his good friend Sir William Alexander,

who was on the Privy Council, and he held various positions

in government, and he said,

"Can you get some of our fellow Scotsman to go over there?"

And he said, "Well, you’ve got a New England,

"you got a New France, and you got a New Spain.

If you give me a New Scotland, I’ll do it."

So, a new knighthood was developed.

It’s called the Knights Baronet.

The idea was, they would sell

these knighthoods to, uh, particularly clan chieftains,

and they wrote the charter in Latin,

so "New Scotland" came out as "Nova Scotia."

NARRATOR: Formed in 1625,

the Knights Baronet of Nova Scotia was a hereditary title

that was conferred upon a nobleman and his descendants

in exchange for a fee.

The objective was twofold.

The first was to persuade Scottish clan chiefs

to leave their homes,

make the treacherous voyage west

across the Atlantic Ocean,

and then colonize this portion of the New World.

The second was to raise money for the crown,

as each knighthood was sold for 3,000 marks,

equivalent to 50,000 American dollars today.

JAMES: Sir William Alexander wanted

to sell about 100 of these

to create 100 towns around Nova Scotia.

That was the ultimate plan.

And if you look at the overall list of the Knights Baronet,

25% of them had some kind of connection

back to the Knights Templar.

But if you look at just the first few dozen,

they were all connected to the Knights Templar.

It was either

they received land grants of Knight Templar land,

they had a Knights Templar within their clan,

or they fought along Knights Templar in battles.

They may have had Templar wealth in their families,

because when they were, uh, dissolved,

where’s all that stuff gonna go?

It-It’s a continuous legacy

from the Templars to the Baronets,

and there’s no doubt about it.

So, from 1625,

when the Baronets were founded, to 1628,

they worked to get enough men

to sign up to get the manpower and the supplies

and the money that they needed

to come to Nova Scotia.

Once they got here,

one of the places I think they went was New Ross.

NARRATOR: Two years ago,

Rick Lagina, Doug Crowell and Charles Barkhouse

traveled to the town of New Ross,

located some 20 miles north of Oak Island.

They had been invited to investigate a property

that many believe contains evidence

of an ancient Templar castle

that was built sometime in the 14th century.

On the face of this stone, you can see a very faint outline

of a cross.

It’s no ordinary cross, but the cross of the Knights Templar.

JAMES: So, the Knights Baronet

are connected to the Knights Templar,

and that connection goes right through Nova Scotia.

And it might be responsible for a treasure buried on Oak Island.

And there’s no known location

for where this treasure ended up.

And I asked the Society of Antiquaries,

of which I am a member, and they, uh, had no answer

so they sent me to the National Museums of Scotland

and they had no answer of what happened to it.

Well, I found the treasure listed in five ancient books

and I have an account of it here.

It could literally be a half a billion dollars.

-Now we’re talking. -(laughter)

The Knights Baronet

by the original depositors, re

for a treasure buried on Oak Island.

NARRATOR: In the war room,

author and Oak Island theorist James McQuiston

has just presented Rick Lagina

and members of the team with an incredible theory.

According to his research,

in the early part of the 17th century,

Scottish descendants of the Knights Templar,

along with their associates,

obtained titles of nobility

from the British government,

which issued them as an incentive

to come to Nova Scotia and extend the reach

of the British Empire.

Over the next several decades,

they built cities, and established themselves

in everything from local governments

to banking and overseas trade.

But what the plan also did was further establish

a Templar stronghold in North America,

one that began as far back as the 14th century,

and which used Oak Island as a repository

for millions in gold, jewels,

and precious artifacts brought over from Europe.

So, uh, the bottom line is that it’s more than apparent

that the-the Scottish clan leaders,

who became the Knights Baronet of Nova Scotia,

had a lot of links back to the Knights Templar.

And they stayed on Oak Island?

If, in fact, they came into Mahone Bay

and parked at Oak Island,

certainly enough time to build the Money Pit.

Time enough to put away things

that they did not want to take back to Scotland.

Exactly.

NARRATOR: Although the notion

that surviving members of the Knights Templar

made their way to North America as early as the 14th century

has been long debated by mainstream historians,

many Oak Island theorists and researchers

have become convinced that numerous stone carvings

and recently discovered artifacts

like the lead cross found at Smith’s Cove

have added further evidence to support this theory.

And again, just to revisit it for a minute.

This book that I found this in,

this is the actual book right here.

The cover of the book and that’s the title sheet of it.

It’s the History of the Lodge of Edinburgh,

Mary’s Chapel, they call it, Number One.

This is the account of the treasure.

You have items on here like, uh, 36 dozen gold buttons,

uh, "rich jewel set of diamonds,"

another, "gold bracelets at 600 pounds the pair."

GARY: We found stuff off that list,

what you’ve just read off.

The gold-plated button.

We found jewelry, and previously,

there’s been gold chain links found on the island.

The other item of great interest on this,

is that the very last item listed,

it says,

in till or there in."

Back then, title deeds were kept in canvas waxed bags,

to protect the India ink.

So, uh, as you know, in 1897,

a little piece of parchment was pulled up

from, uh, the Money Pit at about 150 feet down.

Here it is, and guess what?

No smearing of the India ink.

So what that would tell me

is that this was kept in something that was waterproof

until that drill bit hit it and brought it up to the surface.

NARRATOR: While drilling in the Money Pit

area in 1897,

treasure hunters William Chappell

and Frederick Blair reported hitting an object

they believed to be a seven-foot-tall wooden vault

at a depth of 153 feet.

When examining the drill bit, shortly thereafter,

they were astonished to discover traces of gold

along with a tiny piece of parchment

bearing the letters V-I.

Just one year ago, after a 50-inch-wide steel caisson

made contact with what the Oak Island team believes

could be the Chappell Vault in the borehole known as H-8,

Jack Begley and Dan Henskee made a similar discovery

while searching the spoils excavated from the shaft.

It kind of looks like it could be some old parchment.

NARRATOR: Could this parchment,

along with fragments

of leather bookbinding and antique paper

also recovered from H-8,

be proof that James McQuiston’s theory is true?

That important books and manuscripts were also

a part of the Oak Island treasure.

And that the treasure wasn’t brought here all at once,

but gradually, and over the course of several centuries.

So, uh, I’m going out on a limb here,

but I believe that at least some of this massive treasure

was brought to the New World,

possibly by the Alexander family,

and, uh, was buried here on Oak Island.

And, so I-I kind of feel, myself,

that this presents one of the best, uh, answers

to what happened on Oak Island and at New Ross.

RICK: You know, theorists

have come and gone here.

What separates the real theories as it applies to real search,

generally, those theories have to connect the dots.

James has come, he connects one fact with another fact.

Now, some of them are an interpretation of known facts,

but-but the dots are pretty close together,

and I, and I am thoroughly impressed.

I know one thing that you reinforced to me, surely,

is that the richness of Oak Island

really centers around the story.

The who, what, when, where, why and how,

and you have answered several of those.

You have a very strong theory with a-a treasure

that seems to match some of the discoveries here.

And backing it up with facts and research.

-It’s-it’s amazing. -Yeah.

I find it incredibly interesting and intriguing,

and I congratulate you on the extent of your research.

Well, I hope to someday come back with even some more stuff.

We will not allow you to stay away.

-I guarantee you that. -Mm-hmm.

Again, thank you very much. I think we all express that.

-CRAIG: Absolutely. -JAMES: Thank you, guys.

NARRATOR: The next day,

Marty Lagina and metal detection expert Gary Drayton

arrive at Lot 16, located near the Money Pit dig site.

Yeah, what we’re doing, we’re going to where

-they found... Yeah, the well. -MARTY: That well is.

NARRATOR: After their meeting with

theorist James McQuiston,

they are eager to follow up on possible new connections

linking the Knights of Baronet to Oak Island,

by investigating a recently discovered stone well

located near the Money Pit.

After close examination,

it was found to bear several design

and construction similarities

to one the team investigated two years ago

near the ruins of an alleged Templar castle located

in the nearby town of New Ross.

RICK: That look like flagstone floor?

NARRATOR: There, inside the well,

they observed a triangle,

or pyramid, carved into one of the stones.

TONY: It’s got some little pattern

in the middle.

NARRATOR: It is this same shape

which has frequently appeared on Oak Island,

not only in various carvings, such as those found

on the legendary 90 Foot Stone,

but also the shape of the mysterious swamp,

which many believe to be man-made.

I think this well is really, really old.

This looks like a modern cap,

but when you look inside there, see all the formation?

MARTY: Now I see, yeah.

Yeah, I had never noticed

-that the top looks different... -Yeah, well...

...than the underneath, that’s very true.

-Nobody seems to know anything about it.

-I agree.

The curiosity about that thing is who built it and when?

It would be good to take that cap off that well.

You know what, Gary, I like your idea so much

about removing the cap of that well.

I am going to call Mr. Laird Niven

and see whether we’re allowed to.

NARRATOR: In accordance with their

treasure trove license,

Marty and Gary must first seek permission

from archeologist Laird Niven

before they can excavate any site

that could be deemed historically

or culturally significant.

Laird!

LAIRD (over phone): Hey, Marty, how are you?

MARTY: Hey, Gary and I are out here

just off the edge of the Money Pit,

and there’s a well here which has

-a modern top on it, you know? -LAIRD: Yeah.

Is it okay to pull the top off?

-Or do you need to... -That’s fine with me.

-MARTY: Okay. -I have no problem with that.

MARTY: All right, Laird. See ya.

-Bye-bye. -Bye.

-We can. -GARY: Yeah, that’s good news.

MARTY: I mean, it would have been--

If it is old with a modern cap,

it could’ve been here when the Money Pit was here.

-Yeah. -Hmm.

Yeah, this is a big undertaking, the Money Pit.

You would need fresh water, you’d need to have

a freshwater well close to the Money Pit.

This might be original.

All right. Well, let’s go do that.

(beeping)

MARTY: With a little bit of luck,

this may lead us to perhaps

figure out what happened here,

at least in one point in history.

GARY: I’ll guide him down.

A little bit this way.

That’s better.

You got it!

NARRATOR: Now that the cap on the well

has been removed,

Gary will now scan the inside of it using a metal detector

in search of any important clues or possible artifacts.

(detector beeping)

Hmm. Metal.

Hey.

That was a job well done, Marty.

-It really was. -Thank you. Thank you.

And I’ve had a little explore around.

I didn’t get any metal until I put

the search coil inside the well.

-Oh, and then you got some? -Yeah.

(detector beeps)

MARTY: Oh, my goodness.

-That’s a good sound, too, isn’t it?

-Yeah, it is.

That’s a good solid hit.

How are we gonna dig it out of there, though?

Yeah, that’s the thing. It’s a pity we can’t drain the water.

Does this-- does this look old to you?

-Um, yeah, it does. -I’m sure we can

put a pump in there and get rid of that.

NARRATOR: Although Marty and Gary

are encouraged

by the promising hits Gary has obtained

with his metal detector,

they will need to allow for a pump to drain the well

over the course of the next 24 hours

before they can further their investigation

of whatever might be buried there.

Well, this is cool. I mean, I love...

I love unearthing a new possibility.

-Yep. -I mean, what if this--

yeah, what if this was done

by the original depositors?

Later on, somebody came

-and put a cap on it. -Yeah.

And you find something in there.

-All right, mate, but this is great.

-No, I...

-You had a great... we got some signals

to come back to.

Okay. Let’s go, Gary.

NARRATOR: As a new day dawns

on Oak Island... GARY:

It’s a... Oh, it is a...

MARTY: Now it’s pumping.

NARRATOR: ...Marty Lagina

and metal detection expert Gary Drayton...

...are continuing their investigation

of an old stone well on Lot 16

located near the Money Pit area,

a structure they hope might provide new clues

to help them solve the 223-year-old mystery.

-Now we’re draining. -Here you go, bud.

Thanks.

All right, I think I’m ready to get back in there.

All right.

NARRATOR: Having successfully drained

the water from the bottom of the well,

Marty and Gary are eager to dig for the metal targets

that Gary detected one day ago

in the hopes one or more of them

might be important clues

or, hopefully, pieces of treasure.

Ah, what a sweet little place this is.

It would be nice to find

another stone with an inscription on it.

Unusual shape.

MARTY: All right, we’ll put this one

off to the side.

GARY: I’m trying to feel for things.

You want to try your metal detector on it?

Yeah.

-(detector beeping) -I’ll put it in "well" mode.

-Yeah. -(Gary laughs)

All right, let’s see.

(beeping continues)

It’s iron. Whatever it is,

-it’s iron. -That’s too bad.

But I’m getting multiple signals now on this.

Ferrous and nonferrous,

so there could be different metals in here.

NARRATOR: A nonferrous signal?

Indicating the presence of a precious metal,

such as silver or even gold?

I’m-I’m gonna try and pinpoint. It’s easier.

All right, here we go.

Please don’t be a nail.

No, it is a piece... Ooh!

It’s a piece of decorated lead, by the look of it.

Really?

Put it in your hands.

There’s two pieces coming up.

-Got them? -Yep.

Oh! It’s a...

-(laughs) What do you got? -I don’t know yet,

but it looks shiny!

Oh!

It’s a... Oh!

It’s a...

I got a coin!

-Do you? -Yeah, it’s a coin!

Don’t tell me you’re gonna do your gold dance

down in the well.

It’s a one dollar.

Canadian dollar.

-Can you believe it? -You bugger.

Oh, my God.

Bugger all.

I thought that was a gold coin.

I’m thinking to myself, How am I gonna dance in here?

-You would do it. -I would do it, yeah.

I’m gonna see if there’s any more of that,

but that looks like it’s a piece

of decorated lead.

You can see there was some kind of design on it.

NARRATOR: A piece of decorated lead?

Could it be related

to the other lead artifacts the team has found

on Lot 21 on the western end of Oak Island

and at Smith’s Cove,

both of which may be connected to the Knights Templar?

MARTY: Well, I’ll get that cleaned up

-in a little bit. -GARY: Yeah.

I am getting soaked.

MARTY: Hey, Rick. Morning, bud.

Gary just found this piece of lead.

RICK: Interesting.

GARY: Ah!

Detecting anything, Gary?

GARY: Definitely.

There’s more metal down here.

But I just can’t work ’cause the water pouring on me,

-and it’s... -I wonder how

we’re gonna stop that, though.

GARY: It’s filling up fast.

All right, mate, I’m coming out.

NARRATOR: Although the well

was previously pumped dry,

due to the fact that it is fed by a natural spring,

it has already begun to refill with groundwater.

Because of this, Rick, Marty and Gary

have decided to stop their investigation for now

in order to devise a new strategy

that will allow them to conduct a more thorough search.

I mean, this is a unique opportunity,

a well next to the Money Pit

and being the first person

to get whatever’s down in that well out.

-That’s pretty cool. -Pretty cool.

But save it for another day, right?

Yeah, for sure. But I’m confident

there’s got to be something down there.

All right, Gary.

A job well done.

NARRATOR: Following the investigation

of the old stone well on Lot 16,

Rick and Marty Lagina meet with archaeologist Laird Niven

at Smith’s Cove.

They are eager to apply a scientific dating method

known as dendrochronology

to find out the age of the various wooden structures

recently unearthed at the site.

MARTY: What do you want to do, Rick?

You have cut it here, and this is damaging.

-You’ll lose growth rings here. -MARTY: He’s right.

LAIRD: Yeah.

NARRATOR: Dendrochronology,

or tree-ring dating,

analyzes the size and pattern of a tree’s growth rings,

which develop over the course of a tree’s lifetime.

By using this extraordinary method,

not only will the Oak Island team

be able to find out the age of the tree

that was used to produce the wood,

it can also determine

the approximate year the wood was cut

for construction purposes.

The hope is that we can come to an understanding

of how these structures might interrelate.

The two walls, the L-shaped structure,

the U-shaped structure, the slipway--

dendrochronology may be a way

to come to a better understanding

of the when of their construct.

MARTY: Wondering if Billy

could track down

to lift this.

He can reach right out here,

pick it up.

-Okay. -MARTY: I’ll go get him.

NARRATOR: This year,

during their extensive excavation at Smith’s Cove,

the Oak Island team has unearthed

an astonishing number of archaeological finds.

In addition to the mysterious "U" and L-shaped structures

discovered earlier by Dan Blankenship

in the 1970s,

they have also revealed wooden and concrete walls,

as well as the remains of a slipway or boat ramp

possibly constructed to offload cargo

from a ship onto Oak Island centuries ago.

MARTY: Bring her up slow, Billy.

NARRATOR: If the Laginas

and their partners...

Oh!

...can determine that the structures

found at Smith’s Cove were constructed

before the discovery of the Money Pit

in 1795,

they may be on the verge

of identifying once and for all

not only when the Money Pit was built,

but also who built it and why.

-That is amazingly preserved. -Yeah.

RICK: Well, hopefully

this dendrochronology

-will yield some results. -LAIRD: Yeah.

MARTY: All right.

Well, let’s keep going.

There’s still plenty of work to be done at Smith’s Cove,

clearly.

RICK: We’re hopeful

to put closure on this effort,

but we are still quite confused

by the amount of structures.

What was the reason for their emplacement?

Let’s see if this one’s

flat underneath, too. You think it is, right?

RICK: There’s a lot of questions

to be answered yet.

NARRATOR A week that began

with a frustrating setback at the Money Pit site

has become one of new directions

and renewed excitement.

For, as the Laginas and their partners have long understood,

on Oak Island, a breakdown

can lead to a breakthrough;

disappointment can lead to discovery;

and even a tragedy can lead

to a possible triumph

one that could result

in the solving of a 223-year-old mystery.

Next time on The Curse of Oak Island...

That star lays right on the southeast corner

-of that swamp. -RICK: The back door.

This leads to the Money Pit.

Here it comes. Steady up.

I think the swamp has answers, and I want them.

-It’s a coin! Maybe there are answers

in the swamp.

-Oh, oh! Whoa, whoa! it looks like a pile

of boulders.

-ALEX: See the water? -TERRY: Substantial amount

of water flowing out of it.

-Maybe the flood tunnel? -COLIN: The wood

in the slipway matches with the 550-year-old tree.

-It is original. -It predates the Money Pit.

-Yes. -RICK: It’s conclusive proof. Subtitled by Diego Moraes