The Curse of Oak Island (2014–…): Season 3, Episode 4 - The Overton Stone - full transcript

Tonight on the curse of Oak Island isn't

that a Templar cross this cross is

Portuguese I do have evidence that puts

them at this location from 1500 to 1580

we want to get to the bottom of 10x

right now

this is not a routine dive

there's a wall here

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 bits of

gold chain a stone slab with strange

symbols carved into it even a 17th

century Spanish coin to date six men

have died trying to solve the mystery

and according to legend

one more, have to die
before the treasure can be found

looks like it's right here

there's a beam is that a wall that could

be the wall yeah

yep I think we found it brothers Rick

and Marty lagina may be on the verge of

one of the most important breakthroughs

in the 220 year old oak island mystery



while digging in the area where the

original money pit was discovered in

1795 they have just uncovered a section

of wall they believe is part of a 78

year old searcher tunnel called the

heavy shaft

constructed in 1937 by treasure hunter

Gilbert Hedden the 12 by 24 foot shaft

with 125 feet deep underground and was

believed to have intersected the

original money pit

finding the Hedden shaft could be the

key to determining the exact location of

the long-lost treasure site when Gilbert

Hedden dug that shaft he thought he was

digging in the money pit and he was that

much closer to history than we are so we

thought that by locating that accurately

digging down and finding the corners

it's another clue to pin down the money

pit

so yes it's gonna take a lot of bull

drop the bucket right here I'm standing

right here I'm gonna put it right on it

and then you just pull right there okay

but I have to stand here all right just

move back a bit please

I'm like a surgeon with this thing yeah

the surgeon was a bit of a stretch yes

searching that's not I'd still trusted

it put that with your head down I'll

flip it right on your head for you

I trust you in a lot of ways but not

that one

I was comfortable being in the hall when

he was operating I knew look we had the

same goal and I never worried not even

one single time

I don't like swinging this over your

head slow

Rick was perfectly calm he trusts me to

not hit him with that bucket forget hit

if you just touched somebody with that

thing have probably waited for tons or

something so that was trying to be very

careful

damn wrong

you think that is the wall Dan yeah that

looks like good wall down below there

comes on take a look for yourself you

know I was hoping you'd say anything but

that

finding a section of a wooden wall

offers proof that Rick Marty and Dan

have found the hidden shaft that Rick is

amazing you know that is solid we have

found it that is clearly the exterior

wall of the old head and chef uncovering

the head and shaft is a major discovery

finding it will now allow Rick and Marty

to pinpoint the exact location of the

original money pit it's a lot different

than we thought we thought it went off

that way but first they will need to

determine now which wall of the head and

shaft they found and where its corners

lie we at least have a bearing we don't

have a distance yet cuz they're not sure

the corner so when we find that corner

mm-hmm keep digging

I was astounded because we're gonna know

better than anyone on earth where the

original money pit was well that's a big

deal Marik I'm wondering if it's right

under this stuff right under your foot I

think it's right here well actually it

could be that's a piece of wood you're

splintering it it seems to be at a right

angle that's the right distance to be

the other wall yeah that piece looks

like pulled right out of there that's

the look at that that's the piece that

pulled out of there that's the corner

yeah tricky it was buried right in there

at a perfect right angle correct that's

the corner for sure we found the corners

of the head and shaft thus we can orient

it off them and thus we know roughly

where the money pit should be well look

we have one wall firmly established we

have the orientation firmly established

we've learned something because we

thought it went that way and it really

goes that way after digging for the

better part of a day Rick Marty and

their partners have excavated

approximately half of the 24 by 12 foot

head and shaft as a team I think we did

some nice work and we have accurately

located the head chef that is an

accomplishment okay well let's call it a

day let's declare victory partial

victory tonight crown time yeah

after a successful day of searching Rick

Marty dave blankenship Craig tester and

his stepson Jack Begley gather to

celebrate at a nearby pop so it wasn't a

bad day today because I think I

performed admirably on that excavator

what do you think kill me well are we

gonna keep digging

No why not I think there are several

reasons Jack I mean first of all our

intent was to just locate it so that we

could then use it to locate the money

pit okay that'd be one to visit

dangerous damn dangerous we don't know

how it was filled the soils are so

inconsolable 50 feet of open hold on

they're just sand is bridged above it I

mean I was a little bit on pins and

needles all the time he's in there I've

waiting for him to kind of disappear you

know whoosh and we have the limit of the

equipment we have their two-year-olds 22

foot boom we don't bring in different

equipment Marty's decision to stop

digging at the money pit is a strategic

one rather than face bloodied or a

dangerous cave entry he and his brother

have decided to wait until they can get

scanning sonar into the hole that Craig

tester drilled last summer

the same hall where they found evidence

of a large wooden vault that was first

discovered by treasure hunter Frederick

Blair and drill operator William

Chappell back in 1897 definitely got

wood that's definitely cement concrete

and then wood that's the description

that's what they found in the top of the

vault what we're really after is

verifying what Craig found with borehole

valley 3 whether that's in the money pit

or not and I would say that you know

I'll quote the 8-ball signs point to yes

because that head and shaft at least

according to the Roper survey would

indicate that you drilled right on the

edge of the muddy pit which is exactly

what the bit said right so we're pretty

hopeful it's showing that the vault

Craig hit is probably the ball I think

that's a fair statement yeah

can't be done well is that the depth and

now we know it's the same fish in the

right spot yep well we had a good day

gentlemen got the head and shaft that'll

help us in our exploration in the money

pit so it was a good day we call it a

success

it'll be neat this actually see the

Overton stone we're gonna make it reveal

its secrets well I think it's a far

fetch but we'll see what happens

one day after locating both the head and

shaft and the money pit brothers Rick

and Marty lagina their partner Craig

tester and veteran treasure hunter Dave

Blankenship are traveling to the small

seaside town of Overton Nova Scotia

there they plan to meet with local

historian Terry Duvall and investigate

the stone carving that Oak Island

researcher Robert Markus believes was

pointed to in an antique treasure map

this is the starting point okay this is

called the boat stone a stone that was

found in Westford Massachusetts the boat

represents a coastal range followed the

coast the number 184 the unit of measure

back then was called a lead now 184

leagues north takes you to Overton Nova

Scotia

when you get to there you find the stone

within the stone right here you have a

depiction of the circle with the

Templars cross in it

now David if he connects your Templars

with Oak Island you'd be quite pleased

about that right yep

an open mind that's all I'm here

yes

just a guy we're supposed to meet let's

go hello Terry yeah Terry Deveau

breakfast - Terry Deveau is a historian

and researcher who has studied

petroglyphs rock carvings and stone

structures throughout Canada and the

United States he is also president of

the New England Antiquities Research

Association so is it this way pretty

much okay okay let's go let's go

Terry Devoe's research has led him to

make an incredible connection between

Nova Scotia's early history and Oak

Island a connection that could offer a

key piece of information in solving a

centuries-old mystery the rock here is

probably located on the highest point in

quite a distance around

so now you can see the carven quite

clearly here it's it's very beautiful

has four main elements across that's in

a circle an eagle feather

these two things behind the eagle

feathers that I interpret us tobacco

leaves and a moon crescent moon that is

quite remarkable

and isn't that a Templar cross a Templar

cross could the carving Terry Deveau has

brought the team out to see really be

hundreds of years old

we'll talk about that in a few minutes

but what I want to highlight is the fact

that there is a controversy as to

whether or not this is an old carving or

a recent carving right right that's

always that's always the issue and the

problem with saying that this is an old

carving is that it looks fairly fresh

that could be deceptive in this case

because this is a type of rock

geologically that appears to weather

very slowly because it was formed by

volcanic ash that fell in layers and

then got compacted and under the effect

of pressure over time formed this type

of rock and the patina which is the

outer crust of the weathering is fairly

thick right here but it's probably taken

15,000 years to to develop okay so if

you had to say most likely this old and

most likely this sort of thing what

would your answer be well I think it's

clear that the carving is a genuine

historical artifact and quite old

possibly up to five hundred years old

five hundred years old could this stone

carving really date as far back as the

1500s what about the circle and the four

dots does that have any special meaning

to it that is something I'd like to

pursue so you have the cross with the

circle that obviously is a Christian

symbol right the eagle feather and

behind the eagle feather there are a

pair of tobacco leaves there you have

two of the most important symbols in the

mid ma belief system

the hypothesis that I'm suggesting is

that this whole carving was made by a

European to commemorate perhaps a

friendship treaty between Europeans and

nigma

so the question becomes which European

group would be represented by this cross

as the first known inhabitants of North

America's northeastern region the

Mi'kmaq people had their earliest

recorded contact with Europeans as far

back as the 15th century but there are

many in the Mi'kmaq community who

believed that that contact stretches

back even earlier back as far as the

1300s and the days of a Scottish Templar

night by the name of Henry Sinclair

could the Overtoun carbines be even

older than Terry Deveau believes

possibly dating this farm back is the

14th century you know we're up to our

eyeballs at all these various hypotheses

right and what you just said if the

timing were right would apply to this

legendary Henry Sinclair voyage

perfectly according to legend in 1398

Prince Henry Sinclair sailed across the

North Atlantic from Scotland to Oak

Island nearly 100 years before Columbus

there he is said to have buried a number

of sacred religious treasures that had

been rescued from the Holy Land during

the Crusades among the items were the

golden menorah of King Solomon's Temple

the Ark of the Covenant and even the

Holy Grail

according to some accounts while in the

new world Sinclair was worshipped as a

God by the nygma people who knew him

under the name clues cap in this

particular case it does to me suggests

that the economically legend I

understand what you're saying from my

point of view the question is what do

you take as evidence and the way to

interpret evidence is you try to let the

evidence lead you right right so in the

case of Sinclair I don't see that this

is diagnostic of Sinclair right

it may be compatible with Sinclair

that's all that's all right but that's

different than being diagnostic of it so

from my mind this is diagnostic of

Portuguese
from my mind this is

diagnostic of Portuguese

while examining a strange coffee in the

seaside town of Overton Nova Scotia Rick

Marty and their partners have just been

treated to another incredible theory one

that suggests that the origin of the Oak

Island mystery might not be connected to

the legend of Scottish Templar Henry

Sinclair but to Portuguese explorers who

visited the area

in the 1500s

interestingly this particular shape of

cross is not all that common that we

have the flaring outwards of the arms

you mainly see it in Portuguese crosses

it is widely believed that in addition

to the Knights Templar that operated in

England France and Scotland

there was a Portuguese branch that was

known under the name the Knights of

Christ could it be that it was they and

not Henry Sinclair who buried precious

religious artifacts on Oak Island and

then left behind various carvings as

clues to where it could be found

I do have evidence that puts the

Portuguese in Nova Scotia between 1500

and 1580 and you know they were here

then however there are a few records

that have survived in particular maps

Portuguese were great cartographers and

we've got a rich collection of maps

where they named all kinds of different

areas along the coast including this

area as well

although it is well known that

Portuguese settlers established fishing

outposts in Nova Scotia in the 16th

century there is also compelling

evidence that Portuguese explorer Vasco

theory L found what he called the new

land of the con fish in North America

as far back as 1473 nearly 20 years

before Christopher Columbus's Fame

journey could there be additional

evidence linking corte-real

and the Knights of Christ and also a

connection between his early journeys to

North America and Oak Island

this is very interesting yeah it is

they're interesting how Terry analyzed

it fits in with several theories I mean

it really does it fits in with the

Portuguese theory it fits in with

Templar theory I mean really well

he's a Templar cross the arms and stun

were the same way they had both coins

and they don't always flare out but

sometimes they do but that would vary a

lot I mean there were Templars in

England Templars in Germany Templars in

Portugal and Spain so they weren't all

identical could Rick Marty and their

partners have just seen evidence linking

the Oak Island mystery to português

treasure perhaps even treasure connected

to the Knights Templar after Terry

explained that this could be

commemorating a meeting of cultures I

said well why couldn't be Templars and

the native peoples he just didn't think

the carving was quite old enough for

that but it sure looked like and I still

think looks like a Templar cross we are

very grateful for you taking the time to

talk to us about it thank you as they

walk away from the Overtoun stone the

Oak Island team is more excited than

ever to return to the island and resume

their search finding the Hedden shaft

has allowed them to verify the exact

location of the money pit and seeing the

stone carvings has offered physical

evidence that the area was very likely

visited by Europeans as far back as the

16th century

could getting to the bottom of 10-x and

finding a shortcut into the money pit

really be the final key they'll need to

solve this 220 year old mystery

here's the divers right here

one day after his trip to Overton Rick

lagina and the Oak Island team have

arranged to meet with rob ritzy up RMI

marine a commercial diving company that

specializes in deep underwater surveying

construction and salvage operations so

guys this is the hole this is the

project 10x today's agenda really is

clear the floor hold the 27-inch there's

a section of the 27-inch casing about

six feet there David yeah and then we

got one riser still at home

yeah okay okay drop the sonar to the

pipe earlier this year sonar scans

conducted at the bottom of the 235-foot

deep borehole known as 10x revealed the

possibility of a large man-made chamber

posts tunnels wooden chests and even

human remains

now that most of the riser pipes and

other above water obstructions have been

removed ritzy and his team have been

hired to clear the corroded metal and

debris from the 181 foot level of 10x

once done the shaft should be safe

enough for another dive team to come in

and attempt an even deeper and more

dangerous dive below the 181 foot level

and through the 27-inch wide hole that

leads 44 feet down to the mysterious

underground chamber all right well let's

get geared up to go diving today

Jonathan Doyle's will be today's first

diver

he will be lowered into 10x by means of

a dive cage that Robert C has had

custom-made for today's operation good

thing we made a built round just like

10x it features a gate that will allow

the divers to get in and out of the cage

quickly without having to climb up and

over the sides okay but squinch over

just keep them from spinning anymore

Nick well it's not just myself I think

we're all anticipating this this is what

we're focused on this year we want to

get to the bottom of 10x and this is the

start of that journey

quite a remarkable achievement yeah yeah

that's it

sup malison

okay

coming down easy at borehole 10-x rick

lagina and the oak island team have

hired a commercial diving company rmi

marine to clear away rusted pipes and

other debris that have been blocking the

27-inch portion of the shaft for decades

it is a mission that is both complicated

and extremely dangerous

even with the four hundred gallon per

minute pump and nearby borehole to a1x

which keeps the water in the shaft down

approximately 40 feet below normal

levels diver Jonathan Moyles will still

need to make a descent in frigid water

for more than 100 feet

because of the enormous pressure he will

only be able to work in the shaft for

not longer than 30 minutes before

needing to slowly make his way back to

the surface when you're breathing

compressed air the nitrogen is also

compressed it goes into the solvency or

into your bloodstream and then you come

up but it comes out as bubbles homes

little nasty nitrogen bubbles and they

Lodge in your brain or your lung during

the dive nitrogen gas has become highly

compressed in the human body when the

diver is ready to surface he or she must

do so in short stages allowing their

body to decompress otherwise the

nitrogen accumulates and forms bubbles

in the bloodstream it is a condition

commonly referred to as the bends and

results in the diver experiencing joint

pain disorientation and in the worst

cases

there's no magic bullet for this

visibility issues are are a problem what

they're professionals and they're just

gonna have to deal with to secure large

debris and send it to the surface diver

Jonathan Niles will use a rope fling

known as an octopus for smaller objects

he will use a steel basket the same one

that was used by dan Blankenship when he

dug 10x more than 40 years ago

thank you all good start bringing up the

crane we're gonna start coming up easy

buddy coming to service

a little more cleared out there down

yeah keep coming to butts emptiness now

that most of the debris has been removed

from the 181 foot level of 10x hoping

for a little more sediment the team

still needs to remove one more obstacle

a six foot long piece of metal casing

that lines the upper portion of the

27-inch hole what I'm hoping for is one

simple statement is the casing above the

anhydrate or is it big low the integrity

because then at that point we can

develop a protocol if you will or a

procedure how are we gonna latch on to

it and pull it off it to bother you

right away but what's your thoughts how

much of the steel is above the anhydrite

on one side it's probably put that fire

in a heaven hey there hydrate you think

we should try pulling now yeah the

thought now is to use these clamps which

bite as you exert pressure on the

upstroke so they'll clamp on and we'll

pull from there

so basically Rick got just cams open

like that see it's cantilever yeah it's

got all the edges on it it just comes on

it's not gonna grab that well clamp

lock it up so you're gonna put tension

on this yes where you clamp it off yes

are you soaked Dave uh-huh yeah

no no yeah diver Dave cousins will now

descend 10x in an attempt to attach the

steel clamps to the 27-inch casing

once the diver attaches the clamps which

have jagged ridges that allow for a firm

hold the boom crane will lift upwards

pulling the casing from the 27-inch hole

and out of the shaft

all right it's coming down now on a rope

should be right to the ground if we can

fall of 27 inches pretty good day got

another 10 minutes what would normally

be an easy operation for Dave cousins

has suddenly become extremely difficult

not only is he trying to attach the

steel clamps to the casing in virtual

darkness but the steel casing is heavily

corroded and slick with decades of mud

and sludge to make matters worse he is

almost out of time

we got two more minutes

we need to come up on the crane Dave

Cousins has finally gotten the clamps

attached now the boom crane will attempt

to pull the casing out of the hole

Oh stop

rick lagina's mission to remove six feet

of steel casing from the 27-inch portion

of 10x has just been put in serious

jeopardy as the boom cable began lifting

on the clamps attached to the rim one of

them came loose

leaving the casing stuck in the hole all

right I'm gonna get your umbilical and

we're gonna start coming up on you

unfortunately diver Dave Cousins

has no time left to make a second

attempt the six feet of steel casing

will have to remain in the hole

you take a negative and you try to see a

positive in it we now know something we

didn't know yesterday we got some

information learns where we need to go

from here because at the end of the day

given all the difficulties I am more

firmly committed than ever to accomplish

the goal the goal being get a diver into

the cavity at to the floor at 235 thank

you for all your efforts welcome just

want to go thank the guys Dave thank you

thank you
okay well here's the thing

typical Kyle and we want to feel this

time we kinda lost the war you know what

we lived we lived to fight another day

let's let's go home

after the dive team has completed

clearing most of the obstructions from

10x okay so this is 10x phase one

completed really Marty and Rick lagina

returned to the site to review the

team's progress divers have been written

whole this is nice in my opinion it was

marginal results they were intrepid they

were fearless like they went down hole

they couldn't see the hand in front of

their face I think we have to adjust

show me what you got on a little

okay so here's the ten inch we gotta

hunt 141 plus or minus there's a voice

drill that's the limited amount of

garbage they wear but we'll pull off

that's it I think you did great

personally these guys did a lot of work

a lot of work it's not easy for that

pipe to be pulled and laid down and cut

in pieces and I think Rick feels they

didn't make much progress but I think

they made a lot of progress I take it

this is the one we dropped that's the

one we dropped let's plug in the bottom

well you don't want write effectively

what we did record it yeah record it

look at the impact forces you know what

it would take to curl the end of that

steel like that a lot

problem is this right here I'm thinking

maybe this is grown-up anhydrate or at

least partially I know in the subsurface

this is how it cuts it's really really

gummy it drills great because it's soft

but then also in it quits the drilling

because it's just it gums everything up

it's bullshit exactly that gets on top

the bit then you pull up into it you

just don't love your stuck button that's

what I'm kind of worried about well you

know then then that begs the option of

you know do we find a diver to dive the

27-inch and leave the 32 option off the

table if that could be done safely Rick

I you know I yeah that would be great

cuz once we go in and widen that hole

you destabilize things I guess a little

Rick Marty and the Oak Island team are

now faced with a grim reality the

inability to remove the six foot long

metal sleeve coupled with the

instability of the anhydride layer has

ruled out the possibility of widening

the narrow 27-inch portion of 10x at the

end of the day this is results-oriented

and I don't believe we were as

successful as we should have been in

order to continue that process we have

to change the directions they will now

need to find a diver skilled enough and

brave enough to risk their life in order

to find out once and for all what if

anything lies at the bottom we know we

can get a man down the existing 27-inch

hole dan Blankenship did it a dozen

times so there may be other divers who

are willing to do that this is a tougher

nut than I realized

gentlemen we're here to talk about

diving today and how on earth we can get

to the bottom of that 10x into that

cavity safely with a diver after

spending the last several days clearing

out corroded riser pipes and other

debris

Rick and Marty lagina must now find an

experienced diver who will attempt one

of the most dangerous dives in the world

to descend 181 feet through the 8 foot

wide steel and cement lined casing and

then down an additional 44 feet through

a narrow 27-inch wide hole all the way

to what appears to be a mysterious

underground chamber

we've got John tapper here he is an

expert he's gonna tell us about the

technical issues with regards to getting

a person into the chamber at 10x a

professional diver John tapper was

brought in last year to help the team

during their previous though

unsuccessful attempt to reach what dan

Blankenship the man who dug 10x 40 years

ago described as a 10 foot tall man-made

treasure vault

why don't I sketch out the parameters

and then you can tell me the challenges

the cavity is roughly 10 feet by 12 feet

irregular shape visibility is awful and

in there there are some things that we

want to find out what they are there's a

potentiality of a post there is some

indication there's a chest and then Dan

said this years ago but it's been Rivera

fiying that there could be a body in

there of uncertain

origin and age do you think he's dead

Marty if he's not dead I'm out of here

well regards to getting someone down

there the depth is a problem after you

pass 100 feet on air you're starting a

look at nitrogen narcosis

nitrogen narcosis presents a very real

threat to divers who descend to depths

greater than 100 feet it occurs as a

result of breathing air under higher

than atmospheric pressure and can make

divers feel as though they are

intoxicated so we're doubling that depth

where people generally start to feel the

effect so at 200 feet you're drunk

basically basically yes you really can't

be 100% sure of what you're seeing

people have seen a lot of a lot of crazy

stuff underwater

plus if anything does happen you don't

have the mental capacity to deal with it

why don't you talk about the gases well

if we switch over to the trimix knife

with nitrogen and oxygen for your

decompression gas if you're down there

you're feeling much better and able to

respond to what you need to do the

trimix breathing system blends oxygen

and nitrogen with helium as one of the

only gases not affected by depth helium

helps minimize the possibility of

narcosis and allows for a safer and more

successful dive operation

not new this died without doing it on a

trimix we still need a diver who's

qualified with nitrox and makes gases

yes and that's a significant step up in

terms of qualification of the diver yes

that's going from one end of the scale

to the other it's finding someone

skilled enough and physically qualified

enough to do the dive yes John is making

it clear that this is not a routine dive

this is gonna take a fully accredited

kind of a specialty diver person and

that is going to be a small amount of

people so it's gonna be a small pool to

choose from we'll find someone there's

always somebody somewhere who can do

anything it's just a matter of reaching

out to the right person we'll find them

well let's let's get on that too I think

we're all done here we got a lot to do

let's go do it

agreed Rick Marty and their partners

leave the war room more determined than

ever to hire a diver we'll be able to

get to the bottom of 10x

fool they find

we'll have the experience and the

courage to perform one of the most

difficult and dangerous underwater dives

ever attempted

and once down there

what will they find next time on the

curse of Oak Island someone used this to

bury extremely high-value cargo this

will be the first remote operated

vehicle in the cavern we have

expectations that we're gonna see men

made objects

we're in the cavern now there's

something every square that's gray

square I mean what is that if there

wouldn't that's irrefutable proof that

changes everything

Subtitled by Diego Moraes