The Curse of Oak Island (2014–…): Season 4, Episode 15 - Blood Is Thicker - full transcript

Tonight on the curse of Oak Island

we are third to zero in on something a

special two-hour season finale we were

on things come up

the tech is going on

ten years of planning yes four years of

digging

we think we found in man-made chamber

deep in the money pit

finally pays off

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

today six men have died trying to solve

the mystery

according to legend

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

for Rick and Marty lagina the stakes

couldn't be higher

so far this year they along with their

partners have spent hundreds of hours



and millions of dollars in an effort to

solve the Oak Island mystery once and

I keep I'm thinking we're gonna run out

of wood

load after load foods are coming up

coming up

yeah for about five six that are all we

dumped already dumped one love so far

they have completed excavating three

massive holes in an effort to find the

mysterious treasure vault although each

location did yield a number of important

clues

no one of this is part of the money pit

the original money pit

the team's enormous frustration over the

failure of their third hole prompted a

rare emotional confrontation between

Rick and his brother Marty there has to

be and enough see enough maybe we're

done with the money pit no I'm

interested going to the southwest and

then we continue pushing a hold on you

want to do this yeah I do I'm kind of

feeling shifted towards doing it but you

know what I think the final position of

this one should be yours nobody deserves

that more than you it is as simple as

that

you do it together

the result was gal 1 which was named

after Rick and Marty's parents for them

it symbolizes not only their bond as

brothers but also their determination to

honor the sacrifices of everyone who has

helped make their childhood dream a

reality

Charles well in the tester well we

decided to name it after our parents so

rather than just the lagina and well we

decided to call it the George and an

lagina and well and I think our sisters

would be happy with it as well yeah

unfortunately gal one is the last hole

that will be dug on Oak Island this year

these are the partners have spent well

beyond their engineering budget and

another harsh Nova Scotia winter is only

a few weeks away actionable information

has to come from that hole is that

simple you have to find something

underground we want answers Rick wants

answers I would like answers so we're

moving forward we're down to the debt

where that we went to the I think of

shaft number six they went to 118 and

then went across and right and they had

the big cave-in so I think that's the

one we're seeing right here

in 1861 a team of treasure hunters dug a

large shaft 18 feet west of the original

money pit known simply as shaft number

six it was excavated to a depth of 118

feet in an effort to come in underneath

what they hoped would be a treasure

vault unfortunately as the tea began

tunneling eastward toward the money pit

they hid a booby-trapped flood tunnels

which inundated the shaft with seawater

but even worse was what happened a few

days later when several loud crashes

were hurt underground indicating that

the wooden Timbers of shaft number six

along with the wooden cribbing inside

the money pit had collapsed and most

likely created a cave-in of the treasure

vault one which would have scattered its

precious contents into other areas deep

below ground

the money pit collapsed towards shop

number six that's the debris field

that's what I'm looking for we need to

take a good hard look at all spoil so as

I come up and metal detect you know go

through it physically because it could

be anywhere with from 85 feet give or

take to 118

I think it's the tunnel searcher tunnel

so we gotta get the bottom of the

tunnels where the treasure blew out

they'd be sitting on the bottom

yeah because they came Donald and then

went over but when we go out of the wood

we shouldn't bring it you should be

bringing something up if the gal one

exploration hole has breached shaft

number six could the team really be just

a few feet away from the original money

pit did you get some depth yes sir our

119 with the casing and 114 with the

hole

I live down the step so Rick

at this point with the wood you see

coming up are you concerned at all about

that is that I was initially because you

know we're getting raw material which is

hand-hewn

comes on the side of a shaft the only

definitive statement you can make is

when you

it's like hunting for a treasure galleon

and the ship wrecked or was lost there's

a scatter of clues across the ocean

floor we could basically have the same

thing going on

where did it go

information is up in the Spoils

they're up there 130 yeah I want to see

one more

always one more

as the steel caisson continues to grind

its weight even lower into the possible

treasure site just a few hundred feet

away on lot 18 Marty lagina along with

Charles Barkhouse and metal detection

expert Gary Drayton are searching

through the spoils that have recently

been removed from Gao on this area all

the peaks

this stuff is incredibly hard to shovel

and so I'm basically just using the

teeth of the backhoe to to shuttle it

back and forth the depth of

investigation of his metal detector is

only about 1218 inches so if you have a

two foot violator you're missing you

know almost a foot of material

that's how tuber should we try digging

in there Miyoung

and the cool fine Charles

was it looks like a sailcloth needle

tonight really that looks like

double-ended that's like it I mean

obviously it's made in that shape that's

cool Marnie Gary thinks he found a

sailcloth needle really yep sailing

cloth needle it would have been made out

of iron and obviously they would have

wrapped the Fred around it use it for

sewing canvas sails put the last the

last one through the dead man - yeah

yeah that's the way it goes they call it

a dead man's stitch or something just to

see if he was alive before they threw

him overboard during the period from the

15th to the 18th century it was

customary for a man who died while

aboard a sailing ship to be buried at

sea

dead men's body would often be sewn into

his hammock with the last ditch made

through his nose or his lips to make

sure he was deceased

good the sailcloth Neal found buried in

the money pit area be further evidence

that a large sailing ship was once used

to bring something of great value to Oak

Island centuries ago the reason why

Geary is here of course is because he's

he's eminently capable with that MindLab

CTX 3030 metal detector let's find some

gold

agreed my whole thing about the alcohol

is that hopefully we're in the debris

field if we are then we need him to find

something if it's there Gary a find the

decent sound and target here yeah

underneath that pile there and if you

could dump it here it would be great

yeah gave me through that stuff

it's something

I found the coin

the gold coin right this I gotta see

we've got coin I found the coin come on

whoa the gold coin yes a gold coin could

this be the first solid evidence that an

incredible treasure still lies buried

deep within the Oak Island money pit

oh let's get some marks on the side see

okay

there is wording around the outside of

it yeah

there is a there's writing on the

outside when you say my eyes are

horrible I can't know all right this I

gotta see

yeah honest to god a coin this I think

so hard a cone or a bullet I'm just

marking around the inside Marty look

that you say it failed friendships go

out the window that's right this one

some info

I think it says plated how would that

mean

it says play it it's a boat what's it

doing deep in the money pit

almost the untapped it it's it's highly

meaningful it's something out of place

it's in the money pit very deep in an

area where it shouldn't be

well maybe that is a button well I don't

know I mean the reason you think it's a

button is because it looks like there's

two like a little dimple in the booty

not doesn't go through yeah the officers

back in the day in the Army in the Navy

in the seventeen and eighteen hundred's

they used to wear nice gold-plated

buttons there and if it's a button it's

a couple a gold-plated British military

button possibly dating to the 18th

century could this be further evidence

of British military activity on Oak

Island in the years before the money pit

was first discovered in 1795

holy smokes Wow

earlier this year while searching an

area of the island that was once owned

by a former American slave named Samuel

ball the team found a number of 18th

century British coins buckles and other

artifacts now we've got start putting

things together we've got a bottom we've

got coins and this may be this is some

kind of camp

we are certain to zero in on something

something happening here of substance in

the mid 1700s Fred Nolan felt that the

money pit was engineered that it was

done by a disciplined group of

individuals you know where are you gonna

go who has all of those capabilities if

you go at that time it would be military

if that little gold button predates the

discovery of the money pit then yeah it

is the most important thing to go to the

money pit since well maybe ever well the

fact that you found it we're able to

find like that you found it is what's

amazing well you guys invited me to yeah

true do you said you'd find gold by God

you were supposed to find a tiny bit

more than that but that's okay

later that day as the excavation

continues at the gaol one work site Rick

Marty and members of the team take time

out to welcome back two very special

visitors visitors who have a profound

historical connection to both Oak Island

and the infamous money pit
under such

circumstances but walking back sisters

gene and Joan McGinnis are direct

descendants of Daniel McGinnis one of

the three young men who first discovered

the money pit in 1795

according to legend McGinnis and two of

his friends were standing on the

mainland when they spotted strange

flickering lights on the eastern side of

the island making their way across

Mahone Bay in a small boat they quickly

followed the lights to the base of a

large oak tree once there McGinnis and

his friends spotted an old pulley

hanging from a branch and at the base of

the tree was a large circular

indentation as if the ground had been

disturbed by the digging of home knowing

the area to have been frequented by

Spanish and Portuguese pirates the boys

began to dig looking feverishly for

pirate treasure for days and weeks they

dug but were repeatedly astonished to

find layers of wooden planks carefully

laid at intervals of 10 feet

now I've been told they found three

treasure chests

really really last year Joan gene and

their younger sister Joyce journey to

the island in order to share an

incredible family secret this is one of

the stories we were told as children

Grandpa Daniel five generations ago he

noticed the depression in the ground so

he and his two friends started digging

they found three treasure chests and

what is in this box is one of the things

that came from that chest

oh my goodness

that is quite extraordinary

you know it seems seems like far longer

than a year since you were last year and

you know we appreciate you coming back

well I I love this place

it draws me it has a hold on me it's

like coming home unfortunately today's

visit by the McGinnis family is

overshadowed by sadness in the year

since their last visit Joan and jeans

younger sister Joyce lost her long

battle with cancer and to honor her

memory Rick Marty and the team have

arranged for gene and Joan to return to

Oak Island in order to offer her a

special tribute

what is it I had choices ashes some

choice analysis blowing five mmm it's

beautiful a real pretty colors in it

okay so ladies I think why don't we go

to the McGinnis foundation and we have

this memorial for Joyce okay on the

western end of Oak Island Rick and

members of the team arrived with Joan

and Jean at the site of the old McGinnis

family foundation built by Daniel

McGinnis in the early 1800s so that he

could live there while searching for

treasure

having the McGinnis sisters come back on

a personal note they're part of this

magic place if you will a story place so

to have them come back even though

albeit it's under some sad circumstances

they're part of the Oak Island family

and

and I welcome them back so ladies this

is obviously the McGinnis foundation and

so why don't we walk down inside and

then you can pick a stone where you'd

like to place it good you don't if you

want to wait there I'll come back up and

get you how's that thank you

for Oak Island historians the McGinnis

foundation is considered hallowed ground

it is so important in fact that the

Canadian government has declared it

strictly off-limits

unless special permissions are obtained

for me my thoughts when I step down into

the foundation is how committed everyone

that has preceded us have been they

built a life around this mystery and it

remains today two centuries later that

connection remains I think if you'd like

there's a perfect place of concealment

and and place of safety right there if

you'd like this it should go all the way

to the back I think you might want John

you might want to hold it

unfortunately for Rick lagina the recent

death of Joyce McGinnis is not the only

loss he has suffered this year last June

he received the tragic news that one of

his Oak Island heroes Fred Nolan passed

away how many years this map represents

4050 years

there is much loss associated with

Fred's passing but it he lived the

wonderful life he pursued his passion he

contributed to the history of this place

I was and am currently still saddened by

his passing he will not be forgotten

it's a lovely thing he does time flies

Suns rise and shadows fall love is

forever overall she was my best friend

I'll be missing her it's very lovely

she's hot now

it was a touching moment leaving on the

island a memento of their sister is

obviously important to them and we're

willing participants in that it's

important to them thus it's important to

us

yeah we're just going to turn around and

we'll head back to the museum okay okay

John I think we're all excited I think

we finally finally maybe after all these

years we're gonna get some answers so

Jean I take it that's the cross why

don't we go in at the Oak Island visitor

center Rick lagina and members of the

team have arranged for Joan and Jean

McGinnis to have expert analysis

conducted on the gold cross they believe

Daniel McGinnis found in the money pit

more than two centuries ago dr. Lori

Bergeron is an internationally renowned

art and antiquities expert and former

professor of art history at Pennsylvania

State University for nearly two decades

she has studied and identified ancient

artifacts from all over the world Jean

and Joan kind enough to bring the

signature item related to Oak Island law

history and of course that is the cross

we all want answers hoping that you can

weigh in on this and enlightens well

let's see what we've got

yeah you really do have something very

interesting here ladies what we're

looking at here of course is a gold

cross of high carat weight probably

between 22 and 24 carats what you have

here is rose gold it's a Christian cross

in many ways it's very Spanish colonial

which indicates that it was proudly cast

in the Spanish colonies which were known

as the Spanish Indies at that time

Mexico Peru areas like that

the piece dates between 1550 and 1700

the fact that it is irregularly shaped

indicates that it was cast into a mold

you see all the holes the holes were for

emeralds then would it be your

contention then that they were pried out

pried out knocked out oldest oft so it's

easier to get it out of a piece of gold

that I might be able to get it out of a

different metal there's a definite front

and a back based upon the information

she was providing then you could see

little marks on the back you can

definitely see that well I wish I had it

when it was packed with emeralds but at

least David see you know

and what I know the the incan the South

American emeralds were always still are

the very bad eyes

the possibility that what lies deep

below the surface of Oak Island is a

vast Spanish treasure hoard originally

stolen from the ancient Inca is a notion

that has been widely held by many Oak

Island enthusiasts most notably veteran

treasure hunters dan Blankenship and

Fred Nolan they believe the treasure may

have been buried there by the Spanish as

early as the 1500s or by the British who

may have stolen it from the Spanish

after the Battle of Havana in 1762 could

this small gold cross reportedly found

in the money pit back in 1795 be proof

that Dan and Fred's theory is true it's

a wonderful fantastic piece of history

and one which has become really the

object of objects here on Oak Island yes

this is our latest that's part of the

miracle that it even survived yeah you

have our utmost respect and thank you

for for bringing a significant object

forward and and to tell the story of the

McGinnis family as relates Oak Island

anyway thank you

dr. Lurie here's a few other items that

wanted you to take a look at okay in

addition to the gold cross the team is

hoping dr. Lori Verteron can also help

identify some of the other interesting

items discovered on the island earlier

this year I think you'll find that quite

interesting

okay now this particular piece this is

an 18th century tag well it's his ball

right here on this test at one time was

actually owned by Samuel ball skip slave

who fought in the Revolutionary War when

did he come here 1783 when New York was

evacuated he came with the British Army

I mean the fact that the Samuel ball

came here and you know he made a

wonderful life for himself on the island

there's there's a possibility that he

may have found something I don't got and

that's how maybe how he acquired as well

that's fascinating terrific great piece

of history and one other one other piece

here dr. Lurie and this is a spike

look at that's nice earlier this year

metal detection expert Gary Drayton

along with Jack Begley and Alex lagina

made an intriguing find in the Oak

Island swamp

that is old it's an unmade spike that's

pretty good yeah

those who believe that the Oak Island

treasure is actually comprised of stolen

artifacts from Central and South America

have long theorized that the objects

were brought to the island in the hold

of a large sailing vessel

after unloading its precious cargo the

ship was likely sailed to the middle of

a narrow channel that divided the east

and west sides of the island then two

large copper dams were most likely

constructed and the seawater drained so

that all evidence of the ship could be

concealed in what would be a man-made

swamp the very same body of water that

still exists on Oak Island to this day

could the spike and the fact that it was

found in the swamp be evidence that this

audacious theory is correct well now

this I have to look into some more any

ideas off the top of your head what it

could be I have lots of thoughts

swirling around I'm gonna take a little

bit of time to look at three into this

fair enough that good for you guys

absolutely yeah she had not been amused

by any of these artifacts she she spun

them off as quickly as they were

presented to her when she declines to

make any sort of statement about the

spike yeah of course it's very

interesting we don't have a significant

Spanish connection we now have a British

military connection and a complete

unknown yeah at least currently and so I

think it's been a really good date but

but but as we all know the thing is is

that there are more questions yeah dr.

Laurie thank you very much we appreciate

all your efforts my pleasure you know

without you we'd be guessing it's been

now we are not thank you so a couple

days and I'll get back to the fact

you're intrigued yeah I think we're not

all

one day after the emotional and

informative visit to Oak Island

my sister's Jean and Joan McGinnis

morning guys all right Marty lagina

arrives at the money pit site to check

on the progress of this year's fourth

and final exploration shaft gal Juan all

right talk to me where we are what are

we doing what do we got

we're 151 feet with the casing 150 feet

of the estimation we got out of that

cement like bra okay and then we got

into two buckets of pure pure clay I'd

be good and then we got into kind of

some silky sandy clay and then fragments

of wood fragments some full chunks like

6x6 we got into 20 feet of clay which

would indicate back to normal Oak Island

conditions and then more wood which of

course gets our interest level on yeah

okay well we're past what Rick's

objective which was the debris field so

now we're looking for the Chappell vault

the Blair vault but everyone call

I think we keep on hitting the edge of

the trouble sir I think it's

we would be by all accounts right at the

top of the wall yeah

it was at a depth of 153 feet back in

1897 that treasure hunters William

Chappell and Frederick Blair drilled

into what they believed to be a seven

foot high wooden vault but what made the

find even more exciting was that when

they examined their drill bit

it appeared to contain small bits of

gold unfortunately when chaplain Blair

later duck an enormous shaft in an

effort to retrieve the vault the entire

area flooded with water and collapsed

and the vault has been lost ever since

earlier this year Rick Marty and the

team believe they'd identified the

location of the Lost Chappell vault they

soon became bitterly disappointed

however after learning that what they

had found was a searcher shaft dug by

William chapels son Melbourne during his

attempt to find the mysterious wooden

vault back in 1931

do you think this is searcher as opposed

to original depositor in all probability

just by the texture of it it's probably

part of chakra shaft

well maybe the Chappell chef just missed

the capital

keep digging keep digging Thanks

we're on hole number four I had said

before it's three strikes near oh you

know we got an extra strike here and

this this particular game so we're

digging it we're still searching for

that elusive fault after their recent

find of an 18th century British military

button Jack Begley and metal detection

expert Gary Drayton are more determined

than ever to search the gaol one spoils

for possible artifacts

good to see you Dave okay this should be

good we're finally getting spoils that

are at the depth where there could be

treasure and so it's exciting

as you're running the metal detector

over the pile you're just waiting to

hear some sort of precious metal ding

because you're always hopeful that

you're gonna find something good it's

the money

sounds good liar yeah got annoying

reading but it's must be something

substantial it's like a big piece of

iron

there's reading about 6 inches you might

this is the last pilot came out so no a

distinct it there's a little bit the

squeaky signal yeah it's probably deep

on the other part yeah

what's dig everything so we're breathing

the heck is they almost looks hammered

that's weird

Wow look and it looks like it's got a

square hole in it what oh you see that

looks like a square hole from the nail a

square nail I think you might be right

I mean look at the way it's punched out

this side it's the same kind of deal

yeah you're right

that's a definitely old with a square

hole in that yeah it's not a uniform

width or depth either prior to 1800 iron

nails tended to be hand forged by

blacksmiths and often tapered into

square shafts but what then was the

purpose of this mysterious metal object

could gary and jack have just found

another important piece of evidence okay

let's try this pile if these don't look

like they've been detected as Jack and

Gary resumes searching the gaol one

shaft spoils for clues operations at the

mud pit site continue

big bro let's go see what's going on

that's the biggest piece we pulled up

the wall

the machine and no it's not none of this

is machine you can definitely has a very

strong smell to it

is that five inches

what is it

where'd it come from

now we have to get the items cleaned

look that dated clean all the

information we can perhaps then you can

make a determination or an assessment of

what this may imply

come on

take it apart right now

they're a lot bigger feet

the fire oscillator

might we be in the area of the fault in

finding this structure it could answer

the questions that have driven me since

I was a little boy might answer the who

might answer the win and it might answer

the hollow it's big it's it's huge villa

hill

present maybe

here dude I'd be like a black tire

something to use

it's possible the real ancient people's

if they dug here maybe they dipped it in

pine tar or something I don't know but

it has a bit of a hydrocarbon spell and

it's very black it looks different than

the Timbers from above pine tar is a

sticky substance which has been used for

centuries

not only as a wood preservative but also

as a sealant to protect the contents of

wooden structures from water

where should the vault have been right

here if these are the verticals while

we're coming down a corner

I think these things are sitting

horizontal because the that's where the

quick of that that's where it's digging

through

drive yourself crazy thinking of the

possibilities it could be a timber group

you know I agree but I want to see it I

just say we keep advancing

what are you tearing up a house down

there Thanks good morning morning dear

aside from finding a gold-plated button

and several old wooden Timbers the

team's last-ditch effort to locate the

original money pit as so far yielded

only modest results

first we go through wood then there's a

Boyd if you will or a lack of wood and

then we're back into wood and then we

come out of it again it shouldn't be

layers of tongues but again the money

pit is almost a complete unknown in

which tunnels lead where what company

did it were they encrypt were they roof

were they floored I mean very very

little information about the money pit

in general

one coming from tell me man tell me

having worked on Oak Island for more

than 40 years Dave Blankenship has

extensive knowledge concerning every

aspect of Oak Island and the 221 year

old mystery bucket nobody knows what's

down there no

no father doesn't Fred did nobody can

look down there

it's not snow I would say that's top

face roof really

what

the smell

metal found some 150 feet deep

underground

could the team have just discovered a

piece of a long-lost Chappell vault

have they found something else perhaps

something even more incredible we're

getting tin now turn the roof off now

what are you doing to us here Rick yes

seeing what you can drill through I have

no idea what the metal means we were all

surprised I think we all said at the

same time what's that

I can't even articulate a proper

response metal from that depth it's

strangely modeled metal almost like it's

hand hammered it has that look to it

heavier than you think yeah it is

everything

day but they might be using it for

I'm just wondering Dave the pumps they

put down there

did they put any kind of covers around

the pumps so that I know of that has no

business of being down there that I know

let's get my brother's ball film about

the medal

hey Marty we've brought up some pretty

big sheet of metals probably a foot and

a half by a foot and a half no it's a

bit baffling so why don't you come on up

which is interesting

they've always said well charcoal being

down there various levels with that

could you misinterpret that is charcoal

this is that huge chunk of it

Terkel

in 1804 as members of the Onslow company

began excavating the money pit they

reported finding large amounts of

charcoal at a depth of approximately 30

feet the searchers speculated that they

had found evidence of an old furnace

which would have been used to draw air

down into the pit for the workers who

constructed the original treasure vaults

is it possible that the strange pieces

of metal the team is pulling up from the

bottom of the galones shaft are the

remains of an abandoned searcher furnace

we should have this look at it we've

found intriguing objects metal the

charcoal like rocks I'll call them

there's enough clues if you will there

to say we've got to explore this further

this is that you grab it don't grab that

piece heavier than it looks isn't Wow

now that does not look modern do we know

what precise depth this came from you

01:54

a metal plate discovered 154 feet deep

in the money pit area

it was almost at the same depth that

treasure hunters William Chappell and

Frederick Blair reported finding

evidence of a seven-foot high wooden

vault back in 1897 but when they tried

to drill deeper they're drilled it was

stopped by what they thought was a

mysterious metal plate located some 171

feet underground but the metal object or

Dinah's found actually be a piece of

this plate or does it suggest that much

of what they believed about the Chappell

vault was only partly true described

well it could be the impenetrable thing

where the auger bit stopped

couldn't it that's where they couldn't

get through something it's within a few

feet yeah so we have torqued that with

the oscillator you cannot move it left

to right it anymore the emotions that

gal won have suddenly turned serious

it seems the drilling caisson has come

upon a metal object that it cannot

penetrate

there's too much negative skin friction

on the ball that actually turned it any

more

oh wait a minute we're like on the verge

of something exciting and we're

we have torque that with the oscillator

what does that mean to you

that means they can't go further with

the case here

it is a tense situation on Oak Island

after finding large pieces of a

mysterious metal in the exploration

shaft known as gal one the massive 58

ton steel drilling caisson has hit what

seems to be an impenetrable metal object

at a depth of approximately 154 feet the

casing is Stockton the oscillator cake

will be donated for so that's very

disturbing is it possible that Rick

Marty Craig and the team have found the

same large metal obstruction that

treasure hunter William Chappell

described back in 1897 could the team

have located an actual treasure vault

and really what might be happening is if

there is bedrock that we were commenting

on he's pushing on the rock and trying

to turn it then you got the negative

skin friction working against it is

there any way we can get any deeper than

where we are right now yeah it's

possible

the key could advance another five feet

and we could hammer grab another five

feet that'd be ideal

so one now and chisel past the underside

of the can break up all we can get and

go in with a smaller graph and pluck it

whatever broke up okay let's see how

this works good

in an effort to penetrate the metal

obstruction the team has decided to use

what is known as a chisel bet a four-ton

column made of steel it will be used as

a type of vertical battering ram

alternatively raised and lowered until

the object in its path can be removed

if for some reason the chisel bit cannot

break through the entire money pit

operation on Oak Island may just

literally have ground to a halt so will

will five more feet from where we are

yeah I mean it unless you know we just

start bringing up nothing but if we keep

on bringing up water especially metal in

the combination of those

you know yeah yeah I'm hoping that we do

this something

all right well I want to see it good

while the team's efforts to penetrate

the large metal obstruction continue at

the gaol one exploration site

Rick lagina and Jack Begley head over to

the home of dan Blankenship they have

just received news that dr. Laurie

Verteron has completed her analysis of

the large iron spike that was found in

the swamp earlier this year you have

some answers I have some answers for you

jack the spike has spoken volumes really

yeah the spike is a wrought iron spike

it was the type that were used called a

burrow Tate type which in Spanish just

means iron bar and a burrow daze type

spike would have been similar to a

finishing nail on a Spanish galleon ship

that is interesting these particular

spikes in a way they would be used the

keel of a Spanish galleon would be made

of oak the mass would be made of pine

and then the decks would be made of a

hardwood and then these would be driven

in fact into the decks you don't need a

lot of strength to use one of these the

spike does all the work for you and

these are very similar to those that

have been found all along the Florida

Keys Treasure Coast particularly the

Treasure Coast of Florida all right it

confirms what Gary first thought when he

found it I mean he's found hundreds of

these well the Treasure Coast and your

expertise just confirmed it exactly so

how did you arrive at that conclusion

compare and contrast what does it look

like what doesn't it look like with

similar ones so you compared and

contrasted this with similar ones that

have been confirmed that they are deck

spikes exactly what differentiates this

from being a railroad spike what is the

difference well the difference has to do

with the way in which the iron is

wrought and also has to do with in fact

the form and the size if the thing for

me is on a railroad spike there's always

a little nose piece which this relaxed

to catch the plate yeah that's what I

was looking for but as she said the

spikes that they use and wood plank him

the wood planking was probably 2 inch or

more that would be just perfect through

2 inches blanket this is ship not train

yeah in the fact that Fred Nolan found

parts of a ship buried in the swamp

you're kidding I'm not kidding you

Oak Island landowner and treasure hunter

Fred Nolan was convinced that one of the

keys to solving the mystery was located

beneath the surface of the swamp

what were the things that you found in

this swamp well we found parts of a ship

the ratlines have a ship the city is

where the ropes went through and this

shows the scuppers on the side of a ship

how far from the beach were these items

fall into your call

they were pretty well in the middle of

the swamp and we found a number of

survey stakes in the swamp what do you

make of that well whoever laid over the

swamp they did it to hide something my

guide if you will tells me there's

something in this I can't let go of that

the swamp is important no question about

it

French theory was given more credibility

earlier this year when prior to the

discovery of the iron spike the team

also found an 18 foot long wooden plank

wow it's huge looks like a piece of wood

it was also near the same area of the

swamp that three years ago the team

located a 17th century Spanish coin is

it a coin I believe this is a coin the

coin was Spanish yeah how old 1652

what's the window on this I think this

is earlier the coin was Spanish yeah how

old 1652 what's the window on this piece

dates about 1575 to about 1600 yes if

that's true it's in the best damn era

that it could ever be yet at the home of

Oak Island treasure hunter dan

Blankenship antiquities expert dr.

Laurie Verteron has just revealed that

the strange metal spike found earlier

this year in the Oak Island swamp was

most likely a piece from a 16th century

Spanish galleon if that spike is really

from the 1500s from a Spanish galleon

that would ratchet up things maybe the

same thing as the coin

couldn't walk away stronger even

stronger the date would be more

significant I think it's it's

mind-boggling you think that there's a

Spanish galleon associated with Oak

Island this object is not going to be

too far into the 1600s your coin was

1652 yeah it's the same time period but

that coin might be a little late you

don't think they celebrate one another

yes that they're all Spanish the coin

now speaks to a culture which is

terrific

beginning with the expedition of

Christopher Columbus in 1492 the Spanish

Empire would spend the next three

centuries exploring colonizing and

plundering large areas of North Central

and South America

during this period it is reported that

conquistadors confiscated billions of

dollars worth of gold silver and

precious gems from various native

cultures most notably the Aztec and Inca

empires

that's been my theory all along yeah I

mean to me it makes common sense yeah

every ship that sailed to Spain that was

loaded with with gold and silver

the captain's only got about 15% of it

so it's not hard to theorize that a

group of these captains probably got

together and saying why should we give

all of this gold and silver to the king

of Spain

or we're the ones taking the risk common

sense says who the hell's you want to

settle for 15% when they can get a

hundred percent
so you're a hundred

percent sure that this came from a

Spanish guy I'm 100% sure this came from

a Spanish galleon all right definitive

proof there you go exactly Jake this

gives us an idea that the Spanish were

here and probably crashed a ship in the

swamp or someone got one of their ships

and brought it here when will we have

enough information to be able to do a

big dig in the swamp well it's more a

regulatory process I mean we have to

define a hard target you know given

wetlands considerations and that type of

thing now if we hard targeted some sort

of wooden structure in the swamp

absolutely yeah I think if we were to

apply for such a permit we have a story

line which has developed we have the

spike have the wood

of the coin we have Fred's discovery of

the ship scuppers I mean we have now a

legitimate line of inquiry to propose to

them that hey this is what we're looking

for

yeah well I've always said it's a

treasure hunt in information hunt and

not only have you provided more

information but you've introduced us to

perhaps in the storyline this is a great

story of history Rick it's a lot of fun

for me so I thank you thank you it's

very intriguing absolutely no question

about that

back at the money Patti

Marty lagina joins his partner Craig

tester to get an update on the team's

progress well is it time to do her happy

dance

ah getting close he went in with the

chisel pound it out so he could get some

more grabs so at least we're getting a

little bit deeper here and seeing when

we come up

can move the can or she's done it yeah

we are stalled with the can 100% stop

all right well nothing new came up in

the interim

they're here for the first bucket I also

go with a smaller graph just to make

sure

having successfully chiseled through the

metal obstruction the team is now ready

to begin removing additional spoils from

gaol one but rather than using the large

eight ton hammer grab tool they have

chosen to switch to a smaller more

surgical three ton device

there was a natural or man-made chamber

and it's got things in it we're

interested in we need to grab them all

so we kept going with a handle grab

which is somewhat risky because it can

get stuck below the pipe or certainly

below the room of that hole so what

we're gonna do is go as far as we can

with that and grab whatever it is that

filled that chamber

suddenly

you guys want that in the bucket or on

the ground the hell was that

while searching for the location of the

original Oak Island money pit the team

has just retrieved another mysterious

metal object from the 155-foot deep

exploration shop known as gal WAN

metal corner plate it looks like

corner plate

that's heavier steel to it

there were odd things coming up the

plate was the whole side that could be

original stuff you know it looked like

hammered metal it didn't look at all

modern and the holes don't look like

they're cut very cleanly they didn't

have any of sort of modern look to it so

this is getting pretty exciting scene

right there she'll find that seam is the

whole way yeah and right here and then

again you can see it right there yeah

but you're right it does have that

hammered finish to it yeah those

old-timers Craig landed on plate steel

that thick they wouldn't got through it

look at all these marks

it's from the amber drug no I don't

think so

still not sure you know what it is so we

need to get it sent out we need to get

it tested looking for impurities

what's it composed of and all that will

help determine the age of it and then

that'll help us you know start coming up

with ideas of what it might be for

it's thicker than the other metal

and he was noticing you can see his seem

like it's pattern-welded stuff

I don't know what that's got to get

tested and I mean look at all these

patterns on

that came up

there's gonna find all kinds stop there

now

that one big thick washer just looked

ancient to me seem to be like hammered

layered metal fits that whole burger

that's the wash

yeah it's worth long why do you need a

washer you're just going into wood

it was strong enough stuff to have been

some sort of casing some sort of chamber

so it could have been almost like a

chest bump a big one covered in metal or

plated with metal and inside it would've

been an ideal way to encase something

for a long long time

what the heck is going on

good Rick Marty and their partners have

finally located the so-called Chappell

vault or perhaps even the money pit

itself some 160 feet deep underground

one thing is certain the metal object

found in gal Wan is proof of man-made

activity and doesn't match the

description of any of the objects known

to be used in previous documented

searches

citizens

we look carefully through each hammer

grip fact we had lots of help from the

crew could there be a coin could there

be that piece of gold that's what we

were looking for every time those guys

treasure hunters you find a coin in your

remodel your bathroom what was

intriguing about it is how invested the

crew was and it's what's happens here on

Oak Island even if you're only somewhat

associated with the search you buy in

and you want to find something

I've got another item for your mystery

bag that would be a nut it just looks

like some real primitive stuff my

goodness we're down 160 feet now it's

very very exciting because there were

odd things coming up and they did look

very old it's just awesome that people

were down there without modern

technology underground working this

doesn't make sense to me more nuts the

georgia dan lagina for at least isn't

disappointing thank you mom and dad

she'll go down and give her a smash

be careful you don't get caught

underneath the

so guys we're past the bottom of the can

down by about a foot and a half I

thought you didn't want to do it don't

it's the top of the jar I don't want to

get lodged underneath the law so we go

another foot or something why am I here

now it's just a matter of the limited I

ever

watch yourself guys

sure

what's a Michelle why not what's picking

up there yeah we're going through sort

of a is there yeah talking to God

while trying to retrieve additional and

potentially valuable artifacts from the

exploration shaft known as gaol one the

three ton hammer grab device has

suddenly become stuck on an object at

the bottom of the hole

we're at 160 feet with a hole right now

just got the hammer caught

on what I don't know that we're gonna

try to get it out right we've reached a

depth where we've found intriguing

objects frustrating thing is the hammer

grab has gone far beyond the bottom of

the casing and in fact Andrews saying

he's a little bit worried that he can

pull it out hey Michelle one more time

but be careful let's just go down and

close the bucket and come up

if the team can't retrieve the hammer

grab tool they will have no choice but

to suspend their search operation at the

money pit

so that's a positive

what do you think we hit there I don't

know I'm hoping there's two different

things there I'm hoping that it's the

corner the Chappell shaft and maybe a

piece of the old vault

the Chappell shaft the original money

pit vault

after 10 long years of planning and

searching a trick Marty and the Oak

Island team finally reached their target

have they found the exact spot where a

mysterious treasure was buried centuries

ago

with possible success just a few feet

away the team must make a difficult

decision if they continue with the

hammer gram device they may lose it in

the hole and even if losing valuable

equipment wasn't a factor protecting the

integrity of the metal object they've

encountered is a key concern

my thought is we're out of the ground

right now with the hammer grab we go

back in we don't know if it's coming out

again

you know walk us in with us as much as

I'd love to go in when we're trying to

come up with a queen or something I

don't think it's worth it

he's well beyond his comfort level you

don't want to write I am concerned the

next one might be the one that gets

stuck or comes up with the bars

I think we may get some answers from

that metal

we have materials to test have materials

to test me we're gonna mark this spot we

can get right back down there how hard

would be if we wanted to reenter that

spot it would go really fast yeah

absolutely well then we can always get

back there

I say we know more about the money pit

than anybody on earth right now we've

found something that probably hasn't

been found before say that let's declare

victory and go home no can we just

declare victory sure Andrew crank the

horses up and let's get out of the hole

here absolutely we're done agreed agreed

agreed

yeah good after the decision has been

made the team will hold off on trying to

retrieve additional artifacts from

Galois at least until they can weigh

their options

so you meant with dr. Lurie regarding

those artifacts we found in gaol one

right we did she came here or she looked

at certain items but she wanted to take

some more time three days after the team

decided to suspend operations at the

money pit site they have gathered in the

war room to find out if any of the

objects they've retrieved so far could

reasonably be dated to a period before

1795 the year the original money pit was

first discovered she ready do if we have

a standby so why don't we get her on

television here and see what she has to

say it sounds great

dr. Laurie joining the team once again

this time via video conference is

antiquities expert dr. Laurie Verteron

dr. Laura the last time we spoke you

wanted to take some time to look at

several of the items and we're hoping

that we can get some feedback from you

we'd love to hear what you think how

about the button I'm interested in the

but we don't cool all right this I gotta

see

honest to god the coin out of this

spoils pot I don't know if it's a coin

or a bowl

is it possible just plated hell would

that mean it says play and it's a book

the button that was found in the money

pit says plated on it and the word

plated is very clear and plated buttons

like those used to have the word guilt

on them GI LT and guilt actually

indicated that the piece was in fact in

some way gilded similar buttons were

found about 1775 to about 1812 1815 on

military uniforms of the British what's

it doing in the money pit Charles Marty

I have no idea

add that depth could this gold-plated

button be evidence that members of the

British military could have been the

ones behind the Oak Island mystery or

might it simply be an indication that

English officers having learned that a

vast treasure had been buried on the

island lost one of their buttons while

searching for it

it's based on some of the other things

that were in the money pit which also

date to the same origin dr. Lurie gave

an opinion that the button was related

to perhaps British military and you know

that runs through some belief that fred

was onto something that mr. Nolan's

theory of British involvement perhaps

that that's what this Oak Island mystery

is about I mean it certainly lends

credibility to it that was relatively

interesting this is dr. Lori's this what

you're speaking of that's what I'm

speaking of it's a piece that is pretty

fascinating so here's what you have

there

that B's is decorative and if you look

at those hinges

they actually have drill holes there are

several drill holes in it right yeah

they're also used to actually attach the

metal or wooden sides of treasure chests

treasure chests did dr. Laurie just

present the team with further evidence

that the mysterious metal object at the

bottom of gaol one is one of the keys to

solving the Oak Island mystery

the very object that people have been

looking for and dying for for more than

two centuries well well you can envision

that particular piece sort of going

around the side of a treasure chest I

would say that it's much more possible

that that particular piece relates to a

ship I think they were reclaiming pieces

and reusing pieces in the money pit from

ships that's just as exciting if that's

the case I mean it's just as just as

meaningful and what date your best

bracket son date about 1800 a metal

bracket from a ship dating to us early

as 1650 and found in the money pit could

the Oak Island team have finally

discovered solid evidence that the

various legends about a mysterious

treasure being buried on Oak Island are

true

without much more information that's

where we are whether it's from again

that idea of the pirates of the

privateers or the British military I

think we have to do more testing yeah

all we can say dr. Laurie is again our

heartfelt thank you for for contributing

appreciate it have a great day you too

well that's an eye opener you know what

it is it's another typical Island you

know as far as the medals that are

concerned I think we need to further

testing I think these medals needing

undergo a real metallurgical analysis I

couldn't agree more dr. Lori's analysis

is dead-on dead-on stand on she's she

explains why what she's referring to

what her controls are she dates it

within a window that makes sense so I

think wow that's that's impressive

so again sit back calmly and objectively

and review the data ok well season is

coming to an end now we have to figure

out what we do

season is coming to an end

winter is closing in and I think it's

time sure you agree right absolutely

side I guess two things what we

accomplished and where we go from there

you had distinct goals at the beginning

of this year I remember even voiced them

many times it's not about I it's about

we yeah so we had goals basically three

things well we were gonna prove that

there's something in the swamp try to

prove that Smith's Cove was real and

then we do a very large scale they get a

real date for real dig into the money

pit

okay well when you start put an X

through the swamp not yet

no to me that has to be explored further

I'm not too keen on the swamp I mean I

in it I know it's getting to be a big

joke because of my bias against working

and stinky sloppy nasty mud look we

found the spike we found the coin we

found the board from a ship I just think

there's there's things yet to be

discovered in the swamp into that and I

think it remains a viable opportunity if

you will we're gonna go drain the swamp

again next year yes no matter what we're

gonna dig in the swamp you still think

there's something in there I absolutely

believe something like

it's gonna sound corny but the best

place to hide something is in plain

sight

it's a simple brick there's nothing

simple on Oak Island you should realize

that by now the swamp I'm with Greg it's

not done no no okay

I guess we can move on all right Smith's

Cove Smith's Cove did do us good cuz we

found the same manmade strata that other

searchers have recorded when they were

digging up the whole box drain system

the actual flood tunnels going down just

a few weeks ago

while looking for evidence of the

original flood tunnel system at Smith's

Cove the team uncovered three layers of

rounded stones it is interesting the

gradation right you know you got the

smallest rocks at the bottom then bigger

than big great ones that seemed to be

holding it all in place I think humans

built that for what end for what purpose

I don't know

the stones were later determined to be

part of an elaborate man-made irrigation

system known as a French drain wear a

trench would be dug and then filled with

layers of stones in an effort to channel

water to a specific location well I

think that was obvious those rocks were

put there by man I think we found enough

structure out there to indicate that the

Smith's Cove is real that it is some way

to artificially introduced seawater

inland all right well let's let's go on

to the money pit then I think we did

what we set out to do in the money pit

we did dig that we did it not once not

twice not three times like four times

look I think there is something in the

money good do you yes I think there's

concrete information down there that

said the man was down there that wasn't

a searcher Amen I believe that there was

a hell of a lot of work Gunnar

I think we have the that sufficient

proof to substantiate that I believe

they even going all the way back to

although I couldn't work with him with

Fred Nolan's so-called crops there I

believe there's some relevance to it

probably based on everything else yeah

I have a question for you told me in 65

when you read the article you said

there's treasure on Oak Island and I'm

going to be instrumental in finding it

are you still of that mindset I don't go

back on what I said I know I remember

what I said I don't go back on it

some people called me a damn fool yeah

nobody in this group ever did one of the

things is I sit here and listen to this

whole deal we're going through is that I

think this I think we did a damn fine

job this year I really do

we dug those holes in the money pit that

was a technological challenge we got

down we excavated we did it we pulled it

off the question is though is it prudent

to continue well excuse me for

interrupting I respectfully suggest you

take most of the winter to find out

because the conclusion you come to is

going to be a major conclusion you know

that's probably Sejal effort into it

there's no question about yeah we did I

would want to fish in time to analyze

the pros and cons and then come to

logical conclusion to whether you should

continue and if so where I think that's

what you call wisdom right there

I've seen farther because I've stood on

the shoulders of giants right I can't

argue with a single thing he voiced well

I agree completely with Dan's statement

I mean there's a lot of data we just

haven't had time to look at it all and

to process at all and then to take the

emotions out of it I've never been able

to look at Oak Island except from an

emotional standpoint so if I were you

guys I wouldn't but that's me I think

there's something here I can't tell you

why I know it's here but I believe it's

here and I believe it's quite

substantial

now I said in the money Federer's that

somewhere else I don't know but you just

haven't found the right spot

and if you've done a thousand holes here

that we still say we didn't find the

right spot but that's strictly from an

emotional standpoint I'm with Charles

I'm I'm in his bandwagon

I would I would love to keep going I

think there's so much unfinished

business let me give you that back right

absolutely yeah yes yep

look here's what I just heard we're on

this table I heard that we should

declare victory for this season who we

should adjourn for this season and

contemplate what comes next

all in favor say aye motion carries with

another harsh Nova Scotia winter just

weeks away and having stretched this

year's financial resources to the limit

take care have a good trip Ollie buddy

come on Rick Marty and the Oak Island

team have made the difficult but

understandable decision to suspend their

search operations until next summer

nevertheless they will leave confident

that this year's search was by far their

most productive take care partner thank

you to the Oak Island family is now much

larger than it was prior to us arriving

it's been nearly a decade

we still are on this quest together in

addition to the mysterious metal objects

they retrieved from gaol one they made

several more equally important

discoveries you see the features that's

a King George 1700s that changes a lot

this is a treasure room this dream for

in the general area of the suppose it

hatch they heard several compelling new

theories holy smokes

FDR thought they were the lost jewels of

Marie Antoinette and have come with

impossible inches of finding the elusive

money pit these Timbers have played

these part of the original date Rick and

I chased this dream pretty hard and

something we've done together now how

many boys get to enact their childhood

dream searching for pirate treasure

when you look at it in summation the

efforts and the passions and the belief

and the angst and round it all along

we've been good stewards of a great

mystery and it's not a singular pursuit

it's all of us together they Oak Island

family

for now the island secrets remain hidden

safely protected under dozens of feet of

rocks and clay

but it is only a matter of time before

whatever is buried will be exposed and

the truth about Oak Island and its curse

will finally be revealed

next week the Oak Island team travels to

Michigan along with host Matty Blake to

share an exclusive look at what lies

ahead in the math there's a cipher and

that's what the cipher says Wow

join them as they reveal the latest

information we add carbon testing and

expose some shocking new discoveries

system research puts X on the spot

this is it don't miss the exciting

season four wrap up the curse of Oak

Island drilling down

Subtitled by Diego Moraes