The Curse of Oak Island: Drilling Down (2016–…): Season 5, Episode 1 - Finding Answers - full transcript

The Curse of Oak Island,

and I've never been more excited
to cross this causeway.

You know, last season resulted

in some of the most
incredible finds ever made

in the Oak Island team's
efforts to solve

this 224-year treasure mystery.

And now, you are about to get
an exclusive sneak peek

at what this unbelievable
new season has in store.

Get ready.
This is Drilling Down.

Hey, look who's here.

Matty Blake.



Why aren't we digging?
What're we doing sitting around?

-Come on!
Good question.

Let's get out there.

Hey, Marty. Rick.
-Good to see you, man.

Thanks for having me.
Good to see you, my brother.

Well, season seven.
I'm so excited to be back.

I've been looking forward
to this for a long time.

Thank you all
for gathering here.

Let's get right into it.

It struck me as I was
crossing the causeway,

though, um, this is the first
time I've been on the island

-since Dan's funeral.
-Yeah.

Shortly after filming
for season six on

The Curse of Oak Island ended,



we received the sad news

that our good friend
Dan Blankenship

passed away at the age of 95.

You know, here on the island,
Dan was everyone's hero.

All of us, cast and crew,
looked up to him.

We admired his experience,

his vast knowledge,
and his guidance.

After learning about
the treasure mystery in 1965

and becoming convinced
that he would be instrumental

in solving it, Dan Blankenship
spent the rest of his life

working and living
on Oak Island.

Having made
incredible discoveries,

such as the U-shaped structure
at Smith's Cove,

and digging the awe-inspiring
235-foot-deep shaft

known as 10-X by hand,

Dan's relentless faith
and determination

have built a legacy
that will never be forgotten.

You guys are now working
without Dan Blankenship.

What's that been like so far?

Really sad... to be there.

And, um...

We're gonna miss him.
It's that simple.

We're just plain simple
gonna miss him.

And, on a number of levels,
right?

We always sought his counsel.

Uh, we always wanted
to show him things.

He was sort of the arbiter
of the finds, you know?

I mean, the first thing
we wanted to do is say,

"Let's go show Dan
and see what he thinks."

And we can't do that anymore.

And he's such a tough
son of a gun.

-I mean... he was 95

and everyone was surprised
when he died.

Yeah. That's a good point.

Well, I was hoping
that we would find something

before he died.

We want to get answers for Dan.

I mean, h-he lived his life
he spent his whole life here.

He is the number one researcher,
the number one treasure hunter.

I miss being able
to talk to him.

I miss being able
to show him things,

-and talk about things.
-Wow.

Will he be missed? Absolutely.

I don't think there's a person
sitting around this table

-who won't say that.
-Yeah, absolutely.

I love that. And he did
a great job of being

the, the, you know, kind of,
figurehead lead,

the spokesperson, if you
will, for many, many years.

But we move on,
so let's talk about moving on.

Let's start at Smith's Cove.

Of the numerous
breakthrough discoveries

that Rick, Marty and the team
made during season six,

some of the biggest
were unearthed at Smith's Cove.

These included
a mysterious concrete wall,

the remains of one
of the five stone box drains,

an ancient slipway,

and the same U-shaped structure
first revealed

by Dan Blankenship
back in the early 1970s.

Wait, are those Roman numerals?

For the first time last year,

the fellowship used a
cutting-edge scientific method

known as dendrochronology

to prove that the U-shaped
structure and the slipway

were built more than two
decades before the discovery

of the original Money Pit.

And I think I'm gonna go now

to, uh, Craig and Jack.

Craig, tell me about

your surprise in Smith's Cove
last season,

and some of the findings
and-and where we stand now

heading into season seven.

The big thing
was getting the dating

of the structures around there.

The, uh, slipway
and the U-shaped structure,

you know, going to 1769,
uh, was amazing.

It's before the Money Pit.

So it's huge.

Um, and we need to follow it.

So, uh,
I-I'm looking forward to it.

Even though
it's really good data,

it leaves us wanting
a lot more.

Yeah, Marty, we've said
that pre-1795 date,

I mean, that's-that's,
you would say, significant.

Oh, yeah, very significant.

For the longest time, I've said
one of the prevailing theories,

in my mind,
about what happened here,

is... nothing, prior to 1795.

But I can't say that anymore.

Something very substantial...

You can't argue
with a dead tree.

No, not arguing
with a dead tree.

That's a good way
to put it, right?

But along the deal,
what was so significant,

obviously, that's number one,
but number two,

and I think-I think Gary
will back me up on this,

is what we didn't find.

I mean, you can't imagine

a more cleaned up site
than that.

Massive undertaking, right?

Uh, that thing
you saw the U-shape structure.

-Yep.
-It's massive and whatever,

it was just the base
of something much bigger.

Where's all the detritus?

Where's all the workman stuff?

Where's all the stuff
that would fall off a

If you go to any of our sites
here, and metal detect,

-it'll just go off continuously
-Yep.

because men working drop stuff.

So it was like
this was cleaned up.

What might that tell us,
historically? That...

Somebody was doing it secretly.

Somebody didn't want
to leave traces.

I mean, that's what I

-the conclusion I jump to.
-Absolutely.

And not just
a U-shaped structure.

I mean, the slipway, that was
a massive undertaking.

What was it used for?

Loading and unloading stuff.

Where's, where's all the finds?

-Where's the friends
of the cross? Yeah.

That's why I'm excited
about bumping out the wall

because if that stuff wasn't on
the beach, it's in the water.

Whoa. So are we expanding
the Smith's Cove search

-in season seven?
Not answering.

I like that laugh.
I like that laugh.

So, yes, there's a bump-out,
okay?

I would like to see that
at some point.

So to that end,
we're gonna chase

these "discoveries"
in Smith's Cove proper

and we're gonna chase them
into the upland.

We're gonna look for box drains,
we're gonna look

for the supposed tunnels
that are there,

we're gonna do some
investigatory work

in the Cave-In Pit.

The seismic work is gonna
be located down there

to try to "look" underground.

And then, of course, we're gonna
try to find two points.

Two points make a line;
we chase that line

to the Money Pit
and there's our X.

This is exactly what
I was hoping to hear, guys.

But I want to say one other thing.
Yeah, please.

You started with
Dan Blankenship here today.

And we talked
about Smith's Cove,

and we talked
about the bump-out,

and I can't help but remember

Rick brought Dan
down there last year

and we have this massive thing
going in, you know?

And I say, "What do you think,
Dan?" And Dan says,

"Should've been 50 feet over there."
-Should've gone out.

Okay, so let's officially

call it "Dan's Bump-Out."
Right?

-Yes. -'Cause that's where
he wanted it to be.

That's where he wanted it.
I love it.

Let's move from Smith's Cove
to the Money Pit.

Uh, where are we
on the Money Pit?

The giant irony is
we're still looking for it.

The team's quest to locate
the original Money Pit

continued with a number
of incredible finds last year.

Oh, look at that.

Now that's a

Geez, that looks like
a really old pot.

And although they found
more pieces of pottery...

What's that?

Oh! That's leather.

That's definitely leather.

...as well as more
leather bookbinding,

and pieces of ancient paper...

Maybe there was something
written on this piece of paper.

See, I find that
really intriguing because

I can picture that color
being used in really old books.

...the Treasure Shaft

and the legendary
Chappell Vault

has, so far, eluded them.

Well, Dan Henskee imparted
a piece of, uh,

his knowledge about, uh,
the work he

and Dan Blankenship had done
on the island in the past.

And, uh,
that piece of information

has allowed us to reassess

what we know about
the historical data.

And, we believe that that
is going to allow us to

with some great precision

identify the location
of the original Money Pit.

Wow. That's exciting to me.

And that's-that's again,

testament to what you guys
always say:

the information, the
information, the information.

The research, you know,
it really is bearing fruit

and it continues to.

We're not done
till we're done there, right?

That's right.

Okay, I have to bring this up.

At the end of last season,

you guys allowed me to be
with you when you received

-seismic data from the swamp.
-Yep.

Of all the amazing progress

that Rick, Marty
and the team made last season,

one of their biggest clues
and cliff-hangers

was identified
in the mysterious,

triangle-shaped swamp.

After conducting
seismic scanning

-across the entire area,

the fellowship received
an unbelievable report

from representatives
of Eagle Canada.

So this is the object.

What is the size of that?

It's 200 feet long,

and the rear, the south part,

is about 40 feet,
and 25 feet up front.

Would it be S-H-I-P?

When I saw that anomaly,

I know what I thought
it looked like.

You spelled it out,

-I said it.
-Mm-hmm.

And I said, "Dig now."

Where do we stand?

Are we digging now in the swamp?

Oh, the swamp's in play, yeah.

We are exploring?
We're following up on that?

-Okay. -Yes, we are,
and there have been some in

I will only say, there have been
some interesting results

that seem to be propelling us

to conduct some sort of dig.

You know it's special when Marty
wants to go back to the swamp.

I didn't say that.

-We said it for you, Marty.
I did not hear you say that.

I did not say that.

He hasn't said no.

All right, well, here we are,
season seven.

-Let's get out in that field.
Sure.

Cause I want to start seeing
some of the stuff,

and get boots on the ground.

Thank you, guys, for this.

-We like your observations, Matty, so thank you.
-Thank you, Marty.

Well, let's get
out there, then.

All right, let's go look.

Coming up, we're drilling down
to the secrets

that the Laginas are looking
to unearth

in the triangle-shaped swamp.

The Oak Island swamp.

Could it really hold the keys

to solving
the Oak Island mystery?

Here to tell and show me
more about it,

Rick and Marty Lagina,

diver Tony Sampson,
surveyor Steve Guptill

and environmental scientist
Dr. Ian Spooner.

Guys,
thanks for meeting me here.

-You're welcome.
-My favorite place, as you know.

-Yeah, well, is this the year

we're gonna finally get
to the bottom

of Marty's favorite
island swimming hole, the swamp?

Uh, yes.

-Next person?

My first impressions here

are, as we said in the war room

at the end of last season,
um, dig, baby, dig.

I don't see any...
Where's the big dig?

Well, it's covered in swamp.

-Well, yeah.
-Isn't that obvious?

You got here too late.
Yeah.

The-the short answer,
Matty, is, um...

we are only partway through
our exploration

-of what you saw last year.
-Okay.

And the data's not all in.
I mean,

we have been out here
with a barge.

-Okay? I can tell you that.
-Okay.

We are seriously
contemplating a dig.

You're talking about something

perhaps magnitudes bigger
than what we've done

-in Smith's Cove.
-Whew. Okay.

You know, besides the...

S-H-I-P anomaly

from the cliff-hanger
last season,

there were some other areas
of interest,

uh, in that meeting that we had.

Is there anything else that came
from that information

that you guys
have followed up on

that has been of interest?

You can certainly ask,
and the answer is...

that remains to be revealed.

I figured you were
gonna say something like that.

-I tried. -And that's exactly
what you got.

Tony.

You've been in the swamp before.

And you and I have,
uh, sat in your boat

and had a couple soda pops

and talked about how you wanted
to dive again in the swamp.

You were champing at the bit.

It sounds like you have.
I'm hearing rumblings

-about another dive.
That's right, Matty.

And, um, I mean,
every time we get in the swamp,

we find something exciting.

And what we found this time

is-is these here on the table.

Tony's really downplaying
his role in this.

Um, and we can't tell you
too much because...

because we're not gonna

-tell you too much, okay?
-I get a lot of that, Marty.

But these weren't
just picked up off the bottom.

These actually came up
in cores, okay?

-Ah. -So each one
was ground like that.

And... I'll just say one thing.

You see how they're sitting
there all right, nice and flat?

They all have
one nice flat side.

That's all I'm gonna say.

-I gotcha. Okay.
It's-it's not what you're looking at

-that matters. It's that.
Yes. Yes.

And it's how they were found.
You guys have been

-core drilling out here.
Yes. Yes.

Ah.

Steve, I'd like to go to you
for a minute.

Rick has chronicled,
and we've talked a lot

about what the great Fred Nolan
did out here surveying.

What have you found in your work
out here in the swamp so far?

Well, you know,
Tony and I, Rick and Craig,

I believe, one day were
out here, and Tony was diving.

And what we found in the swamp,

we believe to be a paved area
or rocked area.

-Wow. But it sits
perfectly at sea level.

I don't know
if that means anything,

but when we take,
uh, GPS shots on it,

the sea level's perfectly zero
all the way across.

- Wow.
There is one other thing.

Dr. Spooner is gonna relay

some very interesting
information.

We went and we did

some cores. This is one
of the cores right here.

- Oh, wow. -And the way I try
to explain this to people

is it's the mud in-in this...
in this site.

And some people say
it's just mud,

but to me, it's a book.

And every little layer here
goes-goes back in time.

Okay. - And, uh, we started
to read the story,

-and it's not what we expected.
- Could this book

have been man-written?

-Man-made?
-Oh, largely.

-How about that?
Well, that fits in

-to some theories we've heard.
Yeah.

In 1969,

Oak Island landowner
and treasure hunter Fred Nolan

drained the swamp,

believing it might contain
the ultimate key

to solving
the Oak Island mystery.

Sure enough, he made
astonishing discoveries there,

including the scuppers
and part of the mast

from a large sailing vessel.

This led Fred
to the incredible theory

that Oak Island was actually
once two separate islands

and that the swamp
was artificially created

to hide a ship
and whatever of great value

was contained inside it.

And, you know, Matty,
you mentioned a big dig

here in the swamp, right?
Well, you look about.

You know a little bit
of the history here.

Well, in order
to-to facilitate that,

we would have to have
the cooperation of Tom Nolan,

-Fred's son.
-Sure.

And it turns out, lucky for us
and for our endeavors,

is this year we have...

Working in conjunction with him
in a very cooperative way.

-Oh. And so,
what I would suggest is,

if you so desire,

I think we could take
a little drive up to Tom.

Talk to him.
I think he has some really...

He'll make one, for sure,
one amazing statement

about his beliefs in the swamp.

But there are some other areas
of interest up there,

and I think we can show you some
but not all.

I so desire.

Let's go.

-Let's go.
-Thank you, guys. Awesome stuff.

Okay, thank you.

Yeah, it's funny.
I heard some rumblings

about someone working
with the team this season,

someone that I'd be excited by.

But I got to say,
I was a little surprised

when I heard it was Tom Nolan.

The Nolan name,
just like the Blankenship name,

is associated
with the modern era

-of search, right?
-Right.

And, you know,
with Fred's passing,

I think it...
I think it really...

In one way,
it kind of released Tom,

and in some way,
it made him more interested

and more invested
in the process,

because he-he was well aware.

60 years of his father's life
was spent here.

So, I think

he was released, right?

From the-the responsibilities
that he carried.

And now he's making
his own decisions for himself.

Right.

In the late 1960s,

Fred Nolan worked
for a short period

with fellow treasure hunter
Dan Blankenship

in an effort to unlock
Oak Island's secrets.

However, land disputes
between the two soon erupted

into a bitter feud
that would unfortunately last

for the rest of their lives.

But now it is Rick's hope
that he and Fred's son,

Tom, can work together
to fulfill

both Fred and Dan's dreams

of solving
the Oak Island mystery.

It's pretty symbolic driving
right through those gates

-he built. No chain, no nothing.
-Exactly.

And as we come up on-on the...

on the home, the residence,
we're actually...

Again, I'll be very careful
what I tell you.

I know you want
to know anything,

but we're going to

actually engage with Tom
on a...

a drilling operation.

Drilling
on the Nolan property, huh?

Mm-hmm.

Are you taking me there now?

I am, and you're gonna find
this particular spot...

I bet you'll-you'll know
what it is.

- All right.
I'd be...

-I'd be surprised if you don't.
- All right.

What do you make
of that location?

I think it has something to do

with a very famous,
uh, artifact

found by the man
who owned this property.

Am I right?

-Hey, Tom.
Hey, Rick.

How you doing?
-Good. Yourself?

-Beautiful day.
-Good to see you.

-Hey, Tom. Matty Blake.
-Hey. How are you?

-Hey, Matty. How are you today?
-Thanks for doing this.

-Thanks for meeting with us.
-Oh, no worries.

Letting us on the property
and seeing what you're...

So, you're-you're already
at work. We get here.

What are you...
what are you working on?

Well, we're just trying
to clear this site a bit.

We're gonna, uh,
bring a drill in here.

Do a little
exploratory drilling,

see what just might be
under the center of the cross.

Wow, this is... this is...

And that's
what Rick was alluding to.

He said,
"Do you know what this is?"

I said, "I think it's part
of Nolan's Cross."

This is the center stone,
isn't it?

This is the center stone.
This is a stone

they kind of labeled
the head stone

-because of the shape of the...
-The shape.

As a professional surveyor,

Fred Nolan
spent years searching

the surface of his seven lots
near the center of the island

for clues that he believed
could help solve the mystery.

This led to
his most well-known discovery

in 1981:
five cone-shaped boulders

that formed a perfectly
symmetrical megalithic cross,

measuring
an astonishing 720 feet wide

by 867 feet long.

At the center, he was stunned
to unearth a sixth boulder

carved into the shape
of a human face.

Nolan's Cross
is such a unique...

find on Oak Island, right?

I mean, there's been a lot of
conjecture about what it means.

I know your father
puzzled over it for many years.

What do you think he thought?

Well, I mean, as you know,
he was a surveyor by background.

-Mm-hmm. And, I mean,
whoever did it

obviously had
a surveying background,

too, to-to put
this thing together.

You never thought,
"Aw, Dad, come on.

"You know, Mother Nature
does strange things.

It's just the, you know,
a-a unique alignment."

You never thought that?

Not when the measurements
were so exact.

Hmm. -You know, if you hadn't
shown me the rocks

and said, "Well, you know,
they kind of form a cross,

but, you know, there's quite
a variance in the distances,"

yeah, it could be coincidence.

But for them to be that close?
It-It's...

-When you see it
laid out, it's... Yeah.

When you see it laid out
on paper,

-it's pretty puzzling, you know?
Mm-hmm.

If the cross had anything to do
where the treasure was located

or where
you were supposed to look,

where you were supposed to look
could be defined

-by where the eye was looking.
Ah.

You don't happen to know
the original position,

-do you? -It's sitting very close
to the original position.

- Wow.
-And what's it looking out at?

The swamp.
The swamp. It is.

It's pointing... The face
is pointing right at the swamp.

Isn't that strange?
- Oh, man.

If there's something here,
it's in that swamp.

Well, Tom, it's a new era.

It's a new dawn.
This puzzle's hard enough

without people
working against each other,

so this is
a great new development,

you working actively
with the team.

There's work going on
all around the island,

-as we can hear right behind us.
-Absolutely.

And hopefully the work
that you guys are doing now

will get some answers
in that swamp and here.

-Thank you, Tom.
-Certainly hope so.

When we come back,

I'm heading over
to Smith's Cove,

where an even bigger dig
than last year

is just getting underway.

We're getting closer and closer
to the season seven premiere

of The Curse of Oak Island,
and I'm at Smith's Cove.

It was here last year
that a massive cofferdam

helped this team
make some of the biggest finds

in the history
of the Oak Island treasure hunt.

And now that cofferdam
is even bigger.

Here to tell me
and show me more,

Marty Lagina, Laird Niven

and my mate from another state,
Gary Drayton.

-Thanks for meeting me here.
- You bet.

I'm impressed, Marty,
'cause you talked

about a bump-out
in the war room.

So, I can clearly see

that this part was bumped out,

but how about the rest
of the wall?

Was that also pushed back?

No, just that square.

Just what we're seeing here?

It goes out 50 feet.
- Okay.

And-and talk to me about why
you picked that little area.

It lines up with the slipway
and the U-shaped structure.

-Simple as that. The two...
- Bingo. Yep.

The two main discoveries
last year.

Last season, Rick,
Marty and the team

made some of
the greatest discoveries ever

in the history
of the Oak Island treasure hunt

right here at Smith's Cove.

After constructing
a 525-foot-wide steel cofferdam

that sealed the ocean out
of the entire area,

they unearthed one of
the legendary stone box drains.

Does that alignment
look natural to you, Laird?

No, it actually does look
strange. Yeah.

They also found the U-shaped
structure first revealed

by Dan Blankenship
back in the 1970s,

along with a slipway,
or boat wharf.

That's quite intriguing.

Using dendrochronology testing,

these two wooden structures

were both proven
to be built in 1769,

more than two decades before
the discovery of the Money Pit.

However, the slipway was found
to continue out into the cove,

beyond the cofferdam.

This means that even more clues

that could help solve
the mystery

were possibly further out
than the team could reach.

Marty, what are the hopes
that this expanded bump-out,

as we say,
is gonna produce something?

To put it in perspective,
last year,

we found all kinds of things
we didn't expect.

What we didn't find
are the friends of the cross,

the artifacts,
the detritus from workmen.

And we think that the reason
we didn't find that

is because we didn't
quite go out far enough.

We did not get to the end
of that slipway.

So we're just hoping that
maybe they weren't so careful

when they got out deeper
whoever built this thing

and there may be some clues
out there.

-Is that kind of...
No, absolutely. Yeah.

I mean, I know Gary
and I were both shocked

at how little we found.

Why?
Why is that a surprise, Laird?

Well, I mean,
it would have taken

a-a number of men, uh, s

you know, maybe weeks
to construct that thing.

Things get lost, right?

Things drop off into the water.

Uh, they have to eat and drink.

You know, there should be

-artifacts in there.
-Some clues that they were there.

Absolutely. Yeah.

And we're gonna be
in undisturbed area.

I mean,
everything's gonna be in situ.

We know that this
was churned over in the past.

Now we're getting
onto uncharted water.

Laird, historically,
why is that significant?

Well,
what we're looking at is-is

was actually covered
by, um, Dan's cofferdam.

If there were finger drains
there,

box drains, um,

he could have preserved them.

And what we're hoping for

is to find, you know, remnants

of those under his old cofferdam
or a little beyond.

So the importance of that...

50 extra feet is that that stuff

has just never been searched
before.

That's one of the things,

but it would mean a lot to me

to see
the so-called finger drains

or one of them.

I think there's gonna be some
undiscovered structures here

and undiscovered artifacts
and coins.

Absolutely.
-It's gonna complete

the investigation
of Smith's Cove.

Um, all right, I have
to follow up on some things

from last season here
in Smith's Cove.

Right when you guys
were getting, uh,

into the real nitty-gritty
of what these things were

and finding them,
weather stops you.

Uh, so where do we stand
with, like,

the concrete wall, for example?
Things like that.

Well, the concrete wall,
I don't find significant,

'cause I-I am convinced it's
modern. And so are you, right?

-I think Yeah. It's 1930s.
-Okay.

But what is significant is
that we keep finding structures

that line up towards the shore,

towards the Money Pit,
towards the Cave-In Pit.

We're following
the U-shaped structure

and these other structures,
including the wall,

as they form a line
towards the, uh, Cave-In Pit.

And, in fact,
we drilled a borehole back here.

And let's go look at it.

-Okay. I mean,
even I was a skeptic.

But I had to be impressed
by how centered everything was,

-heading towards the Money Pit.
Yeah. -Wow!

It's hard to get him
to say stuff.

-Yeah. Yeah, you and him.
-(laughing)

Well, you can't argue
with facts, right?

Right.
- I like that.

This is the remains
of the borehole. Um...

I, you know, have to say
this is significant.

I think Laird thinks
it's significant, too,

'cause we're drilling through
absolutely undisturbed soil.

And there's not a lot
We don't think there's a lot

of searcher things
that went on down here.

Why would searchers be doing
anything down here,

except to try and block

-the flood tunnel?
-Right.

And we know they drilled holes.

-We know they dynamited
those holes. -Right.

-Right.
-So, we're drilling along here,

deeper than I thought there
would possibly be anything.

-Okay.
-And, lo and behold

I'm gonna show you something

we encounter... that.

It's a tiny piece
of what we encountered.

Huh.

Wood here.

Well, it's not just wood.

I mean, if it was wood,
that'd be one thing.

But you can tell that has
actual absolutely been shaped.

-That's worked.
-Cut mark there.

No doubt.
-Yeah. We are

a long ways from the Money Pit.

We are a long ways

from where we know
anybody did anything.

And it was at depth.

So this is something brand-new.

I find it very significant.

It's leading us in a direction
that could be very positive,

and it's not something
I anticipated.

I guess I'll leave it at that.

It's typical Oak Island.
It's so cool.

We start here and we move here,

in this seemingly
innocuous hole.

And a piece of wood
is maybe leading us closer

to the Money Pit.

That's exactly right, Matty.

What we're trying to do
is-is get these clues to line up

to-to fine-tune
where the Money Pit is. So

'Cause we're gonna be doing
some digging in the Money Pit.

And, actually,
why don't you head on up there?

Because Rick and a couple
other members of the team

are up there right now.

So follow the clues on up
to the Money Pit.

-All right.
-Cheers.

-Thanks, guys. Laird, thanks.
-Hey, man.

-Gary.
-See you later, mate.

-All right, mate.
-See you.

-See you soon. Thanks, guys.
-Yeah.

Don't move.
Because, when we return,

you're really gonna "dig"

what the guys are doing
at the Money Pit.

More than two centuries ago,

the Oak Island mystery
began right here,

at the mysterious Money Pit.

And with the team continuing
to make incredible finds here,

like leather bookbinding,
parchment,

pottery and even human bones

at depths
of some 200 feet down,

the burning question,
now more than ever,

is what the heck is down there.

Here to help me answer that
are Rick Lagina, Paul Troutman,

Dan Henskee, Scott Barlow,

Steve Guptill
and Billy Gerhardt.

Gentlemen.

-Hey, Matty.
-Matty. -Matty.

Thanks for, uh, meeting me here.

There's a lot of work
going on here.

But... what the heck is this?

Am I looking at
Is this the Money Pit, Rick?

You know, Matty, it's not.

But, you know, when you say the
two words "Money Pit," right,

it's-it's emblematic
of our search on the island.

The story happened about,
you know,

200 feet away from here,

roughly, give or take,

and it continues to puzzle us
as we move forward.

Take a look
at the size of those timbers.

Whoa.

I'm gonna let the guys

who really developed
this theory speak

to what this is
and how impactful it will be

regarding this search.

We're not gonna tell you
everything.

All right.
Give me something.

-This is a huge hole.
-PAUL: In that vein,

without giving too much away,
this is a shaft, Matty,

from the 1800s.

And back then,
the actual Money Pit location

was known at the time.

So, this shaft location

can actually give us
a direction and a bearing

towards the original Money Pit,

which was not lost
during this era.

We have to pay kudos here
to Dan Henskee.

If it wasn't for him talking
to Doug and I last year,

saying, "Wait a minute,
there's a shaft over here

"that you guys
should investigate

that I've marked here.
You should dig it up."

And it has become
a vital piece of evidence.

Doug and I and Scott and Steve
are triangulating coordinates

to the Money Pit
based off of this,

with our old charts
and our old maps.

Basically,
when this shaft was put in,

-they knew where the Money Pit was.
-They knew

-where the Money Pit was.
-And so there was

an exact number,
an exact location,

exact distance
from here to the Money Pit.

So you knew, if you could find
this and unearth it,

-you can then follow that trail.
-PAUL: Absolutely, Matty.

Mm-hmm. Well, there's
a critical piece of information

which we're not gonna relay
to you.

Not only have
do we have to find the shaft,

we have to find a structure
associated with said shaft.

-Okay.
-And until that happens,

that's-that's the critical piece
of information.

Scott, what's it like for you

to-to look at something
like this?

Like, what's going
through your mind?

It-it makes you pause
and realize

how hard these guys worked
to put this down there.

I mean, the work
we went through just to expose

and we have modern equipment

and everything back then
was done by hand.

Just You-you got to have
a lot of respect for these guys.

Billy, I want to follow up
with you,

based on what Scott just said.

I'm looking at some
of these pieces of wood.

They are massive.

And they didn't have one
of these,

-that you run.
-No. No.

What are your thoughts?
How did they do this?

You know, some of those planks
are that wide,

so it goes to a different era
that, you know

The trees probably even came off
the island.

They were huge. They were big.

A lot of the top was lost

through some
of the searcher work.

But, uh, he should've darn well
known where the Money Pit was.

So, you know, that's-that's
our focus, to find.

Steve, how did your technology
come to bear here?

You know, when Dan calculated
this position

and I worked with him
he was within 18 inches.

And, I mean, we all thought
that was fantastic.

And where it comes in for me is
this gives me reference points.

And the more reference points
we get,

the more I can create things
called radiuses and arcs.

Really, we need one,
maybe two more

to intersect what we believe
or what we're looking for

is the original Money Pit.

Well, guys, uh,
you've inspired me.

Your hard work, your science,

your smarts, your know-how,
your research

has inspired me
to get a little dirty here,

so can we get down there, Rick?

-Absolutely.
-All right.

You'll take a shovel as well,

-if you'd be so kind.
-Ooh. Yeah, I would love

-to do some work.
-Okay. Let's go.

How stable is it, Rick?
Do we...

-I-I think it's pretty good,
Matty. I... -Yeah?

It's incredible. I mean,

-they did this with shovels.
-What I want you Exactly.

It's just It's-it's
almost incomprehensible,

-tell you the truth.
-Watch it.

Yeah. Okay, that could be
some quicksand there?

Yep.

But what I want you to see,
really, is

Put your just put your shovel
right there...

and feel how hard that is.

-Oh, my God, that's what they dug through?
-Yes.

-Are you kidding me?
-And-and you remember what Billy said:

every four feet
was a dump truck load.

-How would you like to dig
a dump truck load of that? -That is...

Isn't that amazing?
-That's incredible.

And look at the size
of these things, Rick.

-It's unbelievable.
-Well, here's where

-Now, get up here.
-Okay.

-Look at that one right there.
-Okay.

-This one right here.
-Whoa.

-Look at that.
-Yeah.

I mean, that's what?
That's-that's...

at least a foot and a half,
right?

You know, and you think,
"Okay, it wouldn't be so bad,

"you know,
putting that on your back

and hauling it down here
18 feet."

This went 108 feet down,

with timbers like that.

-108 feet? My God.
-Think about it.

Almost 11 stories.
The next time you're in town,

count up 11 stories.

That'll make it relevant.

If they labored so industriously
and-and refused to quit,

um, surely, we can
we can persevere

in the in the face
of our far lesser,

uh, adversarial conditions
that we face.

That's the thing.
Standing in here,

in this weather,
with these things,

it really makes it

it drives it home,
how hard those guys worked.

-I mean, my God.
-Mm.

Can't thank you enough, Rick.

Brothers for life, man.

Let me dig
before I start crying.

-Go for it.

Don't go anywhere,
because I'm about to see

new evidence the team has found
of just how complex

the Oak Island mystery
really is.

We're counting down
to the season seven premiere

of The Curse of Oak Island,
and right now,

I'm about 20 miles north
of the island

at historic Ross Farm Museum

with some friends
you might recognize.

Blacksmith Carmen Legge,

Marty Lagina,

Gary Drayton and Alex Lagina.

Guys, thanks
for meeting me here.

Thanks for coming, Matty.
We appreciate it.

Well, I understand
we've come here today

because you guys have
a very significant find,

perhaps, that might be
a huge piece of the puzzle.

That's exactly right.

Carmen, if it's okay,
let's step in

-and talk about it.
-Certainly. Come on in.

-All right!
-Welcome.

Oh, how cool.

Unbelievable.

This is like a...

- No, it's not "like."
-...movie set.

- It's the real deal.
-Yeah!

-So cool.
-This is a time machine.

You step back in time.

And your expertise has,

uh, really helped this team out.

You know,
I'm thinking of last season.

Gary, you found
we didn't know what they were

they were cribbing spikes,
correct?

Yeah.
-And then there was also

-that hinge, right, Gary?
-Yeah.

Last season,
after the team uncovered

the amazing 18th century
U-shaped structure

and slipway at Smith's Cove,

Gary Drayton then found
a number of metal artifacts

in the area...

That is a beauty.

That is an oldie.

...that Carmen believed
were even older.

So, these were all found
in Smith's Cove.

How about age on that?

What time period?

-Before 1800.
-Before 1800.

This is all fascinating
and great, but...

you guys told me there was

an actual find that I
might be able to look at today?

Yeah, we do.

Uh, actually,
Gary found it, I believe.

-Yeah.
-Who were you with? Rick?

Uh, yeah,
I was with Rick and Dan

on Lot 21.

I knew this was special
when I picked it up.

I mean, again, we haven't found

anything like this before.

The gizmo we're talking about
is this right here,

and I'll hand it to the expert,

and he can tell you
a little bit about it.

Interesting, huh?

Splitting rocks?

Or, did you hear the other word?

-Tunneling.
-Yeah.

That's what I was gonna s...

The west side of the island
is all hard rock.

And so, you know, this pops up,
and he analyzes it,

and I think to myself:
Geez, I wonder

if we're looking
on the wrong side of...

of the island.

You know, because there are

all kinds of stories
about tunnels and stuff

in bedrock over there.

Absolutely fascinating.

And feel the weight

-of that, Matty.
-May I?

Yes.
-I love holding...

Oh, my God.

Wow, that is really heavy.

Way heavier than I thought.

And not all treasures
are gold and silver.

They come in the form
of that iron.

Well, I'm gonna give this back
to the expert.

And here's the other thing.

How old could that be?

And it could be
even older than that.

It's a... potentially, a really
important piece of the puzzle.

-Really? -But that's... we're stopping
right there, Matty.

-That's all.

Thank you all again
for this incredible sneak peek.

I can't wait
to watch season seven

and find out more
about that object, what it is.

If season seven continues
to trend like this,

the time line moving back,
the excitement level goes up.

I love it. Thanks, guys.

Thank you, Matty.
-Thanks for coming out.

Thank you, Carmen.

Sure.

Coming up I'm getting
one last insider's perspective

from brothers
Rick and Marty Lagina

before the premiere
of season seven begins.

We're just
a few short minutes away

from the season seven premiere

of The Curse of Oak Island.

But first, I want to bring you
the final thoughts

of the two guys
who are leading us all

on this incredible quest...

Rick and Marty Lagina.
Hey, guys.

-Hey, Matty. How are you?
-Hey, Matty.

Fantastic, actually.

This trip has been unbelievable.

You've set me loose
on the island once again.

I can't thank you enough,
and I'm so excited

for what season seven
is gonna bring.

But I want to check in with you
both in a general sense first.

How are you feeling
as we're about to go

into this new season?

Yeah, I'm excited
about the search agenda,

because this year it's much more
technically challenging.

There's a lot more excitement,
I think, for the year.

I think, uh, you know, I wish
I could go into specifics,

-but I can't.
- I don't know, Matty,

a lot of thoughts
are going through my head.

You know that season seven
reverberated in my head,

and I'm thinking to myself:

really, are we still here
seven years out?

Because we've done
a lot of stuff.

-It's more than...
it's more than that. -I know.

Seven years of being filmed,
and-and more of that in search.

And this year we're bringing...

it's all coming together.

I mean, certainly start
with Smith's Cove.

I think we're gonna be done
with Smith's Cove

at the end of this year.

I think we're gonna know
her secrets, I really do.

-Wow. -So we're-we're applying
what needs to be applied there.

We're going full scale.

We're going big.
We're not going home.

Uh, we're gonna get some answers
in Smith's Cove.

This season feels like, to me,

you guys are being very...

smart about
how you're going about it.

You're not just running in
and digging.

-You're taking pieces...
-Is he... is he saying

-as opposed to
the last two seasons?

The last two?
-No.

The last... last six.

"This year you guys
are being smart."

You guys are actually smart
this time.

What I mean is,
you're taking clues...

as you said, Rick,
from even other areas,

and using that to pinpoint X's,
if you will.

Yeah, well, you know,
absolutely, Matty.

We are doing that. But here's
the something that jumps up.

Yes, we... are we zeroing in
on the original Money Pit?

I think we are.
I mean, I thought we were there

two-two years ago,
and I know we're real close.

We got some more stuff this year
that really helps.

That's what he's alluding to,

which is as far
as we're gonna go with that.

Problem is, digging out
the original Money Pit

may not be the thing to do
you know,

this place has question mark
upon question mark.

We could have absolute proof
that, here it is,

X marks the spot,
it's the Money Pit,

and we could dig
a ten-foot can right there

and still miss
whatever was once buried there.

And you believe
the new discoveries this season

are gonna lead you
right to the Money Pit?

That's my hope,
but Marty's absolutely correct.

-It might not be there.
-So we find the Money Pit...

Matters what you believe as to
what originally happened here.

What I'm hoping for is a bit
of luck this year, actually.

I think we've done
everything right.

-Yeah.
-I think we're following this.

We're employing people
and capital properly.

Maybe we get a little bit
of luck this year, Matty.

Maybe I get to put an "X"
through the whole island.

Do you know why? 'Cause the
Brink's trucks are rolling up.

-Yeah, yeah.
-That would nice.

And-and we've done
what needs doing,

-so that's a possibility.
-If it's anyone due

-for some good luck,
it's you two. -Yeah!

You know, I always round back

to the people
that have come before,

and now the-the lions,
the titans are gone.

-Yeah.
-Fred and Dan.

And we still have Dan Henskee,
we still have David.

That's a great point.
That is another huge difference

this season
from other seasons is,

we lost Fred Nolan
the season before;

now we are...
we've lost Dan Blankenship.

It truly is a new era.

-We got Rick Lagina.
-Nah, I'm not...

-No, I-I can't...
-Future lion.

I disagree.

Again, I just... humbled by the
people that have come before us,

and, you know, I think we all...

strive every day
to-to respect what they've done

and try to...
I always round back to the...

August 17 page
of Bobby's journal.

You know, we-we promised Lee
that we would write that,

and we're gonna do everything
we can to fill it in.

You know, I mean,

we have done what needs doing
on this island,

and we will continue to
he's not gonna quit.

Not-not till... not till
we've done what needs doing.

Seven seasons in,

do you guys feel closer,
as close as ever

to that one thing, right now?

As close as ever, 'cause
I was never far removed from it.

I-I... I haven't changed.

I don't think I've changed.

If not come closer,

I've certainly not moved
further away.

The way things
are teed up this year, Matty,

there are lots of places
for a big breakthrough.

Lots of 'em.

Well, you know,
we were at the swamp,

and we saw
what's going on there.

We were at Smith's Cove
as you say, the bump-out

incredible, the potential there.

The Money Pit,
as always, in play,

with new clues
what we saw at Ross Farm.

-Yeah.
-Uh, out of all those areas,

if you each had to pick one,

what's the one
that you're most excited

to really sink your teeth into
in season seven?

We're chasing something that,
unfortunately,

we've not been able
to tell you about,

but I think it would provide
a huge breakthrough.

-Really?
-Something that will give us

a understanding of
the Money Pit area in general

and the story that-that
is associated with it.

Much as it
would mean something to him,

-it would even more to me.
-Really?

Yeah. The bottom line is,
you've seen a lot of stuff

very concretely going on here,
but you haven't seen it all.

There is some other stuff,
and we're very enthusiastic

about finishing it off.

You'll be in the loop.
You'll be...

-you'll be front and center.
-But that does bother me

that there's something
I don't know about.

-But I will live with it
with everybody else. -Matty.

There's more than one thing
you don't know about.

Well, thank you guys so much.

I know that you know
how much this means to me.

And, um,
the fans thank you, too.

Well, there you have it,

straight from the brothers
themselves.

Doesn't get
any better than that.

Except, of course,
for what's coming next.

Get ready.

The season seven premiere
of The Curse of Oak Island

starts right... now!

Subtitled by Diego Moraes
www.oakisland.tk