The Curse of Oak Island: Drilling Down (2016–…): Season 5, Episode 4 - The Shakespeare Connection - full transcript
Television icon William Shatner explores the possibility that the Oak Island treasure might not be one of gold and jewels, but instead, of priceless paper.
For more than
two and a quarter centuries,
people from all over the world
have tried to solve
the Oak Island treasure mystery
and avoid its infamous curse.
Many are convinced
that the sacred treasures
of the Holy Land
are buried here,
courtesy of
the Knights Templar.
Others think
it's pirate plunder
or the crown jewels worn by
France's Marie Antoinette.
But there's a growing belief
that the treasure
might not be
one of gold and jewels...
...but of priceless paper.
The Curse of Oak Island - Drilling Down
Season 5 - EP 4 - The Shakespeare Connection
Subtitles Diego Moraes / Ewerton Henrique
www.oakisland.tk
What if William Shakespeare
wasn't really "Shakespeare"?
What if the man
who is considered
the greatest playwright
of all time was actually
someone else?
There are many who believe
the proof lies
not somewhere in England
but right here,
at the bottom of a swamp
on an island in Nova Scotia,
and that it is connected
to one of the greatest
treasure curses of all time:
the curse of Oak Island.
If there was significant
activity on Oak Island
around the mid‐1600s,
and if that activity was
treasure‐related, I would say
it would fit
with the theorists who say
it had something to do
with Shakespeare.
And would I love it to be so?
Yes, I would.
But you have to prove it.
And that's what...
that's what this is all about.
He is considered
one of the greatest writers
who ever lived:
the Bard of Avon.
His 37 plays, along with
hundreds of poems and sonnets,
are considered among
the very best ever written.
Yet, even though William
Shakespeare was a friend
to princes and monarchs,
very little is
actually known about him.
Even stranger is the fact
that even though he is credited
with writing nearly 900,000
words in his lifetime,
not one handwritten poem,
play or sonnet
is known to exist.
But why?
Here was the most prolific,
uh, writer
of the Elizabethan era,
and yet none of his
original manuscripts exist,
whereas other writers
of that period,
you can find their manuscripts
in the museums in England.
So we've got six documents
that have his signature
on them,
four of which we have here
at the National Archives.
And those were
all legal documents.
According to records,
it was here on April 26, 1564,
at the Holy Trinity Church
in Stratford‐upon‐Avon,
that William Shakespeare
was baptized.
Beyond that,
details about his early life
are sketchy at best.
The historical
Shakespeare doesn't match
all the things that Shakespeare
has written about.
Shakespeare did not come
from wealth.
He had no sort of sensibility
about aristocratic life.
There is about a decade
during which we know nothing
about Shakespeare.
Nothing, nothing, nothing.
We know that Shakespeare
left London around 1610
and never wrote again.
It's hard to explain that.
We don't know why.
One fact about
William Shakespeare is known:
he died in his hometown
of Stratford‐upon‐Avon
on April 23, 1616.
But even his will
makes no mention
of any of his writings or
what he wanted done with them.
Shakespeare's will is‐is
so important to us,
um, as‐as scholars
and researchers
into Shakespeare's life.
It shows us
that he has very clear ideas
for what he wants to happen
in the future.
He leaves the bulk of his
estate to his eldest daughter,
Susanna Hall,
and he leaves money to Judith,
who had recently got married.
There's no books,
no mention of his plays.
I mean, you think
if you are the writer of these,
you'd want to pass them on
to somebody for posterity.
But there's none of that.
What struck me
was not just that
there are no books
but there is not
any type of furniture
that would hold books.
No bookcases, no trunks,
anything like that.
So this is not the‐the materials
being left behind by a writer.
Scholars are equally
puzzled by the fact that,
of the playwright's
six authenticated signatures,
William Shakespeare,
one of the most prolific
and presumably best educated
writers of his time,
never signed his name
the same way twice.
It doesn't look like this is
a person who has practiced
as much and as enormously as
Shakespeare would have had to.
The interesting thing
with William Shakespeare's
daughters
is that we have a document
signed by his daughter Judith,
and that is signed with a mar.
So even within one family,
literacy might be different.
If you line up the generations,
what you've got is:
illiterate, illiterate,
the greatest writer
who ever lived,
illiterate, illiterate.
Illiteracy?
In the family
of William Shakespeare,
the greatest poet
and playwright of his time?
Is this possible?
As far as some
Shakespeare scholars
and theorists are concerned,
it is,
if you consider
that Shakespeare
might not have been Shakespeare
after all.
Elizabethan England
has been called
the first effective
police state.
And as a writer,
you are automatically in danger,
because it's against the law to
write about any living person
and put that as a character
on the stage.
So poets had to be
very, very careful
talking about the queen
or anything about the Church.
You have writers
getting called in, jailed,
mutilated and so on.
Ben Jonson was hauled into
prison a number of times,
‐branded.
A writer, name of Stubbs,
wrote a treatise
on how Queen Elizabeth
should not consider marrying
the French prince.
And they chopped his hand off.
Why does Shakespeare
get off the hook?
All of those
sort of political gibes
that he's making
about contemporary society,
he would go to jail.
That's the number one reason
why he can't be...
he just can't be the author.
So it must be somebody else.
Therefore, there's a game
being played with us.
Given the massive portfolio
of Shakespeare's work,
there are those who believe
that one, he didn't write it,
and two,
no single person could have.
But a number of authors
could have written it
under the guidance
of an individual such as
Francis Bacon.
Sir Francis Bacon,
the renowned 17th century
philosopher and scientist.
Could the man credited with
inventing the scientific method
have also invented Shakespear?
There are those who think
Francis Bacon
wrote Shakespeare,
and understandably so,
for Bacon fits the mold.
He was born into wealth.
He was born into royalty.
He went to university
first at Cambridge,
then Queen Elizabeth
sent Bacon over to France
to study law,
because if you wanted
to be a member of the queen's
government in any way,
uh, you had to know the law.
Francis Bacon was
a genius of his time.
He was into mathematics,
geometry,
science, chemistry,
alchemy, astronomy.
He had a real passion
for learning.
He was into
absolutely everything.
He became a cipher expert,
invented ciphers.
He worked
with the French court,
with the English embassy.
So they used his genius
deciphering correspondence
from other countries and so o,
as well as their own spies.
But if Sir Francis Bacon
really did write or commission
the works attributed
to William Shakespeare,
and the man we know
as William Shakespeare
was only a front,
perhaps a theatrical producer
who was used to shield the
true authors from prosecution,
then where is
the physical evidence?
Wouldn't there be
some tangible proof
that such a scheme
actually took place?
According to some Shakespeare
scholars and theorists,
the proof does exist,
in a metal chest
buried deep beneath the swamp
on Oak Island.
And the clues to finding
that evidence can be found
in what is considered one of
the most valuable printed books
of all time:
the first printed edition
of the complete works
of William Shakespeare.
If Shakespeare's plays and poems
had secret authors,
then it stands to reason
that the texts themselves
might contain their own secrets,
codes, ciphers,
riddles and hidden messages
messages that
may also contain the solution
to the Oak Island mystery.
Enter Norwegian musician
and Oak Island theorist
Petter Amundsen.
Hello, Petter.
You are Marty? Yes.
‐Marty. Yes.
In 2013, he travelled
to Oak Island to share
an incredible theory
with owners Rick and Marty
Lagina and their partners.
I'm, uh, so thrilled to be here.
Thank you so much
for letting me
have this opportunity
to present my theory.
We thank you for coming,
and we are eager to hear.
Based on years
of painstaking research
and after scouring every page
of the First Folio,
Petter discovered
a number of curious clues
and ciphers in the printing.
They suggested that
not only did Sir Francis Bacon
commission the printing
of the First Folio
but that
the original manuscripts
are buried on Oak Island.
A treasure map?
Hidden somewhere in the works
of William Shakespeare?
Is such an outlandish theory
even possible?
‐Okay. Okay.
Wow.
‐Well, that's a lot, you know?
Yeah. Yeah.
Petter Amundsen,
my first impression?
He is a guy on a mission.
I think he's passionately
believing his own theory.
But the things I think we can
get out of, uh, Mr. Amundsen
I think any clue
that anybody can bring to us
is valuable.
According to theorists,
one of the clues that Bacon was
if not the author
certainly the publisher
of the First Folio
is that on the two occasions
where the word "Bacon" appears,
it is capitalized both times.
The interesting thing
about the occurrence
of the name "Bacon"
in the plays is that
the first occurrence is in
The Merry Wives of Windsor
on page 53.
So, what's notable about that?
Nothing except that if you go
into King Henry IV,
you find the name "Bacon"
also on page 53.
And you might say,
"Well, that's a coincidence,"
except for the problem
that there's a skip
on the numbering of pages
page 46 to 49.
So, in order to make
that word "Bacon"
end up on page 53,
somebody obviously
consciously had a hand
in making that happen
the way it did.
So, you had numbers connected
to the mentioning of something
that was part of a secret.
It fits in
within that framework,
um, of the nature of ciphers.
According to Petter Amundsen,
another key clue that can be
found in the First Folio
not related to Bacon
but to Oak Island
can be found
in the dedication poem
written by Ben Jonson.
"Sweet Swan of Avon!
"I see thee in the hemisphere
"and made
a constellation there!
"Shine forth,
thou star of poets."
To further prove his point,
Petter drew a direct connection
between the configuration
of stars
in the Cygnus constellation
and the six megalithic boulders
on the island
that treasure hunter Fred Nolan
dubbed "Nolan's Cross."
Nolan's Cross
is a massive structure
on Oak Island,
spanning hundreds of feet
with boulders
up to nine feet high.
All the boulders are the same
except for one.
The one in the middle
is a different type of stone,
and it has engravings on it
that no one's really quite sure
what they represent.
Petter also drew
a compelling connection
between several anomalies
in the First Folio
of Shakespeare's works
and evidence linking Bacon
to the ancient religious order
of the Rosicrucians,
a secret society
that was also an offshoot
of the Knights Templar.
The Rosicrucians were
an early 17th century
mystical order
that was surrounded
and shrouded in secrecy
from the very beginning.
There's evidence that
the Knights Templar
went underground
and emerged again
in another form:
Freemasonry.
And some believe
that the Rosicrucian order
was itself linked
to Freemasonry.
So the one influenced the othr
in‐in a sort of endless circl.
The Knights Templar
and the Rosicrucians
appear to share
some essential qualities.
Both are religious
or spiritual orders.
Both value ritual.
And both use esoteric symbolim
to veil their secrets.
The symbol known as
the Rosicrucian Rosy Cross
is, as its name implies,
a cross with a rose
right in the middle.
It's interesting to note
that Francis Bacon
on his 60th birthday,
the Masons and Rosicrucians
held a dinner party for him
on tables that were T‐shaped,
like a cross,
with flowers in the middle.
How interesting is that?
If Sir Francis Bacon
really did publish
William Shakespeare's works
and then took them
halfway around the world
to a burial site
somewhere here on Oak Island,
where are they?
And are there clues
that can lead us right to them?
There are several theorists
who insist the answer
is a profound...
yes.
If clues in Shakespeare's
First Folio
link the famous playwright
to Sir Francis Bacon
and even Bacon to Oak Island,
is there any proof that Bacon
ever visited the island?
If Oak Island was used
as a repository
or a kind of bank,
Sir Francis Bacon, I think,
would have definitely
been aware of this.
King James I
did hand out land grants
in the New World
to various, uh, favorites,
and Bacon certainly was one.
In 1607, Sir Francis Bacon
had formed the Newfoundland
Colonization Company
with the express intention
of starting
a colony on Conception Bay
just across the strait
from Nova Scotia.
But what if,
as some have claimed,
Bacon used his association
with the Newfoundland Colony
as a cover
for his real mission:
to bury
the Shakespeare manuscripts
in an old Templar
treasure vault on Oak Island,
one that he would have
known about
as a secret member
of the Rosicrucians.
There's this possibility
that Templars are associated
in some way
with the workings on Oak Island.
The Templars were enigmatic
and powerful and influential,
and for them to just disappear,
I think that story
is quite magical.
Whether Oak Island
was the destination
for the Shakespearean
original manuscripts
or other manuscripts
or some sacred treasure
certainly is possible.
I mean,
it was within the mindset
of people like Francis Bacon
to make sure that whenever
this knowledge was brought over,
that it was safely kept
and hidden for future use.
There are some who believe
that some of the best evidence
tying the Shakespeare
manuscripts to Oak Island
can be found by a careful stuy
of one of the Bard's
last credited plays,
The Tempest.
Giving some historical context
to what happens
in the play The Tempest,
uh, which is all,
is all about a shipwreck,
there was
an extraordinary voyage
of the Virginia Company
to the New World
that shipwrecked
that one can see
as being an inspiration.
Now, this was kept a secret
to the general public.
Very few people knew
about this initially
because it was not
to be published.
And Bacon was utterly involved
with that whole
Virginia Company.
So, deeply, deeply involved.
And Bacon was the only one
who could have had the report
to look at it and use it.
So, uh, drawing a connection
between the Shakespeare plays
and something being buried
deep in Oak Island.
In The Tempest,
you have this wonderful
wrap‐up by Prospero
where the whole drama
has come full circle,
as it does in so much
of the Shakespeare plays.
In The Tempest, Prospero says,
"I'll break my staff,
"bury it certain fathoms
in the earth,
"and deeper than
did ever plummet sound
I'll drown my book."
At the end of the‐the play,
he's fulfilled his great purpose
to bring about
a beautiful, glorious ending,
and this is
his book of knowledge.
And you can read into that,
uh, Bacon's idea
of burying his knowledge
somewhere, uh, in the depths,
uh, and water being involved
in the burial
of these this knowledge.
And he says,
"I'll drown my book."
But if references
to numerous clues
in Shakespeare's works
point to Oak Island
as the geographic location
where Bacon hid
the precious manuscripts,
are there similar clues
suggesting exactly where
on the island
these manuscripts
might be found?
‐I brought some props.
‐Good.
According to
theorist Petter Amundsen,
there are.
As referenced
in ancient Hebrew texts,
the Tree of Life
is meant to symbolize
the various aspects
of human existence.
It also figured into
the symbology and iconography
of the Knights Templar.
Using Shakespeare's First Folio
as his guide,
Petter Amundsen
placed the Tree of Life
over Nolan's Cross,
and then deftly traced
connections
in the printed text
to one place in particular
on Oak Island,
the so‐called Mercy point.
Could Mercy point be
the place on Oak Island
where Sir Francis Bacon hid
an incredible treasure,
not one of gold and diamonds
but of precious writings?
Manuscripts that,
when recovered,
will reveal the true identity
of the person or persons
who authored them.
There are many who believe
that not only is such
an incredible theory possible
but that the physical evidence
supporting it
may have already been found.
In 1893,
Oak Island treasure hunter
Frederick Blair formed
the Oak Island
Treasure Company,
convinced that
his drilling equipment
could reach depths
further than anyone else's.
Four years later,
while drilling an exploratory
borehole near the site
of the original Money Pit
treasure shaft,
Frederick Blair's
chief drill operator,
William Chappell, and his crew
experienced one of
the biggest breakthroughs
in the island's history.
When they were drilling down,
they encountered
a cement‐like material.
They theorized that there was
a vault underneath this chamber.
When they drilled
into the vault,
they were able to recover
this small piece of parchment.
One of the participants
noticed this little
it was like a pea‐sized
little round ball.
And he unfurled it
with tweezers.
And it turned out to be
the little piece of parchment
with the inscribed "V‐I" on i.
Of course, this was written
with a quill pen
and Indian ink.
It's typical writing of the day,
beautiful writing.
Ink writing on
a small piece of parchment
and found in
what appeared to be a vault
located some 153 feet deep
underground.
Had William Chappell found
an actual handwritten fragment
from one of the original
Shakespeare manuscripts?
Unfortunately,
the answer to that question
might never be known,
as, shortly after discovering
the mysterious
underground vault,
the wet, porous grounds
around it appeared to cave in,
pulling the structure known
today as the Chappell Vault
deeper and deeper underground.
In 2013, researcher Petter
Amundsen traveled to Oak Island
to test his theory that,
according to clues hidden
in the First Folio
of Shakespeare's works,
the Bard's original
handwritten manuscripts
might be buried there.
If there are documents there,
documents that tell a story,
ancient information,
ancient knowledge,
if there's
say that there's one theory,
and it's but a theory,
that it's the Shakespearean
Folios down there,
all of that is every bit as rich
and wonderful and magical
and amazing
as a chest full of diamonds
and rubies,
to me.
Petter is convinced
that the key
to finding the entrance
to an underground vault lies
in first locating
what he calls the Mercy point,
one of ten locations
on the island
that correspond to each
of the ancient symbols
on what is known
as the Tree of Life
and which, according to Pette,
should be marked on the island
by ten
strategically placed boulders.
Unfortunately, the Mercy point
was not easy to access,
as it was submerged
in some six feet of water
near the eastern edge
of Oak Island's
triangle‐shaped swamp.
We're gonna check out
his Mercy point.
We're gonna check it out
as best we can.
And if we find something,
then you'll see
the excitement level.
Careful.
That did sound hollow.
There.
Keep trying!
Although Petter was unable
to continue his exploration
of the swamp,
he left the island convinced
that his theory was correct.
Could he be right?
Sure, he could be right.
Maybe he is right.
Yeah, as far
as what's in the swamp,
th‐there's
there are some things
that‐that might be in there
that are... beyond belief:
the Ark of the Covenant,
the Holy Grail,
the Shakespearean Folios,
the vault that maybe contains
Rosicrucian documents.
So, it's incredibly exciting,
and there's credible evidence
to indicate
that some of those things
are indeed possible.
But even if Shakespeare's
manuscripts were buried
on Oak Island centuries ago,
wouldn't they be ruined by now?
Not according to
another incredible theory,
which is based on a clue
that can be found
in one of Sir Francis Bacon's
most influential books,
Sylva Sylvarum,
or A Natural History.
Published in 1626,
the same year that Bacon died,
it describes over 1,000
scientific experiments,
including one which
demonstrated that mercury
was the best method
of preserving precious
manuscripts for posterity.
Bacon, besides being, uh,
an essayist, a writer
and so on,
was also a scientist.
And, uh,
one of his experiments was
how to preserve documents
indefinitely.
It was to immerse
these documents,
sheepskin parchment,
whatever they were, in mercury,
and they would last forever.
Parchment preserved in mercury,
capable of surviving
centuries underground?
Does this suggest that
the Shakespeare manuscripts
were locked
in an airtight metal box,
filled with mercury,
and then buried
somewhere on Oak Island?
In 1937,
treasure hunter Gilbert Hedden
found traces of mercury
inside a number
of broken flasks
in what appeared to be
an ancient dumping ground
near the swamp.
It wasn't treasure,
of course,
but, of the many theories and
rumors concerning Oak Island,
the one involving
Sir Francis Bacon
and the lost manuscripts
of William Shakespeare
might very well be true.
Of all
the Oak Island theories,
perhaps the most credible
was offered
by award‐winning journalist
and noted Oak Island historian
Randall Sullivan.
Hello.
How do you do today? Hi.
‐I'm Randall Sullivan.
‐Nice to meet you, Mr. Sullivan.
‐Hi. Charles Barkhouse.
‐Welcome to the South Shore
Genealogical Society.
What can I help you with today?
Do you have any early maps
of‐of Oak Island or that area?
Absolutely.
Having both studied and written
about Oak Island's history and
legends for nearly two decades,
in 2016, Randall made what Rik
and Marty Lagina felt was
an impressive presentation
while researching his book
The Curse of Oak Island.
I was very dismissive
of the Bacon theory,
until I actually started
doing some research.
But why is everybody
so enamored of this guy?
Well, if you, if you ask a‐a...
traditional academic,
his greatest accomplishment
was he founded
the scientific method.
He was the father of empiricism.
But he was also a statesmen,
a philosopher.
But those who were
the true Baconians,
and especially the‐the ones
who followed him
in those days, and now,
is because he was like
a Christ‐like figure.
He was a spiritual master,
who was teaching them all
how you create.
This group of people
that Bacon was a part of
in Elizabethan England
might have been the single most
impressive group of intellects
that were ever assembled
in one place.
They were great mathematicians
and, you know...
poets and statesmen
and all those things,
but for them,
astrology and alchemy
were higher forms of expressin
of human knowledge
and intelligence.
He was a member of the Royal
Society as well, was he not?
‐Founded the Royal Soc...
‐Yeah, yeah, he was essentially
the bedrock
of the Royal Society.
And there was
this almost religious cult
of devotion around him.
Geniuses who were
part of the Royal Society,
who I think could have been
the people who created
the Rosicrucians.
The most mysterious group
probably in human history
is the Rosicrucians, and
if‐if Francis Bacon really was
the leader of the Rosicrucians,
it would explain a lot.
Francis Bacon seemed to be
predicting a world
far in the future,
when technology
and many other things
had advanced to the point
that they could find
whatever it was
he might have concealed,
you know, which wasn't just
the Shakespeare manuscripts.
It was all of the things
that he was writing about.
Bacon's seminal work was
New Atlantis,
which was the description of
a paradise that would be created
in North America.
‐Utopia.
‐A utopia
that would be, finally,
the perfect society.
When you look at the stuff
that Bacon wrote,
one of the sections in
Silva Silvarum is a description
of how to create
a perpetual spring.
And the very first line
of instruction is:
"Dig a pit upon the seashore."
He's saying,
find the high ground
near the seashore to start,
and then,
you know, the system of tunnels.
I mean, it sounds like
he's describing Oak Island.
If I was gonna pursue a theory,
if I was in your place,
I‐I would go with
the Bacon theory and follow it.
When I actually started looking
at what the facts were,
I realized,
man, there's just so much
that seems like it could be
connected to Oak Island.
I just find it hard to believe
that people go
to this much effort to hide
a treasure of gold.
That it‐it had to be something
more valuable than gold.
What's more valuable than gold?
‐Well...
‐It ain't a bunch of books.
Well, you know, I think you
could find people who would say
that Shakespeare's manuscripts
are more
worth a hundred times per ounce
what gold is.
No. I'll sell it to 'em, then,
‐for a hundred times per ounce.
I'll sell it to 'em.
If you, if you actually have
Shakespeare's manuscripts,
I will find the gold and give
you their weight in them.
Okay, a deal has been struck.
Yeah. Ten times. Yep.
The Francis Bacon theory is
the only theory I've heard
that explains everything.
Everything that's been found on
Oak Island, all the anomalies,
all of the, you know,
strange rock formations
and carved rocks
and rock designs
and the triangles everywhere.
Randall's theory
that Bacon did this,
it's surely, uh, intriguing,
surely very interesting.
Uh, Bacon was a savant.
He was the Michelangelo
of his day.
Might he have‐have labored
to‐to conduct this enterprise?
Possibly.
But even an ingenious theory,
well researched,
is no match for actual proof.
If Shakespeare's manuscripts
are buried
somewhere on Oak Island,
wouldn't there be some other
piece of evidence found?
Well, let's get started.
The discovery of a second fragment of parchment, perhaps?
What is this?
What do you think that is, Dan?
Looks like more plastic
to me, but...
No, it's not plastic.
It's almost paper‐like.
It kind of looks like
it could be some old parchment.
In 2017, a shocking
discovery was made
by the Laginas and their team:
pieces of parchment and what
appeared to be bookbinding,
discovered some 160 feet deep,
near the original
Oak Island Money Pit.
Wow, this is cool.
It does look like it's got
some kind of history anyway.
When we found bits of leather
and bookbinding and parchment,
I mean, it has led people
to believe
there could be some, uh,
books of knowledge
or‐or documents down there.
All right, so this is
a little, tiny sample.
I mean, I'm keenly interested in
if this is really
a piece of parchment.
It‐it throws a whole wrinkle
in this search.
So you can see
all of the‐the fibers.
And so, you know,
the question now is:
What are the fibers made of?
So, parchment would have been
animal skin, so collagen fibers.
So, the fact that we see fibers
is encouraging.
Dr. Brosseau's analysis
of that little scrap
that Jack and Dan Henskee found
is very, very exciting to me.
Uh, very interesting.
It looked like a piece
of vellum or parchment,
you know, to the eye.
I didn't expect it
to stand up to, uh,
scientific scrutiny
that it really was.
‐Okay, so...
‐Move on?
This is the piece
of black leather.
‐Wow, this is really interesting.
‐How so?
So it's almost like the leather
and the textile were
bound together for some reason.
Traditionally, one reason
would have been
to create a bookbinding.
Bookbinding.
That's really strange.
Yeah, one of the theories
that's been out there
for a long time is that
it's Shakespeare's manuscripts
that could be buried
at Oak Island.
That's pretty cool.
I don't know,
but what is
bookbinding material doing
at those depths
in the Money Pit?
I mean, I‐I find that to be
more than intriguing,
it's fascinating.
We're looking for clues
in that area
as to what happened here
long ago.
‐So, there are many mysteries here.
‐Yes.
The mystery that intrigues me
is the possibility
that Shakespeare's papers,
if he was written by
Sir Francis Bacon...
Mm‐hmm.
...might reside, might be buried
somewhere here.
What do you think about that
and‐and his papers?
I mean, that's a
that's almost unanswerable.
What you see here a lot
is somebody reaches
a theory with plausibility,
and then everything they find
from then on fits it.
The possibility of such,
I find it elegant and intriguing
and, you know, romantic, right?
It's certainly a puzzle
that continues
in the academic world and
Was Shakespeare Shakespeare?
Was it Sir Francis Bacon
who authored the Folio?
I don't know that.
I've said it around this table
many times, and we each have
articulated why we're here,
why we're interested.
For me, this is every bit
a search for the truth,
no matter where it goes,
as it is a search for treasure.
That's fascinating.
Anybody else with a...
Yeah. Bacon was famous
for experimenting with
preserving documents
with mercury.
And this year,
we found that in the swamp
there's an high content
of mercury.
Not only that but we did pull up
parchment and bookbinding,
which is evidence
that there's something written
down in the ground,
and it was put on parchment,
and they could be
‐the Baconian documents.
‐That's fascinating.
Yeah, well, Jack, they weren't
reading a book at 180 feet
‐in the ground either.
‐ Yeah, exactly.
Parchment's a weird thing
to drop,
and then that's not even
what they were looking for
when they discovered it
the first time.
All inexplicable mysteries.
I take it you had it analyzed
as‐as best you could.
‐Yes. Yeah, it's definitely parchment.
‐And what did you find?
But we don't have evidence,
hard evidence,
of there being treasure.
There just is a bunch of clues
that allude to
of course there's
something there.
You know, you got booby trap
systems that are guarding
bits of parchment
down in the ground?
Why was it booby‐trapped?
Only those worthy would find it.
‐Or entitled.
‐Perhaps.
‐It was meant to be found?
‐ It was meant to be found.
A lot of people come here, uh,
with the intention of finding
something material, right?
I mean, uh, I was drawn here
by gold bars.
‐Agreed. Yeah.
Like David. But, I mean,
the original manuscripts
of Shakespeare th‐that'd do.
That would do, you know.
But if Francis Bacon wrote it
and put it here,
what a fascinating thought
that is.
And it would be really cool
for us to say
we brought home the Bacon.
Are the lost manuscripts
of William Shakespeare,
or those of Sir Francis Bacon,
really hidden somewhere
at the bottom of
the Oak Island swamp?
And if so, could they
be buried alongside
other incredible treasures,
like the fabled
Ark of the Covenant?
Perhaps the Laginas
and their partners
will soon find the answers.
And hopefully they will
also avoid the deadly curse.
The one that has so far
claimed the lives of six men,
and a legend that says
one more will have to die
before the treasure
can be found.
Uh, if you'll excuse me,
I think it's time
to get out of here.
Subtitled by Diego Moraes /Ewerton Henrique
www.oakisland.tk
two and a quarter centuries,
people from all over the world
have tried to solve
the Oak Island treasure mystery
and avoid its infamous curse.
Many are convinced
that the sacred treasures
of the Holy Land
are buried here,
courtesy of
the Knights Templar.
Others think
it's pirate plunder
or the crown jewels worn by
France's Marie Antoinette.
But there's a growing belief
that the treasure
might not be
one of gold and jewels...
...but of priceless paper.
The Curse of Oak Island - Drilling Down
Season 5 - EP 4 - The Shakespeare Connection
Subtitles Diego Moraes / Ewerton Henrique
www.oakisland.tk
What if William Shakespeare
wasn't really "Shakespeare"?
What if the man
who is considered
the greatest playwright
of all time was actually
someone else?
There are many who believe
the proof lies
not somewhere in England
but right here,
at the bottom of a swamp
on an island in Nova Scotia,
and that it is connected
to one of the greatest
treasure curses of all time:
the curse of Oak Island.
If there was significant
activity on Oak Island
around the mid‐1600s,
and if that activity was
treasure‐related, I would say
it would fit
with the theorists who say
it had something to do
with Shakespeare.
And would I love it to be so?
Yes, I would.
But you have to prove it.
And that's what...
that's what this is all about.
He is considered
one of the greatest writers
who ever lived:
the Bard of Avon.
His 37 plays, along with
hundreds of poems and sonnets,
are considered among
the very best ever written.
Yet, even though William
Shakespeare was a friend
to princes and monarchs,
very little is
actually known about him.
Even stranger is the fact
that even though he is credited
with writing nearly 900,000
words in his lifetime,
not one handwritten poem,
play or sonnet
is known to exist.
But why?
Here was the most prolific,
uh, writer
of the Elizabethan era,
and yet none of his
original manuscripts exist,
whereas other writers
of that period,
you can find their manuscripts
in the museums in England.
So we've got six documents
that have his signature
on them,
four of which we have here
at the National Archives.
And those were
all legal documents.
According to records,
it was here on April 26, 1564,
at the Holy Trinity Church
in Stratford‐upon‐Avon,
that William Shakespeare
was baptized.
Beyond that,
details about his early life
are sketchy at best.
The historical
Shakespeare doesn't match
all the things that Shakespeare
has written about.
Shakespeare did not come
from wealth.
He had no sort of sensibility
about aristocratic life.
There is about a decade
during which we know nothing
about Shakespeare.
Nothing, nothing, nothing.
We know that Shakespeare
left London around 1610
and never wrote again.
It's hard to explain that.
We don't know why.
One fact about
William Shakespeare is known:
he died in his hometown
of Stratford‐upon‐Avon
on April 23, 1616.
But even his will
makes no mention
of any of his writings or
what he wanted done with them.
Shakespeare's will is‐is
so important to us,
um, as‐as scholars
and researchers
into Shakespeare's life.
It shows us
that he has very clear ideas
for what he wants to happen
in the future.
He leaves the bulk of his
estate to his eldest daughter,
Susanna Hall,
and he leaves money to Judith,
who had recently got married.
There's no books,
no mention of his plays.
I mean, you think
if you are the writer of these,
you'd want to pass them on
to somebody for posterity.
But there's none of that.
What struck me
was not just that
there are no books
but there is not
any type of furniture
that would hold books.
No bookcases, no trunks,
anything like that.
So this is not the‐the materials
being left behind by a writer.
Scholars are equally
puzzled by the fact that,
of the playwright's
six authenticated signatures,
William Shakespeare,
one of the most prolific
and presumably best educated
writers of his time,
never signed his name
the same way twice.
It doesn't look like this is
a person who has practiced
as much and as enormously as
Shakespeare would have had to.
The interesting thing
with William Shakespeare's
daughters
is that we have a document
signed by his daughter Judith,
and that is signed with a mar.
So even within one family,
literacy might be different.
If you line up the generations,
what you've got is:
illiterate, illiterate,
the greatest writer
who ever lived,
illiterate, illiterate.
Illiteracy?
In the family
of William Shakespeare,
the greatest poet
and playwright of his time?
Is this possible?
As far as some
Shakespeare scholars
and theorists are concerned,
it is,
if you consider
that Shakespeare
might not have been Shakespeare
after all.
Elizabethan England
has been called
the first effective
police state.
And as a writer,
you are automatically in danger,
because it's against the law to
write about any living person
and put that as a character
on the stage.
So poets had to be
very, very careful
talking about the queen
or anything about the Church.
You have writers
getting called in, jailed,
mutilated and so on.
Ben Jonson was hauled into
prison a number of times,
‐branded.
A writer, name of Stubbs,
wrote a treatise
on how Queen Elizabeth
should not consider marrying
the French prince.
And they chopped his hand off.
Why does Shakespeare
get off the hook?
All of those
sort of political gibes
that he's making
about contemporary society,
he would go to jail.
That's the number one reason
why he can't be...
he just can't be the author.
So it must be somebody else.
Therefore, there's a game
being played with us.
Given the massive portfolio
of Shakespeare's work,
there are those who believe
that one, he didn't write it,
and two,
no single person could have.
But a number of authors
could have written it
under the guidance
of an individual such as
Francis Bacon.
Sir Francis Bacon,
the renowned 17th century
philosopher and scientist.
Could the man credited with
inventing the scientific method
have also invented Shakespear?
There are those who think
Francis Bacon
wrote Shakespeare,
and understandably so,
for Bacon fits the mold.
He was born into wealth.
He was born into royalty.
He went to university
first at Cambridge,
then Queen Elizabeth
sent Bacon over to France
to study law,
because if you wanted
to be a member of the queen's
government in any way,
uh, you had to know the law.
Francis Bacon was
a genius of his time.
He was into mathematics,
geometry,
science, chemistry,
alchemy, astronomy.
He had a real passion
for learning.
He was into
absolutely everything.
He became a cipher expert,
invented ciphers.
He worked
with the French court,
with the English embassy.
So they used his genius
deciphering correspondence
from other countries and so o,
as well as their own spies.
But if Sir Francis Bacon
really did write or commission
the works attributed
to William Shakespeare,
and the man we know
as William Shakespeare
was only a front,
perhaps a theatrical producer
who was used to shield the
true authors from prosecution,
then where is
the physical evidence?
Wouldn't there be
some tangible proof
that such a scheme
actually took place?
According to some Shakespeare
scholars and theorists,
the proof does exist,
in a metal chest
buried deep beneath the swamp
on Oak Island.
And the clues to finding
that evidence can be found
in what is considered one of
the most valuable printed books
of all time:
the first printed edition
of the complete works
of William Shakespeare.
If Shakespeare's plays and poems
had secret authors,
then it stands to reason
that the texts themselves
might contain their own secrets,
codes, ciphers,
riddles and hidden messages
messages that
may also contain the solution
to the Oak Island mystery.
Enter Norwegian musician
and Oak Island theorist
Petter Amundsen.
Hello, Petter.
You are Marty? Yes.
‐Marty. Yes.
In 2013, he travelled
to Oak Island to share
an incredible theory
with owners Rick and Marty
Lagina and their partners.
I'm, uh, so thrilled to be here.
Thank you so much
for letting me
have this opportunity
to present my theory.
We thank you for coming,
and we are eager to hear.
Based on years
of painstaking research
and after scouring every page
of the First Folio,
Petter discovered
a number of curious clues
and ciphers in the printing.
They suggested that
not only did Sir Francis Bacon
commission the printing
of the First Folio
but that
the original manuscripts
are buried on Oak Island.
A treasure map?
Hidden somewhere in the works
of William Shakespeare?
Is such an outlandish theory
even possible?
‐Okay. Okay.
Wow.
‐Well, that's a lot, you know?
Yeah. Yeah.
Petter Amundsen,
my first impression?
He is a guy on a mission.
I think he's passionately
believing his own theory.
But the things I think we can
get out of, uh, Mr. Amundsen
I think any clue
that anybody can bring to us
is valuable.
According to theorists,
one of the clues that Bacon was
if not the author
certainly the publisher
of the First Folio
is that on the two occasions
where the word "Bacon" appears,
it is capitalized both times.
The interesting thing
about the occurrence
of the name "Bacon"
in the plays is that
the first occurrence is in
The Merry Wives of Windsor
on page 53.
So, what's notable about that?
Nothing except that if you go
into King Henry IV,
you find the name "Bacon"
also on page 53.
And you might say,
"Well, that's a coincidence,"
except for the problem
that there's a skip
on the numbering of pages
page 46 to 49.
So, in order to make
that word "Bacon"
end up on page 53,
somebody obviously
consciously had a hand
in making that happen
the way it did.
So, you had numbers connected
to the mentioning of something
that was part of a secret.
It fits in
within that framework,
um, of the nature of ciphers.
According to Petter Amundsen,
another key clue that can be
found in the First Folio
not related to Bacon
but to Oak Island
can be found
in the dedication poem
written by Ben Jonson.
"Sweet Swan of Avon!
"I see thee in the hemisphere
"and made
a constellation there!
"Shine forth,
thou star of poets."
To further prove his point,
Petter drew a direct connection
between the configuration
of stars
in the Cygnus constellation
and the six megalithic boulders
on the island
that treasure hunter Fred Nolan
dubbed "Nolan's Cross."
Nolan's Cross
is a massive structure
on Oak Island,
spanning hundreds of feet
with boulders
up to nine feet high.
All the boulders are the same
except for one.
The one in the middle
is a different type of stone,
and it has engravings on it
that no one's really quite sure
what they represent.
Petter also drew
a compelling connection
between several anomalies
in the First Folio
of Shakespeare's works
and evidence linking Bacon
to the ancient religious order
of the Rosicrucians,
a secret society
that was also an offshoot
of the Knights Templar.
The Rosicrucians were
an early 17th century
mystical order
that was surrounded
and shrouded in secrecy
from the very beginning.
There's evidence that
the Knights Templar
went underground
and emerged again
in another form:
Freemasonry.
And some believe
that the Rosicrucian order
was itself linked
to Freemasonry.
So the one influenced the othr
in‐in a sort of endless circl.
The Knights Templar
and the Rosicrucians
appear to share
some essential qualities.
Both are religious
or spiritual orders.
Both value ritual.
And both use esoteric symbolim
to veil their secrets.
The symbol known as
the Rosicrucian Rosy Cross
is, as its name implies,
a cross with a rose
right in the middle.
It's interesting to note
that Francis Bacon
on his 60th birthday,
the Masons and Rosicrucians
held a dinner party for him
on tables that were T‐shaped,
like a cross,
with flowers in the middle.
How interesting is that?
If Sir Francis Bacon
really did publish
William Shakespeare's works
and then took them
halfway around the world
to a burial site
somewhere here on Oak Island,
where are they?
And are there clues
that can lead us right to them?
There are several theorists
who insist the answer
is a profound...
yes.
If clues in Shakespeare's
First Folio
link the famous playwright
to Sir Francis Bacon
and even Bacon to Oak Island,
is there any proof that Bacon
ever visited the island?
If Oak Island was used
as a repository
or a kind of bank,
Sir Francis Bacon, I think,
would have definitely
been aware of this.
King James I
did hand out land grants
in the New World
to various, uh, favorites,
and Bacon certainly was one.
In 1607, Sir Francis Bacon
had formed the Newfoundland
Colonization Company
with the express intention
of starting
a colony on Conception Bay
just across the strait
from Nova Scotia.
But what if,
as some have claimed,
Bacon used his association
with the Newfoundland Colony
as a cover
for his real mission:
to bury
the Shakespeare manuscripts
in an old Templar
treasure vault on Oak Island,
one that he would have
known about
as a secret member
of the Rosicrucians.
There's this possibility
that Templars are associated
in some way
with the workings on Oak Island.
The Templars were enigmatic
and powerful and influential,
and for them to just disappear,
I think that story
is quite magical.
Whether Oak Island
was the destination
for the Shakespearean
original manuscripts
or other manuscripts
or some sacred treasure
certainly is possible.
I mean,
it was within the mindset
of people like Francis Bacon
to make sure that whenever
this knowledge was brought over,
that it was safely kept
and hidden for future use.
There are some who believe
that some of the best evidence
tying the Shakespeare
manuscripts to Oak Island
can be found by a careful stuy
of one of the Bard's
last credited plays,
The Tempest.
Giving some historical context
to what happens
in the play The Tempest,
uh, which is all,
is all about a shipwreck,
there was
an extraordinary voyage
of the Virginia Company
to the New World
that shipwrecked
that one can see
as being an inspiration.
Now, this was kept a secret
to the general public.
Very few people knew
about this initially
because it was not
to be published.
And Bacon was utterly involved
with that whole
Virginia Company.
So, deeply, deeply involved.
And Bacon was the only one
who could have had the report
to look at it and use it.
So, uh, drawing a connection
between the Shakespeare plays
and something being buried
deep in Oak Island.
In The Tempest,
you have this wonderful
wrap‐up by Prospero
where the whole drama
has come full circle,
as it does in so much
of the Shakespeare plays.
In The Tempest, Prospero says,
"I'll break my staff,
"bury it certain fathoms
in the earth,
"and deeper than
did ever plummet sound
I'll drown my book."
At the end of the‐the play,
he's fulfilled his great purpose
to bring about
a beautiful, glorious ending,
and this is
his book of knowledge.
And you can read into that,
uh, Bacon's idea
of burying his knowledge
somewhere, uh, in the depths,
uh, and water being involved
in the burial
of these this knowledge.
And he says,
"I'll drown my book."
But if references
to numerous clues
in Shakespeare's works
point to Oak Island
as the geographic location
where Bacon hid
the precious manuscripts,
are there similar clues
suggesting exactly where
on the island
these manuscripts
might be found?
‐I brought some props.
‐Good.
According to
theorist Petter Amundsen,
there are.
As referenced
in ancient Hebrew texts,
the Tree of Life
is meant to symbolize
the various aspects
of human existence.
It also figured into
the symbology and iconography
of the Knights Templar.
Using Shakespeare's First Folio
as his guide,
Petter Amundsen
placed the Tree of Life
over Nolan's Cross,
and then deftly traced
connections
in the printed text
to one place in particular
on Oak Island,
the so‐called Mercy point.
Could Mercy point be
the place on Oak Island
where Sir Francis Bacon hid
an incredible treasure,
not one of gold and diamonds
but of precious writings?
Manuscripts that,
when recovered,
will reveal the true identity
of the person or persons
who authored them.
There are many who believe
that not only is such
an incredible theory possible
but that the physical evidence
supporting it
may have already been found.
In 1893,
Oak Island treasure hunter
Frederick Blair formed
the Oak Island
Treasure Company,
convinced that
his drilling equipment
could reach depths
further than anyone else's.
Four years later,
while drilling an exploratory
borehole near the site
of the original Money Pit
treasure shaft,
Frederick Blair's
chief drill operator,
William Chappell, and his crew
experienced one of
the biggest breakthroughs
in the island's history.
When they were drilling down,
they encountered
a cement‐like material.
They theorized that there was
a vault underneath this chamber.
When they drilled
into the vault,
they were able to recover
this small piece of parchment.
One of the participants
noticed this little
it was like a pea‐sized
little round ball.
And he unfurled it
with tweezers.
And it turned out to be
the little piece of parchment
with the inscribed "V‐I" on i.
Of course, this was written
with a quill pen
and Indian ink.
It's typical writing of the day,
beautiful writing.
Ink writing on
a small piece of parchment
and found in
what appeared to be a vault
located some 153 feet deep
underground.
Had William Chappell found
an actual handwritten fragment
from one of the original
Shakespeare manuscripts?
Unfortunately,
the answer to that question
might never be known,
as, shortly after discovering
the mysterious
underground vault,
the wet, porous grounds
around it appeared to cave in,
pulling the structure known
today as the Chappell Vault
deeper and deeper underground.
In 2013, researcher Petter
Amundsen traveled to Oak Island
to test his theory that,
according to clues hidden
in the First Folio
of Shakespeare's works,
the Bard's original
handwritten manuscripts
might be buried there.
If there are documents there,
documents that tell a story,
ancient information,
ancient knowledge,
if there's
say that there's one theory,
and it's but a theory,
that it's the Shakespearean
Folios down there,
all of that is every bit as rich
and wonderful and magical
and amazing
as a chest full of diamonds
and rubies,
to me.
Petter is convinced
that the key
to finding the entrance
to an underground vault lies
in first locating
what he calls the Mercy point,
one of ten locations
on the island
that correspond to each
of the ancient symbols
on what is known
as the Tree of Life
and which, according to Pette,
should be marked on the island
by ten
strategically placed boulders.
Unfortunately, the Mercy point
was not easy to access,
as it was submerged
in some six feet of water
near the eastern edge
of Oak Island's
triangle‐shaped swamp.
We're gonna check out
his Mercy point.
We're gonna check it out
as best we can.
And if we find something,
then you'll see
the excitement level.
Careful.
That did sound hollow.
There.
Keep trying!
Although Petter was unable
to continue his exploration
of the swamp,
he left the island convinced
that his theory was correct.
Could he be right?
Sure, he could be right.
Maybe he is right.
Yeah, as far
as what's in the swamp,
th‐there's
there are some things
that‐that might be in there
that are... beyond belief:
the Ark of the Covenant,
the Holy Grail,
the Shakespearean Folios,
the vault that maybe contains
Rosicrucian documents.
So, it's incredibly exciting,
and there's credible evidence
to indicate
that some of those things
are indeed possible.
But even if Shakespeare's
manuscripts were buried
on Oak Island centuries ago,
wouldn't they be ruined by now?
Not according to
another incredible theory,
which is based on a clue
that can be found
in one of Sir Francis Bacon's
most influential books,
Sylva Sylvarum,
or A Natural History.
Published in 1626,
the same year that Bacon died,
it describes over 1,000
scientific experiments,
including one which
demonstrated that mercury
was the best method
of preserving precious
manuscripts for posterity.
Bacon, besides being, uh,
an essayist, a writer
and so on,
was also a scientist.
And, uh,
one of his experiments was
how to preserve documents
indefinitely.
It was to immerse
these documents,
sheepskin parchment,
whatever they were, in mercury,
and they would last forever.
Parchment preserved in mercury,
capable of surviving
centuries underground?
Does this suggest that
the Shakespeare manuscripts
were locked
in an airtight metal box,
filled with mercury,
and then buried
somewhere on Oak Island?
In 1937,
treasure hunter Gilbert Hedden
found traces of mercury
inside a number
of broken flasks
in what appeared to be
an ancient dumping ground
near the swamp.
It wasn't treasure,
of course,
but, of the many theories and
rumors concerning Oak Island,
the one involving
Sir Francis Bacon
and the lost manuscripts
of William Shakespeare
might very well be true.
Of all
the Oak Island theories,
perhaps the most credible
was offered
by award‐winning journalist
and noted Oak Island historian
Randall Sullivan.
Hello.
How do you do today? Hi.
‐I'm Randall Sullivan.
‐Nice to meet you, Mr. Sullivan.
‐Hi. Charles Barkhouse.
‐Welcome to the South Shore
Genealogical Society.
What can I help you with today?
Do you have any early maps
of‐of Oak Island or that area?
Absolutely.
Having both studied and written
about Oak Island's history and
legends for nearly two decades,
in 2016, Randall made what Rik
and Marty Lagina felt was
an impressive presentation
while researching his book
The Curse of Oak Island.
I was very dismissive
of the Bacon theory,
until I actually started
doing some research.
But why is everybody
so enamored of this guy?
Well, if you, if you ask a‐a...
traditional academic,
his greatest accomplishment
was he founded
the scientific method.
He was the father of empiricism.
But he was also a statesmen,
a philosopher.
But those who were
the true Baconians,
and especially the‐the ones
who followed him
in those days, and now,
is because he was like
a Christ‐like figure.
He was a spiritual master,
who was teaching them all
how you create.
This group of people
that Bacon was a part of
in Elizabethan England
might have been the single most
impressive group of intellects
that were ever assembled
in one place.
They were great mathematicians
and, you know...
poets and statesmen
and all those things,
but for them,
astrology and alchemy
were higher forms of expressin
of human knowledge
and intelligence.
He was a member of the Royal
Society as well, was he not?
‐Founded the Royal Soc...
‐Yeah, yeah, he was essentially
the bedrock
of the Royal Society.
And there was
this almost religious cult
of devotion around him.
Geniuses who were
part of the Royal Society,
who I think could have been
the people who created
the Rosicrucians.
The most mysterious group
probably in human history
is the Rosicrucians, and
if‐if Francis Bacon really was
the leader of the Rosicrucians,
it would explain a lot.
Francis Bacon seemed to be
predicting a world
far in the future,
when technology
and many other things
had advanced to the point
that they could find
whatever it was
he might have concealed,
you know, which wasn't just
the Shakespeare manuscripts.
It was all of the things
that he was writing about.
Bacon's seminal work was
New Atlantis,
which was the description of
a paradise that would be created
in North America.
‐Utopia.
‐A utopia
that would be, finally,
the perfect society.
When you look at the stuff
that Bacon wrote,
one of the sections in
Silva Silvarum is a description
of how to create
a perpetual spring.
And the very first line
of instruction is:
"Dig a pit upon the seashore."
He's saying,
find the high ground
near the seashore to start,
and then,
you know, the system of tunnels.
I mean, it sounds like
he's describing Oak Island.
If I was gonna pursue a theory,
if I was in your place,
I‐I would go with
the Bacon theory and follow it.
When I actually started looking
at what the facts were,
I realized,
man, there's just so much
that seems like it could be
connected to Oak Island.
I just find it hard to believe
that people go
to this much effort to hide
a treasure of gold.
That it‐it had to be something
more valuable than gold.
What's more valuable than gold?
‐Well...
‐It ain't a bunch of books.
Well, you know, I think you
could find people who would say
that Shakespeare's manuscripts
are more
worth a hundred times per ounce
what gold is.
No. I'll sell it to 'em, then,
‐for a hundred times per ounce.
I'll sell it to 'em.
If you, if you actually have
Shakespeare's manuscripts,
I will find the gold and give
you their weight in them.
Okay, a deal has been struck.
Yeah. Ten times. Yep.
The Francis Bacon theory is
the only theory I've heard
that explains everything.
Everything that's been found on
Oak Island, all the anomalies,
all of the, you know,
strange rock formations
and carved rocks
and rock designs
and the triangles everywhere.
Randall's theory
that Bacon did this,
it's surely, uh, intriguing,
surely very interesting.
Uh, Bacon was a savant.
He was the Michelangelo
of his day.
Might he have‐have labored
to‐to conduct this enterprise?
Possibly.
But even an ingenious theory,
well researched,
is no match for actual proof.
If Shakespeare's manuscripts
are buried
somewhere on Oak Island,
wouldn't there be some other
piece of evidence found?
Well, let's get started.
The discovery of a second fragment of parchment, perhaps?
What is this?
What do you think that is, Dan?
Looks like more plastic
to me, but...
No, it's not plastic.
It's almost paper‐like.
It kind of looks like
it could be some old parchment.
In 2017, a shocking
discovery was made
by the Laginas and their team:
pieces of parchment and what
appeared to be bookbinding,
discovered some 160 feet deep,
near the original
Oak Island Money Pit.
Wow, this is cool.
It does look like it's got
some kind of history anyway.
When we found bits of leather
and bookbinding and parchment,
I mean, it has led people
to believe
there could be some, uh,
books of knowledge
or‐or documents down there.
All right, so this is
a little, tiny sample.
I mean, I'm keenly interested in
if this is really
a piece of parchment.
It‐it throws a whole wrinkle
in this search.
So you can see
all of the‐the fibers.
And so, you know,
the question now is:
What are the fibers made of?
So, parchment would have been
animal skin, so collagen fibers.
So, the fact that we see fibers
is encouraging.
Dr. Brosseau's analysis
of that little scrap
that Jack and Dan Henskee found
is very, very exciting to me.
Uh, very interesting.
It looked like a piece
of vellum or parchment,
you know, to the eye.
I didn't expect it
to stand up to, uh,
scientific scrutiny
that it really was.
‐Okay, so...
‐Move on?
This is the piece
of black leather.
‐Wow, this is really interesting.
‐How so?
So it's almost like the leather
and the textile were
bound together for some reason.
Traditionally, one reason
would have been
to create a bookbinding.
Bookbinding.
That's really strange.
Yeah, one of the theories
that's been out there
for a long time is that
it's Shakespeare's manuscripts
that could be buried
at Oak Island.
That's pretty cool.
I don't know,
but what is
bookbinding material doing
at those depths
in the Money Pit?
I mean, I‐I find that to be
more than intriguing,
it's fascinating.
We're looking for clues
in that area
as to what happened here
long ago.
‐So, there are many mysteries here.
‐Yes.
The mystery that intrigues me
is the possibility
that Shakespeare's papers,
if he was written by
Sir Francis Bacon...
Mm‐hmm.
...might reside, might be buried
somewhere here.
What do you think about that
and‐and his papers?
I mean, that's a
that's almost unanswerable.
What you see here a lot
is somebody reaches
a theory with plausibility,
and then everything they find
from then on fits it.
The possibility of such,
I find it elegant and intriguing
and, you know, romantic, right?
It's certainly a puzzle
that continues
in the academic world and
Was Shakespeare Shakespeare?
Was it Sir Francis Bacon
who authored the Folio?
I don't know that.
I've said it around this table
many times, and we each have
articulated why we're here,
why we're interested.
For me, this is every bit
a search for the truth,
no matter where it goes,
as it is a search for treasure.
That's fascinating.
Anybody else with a...
Yeah. Bacon was famous
for experimenting with
preserving documents
with mercury.
And this year,
we found that in the swamp
there's an high content
of mercury.
Not only that but we did pull up
parchment and bookbinding,
which is evidence
that there's something written
down in the ground,
and it was put on parchment,
and they could be
‐the Baconian documents.
‐That's fascinating.
Yeah, well, Jack, they weren't
reading a book at 180 feet
‐in the ground either.
‐ Yeah, exactly.
Parchment's a weird thing
to drop,
and then that's not even
what they were looking for
when they discovered it
the first time.
All inexplicable mysteries.
I take it you had it analyzed
as‐as best you could.
‐Yes. Yeah, it's definitely parchment.
‐And what did you find?
But we don't have evidence,
hard evidence,
of there being treasure.
There just is a bunch of clues
that allude to
of course there's
something there.
You know, you got booby trap
systems that are guarding
bits of parchment
down in the ground?
Why was it booby‐trapped?
Only those worthy would find it.
‐Or entitled.
‐Perhaps.
‐It was meant to be found?
‐ It was meant to be found.
A lot of people come here, uh,
with the intention of finding
something material, right?
I mean, uh, I was drawn here
by gold bars.
‐Agreed. Yeah.
Like David. But, I mean,
the original manuscripts
of Shakespeare th‐that'd do.
That would do, you know.
But if Francis Bacon wrote it
and put it here,
what a fascinating thought
that is.
And it would be really cool
for us to say
we brought home the Bacon.
Are the lost manuscripts
of William Shakespeare,
or those of Sir Francis Bacon,
really hidden somewhere
at the bottom of
the Oak Island swamp?
And if so, could they
be buried alongside
other incredible treasures,
like the fabled
Ark of the Covenant?
Perhaps the Laginas
and their partners
will soon find the answers.
And hopefully they will
also avoid the deadly curse.
The one that has so far
claimed the lives of six men,
and a legend that says
one more will have to die
before the treasure
can be found.
Uh, if you'll excuse me,
I think it's time
to get out of here.
Subtitled by Diego Moraes /Ewerton Henrique
www.oakisland.tk