Original subtitles

Tonight on The Curse of Oak Island.

We got two brooches and two red gemstones.

Yes. That's pretty amazing.

This is not your ordinary gem.

It's super ancient. Now we're cooking. These artifacts are pushing us back

farther in time than I ever thought. There it goes. For the first time in two

and a quarter centuries, we can look underground in the money pit. We can

give you guys some answers.

What are the lighter spots? I would say it's pure gold. Holy shmoly. We have

found our first gold on Oak Island.

there is an island in the north atlantic where people have been looking for an

incredible treasure for more than two hundred years so far they have found a

stone slab with strange symbols carved into it mysterious fragments of human

bone and a lead cross whose origin may stretch back to the days of the knights

templar to date Six men have died trying to solve the mystery.

And, according to legend, one more will have to die before the treasure

can be found.

It is a moment of great excitement on Oak Island, as Rick Lagina and metal

detection expert Gary Drayton head to the home of veteran treasure hunter Dan

Blankenship. You have it. Yeah. With what they believe to be another exciting

discovery. Hey. Hey, guys. Look who's here. They are eager to show him and

Rick's brother Marty an object they recently found on Lot 21.

You guys have the look of somebody who's on a mission.

Yeah, we got a little top pocket find. We do. Yeah.

Gary was metal detecting and he found something he wants to show you.

I'm here.

But we found a nice piece of jewelry.

Wow.

It's a brooch, but it's a fancy brooch.

Definitely a lot of work went into this.

Oh, my gosh.

It's another Bobby Dazzler. Look.

Just moments earlier, while looking for possible metal artifacts on Lot 21, Rick

and Gary made an astonishing discovery.

That's a bloody brooch. Look at that.

For the second time in less than one year, they have located what appears to

be a genuine piece of antique jewelry.

Something that once analyzed might validate numerous legends about a vast

treasure of gold and jewels being buried on the island.

hundreds of years ago.

You can see where the pin was on the back.

I see.

Yeah. Are we looking for gold, silver coins or jewelry?

Jewels. Yes, we are.

Yeah. And we're finding more jewelry.

Yeah, this is pretty amazing.

It's a second gemstone. Yes, second one with a gemstone in it.

Look at this, Rick.

We've got it.

Last year, while exploring near the middle of the island on Lot 8, Rick and

Gary unearthed a jeweled brooch set with a similar red-colored stone.

Look at that.

Oh, man.

A stone that was later determined to be a hand-cut rhodolite garnet, possibly

dating back as early as the 16th century.

That's gorgeous.

It's a brooch, another one. And it's got a bright red jewel on it.

Could be valuable, spendable.

The jewel is much smaller than the find last year. A little bit more intricate

design on the setting.

This is much more well-preserved.

Is it a unique, interesting find? Absolutely.

How old do you think it is?

That wouldn't surprise me if that's 1700s or even older.

Well, they've made jewelry for a long time. Yeah, we know that.

Exactly.

I have visions of like pirates filling the pockets full of jewellery running

across the island dropping this stuff.

It has been well documented that the waters in and around Oak Island were

frequented by a number of Portuguese, Spanish and English pirates dating back

as early as the 16th century.

There was even one pirate, Captain James Anderson, who lived on the island.

after fleeing the United States during the American Revolution.

Was the brooch found by Rick and Gary on Lot 21 dropped there by one of these

visiting buccaneers?

Or could it be one of the jewels that, according to legend, was hidden on Oak

Island by the maid of Queen Marie Antoinette while she was fleeing the

bloody French Revolution?

It's quite an intricate design, though.

Yeah, a lot of work went into this.

In my opinion, what you really want is to get a date on it.

Exactly, yeah.

Exactly. So we got two brooches and two red gemstones.

Let's get this and the other one to an expert and see if they're somehow

related. That would be interesting. Which would mean there could be some

more. Well, get out there and find a whole chest full of that stuff.

I knew you was going to say that. Exactly, I'm consistent.

All right, let's get back to the field then, Gary.

Time to search for more good luck

Later

that same day Members of the Oak Island team continue to oversee progress of an

operation They hope will allow them to actually see what lies hidden deep

beneath the island surface

The process seems quite quick when you have all those guys down there. Yeah, so

we go eight at a time here, so they're going to get going in a couple seconds.

Working with representatives from Eagle Canada, a geophysical exploration

company specializing in cutting-edge technology, Rick, Marty, and their

partners have decided to use a process called seismic scanning to survey the

area known as the Money Pit.

The place.

where 223 years ago, teenager Daniel McGinnis and two of his friends found

what they believed to be the entrance to a mysterious underground treasure vault.

Using explosive charges, each armed with approximately 20 grams of dynamite,

seismic scanning works by setting off a series of relatively minor explosions

into the ground, and which in turn send sound waves deep below the Earth's

surface.

These waves are then measured by geophone receivers up to a depth of 300

feet. The measurements are then processed in such a way as to create a

virtual three-dimensional map of the area underground.

Okay, move up.

So how many have you done already?

We've done 225 so far this morning, so we're averaging just over 100 per hour.

Okay. So we've got a good tempo right now. We're excited.

I mean, this is the first time that anything like this has ever been done on

Oak Island.

All the larger seismic explosions can map areas miles beneath the surface.

The testing being conducted on Oak Island has been calibrated to create a

map of an area some 150 to 200 feet below ground.

If successful, it is the team's hope that the map created will reveal not

only natural voids, but ones that are man-made.

such as secret tunnels and possibly the location of a legendary treasure vault.

If that data can be as good or better as the 2D line test, we'll be in business.

Well, I know I speak for all the guys that we're really looking forward to the

results here. Oh, yeah. And as Dan always said, you can't look underground.

So you guys are giving us that opportunity to look underground now.

Yeah.

Okay, here goes.

As the seismic testing continues at the Money Pit, area archaeologist Laird

Niven makes his way to the Oak Island Visitor Center, where Rick and Marty

Lagina are eager to show him their latest discovery.

Oh, here he is. Hello.

Hey, Laird. How are you guys?

So we've been busy.

okay um lots 21 and 22 have been cleared off so i'm finally able to swing a

detector in there right and we got a nice little tone and this

pops out first in it wow

it's a little pin seen

anything like it

No. We don't get a lot of jewelry.

We don't tend to, no.

We would really like to know. If you've never seen one of those, an example of

that, that's very curious.

No.

It's perhaps significant that Laird says that jewelry is not often found, and

he's here in Nova Scotia in his archaeological dig, so that means

there's something special about this. We're finding things here that he

doesn't normally find.

Yeah, it's pretty cool, isn't it? It is. I mean, any idea?

It is a lighter metal, isn't it? Yeah.

And they gilded the receptacle here.

Gilded? As in gold?

Dating back over 5,000 years to the time of the ancient Egyptians, gilding is a

technique by which thin layers of genuine gold, sometimes called gold

leaf, are applied to an item.

such as an ornate picture frame or a piece of jewelry.

If the brooch discovered on Lot 21 is, in fact, gold, it could be the first

object of jewelry containing this precious metal that Rick and Marty have

discovered in their 12 years spent looking for treasure on Oak Island.

Very interesting.

I would say, holy shmola.

Yeah, it's kind of off the charts for us. You know, it's not, this is

completely unexpected.

Yeah. Would you recommend more testing, finding someone from a religious

artifact background to look at it? Well, yeah, I don't think you can overstudy

it.

Okay. What else?

We need to follow up on the leads regarding looking at both brooches.

Yeah. And I'll try and keep you even busier.

yes just started excellent just getting warmed up all right laird it's going to

be a great summer going to be a great yeah i can't you know i'm looking

forward to it see you later mate thanks for the thanks a lot thanks for all the

help cheers the

next

day after making their exciting discovery on lot 21

Rick Lagina and Gary Drayton welcome representatives from Brycon Construction

and Irving Equipment Limited.

They have come to make the final preparations for what promises to be the

most ambitious and technologically advanced operation ever attempted in the

223-year-long history of the Oak Island Treasure Hunt.

The installation of a 25-foot deep metal cofferdam off the coast of Smith's Cove.

when completed the encircled area will be drained and then excavated in an

effort to find the elusive flood tunnels and perhaps a direct entrance to the oak

island money pit but before construction of the cofferdam can begin a new access

road and platform must be laid out to allow for the massive equipment

including a three hundred ton crane to be transported down to the beach area

that crane is the biggest item that will have to be moved down.

And of course, it will have to track out. So we have to seriously reconfigure

the path from 10X down to Smith's Cove. And by serious, I mean quite serious.

Okay, well, I think everybody knows what we need to do. I think you've all been

communicating. The whole idea is to get

your gear, Irving's gear, down to Smith's Cove and get that sheet pile and

the crane pad in, right? Yep.

And then as far as Brycon is concerned, you know, you're going to be bringing in

a lot of material?

Yeah, we got about 175 loads coming in. Oh.

And then as far as your work, you're going to be starting from somewhere up

in this area, or where are you going to start? We're going to start right up,

right about that grass.

Okay.

So, gentlemen, welcome to Lift Lab. Here we have with us our engineering folks as

well as some of the folks from our pile driving department.

Two weeks ago, Rick, Craig Tester, and Dave Blankenship traveled to the

headquarters of Irving Equipment Limited in St. John, New Brunswick.

There, they were presented with a 3D hologram design for a massive cofferdam.

Look at the amount of earth we have to deal with.

It's intimidating.

yeah it is a big structure once completed a nearly 525 foot wide

watertight steel wall will allow the oak island team to fully drain and excavate

smith's cove this will make it possible for the team to dig up any important

artifacts or evidence of treasure they also hope to locate and shut off the box

drain flood system believed to feed sea water into the money pit

My hope has always been that even though the searchers over two and a quarter

centuries did highly disruptive search agendas in Smith Cove, my hope is that a

small section of the so-called box drains yet survives and I would love to

lay eyes on that.

Once this process gets all done, what's your timing look like?

We're thinking it's probably a week and a half.

Aside from that, I think you guys got your marching orders and anything we can

do, you let us know. Fair enough?

Yep. All right, gentlemen. Good luck.

As the team from Brycon Construction begins work on a new road to Smith's

Cove, Rick, Marty, and members of the Oak Island team gather at the Mug and

Anchor Pub in the nearby town of Mahone Bay.

Hey, guys.

Hey. Hello, Marty.

Started without us, huh? Well,

you know how that goes.

Yeah, I do.

Just talking about my favorite subject, metal detecting.

And what'd you figure out?

That it's been going good.

Yeah.

Can we talk about the brooch?

yeah that took me by surprise i mean but those brooches are a good sign because

if you're looking for treasure on oak island in just going to be coins you

would imagine there'd be a lot of jewelry yeah but what it indicates is

wealth on the island as regards the brooches we are going to calgary

we've located a gemologist someone highly qualified has an incredible

pedigree and then he's an expert in that study of jewelry

and hopefully he can give us some insight, tell you whether or not you're

really onto something.

Okay, so the old guys are off to Calgary for some answers and some revelations.

We're going to find out about the brooches.

The rest of you, carry on, hold on the fort.

To the hunt!

Well,

Dave, what do you think of Calgary, man?

It looks nice so far, what I've seen of it.

having traveled some three thousand miles west of oak island to the city of

calgary in alberta canada brothers rick and marty lagina along with dave

blankenship are heading to the alberta college of art and design to have the

two gemstone brooches each discovered on the western end of the island

professionally examined and compared you know i'm always on about timing things a

timeline i'm hoping charles can render an opinion my hope is that predates a

searcher activity.

Well, let's see what he says. Look, we all agreed it was worth the trip, right,

Dave? Yep. We'll find out how spendable they are.

Of course.

We are going to see a preeminent gemologist. His name is Charles Luton

Brain.

And we're excited to see what he thinks these stones are. Here we go.

Composition, origin, date.

All the things that we're usually looking for in Rick's information hunt

and in the treasure hunt.

Charles, I believe.

I'm Rick. Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you. I'm Marty. Nice to meet you, sir. Hi, Marty. Charles Luton

-Brain is a professional artist, gemologist, and master goldsmith who has

also been an instructor at a number of Canadian universities for more than 30

years. So, you know, we've got these two items that we found on Oak Island, and

we would really like to see what you can tell us about them.

Huh. In preparation for today's visit, the two gemstones have been carefully

removed from their settings so that each can be thoroughly examined.

We have a large red gem.

When it was found, anything I should understand about the context?

As you know, it was found on Oak Island last year. It came out pretty much as

you see it there.

Okay, so I placed the gem into the video microscope.

To make a visual assessment of the stones, Mr. Luton-Brain will use a

variety of tools, including a digital video microscope, which can magnify an

object up to 220 times its original size, as well as make recordings in high

definition.

You can see the facets. They don't meet perfectly.

And so definitely hand cut, not machine cut.

And we do have a lot of surface damage.

We can also see a number of scratches.

They're sharp in nature. They're not blurred and rounded.

Let's try this.

I'm getting a refractive index of over 1.7. Which means?

Ruby's 1.74.

So perhaps we should look at the other microscope.

And there's cracks and grooves, but they're sharp cracks and grooves.

Is that good or bad?

It's good.

Well, if you want it to be a gemstone, it's good.

But I would say, so far, consistent with garnet.

It's a pretty stone.

Good.

We got us a gemstone.

Yes, you do.

The confirmation that the object, discovered last year on Lot 8, is, in

fact, a semi-precious stone garnet, offers exciting news.

It also supports a previous professional evaluation.

that suggested the brooch could be more than 300 years old, long before the

discovery of the money pit in 1795.

Can we take a look then at the other one? This is the most recent find.

Right, so in order to know a bit more about it, what can you tell me about the

location that it was found?

It was almost a peat-like environment, but not wet, not soaked, certainly.

The depths were in the neighborhood of 10 to 12 inches. Okay.

It came out pretty much as you see it there. Let's just see here.

There we go.

The facet junctions, that is the sharp points between the planes, they're quite

worn. That implies a softer material.

There is an inclusion. An inclusion means something inside the stone.

And that would be bubble.

Let's see if I can increase my magnification.

Oh, yes. Oh, yes. The inclusion is made up out of many, many tiny bubbles.

And so I think we're pretty sure this is glass.

I see. That's maybe bad news, though.

When Charles tells us that he believed the stone in the new brooch is glass,

you know, of course, there's an initial...

you know that's not good i wanted it to be a ruby you know we're searching for

treasure here that would have been a you know a precious stone so yeah initial

reaction is disappointment so definitive glass but also definitive handmade

not modern when you say not modern Well, glass gems have been around at least

500 years.

Leaded glass has been used a long time because the light passes through it

well. And again, that's why chandeliers are made out of leaded glass.

What about the red color? Is there anything to make from that? Well, in the

color red...

The formulas for making red glass have been lost and found and lost and found

again several times through history. Lost how?

How would you lose such a thing?

Well, glass people were extremely secretive.

Each family that was working glass would have their own little book of recipes,

sometimes in code.

Secret recipes written in code?

over the years many researchers and historians have theorized that the

people behind the oak island mystery were likely members of an elite secret

society among the most prominent of these organizations is the rosicrucians

a group of sixteenth-century european intellectuals who are believed to have

been led by sir francis bacon and whose symbol was a blood-red or rosy cross

hence the name rosicrucians

could the blood-red stones that were found on oak island be linked in some

way to this secret organization or perhaps to the knights templar a

mediaeval order of warrior monks who wore red crosses and whose traditions

and rituals were later adopted by the secretive fraternity of master builders

known as the freemasons

Secret societies keep their secrets well. That's why they're secret

societies. Might there be a connection or an importance in their initiation

rites or in their emblems or in their symbology? They use the color red

extensively.

Certainly, there's a possible connection.

All right, so perhaps we should look at the other part. Let's look at the

setting itself, if we can pose on you longer.

Oh, yeah.

Okay, it's a brooch. Might as well try our...

digital camera.

The part I'm really interested in is the cord.

That is the wire that surrounds the bezel. The bezel is what holds the stone

in. And so if you look at this cord or wire, you can see that there's a spiral

nature to it.

You can see that there are these diagonal lines on here.

This is not your ordinary old brooch found in the ground.

That is a super ancient way of making wire.

If you look at this wire, you can see that there's a spiral nature to it. Yes.

It's called block twisting, and this is the sign of ancient jewelry.

Interesting.

Dating back to as early as the 22nd century BC, in the period known as the

Bronze Age.

The ancient technique known as block twisting was common in the production of

the gold wire used in making jewelry.

It was accomplished by hammering a metal ingot into a thin rod and twisting it to

form a tight, braid-like wire.

The metal thread would then be rolled between two pieces of hard wood to

create a uniform diameter.

So the fact that it's what appears to be a block twisted wire, this implies age.

Mainly because of that wire. Mainly because of that wire. That wire is

highly unusual.

How old? I mean... 1340 is droplets, so prior to then, the only wires you've got

are made in some manner like this.

Potentially older than 1330.

Yeah.

If Charles Luton Brain's assessment is correct, the brooch is the team's first

artifact that has been authenticated.

as being made as early as the 14th century or even earlier.

This would make it some 300 years older than the 17th century English and

Spanish coins that have been found on Oak Island over the past six years.

I've been completely unwilling to believe that what happened on Oak Island

happened pre-1400s. Completely unwilling to believe it. And now you got this.

It looks like this could be a brooch from the 1300s or before. So with a bit

of a question mark and with a bit of uncertainty, yeah, it opens up all kinds

of avenues and changes potentially my thinking about what happened here.

What about the overall design?

Does that give you any clues at all?

Nothing specific beyond the use of spirals, which many cultures have done.

It places it as kind of crude work.

Countryside work, perhaps.

I would say European, for sure.

So would there be databases for that? A way to proceed with further testing?

The British Gemological Society in London, they might have some databases.

The data's out there somewhere.

It is.

Well, thank you for bringing it. It's been a treat.

It's been interesting for us, too.

Extremely. Well, listen, thank you very much. Thank you very much.

Absolute pleasure.

Absolute pleasure.

On to the next task.

I think this is perfect.

The next day, as Rick Lagina supervises the building of the new road leading to

Smith's Cove.

I'm going to predict that it is pre-1840.

Marty Lagina joins his son Alex and his friend and business partner Craig Tester

as they travel some 50 miles northeast.

to St. Mary's University in the city of Halifax. Thanks, Greg.

They are eager to find out if the antique brooch that was discovered on

Lot 21 is, in fact, harshly made of gold.

Dr. Brousseau, nice to see you, Krista. Welcome down to the microscope lab.

Hi, Sean.

Nice to see you again.

Nice seeing you. Hi, how are you?

We have something here I think you're going to find quite interesting,

actually. A piece of jewelry of some sort.

Dr. Krista Brousseau is an associate professor of chemistry with expertise in

the field of electrochemistry, as well as the study of metals and their

chemical compositions.

Today, she is joined by her colleague, Dr.

Sean Yang.

Very nice.

Pretty, isn't it? Yeah. The brooch was found this year, and we've had it looked

at by a gemologist already, and it did appear that there were places that had

gold. Okay. Where did you guys find this?

Kind of the western end of the island.

It's in really good condition.

Have a look, and we'll see what your machine says.

Using a high-powered scanning electron microscope, Drs. Brousseau and Yeag will

be able to magnify the brooch up to tens of thousands of times its actual size.

They also will be able to examine its chemical composition and determine

whether it's made of gold or any other precious metals.

Now, is there any manganese in what you're seeing there?

No, that's just copper sink, typical brass.

It's good to check because brass can often imitate gold very well. Oh, yeah.

What are the lighter spots? Yeah, what are we seeing that's bright? Is that the

potential gold?

You know, right in the very center.

It could be.

This is right under where the stone was the braids to the naked eye. This is by

far the brightest Okay, well, why don't we do a composition on that right

brightest spot right underneath because that's okay I think we could do that

We'll be able to tell in a minute, okay

Should

be good

So the dark area here is pure copper.

That's interesting.

But the bright area?

Yeah.

Gold? Yeah, gold.

Well, how about that? Gary can go do his gold dance. He found some gold.

You've definitely struck gold.

We struck gold.

Yeah, I guess I'd have to say that's the first piece of verified gold found on

the island. It's a first for us, right? It's a first for us, for sure.

I think this would be considered actual treasure. Yeah. All right. Okay. Yeah.

Well, here's the deal.

We found treasure on Oak Island. Yeah, we did.

And it's woo-hoo, woot-woot.

And we've proven it right here in this lab today.

Excellent. So that's pretty cool.

It's not bad. I mean, yeah. That's a pretty good day.

The brooch that was found this year is motivating and exciting because it's a

real piece of treasure. You just can't deny that.

It's a piece of treasure in an elaborate setting found on Oak Island.

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

There's more that awaits us this year.

Now we need to bring in the mother load. Yeah.

Thank you very much. As always, Sean, a pleasure.

I'm going to think of all kinds of things to put in that machine.

Thanks. Thanks, guys.

Returning to the island later that afternoon,

Marty Lagina calls a meeting in the war room.

He is eager to share the exciting news with his brother Rick and members of

their team.

Guys, I am freshly back from St. Mary's University.

Craig and Alex and I went up there, and I shouldn't be excited about this really

in a sense, but I am because, David, this little gem has

gold on it.

We have found our first gold on Oak Island. I want more gold than that.

Well, come on, man.

Small victories, right?

You know when Dr.

Brousseau put the scanning electron microscope on it and it came up AU, you

know, gold? I think that's pretty cool.

For Rick, Marty, and their team, the discovery of an actual piece of golden

treasure is a momentous development.

in the 223 year history of the oak island treasure hunt it is also a major

step forward in their quest to prove that something of even greater value may

have been buried here centuries ago we had a gemologist look at this in calgary

too and he thought that there's one little style it's called block twist

which is the braided around the gem and he said that went out of fashion as a

method of doing things in the 14th century really yeah so we keep getting

some really odd potential dates now this is not a super quality gem piece in that

it's gold plated but it's gold and it could be very old yeah absolutely

yeah but it occurs to me that old and gold are two good words to use here on

oak island yeah exactly so we have this brooch

which could be a lot older than we ever thought.

We have the lead cross, not mined in North America.

So these artifacts are pushing us back farther in time than I ever thought we

would see here.

You know, Rick, I never thought we'd be finding stuff from the 12 or 1300s.

I can't say that I ever thought that as well, David, but we're finding answers.

Way back.

Way back.

Could both the gold-plated brooch and the one containing the hand-cut garnet?

be somehow connected if so could they've been brought to the island by pirates

sometime in the 18th century or possibly much earlier as far as rick

marty and their partners are concerned as close as they are to getting answers

the 223 year old oak island treasure hunt has only just begun

So, guys, you're off to speed.

You all have all the data. We've discussed where this might lead. I think

we should get back to actual work.

Let's go.

Before another long day of both questions and answers ends on Oak

Island, Rick Lagina and Dan Henske head over to the Money Pit area to check on

the seismic team's progress.

Hey, guys.

Hey, that's a wrap.

Really? Absolutely.

Is that the celebratory?

That was the last one. That was the last one?

It's officially in the book. Where's my last one?

There you go.

I'll take it. I'll take it. Program souvenir. That's fantastic, guys.

You know, look, we really appreciate it. I can't speak highly enough about your

team, yourselves, but here's the key.

When are we going to Calgary?

When are we going to see the data?

Well, we've got to push on it. We're really hoping for a couple weeks.

The news that the seismic team has finished collecting their data

represents an important milestone for Rick Lagina and the Oak Island team.

Once processed, the information collected should produce a comprehensive

three-dimensional map of the area, some 200 feet below the surface.

It should also reveal the presence of possible tunnels and underground

structures, potential hiding places for a legendary treasure.

I can't say thank you enough.

My hope is that, you know, when we do come to Calgary, you guys are going to

be able to put a map down in front of us and say, okay, here's your target,

here's what this is, here's what that is. I certainly think you've got some

more believers here on the island with their time here, and we can give you

guys some answers.

Be careful about your wish that you'll give us all the answers, because we

won't want you back with your geophones, we'll want you back with shovels.

We can do that as well. Alrighty.

That'd be great, guys. Thank you very much.

Let's go, Dan.

Yep.

With the new road to the beach completed, brothers Rick and Marty

Lagina are finally ready to break ground on this summer's most ambitious and most

eagerly anticipated project.

the excavation of Smith's Cove.

Today, the team from Irving Equipment Limited has begun delivering the heavy

machines and equipment that will be needed in order to construct a massive

steel cofferdam.

They're here.

Here we go.

Pretty remarkable, isn't it, David? Yep.

Over the next few days, the team will assemble a 300 ton crane at the money

pit area before it can be staged on the nearby beach where some 2200 tons of

earth have been moved to build a perfectly flat work surface

in a couple days that'll be put together and roughly two

three weeks from now we'll be down at target depth it's cool just think how

long it took your father we didn't have the technology then exactly

Once the crane is in place, construction can finally begin on the nearly 525-foot

-long watertight barrier.

When it is completed, the ocean water will be drained out, and then the entire

area, nearly 12,000 square feet, will be excavated.

This will allow the team to uncover not only important artifacts, such as the

mysterious lead cross discovered at Smith's Cove last year,

but also possible evidence of an ancient flood tunnel system.

Because of the find of the cross, we have to do a very disciplined,

archaeologically driven dig in order to see if there are other similar

artifacts.

We've always thought that there may be a treasure trove of information in Smith's

Cove.

At the end of this exercise, we're going to know more about Smith's Cove than has

ever been known before.

It's a big operation. It's scary in a sense. It's daunting.

And it's exciting.

There's a story here. Yep. And it's constantly unraveling. Yep.

For me, the quest is really to find out what happened here long ago.

And I hope that there's answers down there. I do too.

after a week that saw the discovery of an actual piece of gold jewelry thought

to be nearly seven hundred years old the laginas and their partners are more

confident than ever that their decades of dreaming and years of searching are

finally paying off but as they become the first in a long line of oak island

treasure hunters to actually look beneath the surface what will they find

evidence of a vast network of booby-trapped flood tunnels An enormous

underground vault filled with pirate riches or Templar gold?

Or could they discover secrets so sacred and so forbidden that they have been

fiercely guarded against any who might dare to reveal them?

Next time on The Curse of Oak Island.

We're going to get a look at the seismic results. This is definitely the largest

anomaly. but is a competent structure, whatever it is. Is that consistent with

a chamber?

Yeah, it is.

Now we have a target. So we need to drill it right away, find out what it

is. Wow, look at that.

And this is a lot of wood here.

Maybe it is the old money pit.

Look at this. This is old. We're talking like Templar old.