Original subtitles

Tonight on the Curse of Oak Island.

We're heading to Apple Island. Do you see what I see? Oh my God. We're dead

on. The star map theory could be correct.

Hold the phone, boys. The plot thickens.

The money pit collapsed in 1861, and we're in the debris field.

The stone was used as something in the past, and it has caused certain areas to

wear off completely.

Those are letters that's carved into the stone.

Without a doubt, this is the stone.

Whoa! This definitely isn't on any map. This is an undiscovered structure.

There is an island in the North Atlantic where people have been looking for an

incredible treasure for more than 200 years.

So far, they have found 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 the beginning of an exciting new day on Oak Island.

As brothers Rick and Marty Lagina, along with members of the Oak Island team,

continue their massive excavation of Smith's Cove.

We've got something here, Charles. Huh?

We've got something here. What?

Is that another upright?

Yeah. Is it numbered on this log?

Well, it should be. If that's the case, then there should be a number in here

somewhere. Try in there, Laird. As part of their effort to locate and turn off,

an ancient flood tunnel system believed to channel seawater deep into the money

pit. The team has constructed a 525-foot-long steel cover dam completely

surrounding the cove, allowing for the area to be fully drained and then

excavated to a depth of 10 feet.

That should be the corner of the U-shaped structure right there.

Is that a beam?

Yeah, of some sort.

Last week...

while digging on the northwest side of the cofferdam.

Rick, Marty, and members of the team uncovered a large wooden beam with the

Roman numeral 7 carved into it. There's a notch here, and a line, and a line.

Oh, wow!

A wooden beam, they believe, is a part of the so-called U-shaped structure,

first discovered by Oak Island treasure hunter Dan Blankenship in 1971.

Now it is the team's hope.

that by fully exposing the structure and deciphering its purpose, it may provide

a critical breakthrough in solving a 223-year-old mystery.

Yeah, I got a Roman numeral right here.

What do you got? X-I. I got 11 right here.

So there should be one right in here.

Yep. XII right here. 12. Excellent. Oh, it's a great find. Absolutely.

Hey, Craig, I got XII here.

XI. So this is 11.

That's 12.

And Laird should be on number 10. All right.

It's extremely gratifying that as this U-shaped structure is gradually

uncovered, the things that we know about are showing up. We're finding the Roman

numerals. We're finding the spaced hand cut.

uprights depicted in the old picture. So everything's coming in just right. On

Oak Island, when you can confirm old data, it's a great day. Yep.

It seems to be packed with till, clay-rich till. And it didn't just

happen down around all of these natural beach sands. It was put here. So, again,

part of the structure.

This is really vibrant blue clay. This reminds me of what you see up towards

the money pit.

Anywhere above 50 feet, you can get a very, very blue to purplish clay-rich

till. So maybe they dug it up from the money pit and put it down here? Yes.

Blue clay from the money pit found inside the U-shaped structure?

In 1804, as members of the Onslow Company excavated the original money

pit, they uncovered platforms made of oak logs spaced every 10 feet.

At a depth of 40 feet, they were intrigued to discover a packed layer of

blue clay covering the next oak platform.

Could the presence of blue clay be evidence that the U-shaped structure was

built by the same people involved in the Money Pit's construction centuries ago?

And if so, could it also provide an important clue in determining the

purpose of this mysterious structure?

What looks very clear is that the outside, for sure, of the structure,

what we can examine, that clay was packed against it intentionally.

Looks for all the world like intentional waterproofing to me.

I would concur.

That is a big log.

Continues to go that way.

Yep.

So what Billy needs to do is put it right here and dig that back.

Yeah. And then we'll get a good understanding of how far that goes.

What a structure.

No question about that.

What was it? Or is it?

The whole purpose of this program, if you will, has been to expose the U

-shaped structure.

There's something just significantly strange about it. And so to once and for

all put that to bed, what is this structure? Who built it? For what

purpose? When?

Those are the questions we hope to answer.

You want me to get in there and have a melody check?

Coming down.

Dan, we'll get you the end here in a second. The very end of it.

Coming around, Rick.

I'm not getting any metal.

Nothing? No.

Not even in the loose sandy areas.

I'm not getting any metal whatsoever.

The thing that's curious is why no nails if it was somewhat of a modern

construct? Why no nails? Yeah. Right?

We don't see any evidence of spikes in these timbers.

Obviously, they were notched and timbered and doweled in place.

So that holds great promise for the possibility that this is very old.

Okay, here's the end right here.

Is this the end?

That's the end.

Wait, so have we uncovered all of the U-shaped structure now?

As we know it.

So we don't have an explanation for it.

Well, here's a question. Who first identified the so-called finger drains?

That would be the Truro Company.

In 1850, while searching for the source of the ocean water flooding the money

pit, treasure hunters from the Truro Company discovered five man-made box

drains at Smith's Cove, made using two rows of rock spaced eight inches apart.

And with flat stones on the top, they appeared to converge into a single

tunnel heading directly towards the fabled treasure shaft.

Would they have been within the boundary of this U-shaped structure?

Yes. Okay, well then that makes sense that searchers were trying to dam it up.

Why no record of it?

How do we know that this is searchers?

I mean, it could be original people.

This is probably the base of something, like a cofferdam. And then if they put

it in place, it would have allowed them to build the flood tunnel system.

Yes, correct.

Because the original people would have had some sort of a cofferdam, you know,

to block off the water while they built the booby trap. Would have had to.

No question about that, Jack.

Could the U-shaped structure be the remains of an ancient cofferdam?

one used during the construction of an elaborate flood tunnel system at Smith's

Cove. And if so, could it mean the team is close to discovering the entrance to

the legendary stone box drains?

This is a cofferdam, and it's containing something.

Okay, so this material has to be removed between the arms.

Like the sound of that.

Okay, well, let's get after it and start digging.

Get some results.

One day after exposing the entire U-shaped structure at Smith's Cove,

Marty Lagina meets with archaeologist Laird Niven to continue their

investigation of the unusual wooden formation.

Before

the team

begins excavating inside the U-shaped structure, Marty and Laird would record

its exact size and position in the hopes that this information could offer an

important clue as to who built it and what it was used for.

I don't know what you want archaeologically, but I kind of want

almost projected to projected, the inside-to-inside dimension, because

that's what they were trying to enclose.

Yeah, absolutely.

Whenever you do an experiment like this, something may happen, some data may come

out of it that you weren't even anticipating.

So it's worth doing.

Now we'll do this eastern.

Go all the way to the end of the other one.

Yeah. Okay.

That's good. Just down a little lower.

Perfect. What is it?

65.5.

Well, I'm sure there's some meaning in that.

Yeah.

You've never seen anything like this before, right?

No, it's pretty massive. It's a massive undertaking.

Even if it's searchers, it's a massive undertaking. They must have had to have,

I mean, because we would have been below sea level here at, even at low tide 300

years ago. Yeah.

But how do you start it two feet underwater?

I mean, these things would float.

We have no evidence of anchoring at all. Right.

So they would rely on the weight above.

Yeah. Somehow.

Maybe that is it, because if these were pegged already.

And the pegs go right through. They go right, come out the other side.

Wow.

So, yeah, it's a massive peg.

Yeah.

We've got the U-shaped structure exposed.

Laird wasn't sure what it was.

He'd never seen anything like that before.

It could be archaeologically significant.

All right, what else do you need? Is that it? I think that's it. We should go

start the pump, get to work.

While Marty and Laird begin preparations to dig inside the U-shaped structure,

Rick Lagina, Craig Tester, and members of the Oak Island team gather in the war

room.

Gentlemen, today we welcome Rob and Ryan to the war room.

Joining them are Rob Hyslop and Ryan LaVangie of Asmuth Consulting Limited,

who have come to present their findings on what could be the team's most

important discovery to date.

You know, every time we sit around this table, we're always talking about

interesting subjects, but we have in front of us one of the most mysterious

objects relating to Oak Island. This could be the 90-foot stone.

Yeah.

I think we've got something over here.

Two weeks ago, while exploring the basement underneath a former book

bindery, Jack Begley, Charles Barkhouse, and researcher Doug Kroll...

found a large slab matching the description of one of Oak Island's most

legendary artifacts,

the so-called 90-foot stone.

There's something curved there.

First discovered by members of the Onslow Company in 1804 while excavating

the original money pit to a depth of 90 feet, the unusual olive gray stone was

reported to have been carved with a number of hieroglyphic shapes and

markings, which when later translated were believed to read, 40 feet below, 2

million pounds are buried.

There's several markings on it, but we feel there might be things that are

obscured. Last week, in an effort to reveal any man-made carvings believed to

have been damaged on the artifact surface, the team invited Rob and Ryan

to the Oak Island Research Center, where they conducted a three-dimensional laser

scan of the suspected 90-foot stone.

Rob and Ryan, they've done the scan of the stone and they'll tell us whether or

not there are carvings on here.

So to that end, Rob, enlighten us.

Certainly.

So from our initial analysis, the stone was used as something in the past and it

has caused certain areas to wear off completely.

So traditionally we look at a 3D model from a perspective view.

We're just going to focus on the top view right now. That's where the most

interesting inscriptions are.

So looking at this overview here, we've got this LN, and this has

definitely been carved out.

Now if we rotate it 180 degrees,

now you can see we've got a well-defined

A.

Those are definitely letters inscribed into the stone.

That's interesting because we didn't see any sign of the A.

It is very faint.

So whether or not that's an A from looking at it upside down or an N the

other way around, definitely intentional carving of a letter.

Now, keep in mind Captain Bowden, who was an eyewitness to the stone, one of

the last eyewitnesses, he just did two initials.

According to reports, the 90-foot stone was taken to the city of Halifax in

1865, where it was put on display in the window of the Creighton and Marshalls

bookstore in an attempt to raise capital for the Oak Island treasure hunt.

Upon hearing of the stone's whereabouts in 1909, treasure hunter Captain Henry

L. Bowden visited the store in the hopes that by seeing the stone for himself, he

might be able to find clues missed by previous searchers.

However, he was disappointed to find that the stone had spent years being

used as a surface for cutting and beating leather bookbinding and all that

remained of the stone's legendary inscription were what bowden described

to be two carved initials could the letters the laser scanning has just

revealed be proof that this is the same stone captain bowden saw over a century

ago proof that the Oak Island team has in fact found the 90-foot stone.

And if so, could further scientific testing help reveal what else may have

once been carved on its surface?

So this is what you see and nothing more?

No, we don't see any linear features that would indicate characters other

than those initials.

We've reached the limit of what LIDAR is capable of.

We'll have to look at other methods to bring out more detail.

It has to have an inscription on it to be the original stone. So we're going to

do some more testing to see if it once did.

There's still some more work to be done as far as analysis is concerned. So

there's still some hope and we need to follow that path.

To me, I think this is the stone that Bowdoin saw.

Yeah, without a doubt, this is the stone.

So it's been a very interesting morning. Thanks to Rob and Ryan. Our pleasure.

Thanks for having us. The door is enclosed on a 90-foot stone.

Absolutely. So the hunt continues.

Absolutely.

Maybe take this all the way back to the end.

As Marty Lagina and members of the team continue to dig within the U-shaped

structure at Smith's Cove, Rick Lagina, Dave Blankenship, Charles

Barkhouse, and Doug Kroll head to the Money Pit site.

If this is a tunnel, and we confirm it with today's drilling, the first thing I

want to do is run a tape.

Where's the Money Pit?

They are eager to continue progress of their core drilling operation in search

of a centuries-old searcher tunnel, which they believe will lead them

directly to the original Oak Island treasure shaft.

We do have some data to work with it. We can confirm a tunnel.

We know that shaft six has to be at the end of that tunnel. And then we might be

on to something.

Yeah.

In 1861, a group of treasure hunters attempted to reach the bottom of the

original money pit by digging an adjacent shaft, later known as shaft

six, some 18 feet west.

At a depth of 118 feet, they began to tunnel underneath the pit in the hopes

of circumventing the fabled booby traps, allowing them to retrieve the treasure

from below.

Unfortunately, just inches away from breaching the chamber floor, the tunnel

began flooding with seawater, forcing a halt to their efforts.

Shortly afterward, a series of thunderous crashes were heard

underground, indicating that the wooden beams of Shaft 6 along with the cribbing

inside the money pit had collapsed scattering tons of lumber and possibly

treasure across a deep underwater debris field uh-oh that's wood

that's the edge of your timber four weeks ago while drilling at a

depth of 109 feet the oak island team discovered evidence of wood timbers

which they believed to be part of the shaft 6 tunnel whose location has been

lost for over 100 years.

It is shaft six.

Been long sought.

Since then, the team has drilled two more exploratory boreholes targeting the

shaft in the hopes of pinpointing the tunnel's exact position underground.

There's a piece of wood. We must have clipped the edge, just the edge of a

tunnel. Six. That's it. Six.

Working with the team from Choice Drilling, it is Rick Lagina's hope that

their fourth hole, K5.5, will also intersect the long-lost searcher tunnel,

allowing them to accurately map the direction of the original money pit and

possibly find a massive debris field of treasure.

Morning, guys.

Morning. How are you? Good.

Okay, so where are we? We are at 68 right now.

Just came out of the ground.

Using a process known as sonic drilling, which employs a high-frequency sound to

pulverize through Earth and other obstacles, a specialized coring barrel

will extract samples in intervals of up to 10 feet.

These core samples will then be carefully sifted by hand.

for not only evidence of the tunnel but also any artifacts or possible treasure

they might contain as long as we get into in-situ material before 104 we're a

ways away while drilling continues at the money pit site

jack bagley and metal detection expert gary drayton are meeting with local

diver and boat captain tony sampson at the marina just across the bay from Oak

Island. Hey, Tony.

Hey, how you doing, guys?

Good. Good to see you.

And you, Mike. How you doing? Good, buddy. Good to see you, bro.

Where are we off to, guys?

Well, we have a theorist that came in just recently, and he has a theory that

the stars actually map out on Oak Island, but one of his points lands

directly on Apple Island. Okay.

What we have are all of the stars...

A line onto the island.

Two weeks ago, astrophysicist and aerospace engineer Dr. Travis Taylor

presented the team with an incredible theory.

A theory which shed new light on connections between the Oak Island

mystery and the ancient fraternity of builders known as the Freemasons.

One of the first things that jumped out at me was Hiram Abiff's Freemason

drawing template.

There are actually meanings on this map that are based on astronomy.

After studying the so-called drawing template of Hiram Abiff, who, according

to the teachings of Freemasonry, was the chief architect of King Solomon's

Temple,

Travis observed secret symbols and images representing a hidden star map.

One that he believes actually connects the constellation Taurus to points

across Oak Island, as well as to the neighboring Frog and Apple Islands.

If we follow the right procedure, we might be led to the point on Oak Island

where the actual treasure is.

Using the star map as a guide, Travis led the team to various points on the

island where they identified a number of possible stone markers.

Is that not a giant stone right there? It's amazing that we've run into big

boulders at each point.

Now... After securing permission to visit Apple Island, located just a half

mile east of Oak Island, Jack and Gary are eager to search the two-acre area

for any important markers or clues connected to Travis Taylor's star map.

I'm kind of giddy with anticipation.

I have a good feeling about today.

We're going to find something. Oh, yeah.

And I hope you find something with your detector, too, so that we can get

permission to come back and dig it.

It's going to be interesting to see what kind of targets I get. I just think this

is like a stepping stone to the island.

That's what it looks like for me.

Okay, that looks good, guys. I'll drop anchor here.

All right.

What I really like about Travis's theory is that he has hard targets for us to

explore. And whenever we can take a theory into the field, that's really

good for us.

After you, brother.

Where do you think we should start?

Well, that last time I came up, Gary, the northern side here was the easiest

way. Although Gary, Tony, and Jack are hopeful to make an important discovery,

they are not the first members of the Oak Island team to explore on Apple

Island.

In 1994, Dan Blankenship formed the Mahone Bay Exploration Company and

secured permits to search Apple Island, along with several others.

for any clues that might help him solve the oak island mystery unfortunately

dan's investigations of the islands were inconclusive however he was

not armed with the metal detection equipment that the oak island team has

today all right let me look at the map all right so i have gps pulled up

on my phone in comparison to where travis marked it on his map it should be

that way Yep, let's see if we can prove Travis right.

Yeah, do you see what I see? Oh, my God.

You're looking for boulders.

That's a big boulder.

Oh, no way.

That's a big boulder.

While exploring on Apple Island, located just a half mile off the coast of Oak

Island, Jack Bakley... Gary Drayton and Tony Sampson have just made a

potentially significant discovery.

This is fantastic.

Oh, look at these. We've got more.

I think these two are even bigger than this one. I know. Look at that one

there. So there's three in this area.

Yup. Right in the place where Travis pointed out.

Boulders in nearly the exact spot indicated on Travis Taylor's star map?

Could these boulders contain any important markings or clues that could

help the team solve the Oak Island mystery?

That is impressive.

Yeah. This was probably eroded, this area.

Yep. And these would have been sitting higher. It would have been a group of

big boulders. They could have been sitting just up above us. Yeah. Shall we

go and check those other two out? Yep.

You notice how two of the boulders are white granite and this one's more of a

pink? Sort of a reddy color, isn't he? Yeah.

This whole side's been broken off.

So this was probably bigger at one time. Yeah, there's a chunk missing.

These are massive.

I mean, these are big for Oak Island.

Yeah. I do believe it's possible that Travis Taylor's star map theory could be

correct. The boulders are here.

Apple Island's bearing fruit, forgive the pun.

Travis's theory seems to be working out. Yeah.

Do you want to have a look around or just start detecting?

I'd say go on the interior.

Agreed. Let's go.

Okay. Having confirmed the existence of possible stone markers on Apple Island,

Jack, Gary, and Tony have decided to search the area for any signs of human

activity.

You want to start here?

Yep, I'm going to start detecting.

Fingers crossed.

Because the two-acre island is, and always has been, uninhabited, any

indications of metal that Gary obtains with his detector could mean important

clues or treasure may be buried there.

Let's see if there's any metal on this island.

Unfortunately, since the team's treasure trove license is limited to Oak Island,

they will have to petition the Canadian government before they can dig any

promising targets that they identify today.

What's that? No.

Yeah, right under the tree. It's iron.

How deep?

Five, six inches.

Oh, and it goes over there as well? Yeah, there's more iron here.

Yeah, there's a lot of iron around here. This is the type of stuff you want to be

detecting when you're looking for signs of activity.

And walking around this island, it doesn't look like there's been any

recent human activity.

No, nothing at all.

Oh.

That's a better... That's good.

We're lucky we ain't got a spade with us, because I'd be digging this.

So that's a good.

So a lot of iron.

That was a non-ferrous target, meaning it's not iron.

Could potentially be a coin or an artifact.

That's a good sign with so many targets in the one area.

We need to get permission to dig here.

Yep. Just like on Oak Island, Apple Island has got a lot of targets.

And that's kind of tough on me because I knew I couldn't dig them.

But who knows, maybe in the future we will be allowed back there and dig those

good targets.

Well, that weather's picking up, guys. We better start heading back to the

boat. Okay, let's go.

While Gary, Jack, and Tony return to the mainland, back at the money pit,

Rick Lagina and members of the team continue to monitor the progress of

borehole K5.5.

A hole they hope will encounter the 1861 searcher tunnel, known as Shaft 6,

located at a depth of approximately 118 feet.

98 feet right now, gentlemen.

Yep. 20 feet.

Now let's open it up.

If successful, it should allow the team to pinpoint the original money pit, as

well as the location.

of an enormous underground debris field.

A definite change from the four feet of material here.

There's a noticeable difference.

If you found some wood in this location, I would say definitely we're in a shaft

or a tunnel.

And that is interesting. It's happened at the depths we were hoping to see a

tunnel. Yep.

So I mean, other than having a piece of wood capping it all off.

We're assuming that they timbered the entire roof. They might not have. Maybe

they just put the supports sporadically.

It's not a solid roof.

Although the core sample has not turned up any evidence of wood, finding what

appears to be a highly disturbed layer of soil and material is an indication of

human activity deep underground.

It suggests that the team may now be drilling somewhere in the center of the

shaft six tunnel.

we don't see some hardscape some evidence that you can hold in your hand

i guess we'll call it

hold

the phone boys that looked like wood there now we got wood

but this comes up with all wood it's the long side for a long elusive six right

well here you go

well you got a wood

where are we here so this wood's somewhere between 118 and

124.

You wanted wood? Now we got wood. It's a little bit deeper than what it's

supposed to be, but we got wood.

It's five feet approximately.

Five feet of wood found at the same depth as shaft six and deeper?

Could this would be evidence of the Money Pit's collapse in 1861?

And if so, has the team located not only shaft six, but also a portion of the

suspected debris field?

The Money Pit collapsed in 1861, and a whole bunch of wood sort of went

missing. So one plausible theory is we're seeing that collapse. We're in the

collapse zone.

Are we on the extreme edge of the Money Pit? I don't know, but at some point,

you release the hounds, right? It's time to dig.

I think it strongly advocates for smaller cans at multiple locations.

This is as good as it can get.

Yeah.

Count this as a win today, I think.

As a new day begins on Oak Island, Rick Lagina and members of the team return

to Smith's Cove, where they are carefully monitoring the spoils dredged

up from inside the mysterious U-shaped structure.

This is probably where something the size of the cross would come to here.

Yep. Or a coin.

as each load of excavated earth and material is loaded into the massive wash

plant they are funneled through a metal grate also known as grizzly bars which

filters out larger rocks and other debris the spoils are then deposited

onto two individual shaker decks which separate out any hidden objects by size

literally shaking the soil loose and washing it away using a series of fixed

spray nozzles

The resulting piles will then be carefully searched by hand, as well as

scanned with a metal detector for any important artifacts or possible

treasure.

Randy! Is there a way to turn it down?

What is it, Jerry?

What is it? A lot of spoiled piles that haven't been over yet. I'm going to

check these out.

Yeah, I'll come help you.

All right, if you can help me rake these piles, I'll metal detect them.

And I also want to check where Dave's been dumping all the big boulders. You

never know. Yeah, we can't start up again until these piles are removed from

the area.

Yeah, I'm getting an idea.

All I've found so far is just some modern stuff.

That's a potential.

It's a potential.

Oh, there's a couple targets here. Yeah, that's definitely a target. Let's see

how deep it is.

Only three or four inches.

Should be able to pinpoint it.

Hopefully it's not another piece of slag.

It's probably in your hand. Yeah, that's a good sign.

It's a coin!

Yeah!

Oh, man, it's not old.

Can you see the date on that?

You've got younger eyes.

1963.

1963. But heck of a test.

We knew that if we're going to find some coins, it's going to be in this gravel

pile. The wash plant works. That's awesome, Gary. Yeah, that is a good

test. It really is. So it gets you excited any time you see that coin

shape. Mm-hmm.

Wow. I'm going to see if there's anything older in here.

All right.

While Jack and Gary continue to search through the spoils at the wash plant...

I want to clean this side out a little bit, see if we can pick things up.

Archaeologist Laird Niven, along with geologist Terry Matheson, and heavy

equipment operator Billy Gerhardt, are continuing to excavate the area inside

the so-called U-shaped structure.

A structure they believe could have been built centuries ago.

Whoa! Interesting!

It looks like a post sticking straight up. Yeah, it is.

Clear. Take a quick look.

Billy just clipped what looks like perhaps a post sticking straight up.

It's pretty vertical.

What do you figure?

Actually, that's a third piece of wood. It starts to become kind of an

interesting looking something, more than just a plank or two, maybe a structure.

Flanks of wood buried within the U-shaped structure?

Could they be a previously undiscovered part of this ancient formation?

Or could the team have just found an entirely new structure at Smith's Cove?

I think it may be wise just to leave it and let Rick take a look at it.

That's probably a good point.

We could dig around it a bit, but no heavy-duty stuff, maybe.

Surgically now, Billy.

Whoa, yeah, yeah.

This is it here. We've got something going on here.

Yeah, you can see the top of... Gently, gently.

We're going to see what we can see here.

Looks like timber's on edge.

It's not one-inch planks.

It's thick enough to be a wall.

While excavating near the U-shaped structure at Smith's Cove,

archaeologist Laird Nippet and members of the Oak Island team

have just uncovered an unusual man-made formation.

Odd construction.

Very odd. They're offset.

Looks like it's built for strength.

Pretty big.

Pretty big and pretty interesting.

Heads up, guys.

What do you got?

We don't know.

We started right down here, and then the next thing is, hold it now, what's this?

Wow, that's pretty cool.

You know, quite a significant wall.

A wooden wall?

Buried at Smith's Cove?

But if so, who built it?

And for what purpose?

How deep do these go, any idea?

We're not sure yet.

It's possible they're trying to hold back water from entering the flood

dunks.

It makes you wonder what you're going to find back there a little ways.

But this definitely isn't on any map.

No, this is a new find.

This is totally undiscovered.

So we're finding these walls that nobody else has ever found, which in a sense is

a piece of evidence that perhaps it could be original because somebody doing

it originally would have been scrupulous about clearing up evidence.

And we're going to dig it up and see what it is.

Hey, what are we looking at? You tell me.

The wooden wall.

That's well built. Oh, yeah. That's pretty impressive.

A little bit of blue clay. Oh, no. There was a lot. They scraped it away.

Here. See this here?

It looks like stacked rocks.

There were rocks down there.

Are we starting to get into the French drain?

A French drain?

This is packed with stones right here, and just next to it was, you know,

virgin soil.

Two years ago, while searching for evidence of the box drains at Smith's

Cove, the team discovered layers of rounded stones forming what they believe

to be a French drain, an ancient irrigation system used to control and

direct the flow of water.

I'm going to put you on the spot now.

Man-made.

I believe so, yeah. Wow. Yeah.

Could these stones be another part of a French drain system constructed

centuries ago at Smith's Cove? And if so, could it mean the team is closer

than ever to finding one of Oak Island's legendary flood tunnels?

Really, well, we should just go at this real light, Laird, you know, and just

see if this really is something.

For Rick, Marty, and their team, The discovery of another French drain at

Smith's Cove could prove to be their biggest breakthrough in the 12 years

since they began searching for treasure on Oak Island.

It offers not only evidence that an incredible engineering effort took place

here centuries ago, it could also be the first step in locating the entrance to

the fabled booby-trapped flood tunnels, and perhaps to whatever they were built

to protect.

But as the Laginas and their partners continue to follow the flood system

further and deeper down into the money pit, where will it lead them?

To a treasure vault filled with gold and jewels?

Or will they discover that as they get closer to solving a 223-year-old

mystery, the island will fight harder than ever to protect its buried secrets?

Next time on The Curse of Oak Island.

I found a description of the finger drains in Smiths Cove. These drains were

made by placing two stones on their edges. This is new information for us.

Look between those two rocks. There's an opening there. There was a triangular

shape. That could be a box drain.

It's just over here, guys.

We've never seen another stone like this on the island. Almost like Roman

numerals. It's mysterious, and it was found near the money pit.

Whoa! Looks like we have something there, Rick. That's some kind of a

structure.