Tonight on the curse of oak island...
Whoa. There's something here.
Sounds pretty good.
- Ooh. Wow. - Ooh!
- Is that normal? - It's cryptic to me.
So this could be something new.
I had, like, an aha moment.
It's 85 years before the discovery of the money pit.
- Yeah. - Yeah? - Wow.
- Here we go. - Come on, baby.
Just trying to find one thing.
- Whoa. - That's fantastic!
That could be a piece of the original money pit.
- I think for sure. - Yes!
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,
man-made workings that date to medieval times,
and a lead cross whose origin may be connected
to 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's gonna happen this morning, mate.
Time to roll up the sleeves, mate,
and find some treasure.
A morning of great expectations
has dawned on oak island
for brothers Rick and Marty lagina and their team.
Come on, baby.
And that is due to a belief that vast amounts
of treasure in the money pit area
may soon be within their reach,
along with the answers to a 230-year-old mystery.
We're still picking up a lot of wood.
Yep.
For the past several days,
the team, along with representatives
from roc equipment and sb Canada
have been excavating
a seven-foot-diameter steel shaft known as rp-1
with the hope that it will encounter a tunnel
connected to one of the most legendary events
in oak island history.
In 1861, treasure hunters believed
that they had drilled through two stacked wooden chests
in the original money pit at a depth of 100 feet.
In the hopes of avoiding
a believed booby-trapped flood tunnel thought to act
as a safeguard for the riches,
they constructed a shaft... known as shaft six
18 feet to the west down to a depth of 118 feet.
From there, they began tunneling toward the money pit,
hoping to retrieve the wooden chests from below.
However, only one foot short of their target,
seawater rushed in, leading to a disastrous collapse
of the money pit, which left tons of wooden debris
and possibly scattered treasure entombed in the tunnel.
Look at that.
All that old wood still coming up.
Let's go take a look.
Now, after reaching a depth of more than 110 feet in rp-1
and having unearthed massive amounts of old,
broken, hand-cut timbers, the team believes
that they may have encountered the fabled shaft six tunnel
and hope to soon recover
at least part of the money pit treasure.
Nada?
Nothing yet.
Look at that, more wood.
- Good morning, guys. - Morning. - Hi, Vanessa.
All right. The dig's at 114,
but we're still pulling out a lot of wood.
- We're not to the bottom yet. - I don't think we are, either.
Okay.
We're now poised at the exact interval where,
if something had collapsed from the money pit
over into shaft six,
that's where some treasure items should be.
And we're just about there.
And so, I'm excited that maybe we might
produce something that vindicates this whole thing.
We're still pulling out a lot of wood.
Definitely want to keep drilling.
Okay.
The only thing we're missing is the treasure.
Well-well, the next couple of grabs will tell the story.
- Sounds good. All right. Thanks, guys. - Thank you.
As the excavation in rp-1 proceeds to target depth
some 500 feet east near Smith's cove...
How's it going?
Charles barkhouse and other members of the team
are searching for clues and valuables
in freshly removed spoils at the wash plant.
That's pretty cool.
That's gonna go back to the lab for analysis.
We're going through the spoils on the wash plant,
and we're hoping to find anything, really.
The best possible outcome
is to actually find treasure at the bottom.
But the smallest clue could lead to the biggest discovery.
Wow.
Good find.
- Hey, Charles. - Hey, Alex.
- How we doing? - Good.
- Blake just found this on the belt. - Yeah.
Looks like it's hand-painted pottery.
It's the rim of something there.
Yeah, and it's pretty... pretty large, too.
- Pretty hefty. - Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, you know,
this could be old enough to be part of the original money pit.
You're absolutely right, Alex.
That could come from the money pit.
Well, I mean, that's what we are looking for.
We are looking for something that's conclusively
from the original money pit.
- That'd be the one thing. - Yeah.
Every clue, no matter how minute,
might be very, very important.
What is that pottery doing down at these depths?
That's very, very strange.
You know, we're always trying to answer the ws.
Who might have been there?
This could yet turn out to be quite a discovery.
I really hope it is a piece of pottery
from the collapse of the money pit.
So, could it be a very important clue
that would tell a lot? Yes.
Is it possible that the team has found an additional clue
that could help identify just who created the money pit?
The guys are watching the belt really close,
and if there's anything there, even the small little pieces
- of pottery, they pick it up. - Excellent.
We'll have to show this to laird.
Absolutely.
- Appreciate it. Thanks, Charles. - All right.
See you later.
Meanwhile, in the northern region
of the triangle-shaped swamp...
All right, what's the plan today?
I would say that we should keep going east
and turn that area over.
- Sound plan. - Okay.
Jack begley,
metal detection expert Katya drayton,
and oak island landowner Tom Nolan
are also looking for potential clues
and hidden valuables.
I'm hoping as we push closer to the shore
we pick up on some other workings.
- Yep. - Let's get started.
Very good -Okay.
In recent years, the laginas and their team
have discovered a number of astonishing
man-made stone structures throughout the swamp
that have been dated to between 1200 and 1750 ad.
But this year, after uncovering
a number of wooden survey stakes
and sections of a cobblestone pathway,
they were stunned to uncover an empty
slate and brick vault-like structure
in the northern region.
Today, the team is searching just several yards to the north
for more evidence of the cobblestone pathway
in the hopes that it may lead
to more hidden structures that still contain valuables.
I think we have another stake.
Stake?
Look at that.
Yeah.
You got four cuts.
- Another stake. - Maybe five.
Well, that's a different cut from all the rest.
Yeah. This one is different.
Another axe-cut wooden survey stake?
Because the team has made a number of identical finds
along the cobblestone pathway,
could that mean that they are close
to uncovering more sections of it?
And if so, could they also be close
to an even more valuable discovery?
We do need to find more.
All right. Here we go.
Every time we get to search in the swamp,
it seems like we find more and more things
that were left behind and constructed
with some type of a grand scheme.
We haven't uncovered everything.
I think we're gonna have to dig around
a little more to figure out what's going on here.
I'm really hoping we find another vault-like feature.
Hey, guys. I think I got a hit.
- In the ground over there? - Yeah. - Yeah.
Sounds pretty good.
Wow!
Ooh.
Yeah.
- What's that? - What is that?
That's really strange.
Yeah. What is it?
Maybe a spike of some sort?
In the northern region of the oak island swamp...
- It kind of looks like... - It's awful bent for a spike.
Katya drayton, Jack begley, and Tom Nolan
have just discovered a potentially important clue.
Let's see if there's anything else.
There's nothing left in that hole.
I think there's something else right here.
Right there, on that side.
Ooh!
- That looks really old, too. - Yeah, here.
What's that?
- I don't know, Tom. - Geez.
- Look at that tip. - Yeah.
Maybe it could be a chisel.
Could be. Yeah.
Someone was definitely doing some work around here.
Yeah.
An iron spike and possible chisel?
Could the team have uncovered evidence
of an operation that may be related
to the mysterious cobblestone pathway?
If so, could that mean
they might be close to uncovering
another vault-like structure
that contains something of value?
- Hi. - Hey, Charles.
- Hi, guys. - Hey, Rick.
Hey.
- Good timing. - What did you find?
We found some stuff.
I don't know what you'll make of it.
Yeah, I love the fact that that looks hand-hammered.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
It's strange metal, though.
There's no corrosion whatsoever.
All of these are in such a small area, too.
Okay. Well, why don't we see what else there is?
Sounds good.
Obviously, we're looking for treasure,
but we're also looking for clues to the treasure.
And these items might be an important clue
and highly relevant to many things.
Who was here? When was the work done?
We need to follow those clues where they go.
I found leather.
What?
Bottom of a shoe.
Yeah. This is... That's leather.
Right there.
It is a shoe.
This is what I would think would be like a work shoe.
- This is thick. - Yeah. It's very thick.
How does it look compared to the leather we found over there?
Is it similar?
It looks a lot like it, doesn't it, Jack?
- Look at that. - Yeah.
More pieces of leather shoes?
One week ago, the team made several
nearly identical discoveries just a few yards
from where they are currently digging.
- Should be date able, one would hope. - Yeah. Yeah.
Is it possible that,
if the age of these leather artifacts
can be determined,
they might help the team identify
just who may have been working in this area of the swamp?
There's some answers here, so,
you know, congrats to everybody.
Let's take our treasures back to the lab.
- Agreed. - Let's do it.
Okay. Sounds good.
Later that afternoon...
We're getting towards the bottom.
I hope we catch something soon.
Rick lagina has returned to the money pit area,
where the excavation in the rp-1 shaft
is now approaching 118 feet...
That last grab didn't have a lot of wood in it.
Well, there's still hope. Not done yet.
The depth where the team hopes to unearth the treasure
that is believed to have fallen into the shaft six tunnel.
Lead the way.
As the can approaches the area of interest,
we're all on heightened alert.
So what comes of this caisson dig
as it goes deeper?
What comes up out of the hammer grab?
Unfortunately, looks like we might be beyond shaft six.
Yeah.
It's starting to not look too good.
- Hey, guys. - Hey.
So, we just did another measurement.
We're at 118 with the dig.
Looks like we're pulling out
a little bit different material now.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
I agree with all that, Rick.
You think it's in situ, Terry?
It's all in sit...
So, Terry, does that mean that we're below
- shaft six now? - Yeah.
Looks like we're below
- the level of interest. - Right.
Because geologist Terry Matheson
believes that the hammer grab
has brought in situ... or undisturbed... soils
to the surface, it means
that the dig has gone through the shaft six tunnel,
and that the debris field from the 1861 money pit collapse
cannot possibly be found any deeper
within the rp-1 caisson.
So, what I'm hearing is call the hole.
- Yeah. - If there was treasure above,
it fell somewhere in this vicinity.
Am I disappointed? Sure.
But we say it all the time, you know, sempre avanti.
We have the belief now that
the treasure has fallen to great depths.
There's nothing I have seen that dissuades me from the fact
that there is treasure within the shaft six area.
And that's what we seek.
We need to sit down in the war room
and get a hold of Marty.
All righty. Thanks, everybody.
- Appreciate it. - Thank you.
Thank you.
The following morning... Okay, gentlemen.
We are just finished up rp-1,
and we wanted to discuss what happened here.
Rick and Marty lagina
gather members of the team in the war room,
with their partner Craig tester
joining them via video conference.
Why don't you give us a brief recap, Rick?
After the devastating results
of the excavation in rp-1,
they must now decide if another large-scale excavation
warrants the cost to conduct it.
My take on it was
we pulled out all the wood as it came out.
Most of it was really well representative
of the narrative, I.E., a catastrophic collapse.
I agree.
There's a lot of fractured wood down there,
so something happened.
So is it a complete consensus that it is shaft six?
To the best of our knowledge, it is shaft six.
The hope was, of course, that the treasure
would've fallen with it,
and we would've found something. We didn't.
But we believe that that caisson represents
absolute prima facie evidence
that there was a significant collapse.
And the other thing is, is we proved the tunnel.
So, it's affirmation that the story,
the narrative, is real.
And I believe that we have to continue to follow up on that.
- Yeah. - I just don't see how
we can walk away at this point.
I don't think anybody's gonna disagree with you, Rick.
No, not if they dug a tunnel to the money pit.
Right. Right.
Yeah, there still could be a piece of treasure
- hiding in there. - Right.
Okay, so, where do you want to go next?
Well, Steve, if you can bring that up.
So, what I would do is I would just follow
the trail that we're on and put it right there.
I concur completely with Rick as to the results of rp-1.
I think we verified that it was shaft six.
I think we verified that there was stuff in that shaft
that came from, perhaps, the money pit.
That would be just right there, wouldn't it?
I think we found part of that tunnel.
And the tunnel that goes
from there towards the money pit should be our next target.
We proved Rick's story right in rp-1.
Why don't we call it Rick's pick 2?
Okay. Works for me.
We have consensus. We have a new pick.
Let's go dig rp-2.
Steve, why don't you go stake it, and let's get going.
- You got it. - Good deal.
See you, Craig. We'll keep you informed.
Look at the welcoming committee.
- All right, here we go. - Let's find this thing.
One day after their impassioned meeting
in the war room, Rick and Marty lagina
join their faithful team members in the money pit area...
Well, seems like everybody's in place, right?
Come on in.
Where representatives from roc equipment
and sb Canada are about to break ground
on a seven-foot diameter steel shaft dubbed "rp-2."
There's all kinds of reasons to be hopeful here.
This is called rp-2. Rick's pick 2.
He's been talking about finding the treasure that
swept into shaft six for, I don't know, 60 years.
- And you are about to do it for him. - Okay.
Located just one foot to the northeast
of the recently completed rp-1,
at a depth of some 118 feet in rp-2,
the team hopes to not only once again breach the 1861 tunnel
connected to shaft six, but also recover
the scattered treasure that is believed
to be contained within it.
Why don't we get this thing oscillating?
Somebody has to turn it on.
- No, no. No, no. No. - No. It's rp-2.
- You're gonna, you're gonna... - Fine.
- 'Cause you're gonna come to believe. - What do I do?
All right. Right here, you're gonna turn her on.
- You're gonna believe, right here. - All right!
Turn on.
It's exciting,
the evidence we found suggestive of a collapse.
The second location, you're moving towards the collapse.
I have every hope and confidence
that there will be something at the bottom of this location.
At some point here shortly, there should be
a lot of wood coming up.
Big brother Rick
has really felt like the clue to the money pit
is in and around shaft six.
We really wanted to chase that. So, let's do it.
Okay, good. Let's make hole. Let's find it.
- We're all on board. - We're all on board.
- All in. -All right. - Thank you.
All right. Thanks, guys.
As the excavation of the rp-2 shaft
proceeds in the money pit area,
nearly half a mile to the west, on lot 5...
Little nail.
It's just a mishmash of everything.
Archeologist laird niven
and other members of the team continue
searching for clues in and nearby
the mysterious, rounded stone foundation.
Hey, look what popped up.
What's that?
Piece of a pipe bowl.
There's something on it, but I can't
I can't see what it says.
What do you think that says?
There's one on each side.
Looks like an o.
Is that normal?
I don't know. Let's magnify it.
Sure looks like a... An elongated o.
Okay, I've never seen an o before. Is that... have you?
No. No. It's...
Ooh, so this could be something new.
Over the past two years,
the team has found compelling evidence
that multiple groups may have occupied
this feature between the 1300s and the late-1700s.
The most curious so far
have been a 14th-century lead barter token
which, like the lead cross found in 2017 at Smith's cove,
may be related to the knights templar.
But the most potentially telling finds
were the number of iron tools
that have been scientifically linked
to the 17th-century English politician
and treasure hunter, sir William phips.
Phips made two successful salvages
of the famed Spanish treasure wreck
known as the concepción in 1687.
However, he claimed to have found less than 40
of the 100 tons of treasure that were known to be
on the sunken ship.
But see how that
if you look at the o, it's not a traditional o.
Yeah, I see what you mean.
- Take that back, - get it washed up. - Okay.
And we'll get a better view of it.
What I'm interested in are tobacco pipes
because you don't curate a tobacco pipe.
It's like you don't curate a cigarette butt.
You're using them at the times,
or you're discarding the bowls when you're finished with it.
So, it's a much more immediate way
to date an activity on a site.
I always like finding pipes.
Could this pipe bowl be another key clue
that will help the team determine
when this site was occupied
and, perhaps, who occupied it?
If so, then might the pipe stem
that was recently found in the spoils of the rp-1 shaft
help identify just who may have buried
the two stacked chests in the money pit?
Cool. Find some more.
All right.
As the investigation continues on lot 5...
- Hey, Joe. - Hey, Joe.
- Good to see you. - Welcome back.
We've been very much surprised
by these leather finds in front of you.
In the oak island research center,
Rick lagina, Craig tester
and other members of the oak island team
meet with ancient documents and leather expert Joe Landry
to have him examine the leather fragments that were found
in the northern region of the swamp.
This group was found first.
Yeah, it's definitely a sole of a boot.
A boot rather than a shoe?
- I think so. - What gives you that information?
Well, the weight of the leather.
It's probably an oak-tanned hide.
And you can see the sewing here is quite, quite heavy.
It's a tough, tough leather. Wears well.
When you say oak-tanned, what do you mean?
Well, they-they, make up
a tanning solution from the-the bark.
Okay.
That's really cool.
And the next set are these pieces.
Yes.
Yeah, this is a finer piece of leather.
Could be the toe of the boot.
This-this almost sort of
gives the impression of being like a military boot.
- Really? - Wow.
Sweet.
The gentleman who owned the boots
might have had a military background
or purchased boots from someone who did.
- Really? - Wow.
In the oak island research center,
leather expert Joe Landry
is examining fragments of a leather boot
that were recently found near the cobblestone pathway
in the northern region of the swamp.
What date would you put these pieces to?
We're looking, probably, 1830 through 1900.
Wow.
It indicates, probably,
Anthony graves's time period.
And they were found
not far from the vault in the swamp.
Yeah. And maybe that's where his coins came from.
Yep.
There was some importance associated with the work there.
Might that vault had been discovered by Anthony graves?
That's exactly why we're in the swamp and digging it out,
looking for some of those silver coins
that Anthony graves was known to spend in mahone bay.
He's a real mystery man.
In 1857,
a farmer named Anthony graves purchased most of oak island
and built his homestead just north of the swamp.
And curiously, while he never took part
in any searches for treasure in the money pit,
after living on the island for several years,
he reportedly began buying goods on the mainland
with silver Spanish coins.
Could the team be right
that perhaps the empty vault they uncovered in the swamp
just a few yards to the south
from where they found these leather artifacts
might help explain
the mysterious wealth of Mr. Graves?
And if so, could there be more hidden structures in the area
that still contain buried riches?
Anthony graves certainly had proximity to the bog.
Maybe his precious items were found there.
And if that is the case, it leads me to believe
that there is another vault somewhere else.
So, I look forward
to some further discovery processes in the bog.
Each clue leads to another clue.
So, ultimately, hopefully,
we'll get a more complete understanding
of the story of the bog.
Gary, you're gonna have to go find more.
Well, as you say, mate, "eyes and boots."
Eyes and boots.
There you go.
I'm hopeful that coins
are gonna be following these.
Later that afternoon... Here we go.
As the excavation in the rp-2 shaft continues
in the money pit area...
Here comes the first scoop, Gary.
I'm ready.
Gary drayton,
Jack begley and heavy equipment operator Alan Andrews
continue searching the northern region of the swamp
for more sections of the cobblestone pathway
and evidence of hidden valuables.
It's interesting that there's so many big boulders over here
but there's nothing smaller to make it a path.
Yeah.
Look at that.
Whoa. There's something here.
- What is it, Jack? - It's a stake, Gary.
This one's a lot longer, but look at those cuts.
This is a really good sign.
Right. It's about to get interesting, Jack.
So, I'm gonna stick this back in the ground.
Okay.
This is fantastic because when we have recovered
these types of stake in the swamp,
we know there could be a feature close by or even an artifact.
- All right, al, let 'er rip! - Okay.
Does this feel like stones to you, al?
Yeah.
I'm wondering if this path
starts to bend around the side.
- Right. - I think this is still the path.
Can you see all the cobbles right there, al?
- Yes. - I'm noticing
there's a lot smaller rocks that we're coming into.
- Yeah. - Yeah, you're right, Jack.
And I just want to see
how it continues back inland.
- Just scrape it off. - Yeah.
There's a bunch of cobble, just right here.
Yeah, I could, feel it with the bucket.
Al, this is definitely a continuation of the path.
It looks like there's cobblestone
leading to the west in this direction,
and then off to the south.
For sure. Yep.
I think we need to get Rick back here
and then have his take.
- Let me send him a text. - Okay.
A new section of the cobblestone pathway,
leading deeper into the swamp?
- Okay, he's on his way. - Perfect.
Is it possible that Jack and the team
have just discovered a key section of the cobblestone path?
One that could lead to another vault
that contains a cache of hidden valuables?
- Hey, Tom. Hey, Rick. - Hey. -Hey, Jack.
- How are you? - Great, actually.
So, as we've been digging
just by this other cobblestone feature,
we think we might have tapped into it over there.
And then, also, leading this way.
It sure seems like there's a lot of rock
and cobble and stakes
all over on this side for some reason.
Yeah.
This area is interesting.
We have multiple blue flags
marking the stakes we're finding.
- And then possible stonework. - Yeah.
You're into something here, Jack.
I don't know what it is.
One could associate the cobble area with a walkway.
It's well-defined, and it's only in a small area.
The question here is, to what end?
What is its purpose? We should follow it.
There's still a lot of puzzle to put together here.
You're quite certain none of this represents
any of your father's attempts to understand this?
No, not in here.
- This is all new. - I'd like Steve to come
and to GPS all the new points
- that we discovered. - Yeah.
Let's finish what we're on,
- see what else we find, okay? - Yeah.
- Let's do it. - All right, let 'er rip, al.
As a new day begins on oak island...
Here we go, we've got another opportunity.
- Hey, guys. All right... - Hey.
So the boys are killing it today.
We're at 62 at the dig and 65 with the can.
We've been seeing some wood.
Well, that makes him excited, that's for sure.
Yeah.
Rick and Marty lagina
join members of the oak island team
in the money pit area as the excavation in rp-2
has begun to produce evidence of the 1861 searcher structure
known as shaft six.
Anytime pressures go up, anything the guys see,
we all need to work together on this
- because we don't want to miss anything. - Yeah.
Sure. Okay.
Well, I'll be sure to let you guys know.
All right, thank you.
But now, as the dig continues
towards a target depth of 118 feet,
the burning question is:
Will evidence of the adjoining tunnel
and the contents of two treasure chests
also be revealed?
The treasure fell and then
found that tunnel void and shot down there.
There's a lot of data to support that.
You really have to honor the data and say,
"it looks like we're chasing something real,"
or at least, we're chasing a very real story.
You know, it's Rick's dream, so I'm hoping that this canister
will bring up "the one thing."
Whoa.
What have you got, Rick?
You know how we're always looking
- for dowels, right? - Yeah.
- There's no mistaking that. - Well, look at that.
A wooden dowel,
found more than 60 feet below ground
in the area of shaft six?
Dating back to as early as the seventh century ad,
a dowel is a kind of fastener used to connect
the timbers of large structures.
Yeah.
What do you, what do you guys think of that?
That's a dowel.
It's hammered, too. That's a square hammer on the top.
According to previous search records,
metal fasteners were used by the treasure hunters
who built shafts and tunnels after the discovery
of the money pit in 1795.
So, could this wooden dowel have been used
during an operation to hide something of great value?
- We have not seen any fasteners here. - Yeah.
And remember our premise.
The money pit collapses as they were trying
to retrieve it from the tunnel from six.
Right? No fasteners. So, I think this might represent
something coming into the tunnel and into the shaft
- because of a collapse. - You're saying that
could be a piece of the original money pit?
Yep.
We have to have some sort of
corroborative evidence that, indeed,
if this is shaft six,
that there must be something in the original money pit.
And this might be one of those items.
As the work progresses here,
I do believe that we will find irrefutable evidence
to support the mystery.
May even find the treasure.
We need to get to the bottom of the shaft.
It's the only one we've found. I thought it was quite unique.
Send that out for c-14 testing.
I think for sure.
Yeah. Be interesting to get a date on it.
- Beautiful. - Okay, well, let's get down
and find the one thing.
Let's go.
Yeah, we got another chance here. Another hammer grab.
As the excavation in rp-2 continues
later that morning...
Thank you for inviting us to come down.
I do know a little bit about this,
and that is that what we see in front of us
is from shaft six.
In the oak island laboratory,
Rick, Jack begley and Doug crowell
are meeting with laird niven
and archaeometallurgist Emma culligan
to hear their analysis
of the pipe stem that was recently recovered
in the rp-1 shaft
and which may have come from the original money pit.
I hope that there is evidence here
of an association with the original money pit.
So, to that end, I hope you can enlighten us.
Yes, I had, like, an aha moment.
I looked and I went, "crap."
He did.
"This is early."
This is the largest-diameter pipe stem
we've ever found on the island.
Whoa.
Is there a cultural influence here?
It's most likely English.
We can say... and what we have been saying
about Clay pipes is people didn't curate them.
They didn't keep them.
But they're dropping it
at the time that they're doing the work.
It's like a cigarette butt.
Yeah, if you look up, tobacco pipe bowls evolve.
Right?
So, what we do is we look at the angle
between the stem and the bowl.
And that's what's outlined in red,
is the stem/bowl junction that matches an example
from 1680 to 1710.
- It's like an exact match. - Yeah.
Wow.
That's awesome.
The pipe stem matches an example
from 1680 to 1710.
Whoa.
It's 85 years before the discovery of the money pit.
In the oak island laboratory,
archaeologist laird niven
has just revealed that a pipe stem,
which is believed to have been recovered
from the shaft six tunnel,
dates as far back as the late 17th century.
This shows activity deep down in the money pit.
Yep. Right.
That could be money pit debris.
Absolutely.
The 1680 date to 1710, it's 100-plus years
before the original money pit story evolved.
It's somewhat dramatic.
It certainly suggests that
the pipe stem possibly could be associated
with the deposition of the original money pit.
It's exciting, I mean,
walking in here, I didn't expect that.
- Yeah. - Well, theory-wise,
that date range is intriguing because of 1687.
- Sir William phips. - Yes, that's the year
he recovered the treasure from the concepción.
And the theory says that perhaps part of that treasure
was deposited on oak island.
Could Doug crowell be correct
that this pipe stem could be connected
to sir William phips and more than 60 tons
of Spanish silver, gold and jewels
from the wreck of the concepción
that some believe he buried on oak island
in 1687?
If so, could that explain
the iron tools that have been discovered
in the stone foundation on lot 5?
Might it answer the question of who originally created
the slate vault in the swamp?
And finally, could it indicate
what was in the two stacked chests
that the team is currently searching for
in the rp-2 shaft?
My brother's always keen to learn the latest information,
so we'll see if he's available.
The dates certainly encompass, quite dramatically,
the possible association with William phips.
It certainly fits that time frame.
And not only that, it's not just the timeline,
it's where it was found.
With the shaft six caisson locations,
that's quite something.
It is not a bravo tango call.
However... No, no. Don't...
Don't jump out of your chair.
But there is kind of exciting news.
And I'm gonna hand the phone to laird
and he can tell you all about it.
Okay. Here you, here you go.
Hey, Marty.
So, we have this pipe stem that came off
of the wash plant... From rp-1.
It's the largest one I've ever seen on the island.
And it dates 1680 to 1710.
Yeah.
That's the possibility.
- Yeah. - Yep.
These are like smoking guns.
These are almost like,
you know, a-a date inscribed in a rock.
That means it was being used underground
from 1680 to 1710.
That clearly suggests an origin
much earlier than 1795.
It's just a very, very meaningful find.
And probably most importantly,
rp-2 should be where we might find something.
Where we might find a piece or an indication of treasure.
It speaks to how the smallest find
might be important. Yeah.
Okey doke. Fair enough.
- All right, see you. - See you, Marty.
- Take care. Yeah, bye. - Yeah.
So, thank you both.
- Appreciate it. - All right.
But the three of us need to get back to work.
- Great job, you two. - Later.
Ever since they were just boys,
Rick and Marty lagina have dreamed
of holding a genuine piece of oak island's fabled money pit
in their hands.
Now, with the help of their faithful team,
they have unearthed an artifact that not only
may have come from the original treasure shaft,
but might help identify
whomever was behind this 230-year-old mystery.
And as they dig deeper into the tunnel
connected to shaft six,
just what will they hold in their hands next?
Next time on the curse of oak island...
Hey. Check this out.
- Wow. - That's big.
Very cool.
- My gosh. - Yeah!
- This is strange. - Do you think
that somebody carved that into the wood?
That's not natural.
- Wow. - Look at that.
- Well, that's pretty cool. - Pretty bloody cool.
- This is real good. - Absolutely.
We got some radiocarbon dates.
- 1725... -To 1764. - That's pre-searcher.
- Yeah. - Wowza.
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