Tonight 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.
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.
Well, we're at 82 feet.
We got more wood.
A morning of unrivaled hope has begun
on oak island for brothers Rick and Marty lagina
and their team...
So, they're taking out the north corner of shaft six.
That's probably the beams we're seeing.
Because as they unearth the remains
of a 19th-century searcher shaft
in the fabled money pit area,
they have compelling reasons
to believe that it will lead to the answers
of a 230-year-old mystery.
So, at the bottom of this hole, we should catch
part of the tunnel going from shaft six to the money pit.
So we should see a lot of wood.
That would be the hope, but we're looking
for the... something that was in the tunnel or in the shaft.
- Yeah. - Yeah. - One coin,
two coins, 100 coins.
Even part of an authentic chest.
- Anything. - Yeah.
In the summer of 1861,
members of the oak island association
reportedly drilled through two stacked treasure chests
at a depth of nearly 110 feet in the original money pit.
Believing that a man-made flood tunnel
would stop them from reaching the chests,
they dug an adjacent shaft 18 feet to the west
known as shaft six... down to a depth of 118 feet.
From there, they began tunneling toward the money pit,
hoping to recover the treasure
from safely below the deadly booby trap.
The colossal effort failed.
Just before reaching their target,
seawater rushed in.
The disaster
not only forced the searchers to abandon shaft six
but caused tons of lumber
and the believed chests in the money pit to collapse,
leaving a debris field
and the valuables entombed inside of the tunnel.
All that old wood's still coming up.
One week ago,
while excavating a seven-foot-diameter shaft
known as rp-1,
the team unearthed evidence of the shaft six tunnel:
Iron straps potentially related to wooden containers,
and a pipe stem that was dated
to as early as the late 17th century,
more than 100 years prior to the discovery of the money pit.
Now the team is digging a second shaft, dubbed rp-2,
just northeast of rp-1
in the hopes that, this time,
they will recover the contents
of the two legendary treasure chests.
The stakes are reasonably high.
Rick has always felt like shaft six is
where the treasure might be.
In rp-2, we're about to get
into the tunnel that led from shaft six to the money pit
when it collapsed.
So, this could be it.
I've got an hit here, mate.
Let me see if I can pinpoint it.
It's right there.
Look at that.
It's... What would you say that is?
A bit of strap?
Same stuff as we found the other day.
It's made of iron.
It was an iron hit.
Yeah, we'll see if these compare to those other pieces we found.
All right, mate. We'll take this back to the table.
- Yeah. - This is an old iron strap.
And back in the day, boxes and chests
would have had iron straps wrapped around 'em.
We're talking possibly treasure chest.
That's a really cool timber right there.
- I'm gonna go grab it. - Yeah.
And I-I think I would expect it
to be a little bit denser.
- My god. - Rick, what do you think of that?
Yeah, wow.
That's a nice big piece.
That'd be a corner piece, you would think.
We probably are tagging
the bottom of the shaft now.
Everything I see shows that a structure collapsed
in close proximity to shaft six.
And that if there was a treasure associated with it,
we're close.
We are somewhere in the vicinity of it.
At this point, we have to be a bit patient.
- Hello, sir. - Hello.
All right, we're about ready to stack another can.
The dig's at 87 feet.
And we're still above the horizon of interest?
118 feet.
We could find a lot of artifacts
when we get there or even treasure.
That's what we're here for.
Absolutely.
The money pit is treasure central.
All right. I'm gonna go get the boys going,
stacking this can and get to that target zone.
Okey doke.
As Rick and other members of the team
monitor the excavation of rp-2 in the money pit area...
Why would they do all this work?
If it does tie to the stone road, the stone path,
it had to be something significant.
Craig tester, Jack begley,
and other members of the team are investigating
a mysterious man-made feature
in the northern region of the oak island swamp.
I don't really see this construction in the swamp
as being anything besides depositor work.
And there could be more artifacts just right over here.
Okay?
All right, let's get started.
Let 'er rip, al!
This year, the team has uncovered numerous sections
of a cobblestone pathway in this area of the swamp
that have been bordered by hand-cut wooden survey stakes.
And they have been especially intrigued
by another man-made structure
that they found next to the cobbled path
an empty brick and slate vault
that could date back to the 1700s or earlier.
He's just gonna go into the ground a bit,
take the grass off.
Now they are hoping to uncover more sections
of the cobblestone path in the hopes
that it might lead them to additional vault-like structures
that still contain hidden valuables.
Hey, guys!
I found a
piece of cut wood.
- Yeah. - I found that.
- It's got a nice... - Definitely cut.
Beautiful axe cut on it.
What's that?
- Is that a board, Jack? - Yeah.
Axe-cut pieces of wood
and large boards in the northern region of the swamp?
Could the team be finding evidence
of a structure of some kind?
If so, who created it?
And more importantly, for what purpose?
It looks like
there's more wood popping up as we dig down deeper.
But what does that mean?
I don't know.
Digging on the very, very north end of the swamp
on Tom's property, it's proved very productive.
You know, we came up with a lot of stakes
that started veering to the northwest.
What does that mean?
Is there something hiding down below?
This one's a big one.
We're not sure yet, but we'll keep digging
until we find out for sure what happened here.
Hey, Rick.
- Hey. - Hey, Rick.
Hey, Rick.
More swamp?
Yeah.
We started finding some wood
in this depression here.
This has definitely been previously dug.
Maybe Fred?
I mean, honestly, Fred did a lot of work
- during his time here. - Yeah, he did.
Right.
In 1969,
the late treasure hunter Fred Nolan drained the swamp
and was shocked to find pieces of large sailing vessels
and several uniform lines of wooden survey stakes
that were carbon-dated to the 16th century.
These discoveries made Fred speculate
that the swamp may have been artificially created
to hide multiple caches of valuables.
So, let's see if that stake line continues.
Hopefully there's something else to be found.
Okay.
Could the nearby empty vault that the team recently found
offer evidence that Fred was correct?
If so, what else might be waiting for them
to uncover in the area?
- It's another stake. - Look at this. Look at that.
- My gosh! - Yeah!
Right there.
But the confusing thing is,
it doesn't line up with anything.
There's got to be good reason behind it.
Well, there might be more through here.
Let's keep pulling,
finding more information, and see
if we can't find a few more.
Okey doke, al.
This stake was curious because it was out of place.
There's something going on here.
I just don't know what it is.
Maybe there's something else that we have as yet not noticed.
Hey, guys.
What is it?
What is that?
We definitely got something in there.
There's metal in the wood.
In the northern region of the oak island swamp,
Rick lagina, Craig tester,
and other members of the oak island team
have just uncovered more evidence
of mysterious man-made workings.
How heavy is that?
About... Maybe 50.
This is strange.
With the lines in it.
Yeah. That's something different.
Do you think that somebody carved that into the wood?
Or do you think it happened by a natural process?
That's not natural.
- Look at that. - Yeah.
Hey, Rick, I'll go ahead and text Ethan.
Have him come down and look at that wood.
This log is certainly strange and unique.
We have to call in Ethan,
a member of our archaeological team.
He can come down and hopefully render a educated opinion.
Hopefully there are some answers.
- Hey, team. - Hello!
- Hey, Ethan. - Hey.
So, we have a very unusual piece.
Okay. Yeah, I'll have a look at it.
There you go.
Well, that is unique.
Do you think
someone was trying to make something out of this
- with those lines? - In my opinion,
it looks man-made, these engravings.
And it's got to have some kind of purpose,
but I would say for grip or something. Like...
Like tread on tires.
Moving something.
Like as a roller?
Yeah.
Could Ethan's assessment be correct
that this log may have been used to transport heavy items
into the northern region of the swamp?
If so, what could it have been?
And where is it now?
It's strange.
There's no other way to put it.
- Well, thanks for your input. - I'm glad to hear
it's man-manipulated.
We got to figure out what it is yet.
You guys keep on going
and Rick and I got stuff to do and you can head back
- to archaeology, so... - Let's do it.
Thank you, Ethan. See you later. See you.
Later that morning...
- Seven-foot plug. - Seven out?
'Kay.
As the excavation
of rp-2 proceeds in the money pit area,
nearly half a mile to the west on lot 5...
This test pit has produced
- a lot of really interesting artifacts. - Yeah.
I'm gonna expose this.
Okay.
Ethan green has joined other members of the archaeology team
to continue investigating a mysterious round foundation.
It's an area of-of intrigue.
This should tell us a lot more.
Located near the shoreline,
this structure has produced a number of fascinating clues
since the team first began uncovering it in 2022.
These include a 14th-century barter token
that may be connected to the knights templar,
iron tools, English coins,
and venetian trade beads
that have been dated to the 17th century.
And even a mortar-like material
that matches soils that have been unearthed
from more than 100 feet deep in the money pit area.
These discoveries have led the team to speculate
that this structure may have been occupied
by multiple groups at different time periods
and possibly served as a staging ground
for operations to deposit valuables in the money pit.
Even though we still don't have a full explanation,
lot 5 has yielded some very incredible artifacts.
Some of the materials found
inside the structure or structures on lot 5 match
materials from at depth in the money pit.
Well, that's a pretty direct connection.
Hey!
Check this out.
That's a really nice nail.
That's a cool find.
You can see... it's reasonably corroded but...
Not as fully encrusted
as sometimes you see in the more modern iron.. Yeah.
So that makes me think it's got a bit
of good age to it.
That's big.
That's a really good size.
I would probably put that date at mid
- to late 1700s, for sure. Yeah. - Awesome.
But something that size, you probably wouldn't just use
for a normal structure. That almost looks like
something you would use for a-a wharf.
Cool.
A wharf pin?
Found at the round feature near the shoreline on lot 5?
I think we've got more work
- to do here. That's for sure. - Yeah, of course.
Could it have been related
to the docking of a ship
that brought something of great value
to oak island long ago?
Ha. Speak of the devil.
Look at this.
Wow.
So, that is a piece of astbury ware.
'Cause you can tell, see, with the combing lines on it
- and the really nice glaze. - Yeah. Wow.
This is probably amongst the older
of the ceramics that we find in this area.
Wow.
It's in really good shape.
Wow, that is nice.
- This could give us dates -of 1740. - Wow.
Astbury ware is a kind of English-made pottery
that was produced between the 1720s and 1760s.
Could this fragment be another critical clue
of when this feature may have been used
by someone who hid valuables on oak island?
- That's a nice piece to find. - Yeah.
- Let's find some more. - Perfect.
As the team continues digging for clues on lot 5...
That's a nice piece.
That's a handle.
Nearly 500 feet east of the money pit,
near Smith's cove... That's a cool find.
Great find, Blake.
Oak island historian Charles barkhouse
and other members of the team
are searching for artifacts
and potential valuables
in the freshly washed spoils
that have been removed from the rp-2 shaft.
Wow. That's really cool.
We're advancing the caissons.
The material that comes up in the hammer grab
is loaded into a dump truck and taken up to the wash plant.
The use of this machine allows us
to look at the material more effectively.
All eyes are on that conveyor belt,
because you never know what's coming up.
We have to take a look at the material
and go through it in very fine detail.
That's a little better.
So if there's anything in here
from inside the original money pit,
we'll find it.
Well, that's the first piece.
Really unique piece that we found.
See the glaze on the inside?
That could've been part of a handle, maybe.
Well, laird has said
glazing only on one side is older.
- Yeah. - Yeah, it looks like
a piece got broken off of there.
But that's cool.
And then
this just came off the wash plant right now.
Yeah.
That's a higher status item.
That's pretty cool.
Almost looks like a Fleur-de-lis.
Yeah. You're right.
While examining spoils
that were removed from more than 80 feet deep
in the rp-2 shaft,
the oak island team has just recovered
another potentially important clue...
That's a higher status item, you think?
- You would think. - Yeah.
A piece of pottery with what appears to be
a French symbol known as the Fleur-de-lis.
We did find those... that cap badge
- with the Fleur-de-lis on it as well. - We did. Yeah.
You know, little pieces of artifacts tell a story.
We've learned that over and over again from the archeologists.
And this reminds me, with your reference
to the Fleur-de-lis, I think we all recall
in that ship's log,
they were waiting for the duc d'anville to arrive.
They reference the 12-foot-diameter shaft.
That's cool.
In 2018,
the team found a believed 18th century French military badge
on lot 21
bearing a Fleur-de-lis.
I found eight pages
- of a ship's log. - And just one year prior to that,
Doug crowell discovered a portion
of an 18th-century French naval log
in the Nova Scotia archives that may help explain
how both the badge and this pottery from rp-2
wound up on oak island.
"It has been agreed that a deep pit be dug
and treasure securely buried."
In my mind, there's no doubt that they're
pointing right to oak island.
What troubles me is how perfect this is.
In 1746,
France launched the largest armada to date
in an effort to reclaim Nova Scotia from england.
The fleet was led by the duc d'anville,
an admiral from the noble rochefoucauld family
who had ties to the order of the knights templar
dating back to the 12th century.
Unfortunately, due to violent storms
and a wave of disease,
the armada failed in its mission.
However, according to the log uncovered by Doug crowell,
a second, secret mission to hide a vast treasure
on a wooded island just off the coast of Nova Scotia
reportedly succeeded.
They reference dedicating so many people to a dig,
a tunnel from the cove.
Yeah.
Could Rick's notion be correct?
Might this pottery offer further evidence
that the ship's log, which was connected
to the duc d'anville, was describing
a buried treasure in the oak island money pit?
If so, might the team
soon recover it in the rp-2 shaft?
There are clues and they...
Sometimes the clues can be put together.
Maybe, just maybe this pottery
with a possible Fleur-de-lis is an important clue
regarding the duc d'anville expedition.
I applaud everyone for finding that,
especially you, Charles, and Scott,
I really thank you, guys, for doing that.
You never know what you're gonna find on that,
on that belt, right?
I mean, it just goes to show you right there.
Kudos to you.
Let's take them back and see
if we can't get some idea of what they represent.
- Good job, Charles. - Okay.
Thanks, guys.
Later that evening...
- All right. - So we're making progress.
And the dig is at 96.
96? We're getting there.
As the sun begins its decent,
Rick, Marty and members of the team monitor
the excavation of the rp-2 shaft
as it continues towards a target depth of 118 feet.
Wow.
This is more of what you're looking for here, Rick.
That's a hewn beam there.
Let's go get it, Rick.
I got it.
- Where to? - Up by Terry.
- Boy, that is nice work? - Look at that.
Beautiful workmanship.
It doesn't necessarily look like spruce, either, does it?
It's heavy. I don't know.
They look like pin knots, which is more like oak.
I wonder if that's from the original money pit.
Yeah, agreed.
A hand-cut timber?
Possibly made of oak
and recovered at a depth of nearly 100 feet in rp-2?
When searchers excavated the original money pit
more than two centuries ago,
they reported finding platforms of oak logs
buried at ten-foot intervals
down to a depth of at least 90 feet.
Is it possible that the oak island team has
recovered part of the original money pit in rp-2?
If so, could that mean
that they are also close to breaching the shaft six tunnel
and finding the treasure that is believed
to now lie scattered inside of it?
The narrative said they were oak logs.
We don't see much oak in the rest of these spoils.
Is it possible that it is
indicative of the original story?
It's possible.
Surely, there must be something
in the original money pit that survives.
This may be that very proof.
We may be close.
- Hey, Vanessa. - All right, guys.
We are done for the day, but the exciting news is
we are ending the day right before your target zone,
'cause I don't want to start that area
and then be stuck here in the dark.
So tomorrow morning we're gonna find treasure.
You're killing me now.
I'm sorry.
- Where are we? - We are at 100 with the dig
and 107 with the casing teeth.
Tomorrow's the day.
All right.
It's frustrating that the day has come to a close.
But I'm excited for tomorrow.
You know, we always say,
"tomorrow's the day, tomorrow's the day."
Tomorrow we almost certainly will be able
to deepen into the zone of interest
and maybe find some treasure.
So, it's, it's an exciting, anticipatory moment.
We saw wood, possibly, from a collapse above.
So the narrative fits.
The question that lingers, of course, is
was there something in that collapse?
Was there really treasure above them?
I believe there was
and I believe tomorrow we'll find it.
So thanks for making us wait tonight.
It's like Christmas morning.
- You guys are gonna be so excited. - Okay. All right.
I'm gonna look at it that way.
- All right. See you tomorrow. - Thanks, Vanessa.
Okay, Vanessa. Thanks.
As a new day begins on oak island...
We're good.
And as the excavation
of the rp-2 shaft closes in on a target depth
of 118 feet in the money pit area...
- Let her rip, al! - Okay.
I'm gonna get out of his way.
Tom Nolan and members of the team continue
looking for clues
where they have marked new possible sections
of the cobblestone pathway with staked flags
in the northern region of the swamp.
Th stakes should still be in line.
There should be some right here, but not over there.
We're getting close to where
we just might take up a stake, so... I agree.
And joining them for the last time this year
before she returns home to Florida
is Gary drayton's daughter, Katya.
Katya, I told the guys
you were gonna come to oak island
and kick treasure hunting butt,
and that's exactly what you did.
Thank you for making your old dad proud.
Stake! Got a stake.
What?
Geez, look at that.
We got a stake.
Looks like eight cuts to me.
Yeah.
There is intelligent design here.
There was a reason these stakes were put in.
I think there is some possible association that they were part
of a construction of a path through a wetland area.
The treasure may have moved through this path.
So it's very interesting and quite exciting.
Where do you think it came from, al?
Just over there where Jack is.
All right. This is where it's gonna live, then.
- Right here. - Good.
It feels right in line.
You know, if you look at the spacing
between these two,
and you look at the spacing between those two,
it's almost perfect.
It definitely was put here for a reason.
Yeah.
Why don't we take the distance
we've got from that one to this one
and project it forward?
And just see if it gives us a, a target zone.
- That's a great idea. - Okay.
- Got a tape measure on you? - I do.
- Okay. - What's it read?
That is 14 feet. Bang on.
- Let's try these two. - Okay.
What's that distance?
- 14 feet exactly. - Again?
Yeah.
Okay, so should we measure back...
- Yeah, let's... - And try to extend the line?
Let's go ahead 14 feet and just see if we find one.
- Tell me when. - Keep going, keep going.
Going. Right there.
- Right here? - Yeah.
Al, this is where we think there might be a stake.
Okay. We'll keep a watch for that.
The whole system of stakes
we've found in the swamp over the years
has all been based on measurement and positioning.
It shows a level of engineering, putting this together.
To that end,
I think we may be heading for something.
What's that?
What is it?
A piece of wood.
Could that be a pin to something?
It's hard to say.
- It's cut. - That's really strange.
I would say it is.
- How are you, Rick? - Hello, young lady. How are you?
- Good. - Here. - Hey, guys.
Look at what Tom just found.
- That's very interesting. - It was pretty shallow.
I will say this, you've done a lot more work,
so what have you found?
- We found another stake. - Really?
Right there.
Yeah. And when we took a measurement,
- they were spaced - exactly 14 feet. - Really?
- Yeah. - Very interesting.
Let's go see if we can't find another one.
Awesome.
Tom has said many times,
they did exhaustive work in the swamp
and these structures are coming up
that we had no clue about.
It speaks to the possibility
that there could be more hidden vaults
in the swamp, which we have yet to find.
But there's probably
at least as many things as we have discovered
that remain to be discovered.
Okay. Well, Katya, I know you have to leave.
I applaud, obviously, the work you've done.
It's incredibly interesting.
I mean, you think about it, right?
When you first started here,
none of this was done.
And so I speak for everybody, you've done a tremendous job.
We're grateful that you came and you're always welcome here.
Thank you.
I've met
the most amazing people since I've gotten here
who have been nothing but welcoming,
and they've all really showed me the ropes.
And I cannot wait to come back and help find the treasure.
- I've got to run to the money pit. - Okay.
Keep pulling through here and see what you get.
That's where we're going.
All right. See you, guys.
- We're gonna miss you, Katya. - Thank you.
Before heading back to the money pit area...
Well, I'm glad some of us could gather here today
because c-14 test results are always very interesting.
Rick has gathered members of the oak island team
in the war room.
We do have an artifact here.
We've all looked at it.
It's definitely a dowel, hand-shaped.
They are eager to learn the results
of a c-14 test
that has just been completed on a wooden dowel
found one week ago at a depth of some 60 feet
in the rp-2 shaft.
Dr. Spooner is here to explain the results to us.
Yeah. Let's get right to the data.
I'm gonna pass this on.
We've got, 44% 1725 to 1764.
The most probable time period is
right before discovery of the money pit.
Wow.
The most probable time period is
right before discovery of the money pit.
Yeah. I think this is a very important piece of wood.
It is an exciting moment for the oak island team.
Might be an original piece of the money pit right there.
According to carbon-14 testing,
the wooden dowel that was recently discovered
in the rp-2 shaft may have been part of the original money pit.
But more importantly, it could also mean
that the team is on-target to recover the treasure
that people have been seeking for more than two centuries.
To me, what's super cool about this is it's also
the same time we're getting for some
of the lot 5 artifacts.
So that's very interesting.
All the theories are still in play.
I mean, maybe duc d'anville was here
and deposited something.
These dates are interesting.
It could support the duc d'anville,
the French treasure.
We have a lot of dates around 1750,
let's just call it.
You add up all this data we've uncovered
and all the historical record
and that would have to be
somebody who deposited something here.
So we don't know yet, but we can find out.
To me, this mystery is
encapsulated within who, what, when, where, why and how.
There will be a moment
the who, what, when, where, why and how of it will be told.
So you've just got to be patient and, stay the course.
We have more work to do, so I think we need
to get out of here and go do it.
- Thank you, Dr. Spooner. - Yep.
Following the meeting in the war room...
- Do we have some excitement level here? - Hey.
- We are. We're ready. - It's coming. It's building.
Let's go.
Rick has joined his brother Marty
and other members of the oak island team
in the money pit area, after receiving word
that the rp-2 caisson has reached a depth
of 105 feet below ground...
Just 13 feet from where they hope
to intercept the shaft six tunnel.
I see no reason not to have a lot of hope today
because nothing we see suggests in any way, shape or form
that the narrative is not correct.
Okay. Who's in?
- I'm in. - I'm in.
- Got a shovel. - Yeah.
- We're all in. - Everybody's in.
We're getting close to the tunnel.
It's somewhere between 112 and 120, certainly.
Ooh, that looks like an old timber, doesn't it?
Some big pieces.
But for right now,
I'm short of that one thing that proves the treasure is real
and that one thing is everything to me.
Wow. Look at that.
That's great.
- What's that? - A big piece of wood?
It's adze-cut.
Adze-cut wood?
An adze is an ancient cutting tool
that was long used in construction
until mechanized saws were invented
during the late 18th century.
If this timber was indeed shaped with an adze,
could it
just like the previously found wooden dowel
have come from the original money pit?
Look at that.
- Yeah. - See the line on the edge?
Yeah. Like a barrel.
Think it might be a barrel?
- Yeah. - That is a barrel.
- Yeah. - A barrel, a barrel stave.
- That's a barrel. - Yeah.
Rick, that looks like a barrel stave.
Yeah. Wow.
Wasn't there like a top of a keg
that they grabbed out of the original money pit?
- Yeah. - Absolutely.
During the catastrophic collapse
of the original money pit in 1861,
which is believed to have left a debris field of wood
and scattered treasure in the shaft six tunnel,
a worker recovered the top of a wooden keg,
or barrel, just before escaping with his life.
This has led many to speculate that,
in addition to the two stacked chests,
the money pit may have also contained barrels
full of possible valuables.
Well, that's pretty cool.
- Absolutely. - Pretty bloody cool.
Yeah. That fits the narrative perfectly.
Yeah. It wasn't just food and water in barrels.
They used to put coins in barrels.
Yeah. This is good.
- Yeah. - This is real good.
Could this barrel stave be a critical clue
that the team has once again reached the shaft six tunnel
and may soon make a historic, breakthrough discovery?
There's no question that kegs were used
in the money pit. Now, to what end?
It is a clue that we are close to finding the one thing.
Cutting through something hard.
You're in something hard?
It jumped from 130 to 160.
The pressures on the oscillators just changed.
We're about at 116 feet with the casing teeth.
Pressure is going up. What does that mean?
Well, they're cutting into something harder.
So it could be something we don't know anything about.
Yeah. Iron's hard. It could be an iron box
full of gold coins.
You never know.
It could be an iron box full of gold coins.
- You never know. - You never know.
It sure would be nice to hold something.
Yeah.
In the money pit area,
upon reaching a depth of some 116 feet
in the rp-2 shaft,
a hard object, or obstruction, has just been encountered
in the shaft six tunnel.
Here we go, Rick. Going in.
The question now is,
could it be something of great importance or value?
Well, that's looking like the bottom.
Yeah.
Wow, there's nothing in here, this is quiet.
I think we've come to the end of the line.
That stuff's so thick.
It's starting to get into... In situ stuff.
Definitely there's more in sit...
No big chunks that you'd find laying on the bottom.
No.
Unfortunately, looks like we're getting out of her.
Where's the coinage?
Well, it's certainly not here.
No. It looks like it's petering out.
Forget me, it's all about Gary.
You know, if he's not finding it.
- Yep. - As far as, geology, yeah,
- we're getting into in situ. - Yeah.
- And we're done, I think. - Yeah, we are.
The recovery of "in situ" soils is a troubling development.
It likely means that the obstruction in rp-2 was
merely the bottom of the shaft six tunnel
and the team is now digging
through undisturbed earth below their target area.
I did tell Rick earlier
that we thought you were cutting through wood and your pressures,
and then you said the pressures changed again.
So, can you get him up to speed?
I was cutting about 120, 130,
- which is pretty low. - So, you think you're through the wood?
Yeah, I think we're through.
- This is just hard, hard material. - Yeah.
It's dry. It doesn't... the teeth don't like that.
Yeah. I just think we're in situ soil at this point.
So I think we have to call it.
Yeah.
There's no question at this point that we're on shaft six.
Now, what we need to do is properly locate the next can
over the tunnel, and at that point,
there either is something or there isn't.
Okay. All right, so we got one more shot at this area.
Right. You can't give up.
- You just can't give up. - No. I'm not giving up.
- All righty. - Okay. All right.
Next one.
Thank you, John.
What we found in rp-1 convinced me,
certainly, and I think all of us,
that a significant collapse had happened.
In rp-2, we found evidence of different constructs.
It was impactful.
The keg, the barrel stave was found.
It raised the expectations through the roof.
Unfortunately, they weren't born out.
We have high hopes with the next can location.
You hitch up your boots, you get stuck in
as Gary calls it... and you move forward.
So I am the bearer of bad news, but I'm also the bearer
of potentially fantastic news.
Okay. You said fantastic news.
- Yeah. - Fantastic news. - Okay.
- From my perspective. - Yeah.
Okay.
The bad news is, unfortunately, we're done here.
But for me, we proved the narrative.
I don't see any way to argue that.
It's what you always say, right?
- Let's put an x through something. - Okay.
Let's put an x through shaft six.
So I'm gonna hazard a guess you want to have
- one more go at this? - I do.
I want us to set up over the tunnel.
- It's imperative. - Okay. Anybody disagree?
Nope.
We just missed it.
The obvious conclusion is we're not done.
If rp-2 partway down the tunnel has evidence
of original money pit things, but no treasure,
perhaps if we get just one stage closer
between shaft six and the money pit,
we might find something.
And that's what Rick wants to do
and I'm completely on board.
- Hi, guys. - Vanessa.
- Hey, how you doing? - Good, good.
We'll get this caisson pulled back out of the ground
and get ready to drill the next one.
Thanks to the team for all the hard work, please.
I will. For sure.
- All right. Thank you, guys. - Thank you.
Despite the crushing end
to their second attempt at recovering valuables
in the shaft six tunnel,
Rick, Marty, Craig and their fellowship have
multiple reasons to remain hopeful.
They found not only more compelling evidence
of the original money pit
but also the potential remains of a barrel
that may have once contained part
of the fabled oak island treasure.
So now, as they carefully calculate their next target,
perhaps one more dig will finally solve
this 230-year-old mystery.
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