The Curse of Oak Island (2014) s02e03 Episode Script
The Eight-Pointed Star
1
previously on the curse of Oak Island
this could be the first step towards
getting the money finished
you're not gonna get nothing there
there's no way of going through footing
and you won't believe this if the bill
becomes law the province would call dibs
on some discoveries made at Oak Island
we have located a symbol that directly
connects King Solomon's Temple to the
island this eight-sided Star comes from
the Holy Name that's significant
there is an island in the North Atlantic
where men have been looking for treasure
for more than 200 years so far they've
uncovered tunnels booby-traps
carved stones with strange symbols even
a 17th century pirate treasure coin six
men have even lost their lives trying to
solve the mystery
and according to legend one more will
have to die before the treasure
can be found
it's a new day on Oak Island
a day that will bring new equipment new
theories and hopefully new findings
Hutton Aubrey this is what we
affectionately call our war room we'd
like to think that we have our good
ideas in here so welcome thank you it is
also on this day that Rick Marty and
their team have arranged the meet with
professional treasure hunters J Hutton
Pulitzer and his cousin Aubrey Raiford
you're not part of it one week ago
Hutton and Aubrey came to Oak Island
armed with Hutton's theory that the Oak
Island mystery involved nothing less
than a treasure taken from King
Solomon's Temple I'm gonna show you
assemble that uniquely ties back to the
Holy Land he then invited Marty Rick and
members of the team to come with him off
the island to see an ancient petroglyph
of an eight-pointed star located on land
claimed by the native big moth tribes
people see that there that's quite
significant according to his research
Hutton claimed the symbol was based on
an ancient language one connected to the
symbols found on the mysterious stone
slab that was discovered in the money
pit in 1804
now the veteran treasure hunter has
returned to Oak Island ready to present
what he promises will be an incredible
theory we appreciate the little field
trip to the petroglyphs that was
interesting and you've had us on the
edge of our seats for a little bit of
time now and I understand you're ready
to show the rest of the deck here right
this is about history in the bottom of
this hole there's going to be some of
the most important pieces of treasure to
me and kind we're talking about the Ark
of the Covenant the Ark of the Covenant
the gold chest which according to the
Old Testament contained the actual Ten
Commandments although there is some
debate about whether or not the ark
actually existed many scholars believe
that either did it was most likely
destroyed along with everything else
when the first temple of King Solomon
was plundered by the Babylonians in
approximately 600 BC
here is what we believe there is an
ancient legend about an Ancient Mariner
society traveling from the Holy Land to
Nova Scotia this particular society was
able to navigate the world by tracking
stars they were sailing with artifacts
from the first temple what year are we
talking we're talking about a voyage
about 582 to 596 BC okay there's all
these theories you know they kind of get
more outlandish as you go now we're back
to 500 BC 2500 years ago and I believer
in it no not yet but am I willing to
dismiss it no because you know he could
be right keep going the story goes that
they left the Holy Land they went to the
north part of Africa they went to the
Iberian Peninsula they come on up the
coast of Ireland and Scotland and
eventually to Nova Scotia but if as J
Hutton Pulitzer believes the Ark of the
Covenant and its contents were rescued
more than 2,500 years ago who would have
done it
the Phoenicians are the people were
talking about and they're thinking we
gotta get this the hell out of here we
gotta take it to the other end of the
earth well you're sitting here at the
other end of the earth in relation to
those times clearly that's the thing
that will change the history of mankind
oh yeah if you could prove this voyage
absolutely it changes everything because
we have this Columbus centric and you
were right
legendary further skills as Mariners the
Phoenicians were an ancient Semitic
culture that dominated trade in the
Mediterranean region from approximately
1200 to 550 BC their empire extended
from the Middle East to Spain and there
are some historians who believe their
knowledge of the sea may have enabled
them to sail all the way across the
Atlantic Ocean get me here get you back
here get me back here there's a trail a
symbol trail now they stopped at five
known locations in this trip this
language that specifically this people
write is found in all of the locations
so you're looking at the language of the
inscribed stone that was found at the
90-foot level according to Pew losers
theory the symbols on the inscribed
stone are similar to those found in an
ancient alphabet known as tifinagh it is
closely associated with the Punic
language used by the people of Carthage
a powerful Phoenician colony in North
Africa dating back as early as 1000 BC
so let's draw some other connections we
tried to connect to one other things we
used what we call the trail of coins
Stone Age Iron Age Bronze Age was all
defined by the finding of Clint's coins
is the magic trail droppings that you
pick up along the way the reference yes
this particular coin was minted in that
region 2,500 years ago every one of the
stops along this sacred voyage they have
found these coins this particular hoard
was found about 50 miles from here in
1996 three ancient bronze coins were
discovered in Nova Scotia not far from
the site of the star petroglyph at
Bedford Barrens according to experts the
coins were thought to be Carthaginian in
origin this particular culture that
speaks this old language the Phoenicians
their symbol is an eight-sided star the
Mick mah original symbol that they've
adopted for their nation is an
eight-sided star
can you at least see health and dot's
connect as the first known native
inhabitants of North America's
northeastern region the Mi'kmaq people
had their first recorded contact with
Europeans in the 14th century but could
the similarities between the
eight-pointed star from the Carthaginian
coin found in Nova Scotia the
eight-pointed star found in the
petroglyph in Bedford Barrens and the
one used is a symbol by the Mi'kmaq
people really be proof of contact dating
back approximately 2500 years I don't
know when you want to get to the Q&A
because I'm racking up a bunch of ok so
you don't believe that the Templars are
here with the 1313 treasure Templars are
tied in this has a very long Templar
trail what we believe is that the
Templars were here yes they were here
visiting there they were like everyone
else has been to this island looking
they were looking they weren't here to
drop something off they were here
looking the whole goal was finding the
ark and finding the grill they were
looking for the artifacts to
re-establish the new jersey
it's very intriguing very not only that
it's seductive I mean you know we
thought we'd heard them all but this one
is the biggest one of all it's not that
I don't buy it I need more proof
okay we're great thank you for the
presentation I'm sort of in brain cell
overload right now we would like that
little chance to talk amongst ourselves
certainly let us kick some of this
around right now so maybe we can give
you some feedback thank you thank you
very much thank you he's a very good
storyteller but it's time now to set
back a little bit and try to discern
fact from story salient thing that I do
find impressive if you're there really
is a hundred percent match to an ancient
language JB that's yet to be proved okay
well let's say that's true that would be
highly significant I mean you know it's
a thousand-year disconnect between their
trip and the Oak Island mystery
what's more than a thousand well you put
worse I think he's open-minded to the
point where a look the pursuit of
history is it's really what he engaged
with you and him will get along great
you want history in the Met for you and
Charles we want this stuff suspend the
bull buddy but you know our mission has
always been to gather as much data we as
we can from every source we can until we
finally decide whether to excavate the
money pit or not right yeah okay let's
go let's go
could J Hutton Pulitzers incredible
theory be true as far as Rick and Marty
are concerned given the strange codes
and symbols found throughout the island
and the elaborate system of tunnels box
drains and booby traps that are believed
to afforded attempts to reach whatever
it is that lies hidden no Theory no
matter how outrageous can be ignored
coming up we're pretty sure we can
locate the old Halifax tunnel and
that'll help us to locate the money pit
[Music]
the drill boss the drill drill
after saying goodbye to J Hutton
Pulitzer and after several days of
waiting the large drill rig the laginas
have ordered makes its way across the
Oak Island causeway from the mainland
we're gonna bring as big a rig as we
need David this one don't get it we're
going get a bigger one the team is eager
to resume their search for the legendary
money pit okay up until now the quarry
drilled the team was using was just not
powerful enough to penetrate all of the
stones wood and other debris that have
thwarted the team's efforts to reach
their target depth of 140 feet
but once the team reaches the money pit
why have they chosen to drill to a depth
of 140 feet in June of 1897 a previous
Oak Island treasure expedition led by
William Chappell was drilling core
samples in the muddy pit when they found
evidence of a mysterious wooden object
at a depth of 153 feet the samples later
determined that the object was a large
box or vault measuring seven feet tall
and with walls made of oak seven inches
thick even more curious was the fact
that the vault appeared to be covered in
a white chalky substance that looked
like a type of cement but within a few
days of his discovery the area
surrounding the wooden box now known as
the Chappell vault flooded with seawater
making the money pit virtually
impossible to excavate since that time
dozens of treasure hunters have dug more
than 40 so-called seeker shafts in the
area trying to bypass what is thought to
be oak islands elaborate system of
underground booby traps and flood
tunnels
eventually all of these shafts either
collapsed or also flooded with seawater
and the endless excavations in the area
obscured the exact whereabouts of the
original treasure shaft in 1965
California geologists turned treasure
hunter robert dunfield came to Oak
Island determined to solve the mystery
after building the causeway that
connects the island to the mainland he
supervised the excavation of the money
pit area the result was a massive crater
that measured 100 feet wide by 140 feet
deep but before he could reach his
target depth of 153 feet the hole
collapsed due to a combination of heavy
rain and seawater flooding in from what
many believe to be a series of
underground booby traps defeated
Dunfield filled in the massive hole and
abandoned his search unfortunately much
damage had been done
priceless artifacts and important
landmarks had been destroyed and the
money pit area was now an estimated 10
feet lower than it was when it was
originally discovered in 1795 what are
we looking for Craig what's your number
yeah 15 meters 20 meters
for that there you go exports the squat
today Marty and Craig tester have agreed
to find the money pit by employing a
different strategy Marty can you let me
know which way needs to go he's a little
off that way you know he's here he needs
to be over there
there's wheels that way come back they
will attempt to locate the so-called
Halifax tunnel one of the many abandoned
searcher tunnels that were dug by
treasure hunters hoping to reach the
money pit without setting off one of the
allegedly booby-trapped flood tunnels
we're pretty sure we can locate the old
Halifax tunnel which is down about a
hundred feet and that'll help us line
everything up because that tunnel was
run right at the money pit in 1867 men
working for the Halifax company dug a
110-foot shaft 200 feet south of the
money pit they were hoping to avoid this
so-called booby traps that first flooded
the pit with seawater just after the
90-foot stone was removed in 1804
unfortunately their strategy didn't work
upon reaching the area near the pit
seawater flooded the Halifax tunnel
nevertheless if Marty and Craig can find
the tunnel flooded or not it should lead
them directly to the money pit we just
want to watch the cuttings we got some
idea we're gonna intersect tunnels let's
do it
using a series of maps and charts made
over the years by previous treasure
hunters the team has identified two
possible locations for the Halifax
tunnel
number two
the Halifax tunnel it's been an
orientation point for a lot of the
searchers we think it'll be important
for us to if it'll help locate the money
bit when we get to 45 feet let's make
sure we got everything cleared away yeah
go from there we're expecting to hit
[Music]
while we'll be into the top of this
tunnel if it's here today a couple hours
Oak Island willing Court
[Applause]
we'll find it we'll find that day come
at the south shore near the swamp Gary's
gonna do some some metal detecting Rick
lagina has joined his nephew Peter
Fornetti metal detection expert gary
drayton and longtime Oak Island treasure
hunter dan henskee to search for coins
and other important metal artifacts they
are hoping to find evidence to support J
Hutton Pulitzers incredible theory that
ancient Phoenician sailors brought the
Ark of the Covenant to Oak Island more
than 2,000 years ago so what do you
think I think we should try down this
one
when Hutton gave us his theory of what
happened on Oak Island is that an
intriguing story you bet it is but at
the end of the day every Theory has to
be proven and right now my hand is empty
so but it become very compelling to put
a twenty five hundred year-old
Carthaginian coin them the palm of my
hand absolutely I mean I'd do backflips
across the ocean for God's sake
oh boy
one Guinea about to be exposed small
antics
was in my brain didn't come out my mouth
there it is the pull-tab from a 1970s
nice this or anything else there the
higher tone than the last signal which
is good right yeah
[Music]
come on coin old coin
[Music]
it's a coin
Oh coin well coming up
Brian's can be damned
I'm gonna bring this back to Marty
that's gold baby it's a coin all right
fine
metal detector expert Gary Drayton has
just discovered an antique coin on the
south shore of Oak Island could it be
like the 17th century Spanish maravedi
found in the swamp last summer or could
it be much much older
this is a British coin yeah it looks
like George the second is his nose which
one was that
yes Britannia sitting on the shield
holding a trident this is a British coin
17 is that 1771 a British coin dated
before the time of the American
Revolution could it have been left
behind by someone who came to the island
looking for treasure or could it have
been dropped by someone who came there
to bury it they call these culpas first
time I've ever found one fantastic next
one has to be a hundred years older than
that
bit by bit coin by coin the history of
Oak Island begins to take shape but
could one of the coins the team finds on
the island be an important clue to
solving the mystery of the money pit or
will it be that once one mystery is
solved another even more puzzling will
immediately take its place
let's use this wall as a orientation
hall then let's put on five bedrock
back at the money pit site Marty lagina
and Craig tester are still trying to
locate the Halifax tunnel
if successful they're hoping it will
lead them directly to the money pit
we're at least what's going on till we
find water
because the Halifax tunnel flooded with
seawater at a depth of 110 feet hitting
water may be an indication that Marty
and the team have located the nearly 150
year old shaft unfortunately the only
thing they have been able to find so far
is dry dirt and no water means no tunnel
Bryan's can be
I'm discouraged I mean we just spent a
bunch of time and money but we missed
the tunnel we were looking for so now we
are moving to the next one damn it
at the south shore near the Oak Island
swamp Rick lagina and his team are still
searching for ancient coins and other
metal artifacts I have a question for
you okay I see the red beach area you
are dan Rather make anything of that
it's most curious
no it's quite simple songs the fool's
gold
and you see the pyrite crystals there
yeah for some reasons not stable and it
turns to rust on the shore because of
its shiny golden appearance iron pyrite
a commonly available mineral is also
known as fool's gold
in 1577 Explorer Martin Frobisher
brought over 1,100 tons of fools gold
from northern Canada to England claiming
he had discovered a genuine gold mine
although the worthless nature of his
cargo would later be discovered one
theory suggests that some of frobisher's
abandoned mine shafts were located on
Oak Island and that they were later used
to hide objects of enormous value like
pirate gold the lost manuscripts of
William Shakespeare Marie Antoinette's
jewels and even priceless religious
objects
one shot okay now if there's a beautiful
run of Fool's Gold crystals there the
island is just loaded with this stuff
I'm gonna bring this back to Marty
that's a gold baby and he'd better
believe it that sounds like a good
signal Oh can you see this was looking
good another coin could it be similar to
the ones found earlier or could it be
even older like the Carthaginian coins
found near the island just a few years
ago his bridge and there's the day from
the seventeen hundreds the British mayor
has been here a lot more than we know
about for centuries England and Spain
vied for control of the new world's
riches in 1762 the British Navy captured
the rich Spanish port of Havana millions
of dollars of Spanish gold was shipped
back to England but some people believe
some of that treasure was diverted to
Oak Island and hidden by rogue British
military leaders could today's
incredible discovery of to eighteenth
century British coins help to support
that theory this is a lot better results
than we usually get on Oak Island here
as far as what he's recovered it's
wonderful information does it tell us
the who what when where why and how
not yet but it's an answer now that
we're on the win side of the column
let's let's call it a date we got some
coins to clean
coming up we need to get back to the
money pit and drill the hole we couldn't
get down on with a little rig this rig
will get down on it
[Music]
thank you so far Marty and Craig's
attempt to locate the shortcut to the
money pit by first finding the Halifax
tunnel has been unsuccessful they have
just enough daylight left to try one
more location third why you think what
I'd like to be right
suddenly as the drill nears 100 feet it
starts to slow down could oak islands
dense clay soil be proving too much of
an obstacle for even this powerful
drilling rig to get through
[Applause]
[Music]
now using water to loosen the soil Marty
and Craig continue their efforts to find
the Halifax tunnel
but while water should keep the drill
bit from getting stuck it may also make
the hole unstable
[Music]
with the whole they just drilled in
danger of collapsing and was still no
sign of the elusive Halifax tunnel Marty
and Craig have no choice but to shut
down their operation
alright well I've seen it up
didn't work
we missed twice so our information
wasn't any good we need to go back to
the maps see what we did wrong we found
two spots where it isn't back to the
drawing board plot these do well see we
did wrong and get down to the money
pinch right yeah we need to get back to
the money pit and drill the hole we
couldn't get down on with a little rig
this rig will get down on it I believe
he's got way more horsepower he's got
way more pump as far as Marty lagina is
concerned another day on Oak Island
has come and gone with little to show
for it because they haven't been able to
locate the Halifax tunnel the laginas
and their partners will have to figure
out another way to find the money pit we
missed
you see anything strange at all right
don't want no nothing we'll get down
into that triangle that Craig's
determined has never been drilled maybe
find some of the original hopefully
valuable stuff that was in the money pit
tomorrow's a new day let's go
it's a rainy day on Oak Island a day
when the weather seems to reflect the
collective mood of the laginas and their
partners nasty weather as if their
problems with finding the money pit
weren't enough the brothers and their
partners are now worried about another
serious issue one which involves pending
legislation that could effectively shut
down all current treasure hunting
activities on the island this is Robert
Myra he's the counselor for this area
and you're gonna kind of bring us up to
speed a little bit on this bill that
we're kind of worried about bill 68
Oh sixty infamous you won't believe this
last spring a local politician proposed
legislation that would effectively treat
all of Oak Island as a protected
historical site it would also require
that any digging or drilling be
conducted using the strictest
archaeological methods and standards the
province would call dibs on some
discoveries made at Oak Island oh my god
although the laginas and their partners
are fairly supportive of the bill's
objectives they believe the timing for
it is premature
as it is largely inspired by various
myths and legends about the island and
not the concrete evidence the laginas
are hoping to find
tell us we're concerned and we would
like sort of an insider's viewpoint well
the bill was bought the console and was
talked about and seems like the
government instead of 10% of the charges
they went 25% honestly when we first
found out about that bill
you should have right yeah shocked us
you know the most perplexing thing about
Bill 68 is that we've been very
respectful of the island the history the
lore and and the Nova Scotian heritage
so we've always behaved honorably and
with integrity we've jumped through
every hoop every requirement the
treasure of license says historical
artifacts I'm half stay in Canada and
then we intend to abide by that we had
in archaeology as part of the treasure
trove license go through the entire
island he you know he said there's been
so much activity from searchers that
most of the island doesn't have
historical value because it just been
too many holes don't why not I think
there's a story here a story that
belongs to Nova Scotia in particular
into the world in general and we're very
respectful and always take care that in
the discovery process that's first and
foremost some of the provisions of that
bill basically would allow the whole
process to be shut down without notice
we have a lot invested here in money
time emotion and they might all get
taken away they do have news so you
coming up this rig is much heavier they
don't get it jacked up properly the rig
could tip
for the past few months Rick Marty and
the other members of the Oak Island team
have been concerned about the fate of a
new piece of provincial legislation that
could threaten to halt all of their
present activities on Oak Island
they do have news for you bill 68 is no
longer in power their livers got rid of
it
good we got all kinds of things to worry
about here this is welcome news at a
time when good news has been in short
supply they may bring it back I may not
I can't say that right but for right now
from our standpoint it's dead we have to
worry about no okay
it was a tremendous relief because I
mean let's face it we have enough issues
out here without having to sort of fight
a rearguard action against the rules
being changed we only need one adversary
and it's it's here it's Oak Island
armed
with the knowledge that their activities
on oak island have the support of the
government the laginas and their
partners can once again turn their
attention to finding the original money
pit
dürdane frustrated by their unsuccessful
attempts to locate the money pit by way
of the Halifax tunnel Rick lagina and
Craig tester have decided to return to
their original strategy and find the
money pit by drilling and extracting a
number of core samples because I know
you guys thought you weren't be right
that's our preference but first they're
going to need to know if the 30-ton
drill rig they've hired can drill
through the layers of rocks and debris
left behind by previous treasure hunters
since we've already got those two wells
we kind of jumped over to this side the
problem is we were in a lot of wood
right here
but drilling through dense layers of
wooden stone may not be the drill rigs
biggest obstacle my concern though is
this the ground being consol because
then yes I'm back up further right over
unconsolidated stuff yeah
I'd hate to see the rig start doing this
that would not be good
good to go okay well then let's do it
the rig we previously had here is a
fairly small rig early light this rig is
much bigger much heavier they could sink
down into the mud or it could cause a
cavity to collapse
bringing Jordans rig in it's two to
three times as heavy as the geotech ring
they don't get it jacked up properly
with sufficient boards the rig could tip
we're looking for that vault at the
140-foot level so we find anything
man-made significant below there I mean
I think it'll just make it much more
easy making a decision whether it isn't
right do the Big Dig or not let's just
give it a try and see what happens the
Big Dig Craig tester is referring to
involves a complete excavation of the
money pit site down to a depth of 140
feet first they will have to find a way
of shutting off or blocking out the
seawater that floods the pit then they
will have to dig an enormous hole and
hope that it won't collapse before they
can retrieve whatever it is they find at
the bottom but will it be pirate gold
precious jewels sacred religious objects
before will they find nothing at all
that suckers heavy
the drill rig begins to sink into the
mud
could an ancient mine shaft or searcher
tunnel be collapsing deep underground
the large drill rig the laginas are
trying to use at the money pit is now
seeking into the oak island mud
centuries of digging and drilling have
made the ground soft and unstable even
more dangerous is the possibility that
numerous underground treasure tunnels
have rotted with time and could collapse
at any moment you think Keith yeah one
of the problems with this whole venture
is we were drilling probably in film
either from a shaft that was filled or
from mr. dunfield's excavations or from
a shaft that collapsed maybe it was
leaning over a little bit lay down mats
that way everyday never go down come
down on top of mats okay
[Music]
there's 220 years of digging drilling
blasting boring and given all the
disturbances in that area that ground
was still soft we do have safety
concerns here and the biggest one is was
the cavity formed at some point in time
and put that cave in if it is with the
original vault that we're caving and
that would not be good news because
we're hoping to get down to it but this
is the money pit area and you never know
when something might go wrong after some
fast teamwork Rick and Craig managed to
pack the hole with rocks adding
stability to the ground beneath Jordans
rig I'm never afraid to get my hands
dirty Craig and I were tossing boulders
in the hole I mean I'll do anything look
we're here to solve this and you know if
I had to carry bricks on my back for 50
miles every day I'd do it I'm gonna do
whatever it takes because I'm in the
fight and we're here to win seems to be
pretty stable there okay so let's get
stealing before
[Applause]
let's cross our fingers and hope this
goes
[Applause]
once again Oak Island has been
successful at keeping its most precious
secret hidden but will the laginas and
their partners like all the previous
dreamers and treasure seekers who came
to Oak Island ultimately leave beaten
and empty-handed or will they fight back
beat the odds and finally solve the
mystery that has eluded men and women
for more than 200 years the island tends
to take a toll it teaches you a lesson
you can't constantly think that every
morning you're gonna wake up and you're
going to find the answers
it's not just a one-day trip this
pursuit is long-term there's a reason
it's called the money pit it has sucked
a lot of money out of a lot of people
over the years but we're on a quest
we're doing something that we love and
we're not giving up next time on the
curse of Oak Island
why not this is looking very expensive
and not too much reward this is fun in
the bottom of a swamp what the hell is
that a big tree stump what's that doing
out in the middle Nolan wouldn't have
grown underwater and the swamp came
after the tree he's man-made it's the
money pit I want to see what's down
there that's the top of the vault looks
like we might have it right Wow guys do
you think you're on the ball
previously on the curse of Oak Island
this could be the first step towards
getting the money finished
you're not gonna get nothing there
there's no way of going through footing
and you won't believe this if the bill
becomes law the province would call dibs
on some discoveries made at Oak Island
we have located a symbol that directly
connects King Solomon's Temple to the
island this eight-sided Star comes from
the Holy Name that's significant
there is an island in the North Atlantic
where men have been looking for treasure
for more than 200 years so far they've
uncovered tunnels booby-traps
carved stones with strange symbols even
a 17th century pirate treasure coin six
men have even lost their lives trying to
solve the mystery
and according to legend one more will
have to die before the treasure
can be found
it's a new day on Oak Island
a day that will bring new equipment new
theories and hopefully new findings
Hutton Aubrey this is what we
affectionately call our war room we'd
like to think that we have our good
ideas in here so welcome thank you it is
also on this day that Rick Marty and
their team have arranged the meet with
professional treasure hunters J Hutton
Pulitzer and his cousin Aubrey Raiford
you're not part of it one week ago
Hutton and Aubrey came to Oak Island
armed with Hutton's theory that the Oak
Island mystery involved nothing less
than a treasure taken from King
Solomon's Temple I'm gonna show you
assemble that uniquely ties back to the
Holy Land he then invited Marty Rick and
members of the team to come with him off
the island to see an ancient petroglyph
of an eight-pointed star located on land
claimed by the native big moth tribes
people see that there that's quite
significant according to his research
Hutton claimed the symbol was based on
an ancient language one connected to the
symbols found on the mysterious stone
slab that was discovered in the money
pit in 1804
now the veteran treasure hunter has
returned to Oak Island ready to present
what he promises will be an incredible
theory we appreciate the little field
trip to the petroglyphs that was
interesting and you've had us on the
edge of our seats for a little bit of
time now and I understand you're ready
to show the rest of the deck here right
this is about history in the bottom of
this hole there's going to be some of
the most important pieces of treasure to
me and kind we're talking about the Ark
of the Covenant the Ark of the Covenant
the gold chest which according to the
Old Testament contained the actual Ten
Commandments although there is some
debate about whether or not the ark
actually existed many scholars believe
that either did it was most likely
destroyed along with everything else
when the first temple of King Solomon
was plundered by the Babylonians in
approximately 600 BC
here is what we believe there is an
ancient legend about an Ancient Mariner
society traveling from the Holy Land to
Nova Scotia this particular society was
able to navigate the world by tracking
stars they were sailing with artifacts
from the first temple what year are we
talking we're talking about a voyage
about 582 to 596 BC okay there's all
these theories you know they kind of get
more outlandish as you go now we're back
to 500 BC 2500 years ago and I believer
in it no not yet but am I willing to
dismiss it no because you know he could
be right keep going the story goes that
they left the Holy Land they went to the
north part of Africa they went to the
Iberian Peninsula they come on up the
coast of Ireland and Scotland and
eventually to Nova Scotia but if as J
Hutton Pulitzer believes the Ark of the
Covenant and its contents were rescued
more than 2,500 years ago who would have
done it
the Phoenicians are the people were
talking about and they're thinking we
gotta get this the hell out of here we
gotta take it to the other end of the
earth well you're sitting here at the
other end of the earth in relation to
those times clearly that's the thing
that will change the history of mankind
oh yeah if you could prove this voyage
absolutely it changes everything because
we have this Columbus centric and you
were right
legendary further skills as Mariners the
Phoenicians were an ancient Semitic
culture that dominated trade in the
Mediterranean region from approximately
1200 to 550 BC their empire extended
from the Middle East to Spain and there
are some historians who believe their
knowledge of the sea may have enabled
them to sail all the way across the
Atlantic Ocean get me here get you back
here get me back here there's a trail a
symbol trail now they stopped at five
known locations in this trip this
language that specifically this people
write is found in all of the locations
so you're looking at the language of the
inscribed stone that was found at the
90-foot level according to Pew losers
theory the symbols on the inscribed
stone are similar to those found in an
ancient alphabet known as tifinagh it is
closely associated with the Punic
language used by the people of Carthage
a powerful Phoenician colony in North
Africa dating back as early as 1000 BC
so let's draw some other connections we
tried to connect to one other things we
used what we call the trail of coins
Stone Age Iron Age Bronze Age was all
defined by the finding of Clint's coins
is the magic trail droppings that you
pick up along the way the reference yes
this particular coin was minted in that
region 2,500 years ago every one of the
stops along this sacred voyage they have
found these coins this particular hoard
was found about 50 miles from here in
1996 three ancient bronze coins were
discovered in Nova Scotia not far from
the site of the star petroglyph at
Bedford Barrens according to experts the
coins were thought to be Carthaginian in
origin this particular culture that
speaks this old language the Phoenicians
their symbol is an eight-sided star the
Mick mah original symbol that they've
adopted for their nation is an
eight-sided star
can you at least see health and dot's
connect as the first known native
inhabitants of North America's
northeastern region the Mi'kmaq people
had their first recorded contact with
Europeans in the 14th century but could
the similarities between the
eight-pointed star from the Carthaginian
coin found in Nova Scotia the
eight-pointed star found in the
petroglyph in Bedford Barrens and the
one used is a symbol by the Mi'kmaq
people really be proof of contact dating
back approximately 2500 years I don't
know when you want to get to the Q&A
because I'm racking up a bunch of ok so
you don't believe that the Templars are
here with the 1313 treasure Templars are
tied in this has a very long Templar
trail what we believe is that the
Templars were here yes they were here
visiting there they were like everyone
else has been to this island looking
they were looking they weren't here to
drop something off they were here
looking the whole goal was finding the
ark and finding the grill they were
looking for the artifacts to
re-establish the new jersey
it's very intriguing very not only that
it's seductive I mean you know we
thought we'd heard them all but this one
is the biggest one of all it's not that
I don't buy it I need more proof
okay we're great thank you for the
presentation I'm sort of in brain cell
overload right now we would like that
little chance to talk amongst ourselves
certainly let us kick some of this
around right now so maybe we can give
you some feedback thank you thank you
very much thank you he's a very good
storyteller but it's time now to set
back a little bit and try to discern
fact from story salient thing that I do
find impressive if you're there really
is a hundred percent match to an ancient
language JB that's yet to be proved okay
well let's say that's true that would be
highly significant I mean you know it's
a thousand-year disconnect between their
trip and the Oak Island mystery
what's more than a thousand well you put
worse I think he's open-minded to the
point where a look the pursuit of
history is it's really what he engaged
with you and him will get along great
you want history in the Met for you and
Charles we want this stuff suspend the
bull buddy but you know our mission has
always been to gather as much data we as
we can from every source we can until we
finally decide whether to excavate the
money pit or not right yeah okay let's
go let's go
could J Hutton Pulitzers incredible
theory be true as far as Rick and Marty
are concerned given the strange codes
and symbols found throughout the island
and the elaborate system of tunnels box
drains and booby traps that are believed
to afforded attempts to reach whatever
it is that lies hidden no Theory no
matter how outrageous can be ignored
coming up we're pretty sure we can
locate the old Halifax tunnel and
that'll help us to locate the money pit
[Music]
the drill boss the drill drill
after saying goodbye to J Hutton
Pulitzer and after several days of
waiting the large drill rig the laginas
have ordered makes its way across the
Oak Island causeway from the mainland
we're gonna bring as big a rig as we
need David this one don't get it we're
going get a bigger one the team is eager
to resume their search for the legendary
money pit okay up until now the quarry
drilled the team was using was just not
powerful enough to penetrate all of the
stones wood and other debris that have
thwarted the team's efforts to reach
their target depth of 140 feet
but once the team reaches the money pit
why have they chosen to drill to a depth
of 140 feet in June of 1897 a previous
Oak Island treasure expedition led by
William Chappell was drilling core
samples in the muddy pit when they found
evidence of a mysterious wooden object
at a depth of 153 feet the samples later
determined that the object was a large
box or vault measuring seven feet tall
and with walls made of oak seven inches
thick even more curious was the fact
that the vault appeared to be covered in
a white chalky substance that looked
like a type of cement but within a few
days of his discovery the area
surrounding the wooden box now known as
the Chappell vault flooded with seawater
making the money pit virtually
impossible to excavate since that time
dozens of treasure hunters have dug more
than 40 so-called seeker shafts in the
area trying to bypass what is thought to
be oak islands elaborate system of
underground booby traps and flood
tunnels
eventually all of these shafts either
collapsed or also flooded with seawater
and the endless excavations in the area
obscured the exact whereabouts of the
original treasure shaft in 1965
California geologists turned treasure
hunter robert dunfield came to Oak
Island determined to solve the mystery
after building the causeway that
connects the island to the mainland he
supervised the excavation of the money
pit area the result was a massive crater
that measured 100 feet wide by 140 feet
deep but before he could reach his
target depth of 153 feet the hole
collapsed due to a combination of heavy
rain and seawater flooding in from what
many believe to be a series of
underground booby traps defeated
Dunfield filled in the massive hole and
abandoned his search unfortunately much
damage had been done
priceless artifacts and important
landmarks had been destroyed and the
money pit area was now an estimated 10
feet lower than it was when it was
originally discovered in 1795 what are
we looking for Craig what's your number
yeah 15 meters 20 meters
for that there you go exports the squat
today Marty and Craig tester have agreed
to find the money pit by employing a
different strategy Marty can you let me
know which way needs to go he's a little
off that way you know he's here he needs
to be over there
there's wheels that way come back they
will attempt to locate the so-called
Halifax tunnel one of the many abandoned
searcher tunnels that were dug by
treasure hunters hoping to reach the
money pit without setting off one of the
allegedly booby-trapped flood tunnels
we're pretty sure we can locate the old
Halifax tunnel which is down about a
hundred feet and that'll help us line
everything up because that tunnel was
run right at the money pit in 1867 men
working for the Halifax company dug a
110-foot shaft 200 feet south of the
money pit they were hoping to avoid this
so-called booby traps that first flooded
the pit with seawater just after the
90-foot stone was removed in 1804
unfortunately their strategy didn't work
upon reaching the area near the pit
seawater flooded the Halifax tunnel
nevertheless if Marty and Craig can find
the tunnel flooded or not it should lead
them directly to the money pit we just
want to watch the cuttings we got some
idea we're gonna intersect tunnels let's
do it
using a series of maps and charts made
over the years by previous treasure
hunters the team has identified two
possible locations for the Halifax
tunnel
number two
the Halifax tunnel it's been an
orientation point for a lot of the
searchers we think it'll be important
for us to if it'll help locate the money
bit when we get to 45 feet let's make
sure we got everything cleared away yeah
go from there we're expecting to hit
[Music]
while we'll be into the top of this
tunnel if it's here today a couple hours
Oak Island willing Court
[Applause]
we'll find it we'll find that day come
at the south shore near the swamp Gary's
gonna do some some metal detecting Rick
lagina has joined his nephew Peter
Fornetti metal detection expert gary
drayton and longtime Oak Island treasure
hunter dan henskee to search for coins
and other important metal artifacts they
are hoping to find evidence to support J
Hutton Pulitzers incredible theory that
ancient Phoenician sailors brought the
Ark of the Covenant to Oak Island more
than 2,000 years ago so what do you
think I think we should try down this
one
when Hutton gave us his theory of what
happened on Oak Island is that an
intriguing story you bet it is but at
the end of the day every Theory has to
be proven and right now my hand is empty
so but it become very compelling to put
a twenty five hundred year-old
Carthaginian coin them the palm of my
hand absolutely I mean I'd do backflips
across the ocean for God's sake
oh boy
one Guinea about to be exposed small
antics
was in my brain didn't come out my mouth
there it is the pull-tab from a 1970s
nice this or anything else there the
higher tone than the last signal which
is good right yeah
[Music]
come on coin old coin
[Music]
it's a coin
Oh coin well coming up
Brian's can be damned
I'm gonna bring this back to Marty
that's gold baby it's a coin all right
fine
metal detector expert Gary Drayton has
just discovered an antique coin on the
south shore of Oak Island could it be
like the 17th century Spanish maravedi
found in the swamp last summer or could
it be much much older
this is a British coin yeah it looks
like George the second is his nose which
one was that
yes Britannia sitting on the shield
holding a trident this is a British coin
17 is that 1771 a British coin dated
before the time of the American
Revolution could it have been left
behind by someone who came to the island
looking for treasure or could it have
been dropped by someone who came there
to bury it they call these culpas first
time I've ever found one fantastic next
one has to be a hundred years older than
that
bit by bit coin by coin the history of
Oak Island begins to take shape but
could one of the coins the team finds on
the island be an important clue to
solving the mystery of the money pit or
will it be that once one mystery is
solved another even more puzzling will
immediately take its place
let's use this wall as a orientation
hall then let's put on five bedrock
back at the money pit site Marty lagina
and Craig tester are still trying to
locate the Halifax tunnel
if successful they're hoping it will
lead them directly to the money pit
we're at least what's going on till we
find water
because the Halifax tunnel flooded with
seawater at a depth of 110 feet hitting
water may be an indication that Marty
and the team have located the nearly 150
year old shaft unfortunately the only
thing they have been able to find so far
is dry dirt and no water means no tunnel
Bryan's can be
I'm discouraged I mean we just spent a
bunch of time and money but we missed
the tunnel we were looking for so now we
are moving to the next one damn it
at the south shore near the Oak Island
swamp Rick lagina and his team are still
searching for ancient coins and other
metal artifacts I have a question for
you okay I see the red beach area you
are dan Rather make anything of that
it's most curious
no it's quite simple songs the fool's
gold
and you see the pyrite crystals there
yeah for some reasons not stable and it
turns to rust on the shore because of
its shiny golden appearance iron pyrite
a commonly available mineral is also
known as fool's gold
in 1577 Explorer Martin Frobisher
brought over 1,100 tons of fools gold
from northern Canada to England claiming
he had discovered a genuine gold mine
although the worthless nature of his
cargo would later be discovered one
theory suggests that some of frobisher's
abandoned mine shafts were located on
Oak Island and that they were later used
to hide objects of enormous value like
pirate gold the lost manuscripts of
William Shakespeare Marie Antoinette's
jewels and even priceless religious
objects
one shot okay now if there's a beautiful
run of Fool's Gold crystals there the
island is just loaded with this stuff
I'm gonna bring this back to Marty
that's a gold baby and he'd better
believe it that sounds like a good
signal Oh can you see this was looking
good another coin could it be similar to
the ones found earlier or could it be
even older like the Carthaginian coins
found near the island just a few years
ago his bridge and there's the day from
the seventeen hundreds the British mayor
has been here a lot more than we know
about for centuries England and Spain
vied for control of the new world's
riches in 1762 the British Navy captured
the rich Spanish port of Havana millions
of dollars of Spanish gold was shipped
back to England but some people believe
some of that treasure was diverted to
Oak Island and hidden by rogue British
military leaders could today's
incredible discovery of to eighteenth
century British coins help to support
that theory this is a lot better results
than we usually get on Oak Island here
as far as what he's recovered it's
wonderful information does it tell us
the who what when where why and how
not yet but it's an answer now that
we're on the win side of the column
let's let's call it a date we got some
coins to clean
coming up we need to get back to the
money pit and drill the hole we couldn't
get down on with a little rig this rig
will get down on it
[Music]
thank you so far Marty and Craig's
attempt to locate the shortcut to the
money pit by first finding the Halifax
tunnel has been unsuccessful they have
just enough daylight left to try one
more location third why you think what
I'd like to be right
suddenly as the drill nears 100 feet it
starts to slow down could oak islands
dense clay soil be proving too much of
an obstacle for even this powerful
drilling rig to get through
[Applause]
[Music]
now using water to loosen the soil Marty
and Craig continue their efforts to find
the Halifax tunnel
but while water should keep the drill
bit from getting stuck it may also make
the hole unstable
[Music]
with the whole they just drilled in
danger of collapsing and was still no
sign of the elusive Halifax tunnel Marty
and Craig have no choice but to shut
down their operation
alright well I've seen it up
didn't work
we missed twice so our information
wasn't any good we need to go back to
the maps see what we did wrong we found
two spots where it isn't back to the
drawing board plot these do well see we
did wrong and get down to the money
pinch right yeah we need to get back to
the money pit and drill the hole we
couldn't get down on with a little rig
this rig will get down on it I believe
he's got way more horsepower he's got
way more pump as far as Marty lagina is
concerned another day on Oak Island
has come and gone with little to show
for it because they haven't been able to
locate the Halifax tunnel the laginas
and their partners will have to figure
out another way to find the money pit we
missed
you see anything strange at all right
don't want no nothing we'll get down
into that triangle that Craig's
determined has never been drilled maybe
find some of the original hopefully
valuable stuff that was in the money pit
tomorrow's a new day let's go
it's a rainy day on Oak Island a day
when the weather seems to reflect the
collective mood of the laginas and their
partners nasty weather as if their
problems with finding the money pit
weren't enough the brothers and their
partners are now worried about another
serious issue one which involves pending
legislation that could effectively shut
down all current treasure hunting
activities on the island this is Robert
Myra he's the counselor for this area
and you're gonna kind of bring us up to
speed a little bit on this bill that
we're kind of worried about bill 68
Oh sixty infamous you won't believe this
last spring a local politician proposed
legislation that would effectively treat
all of Oak Island as a protected
historical site it would also require
that any digging or drilling be
conducted using the strictest
archaeological methods and standards the
province would call dibs on some
discoveries made at Oak Island oh my god
although the laginas and their partners
are fairly supportive of the bill's
objectives they believe the timing for
it is premature
as it is largely inspired by various
myths and legends about the island and
not the concrete evidence the laginas
are hoping to find
tell us we're concerned and we would
like sort of an insider's viewpoint well
the bill was bought the console and was
talked about and seems like the
government instead of 10% of the charges
they went 25% honestly when we first
found out about that bill
you should have right yeah shocked us
you know the most perplexing thing about
Bill 68 is that we've been very
respectful of the island the history the
lore and and the Nova Scotian heritage
so we've always behaved honorably and
with integrity we've jumped through
every hoop every requirement the
treasure of license says historical
artifacts I'm half stay in Canada and
then we intend to abide by that we had
in archaeology as part of the treasure
trove license go through the entire
island he you know he said there's been
so much activity from searchers that
most of the island doesn't have
historical value because it just been
too many holes don't why not I think
there's a story here a story that
belongs to Nova Scotia in particular
into the world in general and we're very
respectful and always take care that in
the discovery process that's first and
foremost some of the provisions of that
bill basically would allow the whole
process to be shut down without notice
we have a lot invested here in money
time emotion and they might all get
taken away they do have news so you
coming up this rig is much heavier they
don't get it jacked up properly the rig
could tip
for the past few months Rick Marty and
the other members of the Oak Island team
have been concerned about the fate of a
new piece of provincial legislation that
could threaten to halt all of their
present activities on Oak Island
they do have news for you bill 68 is no
longer in power their livers got rid of
it
good we got all kinds of things to worry
about here this is welcome news at a
time when good news has been in short
supply they may bring it back I may not
I can't say that right but for right now
from our standpoint it's dead we have to
worry about no okay
it was a tremendous relief because I
mean let's face it we have enough issues
out here without having to sort of fight
a rearguard action against the rules
being changed we only need one adversary
and it's it's here it's Oak Island
armed
with the knowledge that their activities
on oak island have the support of the
government the laginas and their
partners can once again turn their
attention to finding the original money
pit
dürdane frustrated by their unsuccessful
attempts to locate the money pit by way
of the Halifax tunnel Rick lagina and
Craig tester have decided to return to
their original strategy and find the
money pit by drilling and extracting a
number of core samples because I know
you guys thought you weren't be right
that's our preference but first they're
going to need to know if the 30-ton
drill rig they've hired can drill
through the layers of rocks and debris
left behind by previous treasure hunters
since we've already got those two wells
we kind of jumped over to this side the
problem is we were in a lot of wood
right here
but drilling through dense layers of
wooden stone may not be the drill rigs
biggest obstacle my concern though is
this the ground being consol because
then yes I'm back up further right over
unconsolidated stuff yeah
I'd hate to see the rig start doing this
that would not be good
good to go okay well then let's do it
the rig we previously had here is a
fairly small rig early light this rig is
much bigger much heavier they could sink
down into the mud or it could cause a
cavity to collapse
bringing Jordans rig in it's two to
three times as heavy as the geotech ring
they don't get it jacked up properly
with sufficient boards the rig could tip
we're looking for that vault at the
140-foot level so we find anything
man-made significant below there I mean
I think it'll just make it much more
easy making a decision whether it isn't
right do the Big Dig or not let's just
give it a try and see what happens the
Big Dig Craig tester is referring to
involves a complete excavation of the
money pit site down to a depth of 140
feet first they will have to find a way
of shutting off or blocking out the
seawater that floods the pit then they
will have to dig an enormous hole and
hope that it won't collapse before they
can retrieve whatever it is they find at
the bottom but will it be pirate gold
precious jewels sacred religious objects
before will they find nothing at all
that suckers heavy
the drill rig begins to sink into the
mud
could an ancient mine shaft or searcher
tunnel be collapsing deep underground
the large drill rig the laginas are
trying to use at the money pit is now
seeking into the oak island mud
centuries of digging and drilling have
made the ground soft and unstable even
more dangerous is the possibility that
numerous underground treasure tunnels
have rotted with time and could collapse
at any moment you think Keith yeah one
of the problems with this whole venture
is we were drilling probably in film
either from a shaft that was filled or
from mr. dunfield's excavations or from
a shaft that collapsed maybe it was
leaning over a little bit lay down mats
that way everyday never go down come
down on top of mats okay
[Music]
there's 220 years of digging drilling
blasting boring and given all the
disturbances in that area that ground
was still soft we do have safety
concerns here and the biggest one is was
the cavity formed at some point in time
and put that cave in if it is with the
original vault that we're caving and
that would not be good news because
we're hoping to get down to it but this
is the money pit area and you never know
when something might go wrong after some
fast teamwork Rick and Craig managed to
pack the hole with rocks adding
stability to the ground beneath Jordans
rig I'm never afraid to get my hands
dirty Craig and I were tossing boulders
in the hole I mean I'll do anything look
we're here to solve this and you know if
I had to carry bricks on my back for 50
miles every day I'd do it I'm gonna do
whatever it takes because I'm in the
fight and we're here to win seems to be
pretty stable there okay so let's get
stealing before
[Applause]
let's cross our fingers and hope this
goes
[Applause]
once again Oak Island has been
successful at keeping its most precious
secret hidden but will the laginas and
their partners like all the previous
dreamers and treasure seekers who came
to Oak Island ultimately leave beaten
and empty-handed or will they fight back
beat the odds and finally solve the
mystery that has eluded men and women
for more than 200 years the island tends
to take a toll it teaches you a lesson
you can't constantly think that every
morning you're gonna wake up and you're
going to find the answers
it's not just a one-day trip this
pursuit is long-term there's a reason
it's called the money pit it has sucked
a lot of money out of a lot of people
over the years but we're on a quest
we're doing something that we love and
we're not giving up next time on the
curse of Oak Island
why not this is looking very expensive
and not too much reward this is fun in
the bottom of a swamp what the hell is
that a big tree stump what's that doing
out in the middle Nolan wouldn't have
grown underwater and the swamp came
after the tree he's man-made it's the
money pit I want to see what's down
there that's the top of the vault looks
like we might have it right Wow guys do
you think you're on the ball