The Curse of Oak Island (2014) s03e06 Episode Script

1
Tonight on the curse of Oak Island
that famous stone is it on the island it
was in chime phrase when I thought if
these are part of a bigger puzzle we've
got three new pieces let's see what we
found here do you think he's an art all
right these two pieces seem to be part
of the same stone you could probably
match them right up what we got a 5 when
we drill these homes the chambers were
the real treasures if he put an X on the
spot this was good work on Diaz Jack
Empire
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 bits of
gold chain a stone slab with strange
symbols carved into it even a 17th
century Spanish coin 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
while the process of exploring 10x has
been temporarily put on hold Rick lagina
has decided to focus his attention on
the hundreds of strange carvings that
have been found all over the island
carvings that may provide information
not only as to where treasure could lie
buried but who buried it and perhaps
even more important what it is Rick
lagina knows there is no better source
of information about Oak Island and its
history than his friend and partner dan
Blankenship at 92 dan has spent more
than 50 years determined to solve the
220 year old mystery
dad
got a question for you Ally you can if
you want okay but I'm gonna catch you
you know those thats stolen the H or the
famous H o stone oh yeah is it on the
island that's the first question not
that I know of rich I remember it many
years ago and it was on the island when
I was doing drilling on on that field
and I don't know maybe about 20 years or
so it just disappeared
in 1921 a huge boulder covered with
carved inscriptions was found on the
northern shore of Oak Island believing
it might have been placed there to mark
the location of buried treasure
searchers demolished it using dynamite
and dug underneath it although nothing
was found in 1936 treasure hunter
Gilbert Hedden saved some of the larger
fragments including one which featured
an H a cross and a circle with a dot in
the center
I don't know what to make all these
inscribe stones who found them when they
found them none of that is well
documented correct we don't know where
they came from
there's urban myths about them so you
know we're gonna leave no stone unturned
are you certain that it's gone I haven't
seen it I've never seen it I've never
seen it so you don't know if someone
took it so it could be still there
someone had to move it I mean it didn't
move by itself they're big yeah
I asked Nolan if he had taken it then he
said no you didn't take it
just like he didn't take them big rocks
huh uh-huh rocks are those the ones that
are concreted into his floor three
there's three in there Oh in there's
stones in the floor of the museum a land
surveyor by trade Fred Nolan came to Oak
Island in 1961 working in cooperation
with landowner Mr Chappell and treasure
hunter Robert Restall he helps survey
virtually every inch of the 140 acre
Island
in 1963 Noland purchased a large number
of acres near the islands north shore
and in 1969 he built a small Museum on
the mainland just across the causeway
there he displayed evidence he had
accumulated for nearly a decade
including artifacts pictures and news
articles about the search for treasure
on Oak Island and in the center on the
floor he embedded several large stones
in concrete stones he had removed from
the island
although Noland closed the museum in
1990 and later sold the property he left
the stones still embedded in the floor
could one of them have been the
mysterious H o stone great put them
stones in concrete over there in the
middle of his floor
why don't I know one that it did I'm
wondering if it has something to do with
the stone triangle since it was fine I
would be surprised if it did not have
something to do with the stone triangle
in 1897 treasure hunter Frederick Blair
discovered a mysterious triangle made of
round stones on oak islands South Shore
each of the sides of the triangle
measured 10 feet long and its apex
pointed TrueNorth directly toward the
money pit
although it was destroyed by Robert
dunfield's extensive excavations there
are many who believe that it and the
numerous other carved stones on the
island offered important clues to
solving the Oak Island mystery dan do
you know who owns the property now yeah
by the name of public cover we should go
check it out hey babe it's still there
hey it's one more piece of the puzzle
how many times I need 300 for a 300
piece puzzle let's go see if we can make
that happen yeah I think that's a good
idea
all righty what see you later dad okay
Dave there's a story here first and
foremost it's always been that way for
me when I was a little boy tonight
I wanted to know those I wanted the
answers to those questions as of yet we
have a phone
after placing a call to Barry and Karen
public cover the owners of what was once
Fred Nolan's Oak Island Museum we ready
to do this
Rick lagina along with Dave Blankenship
and Jack Begley head over to the place
where they believe important clues might
lie cemented into the floor they have
made arrangements to remove the stones
and return them to the island that is if
they can pry them loose without causing
any damage you bought the property from
Fred right when when you purchased it
did he relate anything about it or where
he found it how it came to be well he
told us they were very valuable to the
Oak Island story and that he had found
them on the island and wanted to keep
them where they would be safe forever so
we mounted them in concrete in the
middle of the building by all means
we bought the property were peeking in
through the window looking at this going
what what can this be we think there are
actually three here are they laid out in
any specific way he didn't indicate that
but Fred is very very into the way rocks
point on his property and every rock on
his property he feels this pointing that
direction for a reason
so he may have done that that wouldn't
surprise me that's why I asked she may
have laid him specifically examined
something to him or maybe that's how he
found him I think Fred Nolan is an
absolute true believer
he's as obsessed as anybody else but he
has to fight internally in himself to
release all this stuff that he kept so
private for so long we're only guessing
all of us know other than the fact that
you say that Fred felt they weren't
important oh well obviously no there
could be some markings on the underside
no well if you do grab that jacket we
can find out what's on the other side of
them all right
like most things regarding Oak Island
nothing's easy Fred had put in concrete
for God's sake so you don't know we have
to jackhammer moat but it's interesting
that he felt that they were that
important to make certain they were
preserved or not lost
Hey
today it would be nice there you go
on the mainland just across the causeway
from Oak Island Rick lagina Dave
Blankenship and Jack Begley are in the
process of removing three large stones
embedded in concrete giving an I are old
man but you know what when Jack
relinquished the the jackhammer David
stepped right in as he always does I
mean he's right there on the spot
willing to do whatever whenever you may
need sweating bullets no disrespect to
Jack but you know kudos to David okay
dude let's see what we found here if we
found anything ready let's see what do
you see you nice Roman numeral yeah look
at one and maybe x and x you're right
that's definitely carved away why the
app you have a little bit of water left
what were those do you think this is a
not P or P
re it looks like
ar e could this stone be one of the
fragments of the huge boulder that also
included the missing a Joe stone just
maybe it's part of the H o stone and
maybe if these are part of a bigger
puzzle we've got three new pieces
they're big and they're heavy yeah and
they don't always fit together but at
least there's three more I think what we
need to do is find an expert not only to
look at the carvings themselves but to
get the carvings to become more visible
I mean somebody who knows what they're
looking at
after an exciting day on the mainland
Rick lagina is once again focused on
what is perhaps the biggest clue of all
the money pit into this end he and Dave
Blankenship have brought underwater
visualization expert Brian Abbott back
to the island so Brian I'm you know
obviously glad you're back
okay thanks of course the issue is
valley 3 we'll all right earlier this
year Brian Abbott
used to scanning sonar to confirm data
suggesting that a man-made chamber
complete with wooden posts and possibly
human remains are lying at the bottom of
borehole 10x now Brian has been invited
back to put a similar device down a hole
that lies near the original money pit
the same hole were Rick Craig and the
team found evidence of the mysterious
wooden vault that was first discovered
by treasure hunters Frederick Blair and
William Chappell back in 1897 you think
you're on the vault
rictus humming that if Brian can get
images that prove there is a 7-foot tall
wooden vault down near the bottom of the
money pit he can convince Marty and
their partners to dig it up using a
relatively experimental method known as
a freeze ring a freeze ring is probably
the technology we would utilize if we
saw target in there it's not a new idea
there was a study by some engineering
students actually McGill University and
McGill so we've known about it but it's
very very expensive because digging in
the money pit area is likely to cause
flooding at any depth below 60 to 90
feet the freeze ring method would
literally freeze any modern water that
surrounds the excavated area and could
cause it to collapse in the case of the
wooden vault a series of holes would be
drilled in a circular pattern
approximately 150 feet deep then a
cooling agent such as glycol would be
pumped into each hole literally freezing
the ground solid and allowing for a safe
excavation
we've got a head and got Jordan Valley
well drillers to come in because there
is an obstruction at about 141 all right
so we're gonna have him kind of swab out
the hole and hopefully get that
obstruction out of the way we feel like
the best opportunity is put the sonar
back in immediately upon Jordan pulling
his tools out I don't know what's your
thought on well we can give it a shot
I'll have to be careful because if you
create this vacuum or you create this
flow of sediment coming in it could trap
the sonar pin it in there what's the
little one cost 35 40
yeah you got some toys up here too yeah
couple three you want to drive some sure
absolutely fun okay let's all cross your
fingers hope it's not plugged yeah all I
can say in 1897 drilling master William
Chappell while working for treasure
hunter Frederick Blair found what they
believed to be a 7-foot tall wooden
vault
since want the team has recently named
the tester vault was discovered 143 feet
below ground well driller Jordan Rogers
has reamed or cleared the area just
above the vault with this drill before
we leave the hall we could go to 180
well let's figure out how much hole we
got here hopefully we got some Jordan
will next drop a measuring cable down
the hole making note of where it lands
this will determine the amount of open
space there is underground
we got five six feet of open hole is
enough to image yeah that's right come
on give me a good number
1:48 Brian you got about seven feet open
hole all right sounds good we got about
seven drops that we can do that good
enough as it is lowered down the hole
the ms1000 takes lateral scans in a
circular pattern making a 3d image of
the space around it I hate to jinx us
but the day's starting off good we'll
get that in the hall let's go
I'm ready to roll
they don't trip
okay let's drop it in you do what
happens let me know when it hits water
at the money pit
underwater visualization expert Brian
Abbott is using a scanning sonar device
to verify the existence of a wooden
treasure vault some 143 feet below the
islands surface water okay keep going
yeah
we want to get the sonar done 145 feet
underground and have it do its work then
come out with clear and concise imagery
that says hey guys Here I am come get me
what do you wanna do now okay
go six inches in okay seeing anything at
all just letting this scan all the way
around and it's not showing me anything
it's like completely kind of closed off
so let's go six inches more okay so
we're roughly at 145 ish what do you got
anything hang on a second
seeing anything at all now 145 issues
where we should be seeing something
that's where the core was yeah six
inches more yeah okay
nothing Brian hang on a second
it's widening out a little bit we may
have gone from foot after two feet oh
you got a bigger void yeah a bigger void
as Brian Abbott found the space he needs
to get an image of the mysterious
underground cavity where are we at one
we're at six and a half feet in so
you're close to tagging bottom yep so
it's just got a you know fine little
cavity going down you saw nothing
angular or not enough all I got is an
outline of something so I think we're
just kind of in a another kind of
straight shaft of unconsolidated
sediment the money pit is the most
difficult to excavate that it's ever
been in the 220 years since it was found
you have 44 shafts so it's probably
voids undergrown because of those very
unstable it's a huge challenge
okay well here's where I'm at I don't I
I don't think this is gonna work yeah I
think we'll pull it yeah slowly bring it
out
although Rick Brian and the team could
not get a clear image of the object in
the money pit they do know based on last
year's discovery that there is something
of interest down there let's clear up
clear up the site
unfortunately the hole that was drilled
last year is simply too narrow and too
impacted with mud and sediment to get a
good reading the only way to be certain
what lies at the bottom is to dig a hole
more than 143 feet straight down
before the Sun sets on Oak Island Rick
lagina is hoping that the day will not
be a total disappointment and to this
end he has invited stone structure
expert and local historian Terry Deveau
to meet him at the Oak Island visitor
center which also is the site of the
islands Museum welcome back my pleasure
rick is hoping that Terry can help
evaluate the large carved stones that he
and the team recently retrieved from the
small house on the other side of the
causeway the ones formerly placed there
by treasure hunter Fred Nolan alright
these are the points of interest if you
will oh I've never seen this oh these
are the actual inscribed stones mr.
Nolan owned it interesting enough to
actually remove it from the island and
to safeguard it he found that important
and I don't know why Terry Mike you take
a look at this you think if this is
natural or is this is man-made
definitely man-made up here what's then
are you look here Terry you see this
there's a straight line yes and then you
have this this semicircle right could
that be the letter D or I think so that
looks like a day to me yeah and that
that hold
looks like it kind of matches the
curvature of this edge doesn't okay
these two pieces seem to be part of the
same stone the two pieces of a puzzle
you could probably match them right up
two pieces of a puzzle pieces that
actually fit together nice like a glove
got a match right there all right so we
have our a d d e and probably an M
could it be an H for heading that would
explain a lot if it was headin could it
be that the carvings on the stones are
referencing Gilbert Hedden the man who
searched for treasure on Oak Island back
in the 1930s it seems like an armed
living anything else did Rick and the
team just discover an important clue one
so important that treasure hunter Fred
Nolan believed he had to hide it and
cement it into the floor of a small
building off the island
we truly appreciate you coming we
learned a little bit but it will keep
looking that's all we can do at the
start of another day of treasure hunting
on Oak Island Rick and Marty lagina have
arranged to meet a man who is offered to
tell them not only what is buried on the
island but who buried it and how to
retrieve it Oh who's here John O'Brien
this is my brother Marty hi Marty how
you doing pleased to meet you sir to
meet you come on
why not I think you're more or less
familiar with this right oh yeah I
pretty well know what's going on all
right yeah here's the thing Jim what we
want to do is find out what's in cavity
at Jan 35 I want to see that post I want
to get a piece of it I want the box
that's a lot of the box yeah let's get
the boxes out nobody does all this work
to hide marbles but you know what my
understanding is you want to show us
some stuff here you want to see some
stuff do we want to take a little tour
what do you want to do now I would like
to go down to the so Shore all right
let's go down there okay
with more than 35 years of experience in
the mining industry author and oak
island historian John O Brien is an
expert at retrieving precious objects
from often impossible to reach locations
he has also been obsessed with solving
the mystery since first hearing about
the island and later visiting it as a
young boy growing up in nearby Halifax I
was just young following when they first
come on the island last week at a
meeting with Rick and members of the
team John O'Brien shared the story of an
amazing discovery his father made while
visiting Oak Island in the early 1960s
my father and one of his best friends
Charlie they were on the UM and they
told me that they had found a rock and
it was shaped like an ice-cream cone
the top was flat they said and the comb
went like that arrow going down what
they did was they uncovered all around
and there was hieroglyphs it was carved
in the rock so then he used latex paint
to get the images that were on the rock
Charlie and dad decided that they would
send these to her University in the
United States to find out what kind of
writing or hieroglyphs it was and I was
there when a box came back and there was
an envelope there and the latex things
were inside and Charles read that these
hieroglyphs that were written on there
came from Central America
a cone-shaped stoned with hieroglyphs
from Central America but before we try
to find out what treasure was here we
have to figure who did the work on Oh
God but I believe that this was the work
done of the Aztec empire
the Aztec
empire hiding treasure on Oak Island
could such a fantastic theory be even
remotely true thriving from 1428 to 1521
the Aztecs are thought to have been a
relatively advanced and culturally
sophisticated civilization their capital
Tenochtitlan was an elaborately
engineered city of pyramid-shaped
temples all decorated with gold as well
as an ingeniously designed water
distribution system
in 1519 the Spanish led by Hernando
Cortez began a ruthless campaign to
destroy the influence of the Aztec
people in the region and thus seal the
fate of the Empire
but what remained a mystery to the
Spanish was the fate of the Aztecs vast
stockpiles of gold and jewels they were
thought to have simply vanished could
they really be on Oak Island
that was the Mayans ship became ashore
and they discovered belogorsk lay in the
sediment to the visas of Americans that
was worth more than ol pal Igor scant
clay otherwise known as blue clay was
widely used by the ancient Mayans to
adorn their temples it is also known to
have medicinal properties although large
deposits appalling Gorsky clay are not
known to exist in mexico it is fairly
common in areas of the southeastern
United States in 2011 researcher Richard
Thornton published his explosive
findings concerning what he believes to
be Mayan ruins in northern Georgia
ruins which are believed to date back
1,100 years hey Rick is
to play during an excavation just a few
weeks ago Rick Marty and Jack Begley
found a large quantity of blue clay
while digging at a spot where researcher
Robert Marcus indicated the treasure
might be found I know that's amazing
stuff could the proof that blue clay can
be found on Oak Island help validate
John O'Brien's theory
the significance of the social shaft was
that was the first shaft put down to
establish a mine here
the Aztecs found the blue clay that they
wanted they knew they could mine that
they probably put a shaft in about eight
foot round and they would have hit
belogorsk I play at 50 feet so just
simple basic mining always 300 feet was
the extent of their ventilation there
would have to be a ventilation shaft
it's probably hidden that's why I
figured there was another shaft up there
and all of a sudden I looked at one it's
the money pit shaft and when the Aztecs
came to hide the treasures they knew
there was an old mine here they
remodeled it and made it into a trap in
fact they made the whole mine into a
trap according to John O'Brien's theory
after the Aztec people buried their
sacred treasures on the island
they remodeled an abandoned Mayan
mineshaft to serve as a lure for
would-be treasure seekers they also
booby-trapped it with flood tunnels to
thwart all who came looking for their
treasure
according to Aztec beliefs the souls of
the dead had to pass through nine levels
to obtain eternal rest or their ultimate
reward in 1804 when the money pit was
first excavated to 90 feet nine levels
of oak platforms had been unearthed at
10-foot intervals and in the center of
the ninth platform was an embedded stone
with mysterious carvings that when
removed opened a supposed flood trap
that is defeated every major search
sense
so John is there anything buried here in
this area this general vicinity I don't
believe so I believe that the Aztecs
treasure is not here it's just like a
couple hundred yards over there
while visiting Oak Island mining expert
and author John O'Brien has just made
one of the most amazing claims ever
about the 220 year old mystery method
yes he believes that what is buried on
Oak Island could very well be the
priceless treasures of the Aztec empire
okay what are we doing here this is the
stone at the absolute bottom of Nolan's
cross after leaving the South Shore
O'Brien and the team have arrived at one
of the mysterious cone-shaped boulders
that form a curious megalith the
grouping known as Nolan's cross first
discovered by Oak Island landowner and
treasure hunter Fred Nolan in 1981
although many Oak Island theorists
suggest that the so-called cross can be
linked to everything from the Knights
Templar to the lost works of William
Shakespeare no one has ever been able to
determine its true purpose
would you believe you're standing on a
cliff I believe is you took the topsoil
off here 30 feet down to bedrock but
just like a couple hundred feet over
there the bedrock is a hundred and
eighty feet down when the Aztecs came to
hide the treasures they wanted no sign
of anything going on above they come up
underneath a cliff and they bring all
their goods everything to fill the
chambers then they plug them the
entrance is way down deep meanwhile
there's no evidence anything going on so
that the top would look understood
according to John O'Brien's theory the
Aztecs who were skilled at building
canals and waterways came to Oak Island
sometime in the early 16th century here
Aztec engineers built dams and
artificial beaches on both sides of what
were once two separate islands they then
dug shafts into cliff faces horizontally
and then refilled the dammed area with
rocks and mud creating
O'Brien's research has also led him to
believe that the huge megalithic
boulders which form Nolan's cross could
provide the key to finding out where the
Aztec treasure chambers still remain
hidden
they planned on coming back to retrieve
it I don't think that they would have
gone in that lagoon and dig down there
to retrieve it all they have to do was
come here and find this cross why the
shape of a cross John why was that
important to that every ancient
civilization of the world had the cross
but to the Aztec Mayan the cross was
rejuvenation and revival it it was like
a tree growing up and the cross beams
were the branches where civilization was
going to be destroyed they knew that but
the plan there would be a revival that
their civilization would rise again and
where would you put the treasures that
you wanted to keep that were history you
would put them at the roots this is the
root of the cross right here according
to the Mesoamerican culture the world
was represented by a world tree with the
heavens above it and the underworld
below - the Aztecs the tree symbolized
both life and death with the arms and
trunk of the tree symbolizing the
cardinal directions and their deities
four of the rocks of the cross are on
the east side of the island only two
were on the west side the key rocks are
on this side and they knew that's the
spot they would dig and it's exactly
between that rock and the next rock over
there 147 feet between them
that's a ritual measurement of the
Aztecs and I bet you that's where they
hit it it's exact on this cross in 1986
archaeologists discovered that the
number 147 was significant in the ritual
architecture of both the Mayans and the
Aztecs according to John O Brien the
halfway mark between the bottom two
boulders of Nolan's cross is exactly 147
feet you're saying the place to dig if
you were in charge of this here
expedition is halfway between this rock
and the next one on the cross yes right
in the middle of 147 each way below that
and below the bedrock are the chambers
where the real treasures hid no no
okay John what are we gonna find when we
drill these holes I believe there's two
chambers there one is the historical
religious artifacts of an empire a 16
million people and in the other is the
tomb of the god King Montezuma and it's
sitting there it's been sitting there
since about 1521 I'll bet my hat on it I
won't need we have a plethora of wild
theories out here now to add to that
we've got the treasure of the Aztecs
well okay that seems a stretch to me but
what if he's right my goodness what if
he's right
but even if John O'Brien's incredible
theory is true proving it will still
remain a considerable challenge for Rick
Marty and their partners because the
marked location of the treasure cache is
not on their land but on land owned by
the man who discovered Nolan's cross
Fred Nolan so you're indicating to us
that further search regarding your
theory would have to of necessity
operate on Fred's property so in order
for this to work we'd have to reach out
to mr. Nolan
mr. Nolan would have to agree to work
with us and agree to work with you in
terms of the development or the
exploration of your theory right yeah I
know what a land mine that is right yes
I know all about it although most of the
140 acres of Oak Island is either owned
or controlled by the laginas and their
partners 20 acres are owned privately
and 16 of those are owned by Fred Nolan
a man who has so far been reluctant to
collaborate with them so John look thank
you very much for coming on the island
it's intriguing like a lot of things are
out here let us kick it around and we
will certainly get back with you and see
what the consensus is so I want to thank
you one of the interesting things about
John O'Brien's theory was simply this he
put an X on the spot
the unfortunate thing is the X's on mr.
Nolan's property now could we reach some
sort of agreement perhaps but as of
right now we cannot proceed with John's
theory we got to talk to dad and see if
we can get Fred on board too yes yes
that would be great
Cheers thanks a lot
okay guys we I think have reached the
point where we gotta take a deep breath
and figure out what the hell would
decide exactly what we're gonna do right
after an exciting week that has brought
not only new clues but an incredible new
theory Rick and Marty lagina have
gathered with their partners in the warm
room for an important meeting we need to
deal with
just as dan Blankenship has
spent the past 50 years trying to solve
the Oak Island mystery Fred Nolan has
been working toward the same goal for an
even greater amount of time for a while
the two men even worked together as
partners until a series of professional
disagreements grew into a bitter rivalry
that has lasted to this day what was
going on in this island was a feud in my
opinion it's about as strong as any
you've ever heard about although Dan and
his former partner David Tobias and
later Rick and Marty lagina along with
Craig tester controlled most of Oak
Island including the money pit area and
Smith's Cove Fred Nolan controls much of
the mysterious triangle-shaped swamp he
also owns the area were in 1981 he
discovered a number of large megalithic
boulders boulders which when viewed from
the air formed the shape of an enormous
cross you're not going to forgive and
forget
40 years of
very contentious issues and it's left
its wounds we can't do anything unless
we have a real deal with the new ones
and rig has done a great job of calming
down the tensions here friends got a lot
of information on the swamp
he's probed it for years and years and I
think it's a lot of information let's go
get a deal with them we've made a
working relationship offer ie we fund
several drill sites he put sex on the
spot and within that framework of that
that proposal I think we can add the
swamp extension agreement and then
thoughts that works for everybody okay
okay Rick go get it are we done here
then yeah all right yay let's pool this
meeting up and go do something
well ending the feud also lead to a new
beginning a cooperative partnership that
could reveal important information and
even more exciting discoveries
or could the wounds inflicted on the two
men simply be too deep and too infected
by mistrust
to ever have a chance to heal perhaps
the answer lies buried somewhere on Oak
Island and deep beneath a patch of
ground that is yet to be explored next
time on the curse of Oak Island deal
with Nolan how does that strike you with
mixed emotions it's time to quit the
fighting I don't want to be an obstacle
anymore welcome to the team
ready to put it in the ground Fred right
on your squat looks like to man baby
there's a cavity in this slate that
would be the most important discovery on
Oh God
that's actually metal