The Curse of Oak Island (2014) s03e11 Episode Script

1
Tonight on the curse of Oak Island
there's your artifact we did some tests
on I think it has an interesting story
to tell we're gonna try one more diver
and if he can't do it we're done with
I'm down here zero visibility we little
good this is a little burdensome model
where he thinks the money is is right
here you put an X
let's get steel dog halt figure this
thing off
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 today
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
as a new week begins in the search to
find treasure on Oak Island Rick and
Marty lagina along with Marty's son Alex
Craig tester and Dave Blankenship have
traveled 50 miles northeast of Oak
Island to st. Mary's University in
Halifax
here we are after you you have to get
the good you can get the goods here's
what you've been waiting for gentlemen
let's see it they are eager to determine
if an object resembling an ancient Roman
sword which was reportedly found in the
waters just off the coast of Oak Island
is real Oh
the hell is this source the Roman sword
that is phenomenal today the team has
arranged to meet with professor miles
McCallum an expert on Roman archaeology
five miles they are hoping he can
determine if the sword they've acquired
could be an important piece of evidence
one which connects the Oak Island
mystery to the ancient Roman Empire in
the lab you are gonna have to ask you
guys to put on some safety glasses and
some lab coats here I'll hold after it
is oh that's it nice bronze silver
although it may seem unlikely that a
Roman sword dating from the reign of the
Emperor Commodus in the second century
AD could find itself in the waters off
Nova Scotia
there are many Oak Island theorists who
believe it is more than possible
in recent decades several ancient coins
identified as being Carthaginian in
origin or found in the coastal regions
just north of Oak Island the
Carthaginians were a seafaring people
who dominated the trade routes of the
Mediterranean during the period from 600
to 200 BC it has long been speculated
that their knowledge of navigation along
with their shipbuilding and sailing
prowess would have made it possible for
them to successfully navigate the rugged
waters of the North Atlantic
if it plays out that it is in eighteen
hundred year old Roman sword what's
significant does it provide a certain
historical context if it is real yes it
does as far as you know iconography if
it is obviously a representation of
demigod Hercules who's a really
important figure among the Romans
religiously as far as you know how it's
made that's a bit odd normally you'd
expect this to be a single cast piece
does this one not done in one piece then
with respect this I mean looking at it
if we look down the side here you can
see where there's there's a line that
goes right up through there this
suggests to me that it's a bivalve mould
instead of a single lost-wax marker so
something again like this this was never
a functional sword it's simply a work of
art in the year 70 AD future roman
emperor titus led the siege that
conquered Jerusalem in the process his
armies burned and destroyed the so
called second temple where the original
temple of King Solomon once stood
when 12 years later the arch of Titus
was erected in Rome to celebrate the
victory it depicted a large golden
menorah one of the sacred objects taken
from the temple which like the Ark of
the Covenant and the Holy Grail many
researchers believe were later buried on
Oak Island
is it possible that the Romans like the
Carthaginians before them could have
traveled to Nova Scotia nearly 2,000
years ago and if so would a Roman sword
found in the waters off Oak Island
provide the proof give us a percent
percent chance percent chance that this
is something Roman I'm not really in a
position to tell you at this point from
you know just looking at it as we have
it here I'm highly skeptical just based
on the construction technique that it's
actually ancient to would fake that I
don't know you know it could even be a
fake that's not.you know a modern fake
right it could be a fake from the 19th
or 18th century from an Oak Island
standpoint it would actually it'd
probably be more significant it was the
1700s yeoman it could be something it
could actually be an antiquity that was
in the possession of somebody who came
over long after that right to end course
lost it and so that that's probably if
this is something that's old that's a
much more likely explanation why does
somebody go to the effort to duplicate
or fake something that almost no one in
the world has seen I mean I haven't
ruled it out yet it still could have
significance to what we're doing here
it's an intriguing object what is
definitive test to see what definitive
tests you can do a chemical analysis of
the bronze or brass I can put you in
touch with dr. christow Brousseau who's
in the chemistry department and she and
her graduate students can can do the
testing for you great if you're
interested in oh yeah we are all right
well let's do the other testing that
sounds great thank you very much very
informative thanks for coming
well Rick Marty and their partners wait
for the results of the tests on the
sword back on Oak Island Jack Begley
Peter Fornetti and veteran treasure
hunter dan henskee are about to begin an
investigation of their own at Smith's
Cove
so this time we're on an eel grass hunt
right
good luck how about we go back to that
same spot we found the coconut fiber in
18-49 while looking for the source of
the ocean water that flooded the money
pit members of the recently formed Truro
syndicate discovered an elaborate and
ingenious system of manmade box drains
originating at Smith's Cove made up of
flat stones supported by smaller ones
and then densely packed with other
stones the bunks drains appeared to be
similar in construction to the roads
that were built in ancient Rome to hide
the box drains from view they were
covered and by a layer of gravel and
sand under which there were layers of
both coconut fiber and eel grass the
coconut fiber was used to prevent debris
from clogging the drains while the eel
grass helped to soak up the excess water
two years ago dan henskee along with
Peter Fornetti Alex lagina and Jack
Begley found coconut fiber
which when tested was estimated to be
between 600 and 800 years old they're
dating between 1260 and 1400 AD so it's
did they give you like a degree of
accuracy 95% do you think that there's
any eel grass that's left in its fibers
for me sure about the longevity the
coconut fiber lasts half way forever but
eel grass I think decays a lot faster
because eel grass decomposes at a faster
rate than coconut fiber finding a sample
at Smith's Cove and then carbon dating
it might provide the Oak Island team a
significant breakthrough it would give
them a more accurate date as to win the
box drains and possibly the money pit
were constructed it might also tell them
whether or not the eel grass was
harvested locally or based on its
species if it was brought to Oak Island
from another region much farther away
but this is pretty close to the area so
that's what I'm guess I'll stand back
and watch out for flying sand and we'll
see what's there we're getting pretty
good at digging holes
shouldn't we have already seen it by now
I have dug a bit on the shore on this
place I believe
oh good job yeah
Oh
while searching for eel grass at Smith's
Cove veteran treasure hunter dan henskee
may have just made an important
discovery
wait that is coconut fiber it might be a
little in there but mostly it's just
some odd vegetation
I won't say it's not eel grass I think
this is the old coconut fiber looks like
horsehair well see to wash it off and
the but I didn't find that much but I
might have missed something yeah because
coconut fiber is known to be one of the
materials used in the construction of
the booby-trapped flood tunnels at
Smith's Cove if the team is founded they
should also be able to find eel grass in
the same vicinity that's certainly a lot
of fibers in it when there were kind of
a that looks like it might be material
or something this is the eel grass
because it's kind of it's in layers
actually maybe you actually found some
eel grass they should bag this if Dan
Jack and Peter have found eel grass and
it can be accurately dated to sometime
before 1795 then the team may be able to
figure out not only when the money pit
was constructed but also who built it
and what it was that needed to be so
ingeniously hidden
I'd say we complete our giant as well as
we could today yeah and quick to thanks
to Dan thank you who gets to carry the
shovels sir
hello you do I'm great nothing like
being the old guy
before the Sun sets on another day at
Oak Island
Rick lagina Craig tester and Dave
Blankenship convene in the war room to
make a very important call almost time
give them a call yeah I hope we hear all
the right things is what I hope I want
to hear from him that look and the ideas
then get in the chamber and get you
answers so far two previous attempts to
place a diver at the bottom of borehole
10x have ended unsuccessfully
nevertheless the team remains more
convinced than ever that not only is
such a difficult time possible but it is
essential if they are ever to find out
once and for all if the mysterious
cavern that exists 235 feet below ground
really is a man-made gateway into the
money pit
complete with antique tools a wooden
chest
and possibly human remains
we're gonna try one more diver the most
qualified diver we could possibly have
found John Chatterton and if he can't do
it we're done with divers what agreed on
that right question about that
John Chatterton is a world renowned
deep-sea and wreck diver with more than
30 years of experience diving in some of
the most dangerous and difficult
environments from shipwrecks to
underwater structures his desire to
explore and solve underwater mysteries
has taken him to such famed
sunken vessels as the Britannic the
Lusitania the Andrea Doria and the
Titanic it's ringing up see what happens
hey guys John Hart oh yeah we'll be
better when you get here
our preps going okay it was an awkward
entry and exit for a previous dive team
well they had tanks on
use umbilicals at the right technology
we've got the right experience to do
this time to die and we're gonna be
thoroughly prepared you're gonna be
relying on your top man to tell you how
deep you are because you can't see I'm
telling it zero visibility
we don't need visibility to determine
what you guys want
that's a pheromone interest to us all
right
my concern is get him safely from
surface to cavity and back to surface
and for me the troubling aspect of
course would be the drill bar that drill
bar would be down you know 20 25 feet
below the top of that 27-inch hole
27-inch at we dropped a field finder in
there a well-worn casing instrument and
it seemed to indicate that the top of
the bar was at 204 feet which would put
it 23 feet below the anhydrite surprises
we can't possibly tell you what we're
gonna find but we will get to or at
least as far as is humanly bus okay we
got high hopes for John Chatterton he's
the best based on all our research he's
the best I'm not dissing anybody has
already been in there they they did what
they could if anyone can get down in
that cavity and come up with proof if it
is in the cavity he can so I'm excited
about that
obviously well guys I think you've
covered everything
look we very much look forward to and
appreciate all your efforts we can't
wait to get this started
awesome okay you take care that was a
good day yeah sure was okay let's go do
something else
while waiting for diver John chattered
and to come to Oak Island Rick lagina
and members of his team have arranged to
meet with father-and-son engineers Mike
and Sean Harold thanks for inviting us
out the Herald's have traveled all the
way from British Columbia in hopes of
sharing information that they believe
will help the laginas and their partners
solve the 220 year old mystery this is
what we've affectionately called the
water room hey guys the Herald's are
distant relatives of the now deceased
Oak Island treasure hunter and author
Laverne Johnson from 1959 to 1963
Johnson believed he could solve the
mystery by focusing on an area never
explored before
very much look forward to what's in the
box I love Christmas yes okay
so I wonder where we start first of all
this is the book that Laverne wrote
before he passed away he paid for it
himself
and he simply wanted to get his theory
out there so it's all in here he
revealed how he figured everything out
unlike most other oak island treasure
hunters Laverne Johnson believed the
money pit was constructed and
booby-trapped not to protect the
treasure but to mislead and thwart
would-be searchers from finding the
treasures real location this was
laverne's and model that he made up
albeit very crude we actually have a
picture of Laverne with this model oh do
you yeah
yeah that's Laverne using a survey
commissioned by Oak Island treasure
hunter Gilbert Hedden in 1937 Laverne
Johnson believed that if he drew a line
between two mysteriously drilled stones
one found at Smith's Cove and another
found north of the money pit and another
drawn from the point of the stone
triangle on the south shore the actual
treasure shaft would be located above
sea level
and at a depth of approximately 30 feet
but after several attempts to prove his
theory correct Johnson ran out of money
and like so many treasure hunters before
him left Oak Island empty-handed
the Byrnes theory is simply 14 degrees
west of true north as where he thought
whoever deposited something there dug
down here and simply tunneled up to high
ground and deposited whatever it was
they were burying okay if you can see
that that's the money pit coming down
and the flood tunnel coming out to
Smith's Cove flooding this tunnel I
think he sure was the high-water mark on
there
it sure does - and that's full of urns
treasure cache right there
which puts it above sea level yeah it
was about two to three hundred feet
north of the money paper okay
that was a very simple theory perhaps
but maybe not I mean it look at we'd
love to go out there actually I think
Jack Charles could assist you in some
way yeah okay you put an X we'll punch a
hole I'll be great Laverne would like
that I say we'd go out there today yeah
let's go find a site let's do it
with another new theory to explore the
Oak Island team arrives at the money pit
but unfortunately one of the key
reference points they'll need in order
to test Laverne Johnston's theory no
longer exists the stone triangle which
used to be located due south of the
money pit
well this is the famous money pit Kerry
based on the work that Laverne Johnson
did it came up with an x marks the spot
but you know one little problem we have
is based on the stone triangle where's
that well that's been moved so we're
gonna try to recreate what he did and
come find x marks the spot
hopefully read rill that and find the
vault find the treasure because the apex
of the triangle pointed north directly
toward the money pit it was considered
an important clue unfortunately during
an extensive excavation by Robert
Dunfield in 1965 the stone triangle and
all evidence of its precise location was
destroyed if Sean and Mike Harold are
going to find the area where Laverne
Johnson believed the treasure was buried
they will need to lay out a grid over a
wide area and then drill a series of
50-foot deep exploratory holes I'm just
trying to find true north which based on
laverne's theory ran directly through
the center of the money pit so 346 is
about up in that direction so we need to
head uphill 280 feet at this heading and
I'd like to see what's up there okay
let's get started
can you call out the distances jack if
you can sure here's 346 so maybe you
guys can keep an eye on to make sure
he's keeping his bearing
okay what's your mark now Jack 90 feet
that's gonna be interesting to see where
he ends up 121 121 can you see him I
can't see him
171 what the hey Charles
come here look at this what do you got
it's a drill Drock I think what you see
a drill Drock in the area where Laverne
Johnson believed the original Oak Island
treasure site is located could this be
the same rock that Laverne Johnson used
to develop his incredible theory that's
gonna be 8 inches across right yeah it's
just really weird Charles that this is
great along the Laverne Johnson line I
mean it doesn't look natural obviously
this is man-made because you look we're
in flat areas all around here then
you've got this bump right so let's
continue on you're very close to the 200
foot level and then we got 80 feet
beyond that so let's see where we land
all right as in Jack and Charles
continue to measure out a distance of
280 feet for the team's drilling grid
Craig tester along with Oak Island
theorists Mike and Sean Herold join them
okay so this is about 270 feet so we
need to 80 why don't you go use the GPS
and get us our our final spot all right
but right here
there's a little depression right
interior and through here yeah there's
certainly like a like a bowl type
geometry on this that sort of gives it
the appearance that's something settled
or something potentially is collapsed
down below to give this the shape here a
possible collapse below the ground could
this mean that an underground cavern or
possible treasure tunnel lies buried
somewhere below this is if it's just a
little tough getting back in here right
now we might have to cut down these
trees yep could the Oak Island team
really have found where an ancient
treasure vault lies buried some 280 feet
north of the money pit let's go talk to
Rick let him know what what we found out
here oh good great talk him into drill
in here yeah that's a good idea
let's get steel dawn halt figure this
they all four days after Oak Island
theorists Mike and Sean Harold pointed
out the area where treasure hunter
Laverne Johnson believed a treasure
might be found Rick lagina and members
of his team have brought in a coring rig
they are hoping that by drilling a
number of holes based on Johnson's
precise calculations they will be able
to confirm the presence of an
underground cavern or possible treasure
tunnel we came into it with the idea of
drilling holes throughout the grid we've
now drilled on the easterly side in the
westerly side didn't find anything
unfortunately it's only logical now to
drill in the middle of the shaft right
now okay at this point needs a lot of
luck yep not a lot of luck but luck yeah
be nice to get lucky today a tunnel a
shaft the cavity is not gonna stand up
without support ie wood so we're looking
for wood to come up out of the returns
what do you think it is well I say its
own clothes to sleep for me but it's
still not enough to say his bed drop no
right this isn't the right deal so let's
pull up then go to the other one after
drilling down to a depth of 50 feet and
only finding bedrock Rick lagina decides
to move on to one of the other targets
marked in the grid
although Laverne Johnson only dug his
would cribs searcher shaft down to 30
feet he regretted not digging the shaft
deeper he often wondered if by doing so
he might have found the actual treasure
vault he spent a good deal of his life
looking
I'm just ready to bring out the core now
this is hole number three I hit
something
that was stopped ahead of the cage we're
gonna come out
stock we're stuck right here I hate
restriction at about 31 feet where you
know 30 was 35 would found at a depth of
35 feet 5 feet deeper than the searcher
shaft dug by Laverne Johnson in 1962
Thorpe like that it could be in the side
of the I think should be running like
that if it's stock Timbers yeah but you
cord like that that is straight up and
down whatever is there
I don't know that it means anything but
this come up but it's only Greg hunka
woods I know but this is below the
cribbing
35 feet
okay well sue at Charleston this came up
from 31 to 35 feet rank from the records
what do you know about the deafness
well Rick's from the records they dug
this down to 30 feet your circle yes
here's the weird thing
the core came up like
that's interesting
there's no reason to have any wood
standing on end just like we did in
Valley 3 right on the edge right on the
edge of it yeah in the money pit
the side of the box then become
and maybe me
hit the side of
last year while drilling in the money
pit the team found evidence of a
concrete covered wooden vault first
reported by searchers in 1897
concrete and then wood that's the
description that's what they found in
the top of the vault because most
searcher tunnels are made up of wooden
boards stacked horizontally finding a
piece of wood with the grain running
vertically might be significant it could
mean that Rick and the team have found a
structure similar to the one found last
year can't walk away from this with that
little clue I mean so I'm so tired of
little clues but maybe we drill one and
we get something more than a little clue
yeah it's too enticing I think we want
to drill another hole here if the next
core sample turns up more wood and at an
even lower depth then Rick lagina and
his partners may have found evidence of
a tunnel and possibly a treasure vault
just a few yards north of the money pit
exactly where Laverne Johnson predicted
it would be
let's see what howling things after we
drive this car
so as the steel hits the dirt I mean I'm
hopeful whether we dig whether we drill
whether we measure basically I guess I'm
just hopeful
that's 45 feet there
no wood no nothing we're a lover bird
beat Scrabble we're in a box or
something this should have been a top of
the bottom to it
no boulders there no boulders but no
wood either
yeah the fact that no ward came out of
the coring barrel offers both the
surprise and a disappointment to Rick
lagina and members of his team
it appears the piece of wood they found
was not part of a larger structure in
other woods intriguing we'll grab a
sample you rip the sample we'll send it
off to get tested but I think for right
now at least temporarily we need to step
away from here because we need to do
other things at this point in time yeah
although today's drilling operation
ended disappointingly Rick lagina and
the Oak Island team are determined not
to give up if anything it is only
renewed their determination to focus
their energy on getting to the bottom of
10x as well as getting answers
concerning the other evidence the team
is gathered during the last several days
we can't have three four and five things
going on at once it just it's not
practical so we need to focus on the
agenda we laid out earlier in the summer
we need to finish 10x we've got other
things we need to work on as well and it
you know you start to get unfocused if
you have too many things going on
thanks yep thank you all that for a
little peace
what if it's like 1625 you know English
collectable replica I think that's
important opinion it has now been a full
week since Rick Marty and their partners
submitted the mysterious Roman sword for
testing and they are hoping that the
scientific analysis conducted on the
sword will lead to a breakthrough in
solving the Oak Island mystery
and we are here again yep here we are
st. Mary's let's find out about that
sword shall we
they did a light reflection test which
will help determine with his bronze or
brass and then they're doing Raman
spectroscopy examination on and that's
the one that'll get down to the tiny
little details of it it's kind of like a
fingerprint it's got you know all the
different elements what percent of each
element whoa hi nice to meet you
hi Marty dr. Krista Bruce oh he's an
associate professor of chemistry at st.
Mary's University in Halifax Nova Scotia
she is considered one of the leading
experts in the field of electrochemistry
and the study of the chemical
composition of metals welcome to st.
Mary's
there's our artifact there's your
artifact so you left it with me yep
and so we did I would made 1950 we did
some tests I'm if it's a replica from a
certain time period in British history
say or French history that might mean
something - okay so you know if it's a
replica as David said made in 1950 well
it doesn't mean too much I guess we can
use it to open really big letters I
think it has an interesting story to
tell so okay so before we start if you
can put the lab code okay you know we're
optimists we're optimist aren't we often
miss Rick we're optimist in general so
we're hoping the sword might be a clue
so when people are in dealing with it
what is it a copper alloy artifact
usually the first question they're
interested in is this at bronze or is
this brass right and so based on whether
it's a bronze or brass is really helpful
in terms of dating the object so what we
did is on the back down here at the
polished tip we removed some shavings
filings of the base metal and that
allows us to do basically look at that
composition of the alloy we determined
percent amount of each of the different
metal components the base metal in this
case is it's a compras ink alloy so that
tells us right away that this is a brass
and the higher doesn't content the more
modern the brass so you know modern-day
brass is you can get up 40 50 60 percent
zinc what did you find out about it
here's a percent composition of the main
elemental components and so what you see
is the zinc content is fairly high and
so that suggests a modern brass yeah
close to my 1950 I think you're looking
at a post 1880 1890 date for this for
sure she was basically putting pins and
the balloon we had constructed for
ourselves but at the end of the day dr.
Bruce so I think we both can't do a
understanding that it was not what we
thought it would be or wanted it to be
yeah I didn't really think they were
little pins going into balloons I
thought she was hitting each time with a
bazooka this thing is dead it's
certainly an interesting piece just not
worth anything
what depends who you ask great took a
collector then might be a you know word
productions look you did a great job
Kristen we appreciate it and even though
this is disappointing I mean it it also
it eliminates you know one one idea so
we can narrow in on what's truly pretty
much puts it to bed you know so I think
I think so many weird things that
happened on Oak Island that that this
would have just you know doubled the
weirdness so that made us think it might
be real because it just seems to happen
there yeah okay great wonderful thank
you very much
as Rick Marty Craig and Dave leave the
laboratory at st. Mary's University they
are content to have received some
definitive answers
although the mysterious Roman sword
discovered in the waters of the shores
of Oak Island some 60 years ago turned
out to be a replica and of recent origin
the
that only by testing and then
eliminating theories no matter how wild
or far-fetched they may seem will they
be able to concentrate on evidence that
refuses to be ruled out
and one such piece of evidence involving
the mysterious box drains at Smith's
Cove is about to provide them with an
answer that could put the entire Oak
Island treasure hunting into sharper
focus than ever before
after a week that saw the testing of
both new evidence and old theories Rick
Marty Craig and members of their team
gather in the war room to find out if
the recent discovery of eelgrass made at
Smith's Cove might finally produce some
badly needed information in their quest
to solve the Oak Island mystery well
guys I got some data in from Smith's
Cove I think it's pretty interesting
results the eelgrass and this was the
95% probability is from 1472 1650 and I
think it ties into some of the people's
theories that are around you know
absolutely Craig there's a number of
possibilities that fall under that time
timeframe you think Templars could fit
into that time frame this surely doesn't
exclude them that's for sure this also
ties into the you know more recent
Portuguese possibility that we've heard
him recently the late 1500s it's
interesting that it comes around to the
five credible theories one of which is
Dan Spanish yeah Dan is always been a
believer in 1550 right so that's a
pretty intriguing piece of information
because the eelgrass is probably not
more than five hundred and forty-five
years old it seems to challenge many of
the more elaborate theories involving
everyone from the ancient Romans to the
Carthaginians and the Aztecs but it has
also long been theorized that oak island
serves as the hiding place not just for
one treasure but several and at the
ground far beneath the surface of the
island is a maze of booby trapped
tunnels and treasure chambers
perhaps finding the eelgrass does not
invalidate some of the more incredible
theories so much as it helps to validate
some of the more common ones
what's that's great at least it sold its
pre 1795 by a long shot
I I see it as only a really big
indication that people were here and did
build Smith's Cove especially prior to
the original finding of the money pit
like this is good definitive proof who
would have laid this down for no reason
I agree
no question well done jack you know it's
important data and you were the bearer
of it well done we appreciate it
well thanks Peter and Dan helped a lot
to the fellowship
thanks you you're welcome absolutely
another good piece of the puzzle that's
what it was yep thusly energized we we
go forth and conquer ready
after a week of setbacks and dead ends
brothers Rick and Marty lagina have
finally gotten one of the most hopeful
pieces of information they've received
to date it validates many of the more
persistent theories concerning Oak
Island it also encourages them to stay
positive and remain focused on their
goal to reach the bottom of the money
pit once and for all but how will they
do it by draining the mysterious
triangle-shaped swamp by digging an
enormous hole
won't they reach it by means of a
man-made tunnel
which reportedly lies 235 feet beneath
the island surface
of the dark and mysterious Warhol
as 10x
next time on the curse of Oak Island
we're back from the money pit we hit a
cabbage
we put it fun it's a piece of metal any
idea what it is it looks like a little
tiny Oak Island John Chatterton is
confident he's gonna go down to the
bottom it's not if we can do it is how
do we do are you at the bottom of