The Curse of Oak Island (2014) s04e14 Episode Script

Of Sticks and Stones

1
Tonight on the curse of Oak Island
I believe that these stones were
transported I've never seen anything
like this maybe we're done with the
money pit there has to be enough seed ah
no I refuse to use the word failure
he's over there this might be part of
the original dig this one deathbed from
sixteen fifty five to sixty ninety five
right there original money pit yes
there is an island in the North Atlantic
where people have been looking for an
incredible treasure for more than 200
years so far they have found 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
those are some massive beams you know
but what's it doing down there right
around 100 102 I don't know in a year
that has already been filled with new
discoveries
it's probably 18 feet long I'm thinking
ship planking and frustrating
disappointments whoa no we got a big
leak brothers Rick and Marty lagina are
hoping that their third big dig at the
money pit site will lead to their
biggest breakthrough yet well here's the
curious thing this is what Craig
actually was really intrigued by this
one piece of wood it's a peg no it's not
a pig they cut it off for c14 testing
Craig thought we might be in the money
pit with these timbers and this lady's
part of the original dig
remember the money fit the description
of the layers every 10 feet
you're right they could be that if
there'd been layers of these most like
that yeah
good make a nice platform
that's pretty significant piece of wood
when the money pit was first discovered
back in 1795 treasure hunter Daniel
McGinnis reported finding platforms made
of rounded oak logs every 10 feet when
some years later he and his fellow
searchers eventually reached a ninth
platform they found a large stone slab
marked with strange hieroglyphs when the
slab was removed it triggered what was
believed to be a booby-trapped flood
tunnel and the 90-foot deep shaft
quickly filled with seawater
but does the discovery of this rounded
piece of would mean that the laginas and
their partners have just located a
portion of the original money pit
let's see what the man over here Nestle
there he is horn and gentlemen good
morning
oh yeah Andrew are you doing good how's
it going it's going
alright now we're down 118 feet with the
can and 104 feet with the escalation our
target depth is still from like 160 okay
so we find wood I don't necessarily want
to call it all stop but we want to take
a good hard look at it okay actually a
bunch of Roanoke log would be hugely
significant to get Andrew you got work
to do so let's do it
we're burning fog good bring this off
hopefully no like daylight it is it
ain't de la that's a
how long minute bring something home
we stand there and watch that mr. pacman
go in and out of that pipe every time if
you want to see something really cool
hanging out of those jaws a significant
piece of wood a bit of a treasure chest
a piece of brass something I guarantee
every time every time everybody's
hoping for
piece of wood there
there's some really dark wood at the
Bark's alarm
seems to be raining over yeah I guess
what I'm gonna put a raincoat on
although the massive cranes and
equipment can work through rain if
lightning should begin to appear the
operation will need to be shut down for
safety purposes
just watch for lightning do you guys see
any lightning
new
we'll see how things go here
we are digging hole number three and we
came across something unanticipated
exciting actually
and we come up with a very different
looking piece of wood it's got a wedge
shape to it clearly shaped by man I'm
pretty sure it's hardwood based on its
density and the hardness to its feel
looks different than the Timbers we've
been through this is the most intriguing
piece I mean I think that might be old
a lot denser like it's old it doesn't
really look like it fits with all out
over there I think Dan might want it
look at this yeah I think you'd be
interested
as is often the case on Oak Island water
either from the sky or from the ground
becomes the obstacle to progress
about the time that some very
interesting wood is coming out of t one
nature who always holds the trump card
puts a stop to everything with a nice
loud clap of thunder and a spark of
lightning because that crew can't work
under lightning conditions with all that
steel way up in the air so we're shut
down a perfect opportunity to go show
our finds to Dan having worked and lived
on Oak Island for more than five decades
dan Blankenship has seen more and knows
more about the 221 year old mystery than
anyone alive we dug up some more stuff
at the money pit we're in the third hole
now some of these things came from about
a hundred and 102 feet okay
it's not soft wood then say Maya see how
tightly Green is Joe and then 118 give
or take this piece came up it's a wedge
yes it was a wedge if what was a wedge
for watching their tempers in the corner
and who are they dan has a lot of
experience with discovering things I
don't got mad so you know what I am
always hoping is he'll say oh yeah I saw
that before over here and then that's a
piece of data that we can use to
correlate trollin excellent this was
about this long I cut it in half to set
it off for carbon testing
I cut a piece off of here it's hard this
one's hard wood go ahead for a little
piece of wood well this has really fine
green to Dan just like the other one see
it I see if this is old let's say this
is oak could this be the original round
logs that they say we're in the money
pit
way back in 1795 it has an odor
definitely had a significant odor to it
the fact that the wood is both black in
color and has a foul odor is a good
indication that it is also centuries old
we get this singular round smaller
dimension piece of wood very blackened I
think it was like a stockade you know
like this flat and the original
description of the money pit is every 10
feet there were oak logs embedded in the
walls
could this be one of them appears to be
oak it's very heavy
very tight grain could this be one of
those pieces I'm be interested to find
out what's your cock and didn't chose I
you know age wise if this comes back
1550 or something then that's pretty
significant that's a pretty good
indication that you're in the right spot
well guys we're going up here to I think
probably Fred Nolan's most traumatic
discovery while waiting for the
operation at the money pit to resume
Rick lagina along with Island historian
Charles Barkhouse and Jack Begley have
invited stonemasons Mike Whalen and Mark
Fouchier to inspect one of the most
intriguing rock formations ever found on
Oak Island Nolan's cross our interest
was for Mike and Mark to look at it
straight over here and see if the stone
had actually been carved this is the
headstone of the cross so where the arms
and the stem intersect this is what Fred
found in 1981 landowner and professional
surveyor Fred Nolan discovered five
large cone-shaped boulders on his
property that formed a perfectly
symmetrical cross that measured 720 by
867 feet believing there could be
something buried at the center Fred dug
down and uncovered a sixth boulder that
eerily resembled a large human head like
right here that looks like it's been
chiseled about here here here
here here yeah looks like somebody
shaped it although there are many who
believe that the mysterious boulders on
Fred Nolan's property were meant to
represent a Templar cross there is
another more ingenious theory one that
suggests the boulders were carefully
arranged to form what is known as the
Tree of Life
an ancient Hebraic symbol which
represents the ten spiritual principles
or semi roads that are contained in
God's creation of the universe this is
it this theory was given further
credence when a number of smaller
strangely flat-sided stones were found
at the exact places around the cross
when this fe rock would be located what
this interesting is it's rounded on the
back yeah
and kind of heard you have to look at it
looking down but it's the impression
that you know you can see that this
would be where the I would be in the
nose in the mouth and there's an
indentation here you can see right here
although it has weather where you could
put like a small naval Cutlass or naval
sorted like this is the blade part now
again it's weathered a lot and it was
much more defined years ago when I first
saw it about 20-some years ago what's
unique about this is it's it's
completely different from the other
stones the other stones are basically
granted and they're cone shape or this
one is obviously much flatter the
suspicion is that the face especially
the eye perhaps was looking at an area
of significance
that's our suspicion we're hopeful that
Mike and Mark will be able to give us
some information from the stones you
know might it leave the treasure I don't
know might lead to other discovery
agendas I don't know we have to start
somewhere and place to start is with
experts any idea what type of stone this
is is this sandstone things I sense them
because Fred's always assumed that it
was sandstone yeah as opposed to the
other points on the cross are all
granted you know
Charlie do you remember the face being
any more exaggerated than it currently
is well certainly the indentation I've
got a you know Fred very kindly let me
take a photo of the headstone and
certainly the Cutlass indentation was
much more defined than it is now like I
said over the years a weathered and
unfortunately awesome nature Assad soon
it will wither quickly given the fact
that it's been exposed and was buried it
was reactivated then buried again moved
around doesn't take long for that for
the sandstone to to erode and get rid of
any indications or any markings whether
it was work just difficult safe
curiosity of course is its orientation
at the intersection of the stem of the
cross and the arm of the cross according
to Fred survey data it's less than a
degree off of perpendicular and this is
at that point
and then of course the carving the fact
that it was right at the intersection I
mean Mother Nature is good but I don't
think she's that good I think it was put
there for a purpose you know obviously
and in so did Freddie I mean you're
talking massive weight you know to
maneuver this into position and a COPI
partly not for shape a few edges knocked
off air and there it's just something
that they were looking for and they
found this piece and it suit their
purpose to me I think it's a calling
card to me it's a come look at me and at
this point we don't know what's that the
Cutlass that was mostly notice or
someone was supposed to notice or wasn't
the face we don't know when and where it
was done and then interventions at any
particular time right yeah the curious
thing is I for my part I've never seen
no I'm not a geologist by for my part
I've wandered the island quite a bit it
I don't recall a piece of sense on this
big anywhere that surface flauta granite
a lot of big boulders not this
we appreciate you looking at it and we
were just looking for answers and that
the clues as to whether or not was a
human construct have been those clues
have been lost but we do have one more
rock we would like to show you
because
it's set in stone subject to weathering
at a rapid pace they could not make a
definitive statement about the face
stone they couldn't say yes or no
okay gentlemen we're gonna get out here
and we're gonna look at the bottom of
the cross if you will if it was standing
upright and it's a cone-shaped granite
boulder possibly you know uppers to five
tons in size and just take a look at it
and give us your impression
this is it right here
again they're all they're all grown at
the five stones and they're all shaped
like this the question is that they find
if stolen close to what they need and
maybe just do some a little bit of you
know tweaking right exactly
or was this actually manipulated I don't
think is natural at all I don't know
what it is but it doesn't pair natural
I've never seen anything quite like this
I don't see that being natural that's
really smooth Mike don't you think I
don't know what it is but there's a
paradox right near the middle of Oak
Island
on property belonging to the family of
Fred Nolan local stonemasons monkfish
here and Mike Whalen may have just found
an important clue on the bottom Boulder
of the megalithic formation known as
Nolan's cross that surface is unusually
smooth here and it would take a lot of a
lot of dragging to get a central's that
smooth really hmm what does that whether
it was what does that tell you maybe it
was in transport yeah something's
happened to that surface of the stone
the granite is rough the whole stone and
yet at the bottom
it was smooth if these stones had been
drugged for long distance to position in
this particular place I mean that's an
aha moment I did not know this about
this don't know it's not natural
but as to when it was done is that he
was guest
if you drug a stone like that down like
a gravel path you'd almost get a finish
like that if you went long on that
that's interesting that's very
interesting it was the game how do you
move or such a large stone and if that
is possibly the result of transport as
you indicate they had to have a way to
move this thing
it's almost a footprint if you were to
drag it yeah yeah yeah
Oh Cohen is a thousand-piece puzzle with
500 pieces missing
yeah and you just added one yeah let me
thank you for that thank you fastest
happy to help
thank you happy to help okay let's uh on
to more puzzles yeah yeah later that
same day finally got the data back right
breaker
rick marty and members of the Oak Island
team gather in the war room to hear the
results of the carbon testing done on
the mysterious pieces of wood discovered
in the t-one chef at the money pit I'm
very hopeful because of this piece of
wood this piece of wood in that piece of
wood we want proper dates but you only
get a probability curve and you know if
the probability curves are lean towards
the early years fantastic
everything's in the first one is the
timber at 102 feet which is this guy
right here the 95 percentile range is
anywhere from 16 72 1780 what good times
a wooden timber dating as far back as
1670 ad
could this be proof that the team has at
long last found the location of the
original money pit logos from 1655 to
1695 well that's pretty good then isn't
yeah it's this one that's intriguing
yeah that one might be one of the
original logs that covered the money pit
more helpful right there wasn't just
that that intrigued us it's incredibly
heavy yeah
even as I continued to read about Oak
Island and the description of the money
pit in my mind I'm thinking Oh logs
embedded in the walls I'm talking oak
logs but here's this much smaller
dimensioned log is it part of the
construct of the money pit could it be
yeah because they weren't meant to
support anything they were simply meant
to separate so that each level could
fall independently of the one above it
could this be one of those maybe
your father's always said darkened wood
blackened wood with an order and that
has to be oak clinic so I mean the
greens on that or well won't can have
white green but it's very hard till got
branches are sticking out right so there
would have been number the original
money pit was described as logs of home
yeah anyway so what's this test I know
this one tested from sixteen fifty five
to sixty ninety five well then that
means that one is holed then you've got
something that's not the kind of
material that anybody used for any of
the shafts and Craig thanks and I think
maybe he could be right that that would
have been one of the logs of the
ten-foot platforms so that would be very
significant well this is sounding like
that almost has to be original yeah
that's what this is implying yes right
there the original money pit yeah maybe
we're zeroing in on it yeah it could
have been Spanish or it could have been
pirates the bridge murder Sh
that fits once again with this sort of
British military for their jet 1762 were
prior very much more interested in what
the hammer grab might bring up yeah this
we're gonna continue to hammer grab we
need to have eyes on it all the time
yeah okay so now I got more sitting to
doing that front-end loader oh you poor
boy I know
fuck it was a great great meeting thanks
for the day to Prague
I'm very hopeful song I want to go back
out there I'm sure you guys do too so
let's get after it okay
or quite after receiving test results
indicating that they may be close to
finding the exact location of the
original money pit Savior our Castle
Rock Rick Marty and the team have
returned to the t-one worksite only to
discover that today's findings are less
than encouraging they should be pulling
up more bits of wood and evidence of
manmade workings deep underground
instead they are now finding only bits
of clay and chunks of stone the hope is
when you dig in the money pit you dig
into something that's unambiguous a
vault with gold coins or bars or
parchment documents or whatever I mean
when you do that it wouldn't be
confusing would it let's talk to Andrew
we're in a drawer and gentlemen how are
ya good are you yeah
good all right talk to us you know the
drill we are a hundred and forty eight
feet with the can and we're at 147 148
with the diggin okay so we're going one
for one right now go ahead we're gonna
get would it be right now we're gonna
hit what it's gonna be this bucket
right now
they just say it but I don't think
there's anything there I feel the
pressure as each hammer grab comes out
because I just kept coming up with clay
certainly nothing definitively man-made
maari's absolutely right I mean there
was nothing definitive about it
nothing it never stopped I mean there
was hammer grab after hammer grab after
hammer grab of clay I tell you what Rick
this place could annoy the del I llama I
mean for God's sake you know right about
we're right where we want to be right
where we bloody wanna be none of this
makes sense
oh this is outside the purview of logic
amen
a Rick and I and the team agreed on a
budget for this year and we're running
out we tried to stretch that budget and
decided to go for the t1 well but we
haven't had that breakthrough yet
there's the operative word yet okay yes
I just think that there's something very
significant here if this doesn't work
I'm a measure twice cut once guy if we
have to go to a much larger scale
investigation I'm willing vo there we
need answers
Wow
finding water in the t-one shaft is
hardly surprising the absence of any
wood and seems to indicate that the team
may have reached yet another dead end
there he goes a totally empty
very little of nothing
so guys right now we're down about 156
with a cannon
anyway you could be on metal
Charles there have been reports of
plates of metal that other explorers
could not get through true absolutely in
1897 after discovering a mysterious
7-foot tall wooden vault some 153 feet
deep inside the money pit treasure
hunter William Chappell located what
appeared to be an impenetrable metal
object at a depth of approximately 171
feet could Rick Marty and the team have
located another such plate
if so who put it there
what might it be protecting we're hoping
that maybe what's killing these teeth
could be a metal plate how fat you've
hammered on it yeah and you know and we
should see some indication if that's the
case absolutely let the big dog eat
again
put mr. pac-man in there
give it a couple foot drop try to stab
it and grip it and rip it
all right last chance here we go
there you go ready do a happy dance
Charles
come on minute
last chance
the next draft comes and I'm hoping that
what's happening is we're clipping a big
piece of metal where do you want it Rick
he wants it on the ground
the chapel expedition drilled into
something that they described very like
that if we're hitting the metal plate
that's exciting that would be great
like a slate though
that's not good
if we hit bedrock bennett's it's over
it's not gonna go down and your mind
goes from wow this is what I really want
it to be and it is and then it goes to
the harsh reality of oh no it's not
then another question it raises its head
in that is what do we do we're on
bedrock it's time to terminate that's it
we're done
we're done what began as a date of eager
anticipation has suddenly turned to one
a bitter disappointment for Rick Marty
and the team after spending the last of
this year's engineering budget trying to
find the original money pit they have
literally hit bottom and there are no
more options left so I'm disappointed I
mean that's all we've got is interesting
pieces of wood after three very
expensive digs in the money pit we hope
to encounter the vault and come up with
metal in pieces and metal bars so I'm
disappointed but it'd be nice to find it
you know do the happy dance right here
yeah I'd love to see my brother on top
the vault but it didn't happen
difference between being disappointed
and being dissuaded from continuing
there's no guarantee on Oak Island you
do what you can you persevere in the
face of adversity and you carry on look
here's the thing I got more data I think
what we need to do is get all this data
you know and take a look
so our Rick look I appreciate the
optimism we just sank three three-man
size shafts into the money pit and then
come up with anything
counter that with 222 years well we have
they didn't have this
we're not gonna quit it's here why are
you so convinced
because they were convinced all of the
work ants
why was Fred blaring ball from 1893 to
1951 and he wasn't convinced what was in
my shop they all had to believe
otherwise what was the point of them
being here nobody wants you guys to find
it more than I do
I think it's quiet contemplation time
let's uh let's just go have a think
about all this let's go
tough deal Rick tough deal mm-hmm let's
call Craig all is not lost
no Krieger well by this time you are
aware that we have now dug three very
deep very expensive very large holes in
the money pit but no vault no treasure
so just stating facts here to use a
baseball analogy that's three strikes
usually you're out but it's only the
eighth and the game would be over over
the bottom of the ninth it's only the
bottom of the eighth is that your call
I mean I'm still hopeful and I'm
interested going to the southwest and
then we continue pushing a hold on while
the gears here that's my thought you
want to do this yeah I do
you are certainly a perpetual optimist
big brother
I don't want to be part of leaving the
stone unturned
but this is getting painful you know
you know there has to be and enough seen
off
Rick let me tell you I was probably the
most excited to put these holes down and
the money pit but not a lot of treasure
to show for it no but information surely
it's had its rewards certainly but maybe
we're done with the money pit
no cuz no I'll be honest no I refuse to
use the word failure we now have a
greater understanding of the underground
in the money pit area but is the money
pit a tough nut you bet it is does it
live up to its name
absolutely but there's still
opportunities here I mean you know it's
the same old sorry topic of money it's a
reality you know but I think we can I
think we can do it I think we take
another look at the monies that are
available and I think there's a way to
make it happen
Greg where are you for me I put in
what's needed to do one more I just want
to ask Rick one question
I want to leave here with having done a
damn good try but your criteria has
always been you don't want to leave here
with regrets are you gonna have regrets
if we don't dig this hole
in my relationship with record there's a
strong bond both of us know that if we
fell in a deep hole the other one would
go in and get the person who fell I mean
that's that's just the things just as
confidence that they're there for you
that's the strong bond between us and I
respect that I'm kind of feeling shifted
towards doing it but you know what
Charles has picked my hole Craig has
picked the hole I think the final
position of this one should be yours
you
me Alex
and Mom and Dad so let's name it for our
parents let's call it the george and and
lagina number one gal gal number one you
alright with it mom was quite a gal
alright I like it I'm on board
alright let's dig one more but you don't
want we got things to do then we got to
pick the bloody site yeah well I have an
idea but I want everybody to weigh in
I'm excited about the fourth hole
because I've always thought why chase
one singular target Torian go read the
written history says that in 1861 there
were three quote unquote thunderous
collapses in the money pit there's this
imposing location of the money pit right
there when that happens that explosively
the material in that chamber is going to
be dispersed over a wide area chase that
chase the debris field the flood tunnel
comes in from the north
the water's coming in for this direction
well you have been already thinking
about this brother in 1861 12 years
after the discovery of what many
believed to be two stacked wooden chests
filled with gold a team of treasure
hunters trying to reach the bottom of
the original money pit by digging an
adjacent shaft and a depth of 118 feet
the shaft known as shaft number six
began filling with seawater
shortly afterwards a series of loud
crashes were heard leaving the workers
to speculate that the wood cribbing in
the money pit had collapsed and that
whatever possible treasure lay at the
bottom was now scattered across a vast
underground and underwater debris field
so money pit collapses the debris field
goes this way I'd go right in there
right here that's where we drill right
there he's saying seven feet south four
feet west of v3 bottom hole let's go do
it
thanks Greg take care thanks thanks
okay I like that a lot that makes me
feel a lot better
q k to choose a hole on Oak Island I
mean nobody deserves that more than you
nobody has put their soul into this like
you have nobody has been less self
aggrandizing than you look he deserve it
it is as simple as that
well thanks
so anyway you do it together
ever since he first read about it as an
11 year old boy it has been Rick lagina
stream to solve the Oak Island mystery
it is a dream that has been with him for
more than 50 years and one that he
cannot extinguish easily or willingly
good morning we've got a little change
of plans
okay what we want to do is have one more
go at the Bolton sharp so just the
caution you you know we could hit wood
we could hit stone and we could itse and
we could hit what we're looking to
exactly well that would make it all
worthwhile that's the location right
there
we're about seven feet west and seven
feet south of e3 are seven feet right
there that's our spot right there
that's regalis gal number one I just
wonder what mom and dad would think
really is where my mind goes what would
they think your dad would be interested
because but he would he likes things
judge yeah well your mother would be
proud of you she'd think we were nuts
but she often thought we were nuts what
mother doesn't think her boys are nuts
sometimes
I feel it everything's gonna jive that's
the spot very good
okay I'll bring you guys back up here in
a mr. Dubois very much appreciate the
fourth hole good luck or gal appreciate
you guys yeah Gail one hi she's her gal
she's a good-looking gal - better be
for some the curse of Oak Island comes
in the form of death caused by
unforeseen calamity
but for others it comes in the form of
fierce determination fueled by faith and
tempered by the likelihood that too much
has already been discovered for anyone
to give up now
for Rick and Marty lagina and their
partners the bold decision to dig a
fourth exploration shaft has brought a
renewed excitement but could they really
be within a few precious feet of finding
their target or will they discover that
they have not only tempted fate one more
time but too often
next time on the curse of Oak Island a
special two-hour season finale we are
third to zero in on something
ten years of planning treasured yes
that's fantastic
four years of digging the gold coin deep
in the money pit finally pays off we're
gonna get some answers you really do
have something here
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