The Curse of Oak Island: THRILLING DISCOVERY in the Garden Shaft

At the Oak Island Interpretive Center,
Rick Lagina and his nephew Alex are meeting with Gary Drayton, archeologist Laird Niven, and archaeometallurgist Emma Culligan. All of this is coming from inside that circular feature.

[narrator] They are eager to receive Gary, Laird, and Emma’s analysis of a coin as well as a potentially 500-year-old Phoenician bead that were both found one week ago in a large stone foundation located near the shoreline on Lot 5.

Uh, let’s have a look, mate. It’s the right size—for a penny or a half penny.

• Yep.
• Oh, yeah. No mistaking that.
• Yeah.
• King George?
• Well, let’s take a look, Emma.

[narrator] Earlier today, Emma scanned the coin with the SKYSCAN 1273 CT scanner, which emits nondestructive X-ray radiation to penetrate corrosion and reveal the object’s finer details.

• Oh, there you go.
• Okay. Right there, I see on the right hand side.
• Oh, yeah. It should say Georgius III Rex.
• Rex, okay.
• Yeah, it’s Latin. Georgius.
• It’s the third.
• Yeah, that’s definitely now.
• So 1760 to 1820.
• Yeah.
• I think it’s the first edition head.
• Yeah, an early head.
• Yeah. So that’s… Takes it in the 1770s.

[narrator] An English penny or half penny that could date back nearly three decades prior to the discovery of the money pit in 1795? If so, who left it in the foundation on Lot 5? Someone who may have left something of value behind or was it someone looking for the fabled treasure? Let’s go out there and find some more.

• More digging.
• Okay.

[Gary] What a great day for finding treasure.

[Rick] Okay, here we go.

• All it takes is one good find.
• That’s right.

Is that pottery?

• [Rick] Billy.
• [Gary] We both saw that.
• Look.
• Oh, I see it, mate. That’s nice.
• Oh!
• I see… I see color.
• That’s gorgeous, mate.
• Oh, look at that. And there’s another piece here as well.
• Where?
• There.
• See the rim?
• Yep. Yep.

Alright, let’s see if this is a match.
Oh, that is absolutely stunning.
That’s beautiful, mate.

• What is that?
• That— that’s old.
• That is some fine china by the look of it.
• I mean, this is high-end stuff.
• I know that this Chinese porcelain was really, really popular.
• That’s what the Portuguese fleets used to bring up through these trade routes.
• Really, really nice.

[narrator] Potentially ancient Chinese pottery? If so, could Gary Drayton be correct that it may offer another Portuguese connection to the stone road in the Oak Island swamp? According to documented history, beginning in the early 16th century, Portuguese explorers, including Vasco da Gama, who is also a member of the Portuguese sect of the Knights Templar, made extensive trading expeditions to China, bringing back, among other goods, fine Chinese porcelain. Which then became highly traded throughout the region and the Americas. As you look, you can see the age on the back.

• You see that crackling?
• Mm-hmm.
• On the back?
• Mm-hmm.
• It’s been in there a while.

[Rick] What we’re looking for is to try to establish a connection between these artifacts and the actual physical constructs. Stone road, stone path. It’s possible this pottery will give us great insight into what this feature represents because that stone road to me is still inexplicable. There’s something right there.

• Something? You seen it?
• Yep.
• Ooh.
• Ooh, big chunk.
• That’s a big chunk too.
• Yeah, that’s a big chunk.

Okay, mate, got it in me hand, mate.

• I’ll wait till you get out.
• Here’s another.
• There’s another one?
• Yep.
• That is so fantastic.
• I think this may be something different.
• Is it?
• Yeah, I think this is teacup.
• Don’t get any better than that, mate.
• What a perfect start to the morning.

Let’s see. Look at that.

• No, it’s not…
• It’s either a teacup or a bowl.
• Oh, yeah. Actually…
• Like a…
• It’s two different vessels.
• Mm-hmm.
• Where’s the silver spoon set—with it, right?
• That would be nice.
• I’ll bet there’s more in here.
• Yep.

Oh, here we go. Here we go.
Oh, look at that, Billy.

• Yeah.
• I love this blue glaze.
• Oh. Yeah, that’s a Chinese design on it as well.
• Turned into the swamp tea party, innit?
• [chuckles]
• Mm. Yeah.

If you found all that pottery, should be a pretty good chance of finding something else here too, right? With that amount of finds, we have to go through it by hand.
Agreed, mate, and I’ve— I’ll put these to one side, ’cause I’m turning into “Gary Potter.”

I think that’s a rock, not sure.

• No, that’s a bit of pottery, mate.
• And it’s different as well.
• It’s got black edges.
• So it’s two-tone, it would’ve been black and brown.
• Or brown and tan, look.
• See that darker glaze there?
• Oh, yeah.
• And it’s on that side.
• Yep.
• I’ve never seen that before.
• And I haven’t, mate.
• It’s got the black glaze on both sides.
• That, that is different.

Alright, we’ll put that in the bag to add to the collection.

[Rick] I do find the incredible collection of pottery telling some sort of story. And so we need to do our homework. Uh, we need to understand what, how old this pottery is, what it might’ve been used for. Is there a cultural stylistic understanding of it? And then go from there.

There we go. More pottery, mate. Look, it’s tumbling out. [chuckles]

Well, here you go, Gary.

• Here’s your favorite.
• What you got? Oh!
• Oh, that’s bloody beautiful.
• Look at that.
• That is really nice.
• I think this is older than that other porcelain we found.
• Oh, yeah.
• I mean, this is really nice.
• Oh, that’s not the same pattern.
• That’s an older pattern.
• Oh, it’s different.

So there was a lot of people here who spent a lot of time right here at the end of this road. And it might span centuries. Let’s see what else there is.

• Alright?
• Yeah.

Look at that, Gary. Check it out.
I think that is a heel of a boot or a shoe.

• I’d say it’s the heel, yeah.
• Do you see that square roll there, mate?
• Mm-hmm.
• And that was made by fastening this sole to the shoe with hobnails.
• Little handmade nails that had square shanks.
• Now, if it was modern, it would be glued.
• So, this is an oldie.
• 1800s or older because now they’re glued.

[narrator] The sole of a possibly ancient boot found near the stone road in the swamp? But if so, just how old could it be? And who did it belong to?

• It’s a very cool find.
• Yeah.
• If there’s a certain style to this type of shoe, since it’s close proximity to the stone road, you may be able to infer who built the road.
• I think it’s important to understand the age of this artifact…
• I’m gonna put it in a bag.

[Rick] …and the dates on the pottery and see what it tells us about the mystery. I’ll, I’ll bring it back to the lab.

• They can conserve it properly.
• Alright, mate, and I’ll let you know if we find any more.
• Perfect. Good luck.
• See ya.
• See ya, mate.