SPOILER ALERT!
For those who haven’t seen it yet, the Drilling Down episode of The Curse of Oak Island included A LOT of juicy information about what’s to come this season.
The episode, hosted by Matty Blake, saw him interview various members of the team and try to get them to spill the beans about what gets discovered in the episodes to come.
It also included footage of the dramatic moment the team started sinking a huge 60in caisson down into what they believe is the original Money Pit.
Filming for the Drilling Down episode is understood to have taken place in September — when photos showed Matty filming on the island — which means it happened long after the initial episodes of Season 5, the ones currently being shown, were filmed.
That means Rick and Marty Lagina and the team had to keep mum to Matty about any important finds they had already discovered, but they DID give a few things away.
Firstly, Rick added more fuel to the rumor of some sort of proof of a Knights Templar link to the island being found this season. When asked about the hunt leading the team to Europe and what they found, Rick smiled knowingly and said: “Stay tuned.” However, he then added while grinning: “I just…I’ll say one thing, perhaps there’s some Templar association…perhaps.”
Another intriguing moment came when Matty said it was his obligation as a host to push the Lagina brothers “harder” and asked: “Is there anything specifically that we can look forward to in Season 5?”
Marty said: “I mean, this year there’s a lot of stuff.” Matty asked: “Is there anything you can show me? Anything tangible?”
Marty then said: “I’ll give you an example,” before showing Matty — who couldn’t quite believe his luck — a fascinating looking piece of wood which came out of the Money Pit during the 60s when Robert Dunfield was hunting for treasure on Oak Island.
Marty told Matty as he handed him the wood: “This came out of what he was digging. And if you notice, there’s no doubt it’s manmade, it’s got a fitted joint, it’s got some really ancient nails…”
Rick, pointing at mysterious rivets on the wood, added: “It’s the grooves that may yield us some information — it’s very strange to have that on that piece of wood.”
Asked where it came from, Rick said: “It came from the Dunfield dig, from someone who was here. The crane operator actually.”
The Drilling Down episode also saw Marty inform Matty how archaeologists had started to view Lot 24 on the island — once owned by slave turned British loyalist Samuel Ball — as a significant site, something he described as “exciting”.
We also learned the C1 shaft would be further explored this season, as would Smith’s Cove and the swamp. But most excitingly for fans, the episode was filmed JUST as the whole Oak Island team started sinking the first enormous caisson into what they believe is the original Money Pit.
The location was identified by the team using the geotech system, and marked with a wooden stake on which was written the reference “H-8”.
Matty revealed how the team were planning to first sink a 60in wide starter caisson into the ground there, followed by a 50in wide permanent one. The caissons are much larger than the 43in ones used last year, and Marty explained how they would lead to 35 per cent more area being explored underground.
We then saw Dan Blankenship pressing the button to start sinking the caisson into the ground — or as the team like to call it, “slamming can”.
But what was it that led the team to believe the Money Pit was located underneath that exact point? Tantalizingly for fans, Marty refused to give even the slightest detail, saying only: “Here’s a hint — I don’t even think you can guess.”
The Curse of Oak Island: Drilling Down is available online now at History.com and also airs again tomorrow on History at 7/6c before a “Digging Deeper” episode at 8/7c and this week’s new episode “Obstruction” at 9/8c.