This was yet another action-packed episode of The Curse of Oak Island.
Dr. Spooner was back in the swamp, assessing the giant boulders unearthed by the paved area. His assessment: he couldn’t find a natural reason for why the rocks were there.
Which means, someone placed them there.
Meanwhile, Laird Niven was at the home of Dan McGinnis. He thinks he’s found a trap door, which could lead to a secret basement that could be hiding untold treasures.
Also, we got the results back from the testing of last week’s artifact.
It appears to have originated from the eastern Mediterranean, which caused Gary Drayton to become excited about Templar Knights again.
The artifact was also found to contain mercury, which led the guys to once again theorize about Sir Francis Bacon’s links to the island.
It is known that Bacon experimented with mercury, and some experts believe he may have buried treasure there.
The cofferdam at Smith’s Cove needs to be removed
However, the main focus of this week’s episode was a race against the clock.
The cofferdam, which has been in place at Smith Cove for two years now, needed to be removed. The permit granted by the provincial government two years ago stipulated it had come down, and the area was to be restored to how it had been beforehand.
This meant they would have to suspend all excavations at Smith Cove and the uplands for the rest of the year, while this work was carried out.
So, they had 24 hours to dig out what they hoped was a flood tunnel, located last week in the uplands.
Billy Gerhardt pulled up a broad beam with the digger, which was assessed by Terry Matheson; he declared that the ax markings in the wood meant it was from about 1769.
This meant it’s original work, put there by someone burying treasure.
Then at approximately 60 feet down, the guys thought they might have found it. The hole they dug wasn’t stable and could have collapsed at any moment.
They sent a camera down on the digger’s bucket.
Flood tunnel or hole on Oak Island?
Looking at the footage, Rick and Marty Lagina mused over whether it was a hole or a tunnel.
After consulting with the guys, they declared it must be an original tunnel. The wood and soil patterns suggested it must be a tunnel and an original one at that.
Surely they will next have to get an expert in to look at the footage.
Agonizingly, that was all our guys could do.
The next day, Irving Equipment Ltd rolled up on the island and began pulling up the cofferdam, bringing the two-year operation at Smith’s Cove and the uplands to an end.
It brought a chance to reflect on the many items the team discovered there the past two years — from the slipway to the concrete wall, to countless wooden structures and, of course, the box drain.
Then there was the find that sparked the whole operation, to begin with: the 600-year-old lead cross that originated from the south of France, an area synonymous with the Knights Templar.
We can be sure the guys won’t give up and will be back at Smith’s Cove and the uplands as soon as they can.
New episodes of The Curse of Oak Island air at 9/8c on History.