This week on Season 8, Episode 20 of The Curse of Oak Island, the team finds further evidence that an old treasure ship may have been burned and sunk in the swamp.
The search continues for at least another week on Oak Island, and once again, geologist Terry Matheson has found a large quantity of wood which he thinks is probably a shaft and may actually be the Money Pit.
However, with that said, we can probably expect most of this week’s action to happen down at the stone roadway and in and around the swamp.
It seems as though archaeologist Aaron Taylor is getting more and more swept up by the mystery of the island every week. He’s previously suggested that whoever built the roadway also worked hard to conceal their efforts. In the episode preview, Aaron is heard to say: “everything we’ve excavated… there’s like a secretive component to it.”
And the mystery seems to deepen further for Aaron and the team when they uncover a structure on the stone pathway causing Aaron to say that’s “super cool.”
The history channel has named this episode Fire in the Hole, and their description reads: “Evidence of a continuous burn event in the swamp energizes the team, supporting the theory that a ship was burned and buried there centuries ago.”
More evidence of a sunken ship in the swamp
The guys have long speculated that an old ship, possibly a Spanish galleon loaded with treasure, was docked at the swamp and sunk and burned after it had been relieved of all its precious cargo.
The theory came about after a mysterious ship-shaped object was identified at the bottom of the swamp via thermal imaging. It now seems as though they’ve added to this theory by uncovering an artifact in the swamp area that shows evidence of burning.
Archaeologist Miriam Amirault says in a preview of the artifact: “That is exactly what we were looking for… it’s been burned multiple times.”
Meanwhile, the lack of any major excavations this season has meant the team has relied a lot on metal detectorist Gary Drayton, who has been furnishing everybody with a varied array of artifacts, and this week is no different.
Gary Drayton’s find of the week
The guys have been finding plenty of old British ox-shoes this season, which have led them to believe that the British military was involved in transporting large amounts of cargo across Oak Island in either the 17th or the 18th century.
In the episode preview, Gary appears to have uncovered yet another ox-shoe, and it looks super super old, but also in pretty good condition. As is the norm, they’ve taken it to Blacksmith Carmen Legge for some expert evaluation and he places it in the “early time period” and also confidently states that it’s Scottish in origin.
This would further add to the rich tapestry of different nationalities that have graced Oak Island over the hundreds of years. Hopefully, Carmen will be able to provide further info in tonight’s episode.
The Curse of Oak Island airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on History.