This week on The Curse of Oak Island, the team made massive strides towards locating the Money Pit.
The guys believe they may have located the elusive Tupper Shaft, which means they could now be a mere ten feet away from the hidden treasure.
Also, this week, they unearthed a bit of Oak Island folklore when Gary Drayton stumbled upon one of the fabled ringbolts that are rumored to have anchored ancient Spanish galleons in the swamp.
The first half of this episode focused on the core drilling operation in the Money Pit area. The guys found a crazy amount of wood, which they believe may be the Tupper Shaft.
The Tupper Shaft was a searcher tunnel built in 1850, which hoped to circumnavigate the booby traps surrounding the Money Pit. Unfortunately, it was unsuccessful and flooded badly, ending the operation.
However, the guys are keen to find the Shaft as they know for a fact it is located ten feet northwest of the Money Pit. So close!!
As Marty Lagina pointed out that if they have found the Tupper shaft, then: “Hope springs from our hearts.”
The swamp is ‘the keeper of the secrets’
The second half of this episode switched focus to the swamp; Rick Lagina referred to the marshy land as “the keeper of the secrets,” but it seemed like it’s slowly beginning to reveal some answers.
Work on excavating the strange stone pathway continued apace, and the experts all seemed sure that this rocky road was a major construction project from the past.
According to archaeologist Aaron Taylor, the stone structure was kept from sinking by using a wooden cribbing structure. That means that some sophisticated building happened here.
And Dr. Ian Spooner reckoned that the road is approximately two to three hundred years old, at least.
The experts and the guys increasingly believe that a harbor was constructed in the swamp, and the stone roadway was used to transport precious cargo to an unspecified point on the island, probably the Money Pit. They just need to follow the road to see where it goes.
Gary Drayton unearthed an old Oak Island ringbolt
It was at the swamp, where Gary, with the help of Billy Gerhardt, unearthed this week’s most significant find, an old iron ringbolt.
The find was important thanks to Fred Nolan, a legendary Oak Island researcher, who spent years working on the island, and in particular, the swamp. Decades ago, Fred discovered three ringbolts, just like the one Gary found, embedded in rocks around the swamp.
He believed that Oak Island had originally been two islands separated by a stretch of water at the point where the swamp sits today. He thought that a treasure-laden Spanish Galleon had been unloaded there, before being purposefully sunk in that stretch of water.
Fred suspected that the ringbolts were used to anchor the Spanish Galleon. And the guys have since found evidence that a ship may be buried in the swamp.
As for the bolt Gary found, the guys think it’s super old; archaeologist Laird Niven said he had “no problem placing it in the 18th century.”
We look forward to seeing what the team uncovers next week.
The Curse of Oak Island airs at 9/8c on History.