It’s been reported that work has finally begun this month on Season 9 of The Curse of Oak Island, as various trucks and machinery have now arrived on the island.
And this has prompted us to examine what major projects the guys may already be working on.
So far, there have been no official announcements as to when the next season will be airing, but we can safely assume that the Fellowship of the Dig will be working really hard over the coming months so that we can check out what they’ve discovered this fall.
Just like last season, the guys have been delayed in getting to the island because of COVID-19 restrictions; however, an easing of the regulations in the last couple of weeks has led to pictures emerging of the heavy machinery arriving on the island.
The super kind folks at the Facebook account Oak Island From The Other Side of The Causeway, have posted up pictures of a ton of trucks and an excavator arriving on the island.
But what projects could the guys be working on and what are they hopping to dig up?
Last season, a lack of time combined with uncertainty over the pandemic meant the guys were unable to perform any really big excavations. But now they’ve had a lot more time to plan things, and the arrival of some big machinery hopefully means they’ve got something massive planned.
So, let’s have a look at what big projects are likely to happen in Season 9.
Silver buried in the Money Pit area
The massive news from the end of last season was Dr. Ian Spooner’s shock announcement that there’s a “dump truck” worth of silver buried in the Money Pit area.
The geologist tested water underground for traces of silver and he found it contained so much of the precious metal that there must be a huge deposit buried nearby.
This revelation caused money man, Marty Lagina, to shout triumphantly that “the big dig is back on the table.” So, it seems a sure thing, that the guys will try to dig up this silver as soon as possible.
A treasure ship buried in the swamp
Another major project for the guys is the recovery of an ancient ship thought to be a Spanish galleon or a pirate ship buried in the swamp. Ever since a scientific survey revealed a ship-shaped object at the bottom of the swamp, the guys have theorized that at one time, a vessel was unloaded of its treasure and then deliberately sunk to hide the evidence.
This theory has been regularly bolstered by the continuous discovery of burnt ship-related objects in the swamp. Most recently, Billy Gerhardt’s digger unearthed what looked like a ship’s railing, and when he continued excavating, his digger began sliding against a large object just below the surface.
The team’s efforts to dig it up were hampered by water flooding the dig site, so they concluded that the only way forward was to build a cofferdam, and that would have to wait until the next season.
So, these are the two main new projects that we can reasonably expect the guys to spend the next few months working on. Fingers crossed they’re successful.
Don’t forget the stone roadway
Of course, we can also assume that the guys are will be continuing their work on uncovering the mysterious stone roadway. Archaeologists Aaron Taylor and Miriam Amirault have spearheaded the work on this cobblestone road that is thought to be hundreds of years old.
The road was first discovered in the swamp, and the guys believe it was built to help transport cargo (hopefully of the treasure variety) from a ship’s wharf to the Money Pit. They hope it’s a case of follow the road and find the treasure.
The Curse of Oak Island is currently on hiatus but Season 9 is expected to return this fall.