This week on The Curse of Oak Island Season 11, Episode 3, the team uncovers another strange Lot 5 artifact that may be linked to the U-shaped structure at Smith’s Cove.
The Fellowship of the Dig will also make significant progress investigating a tunnel that appears to run under the Garden Shaft and into the Baby Blob.
Rick Lagina and Gary Drayton appear to be the dream team when it comes to finding artifacts.
Already this season, they’ve dug up four ancient coins, including two originating from the Roman Empire. And it was a similar story last season.
They are at it again this week, as they find an “unusual artifact.” So far, it’s unclear exactly what the object is beyond looking like a small cylindrical object.
But an Oak Island preview showed a cursory examination of the artifact, which revealed Roman numerals etched onto its side.
Oak Island team finds possible link between Lot 5 artifact and U-shaped structure at Smith’s Cove
That led archaeologist Laird Niven to note that they’d seen these same numerals on the U-shaped structure in Smith’s Cove.
A U-shaped structure at Smith’s Cove was first discovered in the 1930s but was rediscovered by Oak Island legend Dan Blankenship in 1970 and then thoroughly investigated in 2019 by the Laginas team.
Dendrochronology dated the structure’s wood to 1769, well before the discovery of the original Money Pit. The wood also featured a notch every four feet with a different Roman numeral.
Roman numerals were not exactly uncommon in the past and were often easier to carve or etch into objects than regular numerals. But maybe Laird has noticed something indicating a direct link between the numerals.
Also, on tonight’s episode, the Fellowship of the Dig is getting super excited about the tunnel under the Garden Shaft.
In a preview, geologist Terry Matheson uncovered a massive seven-and-a-half-length piece of wood, which is a considerable chunk of tunnel and will hopefully give the guys a good idea of where it’s headed.
Was the tunnel under Garden Shaft used to move treasure?
Surveyor Steve Guptill stated, “You don’t build a tunnel like this unless you’re moving something important.” And Steve was greeted with nods of agreement.
We all hope the thing these mystery people were moving was treasure.
The History Channel is calling this episode Taking Their Shot, and the synopsis reads:
“While the team tracks the mysterious tunnel toward the Baby Blob, Lot 5 continues to deliver when Rick and Gary discover an unusual artifact marked with the same Roman numerals found on the U-shaped structure in Smith’s Cove.”
Viewers of tonight’s show can also expect to see the guys put a camera down a cavity. They likely decided to get a closer look at this underground tunnel; fingers crossed, there is something exciting to see.
The Curse of Oak Island airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on History.
The boys from Michigan do not disappoint. Each week the show gets better and better
Where is Merrium. I am not sure if I know how to spell her name. She worked with Laird Levin.
I have a thought about the 13’ circular hole they are digging. What if it’s made the same way that the ones they’ve seen their eastern travels where the stair went around the hole?