The Curse of Oak Island team believes the Chappell Vault is buried in the Money Pit area at a depth of 180 feet, and they know exactly where to dig. The guys have also uncovered a structure in the swamp they suspect may be a dam.
This week on Oak Island, there were beaming smiles all around the War Room as geologist Terry Matheson had some major news.
Terry looked delighted to be in the War Room, and it wasn’t just because this was a rare foray indoors for him; he suspects they’ve finally found the elusive Chappell Vault.
A few weeks ago, we all learned the results of the Muon tomography survey, which involved buried sonar devices mapping the underground area of the island. The detectors spent two years detecting various areas of low density, which could contain voids or containers, such as treasure chests.
The survey highlighted three areas of particular interest, one of which was Aladdin’s Cave and another spot about 60 feet southwest of the Garden Shaft. The second area involves an anomaly or void at about 180 feet below, and last night, the borehole drill team focused their attention on this spot.
This area is exciting because back in 2017, the guys drilled a large caisson, called H.8, into this zone while searching for the Chappell Vault. At the time, they hit an object at about 170 feet; however, during the night, the material inside the caisson (the plug) collapsed, pushing the object deeper and causing the guys to abandon the search.
Muon technology and borehole drilling indicate they’ve found the Chappell Vault
The drill team hit a void at 183 feet on last night’s show. Terry and surveyor Steve Guptill agreed that this void, detected by the Muon technology, likely “encapsulates the Chappell Vault.”
Terry believes that their borehole drill is now posed over this mysterious object that could be the Chappell Vault.
Last week, Marty Lagina decided they should bring in caissons to fully excavate Aladdin’s Cave, and caissons were again mentioned about this new site. So, viewers can assume a massive dig will soon be on the cards.
This area below 180 feet is new territory for the guys, but they are now armed with some pretty clear data, so they only need to dig.
A new structure, possibly a dam, is uncovered in the Oak Island swamp
Elsewhere on the island, Billy Gerhardt, Gary Drayton, and Jack Begley dug in the swamp’s southwest corner when Billy’s digger scrapped away some soil to reveal a brand-new wooden structure.
These chunky wooden beams were placed at the swamp’s edge, right by the sea. This led Gary and the guys to speculate that they had found Fred Nolan’s wall.
In 1969, Fred found evidence of a wall at the end of the swamp, which he believed may have been a dam. This added to the evidence that made him theorize the swamp was human-made. This theory suggests the swamp was deliberately constructed to conceal something important, such as a buried ship.
This was a great episode with lots of new information and some very significant finds. As Gary said at the end, it was “an amazing day of recoveries and discoveries.”
The Curse of Oak Island airs on History Tuesdays at 9/8c.