Recap

The Curse of Oak Island: The roadway in the swamp continues to expand, and more jewelry is found on Lot 5

Gary Drayton chats directly to the camera on Oak Island
Gary Drayton struggled a bit on this week’s The Curse of Oak Island. Pic credit: History

This week, on The Curse of Oak Island, the guys were busy all over the island as they continued uncovering more features in the swamp and more jewelry and coins on Lot 5.

Billy Gerhardt has been happily digging in the southwest corner of the swamp for the last couple of weeks, and he appears to have uncovered some interesting features. Last week, he hit some wood timbers, which the guys reckon may be a dam used to create the swamp.

This week, Billy uncovered some more similar stones adjacent to the old stone roadway, which made the guys conclude that they were likely an extension of the possible 500-year-old road.

The team believes they are right at the edge of either the stone road or a wharf and right at a loading zone. They are now trying to figure out exactly where the swamp/road ended and where the beach began.

The guys brought in metal detectorist Gary Drayton, hoping that a so-called “loading zone” would contain many artifacts that had previously fallen into the dirt. Somewhat disconcertingly, Gary found nothing!

Marty Lagina argued that we should still have hope; a group of people constructed a massive roadway and wharf nearly 500 years ago and then buried it. Why? There must be a reason.

Oak Island archaeologists find jewelry and a coin on Lot 5

Meanwhile, on Lot 5, the archaeologists continue excavating the mysterious circular and rectangular structures. Much like the roadway in the swamp, these structures are massive and appear to have been hidden. Again, why?

The guys speculate that Lot 5 was used as a staging area for the Money Pit.

Last night, the archaeologists found two potentially important artifacts. First up was a colorful bead, which could be Venetian glass and could date back to the 15th century. This was the second bead in as many weeks.

The second item was a very large and very old-looking coin. It appeared to have some kind of markings on it but will need to be properly scanned to figure out where and when it’s from.

A bead and a coin from Oak Island's Lot 5
This tiny bead and a large coin were recovered from Oak Island’s Lot 5. Pic credit: History

Blacksmith Carmen Legge returned last night to the brand-new laboratory on Oak Island. He examined a couple more artifacts from Lot 5, consisting of two shards. The first were made of copper, and Carmen speculated they could have made a decorative jewelry box.

The second set of shards was made from iron and lead, and Carmen suggested it was a strap from an old box or chest. It was dated to the 16th or 17th century.

Oak Island team stumbled in search for the Chappell Vault but progressed in Garden Shaft excavation

Also, last night, there was disappointment at the Money Pit area where the borehole drill guys were hoping to find the elusive Chappell Vault. As expected, they hit a void at 180 feet, but there was no sign of the vault. Maybe they missed it by a matter of inches.

Meanwhile, there was finally some good news at the Garden Shaft as Dumas man Roger Fortin announced they finally got the flood water under control. This means they will restart excavating down to about 95 feet, and then they can resume hunting for the tunnel that leads toward the Baby Blob.

The Curse of Oak Island airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on History.

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Mary Ann Lee
Mary Ann Lee
7 months ago

Hurry before I die. I’ve been watching for an eternity and am already 85 years old. Mary Ann