In this video, we’re going to take a look at the developments that took place in Season
7, Episode 22 of ‘The Curse of Oak Island’. But first, I’d like to offer my condolences
to the family and friends of the victims of last week’s mass murder in east and central
Nova Scotia. For those who might be unaware, last weekend, on April 18th and 19th, a Nova
Scotian man murdered 22 people in rural Nova Scotia in what I think was the deadliest mass
murder in Canadian history since the Cypress Hills Massacre. I know a lot of you who watch
my videos are from Nova Scotia, but no matter where you’re from, I wish you and yours
all the best in weathering these weird times we’re in. On a more positive note, we have
one more week until the epic Season 7 finale of ‘The Curse of Oak Island’, so without
further ado, here is a recap of the semi-finale. Enjoy.
Season 7, Episode 22 of ‘The Curse of Oak Island’ begins at the Money Pit area, where
the excavation of Borehole RF1 is underway. While the hammergrab extracts material from
the caisson, the treasure hunters process the spoils, extricating old timbers and transporting
the rest of the muck to a wash table for sifting. Some of the timbers are inscribed with Roman
numerals, evoking the U-shaped structure. In RF1 spoils taken from a depth of about
120 feet, Gary Drayton discovers a strange iron crowbar-like device with a sharp hook
on one end, which Rick Lagina suggests might have been used to maneuver timbers.
The next morning, Craig Tester and Alex Lagina drive to the Ross Farm Museum, where they
show Carmen Legge some of the items they discovered in RF1. First, the blacksmithing expert examines
the crowbar-like object and finds a “wear mark” on one side of the hooked end. “So,
that tells me,” he says, “that it was sort of anchored into the wall of a rock formation…
These would be driven into the roof or wall of a cave, and then lanterns or other working
equipment like hoists and pulleys would be anchored on” the hook. When prompted by
Craig Tester, Legge dates the artifact to the 1700s.
Next, Carmen Legge takes a look at the pickaxe found at a depth of 90 feet in RF1 the previous
episode. The blacksmithing expert identifies the artifact as a “very typical rock hammer”
which would have been used in a tunnel or a cave, and declares that such an object could
have been made as far back as the Middle Ages. Back on Oak Island, Jack Begley and Steve
Guptill search through 120-foot-deep RF1 spoils at a wash table. Jack picks out what appears
to be a piece of rope. Shortly thereafter, he comes across a clump of coconut fibre.
The treasure hunters are joined by Dan Henskee, whereupon Steve finds a mysterious black object,
one side of which appears to be caked in concrete. At the Money Pit area, the RF1 caisson reaches
a depth of 160 feet- the neighbourhood of the Teardrop anomaly introduced in the previous
episode. The hammergrab emerges from the caisson bearing a crumpled piece of sheet metal in
its jaws. Doug Crowell identifies the object as a “shield” used in 1931 to protect
the builders of the Chappell Shaft from falling debris.
As soon as the caisson begins its descent into uncharted territory below the Chappell
Shaft, one of the brackets securing the oscillator to the hammergrab crane snaps due to the pressure.
The contractors spend the rest of the day repairing the damage before resuming the excavation
that evening. At a depth of 181 feet, the hammergrab brings up little aside from water.
Vanessa Lucido informs the boys that the caisson is now advancing at a rate of 4 inches per
hour due to some nether obstruction- probably limestone bedrock. “I have a super unconventional
method we could try,” she says, before suggesting that they try raising the caisson five feet
and setting the 50,000-pound hammergrab on top of it in an effort to slowly sink the
caisson deeper into the obstruction. Rick and Marty Lagina agree to the proposal.
The following day, Rick Lagina, Charles Barkhouse, and Laird Niven drive to the foundations of
Samuel Ball’s house on Oak Island’s Lot 25. The narrator informs us that Laird has
acquired a permit to excavate the site in an archaeological manner, for which he said
he would apply back in Season 7, Episode 18. After taking photographs of the site, the
treasure hunters begin excavating the designated perimeters of the test pits with trowels.
They are soon joined by Kelly Bourassa, Gary Drayton, and Jack Begley, who assist in the
operation. Less than an inch below the surface, Bourassa uncovers a metal strip, which he
identifies as a hinge belonging to a building or a chest, as well as a metal bracket.
After a short scene in which Dr. Ian Spooner extracts some wood from beneath stones comprising
the Paved Area, Jack Begley, Charles Barkhouse, and Laird Niven continue the excavation on
Lot 25. Several feet below the surface of one of the test pits, Jack Begley hits a layer
of stacked stones which appear to lie atop some sort of cavity- apparently, the anomaly
indicated by the GPR scan conducted by GPR experts Steve Watson and Don Johnston in Season
7, Episode 18. The treasure hunters are soon joined by Rick Lagina and Billy Gerhardt,
the former of whom enthusiastically designates this potential tunnel on the Ball foundation
the long-coveted “one thing… for the Ball foundation”.
The next day, the boys excavate more of the cavity before showing it to Marty and Alex
Lagina. The treasure hunters proceed to invite Derek Hale, the owner of a company called
‘The Septic Doctor’, to Oak Island. Hale produces a hose with a small camera on one
end from his truck, telling the crew that he and his employees use this device to “scope
sewer lines”. Hale lowers the camera into the cavity, revealing a long, narrow stone
tunnel. At an undisclosed distance from the cavity’s entrance, the camera’s progress
is impeded by a rock lying in the middle of the tunnel. The treasure hunters agree that
they ought to excavate the tunnel by hand in order to find out where it leads. “It’s
a complete mystery what this is,” says Marty Lagina, “but it can’t be a tunnel to nowhere.
It just can’t be. Nobody would do that.” Thanks for watching! If you enjoyed this video,
please ‘like’ and ‘subscribe’, and I will see you again next week for a recap
of the Season 7 finale of ‘The Curse of Oak Island’.