[narrator]
<i> A new day begins on Oak Island. </i>
<i> And while the core-drilling operation </i>
<i> continues in the Money Pit area… </i>
<i> …nearly half a mile to the west on Lot 5… </i>

These are the spoil piles from last year of the round feature,
so I’m really excited to see what we can find here.

<i> …metal detection expert Gary Drayton </i>
<i> and Peter Fornetti join the archaeology team </i>
<i> as they continue to investigate </i>
<i> the large stone foundation near the shoreline. </i>

[Gary]
I mean, they’re using sifters,
but sometimes some stuff can go through — that quarter-inch screen.

• Oh, yeah. Well, we’ll give it one last shot.

[narrator]
<i> Today, Gary and Peter have been directed </i>
<i> to search through a pile of spoils </i>
<i> that were removed last year </i>
<i> from the mysterious round feature </i>
<i> for any clues that could help determine </i>
<i> who occupied it and, most importantly, why. </i>

[beeping]
Yeah, this could be something, Pete.
This sounds like it’s nonferrous.

Well, I know the rules is, we have to stand down —
for the archaeologists to dig these targets…

• Mm-hmm.

• …’cause we’re in this special area.

Let me call Fiona.
Fiona! We’ve got a target.

• Oh, great.

• Whoo! Yay.

[narrator]
<i> Because the round feature </i>
<i> was designated by the government of Nova Scotia </i>
<i> as a “special place” in 2024, </i>
<i> Gary and Peter must obtain permission </i>
<i> from one of the team’s accredited archaeologists </i>
<i> before digging up any targets in this area. </i>

[metal detector beeping]
Yeah, we’ve got a target here, Fiona.
You think it’s nonferrous?

Mm. Yeah, a little piece of nonferrous there.
It’s ringing up loud and clear.

• Yep.

• Just there, please. Dig ’em out.

[Fiona]
You know what? This — you can tell — this is in between the spoil piles,
so this would be something probably more in situ.

• Well, it-it’s looking like it so far.

• I see.

[narrator]
<i> An in situ target, </i>
<i> meaning that it is not in the previously removed spoils </i>
<i> but rather in the ground near them? </i>

All right, I’ll try to pinpoint.
Let’s see what we got.

[high-pitched beeping]

[narrator]
<i> If so, could Gary have identified a new area </i>
<i> outside the rounded feature </i>
<i> that contains potential clues or evidence of treasure? </i>

[Gary]
Oh, look at this. Yeah, I had a feeling it was gonna be a little bit of lead.
Tiny little bit of squashed lead shot.

• Okay.

[narrator]
<i> A lead shot, or bullet? </i>
<i> Ever since acquiring Lot 5 three years ago, </i>
<i> the Oak Island team has unearthed </i>
<i> a number of gun-related artifacts, </i>
<i> such as musket balls and a ramrod guide from a rifle, </i>
<i> that could all date as far back as the 17th century, </i>
<i> more than 100 years before the discovery of the Money Pit. </i>

[Fiona]
That probably created somebody’s supper one day.

[Gary]
Yep.

[Peter]
Oh yeah.

[narrator]
<i> Could the team have just found </i>
<i> more evidence of people who may have used this site as a camp </i>
<i> while possibly hiding valuables in the Money Pit? </i>

<i> If so, who were they? </i>

[Gary]
If that had been a gold nugget now, we’d all be dancing.
Should we flag this little area as well?

Sure. Yeah, I mean, that was in the ground, so that’s great.

• Okay. Are we allowed to search this?

[Fiona]
Yeah. No, absolutely. Uh, I think we’re just gonna try and stay away
from any of the perimeter of the feature — ’cause we’re gonna still dig there, but…

• Yeah.

• …I think it really would be good to detect on this side
  because realistically, most of the artifacts have all been kind of on the west side of the feature.

[Gary]
Yeah. I find it very strange that we’re not finding as many artifacts right here.
Let’s find some treasure in this area.

Go for it.

No, th-this is perfect. So, I’m gonna get back over here.
Anything we can do to help you guys.

• Awesome.

• Cheers.

[beeping]

• Got something?

• [Gary] Yeah. It’s iron.

Let’s take this out and see what we’ve got.
Okay. Just there, please.

Hopefully, it’s a chunky old thing.
I like me chunky old things.

Especially on Lot 5.

[Peter]
<i> Lot 5 is the lot that keeps on giving. </i>
<i> We’re finding artifacts that were here </i>
<i> well before the discovery of the Money Pit. </i>
<i> So, we want to work together with the archaeologists </i>
<i> to metal-detect, and my number one objective for Lot 5 </i>
<i> is to get some answers to help the archaeologists </i>
<i> tell the story about what’s happening in the feature </i>
<i> and how that relates to the Money Pit. </i>

[beeping]

• It’s out?

• [Gary] Oh, yeah. Yeah.

• What was making all that noise?

• [high-pitched beeping]

Ooh, there it is. Ooh. What the heck is that?
That is something. I mean, look at the shape of it.

• Yeah.

• And look. You see it’s got these bumps on it.
  I don’t know if these are corrosion and it’s just encrustation on it or not.

Yeah. It looks like it has some sort of shape to it.

• [Gary] Yeah.

• Like a design of sorts.

My first thought was like, door hinge, almost —
like the locking mechanism.

• Yeah.

[narrator]
<i> A piece of a possible door hinge? </i>
<i> If so, could it be related to the nearby rounded feature? </i>

This could still tell a story and help solve the mystery.

• Yeah. We’re not too far from the round feature.

• Yeah.

[Gary]
<i> The people on Lot 5 would have had locks of some kind. </i>
<i> They could have had chests and doors that needed locking. </i>
<i> And I’m looking forward to seeing what the archaeologists dig up about this find. </i>

[beeping]
Got something?

[Gary]
Yeah. Bigger piece of iron.

Fiona, when you get a chance, can you come over here?

• Sure.

• Thank you.

Yeah, we’re close to the round feature.
I like your location over here.

We haven’t found a lot o-over at this side of this round feature.

Well, I’m hoping this is something interesting.
It’s an iron hit, but…

[beeping]
…it’s substantial.

Go for it.

Oh, that’s gonna be tricky.
Oh, well done.

• Wow. That’s really deep.

• [high-pitched beeping]

I wonder if I should grab my trowel just in case.

[Gary]
I was thinking that it would be…

• Yeah. Okay.

• Maybe it’d be a good idea…

• I’ll be right back.

• …to trowel it out.

Just to be safe.

[Gary]
I mean, we’re in worm tickler territory now.

• [chuckles]

• Okay.

• I’ll pinpoint it for you, Fiona.

• Okay.

[high-pitched beeping]

[Gary]
Oh, it’s a screamer.

• Right there.

• [Fiona] It’s really deep.

Yeah, it is. That’s about ten inches.
Yeah, I can, I can see it right here.

It’s — and it is a substantial size.
I just don’t want to break it, right? Like…

There’s a piece.
Like, that looks like glass.

That-That’s glass. That’s older stuff.

[Fiona]
It — and look at the color of it.
And that’s pretty green.
But that’s looking like older glass.

You know what? There’s all sorts of things down here.
To be honest, I’m t— I’m seeing some coarse earthenware now, too.

• Mm-hmm.

So, the fact that… [sighs]
…the fact that we’ve got coarse earthenware,
you’ve got glass and a big piece of iron,
I think we need to, um, not dig this up right now.

Yeah. I want to take out just a bit of the roots.
I think we’ll just make it a little bit bigger.

This may just be a pile of something that got thrown here,
but what if it’s something else?

• Yeah.

• Yeah.

What if this another part of a foundation?
We are not that far away from this feature.

‘Cause we found the starburst button right over here —
which is literally four feet away from us.

We found the spiral button right over here,
and that’s really, really close to this.

• Oh, wow.

• This could potentially be…
  be part of whatever’s going on over at this feature.

[narrator]
<i> Another potential section </i>
<i> of the mysterious round feature on Lot 5? </i>
<i> And mere feet from where the team uncovered </i>
<i> two ornate buttons that may be connected </i>
<i> to the 17th-century order known as the Knights of Malta? </i>
<i> A religious order </i>
<i> who, just like the Portuguese Knights of Christ, </i>
<i> descended from the Knights Templar? </i>

[Gary]
We’re in total agreement.
And who knows what else is down there?

[Fiona]
Well, that’s what I’m thinking, too.
So we’ll-we’ll-we’ll hold this for now,
and if you’re okay to keep going with the rest of it…

• For sure.

[narrator]
<i> Due to provincial regulations, </i>
<i> because Fiona believes that Gary and Peter </i>
<i> may have found another part of the rounded feature, </i>
<i> she and the archaeology team </i>
<i> must now perform further excavations of this site </i>
<i> to locate the large metal object </i>
<i> and whatever else may be buried here. </i>

Now we’ve found this,
who knows what else is waiting for us over here?

[Fiona]
<i> This is really encouraging. </i>