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Internet dubs 'The Curse of Oak Island' team's newest discovery of man-made stone structure 'just a puddle'

'The Curse of Oak Island' crew teased as History TV archaeologists squander time in new 'stone structure' in the Swamps

NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA: On 'The Curse of Oak Island' Season 11, Episode 21, the crew discovers a brand new stone feature at the same location where an expert instructed them to search for the Ark of the Covenant. As the History TV archaeologists attempted to delve deeper into the enigma, viewers couldn't help but troll, believing the building to be nothing more than a mud pool.

Marty Lagina and geoscientist Dr Ian Spooner joined the rest of the team this week in the swamp's northern section, where they discovered a potentially significant finding. One week ago, researcher John Edwards sent the crew to the spot, suggesting that due to its proximity to the boulders of Nolan's Cross, they would discover a buried treasure related to the Knights Templar.

Surprisingly, as Billy Gerhardt explored the area, he uncovered a big rock lying atop a possible man-made stone structure. This week, the team requested that Dr Spooner study the location to establish if it is a natural feature or man-made.

Dr Spooner quickly determined that a massive rock and stone formation discovered one day earlier seemed to be man-made. If Dr Spooner and Billy are accurate in that the region around the feature was purposely drained in the past, this might provide evidence to corroborate John's theory that it was established centuries ago by the Knights Templar.

Seeing the team at work, fans took to X to express their disappointment, one asked, "So now the tiny hole with water in it is holding the treasure? So they've been digging hundreds of feet down all this time." Others accused them saying, "As they find fewer and fewer things.....they bring up the Knights Templar more and more...."

One user joked, "This episode has mostly been a few of the fellas standing around a circle of rocks in the swamp. A few alligators would make this show more fun." A fourth user quipped, "In the end...this is just a puddle..."

Some users also took a dig at the geoscientist as they write, "Dr. Spooner believes the swamp is man made - as if that’s a “new” discovery." Others threw a dig at the team saying, "Finding man made features becomes less exciting every time when you remember that they never actually figure out what any of the man made features definitively are."    

'The Curse of Oak Island' team finds evidence of human activities in the Swamp

Billy discovered numerous additional tree stumps some weeks ago while excavating toward the swamp's center. Since trees cannot grow naturally in marsh conditions, these discoveries lead Dr Spooner to believe that the wetland was purposefully modified hundreds of years ago.

This might indicate that the team has discovered further evidence that the feature is man-made.

As they proceeded to excavate, Billy, Jack Begley, and Gary Drayton discovered further signs of odd human activity. They ultimately discovered a dip bordered with rocks in the swamp's northern portion.

If Billy is correct that it may be concealing a prior dig, it may assist in corroborating John's idea that a rare treasure associated with the Knights Templar may be hidden there.

Rick Lagina suspects wooden stake at the Swamp could date back to 1500s

Rick Lagina, together with Craig Tester and head archaeologist Laird Niven, subsequently arrived at the swamp's northern section to investigate the mystery stone feature.

During one of his numerous studies of the triangle-shaped wetland, Fred Nolan uncovered many regular lines of wooden stakes that were carbon-dated back to the 1500s. Fred was confident these were survey marks from ages ago, intended to artificially construct the brackish bog.

It seems that the Oak Island crew had discovered a similar stake at a position thought to signify a location where riches may be hidden.

Stone-lined depression in the Swamp clould date back to 1200s 

The Oak Island once again requested Dr Spooner to investigate and collect evidence to establish when it was built. Surveyor Steve Guptill plotted the elevation of the flat stones covering the topsoil with his GPS equipment to see if it might match the date of any other man-made objects discovered in the swamp.

As it turned out, the stone-lined depression matched the height of the vast paved area discovered in 2019 and dated by Dr Spooner to as early as 1200 AD. If this feature was developed around the same time period, it may be covering a treasure associated with the medieval Knights Templar order, as John proposed.

Although Rick, Craig, and the crew are anxious to see what lies underneath the feature, Dr Spooner collected a core sample of organic components to analyze and confirm that it might be more than eight centuries old.

'The Curse of Oak Island' Season 11 airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on History.