Is Rick Lagina OK? 'The Curse of Oak Island' star's treasure quest faces a setback, demands 'real answers'
NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA: 'The Curse of Oak Island' Season 11 concluded with the lads using the borehole drill to locate a treasure vault before wrapping up for the winter. As the quest for riches appears to continue into another season, a tearful Rick Lagina assured viewers that the team will return with perhaps new discoveries and solutions.
Marty Lagina suggested a proposal for the upcoming season, in which they expect to finally identify the probable buried wealth discovered between 80 and 120 feet underground in the Money Pit location. His idea may require the removal of tons of dirt as well as the rock formation that surrounds the Garden Shaft in order to produce a level area suitable for the drilling of 6-inch plot holes and subsequent water testing within them.
In addition to the areas surrounding the Garden Shaft, the crew discovered evidence in three additional places, indicating that there may be multiple treasure deposits in the Money Pit area. One of them is known as Aladdin's Cave, and the crew uncovered a large tunnel 150 feet underground with water and found traces of valuable metals and wooden buildings.
Another point of interest is borehole RF-1, where in 2019, the crew was shocked to uncover gigantic wooden beams more than 100 feet underground with Roman numbers, as well as a pickax that has been scientifically traced to Scandinavia. The other location is borehole H-8, which was dug in 2017. The crew recovered bits of parchment and leather bookbinding, as well as suspected evidence of the famous Chappell Vault, approximately 180 feet beneath.
In his closing statement, Rick took some time out to address the team. He said, "I thought the other night about, you know when I was a little kid, and, uh, do I still believe? Is the little boy still inside of me? And...I thought...I thought long and hard about that, and, uh...and what I came to realize is, he's still, he still is there."
He adds while holding back tears, "But he's there because of you guys. And you, ladies. And, uh, I still believe in the little boy who's still cheering us on, and I am extremely grateful for each and every one of you."
What began as a fantasy for two Michigan lads over 60 years ago has evolved into a real-life experience beyond their wildest expectations. According to the dedicated investigation, arduous labor, and rigorous science, something of great worth and importance is buried on Oak Island.
And when Rick, Marty, and the Fellowship of the Dig return next spring, it might finally put an end to a mystery that has lasted more than 200 years. In his confessional, an emotional Rick says, "I want an answer. I want an answer because there's a richness to the story, and the story's not complete. Who's gonna give up? Nobody."
'The Curse of Oak Island' team's final drill probing results in discovery of 'sand'
With the severe North Atlantic winter coming, the final week of search activity this year has begun on Oak Island. However, brothers Rick and Marty and their crew felt they still had enough time to make a find in the famed Money Pit location, which would finally settle a 229-year-old treasure riddle.
Just over a month ago, Dumas Contracting Limited officials were digging 106 feet deep in the 18th-century Garden Shaft to inspect a partially demolished seven-foot-high tunnel. A tube that penetrates directly into the Baby Blob, where groundwater testing has revealed high-trace evidence of precious metals at depths ranging from 80 to 120 feet deep.
However, saltwater inexplicably surged into the hole, causing the crew to quit the quest and assume that one of the mythical flood tunnels had been activated, preventing searchers from excavating below 90 feet in the Money Pit location for almost two centuries. After conducting further water sample experiments at the Garden Shaft, geoscientist Dr Ian Spooner and his colleague Dr Fred Michel identified a new borehole position known as E.5N-14.5, where they believe the source of the precious metals may be buried 100 feet below.
As the core drilling operation in borehole, Bravo-Sierra reached a depth of some 100 feet, it turned out to be a disappointing moment for the team, as by the end of the season they had neither treasure nor story.
Emma Culligan's study on 'arrowhead' puts it back as early as 1200 AD
Rick and Oak Island historian Doug Crowell met with Jack Begley, principal archaeologist Laird Niven, and archaeometallurgist Emma Culligan at the Oak Island laboratory. Rick, Doug, and members of the team have spent the last three weeks visiting various sites across Europe to investigate an incredible theory: that nearly eight centuries ago, the Scandinavian culture known as the Vikings assisted members of the medieval Christian order of the Knights Templar in transporting priceless religious treasures to North America and hiding them on Oak Island.
During their voyage, they carried a photograph of a metal relic unearthed on Oak Island in the 1960s by Robert Dunfield to the Ladby Viking Museum in Kerteminde, Denmark. There, curator Ane Jepsen Nyborg provided the researchers with a remarkable analysis.
Rick and Doug were anxious for Laird and Emma to perform a scientific investigation of the arrowhead in the hopes of determining whether it may be a crucial clue in solving the Oak Island mystery. Emma scanned the relic using an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer.
The technology uses nondestructive radiation to detect the elements contained in items, which can assist in determining their age. In recent years, the crew has explored various buildings on the island, which experts believe might date back as early as 1200 AD.
These include a stone well on Lot 26, a huge paved structure in the marsh, and Nolan's Cross, a megalithic creation composed of six stones. Incredibly, they discovered two lead artifacts and a pickax that have been scientifically connected to Scandinavia. The arrow in question was considered to be another key piece of evidence supporting the hypothesis that Vikings assisted the Templar order in burying precious riches on Oak Island.
If this is the case, it may explain why the scientists discovered high-trace evidence of precious metals in the Money Pit location.
Alex Lagina and Gary Drayton discover 'chisel' on Lot 10
Alex Lagina and metal detecting specialist Gary Drayton arrived at Lot 10, where Gary had previously found a significant number of prospective metal targets. Two weeks ago, Marty and members of the crew removed Cone E, one of Nolan's Cross's six megalithic stones, in search of evidence that may assist in determining who carved the feature.
Marty discovered a peculiar concrete-like material beneath Cone E that included animal hair of some type, and the crew intended to investigate further using DNA testing. After obtaining permission from Laird to dig up the previously indicated targets, Gary and Alex hoped to uncover further critical or valuable clues.
The duo discovered what they considered to be a potential chisel. Over the years, numerous enormous rocks and stones with strangely engraved markings have been discovered on Oak Island.
One, known as the H+O stone, was discovered on the northern coast and included an H, a cross encircled by four dots, and a circle with a dot in the middle, which some say represents the presence of gold. Another was the famed 90 Foot Stone, discovered at such depth in the first Money Pit back in 1804.
During their recent tour throughout Europe, Alex, his uncle Rick, and other team members visited various places associated with the Knights Templar and the Vikings, where they found countless structures and even runestones with the same markings. It was probable that Gary and Alex had discovered a tool at Nolan's Cross that may have played an important part in the Oak Island case.
Stream full seasons of 'The Curse of Oak Island' on History.