It’s the start of the season. They are excited but also sad, as Dan Blankenship is not part of the team on the island anymore. His spirit remains. Rick and team video chat Marty and Jack as they have not arrived yet. They start this meeting talking about Dan and his passing and is his passion. They take a moment of silence. They start to discuss the plans for the year. They are getting permits to both dig and excavate in the swamp. They will do more drilling in the money pit. In Smith’s Cove, they plan to expand the coffer dam and dig deeper. It will go out 50 feet farther. The meeting ends and they head to the swamp. They revisit the the 18 foot plank that was dated to be 400 years old. Their diver arrives and they all discuss the game plan. Fred Nolan spent a lot of time on the swamp. The diver thinks it may have actually been a channel between two island, not one. They put a dingy in the water to start a dive. Gary heads off to metal detect with Charles. He tells Charles how the metal detector actually works. The coil he has on it will scan two feet all around it a full 360 degrees. He does get a hit and Charles starts digging. It’s a shotgun shell. They get another hit in Isaac’s Point. It’s a button. Gary thinks its made of silver. He dates it 1650-1570. It also has a unique symbol. Back at the swamp, Tony Sampson, is about to dive. They use GPS to find the top most point of the seismic anomaly. He finds something quite solid below his probe. His dive will be zero visibility. He has found something and will try to bring a piece up. He brings something up. It’s a flat stone. He finds similar at the other corner. They are nearly identical. He thinks its a stone road five feet beneath the surface of the swamp. He thinks its man-made and of archaeological value. He tries to inflate buoys along the entire perimeter. It’s a very straight path. Gary and Charles go to the center an show Rick and a few others the button. Laird takes a look and he thinks mid to late 1700s. It predated searcher activity. Laird makes clear this is not a commonplace or ordinary find. They examine it under the microscope. Marty and Jack have finally arrived on the island. Everyone is in the war room. Steve from the seismic company is there. He has added the new data for the roadway. It goes right to the top of the anomaly, the stone road does. They now think they may have found a stone wharf. Tony confirms that on the sides it slopes down, only the stone road is flat. Rick is now excited about the swamp. A rig is brought in for the swamp. There is a barg that goes in first. rick is concerned there is not enough water for them to float. The drill is as sonic drill. Fred Nolan’s son comes out to watch. His father didn’t share much information with him though. His son has become a part of team. It’s the first time in over 50 years that all the landowners are working together. They bring an expert in to check out the button. Gary and Alex head back to Isaac’s Cove to search more. They find a Victorian hand mirror. He takes it as proof that it was not only men on the island. Next they find a spike, likely hand forged. The expert dates the button to about the 1760s. In Smith’s Cove a bumpout is going to be added. The spike is examined by all. Rick and Gary take the spike to a blacksmith to check out. It’s a hand point. A tool used to carved stone or rock. He dates it pre-1800s. In the swamp, the barge is set up and ready to go.
Categories: Blog Archive, The Curse of Oak Island
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