The Torch Is Passed
The season opens with the passing of legendary treasure hunter Dan Blankenship at age 95, a man who devoted more than 50 years of his life to Oak Island. Honoring his legacy, the team turns to the swamp he always believed held secrets, uncovering a paved stone wharf on the swamp floor and a stack of boulders forming what becomes known as the Eye of the Swamp. Historical researchers Corjan Mol and Christopher Morford make their first War Room appearance, presenting a theory linking Nicolas Poussin's Shepherds of Arcadia painting to Oak Island through geometric analysis, demonstrating that a pentagram derived from the painting aligns precisely with Nolan's Cross when overlaid on a map of the island. A seismic survey of the Money Pit reveals a 13-by-13-foot anomaly at its centre, and the team deploys massive eight-foot-wide caissons for the first time, targeting the so-called Teardrop feature. Old timbers inscribed with Roman numerals emerge from deep underground, echoing the U-shaped structure at Smith's Cove. The season ends with the team convinced they are closer than ever, with a clear target for the years ahead.
Key Discoveries
Dan Blankenship passes away, stone pathway in swamp, ship's railing dated 660-770 AD (oldest artifact found), wood under paved area dated ~1200 AD, Tom Nolan joins team
Key People
Rick Lagina, Marty Lagina, Craig Tester, Alex Lagina, Dave Blankenship, Gary Drayton, Billy Gerhardt, Charles Barkhouse, Doug Crowell, Steve Guptill, Laird Niven, Dr. Ian Spooner, Carmen Legge, Tom Nolan, Jack Begley, Peter Fornetti, Terry Matheson, Dan Henskee, Corjan Mol, Christopher Morford, Judi Rudebusch
All Episodes
23 episodesThe Torch Is Passed
Season seven opens with the team gathering in the War Room for their first meeting without veteran treasure hunter Dan Blankenship, who passed away during the o...
Core Values
Choice Drilling begins retrieving core samples from the swamp ship anomaly, operating a five-ton sonic rig staged on an 800-square-foot floating barge.
Eye of the Swamp
Geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner presents his initial findings in the War Room, with Marty Lagina and Craig Tester joining by video conference.
The Lucky Thirteen
At the Smith's Cove Upper Beach, Choice Drilling sinks exploratory hole OITC-6 ten feet northwest of a previous hole that revealed evidence of the Oak Island Tr...
Tunnel Visions
Choice Drilling sinks an exploratory borehole near the Cave-In Pit to investigate underground anomalies detected by ground-penetrating radar.
Closing In
The search for Shaft 9 reaches its conclusion as the team traces the 1863 sluiceway, originally identified with help from veteran treasure hunter Dan Henskee, back to its source.
Things That Go Bump-out
At the Oak Island Research Centre, surveyor Steve Guptill shows Rick Lagina and historian Doug Crowell a diagram plotting the recently confirmed location of Sha...
Triptych
At Smith's Cove, the team examines the tarpapered wooden wall and cobblestone structure discovered in the bump out area.
An Eye for an Eye
In the War Room, the team reviews the discovery of Shaft Two and plans additional drilling to determine the orientation of the tunnel that extends from it toward the original Money Pit.
Gary Strikes Again
At Smith's Cove, Rick Lagina, Peter Fornetti, and Gary Drayton investigate the massive wooden structure exposed in the bump-out area during the cofferdam extension.
The Eye of the Storm
With Hurricane Dorian, a powerful storm that has already caused catastrophic damage in the Bahamas with 185-mile-per-hour winds, approaching the Atlantic coast,...
Fortified
Following Hurricane Dorian, which battered Oak Island with nearly 100-mile-per-hour winds and reflooded the swamp with ocean water, Rick Lagina and Scott Barlow...
Bromancing the Stones
Rick Lagina shows fellow landowner Tom Nolan the paved stone walkway uncovered in the swamp, a feature Tom's late father Fred Nolan never had the means to expos...
Burnt Offering
In the War Room, the team reviews carbon dating results from borehole FG-12 in the Money Pit area: a wood sample recovered at 106 feet has been dated to as earl...
Surely Templar
At the Oak Island swamp, Rick Lagina, Alex Lagina, Jack Begley, and Gary Drayton investigate the shallow northern end of a 200-foot ship-shaped anomaly identifi...
Water Logged
In the Uplands near Smith's Cove, Billy Gerhardt continues excavating what the team believes to be Shaft Five, built by the Truro Company in 1850.
To Boulderly Go
Rick Lagina brings geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner to the swamp to examine a circle of boulders discovered the previous week by Rick, members of the team, and fellow landowner Tom Nolan.
The Turning Point
Irving Equipment Limited and ROC Equipment deliver the heavy equipment for the season's most ambitious Money Pit excavation: eight-foot-wide steel caissons, a c...
Lords of the Ring
At the Money Pit, the eight-foot-wide caisson at borehole OC-1 pushes past 50 feet, grinding through the remains of the Hedden Shaft, the 12-by-24-foot wood-cri...
Springing the Trap
At the Money Pit, the eight-foot-wide caisson at borehole 8-A pushes past 78 feet, targeting the Shaft Six tunnel, which according to archival records connects directly to the original Money Pit.
A Leaf of Faith
In the War Room, geophysicist Jeremy Church of Eagle Canada presents the results of the seismic scanning conducted earlier in the season using 18,000 dynamite charges across the island's eastern half.
Marks X the Spot
At the Money Pit, the excavation of borehole RF-1 continues to yield significant material.
Timeline
At the Money Pit, the team returns to RF-1 after leaving the 26-ton hammergrab resting on the obstruction at 170 feet overnight.