All right. Here’s the next one, Scott.

Gary and Scott search for more clues where Gary has already detected and flagged buried metal objects close to where the team found the musket flintlock.

Scott.

Let’s check it out.

Yep.

I’d like to find something connected to that feature behind us, mate.

Let me see if I can pinpoint it.

Got it.

Got it.

Oh, you got it?

Oh.

Shotgun shell.

Oh.

You can’t win ’em all, but like I always tell the guys, you got to dig through the trash to get to the treasure.

All right, mate.

I’ll put it in the pouch, and we’ll move to the next flag, which is just over there.

Move on.

We have to keep digging in the area and, hopefully, recovering artifacts because one of the great things about metal detecting on Oak Island is you never know what’s gonna come out the hole next.

All right.

Here’s the next one, Scott.

Good hit?

Yeah.

Good nonferrous hit.

Should be just there.

Nice one.

Sounds a lot better now.

Come on.

Be something good.

Got it out.

Ooh.

I like finding lead.

It’s a lead splash.

It makes you wonder how it gets here.

Yeah.

In the middle of nowhere, there’s one random piece of lead.

Yeah.

And you know what you had to go through to dig that out.

Now, I know Katya found a really nice bale seal just over the wall there.

There’s a chance it could be a folded over piece of bale seal.

It’s possible.

Could Gary be correct that he and Scott may have found another piece of a bag seal, like the one recently found in this area that could date back as much as seven centuries?

But I’ll put it in the bag, mate, and we’ll put the flag in there.

Sounds good.

Because the team has recently created a so-called heat map to help them organize their discoveries across the island according to their potential age, Scott is marking the site of this find with a flag.

Nice one, mate.

A little bit of mystery lead.

Moving on.

And the next flag is over here.

All right.

Let’s see what this one sounds like.

Great strong signal just there.

And we are a stone’s throw away from that feature now, Scott.

It’s certainly a rocky lot.

Yeah, it is.

I like the rocks, mate.

It helps trap targets from sinking deeper.

What have we got here?

I know what it feels like, and I’m hoping it is.

We have got some big chunks here.

I believe this is it.

I think this is a big piece of iron.

Look.

See that, mate?

There’s a big, big chunk of iron right there.

You could chunk around that, because if this is an old piece of iron, it would really help us try and explain this feature behind us on Lot 8.

I agree.

We need an artifact or something to tie this to man.

Yeah.

It’s out.

Oh, what have we got here?

It’s a couple of links of chain.

Oh, yeah, it is.

Older style chain as well.

It’s oval links.

Yeah.

On Lot 8, Gary and Scott have uncovered what could be another important clue.

It’s obviously hand-forged, by the look of it.

You can feel it has some weight to it, like older iron.

Yeah.

I know these oval links are old.

And I mean, chains go back all the way to Roman days and beyond.

I’d be curious to see the scan of that when they X-ray it.

See how collapsed these links are from what kind of load it may have been pulling.

Yeah.

That’s a good point.

Just recently, we found some really big ox shoes in a line heading towards this feature.

We have a large boulder right there that we’re suspecting may have been moved into place.

If you were gonna move that boulder, you would need chain and some really big oxen.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah, mate.

These could be the missing links.

Could Scott be correct?

Is it possible that this iron chain might be related to the massive boulder, where the team has found evidence suggesting that it was lifted and placed above a ring of smaller stones?

When you look at the connections to this mysterious stone boulder, it doesn’t get any better than this piece of chain.

Chains are used for pulling and hauling.

This could be the missing link we’ve been searching for to find the treasure.

I like the sound of that.

But we know where we got to go to get the results on this, mate.

It’s back to the lab.

All right.

Perfect.

Plant that sweet flag of victory, and we’ll see what Emma has to say about the find.

Sounds good.

Good digging, Scotty.

Good finding, Gary.

Later that afternoon…

You know, we find ourselves in the lab again.

I know this is a chain from Lot 8.

That’s all I know about it.

Rick has gathered with other members of the team in the lab, where Emma has just completed her analysis of the iron chain found one day ago on Lot 8.

So, you two were instrumental in the find and the recovery.

Why don’t you tell us about the item in front of us?

Yup.

This piece of chain was 20 yards west of the big boulder, and it’s an older-shape link.

And I’m hoping that this is an old piece, because of the artifacts we’ve recovered on Lot 8 already.

Yeah.

So, what have you found out about it?

So first, I’ll just bring up the CT scan, just to get a clearer view of the original shape.

That looks really well made.

Yeah.

So, it’s forged.

The seams — there’s no butt-ends, there’s no obvious welding signs.

All of these point towards a non-modern link.

So, we’ll just move on to the composition.

It’s a very pure iron.

It’s averaging at 99%.

And I’m just gonna say it off the bat, good signs for pre-1800s date range.

Brilliant.

Yeah.

What date are you putting on this?

Okay.

So, I’d say, comfortably 1600s, based on the composition.

But technically, it could go back to the 1500s.

Wow.

You do still see some traces of phosphorous.

So, that in there is aligning with the iron industry during that time period.

You see from the image, though, it’s had a hard life, a rough life, because you can see on the corners how it’s thin on the curve.

Oh, the wear patterns.

Yeah, the wear patterns.

It went through some heavy workload.

Well, if you were moving a 50,000-pound boulder.

Exactly.

You know, it’s 20, 25 yards away from that big boulder on Lot 8 that was really curious, so, if it was placed there, this may have been the chain that hauled it there.

Hmm.

Chains hang around for a long, long time.

Those dates certainly align with the Knights of Malta.

Yeah.

That timeline fits.

Yup.

We know that, right?

We know they were in Fort Point.

Isaac de Razilly, right?

Yeah.

Could Rick be correct that the team has found another piece of evidence that may tie the Knights of Malta to the Oak Island mystery?

If so, could this chain also be related to the flintlock that was found on Lot 8, the massive boulder feature, and perhaps the two missing treasure chests that once belonged to Isaac de Razilly?

We don’t know what’s underneath that boulder yet.

Can you imagine when that boulder’s moved?

Maybe this chain was used to lower something down there.

There might be some other chain there, but a different color.

Maybe gold?

Ooh.

That would be sweet.

There’s all kinds of possibilities about what this boulder represents.

Sure, it could be covering a shaft.

There could be an interment of something precious or significant underneath it.

I think everyone is now firmly committed to the idea that it was manipulated.

We found multiple artifacts in the area.

I think it’s an important facet to helping solve the Oak Island mystery.

Well, it’s a pretty cool find.

It’s an interesting possible connection.

You have this intriguing boulder on Lot 8, right?

We have interesting finds in close proximity that we have yet to explain, which is very interesting.

It begs for more data, but in order to do that, we’ve got to get out back and find some more.

Yeah.

Let’s get to work.

Yeah.

Hopefully, there’s some more answers there.

Okey doke.

Thank you both.

See you later.

See you.