Katya Draytons Massive Excavation Results TERRIFIES The Oak Island Crew
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00:00I think we've been fairly convinced that the TB1 area is roughly the site of the original money pit.
00:09There's a lot of evidence that there is still something here.
00:11We're zeroing in on possibly finding the treasure.
00:15Katya Drayton was leading a massive excavation in the money pit area of Oak Island.
00:19So if this is that old, then that means we are very close to the money pit, right?
00:24Which we've been suspecting forever.
00:27It's basically the oldest looking wood we've found.
00:30Could be the cribbing from the depths of the money pit.
00:32When something happened that terrified the whole crew, the team thought their entire expedition might be over and they might have to pack up and leave the island for good.
00:42That's how serious it was.
00:43So what exactly happened?
00:45And what were they even digging for in the first place?
00:50The breakthrough begins.
00:51Apparently, Katya Drayton and her excavation team were in the middle of one of the most intense and important digs in Oak Island history.
01:01This was not just another episode of shoveling dirt and guessing where to dig next.
01:05This time, they had brought in big equipment, big ideas, and most importantly, they were digging in a location that could finally reveal the island's biggest secret.
01:14The operation was focused on the money pit area, the most famous and mysterious spot on Oak Island.
01:20For over two centuries, treasure hunters have believed that something valuable, possibly gold, ancient relics, or even lost religious artifacts were hidden deep beneath this exact location.
01:33Over the years, many shafts were dug, tunnels were built, and traps were triggered.
01:37But no one has ever managed to bring up the actual treasure.
01:41So in season 12, the team was more determined than ever to go deeper, smarter, and more carefully.
01:48What exactly were they excavating for?
01:50The main goal was to locate a structure called the Chappelle Vault.
01:54According to treasure hunting records from 1897, this vault was discovered over 150 feet underground by Frederick Blair and William Chappell.
02:02They described it as a seven-foot-high, concrete-like container made with stone, which was possibly used to protect something valuable.
02:11At the time, their drilling equipment was not strong enough to reach or open it.
02:15Since then, no one has been able to find it again.
02:18But recent tests and data suggest that the team might finally be close.
02:22To try and reach this vault, Katja and the team started an ambitious project called TB1, which is short for True Believer 1.
02:30This is a steel caisson, seven feet wide, which was being drilled straight into the ground.
02:36It was not just a narrow hole or a coarse sample.
02:39This thing was wide enough for a person to stand in, and it was designed to go very deep without collapsing.
02:46It was also equipped with something called a hammer grab, which is a heavy, claw-like tool that pulls up dirt, wood, and anything else the shaft goes through.
02:55With every scoop, the team examined the material to figure out what lies below.
03:00Why TB1, though?
03:01Why did the team choose this location?
03:04This spot was not chosen randomly.
03:06Over the last year, the team conducted groundwater tests and noticed high levels of gold and silver particles in the water deep underground, particularly below the 100-foot level.
03:15That was one major clue that something valuable could be buried nearby.
03:19In the same area, they also pulled up bits of old wooden tunnels and earlier core drillings.
03:23These were not just tree roots or fallen branches.
03:27The wood showed signs of being cut and shaped by humans, which means someone built something down there.
03:33One of the most important discoveries during those tests was a piece of wood marked with Roman numerals, and it was tied together using wooden pegs, not nails.
03:41That type of construction matches with what's believed to be the original 18th or early 19th century building style used by early treasure hunters.
03:49So with those findings in mind, the team selected this exact spot for the TB1 shaft.
03:55The plan was to drill all the way down to 150 feet, aiming to reach the same level where the chapel vault was originally found.
04:03If the structure was still there and had not been destroyed or removed, they hoped this dig might finally break through to it.
04:11So how did the excavation begin?
04:13The team began drilling and immediately noticed something interesting.
04:17The caisson was going down smoothly, but maybe too smoothly.
04:21Usually, the steel pipe has to be forced into the ground by rotating there and pushing through tough layers of dirt and rock.
04:28But in this case, it seemed to slide in with very little resistance.
04:31That raised two possibilities.
04:34Either the soil was very soft, like sand or loose dirt, or they had entered some kind of underground cavity.
04:41A void.
04:42Both options could be good news.
04:44A cavity might mean a tunnel, and a tunnel could lead to the vault.
04:48At around 95 feet, the team believed that they had passed through something hollow or weak.
04:53Soon after, the hammer grabs started pulling up interesting materials.
04:57First, they found pieces of timber, and not just any random branches, but short, cut wooden beams.
05:04These looked like they had been placed intentionally, possibly as part of an old tunnel structure.
05:10The wood was not fresh either.
05:12It was dark, waterlogged, and clearly very old.
05:16Now, what made these wood pieces so important?
05:19The team noticed right away that these were not natural.
05:22They were hand-cut, short, and looked like they were stacked in layers, similar to how tunnel supports would be built.
05:30This is the kind of wood you would expect in a man-made tunnel, possibly even one that led to or protected the vault.
05:37If true, that would be the first physical sign of human construction at this depth in decades.
05:41At around 110 to 111 feet, the material coming up from the shaft continued to show signs of wood.
05:50The team began to suspect that they had hit the top or side of an old tunnel.
05:54If their theory is right, this tunnel could lead directly to the vault, or even be part of the vault's protective structure.
06:02Then came a surprising discovery.
06:04They found a piece of wood with markings.
06:06Not just cracks or damage, but actual carved symbols.
06:09One piece had a clearly visible Roman numeral three carved into it,
06:14and another had signs of a dowel joint, which is a method of connecting two pieces of wood without using metal.
06:20This is the same type of construction used in the U-shaped structure found near the money pit in earlier seasons.
06:26That structure was dated to the 1700s, possibly earlier.
06:30So finding similar wood at this new depth suggested the same builders may have been involved.
06:36Katja and the others knew right away this was not just luck.
06:38These were not materials that happened to fall into a hole.
06:42Someone built this, and they built it deep underground, with serious tools, time, and planning.
06:49At this point, they had reached 117 feet.
06:53They were still several feet away from their big target at 150 feet.
06:57But everything was pointing in the right direction.
07:01Gold and silver traces in the water.
07:03Structured wood.
07:05Roman numerals.
07:06Dowel joints.
07:08Soft soil and cavities.
07:10Even the direction of the tunnel.
07:12It all lined up with what they knew about the Chappelle vault.
07:15Excitement was building, but so was the pressure.
07:18The team did not want to miss anything,
07:20and every grab of soil or wood had to be analyzed carefully.
07:25Marty Lagina commented that any scoop could be the one.
07:28The one that pulls up part of the vault.
07:31Or even something inside it.
07:33The mood on the island was a mix of nerves and hope.
07:36You could feel it in their voices, in their decisions.
07:40They knew they were getting close,
07:41but they didn't know exactly what they were going to find next.
07:44But then, disaster struck.
07:48The disaster.
07:49As the caisson neared 160 feet,
07:53the team started noticing changes.
07:55The pressure on the equipment began to drop more than expected.
07:58At first, it seemed like a good sign.
08:00The kind that might point to soft ground
08:02or an open space beneath them.
08:04In the past, that had often meant they were hitting voids,
08:07like tunnels or cavities,
08:09which would fit the idea of an underground vault
08:11or supporting structure.
08:13But this time, something felt different.
08:16The changes came quickly,
08:18and the deeper the shaft went,
08:19the more unstable things seemed.
08:21Then the ground beneath the caisson began to shift.
08:24The soil around the TB1 shaft started to fall away.
08:28A deep sink began to form,
08:30and it became clear that the excavation
08:32had triggered a collapse underground.
08:34The area around the caisson was losing support,
08:37and material was being pulled down into the shaft.
08:40The spoil being removed by the hammer grab
08:42was now being replaced by fresh collapses
08:45from the surrounding area.
08:46It didn't take long for the team to realize
08:49they were dealing with a serious subsurface failure.
08:52This was not just a typical cave-in.
08:54It looked like the ground itself was opening up.
08:57Material from above and around the shaft
08:59was falling into what appeared to be a larger void below.
09:02This meant that whatever tunnel, chamber, or pocket
09:06had been sitting below them
09:07might have finally given way under the weight of the operation.
09:11The team could see that the excavation site was not safe,
09:14and they had to act quickly.
09:16The biggest concern was the oscillator,
09:18which is the large machine responsible for driving
09:20the steel caisson down into the ground.
09:23It was extremely heavy,
09:25and it was sitting right above the area
09:26that was now collapsing.
09:27If the soil beneath the oscillator disappeared,
09:31the whole thing could slide or fall.
09:33That kind of event would not have just ruined the dig.
09:36It could have destroyed equipment
09:38or injured members of the crew.
09:40With the oscillator resting on compromised ground,
09:43everything was at risk.
09:45As the sink around the shaft grew,
09:47it became clear that the structure of the site
09:49had been weakened.
09:50They were losing soil and stability.
09:53The ground around the caisson
09:54had sunk by about 30 feet in some spots.
09:57A drop significant enough to raise alarms.
10:00This kind of collapse suggested
10:02that the void underneath was large,
10:04possibly larger than expected,
10:06and whatever structure had been holding the earth in place
10:09was no longer there.
10:11Even worse, this kind of shift could mean
10:12that the very thing they were trying to reach,
10:15which was the chapel vault in this case,
10:17might now be covered or even damaged.
10:20If the vault had been part of the structure that gave way,
10:22it could be buried deeper under layers of fresh collapse.
10:26That was a painful possibility after coming so far.
10:30The crew had to consider whether their target
10:32had been lost to the collapse
10:33or if it had been just out of reach,
10:36now pushed even further away.
10:38There were no clear answers yet.
10:40The team could not see exactly what had happened
10:42beneath the surface,
10:44only the results above.
10:45The void below was pulling in the surrounding material,
10:49creating an unstable and unpredictable environment.
10:52Continuing the dig without making changes
10:55would have been too dangerous.
10:56At this point,
10:57they had to decide whether to keep going at all.
11:00To prevent further collapse and protect the machinery,
11:03the team had to adjust.
11:05Their first move was to backfill the area,
11:07meaning that they had to add material
11:09back into the shaft and surrounding ground
11:11to stabilize it.
11:12This would not have reversed the collapse,
11:14but it might have kept it from spreading.
11:16With the caisson paused at 160 feet,
11:20they began filling in sections
11:22and monitoring the situation carefully.
11:25This kind of setback was costly
11:27and frustrating for them.
11:29Every day spent dealing with collapse
11:30and backfilling
11:31was a day not spent digging toward their goal.
11:35The Oak Island dig season is limited,
11:37and any delay eats into valuable time.
11:40What made it harder was the timing.
11:42The team had been just feet away from the depth
11:45where they believed the Chappelle vault might be.
11:48If things had held together just a little longer,
11:50they might have reached it.
11:53Still, the crew was not giving up.
11:55They had been through difficult situations before,
11:57and they knew that setbacks were part of the process.
12:00But this one was different.
12:01This was a physical, structural threat
12:04that could shut the entire operation down
12:06if it got worse.
12:08Now their focus had shifted.
12:09Instead of only thinking about
12:11what might be buried beneath them,
12:13they had to think about
12:14how to protect the equipment,
12:16the crew,
12:17and the work they had already done.
12:18There was no guarantee
12:19that they would be able to continue.
12:21The backfilling would help,
12:23but they still didn't know
12:24if the caisson could move forward
12:26or if the surrounding ground would hold.
12:29Now the question is,
12:30was the collapse just bad luck,
12:32or did it disturb something
12:34hidden deep beneath the island?
12:36More clues and theories.
12:37Even with the setback,
12:40the discoveries so far
12:41have revived some of the biggest theories
12:43about Oak Island.
12:44The signs of man-made tunnels,
12:46carved wood,
12:47and metallic traces
12:48have sparked new interest
12:50in long-standing ideas.
12:52Some believe the team
12:52is closing in
12:53on a centuries-old treasure
12:54tied to European explorers
12:56or hidden fortunes
12:57from lost empires.
12:59Others still link the site
13:01to the Knights Templar
13:02or secret religious relics
13:03brought across the ocean.
13:05With each new layer uncovered,
13:07the clues suggest
13:08Oak Island's secrets
13:09might be older,
13:10deeper,
13:11and more complex
13:12than anyone imagined.
13:14Now tell us,
13:14do you believe some treasure
13:15really exists on this island?
13:17Or the team is chasing
13:18nothing more than a lost cause?
13:20Share your opinion
13:21in the comments below.
13:23Before you go,
13:24make sure to subscribe
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13:26so you don't miss
13:27the next chapter
13:27in Oak Island's
13:28most intense season yet.
13:29you