DRILLING DOWN, EPISODE 2, SEASON 13, “GROUND ZERO” SUMMARY BY DANIEL SPINO
- 31 minutes ago
- 4 min read
The episode began in the War Room where the Oak Island team met with Matty Blake to discuss their progress so far in Season 13. At about the halfway point of Season 13, it was stated that the Island tends to give up things and what they found was unpredictable. It was stated that the team has done more and accomplished more than any other season. They have been surprised by the findings. The 14th Century Portuguese Coin was then shown with the theory behind it being told again. It was stated that they have found artifacts all over the island from different periods, that don’t make any sense.
Matty Blake then went to Lot 5 where he met with members of the Oak Island team at the new rock feature to discuss the progress there this season. It was stated that this location on Lot 5 was about ½ mile from the Money Pit. Talking about Lot 5 in general it was stated by the team that they believe it was the location of where workers stayed while on the island. The new stone feature with a boulder surrounded by rocks was discussed in which Steve Guptill said he believes was a marker stone for something. Then the theory of the Knights Templar getting to North America through the Vikings was discussed. The well on Lot 26 was highlighted by Dr. Ian Spooner as a potential construction date of 1226-1270, which could suggest the right time period to fit the Viking/Templar theory.
Matty Blake then traveled to Lot 8 where he met members of the Oak Island Archeological and Research team to discuss the Boulder and surrounding stone feature. The team discussed how the boulder appeared to have been moved and put back in place as the organic soil suggests this possibility. It was noted that the snake camera was very easy to put down in the cavity below the boulder, which should not have naturally been the case. It was easy to get under the boulder as the boulder is perched over the cavity. The boulder weighs approximately 40,000 pounds. The team was asked if the boulder would be moved this season, and they said possibly.
Matty Blake then traveled back to Lot 5 where he met with Oak Island team members to discuss the progress at the circular feature. The Team mentioned that the site has some evidence they feel might suggest members of the Knights of Malta were at the site. The feature showed evidence of multi-occupational use with a main section then additions added on to it. Then several artifacts were mentioned that the team believed could indicate a tie to the Knights of Malta.
Matty Blake then traveled to the Money Pit area to discuss the progress made there this season and the plans for the rest of the season. It was mentioned that the big dig would begin on next week’s episode. Although the scenes showed that it had already begun during the filming of the Drilling Down. The pickaxe was mentioned as possibly being connected to the Norse, but it should be noted that it could also have been from Southern Europe and C-14 results were never released, making the age of the pickaxe unknown. It was mentioned that several artifacts have been found in the Money Pit area with a date of 1500’s and 1600’s. This, according to the team, might suggest Knights Templar related groups activity there.
The Drilling Down episode concluded at the War Room where Matty Blake met with Rick and Marty Lagina and Craig Tester to summarize the season so far. The Portuguese coin was discussed again along with the five Roman coins found on Lot 5. It appeared that the 1200 AD date is one that the team is using to suggest a Knights Templar involvement. It was stated the team believes the Templars were there and their activity was probable, with a multigenerational involvement. Marty Lagina mentioned that they will move the Boulder on Lot 8 this season. They stated they are not done on Oak Island and there’s more to do and discover.
COMMENTARY:
Overall, this Drilling Down was just a summary of what had happened this season and past seasons with the team’s theories about the finds they discovered. It brought no new information to us and was really just a recap. In the past Drilling Down episodes, they made an effort to tell us something that had not been shown in an episode in that season, but that was lacking this time. It seemed like the purpose of this Drilling Down was to show a Knights Templar related involvement with the island. This was emphasized as a generational involvement involving other orders and groups related to the Templars who had theoretically continued working on the island over time. Perhaps this is setting the stage for some meaningful discovery we will be shown in the second half of the season.
The Curse of Oak Island returns next Tuesday, February 24, with Episode 15 entitled, “SWAMPED”.
Please follow our weekly episode analyses during Season 13, along with articles from the original “Compendium/Blockhouse Blog”, and special investigations and features involving Oak Island. Feel free to reach out to us for questions, comments, information and any theories to our email, theoakislandcompendium@gmail.com
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Good day from the Compendium!
Daniel Spino
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