“Into the Void”: Oak Island Team May Be Closer Than Ever to a 400-Year-Old Secret

In The Curse of Oak Island Season 12, Episode 24 — aptly titled “Into the Void” — the Lagina-led treasure hunters delivered one of the most exhilarating episodes of the season. With winter looming and time slipping away, the team plunged deeper into the island’s most mysterious depths, uncovering what may be tangible evidence of pre-1795 tunneling and possibly the elusive original depositors.

From the dramatic excavation of the Toot One shaft to the discovery of a primitive pickaxe dating back to the 1500s, this episode wasn’t just another step — it may be the closest they’ve come in over a decade to solving Oak Island’s legendary mystery.

Toot One Shaft: A Last-Ditch Push Turns Monumental

Located just 10 feet south of the now-legendary TB1 shaft, Toot One was designed as a final effort before winter halted operations. The team targeted a possible collapse point in the Money Pit region — a void over 200 feet deep known as the solution channel, which they suspect may have swallowed the Chapel Vault long ago.

As excavation reached depths beyond 160 feet, excitement soared. What emerged was not just debris or fill, but wooden structures fashioned with pre-industrial techniques — most notably, a rough-hewn wooden dowel that blacksmithing experts and historians believe could date to the 17th century or earlier.

When Marty Lagina examined the piece, its primitive craftsmanship stood in stark contrast to modern tools, raising the bold possibility: this could be original depositor material.

A 1500s Pickaxe? Discovery Stuns the Team

The most shocking moment of the episode came when Gary Drayton and Marty unearthed a fractured iron tool at over 160 feet deep — well below any documented searcher shafts. Enter blacksmithing expert Carmen Legge, whose analysis was nothing short of game-changing.

His verdict: the artifact is likely a 16th- or early 17th-century pickaxe, forged by hand and designed for primitive mining. The composition, grain structure, and heavy impact marks all align with tools used centuries ago in hard rock tunneling — the kind required to build the underground systems believed to exist beneath Oak Island.

If this tool is authentic and undisturbed since its deposition, it may be the strongest physical proof yet that someone was actively digging beneath Oak Island long before 1795.

A New Link to the Knights of Malta?

Earlier in the season, the team explored a tantalizing theory involving the Knights of Malta, spiritual successors to the Templars. That theory gained serious momentum this week.

The dowel and pickaxe weren’t the only clues. Throughout the swamp, surveyor Steve Guptil and geoscientist Dr. Ian Spooner have dated multiple features — including a cobblestone path, the eye of the swamp, and a vault-like structure — to between 1630 and 1700. These dates overlap with the maritime operations of the Knights of Malta.

One of the most compelling earlier finds, a button bearing a Maltese-like emblem discovered on Lot 5, mirrored a symbol carved into the wall of a prison in Malta. With the addition of 17th-century artifacts in the Money Pit and swamp, the theory that a European order orchestrated a multi-phase operation on the island gains material weight.

The Northern Swamp’s Elusive Wall — and Untapped Potential

Not all was triumphant. In the northern swamp, the team attempted to locate a stone wall once described by the late Fred Nolan, a legendary Oak Island searcher. Though ground-penetrating radar suggested an anomaly, excavation failed to uncover the wall. Still, Rick Lagina remains undeterred.

Only 30% of the swamp has been thoroughly explored — and what has been uncovered there already includes cobblestone roads, survey stakes, and possible vaults. If the remaining 70% holds even half as much, the swamp could yet reveal its own treasure trove of secrets.

Time Is the Real Enemy

As winter creeps closer, so does the pressure. Toot One may be the last shaft the team can explore this season. Every artifact recovered — whether it’s an old nail, a carved piece of wood, or a primitive tool — now feels like a piece of a ticking clock.

But the signs are promising. The team has passed the 1931 Chapel Shaft, uncovered potential original vault construction, and found metallic remnants possibly linked to the Chapel Shoe — evidence that they are in untouched territory, possibly mere feet from the original vault.

Conclusion: Tomorrow Could Be the Day

With the discovery of a 16th-century mining tool, pre-industrial wooden structures, and a web of dated features aligning with 17th-century European activity, The Curse of Oak Island has never felt closer to a major breakthrough.

“Into the void,” the team says. But this is no blind descent. This is the culmination of years of work, science, and unrelenting belief.

At 171 feet, they may be on the verge of something historic.

Tomorrow could be the day.