The Curse of Oak Island Season 13 Episode 3: Roman Clues, Rising Mysteries, and a 30-Foot Void

Season 13, Episode 3 “Medieval Intentions”
Original Air Date: November 18, 2025

The third episode of The Curse of Oak Island Season 13 delivered one of the most artifact-rich and technically revealing hours in recent memory. With new discoveries in Lot 5, surprising results in the swamp, and one of the deepest Money Pit voids ever recorded, “Medieval Intentions” sharply escalates the season’s momentum.

Roman Coin Confirmed: A 3rd-Century Breakthrough

The episode opens in the lab with further analysis of the copper-silver coin recovered on Lot 5. Emma Culligan’s CT scans confirm what fans suspected:
the coin is Roman, dating between AD 250–270 under Emperor Claudius II.

Numismatist Sandy Campbell later examines the artifact and calls it “the most remarkable find on Oak Island.”

Key points include:

• Alloy composition matches elements Dr. Spooner identified in water samples beneath the Money Pit.
• No known Roman coins have ever been documented in Nova Scotia.
• The coin’s condition suggests centuries of burial.

Campbell notes Roman coins circulated in Europe until the 1500s, meaning early explorers could have brought it. Still, the find remains unprecedented.

Swamp Digging Reveals More Survey Stakes

With permits approved, the team begins a new excavation zone on the western edge of the swamp—an area never explored in 10 seasons.

Gary Drayton and Billy Gerhardt immediately recover:

• 17th-century survey stakes, identical to those that led to the Season 12 brick vault discovery.
• Smaller stakes also matching past finds.
• Multiple wooden fragments consistent with historic swamp work.

The evidence continues to suggest the swamp was artificially engineered—possibly centuries before the Money Pit’s discovery.

Lot 5: Pottery, Pipe Stems, and Venetian Glass

The archaeological team of Fiona, Tanzy, and Ethan makes significant progress on Lot 5, which appears increasingly to be a hub of early European activity.

Findings include:

• A pipe stem dated 1753–1800, possibly pre-Money Pit discovery.
• Matching pieces of decorated coarse earthenware from the 16th to 18th centuries.
• A Venetian-style glass bead whose composition matches previous finds on Lot 5.

Historian Laird Niven reminds viewers that the Knights of Malta, who operated in Nova Scotia in the early 1600s, would have carried beads specifically for trade.

Money Pit: A 30-Foot Void and a New Depth Record

The drilling team targets borehole J5-8.5 within the historic Chappell Shaft outline. What they discover shocks even veteran researcher Terry Matheson:

• The drill passes through nearly 20 feet with only two feet of spoils, indicating a massive open void.
• The void begins around 188 feet deep.
• Drilling continues until 229 feet, where bedrock is finally reached—far deeper than expected.

An animated model suggests historical drilling may have pushed the Chappell Vault or other structures deeper underground, possibly even beneath the bedrock layer.

This makes J5-8.5 one of the most intriguing Money Pit boreholes in years.

Lot 4: A Lead Object That Mirrors the Templar Cross

Gary and Charles shift to Lot 4—adjacent to Lot 5—and uncover:

• A nail
• A small lead object with arms resembling the lead cross found at Smith’s Cove in 2017.

The discovery comes just meters from where Gary previously found a Templar-matched lead token in 2022.

The location suggests the buried structural complex on Lot 5 may extend outward into surrounding lots.

What’s Coming Next

History Channel teases a dramatic lineup of upcoming episodes:

• Episode 4: “The Smoking Gun”
  A swamp discovery with explosive implications.
• Episode 5: “Keep on Rocking”
  A 500-year-old find leads to a new man-made structure on Lot 5.
• Episode 6: “The Heat Is On”
  New Money Pit clues may point toward ultimate answers.
• Episode 7: “Walk the Line”
  A potentially ancient marker stone ignites fresh theories.
• Episode 8: “Into the Fold”
  A new Bobby Dazzler suggests religious significance.

With Roman artifacts, medieval indicators, and expanding underground structures, Oak Island’s mystery is rapidly deepening—and Season 13 is shaping up to be one of the most revealing yet.