The Oak Island team returned with renewed determination in Season 12, Episode 18, If the Shoe Phips.
As always, their focus remains on the Money Pit and surrounding areas where a new series of discoveries fuels speculation and evolving theories.
This week’s episode sees progress in Shaft 6, a mysterious pipe stem in a stone foundation, and several intriguing finds in the swamp and Smith’s Cove.
Despite high hopes, the evidence remains largely inconclusive, and a war room meeting leads to yet another theory pointing to a nearby location.
Leather fragments hint at military connections, but expert analysis offers only broad timelines.
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While some discoveries raise questions, definitive answers remain just out of reach, keeping viewers hooked on the centuries-old treasure hunt.
Shaft 6 and Smith’s Cove finds raise new questions
The team continued to excavate the seven-foot diameter caisson in the Money Pit area, reaching a depth of 110 feet.
At this level, they believe they’ve intersected Shaft 6, one of the original searcher shafts built in the 1800s.
While pulling out large amounts of wood, hopes rise that treasure might finally be within reach.
However, the Fellowship’s geologist, Terry Matheson, reveals that the dig hit untouched soil and there was nothing left to find.
However, Rick insists that he believes that there is treasure in the area and the dig proved the theory of the collapsed Money Pit.
In the second dig, RP2, the team found a wooden dowel, suggesting a large structure.
Over at Smith’s Cove, the wash plant yields handmade pottery believed to be historically significant and potentially linked to early searchers or even original depositors.
Although these discoveries are intriguing, they spark more questions than answers, especially as the pottery is not mentioned again in the episode.
Artifacts spark theories linking a pipe to William Phips
In the swamp, the team uncovers leather fragments and other materials, adding to the puzzle.
A visit to the research center follows, where expert, Joe Landry, examines the leather and suggests it could come from boots or shoes, possibly military in origin. The broad dating, anywhere between the 1830s and 1900s, leaves much to interpretation.
Meanwhile, the discovery of a pipe stem from the Shaft 6 tunnel closely resembles previously analyzed artifacts, supporting theories of long-standing human presence on the island.
A new theory links a pipe stem, described as having the largest diameter of any found on the island, to treasure finder William Phips and the original deposition of the money pit.
Though the connection is tenuous, it’s enough to spark excitement among the team and set up the next phase in their search.
The Curse of Oak Island airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on the History Channel.