At the start of “The Curse of Oak Island,” brothers Rick and Marty Lagina resolve to unearth treasure long thought to buried on Oak Island, located in Nova Scotia, Canada. While all sorts of riches have been rumored to be hidden there over the years, a so-called Money Pit is supposed to be the island’s mother lode, though no one is quite sure exactly what it might contain.
Rick and Marty are, notably, treasure hunting amateurs. This means that they employ a number of experts to aid their investigation, including, for example, local historian Charles Barkhouse. Nevertheless, even though they’re typically working alongside professionals, the Lagina brothers tend to make decisions from time to time that draw criticism from knowledgeable viewers. For instance, some fans have accused the Oak Island team of placing too much stock in a map that has yet to be verified as a legitimate historical document.
Another practice that has led some fans to question the Oak Island team’s methodology is their cavalier approach to drilling.
Drilling risks destroying buried artifacts
In a discussion thread about Season 9 Episode 10 of “The Curse of Oak Island” on Reddit, user Fine-Preference7339 sarcastically summed up the episode’s events, writing, “They pierced the vault, flooded it, and destroyed the Shakespeare documents. Good job guys. Let’s go have a beer.” Their post was upvoted more than 55 times, making it one of the top comments in the thread, and suggesting plenty of other viewers agreed with its insinuation that the Oak Island team acted irresponsibly.
In response, user FortCharles said, “I wish they would show some discussion of this risk, how they feel about it, what if anything they’re doing to mitigate it.” They then recounted how Marty Lagina appeared eager to drill into the ground for a buried box without acknowledging that drilling could very well damage the item he was attempting to unearth. “Seems like if you have something that well-defined, it’s time to stop drilling and start carefully excavating,” they concluded.
Also in the same discussion thread, user buckeye_dk commented, “Priceless artifacts are down there, let’s shove a giant circular can down on top of it,” similarly describing the brute force drilling the Lagina brothers and co. often employ with overt sarcasm.
These and other viewers seem to be in agreement, then, that a more delicate approach may be preferable to drilling into the ground with heavy machinery and the danger of damaging buried artifacts inherent in this oft-utilized method.