Marty, Alex, and Charles Explore Royston Cave’s Templar Symbols (S10E2)

In Season 10, Episode 2 of The Curse of Oak Island, Marty Lagina, his son Alex, and historian Charles Barkhouse travel to Royston, England, to investigate a mysterious underground chamber with researcher Gretchen Cornwall. There, they explore Royston Cave—a chamber rich in carvings and speculated to be a Templar initiation site. Their visit reveals compelling Templar connections through architecture, carvings, and the year 1347, forming a symbolic and historical bridge between England, France, and Nova Scotia in the broader Oak Island mystery.

Air Date	November 22, 2022
Episode	The Curse of Oak Island – Season 10, Episode 2: “Across the Pond”
Main Cast Featured	Marty Lagina, Alex Lagina, Charles Barkhouse, Gretchen Cornwall

Enter the Cave: A Hidden Chamber with Historic Echoes

Beneath the bustling market town of Royston lies a cave with 13-foot central symmetry, carved symbols, and mysterious origins. Gretchen Cornwall introduces the team to theories suggesting it once served as a Knights Templar ritual site, disguised above by a market stall.

Gretchen Cornwall: “This location is critical to their memory and to the connection to Oak Island.”

The measurements of the cave’s central chamber—13 feet—mirror the original diameter of the Oak Island Money Pit, further deepening the intrigue.

A Familiar Cross and a Global Trail

The team observes a carved cross in Royston Cave that closely resembles the lead cross found by Rick and Gary on Oak Island in 2017. That cross, tested and dated to 14th-century Southern France, shared stylistic features with one seen in the Templar prison at Domme—visited in Season 5.

Alex Lagina: “It’s the lead cross itself, and then Domme, and here.”

This triangulation across France, England, and Nova Scotia builds a case for a transcontinental Templar footprint.

Zena’s Map and the Date That Won’t Disappear

While exploring Royston Cave, Gretchen Cornwall points out the number 1347 carved into a brick—identical to the date featured on Zena Halpern’s map of Oak Island. She suggests it could mark a symbolic point of departure by the Templars.

Marty Lagina: “It’s kind of like a cornerstone… then they pack up and go—to Oak Island, right?”

Melusine, the Rochefoucaulds, and the Duc d’Anville

A carving believed to represent Melusine, a half-human, half-serpent figure from medieval folklore, ties to the noble Rochefoucauld family—a name also found on Zena’s documents. The same family is linked to the 1746 French naval expedition to Nova Scotia, led by the Duc d’Anville.

This multilayered overlap of names, myth, and movement reinforces Oak Island’s relevance in both medieval and early modern history.

Alex Lagina: “If this represents the Rochefoucauld family, then that’s another connection to the map.”