Water continues pouring into the Garden Shaft at a depth of 66 feet, with 700 gallons per hour preventing Dumas from deepening the final 13 feet to the 100-foot target. Probe drilling around the intrusion point reveals voids outside the shaft that the team plans to fill with multi-urethane, an industrial compound that expands to seal cavities. When Roger provides photographs from 65 feet, the team discovers a small cavern packed with timber, including what appear to be one-by-six planks. Rick, Craig, and Scott note the water is rising at about one foot per hour, and although Dumas has drilled around the problem area the surrounding ground is dry, making the source difficult to isolate. The cavern and its timbers will need investigation once the water is under control. On Lot 5, Peter, Laird, and the archaeology team check the circular feature after a recent storm, pump out the accumulated water, and plan to return the next day.
A second sonar scan of Aladdin's Cave is performed from a new borehole position at 150 feet. The Echologger DASS710 reveals two straight lines in the cavern that do not appear natural and a sand-like slope that could be covering objects on the floor. Rick says they need to put a drill hole there and Marty agrees. Borehole L13.5 is started to allow closer investigation. At 141 feet, Mike from Choice Drilling reports roughly 6 feet of open space before hitting muck. Steve lowers the Inuktun Spectrum 120 camera into the cavern and the team observes what appears to be a wall edge and a dark area that could be a tunnel entrance. Sonar will follow.
At the Interpretive Centre, Carmen Legge examines more artifacts from Lot 5. He asks to see the CT scan of the first piece and identifies it as a clasp from a chest or trunk measuring approximately 12 by 12 inches, dating from the early 1600s to mid-1700s. A second item is a nail made in haste with no definitive head, a typical structural nail from the same period. Emma confirms both pieces lack modern indicators and share the elevated aluminum-to-silicon ratio she continues to find in artifacts connected to the Phips theory. On Lot 5, Moya recovers an iron barrel strap with a nail still embedded and a greenish patina. Helen points out the copper traces on the iron, noting that copper resists marine corrosion, which could mean the piece spent time at sea. Jack mentions the team has found several barrel components across the island.
Jamie's assessment of the stone foundation on Lot 5 takes shape during continued excavation. She determines the structure collapsed inward, noting that the rocks appear to sit in their original positions along a visible straight line with sterile soil flanking the south side. Laird arrives and agrees: the magnetometer data shows at least an intact wall base and the outline of a large structure that was abandoned and either collapsed, was deliberately filled in, or a combination of both. The group will continue excavating to learn more about the feature's purpose and age.
