At the Interpretive Center, the team maps out the season ahead. Dr. Ian Spooner explains that the primary goal is tracing the gold and silver found in the water to its source. Dr. Fred Michel has been working through the winter and presents new data identifying an area with the highest gold and silver levels, which the team names "the Pie." Michel also pinpoints an area with persistent high levels of copper, lead, zinc, and tin. Marty Lagina wants to drill this area and expand water testing. Craig Tester outlines a plan to excavate Shaft 2, located 14 feet from the Money Pit and constructed in 1805 to bypass a flood shaft. The shaft was dug to 110 feet before searchers tunneled toward the Money Pit, but at two feet away the tunnel flooded. Rick Lagina asks for the stone cairns on Lot 15 to be investigated, and Laird Niven confirms the archaeology team will continue work on the circular and rectangular features on Lot 5. Laird introduces new team members Jillian Parsons, Ethan Green, and Todd Langseth.
Drilling of borehole DN7 begins within the Pie. At the Shaft 2 excavation, Billy Gerhardt removes a large beam with a rounded side. Gary Drayton finds a rose-head spike he estimates at the 1700s. A second shaft, designated 2A, is discovered 17 feet from where Shaft 2 was expected. Rick and Scott measure its wall at 116 inches, and its construction closely resembles Shaft 2. Marty notes that 2A was packed with fill as though someone was trying to hide it. At the bottom, darker boards emerge that could date even earlier and will be tested. Meanwhile, at borehole DN7, drilling reaches 109 feet and water shoots from the casing. Mike Tedford reports that when he broke the casing free, water kept coming mixed with air. The core is saturated but the next sample is undisturbed. Rick recovers what looks like a dowel similar to those found in the U-shaped structure at Smith's Cove.
On Lot 15, Rick and Marty investigate stone cairns discovered and partially dismantled by Fred Nolan. Professor Gaspani dated the cairns to around 1250 AD based on their alignment to the star cluster Hyades, the same formation carved into a stone the team saw in Bornholm, Denmark the previous year. Rick finds a layer of slate beneath one cairn. The next day, Dr. Spooner examines the feature and says the slate was transported to this location deliberately. Rick notes the stones are similar to those at the Lot 26 wall and well. In the lab, Rick, Marty, and Doug Crowell meet with Emma Culligan and Moya MacDonald. Moya reports that material from beneath Cone E is 95 percent similar to material from Lot 5, and Money Pit material also matches.
On Lot 4, Peter Fornetti and Gary metal-detect 10 tons of spoils removed from the Lot 5 round feature the previous year. Gary finds a cut coin, a practice common during the 15th to 18th centuries for making change or paying crew. Emma's XRF shows the coin is silver with high chlorine indicating saltwater exposure, prompting discussion of a possible connection to the Concepción treasure. A CT scan reveals faint engravings and the letters GVLI. Emma identifies it as a William III shilling from the 1690s, most likely 1697. Lawrence Veinotte Enterprises brings a 30-ton crane to lift Cone E for further digging, and Marty finds more concrete-like material underneath.
