Alex Lagina, Charles Barkhouse, Steve Guptill, and Jillian Parsons supervise the drilling of borehole D.25-6.76, positioned slightly north of the team's recent drilling area. The target is a possible tunnel at 109 feet and the wall of the Money Pit at about 150 feet, where the team may have contacted the Chappell Vault the previous week. A core from 99 feet contains wood. Steve notes that this borehole sits close to T1, a 40-inch caisson from 2016 that produced some of the oldest wood found on the island, dating to the 1600s. The area also yielded clay matching soil from the Lot 5 feature. The next core examined is from 159 feet and contains sand. Charles notes there is backfill but no wood, leading Steve to conclude the drill has veered off course.
In the War Room, Scott outlines the swamp work plan. Over the winter, the team secured permits for four areas: the southeast corner where the stone road is located, the paved area, the stone path zone, and the north bog on the north side of Tom Nolan's road. Tom reports that after two weeks of pumping, only the northernmost part is dry. Marty Lagina suggests starting with the area north of the road, and the team agrees.
Rick Lagina, Alex, Gary Drayton, and Billy Gerhardt begin work in the swamp near the cobblestone pathway in the northern section. As Billy excavates, Rick notices a notched board that appears hand-cut. The group also spots several large logs that could be part of a structure. Rick wants to check with Tom whether Fred Nolan built any of it. Billy then unearths a large boulder, and Alex and Rick notice cobble similar to what was found in the paved area. Rick halts work until they can consult Tom and form a plan. When Tom arrives, he examines the feature and says he does not recall his father building it. The team will continue excavating for clues. Laird Niven suggests bringing in Dr. Ian Spooner for organic samples. The next day, Dr. Spooner joins the group and examines the feature with Rick. Both believe the logs are part of a ramp that appears to point toward the Eye of the Swamp. Dr. Spooner collects a piece of wood for dating.
On Lot 5, Moya MacDonald finds a small bead similar to ones recovered the previous year. Helen, Laird, and Jack Begley examine it, and Laird recommends scanning. In the lab, Rick and Alex wait for results. Laird identifies the bead as a seed bead based on its size and notes it was found outside the structure, not in the fill. Emma Culligan reports that the bead matches the Venetian beads found the previous year in both composition and coloring. The colorant contains copper rather than selenium or gold, which she considers an indicator that it dates to the early 1700s or earlier. Laird says the finding reinforces his belief that Lot 5 held an earlier structure that was repurposed at a later date.
