In the Money Pit area, Rick and Marty Lagina and the team begin drilling borehole F-5.5, located just seven feet from borehole F-4 where the highest levels of gold and silver were previously detected in water testing. The drill targets the solution channel where the team believes the original Money Pit treasure fell after the collapse of the TOT-1 and TB-1 shafts the previous year. At 204 feet, the drill hits bedrock, and just below at 204.5 feet, Charles Barkhouse detects a metal signal in the core. Terry Matheson, Peter Fornetti, and the team extract a small, dense metal fragment with what appears to be a curved edge and surface design. Peter believes it could be a chunk of a coin. Rick Lagina and Scott Barlow arrive to examine the find, and Rick notes the roundness and hard density in his hand. However, the driller identifies the object as a carbide button that broke off a drill bit during the previous year's sonic drill program directly above in the TB-1 caisson. Despite the disappointment, Rick recognizes the discovery as definitive proof that even small, dense objects can fall to the bottom of the solution channel at the bedrock interface, validating the team's theory that coins and treasure could migrate to these depths.
In the western region of the swamp, Rick Lagina, Gary Drayton, and Billy Gerhardt discover a concentration of wooden stakes in a 50-by-50-foot area, including large eight-sided stakes similar to those found lining the cobblestone path in the northern swamp that were carbon-dated to as early as the 17th century. The stakes appear erratic rather than linear, suggesting an undiscovered construction. Billy uncovers a sand layer beneath the stakes with stacked rocks resembling the previously found stone road and paved area. Dr. Ian Spooner examines the feature and confirms the cobbles match what the team found along the cobble path, noting that stakes with rotted-off tops suggest greater age. He observes that similar stakes in the northern swamp were placed to guide workers in laying cobblestones. The team's current permit restricts them to the border of this area, and Dr. Spooner recommends expanding the excavation once new permits are approved to determine whether the feature connects to other structures in the swamp.
In the Oak Island lab, Rick, Gary, and Charles Barkhouse join Laird Niven and Emma Culligan for a report on the lead artifact found the previous week near the border of Lot 5 opposite the rectangular feature. Emma's XRF analysis reveals clean lead with consistent tin content and no indicators of modernity, placing its potential age at the 1700s and older. The lead is not recycled, suggesting a fresh ore source with high potential of not being locally sourced. Emma recommends laser ablation testing to determine the exact isotope values, which could reveal whether the artifact shares an ore source with the 14th-century lead cross found at Smith's Cove in 2017 and the lead barter token recovered from the Lot 5 round feature. In a separate lab session, Laird and Emma report on the two iron pieces that Rick and Gary initially identified as a horse bridle. Emma's analysis reveals they are the handles of a pair of shears, not connected at the break point, with sodium and chlorine content indicating prolonged saltwater contact. The minimal impurities indicate pre-blast-furnace manufacture, placing the shears in the 1700s and potentially the late 1600s, and a stylistic comparison to a reference book confirms a mid-17th-century match of British origin.
On Lot 5, Rick and Gary detect and recover a second elongated lead artifact near the area where the Roman coins were found. Gary notes its similarity to the medieval lead cross and recommends lab analysis to determine whether it matches older lead pieces from the island. They also discover a circular stone formation with an upright flat stone at its center near the middle of the lot. Laird Niven examines the feature and confirms the upright stone was deliberately placed to signify or mark a location, noting its resemblance to the large rounded feature near the shoreline. Rick observes that the formation sits in the area where the Roman coins were recovered and suggests it could help explain their presence. Laird recommends clearing the feature and bisecting it to determine its purpose and age.
Back in the southwest corner of the swamp, Rick, Gary, and Billy search a newly permitted area 40 feet north of the stone feature, hoping to trace the cobble formation in that direction. They recover charcoal from the excavation, similar to pieces found consistently along the stone road in the southeast corner that may be Portuguese in origin and more than 500 years old. Gary then detects a heavy, hand-forged wrought-iron artifact with a tapered shape, a notch at the top, and one end that appears hollow. He identifies it as a possible petronel, a short single-shot firearm used by European militaries as early as the 14th century before the development of long-barreled muskets in the mid-1600s. The find suggests a potential military presence on Oak Island centuries before the discovery of the Money Pit, and the team plans a CT scan to examine the hollow interior and determine whether the artifact is indeed a weapon.
