A high-resolution camera descends the C-1 shaft for the first time since the caisson broke through into the 21-foot void at 171 feet. The water is remarkably clear compared to the perpetually murky conditions in Borehole 10-X. At the cavity walls, the team spots an anomalous feature with what appears to be a 90-degree angle, a shape rarely found in nature and potentially evidence of man-made construction. Craig Tester suggests the feature could be a tunnel or access point connecting to the original Money Pit. The camera captures a shiny reflective spot on the wall, but closer inspection suggests it may be chips of anhydrite or quartz rather than the gold-coloured object spotted last year. At 177 feet, roughly four feet from the bottom, the camera enters a layer of opaque black silt that eliminates all visibility. The team concludes that the original object may have been dislodged during the caisson breakthrough and now lies somewhere in the muck at the chamber floor. Plans are made to deploy a hammer grab, run a BlueView sonar for a 3D model of the cavity, and potentially send a diver.
On Lot 24, one of nine four-acre properties once owned by Samuel Ball, Charles Barkhouse and metal detection expert Gary Drayton conduct an intensive search. Gary's detector returns hits across the site, and the finds accumulate quickly: an 18th-century dandy button, a copper coin bearing the image of King George II dating the piece to between 1727 and 1760, a lead musket ball ingot used by soldiers to chop off pieces and cast musket balls in a mould, a metal plate from the stock of a musket or pistol bearing what appears to be an engraved name or signature, and six additional King George II copper coins concentrated in a small radius. Gary concludes the density and type of artifacts point to a British military encampment. The find supports Fred Nolan's longstanding theory that the treasure was connected to the 1762 British sacking of Havana, when the Royal Navy confiscated a vast hoard of Spanish gold and sailed to the port of Halifax, roughly 60 miles north of Oak Island. Charles notes that the 1870 first edition of Mather Myles DesBrisay's "History of the County of Lunenburg" lists Samuel Ball as one of the original Money Pit discoverers rather than Anthony Vaughn, a detail removed without explanation in later editions.
In the War Room, Rick, Marty, Craig, and the team hear from investigative journalist Randall Sullivan, who presents the conclusions of his four weeks of archival research in Nova Scotia. Sullivan argues that the depositors never intended to return for the treasure themselves but designed the system so it would eventually be found, a motive that he believes points to a higher purpose rather than simple concealment of stolen goods. The theory that resonates most strongly with Sullivan is the Francis Bacon hypothesis: that the 17th-century British philosopher, scientist, and nobleman may have been the architect of the Oak Island works, possibly hiding the original handwritten manuscripts of William Shakespeare's plays. Sullivan tells the team he was initially dismissive of the Bacon connection but found the accumulated evidence surprisingly persuasive.
Rick, Craig Tester, Charles, and Jack Begley convene to plan the next phase of C-1 exploration. Charles advocates for sending a diver into the cavity to physically investigate the void and search for the gold object. Rick calls world-renowned diver John Chatterton and his business partner and safety diver Howard Ehrenberg via video conference. Chatterton and Ehrenberg express immediate interest, noting they were bitten by the Oak Island bug during last season's 10-X dive. The team explains that the 43-inch caisson provides clear access to the cavity with none of the ladder and hoist obstructions that complicated 10-X, though a partial ceiling collapse may have altered the environment. Chatterton and Ehrenberg agree to come, and the team plans to first run a BlueView sonar scan to map the cavity in three dimensions before committing to a dive.
