At the wash table near the Money Pit, team members Alex Lagina, Peter Fornetti, Dan Henskee, and Michael John process spoils from borehole 8-B, located just ten feet from where 1706-dated tunnel wood was previously discovered. Among the material, they recover pieces of leather that appear to be from a boot heel and sole. Charles Barkhouse and Doug Crowell transport the leather artifacts to the Dawson Print Shop in Halifax, where rare manuscript conservator and leather expert Joe Landry examines them. His assessment proves revealing: the fine stitching, thick quality leather, and folded edges indicate these belonged to a wealthy customer rather than a common laborer. Landry suggests the boots may have belonged to a sea captain or someone of similar stature.
In the War Room, Dr. Christa Brosseau presents analysis of the concrete-like coating found on the rosehead spike recovered from OC-1 spoils. Her findings identify the material as low-calcium fly ash cement, not natural calcium cement or Portland cement. This discovery aligns remarkably with historical accounts from 1897, when Frederick Blair and William Chappell drilled into what became known as the Chappell Vault at 153 feet depth, reportedly finding a seven-foot wooden box encased in concrete that contained traces of gold and a piece of parchment bearing the letters VI. The spike itself tests as pre-1840 wrought iron with a pre-1790 style and 0.5 percent phosphorus content suggesting British origin. Marty Lagina observes that fly ash mortar coating wood and clay could create a waterproof vault capable of lasting thousands of years.
Investigation of the triangle-shaped swamp continues as Rick Lagina, Craig Tester, Dr. Ian Spooner, and Billy Gerhardt excavate trenches along the eastern bank. While examining the stone pathway, Gary Drayton recovers a fragment of Dutch onion bottle glass dating to the 1600s or 1700s, a thick-walled design with air bubbles invented by Sir Kenelm Digby in the 1630s. Along the eastern edge of the swamp, Ian discovers fitted rocks at the same elevation as the main stone road, suggesting the presence of a second stone pathway. Surveyor Steve Guptill confirms the elevations match precisely at two feet above sea level, indicating a possible connection between the features.
The War Room reconvenes when Craig Tester delivers carbon dating results for the leather boot material from borehole 8-B. With 95 percent confidence, the testing places the leather between 1492 and 1662, predating the discovery of the Money Pit by more than 140 years. Combined with Joe Landry's assessment that the leather came from high-end dress boots rather than work footwear, the team concludes this artifact almost certainly belonged to someone present during the original deposit rather than later searchers. Gary Drayton declares it medieval, while Marty emphasizes that leather dating to 1492 would be significant anywhere in North America, and finding it directly in the Money Pit area represents a dramatic breakthrough in understanding the island's history.
