DH82 reaches a depth of one hundred feet, the level where water samples earlier in the year revealed the presence of gold and silver. The shaft sits at the center of the massive hole Robert Dunfield excavated in 1965 before flooding and cave-ins halted his dig at 143 feet. Over the previous two weeks, the team recovered an old tool, a leather shoe sole possibly dating to the 13th century, and evidence of a possible shaft. The first scoops produce timbers but no metal. Rick pulls out a large hand-hewn timber measuring four feet two inches, suggesting a tunnel approximately four feet high, and notes that C-14 dating, dendrochronology, and species identification are all possible. Billy Gerhardt spots adze marks and agrees the wood is probably oak. Earlier in the season, Borehole D2, located just eight feet to the southeast, yielded wood dating to as early as 1488 and metal containing traces of gold. Andrew reports they have reached 139 feet and the pressure is increasing. Gary Drayton then finds a double-ended spike that Rick identifies as a sailcloth needle, a type of fastener dating back to the 1st century. A similar needle was found in the GAL1 spoils in 2016, only seven feet southeast of DH82. At 153 feet the caisson strikes rock and Rick calls the shaft.
At the research center, Marty and Craig Tester meet with Carmen Legge to examine the artifacts found on Lot 8 the previous week. Carmen identifies the chain as an old boom chain, not built for strength but made to contain something floating in water. Such chains were commonly used as barriers to prevent ships from entering an area. The tool, Carmen says, is either a hook driver for pressing iron bands onto barrels or a chinking iron used to drive oakum into the planks of a ship, and he dates it to the 1500s. Rick and members of the team then meet with Tony Sampson and marine archaeologist Dr. Lee Spence to plan a dive on the magnetometer targets found by CSR. Dr. Spence believes the area near Lot 5 and the Frog Island shoal could be shipwreck sites. Tony, Alex Lagina, Peter Fornetti, and Dr. Spence head to the Frog Island shoal for a non-invasive investigation using a camera and an Aquascan DX-200 handheld magnetometer capable of detecting ferrous objects up to 23 feet deep. Tony gets several hits, but heavy silt prevents any visual identification of what lies beneath.
On Lot 8, Rick and members of the team scan for a target that could explain the magnetometer hits in an area where no homesteads were ever recorded. Paul Troutman operates the OKM Gepard ground-penetrating device, which can detect objects as deep as 130 feet. The scan reveals anomalies at five feet and approximately twenty feet deep, and the team believes the deeper one could be part of a shaft. In the War Room, the team discusses where to place the fourth caisson. Craig proposes DE11, located outside the Hedden Shaft. In 1940, Erwin Hamilton extended the Hedden Shaft to 170 feet, where at 150 feet his crew hit a four-foot tunnel they mistook for a booby trap and abandoned without realizing it may have been leading to the vault. Steve Guptill confirms that three wells near the DE11 location tested positive for precious metals. The team agrees on the site, and Jack Begley names the shaft DMT2 in memory of Drake Tester, who passed away five years earlier.
Excavation of DMT2 begins in the same area where the team found possible evidence of the Chappell Vault at 150 feet two years ago. Rick tells Gary and Peter they are at six feet and should be watching for adze-cut wood or anything indicating activity much older than the known searcher era.
