In November 1997, Dr. Heyerdahl proposed that excavations should be continued at the site, and they were carried out from November 24-December 5, under the professional leadership of Dr. Donald P. Ryan of Pacific Lutheran University, Washington, USA and Lic. Vicente Valencia Afonso of Tenerife, who is the resident archaeologist and curator at the pyramid site. Several days were lost in merely removing refuse to reach virgin ground level and stratigraphic excavations covering a one-meter square were conducted down to sterile rock.

Immediately inside the cave opening a typical occupation layer showed that the cave had been used for Guanche habitation.

The refuse included: 75 potsherds of Guanche ceramics; 47 flakes of obsidian; four fragments of bone needles; one spheroid of basalt, pecked to perfection, with a diameter of six or seven cm; a large quantity of bones, some identifiable as those of goats; a few molluscs; some fish bones; and one ceramic bead.

Excavations were resumed in March/April 1998. This time the expedition members included: Dr. Thor Heyerdahl, Director; Dr. Donald P. Ryan and Lic. Vicente Valencia Afonso, Field Directors; Prof. Brian Holmes and Katie Rorrer, archaeologists; Mr. Darrell Baker, Dr. Elaine Shen, Mr. Russ Chandler, Mr. Nils Hagelberg, Mr. Enrique Javier Fernandez Perez, Mr. Sergio Pou Hernandez, Mr. Jose Antonio Acosta Navarro and Mr. Carlos Gustavo Gonzalez Diaz, volunteers (the last four are students at the University of La Laguna). Excavations in the cave provided little additional material and clearance in front of the cave door demonstrated extensive modern disturbance of that area. A series of test pits were made in an area that was speculated to be goat pens associated with the pyramids. The pits revealed that the area has been extensively reused for agriculture up to modern times and thus little if any intact strata from ancient usage was revealed.

Although not much was found which might directly address the major questions surrounding the site, the work was necessary in exploring specific areas therein and will help to set the stage for further work which will address the pyramids themselves.