Tag: Cryptic

Open post

THE BOSSALL TREASURE – An Armchair Treasure Hunt

15/09/202218/08/2023
by Grey

THE BOSSALL TREASURE

An Armchair Treasure Hunt

I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

VI. Overview

In January 2014 Douglas George Pearson published an armchair treasure hunt book titled ‘The Bossall Treasure’. Unlike most armchair treasure hunt books this book was centred around Pearson’s own family history and their connection to a real life treasure of the Knights Templar!

The exciting real life story of Peason’s ancestors is complemented by the armchair treasure hunt scattered throughout the pages. Cryptic images which would lead a worthy treasure hunter to a precise location somewhere in England where Pearson had buried an ornate gold plated Lorraine cross.

After almost 10 years the Croix de Lorraine remained hidden despite the efforts of many armchair treasure hunt enthusiasts. That was until September 2021 when the clues were finally solved and the treasure was found!

The Front Cover for The Bossall Treasure Treasure Hunt Book.

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The Legend

A Picture of Bossall Hall, home of the Belt family.

While researching his family history Douglas Pearson was inspired to write The Bossall Treasure when he discovered that a distant relative, John Pearson who was the steward to Sir Robert Belt in the 1600’s was directly connected to a real life treasure legend which could be traced all the way back to the Knights Templar. The story of The Bossall Treasure is a rollercoaster and has everything from power plays, deceitful acts, murder, ambitious characters who will stop at nothing, political and religious differences and closely guarded family secrets.

The tale follows the Pearson family through the generations, their quest for justice after being denied the status of gentry which they firmly believed they deserved, and their connection to this treasure of the Knights Templar and covers its connection to the Freemasons and many historically significant characters such as Sir Robert Belt and the Belt family.

Other characters included in the story are Jaques de Morley the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, Elias Ashmole, a man who stopped at nothing and who’s enduring legacy is the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology in Oxford, Darley’s of Buttercrambe, well known members of the horse racing fraternity, the Read family of Sand Hutton, the Bawtry family, Charles I and Charles II.

This isn’t just a well researched and well written story you could read over and over for entertainment, it is also a book filled with clues leading people to find a gold Lorraine cross buried somewhere in England.

Engraving of Lytham St Annes with the famous windmill landmark from the 19th century.

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The Treasure

The Lorraine Cross As Depicted In The Prize Page Of The Bossall Treasure Book.

While the Pearson legacy revolves around a real life treasure legend in which the ancestor John Pearson while working as the steward to Sir Robert Belt, Lord of the Manor of Bossall Hall near York during the civil war in the mid 1600’s conspired with Sir Robert Belt to hide a hoard of gold and silver plat in the moat surrounding Bossall Hall. It is said that later John Pearson returned to the moat and stole the treasures from the moat.

The prize of The Bossall Treasure armchair treasure hunt is a gold plated bronze Lorraine cross encrusted with jewels measuring approximately 75mm x 55mm. While the treasure may not be worth thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions like some of the more well known armchair treasure hunts like the Thrill of the Chase this treasure will surely be a symbol of achievement and a conversation piece for whoever does find it for they will have solved a treasure hunt that has gone unsolved for almost a decade!

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The Clues

The Bossall Treasure book is 297 pages detailing the historical story of Pearson’s family history and their connection with a treasure legend. Tucked away in the eleven chapters of the book are 11 clues and puzzles which when solved would point someone directly to the location of a gold plated Lorraine cross which Pearson buried somewhere in England.

The puzzles & clues range in difficulty and complexity with some requiring some serious thought, but Pearson found a way to keep the puzzles engaging and challenging enough that you could spend days working on them and not give up out of frustration.

Pearson spent three years creating the book and the puzzles. With no one to test the clues on, Pearson needed to spend hours looking at other types of puzzles, brain teasers and even the solutions to Kit Williams’ treasure hunt Masquerade in order to gauge the difficulty levels of the clues.

Artwork for one of the puzzles of the Bossall Treasure hunt book.

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Conclusion

The Golden Lorraine Cross, Prize Of The Bossall Treasure Hunt.

In 2020 The Bossall Treasure’s official website was shut down and Pearson had begun working on other projects. This didn’t deter some of the treasure seekers who had been on the case of the Bossall Treasure since it began in 2014 and rightfully so. Pearson was still accepting emails with proposed solutions for the treasure hunt.

Over seven years had passed and no one was close to solving the mystery of the Bossall Treasure hunt. That was until September 2021 when a small team of plucky treasure hunters including Lisa Finch, Robert Jenner, Nick Spera, and yours truly, finally cracked the Bossall Treasure after collectively trying for years.

The Solution

THE BOSSALL TREASURE SOLUTION

NICK SPERA

The solution to The Bossall Treasure was divided into 11 chapters. Each chapter’s text and image either by itself or with info from a preceding chapter would give the reader one or more words that ultimately made up the solution to the puzzle. Here is the solution chapter by chapter and then at the end, how it ties into the final chapter text for a confirmer.

CHAPTER 1:

The solution for this chapter is used by taking the first letter of each component of the image which is backed by the chapter text. We have a map of Lombardy, which is the origin of the Belt family. Next is the Arms of the Medici Family. After that, we have the Indenture or Deed. Finally, the image shows York Minster. All 4 components are then used with their first letter: Lombardy Arms Deed York

The clue derived from Chapter 1 is LADY

CHAPTER 2:

The solution for this chapter is solved almost the same as the first chapter. You again use the first letter of all the image components. We have a Graveyard, the arms of Robert, Elias Ashmole, two chests, and Queen Elizabeth. The first letters of each image component are used to then spell a word: Graveyard Robert Ashmole Chests Elizabeth

The clue derived from Chapter 2 is GRACE

CHAPTER 3:

The solution for this chapter deals with a grid full of letters and 3 images. The reader will learn about the characters’ trip, who they meet, and the treasure they carry to identify the 3 pictures in the image. The 3 images are London, Renzo, and Plate. The solver is to then spell those three words by eliminating letters from the letter grid. They should also notice all three of those words are spelled with letters from the inner box of the grid. To help the solver, the first letter of each of those 3 words were colored red. After eliminating the letters of those 3 words, now match each letter to the letter next to it in the outer box by going through the same order again: LONDON RENZO PLATE. The letters on the outer box next to each will spell WORD CHAPTER THREE. Now, notice next to each letter that started the original three words: L, R, P; there is a number. Going in order, the solver will get 833. The last thing to do is to count the 833rd word of Chapter 3. That word is “Cross”.

The clue derived from this chapter is CROSS.

CHAPTER 4:

The solution for this chapter is solved by using the dates of the six events in the image (gravestones) and then number/letter subbing them to the alphabet. The solver only needs to use the day, not the month or year. In the text, the author changed one of the dates to alert the reader of the potential clue. All the reader needs to do is go by the days on the headstones in the image. Those numbers are: 9th, 4th, 18th, 21st, 5th, 2nd. Subbed to letters in the alphabet gives the letters I D R U E B. Those letters are an anagram to the word: Buried.

The clue derived from this chapter is BURIED

CHAPTER 5

The solution to this chapter is solved by using the image. The image shows Selby Abbey, a market cross scene, and a map in the background. The key is to look at how the cross on top of the market cross is shaded so it overlays perfectly onto the map. By doing this, it looks like it’s a symbol for a church on that map. Next to the cross are the words “on the marsh”.

The clue derived from this chapter is ON THE MARSH

CHAPTER 6

The solution to this chapter is solved with a shift cipher and then anagram. Use the first letter of each characters first name and shift it so A=O. If you use the order from left to right on the page, the answer will still be jumbled, but if you can see pretty easily the jumbled letters will spell the word Opposite.

The clue derived from this chapter is the word OPPOSITE

CHAPTER 7

The solution to this chapter is solved by viewing the image and using the components to create 3 words. From the text we know Picklington lives in Micklegate York. The text states it’s the south gate of the city. In the image we have a map of York with an arrow pointing to its southern “gate”. The last component is John Anstis in the image, who has the meeting at Mickelgate in the chapter. John Anstis is an anagram for Saint John’s. This anagram is used along with “gate” derived from the arrow indicator.

The clue derived from this chapter is SAINT JOHN’S GATE

CHAPTER 8

The solution to this chapter has a short and long way to solve the puzzle. Once again, there is a grid with letters and numbers. This is the first chapter that uses a piece from an earlier chapter that helps align the numbers. The short way to solve this puzzle is to ignore the numbers completely and attempt to anagram the letters to get the term EIGHTY FIVE FT.

The longer way involves the numbers and three marriage dates that are mentioned in the chapter Those dates are: 14th February 1687, 19th May 1710, and 20th July 1719. The solver should notice that 14, 19, and 20 are all numbers in the grid. The key is to solve the puzzle using multiplication to arrive at the other numbers. The pattern is Day= x1, Month= x2, Year is split into two numbers and the first number is x3 and the second is x4. Here is an example of the first marriage date of 14th February 1687: 14×1=14 2×2=4 16×3=48 87×4=384. The solver will now notice all the resulting numbers appear in the grid. Do the same process with the other two marriage dates. By using the letters adjacent to those numbers using the dates in that order, it will spell EIGHTY FIVE FT.

The clue derived from this chapter is EIGHTY FIVE FT

CHAPTER 9

The solution from this chapter is solved with the image and some text in the beginning of the chapter. The chapter describes Belt looking at a document the in the morning. His desk had a window that looked true south over the hills. The image shows the character looking up from the document and out the window. There is also a compass in the corner. Compasses usually denote North if they only show one direction. However, this one shows South. The reader at this time should gather that the clue is True South. The clock shows 2:42. This doesn’t match the time of day the character is sitting at his desk. The key is to understand the difference between True South and Magnetic South. If one looks at the publication of the book which is 2012 and checks the declination between True South and Magnetic South at that point in time, they will see that it is 2 degrees 42 minutes. This is used later on with the final walking steps to the burial of the treasure along with Ch 10’s solution to confirm

The clue derived from this chapter is TRUE SOUTH

CHAPTER 10

The solution from this chapter is derived from the text and image. The image shows a compass with names as well as death years. The reader should notice also an arrow on the East direction of the compass, as well as numbers in the inner circle. The first step to solve the puzzle is to determine the order by matching the proper death year to the right name using Ch 10’s text. After that is complete it should look like this:

Elizabeth Cutler 1745

John Pearson 1781

William Read 1798

Elizabeth Pearson 1809

Henry Pearson 1810

Thomas Cutler Rudson Read 1838

Now that the order is established, line up the numbers in the inner circle with the name order shown above. The result will be 3 .6 6 5&5 20. The reader will notice the 3 . 6 is in blue. Leave these as is. The black numbers are then number/letter subbed to the word FEET. Now combine it with the 3.6 and the arrow indicating East to get 3.6 FEET EAST. The 3.6 feet east is the difference between walking 85ft true south from the gate and walking magnetic south 85ft and then turning east and walking 3.6 feet. The 3.6 feet covers the declination between the two at the 85ft mark at time of the burial of the cross.

The clue derived from this chapter is 3.6 FEET EAST

CHAPTER 11

The solution from this chapter is gained from the family tree in the image along with confirmation from the text. The Pearson’s from this chapter have 8 children but only six of them survive. In the family tree, if you take the first letter of the names of children who survived, you get the word LYTHAM.

At this point you have all the clues solved and should have this message:

LADY GRACE CROSS BURIED ON THE MARSH OPPOSITE ST JOHN’S GATE EIGHTY FIVE FT TRUE SOUTH 3.6 FEET EAST LYTHAM.

The image for chapter 11 also confirms the area by showing St Johns the Divine Church and Lytham Marsh. The BOTG portion would be to stand at the center of the gate of St John’s, and face magnetic south. Walk 85ft in that direction. Then turn east and walk 3.6 feet. That was the burial location of the cross. One could also just walk true south from the gate, which is about 171 deg bearing. This is also confirmed in the text of Ch 11 where it describes the cross being buried in the passage below where the character realizes the curse the cross brings and how he wishes to rid himself of it.

“He entered the Church (St John’s) and took a moment to pray for less troubled times and the new life he was to embark on. On his way out, he walked slowly down the path and he paused under the lichgate. He then continued onto the marsh and paused again, re-affirming to himself his intention for a change of fortune.”

This concludes the solution for the Bossall Treasure. A big thanks to my team of Robert, Lisa, and Adam. Another big thanks to Doug Pearson for creating the hunt that stood the test of time unsolved for almost a decade. I hope you enjoyed reading the solution and that it answers your questions.

Sadly, while writing this post I was informed that Douglas G Pearson had passed away.

Douglas G Pearson made a huge impact on our lives, his book The Bossall Treasure is what brought our little team together, making friends for life. He gave us an adventure, a treasure, a story to tell, but most of all ignited the imagination and inspired not just us but countless others to challenge ourselves and dare to dream.

He will be sorely missed, but never forgotten by the community he touched with his creativity.

Useful Links:

The Bossall Treasure Available on Amazon

Sources & References

Information for this article has been provided by various sources and are referenced here:

Primary Source: Atlantis of the Sands – Wikipedia

REFERENCES:

“The Incense Road: Ubar”. Nabataea.net. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
“Atlantis: The Lost Empire”. IMDb.
“Atlantis: Milo’s Return”. IMDb.
Wilford, John Noble (5 February 1992). “On the Trail From the Sky: Roads Point to a Lost City”. The New York Times. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
Fiennes, Ranulph (1993). Atlantis of the sands: The Search for the Lost City of Ubar. Harmondsworth: Signet Books. ISBN 0-451-17577-8. OL 17393459M.
Glassé, Cyril; Huston Smith (2003). “ʿĀd”. The New Encyclopedia of Islam (Revised ed.). AltaMira Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-0759101906.
Clapp, Nicholas (1999). The road to Ubar: Finding the Atlantis of the Sands. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-395-95786-8. OCLC 41557131.
Zarins, Juris (May–June 1997). “Atlantis of the Sands”. Archaeology. Vol. 50 no. 3. New York: Archaeological Institute of America. pp. 51–53. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
Andy in Oman. “Is “The Lost City of Ubar” Found or Still Lost?!”. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
Thomas, Bertram (1933). “Ubar – the Atlantis of the sands of the Rub’ al Khali”. Journal of the Royal Central Asian Society. Royal Society for Asian Affairs. 20 (2): 259–265. doi:10.1080/03068379308725252.
Lawrence, T. E. (1964). The letters of T.E. Lawrence. London: Spring Books. OL 17198428M.
Thesiger, Wilfred (October–December 1946). “A New Journey in Southern Arabia”. The Geographical Journal. Royal Geographical Society. 108 (4/6): 135. doi:10.2307/1789822. JSTOR 1789822.
Morton, Michael Quentin (2006). In the Heart of the Desert (2nd ed.). Aylesford, Kent, UK: Green Mountain Press. ISBN 0-9552212-0-X. OL 24229851M.
Phillips, Wendell (June 1972). Unknown Oman. Librairie Du Liban Publications. ISBN 978-0-86685-025-4. OL 9339953M.
“The lost city of Ubar”. Islam 101. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
Thomas, Bertram (September 1931). “A Camel Journey Across the Rub al-Khali”. The Geographical Journal. Royal Geographical Society. 78 (3): 209–38. doi:10.2307/1784895. JSTOR 1784895.
Wynn, Jeffrey C.; Shoemaker, Eugene M. (November 1998). “The Day the Sands Caught Fire” (PDF). Scientific American. Springer Nature. pp. 64–71. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
Edgell, H. Stewart (2004). “The myth of the lost city of the Arabian Sands”. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. Archaeopress. 34: 105–120. JSTOR 41223810.
Stark, Freya (1936). The southern gates of Arabia. New York: E. P. Dutton. OCLC 557374. OL 6342012M.
Zarins, Juris (September 1996). “Interview with Dr. Juris Zarins”. PBS Nova Online (Interview). Retrieved 27 June 2013.
Zarins, Juris (2000). Bawden, Garth; Reycraft, Richard Martin (eds.). “Environmental disruption and human response: an archaeological-historical example from south Arabia”. Environmental Disaster and the Archaeology of Human Response. Anthropological papers. Albuquerque, NM: Maxwell Museum of Anthropology. 7: 35–49. OCLC 45708208.
Blom, Ronald G.; Crippen, Robert; Elachi, Charles; Clapp, Nicholas; Hedges, George R.; Zarins, Juris (2006). Wiseman, James; El-Baz, Farouk (eds.). “Southern Arabian Desert Trade Routes, Frankincense, Myrrh, and the Ubar Legend”. Remote Sensing in Archaeology. Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology. New York: Springer: 71–87. doi:10.1007/0-387-44455-6_3. ISBN 978-0-387-44455-0. S2CID 128081354.
Lawton, John (May–June 1983). “Oman: Frankincense”. Saudi Aramco World. Vol. 34 no. 3. pp. 26–27. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
Kakutani, Michiko (27 February 1998). “Stumbling Upon the Desert’s Secret”. The New York Times. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
Groom, Nigel (August 1994). “Oman and the Emirates in Ptolemy’s map”. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy. Blackwell Publishing. 5 (3): 198–214. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0471.1994.tb00067.x.
Groom, Nigel (Spring 2000). “The Road to Ubar—Pros and Cons”. Bulletin of the Society for Arabian Studies. Society for Arabian Studies. 5: 42–43.
Jones, Barri (July–August 1992). “On the Incense Trail” (PDF). Minerva. Vol. 3 no. 4. Myles Poulton. p. 17. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
“Information on tentative lists and examination of nominations of cultural and natural properties to the List of World Heritage in Danger and World Heritage List” (PDF). UNESCO.org. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
Sasson, Jack M., ed. (1994). Civilizations of the Ancient Near East. London: Hendrickson Publishers. p. 1351.

Other sources of information:

Bertram Thomas: Bertram Thomas – Wikipedia

Major Wilfred Thesiger: Wilfred Thesiger – Wikipedia

The Road to Ubar – Finding the Atlantis of the Sands by Nicholas Clapp: http://thereaderdiary.blogspot.com/2011/01/

Wadi Rum: Wadi Rum – Wikipedia

Nizwa: Nizwa – Wikipedia

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ADAM L C

Director of Areas Grey

Adam is an avid treasure hunter, seeker of adventure and the creator of Areas Grey. After travelling for almost half his life and cataloguing over 100 treasure legends along the way. He decided this was simply far too much treasure for one person to chase! As a result he created Areas Grey so he could share his stories, connect with other treasure hunters and put a little more adventure in the lives of the treasure hunting community.

Adam is a Private Investigator and former Wilderness Guide with a passion for history and archaeology. With the skills, knowledge and gear, Adam is always eager to go on the next fortune seeking adventure and connect with fellow treasure hunters along the way.

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“The discovery served to confirm a long-existing tradition, that the money and rich plate had been hidden by our ancestor Sir Robert Belt, during the Civil War, in that part of the pleasure ground.”

– William John Belt, 1779

Open post

The Secret: A Treasure Hunt

23/09/202018/08/2023
by Grey

THE SECRET

A Treasure Hunt

I.

OVERVIEW

II.

LEGEND

III.

THE TREASURE

IV.

THE CLUES

V.

CONCLUSION

VI.

WRITER

Overview

The Secret is a treasure hunt started by Byron Preiss in 1982. Twelve treasure boxes were buried at secret locations across North America. As of August 2020 only three of the twelve boxes have been found.

Each of the twelve boxes contains a casque which holds a key. Once retrieved the keys can be exchanged for a valuable stone. Collectively the stones are said to be worth approximately ten thousand dollars.

The Secret treasure book cover by Byron Preiss

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The Legend

The Secret: An Armchair Treasure Hunt tells a story of “Fair People”, enchanted mystical and fantastical creatures.

Inspired by the hit armchair treasure hunt book Masquerade which took the world by storm in 1979, Byron Preiss decided to create his own armchair treasure hunt with not one, but 12 prizes hidden across the United States and Canada.

The Secret: An Armchair Treasure Hunt was launched in 1982 complete with a story of fairies, goblins, and other strange creatures travelling to the New World with their treasures. These treasures were in the form of rare stones and gems which could be collected by the lucky person to solve any of the 12 puzzles and find a hidden key and casque.

The puzzles consist of 12 images and 12 poems. Each poem must be paired with the correct image to correctly solve the puzzle. In 1983 a group of friends in Chicago found the first of the treasures, an emerald worth more than $1,000.

Years went by before another casque was found in 2004 in Cleveland. Another key had been exchanged for a precious gem. In 2005 Byron Preiss died in an accident leaving the responsibility of the game and its prizes to his family. Another casque was then found in 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts.

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The Treasure

For each cask retrieved the finder is rewarded a valuable gem or stone in exchange for the key found. The book explains the following for the value of the treasures as well as some rules around the treasure hunt:

“The jewels collectively are worth over ten thousand dollars. The treasure casques themselves are of incalculable value, never having been owned by man or woman.”

“Every treasure casque is buried underground, at a depth of no more than three to three and one-half feet. The casques are protected by lustrous transparent boxes, and are sealed.”

“The following places do not hold any treasure:

– any life-threatening location, such as a dangerous highway embankment, a contaminated area or active railway track
– any cemetery
– any public or private flower bed
– any property owned by the contributors to the book, their families or friends.”

The Cask, Key, and Gems.

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The Clues

Inside the book there are twelve cryptic images and twelve verses as seen below in the order they appear in the book.

Image

Verse

Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
Image 5
Image 6
Image 7
Image 8
Image 9
Image 10
Image 11
Image 12

Verse 1:

Fortress north
Cold as glass
Friendship south
Take your task
To the number
Nine eight two
Through the wood
No lion fears
In the sky the water veers
Small of scale
Step across
Perspective should not be lost
In the center of four alike
Small, split,
Three winged and slight
What we take to be
Our strongest tower delight
Falls gently
In December night
Looking back from treasure ground
There’s the spout!
A whistle sounds.
Verse 2:

At the place where jewels abound
Fifteen rows down to the ground
In the middle of twenty-one
From end to end
Only three stand watch
As the sound of friends
Fills the afternoon hours
Here is a sovereign people
Who build palaces to shelter
Their heads for a night!
Gnomes admire
Fays delight
The namesakes meeting
Near this site.
Verse 3:

If Thucydides is
North of Xenophon
Take five steps
In the area of his direction
A green tower of lights
In the middles section
Near those
Who pass the coliseum
With metal walls
Face the water
Your back to the stairs
Feel at home
All the letters
Are here to see
Eighteenth day
Twelfth hour
Let by lamplight
In truth, be free.
Verse 4:

Beneath two countries
As the road curves
In a rectangular plot
Beneath the tenth stone
From right to left
Beneath the ninth row from the top
Of the wall including small bricks
Seven steps up you can hop
From the bottom level
Socrates, Pindar, Apelles
Free speech, couplet, birch
To find casque’s destination
Seek the columns
For the search.
Verse 5:

Lane
Two twenty two
You’ll see an arc of lights
Weight and roots extended
Together saved the site
Of granite walls
Wind swept halls
Citadel in the night
A wingless bird ascended
Born of ancient dreams of flight
Beneath the only standing member
Of a forest
To the south
White stone closest
At twelve paces
From the west side
Get permission
To dig out.
Verse 6:

Of all the romance retold
Men of tales and tunes
Cruel and bold
Seen here
By eyes of old
Stand and listed to the birds
Hear the cool, clear song of water
Harken to the words:
Freedom at the birth of a century
Or May 1913
Edwin and Edwina named after him
Or on the eighth a scene
Where law defended
Between two arms extended
Below the bar that binds
Beside the long palm’s shadow
Embedded in the sand
Waits the Fair remuneration
White house close at hand.
Verse 7:

At stone wall’s door
The air smells sweet
Not far away
High posts are three
Education and Justice
For all to see
Sounds from the sky
Near ace is high
Running north, but first across
In jewel’s direction
Is an object
Of Twain’s attention
Giant pole
Giant step
To the place
The casque is kept.
Verse 8:

View the three stories of Mitchell
As you walk the beating of the world
At a distance in time
From three who lived there
At a distance in space
From woman, with harpsichord
Silently playing
Step on nature
Cast in copper
Ascend the 92 steps
After climbing the grand 200
Pass the compass and reach
The foot of the culvert
Below the bridge
Walk 100 paces
Southeast over rock and soil
To the first young birch
Pass three, staying west
You’ll see a letter from the country
Of wonderstone’s hearth
On a proud, tall fifth
At its southern foot
The treasure waits.
Verse 9:

The first chapter
Written in water
Near men
With wind rose
Behind bending branches
And a green picket fence
At the base of a tall tree
You can still hear the honking
Shell, limestone, silver, salt
Stars move by day
Sails pass by night
Even in darkness
Like moonlight in teardrops
Over the tall grass
Years pass, rain falls.
Verse 10:

In the shadow
Of the grey giant
Find the arm that
Extends over the slender path
In summer
You’ll often hear a whirring sound
Cars abound
Although the sign
Nearby
Speaks of Indies native
The natives still speak
Of him of Hard word in 3 Vols.
Take twice as many east steps as the hour
Or more
From the middle of one branch
Of the v
Look down
And see simple roots
In rhapsodic man’s soil
Or gaze north
Toward the isle of B.
Verse 11:

Pass two friends of octave
In December
Ride the man of oz
To the land near the window
There’s a road that leads to
Dark forest
Where white is in color
With two maps
After circle and square
In July and August
A path beckons
To mica and driftwood
Under that
Which may be last touched
Or first seen standing
Look north at the wing
And dig
To achieve
By dauntless and inconquerable
Determination
Your goal.
Verse 12:

Where M and B are set in stone
And to Congress, R is known
L sits and left
Beyond his shoulder
Is the Fair Folks’
Treasure holder
The end of ten by thirteen
Is your clue
Fence and fixture
Central too
For finding jewel casque
Seek the sounds
Of rumble
Brush and music
Hush.

Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
Image 5
Image 6
Image 7
Image 8
Image 9
Image 10
Image 11
Image 12

Verse 1:

Fortress north
Cold as glass
Friendship south
Take your task
To the number
Nine eight two
Through the wood
No lion fears
In the sky the water veers
Small of scale
Step across
Perspective should not be lost
In the center of four alike
Small, split,
Three winged and slight
What we take to be
Our strongest tower delight
Falls gently
In December night
Looking back from treasure ground
There’s the spout!
A whistle sounds.
Verse 2:

At the place where jewels abound
Fifteen rows down to the ground
In the middle of twenty-one
From end to end
Only three stand watch
As the sound of friends
Fills the afternoon hours
Here is a sovereign people
Who build palaces to shelter
Their heads for a night!
Gnomes admire
Fays delight
The namesakes meeting
Near this site.
Verse 3:

If Thucydides is
North of Xenophon
Take five steps
In the area of his direction
A green tower of lights
In the middles section
Near those
Who pass the coliseum
With metal walls
Face the water
Your back to the stairs
Feel at home
All the letters
Are here to see
Eighteenth day
Twelfth hour
Let by lamplight
In truth, be free.
Verse 4:

Beneath two countries
As the road curves
In a rectangular plot
Beneath the tenth stone
From right to left
Beneath the ninth row from the top
Of the wall including small bricks
Seven steps up you can hop
From the bottom level
Socrates, Pindar, Apelles
Free speech, couplet, birch
To find casque’s destination
Seek the columns
For the search.
Verse 5:

Lane
Two twenty two
You’ll see an arc of lights
Weight and roots extended
Together saved the site
Of granite walls
Wind swept halls
Citadel in the night
A wingless bird ascended
Born of ancient dreams of flight
Beneath the only standing member
Of a forest
To the south
White stone closest
At twelve paces
From the west side
Get permission
To dig out.
Verse 6:

Of all the romance retold
Men of tales and tunes
Cruel and bold
Seen here
By eyes of old
Stand and listed to the birds
Hear the cool, clear song of water
Harken to the words:
Freedom at the birth of a century
Or May 1913
Edwin and Edwina named after him
Or on the eighth a scene
Where law defended
Between two arms extended
Below the bar that binds
Beside the long palm’s shadow
Embedded in the sand
Waits the Fair remuneration
White house close at hand.
Verse 7:

At stone wall’s door
The air smells sweet
Not far away
High posts are three
Education and Justice
For all to see
Sounds from the sky
Near ace is high
Running north, but first across
In jewel’s direction
Is an object
Of Twain’s attention
Giant pole
Giant step
To the place
The casque is kept.
Verse 8:

View the three stories of Mitchell
As you walk the beating of the world
At a distance in time
From three who lived there
At a distance in space
From woman, with harpsichord
Silently playing
Step on nature
Cast in copper
Ascend the 92 steps
After climbing the grand 200
Pass the compass and reach
The foot of the culvert
Below the bridge
Walk 100 paces
Southeast over rock and soil
To the first young birch
Pass three, staying west
You’ll see a letter from the country
Of wonderstone’s hearth
On a proud, tall fifth
At its southern foot
The treasure waits.
Verse 9:

The first chapter
Written in water
Near men
With wind rose
Behind bending branches
And a green picket fence
At the base of a tall tree
You can still hear the honking
Shell, limestone, silver, salt
Stars move by day
Sails pass by night
Even in darkness
Like moonlight in teardrops
Over the tall grass
Years pass, rain falls.
Verse 10:

In the shadow
Of the grey giant
Find the arm that
Extends over the slender path
In summer
You’ll often hear a whirring sound
Cars abound
Although the sign
Nearby
Speaks of Indies native
The natives still speak
Of him of Hard word in 3 Vols.
Take twice as many east steps as the hour
Or more
From the middle of one branch
Of the v
Look down
And see simple roots
In rhapsodic man’s soil
Or gaze north
Toward the isle of B.
Verse 11:

Pass two friends of octave
In December
Ride the man of oz
To the land near the window
There’s a road that leads to
Dark forest
Where white is in color
With two maps
After circle and square
In July and August
A path beckons
To mica and driftwood
Under that
Which may be last touched
Or first seen standing
Look north at the wing
And dig
To achieve
By dauntless and inconquerable
Determination
Your goal.
Verse 12:

Where M and B are set in stone
And to Congress, R is known
L sits and left
Beyond his shoulder
Is the Fair Folks’
Treasure holder
The end of ten by thirteen
Is your clue
Fence and fixture
Central too
For finding jewel casque
Seek the sounds
Of rumble
Brush and music
Hush.

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Conclusion

A dozen paintings
Share the clues
Yet Fairy secrets
Come in twos
To sing a happy treasure song
To have a casque to you belong
Wed one picture
With one verse
For Fair Folk’s peace
Goodness first.

Since 1982 when the Treasure Hunt began only three treasure casques have been found as follows:

Image 5 was matched with Verse 12 revealing the treasures location as being Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois.

A casque was found in 1983, one year after the launch of the game by pairing image 5 and verse 12 which revealed the outline of Illinois and some iconic landmarks around Chicago with an image of a bowman and reference to “L” leading the treasure hunters to Grant Park. It was two intersecting lines of trees that pinpointed the exact spot under a unique fence design which provided confirmation.

Chicago Treasure Found

Synopsis
The casque associated with Image 5 and Verse 12 was buried in Grant Park in Chicago, IL, somewhere in the near vicinity of these coordinates: 41°52’41.2″N 87°37’20.4″W.

The outline of Illinois and a few well-known landmarks get us to Chicago. An image of a bowman and a reference to “L” (Lincoln) get us to Grant Park. Two intersecting lines of trees pinpoint the spot and a distinctive fence feature provides the confirmation.

Sourced From: thesecret.pbworks.com

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A casque was found in 2004, over 20 years after the Chicago find. This time the treasure hunters connected verse 4 and image 4 to find Cleveland, Ohio by seeing the shape of Ohio’s rivers in the visual. The clues eventually leading to the Greek Cultural Gardens the visual depicts the exact area to dig for the hidden treasure.

Cleveland Treasure Found

Synopsis
The casque associated with Image 4 and Verse 4 was buried in the Greek Cultural Garden in Cleveland, OH, at these coordinates: 41.527651 N, 81.626926 W.

The shape of Ohio (with rivers) is hidden in the image. Several of the clues that would presumably get us to Cleveland are still unsolved, but the visual references to the Greek Cultural Garden are very clear and unambiguous. Lines in the verse pin down the exact place to dig inside the neglected planter bed shown in the image. Visual images in this puzzle seem more realistic and true-to-life than in the other 11 images, possibly because the artist saw the spot in person rather than working from photographs.

Sourced From: thesecret.pbworks.com

Image 4 was matched with Verse 4 revealing the treasures location as being the Greek Cultural Garden, Cleveland, Ohio.

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.@JoshuaGates is on the verge of finding a new piece of the puzzle that no one has cracked for nearly 40 years: The Secret. 🗝

Join the real life treasure hunt next Wednesday at 9p in the #ExpeditionUnknown season finale event on Discovery and the Discovery GO app. pic.twitter.com/qvm8vMaRC1

— Discovery (@Discovery) October 24, 2019

In 2019 a third casque was found in Boston, Massachusetts and featured on a series finale of a television series: ‘Expedition Unknown’. In the episode they pair up verse 3 and image 11 and by following the clues find themselves at the North End Baseball Field.

Boston Treasure Found

The scene took place at the baseball fields at Langone Park / Puopolo Field on Commercial Street as featured on this week’s season finale of Discovery’s Expedition Unknown. The TV crew followed the story of Jason Krupat and his family who figured out a puzzle from a 1982 book, The Secret, leading the clue-seeking treasure hunters to stop the construction at the waterfront parks.

In the North End, the painting matched that of the Christopher Columbus statue at the namesake park on Atlantic Avenue. The book’s author, Byron Preiss, looked to celebrate immigrants groups, including Chicago’s Irish, Cleveland’s Greeks and now, the Italians in Boston’s North End.

Sourced From: Northendwaterfront.com

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So, what about the other 9 treasures hidden across North America?

Below is a table of the generally accepted pairings of verses and images along with the cities the treasures are suspected to be buried.

Image No.	Verse No.	Status	Likely Location
1	7	Unsolved	San Francisco, California
2	6	Unsolved	Charleston, South Carolina
3	11	Unsolved	Roanoke Island, North Carolina
4	4	Solved	Cleveland, Ohio
5	12	Solved	Chicago, Illinois
6	9	Unsolved	St. Augustine, Florida
7	2	Unsolved	New Orleans, Louisiana
8	1	Unsolved	Houston, Texas
9	5	Unsolved	Montreal, Canada
10	8	Unsolved	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
11	3	Solved	Boston, Massachusetts
12	10	Unsolved	New York, New York

Where Are The Rest Of The Treasures Hidden?

Three of the treasure boxes have been recovered.[1][2] The first was found in Chicago, Illinois; the second in Cleveland, Ohio; and the most recent treasure box was found in Boston, Massachusetts.[2] The remaining nine treasure boxes have not yet been recovered.[1] The Boston treasure box’s recovery was filmed for Discovery Channel’s television show Expedition Unknown and aired on Wednesday, October 30, 2019.[3] [4]

Image No.^[5]	Verse No.^[5]	Verse opening	Status	Location (solved, or likely)	Ref.
1	7	*At stone wall’s door*	Unsolved	San Francisco, California	^[6]^[7]
2	6	*Of all the romance retold*	Unsolved	Charleston, South Carolina	^[8]
3	11	*Pass two friends of octave*	Unsolved	Roanoke Island, North Carolina	^[9]
4	4	*Beneath two countries*	Solved (2004)	Cleveland, Ohio	^[10]^[11]
5	12	*Where M and B are set in stone*	Solved (1983)	Chicago, Illinois	^[12]^[13]
6	9	*The first chapter Written in water*	Unsolved	St. Augustine, Florida	^[14]^[15]
7	2	*At the place where jewels abound*	Unsolved	New Orleans, Louisiana	^[16]^[17]
8	1	*Fortress north Cold as glass*	Unsolved	Houston, Texas	^[18]^[19]
9	5	*Lane Two twenty two*	Unsolved	Montreal, Canada	^[20]
10	8	*View the three stories of Mitchell*	Unsolved	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	^[21]^[22]
11	3	*If Thucydides is North of Xenophon*	Solved (2019)	Boston, Massachusetts	^[2]^[23]
12	10	*In the shadow Of the grey giant*	Unsolved	New York, New York	^[24]

Sourced From: Wikipedia

REFERENCES:

“Shhh! The Secret Podcast”. 12treasures.com. Retrieved November 10,2019.
^ Jump up to:^a ^b ^c Baker, Billy (October 25, 2019). “Hidden treasure, a family’s quest, and ‘The Secret‘“. The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
^ “EPIC SEASON FINALE OF DISCOVERY CHANNEL’S ‘EXPEDITION UNKNOWN’ STARRING JOSH GATES UNCOVERS FAMED HIDDEN TREASURE”. discovery.com (Press release). October 28, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
^ “Expedition Unknown: ‘The Secret’ Treasure Found in Boston”. Discovery Com. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
^ Jump up to:^a ^b “The Secret (a treasure hunt)”. Retrieved November 9, 2019 – via pbworks.com.
^ Walker, Wilson (March 4, 2019). “Treasure Hunters May Be Closing In On Prize In Golden Gate Park”. KPIX-TV. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
^ Parks, Shoshi (September 20, 2019). “S.F. Marks the Spot for Buried Treasure”. Atlas Obscura. Retrieved November 10, 2019. A fantasy author’s 37-year-old cache may soon be unearthed in one of the city’s 220 parks. But which one?
^ Behre, Robert (April 22, 2019). “Discovery Channel team to dig up Charleston’s White Point Garden in search of buried key”. The Post and Courier. San Francisco, California. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
^ Kile, Jenny (June 9, 2019). “In Search of the Roanoke Island Casque of The Secret Armchair Treasure Hunt: Six Questions with Dustin and Deidra White”. Mysterious Writings. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
^ Firschein, Merry (July 18, 2004). “Treasure hunter strikes pay dirt”. The Record. Bergen County, New Jersey. p. 1. Retrieved November 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ Firschein, Merry (July 18, 2004). “Treasure: A 22-year quest ends in a park in Cleveland”. The Record. Bergen County, New Jersey. p. 12. Retrieved November 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ Swartz, Tracy (January 17, 2018). “Travel Channel show revisits ’80s treasure find in Grant Park”. Chicago Tribune. p. 1-3. Retrieved November 10, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ “The Secret of Byron Preiss: How they found the Chicago key”. Retrieved November 9, 2019 – via YouTube.
^ Connolly, Patrick (July 27, 2019). “In Search of ‘The Secret‘“. Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. p. A1. Retrieved November 10, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ Connolly, Patrick (July 27, 2019). “Treasure”. Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. p. A4. Retrieved November 10, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ Brasted, Chelsea (April 9, 2019). “There’s a secret treasure in New Orleans. We may have found it”. The Times-Picayune. Retrieved November 11, 2019 – via nola.com.
^ Truong, Thanh (May 18, 2018). “The Secret: There’s a treasure buried in New Orleans”. WWL-TV. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
^ Ramirez, Fernando (May 16, 2017). “The 35-year-old hunt for Hermann Park’s buried treasure continues”. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved November 11, 2019 – via chron.com.
^ West, Aaron (March 5, 2018). “You’ll (Probably) Never Find the Buried Treasure In Hermann Park”. bylinehouston.com. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
^ Lynne, Aeryn (March 21, 2018). “Treasure Hunting North America: The Secret in Montreal”. geeklife.ca. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
^ Tanzilo, Bobby (January 16, 2018). “Did Travel Channel’s “Expedition Unknown” dig up treasure in Lake Park?”. OnMilwaukee. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
^ Brooke, Zach (June 1, 2016). “The 35-Year-Long Hunt to Find a Fantasy Author’s Hidden Treasure”. Vice. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
^ Conti, Matt (October 30, 2019). “Treasure Hunt Leads to North End Baseball Field”. North End Waterfront. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
^ Kile, Jenny (April 18, 2019). “Six Questions with James Renner: In Search for the New York City Casque of The Secret (A Treasure Hunt)”. Mysterious Writings. Retrieved November 11, 2019.

Sources & References

Information for this article has been provided by various sources and are referenced here:

Primary Source: The Secret Treasure Hunt – Wikipedia

Bibliography:

- “Book Variants”. 12treasures.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
- “The History Behind ‘The Secret‘“. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- The Secret (1982), pp. 7–8
- “Shhh! The Secret Podcast”. 12treasures.com. Retrieved November 10,2019.
- Baker, Billy (October 25, 2019). “Hidden treasure, a family’s quest, and ‘The Secret‘“. The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
- “EPIC SEASON FINALE OF DISCOVERY CHANNEL’S ‘EXPEDITION UNKNOWN’ STARRING JOSH GATES UNCOVERS FAMED HIDDEN TREASURE”. discovery.com (Press release). October 28, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
- “Expedition Unknown: ‘The Secret’ Treasure Found in Boston”. Discovery Com. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- “Shhh! The Secret Podcast”. 12treasures.com. Retrieved November 10,2019.
- Baker, Billy (October 25, 2019). “Hidden treasure, a family’s quest, and ‘The Secret‘“. The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
- “EPIC SEASON FINALE OF DISCOVERY CHANNEL’S ‘EXPEDITION UNKNOWN’ STARRING JOSH GATES UNCOVERS FAMED HIDDEN TREASURE”. discovery.com (Press release). October 28, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
- “Expedition Unknown: ‘The Secret’ Treasure Found in Boston”. Discovery Com. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- “The Secret (a treasure hunt)”. Retrieved November 9, 2019 – via pbworks.com.
- Walker, Wilson (March 4, 2019). “Treasure Hunters May Be Closing In On Prize In Golden Gate Park”. KPIX-TV. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
- Parks, Shoshi (September 20, 2019). “S.F. Marks the Spot for Buried Treasure”. Atlas Obscura. Retrieved November 10, 2019. A fantasy author’s 37-year-old cache may soon be unearthed in one of the city’s 220 parks. But which one?
- Behre, Robert (April 22, 2019). “Discovery Channel team to dig up Charleston’s White Point Garden in search of buried key”. The Post and Courier. San Francisco, California. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
- Kile, Jenny (June 9, 2019). “In Search of the Roanoke Island Casque of The Secret Armchair Treasure Hunt: Six Questions with Dustin and Deidra White”. Mysterious Writings. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
- Firschein, Merry (July 18, 2004). “Treasure hunter strikes pay dirt”. The Record. Bergen County, New Jersey. p. 1. Retrieved November 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
- Firschein, Merry (July 18, 2004). “Treasure: A 22-year quest ends in a park in Cleveland”. The Record. Bergen County, New Jersey. p. 12. Retrieved November 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
- Swartz, Tracy (January 17, 2018). “Travel Channel show revisits ’80s treasure find in Grant Park”. Chicago Tribune. p. 1-3. Retrieved November 10, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
- “The Secret of Byron Preiss: How they found the Chicago key”. Retrieved November 9, 2019 – via YouTube.
- Connolly, Patrick (July 27, 2019). “In Search of ‘The Secret‘“. Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. p. A1. Retrieved November 10, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
- Connolly, Patrick (July 27, 2019). “Treasure”. Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. p. A4. Retrieved November 10, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
- Brasted, Chelsea (April 9, 2019). “There’s a secret treasure in New Orleans. We may have found it”. The Times-Picayune. Retrieved November 11, 2019 – via nola.com.
- Truong, Thanh (May 18, 2018). “The Secret: There’s a treasure buried in New Orleans”. WWL-TV. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
- Ramirez, Fernando (May 16, 2017). “The 35-year-old hunt for Hermann Park’s buried treasure continues”. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved November 11, 2019 – via chron.com.
- West, Aaron (March 5, 2018). “You’ll (Probably) Never Find the Buried Treasure In Hermann Park”. bylinehouston.com. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
- Lynne, Aeryn (March 21, 2018). “Treasure Hunting North America: The Secret in Montreal”. geeklife.ca. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
- Tanzilo, Bobby (January 16, 2018). “Did Travel Channel’s “Expedition Unknown” dig up treasure in Lake Park?”. OnMilwaukee. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
- Brooke, Zach (June 1, 2016). “The 35-Year-Long Hunt to Find a Fantasy Author’s Hidden Treasure”. Vice. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
- Conti, Matt (October 30, 2019). “Treasure Hunt Leads to North End Baseball Field”. North End Waterfront. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
- Kile, Jenny (April 18, 2019). “Six Questions with James Renner: In Search for the New York City Casque of The Secret (A Treasure Hunt)”. Mysterious Writings. Retrieved November 11, 2019.

Other sources of information:

Previous finds and General Information: TheSecret.PBWorks.com

Boston Treasure Found: NorthEndWaterfront.com

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Written By

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ADAM L C

Director of Areas Grey

Adam is an avid treasure hunter, seeker of adventure and the creator of Areas Grey. After travelling for almost half his life and cataloguing over 100 treasure legends along the way. He decided this was simply far too much treasure for one person to chase! As a result he created Areas Grey so he could share his stories, connect with other treasure hunters and put a little more adventure in the lives of the treasure hunting community.

Adam is a Private Investigator and former Wilderness Guide with a passion for history and archaeology. With the skills, knowledge and gear, Adam is always eager to go on the next fortune seeking adventure and connect with fellow treasure hunters along the way.

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“The jewels collectively are worth over ten thousand dollars. The treasure casques themselves are of incalculable value, never having been owned by man or woman.”

– Byron Preiss, 1982

Open post

On the Trail of the Golden Owl

15/09/202018/08/2023
by Grey

ON THE TRAIL OF THE GOLDEN OWL

Sur La Trace De La Chouette D’or

I.

OVERVIEW

II.

LEGEND

III.

THE TREASURE

IV.

THE CLUES

V.

CONCLUSION

VI.

WRITER

Overview

In 1993 a book called ‘Sur La Trace de La Chouette d’Or’ (On The Trail Of The Golden Owl) was published launching an armchair treasure hunt created by Régis Hauser under the pseudonym “Max Valentin” a communications expert who created the riddles and Michel Becker the artist who created the visuals and provided the prize of the treasure hunt – A solid gold and silver owl with diamonds on it’s head, estimated to be worth between 150,000 and 500,000 Euros.

The book contained 11 puzzles which remain officially unsolved. Once solved the clues are to lead the treasure hunters to a bronze replica of the golden owl buried somewhere in France. Régis Hauser died in 2009. Now the treasure hunt is in the hands of the artist Michel Becker.

front cover of the French treasure-hunt book ‘Sur La Trace De La Chouette D’Or’ (On The Trail Of The Golden Owl)

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The Legend

Image of the iron bird found where the bronze owl countermark should have been when Becker went to check the solutions in 2021.

In 1993 an armchair treasure hunt book was published in France entitled Sur la trace de la Chouette d’or (On the trail of the golden owl) offering a prize of a Golden Owl statuette made entirely of gold and silver, encrusted with diamonds estimated to be worth over 150,000 euros to the first person to solve the clues and find the bronze owl countermark.

The original book contained eleven double-page spread riddles composed of a title, text, and a painting. Each painting was created by the artist Michel Becker while the game itself was created by communications expert Régis Hauser under the pseudonym “Max Valentin” who spent 450 hours designing the game between 1970 and 1993 when the book was launched.

Additional clues were created and released after the launch of the book in the form of short riddles or plays on words and when solved would act as confirmers of if a treasure hunter was on the right track or not.

The treasure hunt has seen a lot of controversy over the years since its launch in 1993. When “Max Valentin” died in 2009 he left the solutions inside a sealed envelope as to preserve them. However, in 2004, the original publisher of the book went bankrupt, and the Golden Owl statuette was seized as a part of its liquidation. After a long legal battle, the prize was reclaimed for the game in 2008.

Michel Becker, the co-creator of the hunt then claimed sole ownership of the Golden Owl in 2011 with intentions to sell it. More legal battles followed in order to stop this from happening. Thanks to a treasure hunter association known as A2CO the game and its prize were saved and continues to this day.

In 2019 Becker rejuvenated the game with the launch of a new edition of the puzzle book called The Secret Notebooks which tells Michel Becker’s side of the story, the history of the game and the creation of the prize. It also contained notes given to him by Valentin for the creation of the paintings, offering insight to the players for how the puzzles were created.

In 2021 Becker became the official organiser of the game when he obtained the sealed envelope containing the solutions from the Hauser family. After which he ventured with a Bailiff to confirm the bronze owl’s burial from the solutions. He reported when he dug at the spot, he found the owl missing and instead found a rusty iron bird. He replaced this rusty bird with a new bronze owl so that the treasure hunt could continue.

Front cover of the new edition of the puzzle book: On the Trail of the Golden Owl – Under the seal of secrecy released by Becker in August 2022.

In August 2022 another new edition of the book was released titled On the Trail of the Golden Owl – Under the seal of secrecy. Containing the original eleven clues, the additional clues, notes from Hauser to Becker and some more history from Becker about the creation of the game and his takeover of the game in 2021.

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The Treasure

The Golden Owl made entirely of gold and silver with diamonds on it’s head stands 10 inches tall and has a wingspan of 20 inches weighing 33lbs (15kg).

It’s estimated value is between 150,000 and 500,000 Euros.

When Régis Hauser (Max Valentin) died in 2009 the prize owl found it’s way to Michel Becker for safe keeping until the bronze countermark replica owl is found.

The Golden Owl prize is currently on display at the Lingot D’Art museum in Rochefort, France

The Golden Owl Prize

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The Clues

The Book ‘Sur La Trace De La Chouette D’or’ or On The Trail Of The Golden Owl contains 11 cryptic clues which are paired with 11 visuals painted by the artist Michel Becker. Solving the 11 clues is said to reveal a 12th and final “super clue” revealing the location of the owl.

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Conclusion

By solving the clue entitle ‘B’ it is possible to find what is believed to be the correct order of the clues by recognizing that the numbers assigned to clues are representative of wavelengths.

The following table shows the generally accepted translations and solutions to those clues.

Proposed Solutions

Wavelength	B order	Translated Title and Text	Meaning
B	1	THERE IS NO WORSE BLIND PEOPLE THAN THE ONE THAT DOES NOT WANT TO SEE 1 = 530 3 = 470 5 = 600 7 = 420 9 = 650	This is the only riddle that doesn’t have a wavelength as its page number. Applying the colors/marks of the other riddles to a color wheel and looking for the complementary color gives the “B order” of the ten wavelength riddles: B-530-780-470-580-600-500-420-560-650-520.[11] If the eleven riddles are resolved in this order, new links appear which may point to the final zone.[12][13]
530	2	OPENING My first, first half of the half of the first age, Precedes my Second and Third, seeking their way. My Fourth is inspired, my Fifth is in rage, But, without protest, follows my Fourth and the roman alpha. My Sixth is hidden at the limits of ETERNITY. My Seventh, standing, spits his venom. To find my all, just to be wise, Because the Truth, in truth, will not be a Devin’s affair.	The riddle identifies the starting city of the game, Bourges.[5][6] (B/baby)(OU/où)(R/air)(G/in rage)(E/start and end letter of ETERNITE)(S/SssS)
780	3	FIRST STEP… Wherever you want, By the ross and the coachman. But where you have to, By the compass and the foot.	This riddle is unsolved. Valentin gave hints, but no answer has been identified.[7] He once described this as the second-most important riddle of the game.[8]
470	4	IT’S THE RIGHT WAY IF THE ARROW TARGETS THE HEART My First multiplies by gaiety. My Second offers you space, My Third air, and my Fourth water. When he’s lying, my Fifth snores. My Sixth is worth one hundred, and my Seventh is just one node. My Eighth tastes like laurel, While my Ninth, with astonishment, stays behind. My Tenth is always naked when there’s a link. My Eleventh, finally, is the unknown. Found my all, and through the opening, you will see the light	A simple word game. The solution is another city, Roncevaux.[18][19] (A/haha)( /space)(R/air)(O/eau)(N/lying ZZz)(C/Latin number)(E/noeud)(V/victory)(A/aah)(U/French grammatical rule)(X/the unknown)
580	5	THE GOOD WAY, IT IS THE WAY OF THE OPPOSITE WAY, AND VICE VERSA 19.9.13.12.15.19.18.21.15.9.19 will be worth 1 12.15.19.18.21.15.9.19.18.9.13.8.15.4 will be worth 2 9.13.16.16.9.13.9.5.18 will be worth 3 25.1.12.14.18.9.13.16.9.13 will be worth 4 8.15.4.1.12.9.19.18.15.1.6 will be worth 5 18.9.13.13.5.18.18.1.12.18.9.13.12.15.19 will be worth 6 20.18.21.15.15.4.9.18.9.13.8 will be worth 7 9.13.18.9.15.19.19.9 will be worth 8 15.4.1.12.14.18.1.12.10 will be worth 9 19.18.9.13.12.15.19.14.1.12 will be worth 0	This riddle requires a three-stage decryption. First, by converting the numbers into letters, then, by reversing them, and finally, by applying the letter notation code to the Solfège code. The solution consists of the names of ten cities – Bourges, Cherbourg, Dieppe, Épernay, Forbach, Gerardmer, Héricourt, Issoire, Jarnac, and Angers – associated with ten numbers. The final key is A=0 B=1 etc., which is used in the following riddle.[21][22]
600	6	WHEN AL-MAR ALLIES TO PRAENESTE FIBULA, DARKNESS SHINE BDI,J. DF,F. CFD. BJ. HJ. EA,B. BC. E. DC,B. CDI,B. BAB,H. BE. CD. FB. BCG,J. BIG,D. BE. BG. BJD,B. DB. BGH,C. BC. E.	Al-mar is an ancient word for Arabs, implying numerals, and the Praeneste fibula implies letters – so numbers should unite with letters. If the reader applies the rule A=0 to the letters, he or she gets numbers which can be treated as atomic masses. The symbols for the elements indicated form the sentence “The Key is on the Black Perched Ship”.[9] The meaning of this phrase is unknown. Valentin gave clues, including an anagram implying that the illustration means “Becalmed Nave”, associated with the “Black Perched Ship”.[10]
500	7	UT QUEANT LAXIS At 2424-42-424-44-224-24-42-24, take the orthogonal. To find the Spiral with four centers, 560.606 measures, it’s far. But by the Mega, it’s a million times less.	Applying time signature to the numbers, reversing the sequence, and treating the sequence as morse code reveals the word Carignan, a French city.[3] The reference to finding, or drawing, a spiral has not yet been decoded.[4]
420	8	FROM THE SKY COMES THE LIGHT (the translated text is encrypted with the original method) 365-HI-10752 I-10752 WHERE 365-HE EAGLE 90677-RI-60140-365-ED 365-HE 687-ARK OF HI-10752 CLAW-10752 I-60140 365-HE 10752-ABLE, O-60140-E H-30667-60140-DRED DAY-10752 BEFORE BREAKI-60140-G HI-10752 BEAK A-60140-D LOO-10752-I-60140-G HI-10752 FEA-365-HER-10752Then lend a bow to Apollo: from this point, he will count 1969,697 measures towards the zenith. In a fraction of a 46,241,860th of a sidereal day, his line will fall. Hasten to find the arrow.	The numbers are planets’ revolutions, and the first letters of the planets are the missing elements of the text. The completed text is This is where the eagle printed the mark of his claws in the sable, one hundred days before breaking his beak and loosing his feathers, meaning Golfe Juan, the city where Napoleon returned from exile.[14] The second part is still unsolved. The direction of Apollo’s arrow is presumed to be important. Valentin corrected some theories from hunters, and clarified the action of Apollo.[15]
560	9	AD AUGUSTA PER ANGUSTA When at Carusburc, you will have Albion in the back, Seek the opening that reveals the Heavenly Light. Don’t linger, don’t ask for your rest, But prepare yourself to walk on water. Twice, Neptune will help you And carry you away from the icy north. Pursue your road and do not interrupt your journey Before seeing, through the Opening, the becalmed Nave. Without deviating an inch, draw a line, And you will not regret what you did.	The only riddle that requires the treasure-hunter to have several elements from other riddles. The treasure-hunter is told to do something from Cherbourg (old name Carasburc), by passing Bourges (opening), to find the Becalmed Nave. This riddle is only partially understood, but is presumed to be very important because it may point to the final zone – the “Becalmed Nave” being a reference to 600 and a special feature of the map.[20]
650	10	WHEN ALL IS REVEALED Back to the Ponant, seeks the Sentinels. At 8000 measures from there, they are waiting for you. Find them, you need to review them.	This text remains cryptic; some treasure-hunters consider the “Sentinels” to refer to one of the last steps, since the treasure-hunters have to “review” them (presumably in the physical final zone).[17]
520	11	EARTH OPENS Between them, there would be only two intervals if they were aligned. But this would be a too easy game! Now that you have undone all the yarns, Doubt is the last torment that will be inflicted to you. Because it is the rule of this cruel game: Alone, you have to find where to land your shovel. Show your respect for Mother Nature, And before getting away, close its injury.	This text is relatively straightforward: the treasure-hunter finds something in the zone, and can start to dig. If a hunter understands it correctly, he or she can find the buried owl.[16]

Sourced from: Wikipedia REFERENCES:

Valentin, Max. “450 Hours of Work”. Public Answers Database. 5 May 1998.
^ Becker, Michel. “Fabrication of the Golden Owl”. La Chouette d’Or.
“500 Explained by Monglane”. A2CO Database. 2001.
^ “500 Synthesis”. Figaro Magazine. 1997.
^ “530 Explained by Monglane”. A2CO Database. 2001.
^ “530 Synthesis”. Figaro Magazine. 1997.
^ “780 Synthesis”. Figaro Magazine. 1997.
^ valentin, max. “The 780 Special Case”. Public Answers Database. 19 August 1995.
^ “600 Explained by Monglane”. A2CO Database. 2001.
^ “600 Synthesis”. Figaro Magazine. 1997.
^ “B Explained by Monglane”. A2CO Database. 2001.
^ Valentin, Max. “The 11 Riddles Sequence”. Public Answers Database. 11 November 1995.
^ “B Synthesis”. Figaro Magazine. 1997.
^ “420 Explained by Monglane”. A2CO Database. 2001.
^ “420 Synthesis”. Figaro Magazine. 1997.
^ “520 Synthesis”. Figaro Magazine. 1997.
^ “650 Synthesis”. Figaro Magazine. 1997.
^ “470 Explained by Monglane”. A2CO Database. 2001.
^ “470 Synthesis”. Figaro Magazine. 1997.
^ “560 Synthesis”. Figaro Magazine. 1997.
^ “580 Explained by Monglane”. A2CO Database. 2001.
^ “580 Synthesis”. Figaro Magazine. 1997.

Livre Sur La Trace de La Chouette d’Or – Les Cahiers Secrets

While these solutions in the above table are what is generally accepted it is worth noting that there a hundreds of vastly different theories as to what the solutions to the clues could be with each a convincing argument for why it could be the correct solve.

Once the 11 clues are solved the 12th clue will need to be pieced together from some of the other 11 clues. When this 12th clue is solved it is said to reveal the location of the owl. The owl buried is a bronze replica of the golden owl with the golden owl currently held in the possession of the artist Michel Becker who now makes other similar armchair treasure hunts and released a follow up book for the golden owl in 2019 – ‘Livre Sur La Trace de La Chouette d’Or – Les Cahiers Secrets’

Sources & References

Information for this article has been provided by various sources and are referenced here:

Primary Source: On The Trail Of The Golden Owl – Wikipedia

Bibliography:

- Valentin, Max. “450 Hours of Work”. Public Answers Database. 5 May 1998.
- Becker, Michel. “Fabrication of the Golden Owl”. La Chouette d’Or.
- “Description of the Prize”. l’Express. 22 July 1993.
- Krotoski, Aleks. “Description of the Prize”. The Guardian. 25 January 2008.
- Valentin, Max. “How the Quest Started”. Public Answers Database. 28 January 1997.
- Schofield, Hugh (2018-08-12). “France’s 25-year treasure hunt for a golden owl”. BBC News. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
- Valentin, Max. “The False Trails”. Public Answers Database. 16 August 1995.
- Valentin, Max. “The Strength of the False Trails”. Public Answers Database. 13 December 2001.
- Smith, Reiss (2016-12-10). “10 lost treasures that YOU could still find: From Blackbeard’s loot to hidden Nazi gold”. Express.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
- Valentin, Max. “450 Hours of Work”. Public Answers Database. 5 May 1998.
- Becker, Michel. “Fabrication of the Golden Owl”. La Chouette d’Or.
- “500 Explained by Monglane”. A2CO Database. 2001.
- “500 Synthesis”. Figaro Magazine. 1997.
- “530 Explained by Monglane”. A2CO Database. 2001.
- “530 Synthesis”. Figaro Magazine. 1997.
- “780 Synthesis”. Figaro Magazine. 1997.
- valentin, max. “The 780 Special Case”. Public Answers Database. 19 August 1995.
- “600 Explained by Monglane”. A2CO Database. 2001.
- “600 Synthesis”. Figaro Magazine. 1997.
- “B Explained by Monglane”. A2CO Database. 2001.
- Valentin, Max. “The 11 Riddles Sequence”. Public Answers Database. 11 November 1995.
- “B Synthesis”. Figaro Magazine. 1997.
- “420 Explained by Monglane”. A2CO Database. 2001.
- “420 Synthesis”. Figaro Magazine. 1997.
- “520 Synthesis”. Figaro Magazine. 1997.
- “650 Synthesis”. Figaro Magazine. 1997.
- “470 Explained by Monglane”. A2CO Database. 2001.
- “470 Synthesis”. Figaro Magazine. 1997.
- “560 Synthesis”. Figaro Magazine. 1997.
- “580 Explained by Monglane”. A2CO Database. 2001.
- “580 Synthesis”. Figaro Magazine. 1997.

Other sources of information:

Official Site of the Golden Owl: Editions-ChouetteDOr.com

Informative Fan Page: GoldenOwlHunt.com

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Director of Areas Grey

Adam is an avid treasure hunter, seeker of adventure and the creator of Areas Grey. After travelling for almost half his life and cataloguing over 100 treasure legends along the way. He decided this was simply far too much treasure for one person to chase! As a result he created Areas Grey so he could share his stories, connect with other treasure hunters and put a little more adventure in the lives of the treasure hunting community.

Adam is a Private Investigator and former Wilderness Guide with a passion for history and archaeology. With the skills, knowledge and gear, Adam is always eager to go on the next fortune seeking adventure and connect with fellow treasure hunters along the way.

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“There is only one truth, and it must be found. But the way is sometimes turntling and sowed with traps. Whose fault is it? Not mine! .. I repeat: Not mine!”

– Max Valentin (Régis Hauser), 1993

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THE BOSSALL TREASURE

An Armchair Treasure Hunt

Overview

In January 2014 Douglas George Pearson published an armchair treasure hunt book titled ‘The Bossall Treasure’. Unlike most armchair treasure hunt books this book was centred around Pearson’s own family history and their connection to a real life treasure of the Knights Templar!

The exciting real life story of Peason’s ancestors is complemented by the armchair treasure hunt scattered throughout the pages. Cryptic images which would lead a worthy treasure hunter to a precise location somewhere in England where Pearson had buried an ornate gold plated Lorraine cross.

After almost 10 years the Croix de Lorraine remained hidden despite the efforts of many armchair treasure hunt enthusiasts. That was until September 2021 when the clues were finally solved and the treasure was found!

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The Legend

This isn’t just a well researched and well written story you could read over and over for entertainment, it is also a book filled with clues leading people to find a gold Lorraine cross buried somewhere in England.

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The Treasure

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The Clues

The puzzles & clues range in difficulty and complexity with some requiring some serious thought, but Pearson found a way to keep the puzzles engaging and challenging enough that you could spend days working on them and not give up out of frustration.

Pearson spent three years creating the book and the puzzles. With no one to test the clues on, Pearson needed to spend hours looking at other types of puzzles, brain teasers and even the solutions to Kit Williams’ treasure hunt Masquerade in order to gauge the difficulty levels of the clues.

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Conclusion

Sadly, while writing this post I was informed that Douglas G Pearson had passed away.

He will be sorely missed, but never forgotten by the community he touched with his creativity.

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Director of Areas Grey

Adam is a Private Investigator and former Wilderness Guide with a passion for history and archaeology. With the skills, knowledge and gear, Adam is always eager to go on the next fortune seeking adventure and connect with fellow treasure hunters along the way.

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“The discovery served to confirm a long-existing tradition, that the money and rich plate had been hidden by our ancestor Sir Robert Belt, during the Civil War, in that part of the pleasure ground.”

– William John Belt, 1779

THE SECRET

A Treasure Hunt

Overview

The Secret is a treasure hunt started by Byron Preiss in 1982. Twelve treasure boxes were buried at secret locations across North America. As of August 2020 only three of the twelve boxes have been found.

Each of the twelve boxes contains a casque which holds a key. Once retrieved the keys can be exchanged for a valuable stone. Collectively the stones are said to be worth approximately ten thousand dollars.

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The Legend

Inspired by the hit armchair treasure hunt book Masquerade which took the world by storm in 1979, Byron Preiss decided to create his own armchair treasure hunt with not one, but 12 prizes hidden across the United States and Canada.

The puzzles consist of 12 images and 12 poems. Each poem must be paired with the correct image to correctly solve the puzzle. In 1983 a group of friends in Chicago found the first of the treasures, an emerald worth more than $1,000.

Years went by before another casque was found in 2004 in Cleveland. Another key had been exchanged for a precious gem. In 2005 Byron Preiss died in an accident leaving the responsibility of the game and its prizes to his family. Another casque was then found in 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts.

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The Treasure

For each cask retrieved the finder is rewarded a valuable gem or stone in exchange for the key found. The book explains the following for the value of the treasures as well as some rules around the treasure hunt:

“The jewels collectively are worth over ten thousand dollars. The treasure casques themselves are of incalculable value, never having been owned by man or woman.”

“Every treasure casque is buried underground, at a depth of no more than three to three and one-half feet. The casques are protected by lustrous transparent boxes, and are sealed.”

“The following places do not hold any treasure:

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The Clues

Inside the book there are twelve cryptic images and twelve verses as seen below in the order they appear in the book.

Image

Verse

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Conclusion

Since 1982 when the Treasure Hunt began only three treasure casques have been found as follows:

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In 2019 a third casque was found in Boston, Massachusetts and featured on a series finale of a television series: ‘Expedition Unknown’. In the episode they pair up verse 3 and image 11 and by following the clues find themselves at the North End Baseball Field.

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So, what about the other 9 treasures hidden across North America?

Below is a table of the generally accepted pairings of verses and images along with the cities the treasures are suspected to be buried.

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Written By

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ADAM L C

Director of Areas Grey

Adam is a Private Investigator and former Wilderness Guide with a passion for history and archaeology. With the skills, knowledge and gear, Adam is always eager to go on the next fortune seeking adventure and connect with fellow treasure hunters along the way.

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