18th Century writing carved into French rock is baffling experts – and there’s a £1,500 reward for anyone who can decipher the message
A SMALL French village is offering a bucketful of cash to anyone who can decipher an 18th Century inscription on a mysterious rock.
Officials at the Brittany spot have been left scratching their heads over the cryptic writing, which was engraved in a slab on a nearby beach.
They’re offering over £1,700 to anyone who can work out what the roughly 20 lines of writing say.
First discovered a few years ago, the slab of stone is in a cove that you can only get to at low tide at a remote beach near the village of Plougastel.
It features capitalised and upside down letters, as well as Scandinavian-style Ø letters and carvings of a boat and heart with a cross on it.
Local experts reckon the message may be written in old Breton or Basque. Two dates are visible – 1786 and 1787.
“This inscription is a mystery and it is for this that we are launching the appeal,” Veronique Martin, who is leading the search, told AFP.
One theory is that the inscription is linked to the building of naval bases in the area shortly after France and England went to war in 1783.
“These dates correspond more or less to the years that various artillery batteries that protected Brest and notably Corbeau Fort which is right next to it,” Veronique added.
Despite investigations from various local experts, no one is sure what it means.
In part, it reads: “ROC AR B… DRE AR GRIO SE EVELOH AR VIRIONES BAOAVEL… R I OBBIIE: BRISBVILAR… FROIK…AL.”
A public appeal for help deciphering the stone has now been launched.
“We’ve asked historians and archaeologists from around here, but no-one has been able to work out the story behind the rock,” said Dominique Cap, Mayor of Plougastel.
“So we thought maybe out there in the world there are people who’ve got the kind of expert knowledge that we need. Rather than stay in ignorance, we said let’s launch a competition.”
Language and archaeology buffs can take a swing by registering at the mayor’s administration. Hundreds have applied already, reports the BBC.
They’ll be sent photos of the inscription, which they must decipher by November.
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What do you think the inscription says? Let us know in the comments!
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