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-10752
Then 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.
DU CIEL VIENT LA LUMIERE
C’E-10752-365 LA Q-30667-E L’AIGLE
I-687-90677-RI-687-A LA
687-ARQ-30667-E DE 10752-E-10752 10752-ERRE-10752
DA-60140-10752 LE 10752-ABLE,
CENT 4330-O-30667-R-10752 AVA-60140-365 DE 10752-E
CA-10752-10752-ER LE BEC
E-365 Y LAI-10752-10752-ER 10752-E-10752
90677-L-30667-687-E-10752
Alors prête un arc à Apollon :
de là, il comptera 1969,697 mesures vers le zénith.
En une 46.241.860ème fraction de jour sidéral,
son trait s’abattra.
A 2424-42-424-44-224-24-42-24 take the orthogonal.
To find the Spiral with four centers ,
560,606 measures, is far.
But by the Mega it is a million times less.
Solvability: The town revealed by this clue is certain, but no one understand the Spiral.
This clue reveals the town of Carignan, and from there, at 560,606 measures we find a ‘Spiral with four centres.’ No one seems to know what this means, is it a feature on the map, or do we trace a spiral design?
The reference to the ‘Mega’ is all about the super solution or ‘mega solution’ stage of the hunt. Once all 11 clues have been solved we switch from a 1:1,000,000 scale map to the most detailed map we can find showing the area where the treasure is buried.
How the solution is reached
The title of the enigma is the first verse of the hymn of Vespers of the office of Saint John the Baptist written in the ninth century. This hymn was used by Gui d’Arezzo to name the musical notes, and music is used in this clue’ solution. More details of the hymn and a translation can be found on Wikipedia here.
Simply decoding 2424 using dots and dashes gives us NKMUANA, which is meaningless. However the music staff and clue title suggest we consider musical measures. In a music 2/4 measure, a long note is white and a 1/ 2 measure and a brief note is black and a 1/ 4 measure. So we use this concept and 2 = line and 4 = a point. This works! The decryption gives: CARIGNAN. This must be right, Carignan is a small town in the Ardennes.
We have a location, but now we must use an ‘orthogonal’, which can be taken to mean a right angle. And to find the ‘Spiral with four centres’ it is 560,606 measures. Assuming the game measure is 33cm, then 560606*0.33m = 184999.98 m = 185 km.
Despite all this precision no one seems very sure what this mysterious ‘spiral with four centres’ means.
The visual
The clue pictures shows a walrus (or ‘le morse’) to suggest morse code. There is a musical G clef and scale with 5 lines and 4 lines in alternating colours, this suggests the musical solution to the puzzle. There is also a ruler, set square and a compass. The upper end of the ruler is not visible but the length of the image ruler is 18.5cm which suggests we are correct with a 185km calculation as this will be 18.5cm on the Michelin map. The geometry instruments suggest the drawing of lines. There is also a thicket of grass, and it seems that each clue that needs lines on the map shows these stylised lines of grass.
Points to consider
The word “borrow” is used in this translation, but “emprunter” also means in French “follow” or “take this path”. Both meanings could be useful.
We know we need to measure or draw a 185km line at a right angle from Carignan. It is often assumed that a line is drawn from the previously uncovered locations Roncesvalles and Bourges to Carignan and then turning right at an ‘orthogonal’ right angle.
Approximately 185km from Carignan at this angle is the town of Dabo. This place has links with treasure hunting in the past and the St-Leon chapel on top of Dabo Rock has a spiral shaped path on the way to the church.
There are many enthusiastic owl hunters who believe Dabo is the ‘spiral with four centres.’ Some even think this means the owl is buried in Dabo, rather than this being another town to add to the many scattered towns on the map.
Taking a right angle the other way 185km lands in the suburbs of Lille. Not many people have an interest in this alternative location.
It’s worth bearing in mind that we don’t know if the ‘orthogonal’ is drawn from this map, or how we use the line, nor do we actually understand what the ‘spiral with four centres’ means.
My problem with settling on Dabo for this solution is that the path around the church doesn’t have ‘four centres.’
This clue also indirectly indicates the map to use for the treasure hunt, a 1: 1,000,000 scale, with a supplementary clue revealing the Michelin brand. This suggests that the accuracy of the treasure hunt and its lines on the map will be affected by the map used. I love using Google maps for the ease of moving and measuring plotted lines, but I use cheap eBay sourced old Michelin 989 maps for serious planning.
In conclusion
We have discovered another town, Carignan.
We need to work out what the ‘four centred spiral’ means, this can be found at the ‘orthogonal’ 185km from Cargignan. Many people believe this is a spiral path in Dabo.
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.
UT QUEANT LAXIS
A 2424-42-424-44-224-24-42-24, emprunte l’orthogonale.
Pour trouver la Spirale à quatre centres,
560.606 mesures, c’est loin.
Mais par le Méga, c’est un million de fois moins.
WHEN AL-MAR ALLIES WITH PRENESTE’S FIBULA, DARKNESS SHINES
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.
Solvability: This clue is one of the main sticking points in this treasure hunt.
This clue is decoded using the A=0, B=1, C=3 formula from the previous his clue plus a knowledge of chemical elements. This reveals a mysterious phrase that has everyone stumped.
‘The key is hidden on a black perched ship.’
This clue has led to all sorts of theories about where this black ship is found.
How the solution is reached
When we replace the letters of the text with the numbers found in the previous enigma (B will be worth 1, C will be 2, etc …) we find a series of decimal numbers which are, in fact, the atomic masses of chemical elements.
When we replace each atomic mass with the symbol of the corresponding chemical element, we find the mysterious phrase “The key is on a black perched ship.”
Here is the detail of the decoding (from WikiChouette)
The values of the atomic masses vary depending on the source used, but the game was created in 1993, and a table using these exact values has been found.
The visual
The visual contains a picture of the key that forms part of the solution. It’s held by a clenched fist. It doesn’t appear to give any additional information to add to the solution of this clue.
The title of this enigma
The title only vaguely connects to the method of solution, a title reflecting science or chemicals might have been more approriate. Is it worth considering Max’s choice of words in case they give another meaning?
Al-Mar is the Arabic translation of the name of the Moors, who gave the origin of Arabic numerals while, the Fibula of Préneste involves the first use of our Latin alphabet. So the alliance of the Moors and the Fibula suggests, in a general way, the association of numbers and letters.
These two concepts may also suggest a geographical direction, perhaps ecing the angle of the key. Moors were associated with the North west Africa, while the Latin alphabet is associated with Rome.
“Darkness shines” uses the repeated theme of light, solving this clue means light shines in the darkness.
Points to consider
Finding the key and the black perched ship is a block to continuing the treasure hunt. If this clue is not solved it seems difficult to progress to the next stage. Yet there is little consensus on what the hand in the picture, the key, and the black ship means.
Some people look for coat of arms with key or ship symbols, such as Saint-Nazaire, or Saint-Nicolas-de-Port. The motto of the city of Angers is ‘Antique key of France ‘ and this city was found in the previous enigma, the 580.
Is the ‘black perched ship’ a physical thing, like this ship in Perpignan?
Or a building…?
Or on a coat of arms?
There is some connection to the ‘becalmed nave’ in the clue 600. Max gave a Supplementary Clue that said: “Born key in hand in the 600, you will find it in the 560.” This might mean that if you understand the key of this clue you will also understand how the Nave is ‘born’ in the 600.
Some people believe this extra clue means the ‘black ship’ and Nave location are the same place, though it is not clear why they are listed twice.
With just a few words we are expected to find a key, how or why it is hidden and a ‘black ship’ perched or suspended some how. It is possible there are other clues in the book that connect to this one to make the finding possible.
In conclusion
The line ‘The key is on the black perched ship’ or ‘ LA CLEF SE CACHE SUR UN NAVIRE NOIR PERCHE’ remains mysterious. It’s possible this cryptic clue will make more sense when other elements of the puzzle are solved.
‘Madits’ are the things Max said (‘Max dits’) about the treasure hunt. He answered searcher’s questions on a Minitel service (an early form of internet.)
In Le Figaro Magazine (published on Saturday July 26 , 1997 , pages 72-73) Max gave the following summary about the 600 clue:
The visual of this enigma is above all a symbolic image.
The metal that was used to make the Fibula de Préneste has no importance for this treasure hunt. What is important is what this item means and represents in terms of reference.
” Al-mar ” is a word of foreign origin. Its meaning, once found – and symbolically associated with that of the Fibula of Préneste – provides you with an explanation as to how to decipher the letters that form the textual enigma.
The angle that the hand and the key form with the central axis of the visual does not matter, nor does the length of the key.
Some more madits:
QUESTION n ° 31 OF 1999-05-31
TITLE: 650
BONJOUR MAX. BORN KEY IN HAND IN THE 650 … CAN THE PLACE OF THIS “BIRTH” BE PRECISELY LOCATED AT THE END OF THE 650? MINNIE
THE ADDITIONAL INDICATION DOES NOT TALK ABOUT THE 650, MINNIE, BUT OF THE 600 … THE ANSWER IS YES (IF IT IS REALLY THE 600). FRIENDSHIPS – MAX
QUESTION n ° 2 FROM 2000-03-15
TITLE: SOLUTION 600
ONCE FOUND ARE WE ABLE TO KNOW WHAT IT MEANS OR DO YOU LEARN THAT LATER? JONES
SORRY, THE QUESTION IS TOO SPECIFIC. ELSEWHERE I REMIND YOU THAT NOTHING PROHIBITS AN ENIGMA FROM “COUPLING” NATURALLY WITH ANOTHER TO FORM A COHERENT TOGETHER. A GENERAL RESPONSE. FRIENDSHIPS – MAX
QUESTION n ° 31 FROM 1999-08-09
TITLE: TITLE 600
HELLO MAX I WISH YOU A GOOD WEEK. MAX, SHOULD THE TITLE OF THE 600 BE CONSIDERED AT THE BEGINNING OR RATHER AT THE END OF THE ENIGMA? THANKS
IN THE BEGINNING. FRIENDSHIPS AND HAPPY WEEK TO YOU ALSO MAX
QUESTION n ° 30 OF 1998-05-28
TITLE: 600 – MERLIN
ONCE THE BDI, J … ETC ARE DECRYPTED DO WE THROW AWAY THE TITLE OR CAN IT STILL SERVE US?
IT’S UP TO YOU TO FIND THIS ANSWER. I CAN’T HELP YOU … FRIENDSHIPS – MAX
QUESTION n ° 5 FROM 1998-02-09
TITLE: THE 600
DID WE TAKE A BIG STEP WHEN WE SEE AND UNDERSTAND THE MESSAGE FROM THE 600? ROXANE
IT IS IMPORTANT. BUT YOU ARE NOT YET AT THE END OF YOUR SENTENCES … FRIENDSHIPS – MAX
There is a madit in which Max Valentin, probably due to being inattentive, seems to validate the solution to this riddle and the existence of a ‘black perched ship.’
QUESTION n ° 15 FROM 2001-11-08
TITLE: THE BLACK PERCHED SHIP
IS THE APPEARANCE OF A NEW BLACK PERCHED SHIP A BAD NEW THING OR NOT?
WHY “A NEW”? THIS IS HIGHLY IMPROBABLE! FRIENDSHIPS – MAX
QUESTION n ° 49 FROM 1997-04-14
TITLE: SYMBOLICALLY
WILL SAINT PETER HAVE THE KEY THAT LEADS TO ETERNITY? FRIENDSHIP-EUREKA
SAINT “PETER” ??? I DON’T KNOW HIM, EUREKA. AS TO SAINT PETER, HE HAS NO ROLE TO PLAY IN THIS CHASSE! FRIENDSHIPS – MAX
QUESTION n ° 48 OF 1996-10-18
TITLE: THE HAND
THE HAND WITH THE KEY IS IT: 1 COLOURED 2 COMING OUT OF THE WATER 3 FROZEN 4 NOT IMPORTANT 5 OTHER 6 THANKS
5 – MAX
QUESTION n ° 14 FROM 1995-10-23
TITLE: MY HAND?
IS THE HAND REPRESENTED IN THE 600 A REPRESENTATION OF ONE OF THE 2 HANDS THAT WILL FIND THE OWL?
I CANNOT TELL YOU WHAT THIS HAND REPRESENTS, EXCEPT THAT IT IS A LEFT HAND … FRIENDSHIPS – MAX
QUESTION n ° 42 FROM 2001-05-22
TITLE: THE VISUAL OF THE 600
IS THERE A SINGLE INTERPRETATION?
EXCEPT TO ASK ME IF THERE ARE SEVERAL, THE ANSWER IS YES. FRIENDSHIPS – MAX
LINKS
You will find more Madits on Airyn’s excellent Wikichouette site. (French)
THE RIGHT WAY IS THE WAY OF THE OPPOSITE WAY, AND INVERSELY
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
Solvability: The answer to this clue is certain – but there may be more to it than meets the eye.
Solving this clue reveals 10 French towns that each give a letter and number which will be used to decode the next clue.
B ourges will be worth 1
C herbourg will be worth 2
D ieppe will be worth 3
E pernay will be worth 4
F orbach will be worth 5
G erardmer will be worth 6
H éricourt worth 7
Issoire will be worth 8
J arnac will be worth 9
A ngers will be worth 0
Is there any use for these towns aside from the next clue, or are they more or less random?
How the solution is reached
This is a musical puzzle. The inverted ‘meaning’ of the title involves swapping numbers for letters, then swapping those into musical notes. First you need to replace all the numbers with the letters using the numbers to show the rank in the alphabet, so 1 = A, B = 2, C=3 etc. Then, the order of the letters is reversed, and, whenever a musical note appears in the sequence, we replace the letters composing these notes by the letter corresponding to this note. This solution is suggested by the visual with the list of musical notes, B, A, G etc.
So where the text says ‘LA’ we translate that to A, ‘SI’ we turn to B etc. See this Wikipedia page for the full list.
Here is the detail of the decoding (thanks to WikiChouette) – note the inversion between the 2nd and the 3rd column.
LA = A; SI = B; DO = C; RE = D; MI = E; FA = F; SOL = G
19.9.13.12.15.19.18.21.15.9.19
SIMLOSRUOIS
(SI) OUR (SOL) (MI) S
(B) OUR (G) (E) S
12.15.19.18.21.15.9.19.18.9.13.8.15.4
LOSRUOISRIMHOD
(DO) H (MI) R (SI) OUR (SOL)
(C) H (E) R (B) OUR (G)
9.13.16.16.9.13.9.5.18
IMPPIMIER
(RE) I (MI) PP (MI)
(D) I (E) PP (E)
25.1.12.14.18.9.13.16.9.13
YALNRIMPIM
(MI) P (MI) RN (LA) Y
(E) P (E) RN (A) Y
8.15.4.1.12.9.19.18.15.1.6
HODALISROAF
(FA) OR (SI) (LA) (DO) H
(F) OR (B) (A) (C) H
18.9.13.13.5.18.18.1.12.18.9.13.12.15.19
RIMMERRALRIMLOS
(SOL) (MI) R (LA) R (RE) M (MI) R
(G) (E) R (A) R (D) M (E) R
20.18.21.15.15.4.9.18.9.13.8.
TRUOODIRIMH
H (MI) RI (DO) Ourt
H (E) RI (C) Ourt
9.13.18.9.15.19.19.9
IMRIOSSI
ISSOIR (MI)
ISSOIR (E)
15.4.1.12.14.18.1.12.10
ODALNRALJ
J (LA) RN (LA) (OD)
J (A) RN (A) (C)
19.18.9.13.12.15.19.14.1.12
SRIMLOSNAL
(LA) N (SOL) (MI) RS
(A) N (G) (E) RS
The visual
The visual contains the letters BAGFEDC, which are all musical notes, and there are three musicians, the instruments appear to be a saxophone and a double bass. The double bass has a highlighted shape which suggests a circle and a line of light. It is not clear whether this is significant in any way.
Points to consider
The towns when plotted on a map appear to be in a particular order, creating a clockwise rotation of a circle around Bourge. This may be significant because Bourges is the city we discover in the ‘Opening’ clue 530.
Cherbourg and Bourge are mentioned in clues x and 530, the other towns do not appear in any other clues.
Max did use the plotting of towns on a map in a previous treasure hunt in the Treasury of Malbrouck one clue involved connecting 40 cities on the map to draw a ram’s head. This shape does not appear to be anything recognisable.
Many towns could have been chosen to represent the letters A to J but it seems Max deliberately chose towns that form a rotation of clockwise direction from Bourge. If the title’s ‘opposite way’ is to be believed we might be expected to think counter-clockwise.
In conclusion
We have discovered an A=0, B=1, C=2 method to decode the next clue.
It is not clear whether the towns themselves, or their order or placing on the map, gives information that serves some other purpose in solving the Golden Owl treasure hunt.
There is no obvious use for Angers = 0. Why did Max include this town and number?
It is possible that the 10 towns and cities listed here are a red herring, or perhaps they are used at the ‘super solution’ stage.
THE GOOD SENSE, 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
LE BONS SENS, C’EST LE SENS DU CONTRESENS, ET INVERSEMENT
FROM THE SKY COMES THE LIGHT
UT QUEANT LAXIS
The town revealed by this clue is certain, but no one understand the Spiral.
There are many enthusiastic owl hunters who believe Dabo is the ‘spiral with four centres.’ Some even think this means the owl is buried in Dabo, rather than this being another town to add to the many scattered towns on the map.
WHEN AL-MAR ALLIES WITH PRENESTE’S FIBULA, DARKNESS SHINES
This clue is one of the main sticking points in this treasure hunt.
WHEN AL-MAR ALLIES TO PRAENESTE FIBULA, DARKNESS SHINE
THE RIGHT WAY IS THE WAY OF THE OPPOSITE WAY, AND INVERSELY
The answer to this clue is certain – but there may be more to it than meets the eye.
