Mystery Of The Week
Calling on all those who fancy themselves as code breakers. Here’s a chance to pocket a prize of €2,000.
The council of the French village of Plougastel-Daoulas in Brittany has decided to intensify efforts to crack the mystery of a strange inscription carved on to a rock, discovered a few years back and only visible at low tide. To date, its message has eluded the best endeavours of local experts and the responsibility of cracking the contents of the seemingly random array of letters and words, known locally as the Breton Rosetta Stone, has been passed to a wider audience.
The only discernible clues are two dates, 1786 and 1787, and the fact that the lettering uses Latin script. At the time there would have been an artillery battery at nearby Corbeau Fort and one theory is that the message is written in Basque or Old Breton. Alternatively, it could be a hoax.
All answers on the back of a postcard to the Mayor of Plougastel-Daoulas, please.
