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The Secret (a treasure hunt) / Image 11 Verse 3 Solution
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Image 11 Verse 3 Solution

Page history last edited by Oregonian 10 months, 4 weeks ago

 

Synopsis

  The casque associated with Image 11 and Verse 3 is (or was) buried at the "Two Circles" structure in Boston, MA, within a few feet of these coordinates: 42°20'53.8"N 71°05'30.3"W

 

  The Paul Revere reference gets us to Boston.  The names of two ancient Greek historians gets us to Copley Square.  The box with a light coming from below sends us into the subway and an obscure reference to a letter by Horace Walpole sends us west five stops on the Green Line.  A reference to a "green tower of lights" tells us to walk to Fenway Park via Kenmore Square.  Visual references to gardens and monuments tell us to proceed through the Back Bay Fens.  By exploring the area we discover a curious little park with two circles of brickwork.  Various references to the sidewalk, bridge, and utility boxes at the site confirm that we are in the right place.  Standing with our back to the steps should put us in the right place to dig.

 

 

Detailed Solution

 

The solution given below will present clues from the verse and the image in a way that narrows down the search area to that specific point.  Bits of the original image are shown with a tan background.  Lines from the verse have a yellow background.  (For more detail about any particular clue, check the page for Image 11 or Verse 3.) 
Clues Interpretations

 

"Peridot of old Italy:
Antique, and olivine, and rich"

  The jewel in the image is sometimes mistaken for an emerald, but it is a peridot, the birthstone for August.  The "Litany of the Jewels" tells us that the immigration connection for this stone is to Italy.

 

  To solve Image 11, we need to start with a city that has an Italian connection.

  The shapes formed by the hair (with the blue halo effect around them) resemble piers jutting out into a harbor.  This makes sense because most Italian immigrants would have arrived in an East Coast city by ship during the 1800's.

 

  We're looking for an East Coast major port city with a lot of Italian immigrants.

 

15) Eighteenth day

16) Twelfth hour

17) Lit by lamplight

  Paul Revere's historic "midnight ride" occurred in Boston on the 18th of April in 1775.  He was following a signal conveyed by lamps hung in the Old North Church ("one if by land, two if by sea").  It's one of the most famous historical events connected to the city.  These lines from the end of the verse give a solid confirmation of the city.

 

  We should be looking in Boston.

 

 

1) If Thucydides is

2) North of Xenophon

3) Take five steps

4) In the area of his direction

 

  The connection between two ancient Greek historians and the city of Boston might not be immediately obvious, but a few Bostonians probably felt a twinge of recognition.  Those are two of the names of scholars and historical figures that are carved into the facade on the front of the Boston Public Library facing Copley Square.

 

  Investigating the names would reveal a problem, though.  The front of the library faces east and "Thucydides" is to the left of "Xenophon," which means that Thucydides is actually south of Xenophon.  So it seems to be too much of a coincidence, and yet it doesn't match the verse precisely.  (And who is the person giving us this "direction"?  There's no statue pointing off in some direction, or anything like that.)

 

  The clue seems to be drawing us here to this spot and yet there has to be something more, beyond what we're seeing.  Fortunately, Preiss has brought us to a library where we can do some research.

 

 

 

1) If Thucydides is

2) North of Xenophon

3) Take five steps

4) In the area of his direction

 

  Searchers going into the library to look for references to the two Greek historians would eventually discover that in 1774, Horace Walpole sent a letter to Horace Mann that included the following line:

 

"The next Augustan age will dawn on the other side of the Atlantic. There will, perhaps, be a Thucydides at Boston, a Xenophon at New York." 

 

  The lines from the verse match the quote from Walpole's letter (Boston is north of New York), and the mention of Boston is overwhelming confirmation that we are looking in the right city.  The quote also solves the mystery of "his direction."  Walpole was writing (from Europe) about "the other side of the Atlantic" (i.e., the west).  So that's where Walpole is directing us to go.

 

  The direction we need to go (from Copley Square) is west.

 

 

  So now we're coming out of the Boston Public Library in triumph.  We have found the right starting point in Boston — with the names "Thucydides" and "Xenophon" displayed in the same place — and the direction where we need to go is west.  But how?  And how far is a "step"?

 

  We are now in downtown Boston, but it's a very densely populated area.  Parks are well-maintained and open areas are full of historical significance.  Digging here would have been impossible (even in 1981).  We need to get away from the crowded area.  So our "steps" to the west need to be big ones, far bigger than a footstep.  And yet there has to be a definite measurement for a "step" so that we end up in the right place.

 

  Searchers leaving the library and looking around for clues would notice a large, boldface, sans-serif T on display very close by.  It is the symbol for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (known to locals as "the T") and it's also a very strong match for the perch used by the bird in Image 11. 

 

  Searchers might also notice that the box the woman is holding has a slanted lid with light spilling up from below, similar to the way a subway entrance appears in the evening.  The subway would quickly get searchers away from the downtown area and into a safe place to dig.  And the subway makes very clear "steps" between stops.  This is a way for us to take "five steps" west and all end up in the same place.

 

  There has been a Copley station since 1914 and it is only served by the Green Line, so our directions are clear.

 

  We should start at the Copley T station and go west 5 stops on the Green Line.

 

MBTA.svg

Now we have a choice to make. There are five ways one can take the subway from Copley.  The main Green Line goes east, so that's out.  The E Branch goes southeast and was undergoing significant renovation in 1980, with a lot of closures, so it doesn't seem likely.  That leaves us with three possibilities: the B Branch, the C Branch, or the D Branch.  Here's where five steps on each of those would take us.  (Dates of construction indicate that all of these stations existed in 1980.)

 

 



  Anyone looking to the west of Copley Square for possible destinations would notice the similarity between the Back Bay Fens and Image 11.  The fens form the shape of a bent left arm, with a clear shoulder, elbow, forearm, and hand. The Muddy River that flows through the fens creates a winding blue line that weaves back and forth in the area between the "elbow" and the "shoulder."

 

 In addition, two city streets beside the fens create the impression of an upraised thumb and a straight-line bracelet that goes across the "wrist" of the arm.

 

 

  Of the three possible subway destinations, Brookline is the farthest away from our "back bay fens arm."  Hawes is significantly closer.  But the Boston University Central station is in line with the "thumb" of the arm, directly down Park Drive.

 

 

    This is the point where searchers might have a hunch but would need some confirmation.  If the woman's arm is really the Back Bay Fens and we are really supposed to take the Green Line five stops from Copley to Boston University Central, what is the significance of the castle under the woman's thumb?

 

Answer: The castle on the box matches the Boston University Castle. It has battlements with the same number of openings as the battlement on the box.  It also has a pitched roof at the same perspective as the image.  And the castle is an iconic Boston landmark with a long and interesting history.

 


  The photo on the left shows how the Boston University Castle looks today.  The photo on the right illustrates how the castle may be represented in Image 11.

 

  Notably, the entrance to the Boston University Castle is flanked by two gateposts topped with spheres, as shown in the photo.

 

  The Boston University Castle is located on Bay State Rd. across Storrow drive from the Charles River Esplanade, at the end of Back St. where it curves and becomes Granby.


 

So consider how we got to this point:

  • The verse told us to look in Boston and steered us to Copley Square
  • The image told us to go down into a subway station and take the T system
  • The verse told us to go west
  • The image steered us to the arm-shaped Back Bay Fens
  • The verse told us to go five steps (or stops) on the subway
  • The image confirmed that we should arrive at Boston University

 

This is exactly the sort of interplay between verse and image that Byron Preiss described.  He always made it clear that solving one of these puzzles would require using both the image and the verse in combination.

 

From here Preiss gives us abundant clues about our next destination.

 

 

  One of the upper panels on the stole shows a "2" inside a box (turned sideways and half hidden in a shadow).  The arrangement resembles a highway sign, presumably representing Massachusetts Route 2, which crosses the Charles River on the Boston University Bridge and then runs along Mountfort Street and Park Drive to the intersection with Beacon Street.

 

  Route 2 is also the major road that goes from Boston to Lexington and Concord, which fits in with the mention of Paul Revere's ride.

 

  The bird forms a pig's head with its claws in front of a strip on the wall, making the rebus:  "beak" + "bacon" + "street" = "Beacon Street"

 

  From the intersection with Park Drive, Mass Route 2 runs eastwards along Beacon Street to Kenmore Square.  (If you stand at the right place, you can see Beacon Street, Kenmore Square, the huge Citgo sign, and a Route 2 highway sign all at the same time.)

 


 

  The triangle on the stole resembles the most famous triangle in Boston: the huge Citgo sign, located at 600 Beacon Street, near Kenmore Square.  Both have a wide rectangle framing a set of concentric triangles that point upwards.  Anyone crossing Beacon Street between BU and the fens would have a view of the sign.

(Citgo sign photo by Beyond My Ken - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link) 

 

 

  The symbol on the woman's stole indicates we're looking for a street grid that forms a double "A." Because Beacon street runs at a diagonal relative to the regular street grids, there are at least two strong candidates (shown at left).  The place where both of those patterns overlap is at Kenmore Square on Beacon Street.

 

 

We should follow Route 2 from Boston University to Kenmore Square on Beacon Street

 

 

5) A green tower of lights

6) In the middle section

  From Kenmore Square the verse gives us a strong clue to one of the most famous landmarks in Boston: the left field wall at Boston's Fenway Park, also known as the "Green Monster."  The park is directly south of Kenmore Square and we can get there by taking the Brookline Avenue bridge over the Massachusetts Turnpike.

 

  We are supposed to walk south along Brookline to Fenway Park.

 

 

Here's the Green Monster with the "towers of lights" and the Citgo sign in the background.

 

Photo by user KnightLago on en.wikipedia - description page is here, CC BY-SA 3.0

 

 

So now we've crossed over the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) and we've reached the corner of Fenway Park at the intersection of Brookline and Lansdowne.  And what an amazing view!  Looking northeast up Brookline we've got a direct view of the huge Citgo sign.  Looking east along Lansdowne we've got an exterior view of the Green Monster.  The wall is built like a battleship, with massive steel girders to hold up the weight of those towers.

 

Photo by user Mr. Littlehand on Flickr - CC BY 2.0

 

 

7) Near those

8) Who pass the coliseum

9) With metal walls

  A coliseum is a place of ritual sports battles, and Fenway Park certainly qualifies.  And the Green Monster, which forms the northern edge of the park, is very definitely a metal wall ("constructed from 30,000 pounds of Toncan iron").  If "those who pass" means the drivers on the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) which runs parallel to that north wall, then we need to stay close to the freeway and go alongside that north edge of the park.

 

  We should go east on Lansdowne toward the Back Bay Fens.

 

 

  At the corner of Lansdowne and Ipswich there's a big, cavernous building.  It's currently a bowling place called Lucky Strike Social, but in the early 1980s it was a rollerskating arena called Spinoff.   Photos taken from the turnpike show that it had big windows made from many small, square panes forming a checkerboard.

 

  The windows facing Lansdowne have all been replaced now, but it's worth noting that a few of the windows on Ipswich still appear to be the older originals and a few of them are painted in a black and white checkerboard.  Did more of those windows have the pattern in 1980?  Were we supposed to see a match on Lansdowne with the patterns on the stole worn by the woman in Image 11?  There's no way to say for sure without pictures, but it's an interesting possibility.

 



  The similarity between Image 11 and the keyhole design of the Kelleher Rose Garden in the Fens was one of the first connections made by searchers in Boston.  Both have large, concentric circles connected by a thin line to a rectangle below.

 

  Note that this is a large, obvious clue that would be visible on a map.

 

  Searchers who went to investigate the Kelleher Rose Garden immediately discovered that the rectangular front panel on the woman's dress (matching the rectangular part of the keyhole shape) has a pattern that very strongly matches a design on the fountain structure in the gardens.

 

  Like the windows on Lansdowne, this is part of the shift from large, well-known, map-level features (like Fenway Park) to smaller details that can only be discovered on the spot.  The casque wouldn't be hidden in a formal, well-maintained garden, though.

 

  The clue is a confirmation for the fens, but we still have a ways to go.

 



  The flared, black hair on either side of the woman in the picture resembles the wings spread out behind the figure of "Victory" in a World War II memorial in the Fens.  The memorial is northeast of the rose garden and in the direction of the turnpike.

 

  There's no chance that the casque would be buried at a war memorial and the site is quite a ways away from the Massachusetts Turnpike anyway.  Like the rose garden reference, this clue is just a general confirmation of the Back Bay Fens.

 

 

10) Face the water

11) Your back to the stairs

  These lines appear to tell us that we should be looking for a place where there is a flight of stairs near water.  Based on what we know about Image 11, "the water" in this case would most likely be the Muddy River, which flows through the Back Bay Fens and Charlesgate Park.

 

  As we go through the Fens, we should be looking for steps near some body of water.

 

 

12) Feel at home

  This is most likely a reference to the song "Dirty Water," recorded by the Standells in 1966.  The song's refrain emphasizes the line "Boston you're my home."  According to Wikipedia, the song "is beloved by the city of Boston and its sports fans."  The reference to "Dirty Water" would be particularly appropriate for a site along the Muddy River.

 

  We should stay near the Muddy River.

 

 

13) All the letters

14) Are here to see

  This is likely to be a reference to the Back Bay Fens Victory Gardens where the paths are labeled by letters of the alphabet.  The Victory Gardens are between the war memorial and the Massachusetts Turnpike in the Back Bay Fens.

 

  We should continue past the Victory Gardens on our way north.

 

 

  The "checkerboard" curve below the globe resembles the arch of the Boylston Street Bridge.  We see it as we pass the north end of the Victory Gardens.  (And the connection is emphasized by the reflection on the tabletop.) 

 

  Once we cross Boylston, there's no ground-level path to continue going through the Fens.  Our only option is the elevated walkway on the east side of Charlesgate that takes us over the Massachusetts Turnpike.  It doesn't seem like a good spot for digging, but Preiss has already assured us that we should stay near the Muddy River and stay "near those who pass the coliseum with metal walls."

 

  We are to continue north past the Boylston Street Bridge and over the Massachusetts Turnpike.


  Walking across the Charlesgate overpass, pedestrians have the chance to look down and see an unusual structure tucked in beside the freeway.  It's a circle and a curve, both made of bricks, with steps connecting them and a few lamp posts scattered around.  The official name and purpose of the structure are unknown but it has been in the same spot for decades.  Most people involved in The Secret call it "Two Circles" or "the 2C site." 

 

  The proportion of the two circles is captured perfectly in Image 11 and even the diagonal line connecting them is perfect.  This is no coincidence.

 

  We should take the first off-ramp and go down to ground level to investigate the "Two Circles" structure.

 

 

  We're in a hurry to examine the Two Circles structure, but take a moment to notice where we are.  The Charlesgate offramp from the overpass brings us down to Commonwealth Ave which is also the continuation of... Massachusetts Route 2!

 

  Searchers who skipped the whole Fenway Park / Back Bay Fens detour could still have discovered this same spot just by following Route 2 eastwards from Kenmore Square.  Very clever!

 





    At the bottom of the Charlesgate off-ramp, as we turn back south on the sidewalk to investigate the "two circles' structure that we saw from the overpass, we discover a white utility box with a flat, overhanging, rectangular lid.  And, behind the box on the side of the off-ramp, a pipe and a joint form a pair of parallel lines (one wide and one narrow) running along the side of the overpass.

 

  This is an overwhelmingly powerful match for the (otherwise pointless) tabletop and wall ridges in the lower left corner of the painting.  This is our "Aha Image."

 

  We are very close.

 

  If we examine the sidewalk where we are standing, near our Aha image, we discover the same unusual "h" shape from the window ring.

 

  This is not a common shape in city sidewalks!  Streetlights are usually placed in a grassy area between the sidewalk and the curb, to leave all of the sidewalk available for pedestrians.  Even when they're placed in a sidewalk like this, it's very rare for them to line up with the sidewalk joint.  (See photos on the Image 11 page for more info.)  And the "h" shape in the painting is even pointing directly at the bright star, as if to tell us that the shape is associated with a bright light.

 

 

17) Lit by lamplight

   At first glance, this line reads as if it is connected to the preceding two lines in Verse 3 and is part of the historical reference to Paul Revere's ride and the lanterns in the Old North Church.  That's deliberate, but it's only a ruse.  Preiss is actually drawing our attention to the streetlamps in the place where we're now standing.

 

  The streetlights in the Charlesgate area, north of the turnpike, have a very unusual, distinctive design.  They are large spheres held up by little "pegs" at the base.  One globe in Image 11 has the same kind of attachment, so Preiss seems to be drawing our attention to these lights in both the image and the verse.

 

  Why??

 

 

  The circular window behind the woman in Image 11 appears to be made of stone or concrete.  With the lines running across it like contraction joints, it isn't hard to picture this as a sidewalk.

 

  At the top of the circle there's a big, jagged crack that's too large to be in any city sidewalk.  By position and size it seems to be telling us to "tear here."

  If we tear apart our window sidewalk at the crack and take out the section that's hidden by the woman, we end up with two sidewalk strips — one marked by a bright star above a line and the other marked by a moon above and between two lines.

 

  There's a spot where the sidewalk splits and the outer edge fades away, showing us that the two sections of sidewalk should be joined by the bottom ends.

 

  Byron Preiss (presumably) did not expect us to use our Photoshop skills, but with just a piece of tracing paper and a pencil someone could easily map out two straight sidewalk strips from this.

 

Here are the two sidewalk strips we get out of that.

 

 

 

If we're matching our strips of sidewalk to the "Two Circles" site, the shape and position of the "h" tells us where to start.  And if the vertical line of the "h" is associated with a streetlight, maybe we should see if all the vertical lines are the same way.

 

Here's a map showing the area where we are now.  (Note that north is to the right.)  White circles are lamps or streetlights.  The white square is the box that formed the Aha image.

 

 

 This is the view at the Two Circles site if you are standing where the sidewalk splits, facing south.  The spherical streetlamps are all the same size, but when viewed from a distance they appear to be an array of different sizes, similar to all the spheres in Image 11.

 

 

 

Here's the same map of Two Circles paired up with the sidewalk strips around the window. And now, at last, we can see why the puzzle gives so much attention to spheres and lights in the night.  The vertical lines all match lights or lamps in the area!

 

The line in the "h" shape (which points to the star in the painting) matches the streetlight on Charlesgate East.  The other four lines match the distribution of those spherical streetlights.  And the two lines that frame the big, glowing moon in the image frame a notch beside a set of steps in the Two Circles structure.

 

 

Here, then, is the final hiding spot of the casque for Image 11.  It is (or, at least, was) buried in the notch of the Two circles spot.

 

Let's go down the magic list to check...

 

Face the water?
  Yep, there's a river directly in front of us, a few feet away
Back to the stairs?
  If you're facing the water, there's a little staircase of three steps behind you.
Feel at home?
  It's the Muddy River ("love that dirty water, Boston you're my home"). 
All the letters here to see?
  If your back is to the stairs, you're facing toward the victory gardens, where all the letters are used to identify the paths.
Lit by lamplight?
  There's a lamp post beside the steps that would throw light over your shoulder and illuminate the dig spot.

 

  On top of all that, it's a little-used spot of land where digging would do no harm.  There are barriers on all sides so a searcher wouldn't have to dig up a huge area to find the thing.  And the wall even provides a bit of cover so Preiss could bury the casque without being seen.

 

 

18) In truth, be free.

 

Who knows?  There are so many different references to truth and freedom in Boston that this could be almost anything.  Perhaps Preiss is just sending us off with his own pearl of wisdom.

 

 

Final Location: 42°20'53.8"N  71°05'30.3"W

(Latitude: 42.348289, Longitude: 71.091754)

 

 

 

The Route Through Boston

  The standard pattern in The Secret is that we should move from the well-known, iconic spots to the obscure hidden bits that even a native wouldn't know.  The map on the right shows the route that Preiss is leading us through in Image 11.

 

START
The Kenmore T station.  Note the "double A" street grid above it.
A
Kenmore Square, formed by the intersection of Beacon Street and Route 2.  The most iconic feature of the square is the Citgo sign with the triangular symbol.
B
Fenway Park, home of the "Green Monster."  ("A green tower of lights / In the middle section")  As we walk to it, we pass over the Massachusetts Turnpike, filled with cars that "pass the coliseum with metal walls."
C
The James P. Kelleher Rose Garden.  It has a "keyhole" design and a planter (formerly a fountain) with winding scrollwork similar to the front of the woman's dress.
D Veterans Memorial Park.  The World War II memorial includes the statue of the winged woman representing Victory.
E
The Fenway Victory Gardens. Each path is labeled with a letter of the alphabet.  ("All the letters / Are here to see")
F
The Boylston Street Bridge, a historic arched stone bridge over the Muddy River.
FINISH

The "Two Circles" structure in Charlesgate Park.  (bird's-eye view of the area)  The Harvard Club of Boston is just to the right, at the edge of this map.  A fire house with a turret and narrow windows is three blocks northeast of here at the intersection of Boylston and Hereford (almost due east of the 2C site).

  The 2009 street-side view of the final spot shows the two-circles structure, the white "tabletop" box, the pipe on the wall, the globe lamps perched on little pegs, the "4" shape cut in the sidewalk, and the Citgo sign in the distance.

 

 

 

Other Notes:

  • The Boston puzzle illustrates several consistent features of The Secret.  First and foremost, the solution requires the interconnected use of both the image and the verse.  Neither one would have been enough to bring a searcher to the right spot independently.  This is the sort of combination that Preiss always described when he talked about the puzzle.
  • This puzzle also illustrates the pattern of moving from large, map-scale clues down to more subtle, street-level features.  Preiss seemed to want to get people outdoors, walking around and exploring these locations.  Clues like the arm shape of the Back Bay Fens or the keyhole shape of the Kelleher Rose Garden might be visible on a map, but features light streetlights and lines on the pavement would only be seen by a person who visited the spot.
  • To examine several places along the Boston route, including the rose garden and the Two Circles site, look at this photo album.  For additional pictures of the Two Circles area, look at this photo album.
  • The people in Boston are (understandably) very, very sensitive to any unusual or suspicious activity there.  Get permission from the appropriate authorities before you try to do any digging.

 

 

Comments (47)

bestauntie said

at 10:43 pm on May 21, 2017

If we know where it is, why doesn't someone start digging? You wouldn't be noticed if you dig (most likely). I don't know anyone in the area, otherwise I would say something!

Oregonian said

at 6:10 am on May 22, 2017

One person did try in December of 2014. He didn't get very far before the cops showed up and asked him what he was doing. Boston folks are (understandably) very jittery about unusual activity in public places.

The only way to do a dig and find this one will be with official permission and pre-approval from the city.

Denyyy said

at 9:32 am on Jan 19, 2018

I grew up in Boston my whole life and some of these clues seem to be pretty accurate. But i figure i will throw my 2 cents in on a couple of these clues and comments. First
the song dirty water was not made because of the Boston Muddy River. In late 70's early 80's Boston became famous for Boston Harbor and Charles river being so polluted
that you couldn't even eat the fish anymore. This became national news, and that is why a band from CA wrote the song.

As far as digging in this location, I don't believe Boston PD would even show up at this location if you tried digging there. now if you tried digging at a historical site like the rose garden
or Boston Common then you would have a problem. But this site is so hidden and off the beaten path, that the only ones that would care are the people that live there.

Oregonian said

at 10:10 am on Jan 19, 2018

Here's the full report from wiki user JimmyJames who tried digging at the Two Circles site in Boston on 12/28/14, just over three years ago:

"Went to dig yesterday morning. Did not find the cask. Started in the depression and dug down about 1-2 feet and hit clay, which I think is common in Boston. The clay was just clay, not a mix of clay and top soil like someone was digging through the clay and filled back in with a mix of what was dug out. They clay was also wet and hard to dig through. I don't think it's in the clay.

The top soil in the depression that I dug was mixed with tons of trash. I pulled out about 20 liquor and beer bottles, a rusted tin can, and 2 AOL installation CDs. Based on the AOL CDs, someone must have dug there in the 90's when the ground was littered with trash (still is a bit) and when they back-filled they filled in a ton of trash too.

I started to widen out the hole in every direction and found the edge of the trash fill and still not cask. I was contemplating what to do next when the Boston Police showed up!

They were skeptical about what I was doing, I told them the truth and showed them the picture and verse from the website. Everyone was really cool about the whole thing. The park is State property so the state police were called in at the same time as BPD. I had to hang out with BPD for a half hour for the State police to show up. The Boston cops were hoping the state cops would like me keep digging. State department of parks and rec showed up and told me to fill in the hole. The parks and rec guy gave me a phone number to call to try and get permission to dig, but said he's doubtful that they would give it to me. He said my best bet is to try again under the cover of darkness!"

Denyyy said

at 10:11 am on Jan 19, 2018

Does anyone know if the information here is fact or not? Is this a confirmed location? by the authors family, or is everything here just someones guess?
Thank you

Oregonian said

at 10:35 am on Jan 19, 2018

The author's family isn't able to confirm any locations. Preiss apparently never wrote down the solutions and never told anyone where he buried the casques. Palencar is doing a very good job of keeping his lips zipped about what he knows, which he has every right to do.

The ONLY confirmation for any casque location is the successful retrieval of a casque. That's it. Anything short of that (including any solution I've posted on this wiki) is just a hypothesis.

Katie Haarstick said

at 3:07 pm on Jan 25, 2018

I'm more and more sold on Back Bay Fens. There's just nowhere secret to dig in the North End. All the parks are either covered in old brick or are very small and very open. Going to Boston next weekend so if anyone wants me to take pictures of anything in particular, let me know! I'm going to start at the library and head to the Fens and then hit the North End just out of curiosity and for pasta.

carole mcfarland said

at 1:09 pm on Jan 28, 2018

Check out 34 East Charlesgate on google maps and look at all of the real world stuff that is in image 11. 2 for Commonwealth. Veritas means truth (be free), Harvard motto. The Harvard Club is around the corner from the dig site. If you are at the bottom of the steps facing the Muddy River you are facing to the 12th hour and North and the north star is in the image in the sky. 18 days could be 18 feet or steps north of the bottom of the steps in the circle. Casque is lit by lamplight.

emmexplusbee said

at 7:53 pm on Jan 31, 2018

The "two circles" park is actually a C and a G (for Charlesgate) and I think it's pretty clear that the clues take us through here. But I don't think Preiss would leave a general park as final location to dig; there has to be more to it. The thing I am struggling with right now is "In truth be free," as the Harvard Club of Boston (Harvard motto: "Vertitas" i.e. "truth") is literally right around the corner, with green on Comm Ave right in front of it. I've been staring at the image for inspiration for a while on this. There is a statue of Leif Erikson there. I have no idea if that is important. I don't think that last line is a mere throw-away.

emmexplusbee said

at 8:12 pm on Jan 31, 2018

BTW, don't read too much into 18th day, 12th hour. It is a reference to Paul Revere's ride, but specifically the Longfellow poem "Paul Revere's Ride" and the line:
"It was twelve by the village clock
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town."
This clue is just telling us to cross the bridge from the Back Bay Fens to Charlesgate Park.

Jaeden said

at 4:42 pm on Feb 1, 2018

Has anyone considered the possibility that "In truth, be free" could be a reference to the phrase: "The truth shall set you free"; which is a quote from the Bible. The full quote is "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." - John 8:32 (NIV). Here's the KJV: "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Could the cache have been buried beneath at plaque that featured that quote that was there in 1981-1982? Or is it buried beneath a sign or a carving with the number 832 that was there in Preiss's time?

emmexplusbee said

at 6:11 pm on Feb 3, 2018

The most puzzling thing about the Boston casque is the apparent lack of final “x marks the spot” instructions.

If you look at the verses for the found casques, there are very specific, numeric instructions on where to actually dig: “Beneath the 10th stone from left to right” and “the end of ten by thirteen, fence and fixture central too.”

Note these lines both occur in the middle of the verses, in other words, the clues are non-linear. (The last lines of verse 4 say to seek columns that were needed well before the final step. The last lines of verse 12 are apparently about buildings in the area.)

There’s no way the last lines of verse 3 give the location. I’m certain 18th day, 12th hour is a reference to the Longfellow poem and is telling us to cross the bridge to Charlesgate park. The rest is too vague to be certain your shovel is going to the right spot.

Here’s my point: What if the digging instructions were earlier in the Verse just as they were for the two found casks.

As you cross the bridge by CG park and see the circles and (would have seen) the utility box, there is an old looking lantern (lit by lamplight) on that corner (Charlesgate and Commonwealth.) The Harvard Club (veritas –“truth”) is on that block. You are now facing the statue of Leif Erikson. (Bear with me.)

“Take 5 steps in HIS direction.”

This would put you in a small green with many trees (similar to Grant park in Chicago). As you look at the statue of Leif Erikson, you would see a plaque that is in the exact same shape (flared trapezoid) as is on the woman in Image 11 (what would be her belt buckle). On that plaque is also some sort of interlocking serpent that is extremely reminiscent of the curves on her dress and on the open box:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-waymarking-images/a468d3ac-4d97-4dcb-9701-c7b16a8778e0.jpg

Somebody go dig it up tomorrow night while all of Boston is watching the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

Oregonian said

at 7:46 pm on Feb 3, 2018

It's a creative idea and I'm impressed with your detailed explanation. The problem with it is that the white utility box / tabletop appears to be shown from the sidewalk AFTER one descends from the Charlesgate overpass and turns back south. There's just no other way to get that angle on it, and there would be no reason to turn back south along the sidewalk if we were meant to continue north.

If your solution were correct, it would mean that Preiss and Palencar are giving us a powerful signal of recognition (an "Aha image") when we are actually going in the wrong direction. It's just hard to imagine that they would do that.

Why do you feel that the Boston puzzle isn't giving specific directions on where to dig? "Face the water, your back to the stairs" seems very clear to me. The notch between the two circles seems like the only possible spot and the walls on either side limit the dig area. I think the only reason that this one hasn't been found is that the previous digs have been hasty, furtive affairs. We need someone to get official permission and do a proper job of it, with a written plan to clear out the trash and replant with appropriate grasses. I'll be very surprised if an effort like that (in much warmer weather) doesn't find the casque.

emmexplusbee said

at 9:56 am on Feb 4, 2018

Don't get me wrong - if I had to bet my life's savings on where it is I would have to go with the CG park. I just keep seeing photos and reading accounts of digging there - and those are just the ones that reported it online. (Timely posting of the pictures by Kasunagi below, too!) If you look at the last photo, there's a fairly wide swath of land there that could apply to "Face the water, back to the stairs." And I completely agree that the notch would be the obvious spot, but you can see how dug out it is. It seems to me that if it were there that in 35 years someone would have found it by now. The rest of that land looks really nasty and likely to flood. I suppose you could say "fen-like." It seems to me that digging there might actually damage the structural integrity. Makes you wonder if someone found it and didn't report it.

Oregonian said

at 11:29 am on Feb 4, 2018

Many, many great points in your note. The "notch" can be construed to cover at least two square yards; there has obviously been a lot of unauthorized digging; the spot is now a nasty mess of trash, bricks, and mud; and it all may very well be damaging the integrity of the "two circles" structure. But I think people often overestimate the size of these boxes and underestimate the difficulty in actually finding one. The guys in Chicago dug massive holes for a long, long time and still almost missed the casque when they dug right past it.

For all of those reasons, I hope that 2018 is the year when SOMEONE finally contacts the state authorities and does a proper dig. No more random shoveling. Define the area of the "notch" and then systematically excavate it. Use a wheelbarrow or something to move soil completely out of the spot onto a tarp. Lower the whole area of the notch until you hit sandbags, undisturbed clay, or a foundation. Preiss said that each casque was buried at a depth of "no more than 3.5 feet," so this isn't going to be an Oak Island situation where searchers just keep digging forever.

The big goal of doing such a dig would be to finally and firmly test this solution. The dig would either find the casque or (just as likely) it would prove that the casque is not there. Either way, it would clean up the spot and finally put an end to the unauthorized digging, which would probably make the city very happy. The logistics of such a dig are probably beyond what any individual can manage, though. It will take the involvement (and money) of a TV show like "Expedition Unknown" to finally make such a dig happen.

Kasunagi said

at 9:16 pm on Feb 3, 2018

Been at the 2C site last week, took some pictures:
https://imgur.com/a/7Yc0f

It's obvious that people keep digging there, however it's so full of garbage it's hard to say if the hole was deep/wide enough. The locals have no clue about the book, never noticed anybody digging there whatsoever

Kasunagi said

at 9:37 pm on Feb 3, 2018

Although a question I have (and don't see anybody actually giving any suggestions about) is this: https://i.imgur.com/q4jMram.png
There are four lines, but only one is double (or stands for a pipe/cable), and it points at the 4 (which is still present there)

Bill L said

at 8:27 pm on Feb 22, 2018

My wife and I have been to site a few times now to take a look around and we believe we have made some connections to the image. One is of the shadow cast by her neck and the rivers edge near the foot bridge (much more noticeable in person than google earth); https://imgur.com/08HqZ9M. Another possible connection is to the women’s left shoulder and the left shoulder at the WWII monument (at least we think i looks similar); https://imgur.com/2TKhclm. The last one has to do with a bird perch located near the rose garden; https://imgur.com/C8Pz1gS & https://imgur.com/Wgpv2YE. We have found out that the bird perch is for a red tailed hawk family, however based on information from the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, it was installed in 2010 (but who’s to say it wasn’t a replacement). Unfortunately we were denied permission to probe from the Boston Parks Dept.

Oregonian said

at 8:47 pm on Feb 22, 2018

Interesting idea about the neck shadow! Are you talking about the footbridge near the rose garden? Where were you trying to get permission to probe?

Bill L said

at 8:54 pm on Feb 22, 2018

Yes it's the footbridge near the rose garden. We requested permission in the area near the WWII memorial and the rose garden. It's unfortunate because there's an upcoming project to revitalize the arbors and hedges at the rose garden, so now would be the time to do it.

strike13 said

at 9:11 pm on Feb 22, 2018

Why dont you just do it then, when it's dark out, maybe like after 9, so it's not super late and weird, take a friend, sketchy over there at night but i don't see you running into any trouble w authorities

Bill L said

at 9:08 pm on Feb 22, 2018

Also, (to us) the "leaves" next to the flower kind of look like the upper portion of the wings on the WWII memorial; https://imgur.com/gallery/3gi1T

Charlie said

at 9:45 pm on Feb 24, 2018

I'm standing at the 2C park right now. Several holes have been dug around including the spots I had in mind (12 o'clock outside on the smaller circle facing the dirty water) and I don't think any were successful thus far. I probed with my ground probe quite a bit including the interior walls of the existing digs and haven't found anything. I'm starting to think the circle pattern may align with the circle brickwork prrhaps. Will try a few more ideas before I leave.

Charlie said

at 3:45 pm on Feb 25, 2018

I also went to the UMass Castle (the assumed structure depicted in the center of the photo on the box). It's currently under major renovation and I managed to sneak into the construction site and look around thinking maybe if it had been buried there that it might be discarded in a pile of debris during the dig, but didn't see anything of note in my inspection of the site.

Bill L said

at 12:56 pm on Aug 27, 2018

strike13 said

at 4:17 pm on Aug 27, 2018

Wheres all the rest of the photos?

Bill L said

at 5:44 pm on Aug 27, 2018

Mister EZ said

at 7:31 am on Aug 28, 2018

Nice 360 shots....have you probed / gpr'd that general area to confirm your suspicions / narrow down the location? (It's a fairly large area, off of that side of the monument....)

Bill L said

at 9:39 am on Aug 28, 2018

Thank you, I spent a lot of time walking around taking pictures. I have probed the spot a little bit, there was a square depression in the ground where I thought it may be but no luck. I have some issues with my own theory because how would someone line up the "moon" with the rose garden and the "star" with the WWII memorial without a map, but on the flip side, they line up perfectly with the rose garden and WWII memorial. I fully believe it's in that park somewhere.

SteveMarg said

at 6:18 pm on May 22, 2019

This is a good theory!

Indigoone said

at 3:05 am on Oct 20, 2019

I'm shocked no one is talking about Boston on here Brad. You are the first to say anything. My mind is so blown. I just keep staring at the painting and trying to figure out where baseball was even remotely suggested lol.

Brad said

at 6:05 am on Oct 20, 2019

If you look at her right sleeve (on the painting's left), you will see a light pentagon like home plate, and a light shape that looks like a leg sliding into home plate. It was apparently located along the 3rd base line, about 5 steps, in line with a light tower.
The real question is... what does the rest of the painting mean? There's a lot of detail for what seems to be very little clueage!

Indigoone said

at 9:01 am on Oct 20, 2019

Yes, I've heard them talking about the sleeve. I really feel that if that was a hint, it was the worst hint ever in the history of hints, as it's only recognized after the casque has been dug up....smh

With regard to the rest of the painting, I just am floored. This painting is so rich and intricate, yet so off the map. Some have said the large balls were perhaps supposed to be bocci balls, since there's a court there. Why if they were bocci balls, were they made so oversized and placed on what looks like a globe stand!? Why is she holding a box with a castle? Why the cement in the background? The bird? It's insane.

I think the whole painting was just full of references to Boston, such as streets and the North Church. I don't think there was really anything in the painting that you would find once you were in the dig spot, and that's very disappointing to me. Also, I'm so confused about the crack in the center right side of the wall with what looks like a music note. That seemed significant and now seems pointless.

cnllreds@... said

at 4:36 pm on Oct 27, 2019

Is there an interpretation of the solution, with the verse and image clues, that leads to a dig on the softball field near home plate? If the casque was actually under home plate that would have been tough to probe around to find the plexiglass. Or then you'd need to figure a spot to dig, ie on the baseline or in front of home plate. I actually hope the dig spot was behind home plate next to the back stop, as I suspect he consistently buried these next to some type of fence or wall, not in an open field area.

KJRP said

at 9:21 pm on Oct 28, 2019

I think we are all waiting with bated breath for this Wednesday's Expedition Unknown episode in order to get some of the details of the Krupat's Solve. Cheers!

Oregonian said

at 9:16 am on Oct 29, 2019

If anyone watches the show and sees something worth noting, feel free to add it over on the "Boston Claim 2019" page: http://thesecret.pbworks.com/w/page/136591497/Boston%20Claim%202019

I'm not a TV watcher, so I've never seen any episodes of EU, but I know from experience that a lot of people mistake their reenactments for documentary footage. My inbox is going to be a mess on Thursday.

Oregonian said

at 10:34 am on Oct 30, 2019

How does Game 7 of the World Series affect program schedules tonight? Do other channels delay their new material for a week and just show reruns? Or do those channels just accept that their audience share is going to be slashed?

If any Houston searchers are going to the game, maybe they could stop by and give us an update on Engine 982 from the Houston puzzle. It was located outside Minute Maid Park for at least a little while, but I've lost track of where they've put it now.

Indigoone said

at 6:29 pm on Nov 3, 2019

I really do feel Boston is solved. I stayed cautious, until they brought JJP out and he acknowledged remembering the baseball theme, home plate on her sleeve, her head shaped like a baseball diamond, and most importantly, the signal flags on the USS Constitution being incorporated into the sides of her dress. I feel he truly loved Preiss, and I don't think he would lie and dishonor his memory. He's been nothing but adamant that he would reveal nothing. He came on the podcast for The Secret after the show with his son, and he stated that some of his memories were jogged because of the find. It's been forty years so it's hard, and aside from contractual agreements, he would remain loyal to Byron's work, but if a casque is found, that's something all together different. Remembering things and reminiscing about three paintings after the fact, isn't cheating in other words. I know you said you don't watch TV, but I really think you might make an exception. It was a very touching episode.

KJRP said

at 10:23 pm on Dec 4, 2019

Does anyone here know how the quote from the Letter by Horace Walpole was found and what, if anything, it has to do with Boston? I am trying to understand the logic behind it so that it may help me with my San Francisco Solve. Any help is appreciated.

Burbank_ian said

at 12:56 am on Dec 5, 2019

Just searched for Horace Walpole on Q4T. Looks like it was first mentioned in 2007:

http://quest4treasure.co.uk/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=724&p=69394&hilit=Horace+Walpole#p69394

If you go to the advanced search and search for "Horace Walpole" and select the forum "The Secret" quite a few results show.

KJRP said

at 10:42 pm on Dec 5, 2019

Thanks for the info! It appears the obscure line from the letter was found via a Google search back in 2007. Apart from that, one (1) guy mocked the idea that it may reference a different Horace Mann statue located in front of the State House of Boston... which just so happens to be halfway between Boston Public Library and the Langone/Puopolo Recreation Fields. Hmm...

Lee Jones said

at 12:08 am on Jun 10, 2021

Late to the party here, but regarding the claimed find, bear in mind that Langone Park had been utterly levelled before the casque was apparently found. It is extremely possible that numerous clues visible in the park were referenced in the painting, and that they were all promptly bulldozed to nothingness when the park was torn up.

Isstvan said

at 6:02 pm on Jul 23, 2021

If the casque had been in danger, it would have been recovered well before a bulldozer showed up...

Percy Walters said

at 4:04 am on Jun 8, 2023

Unfortunately I disagree with you on this one, you are heavily invested in your solve so you don't want to admit that you have been fooled. Byron and JJP use tons of misdirection in the puzzles and people aren't good at detecting lies which is a big reason why the puzzles haven't been found. It's also very important to understand that in general Byron was a wonderful person but when it comes to creating treasure hunts, he was a bitch lol! If you look solely at the poem and you will see that it lines up with that solve. 5 steps is the hardest part of the puzzle but once you get past that, it all lines up. There was a green tower before the renovation in the middle section of the 3 baseball diamonds. The ice rink is the coliseum with metal walls plus the ship is called old iron sides which is another way to say metal walls. The water, stairs, maritime flags (letters), lamplight and home plate are all there. So for you to not even acknowledge that even if it was a hoax is just stubborness on your part. It is also important to know that you don't have to be right about everything to find a casque, you just have to be right about the dig spot. Also even though Byron put this under home plate which I am on your side in that I don't agree with that, it is still in dirt which is easy to fix compared to a lawn or plant bed. It is not the shows fault for reckless people digging up a bunch of other baseball fields it just show how much so many people can be stupid and suck at solving this puzzle which is the main reason why so few have been found. It's not really their fault except for the reckless digging part, most just aren't wired to see past the illusions so they couldn't find it even if they were properly taught how to search. Nothing personal I'm just saying this because I respect the work that you have done so I hope this helps you to look at another angle.

Limey said

at 7:38 am on Nov 26, 2023

After watching the EU Boston solve episode again, I decided to relook at the puzzle and share some of mine and others theories on the first section of the verse that gets us to the North End.
If Thucydides is
North of Xenophon
The Horace Walpole connection tells us we need to be North of New York in Boston. The Boston Public Library has the inscriptions and is also next to the access road to I-90 that is signposted to “New York”.
Image connections for Boston are the ‘T’ that the bird is perched on (the MBTA symbol), and the open box in her hand which I think has an interpretation of the old Armory which was the University library for a while. http://thesecret.pbworks.com/w/file/155235840/image_11_the_armory.jpg

Take five steps
In the area of his direction
We need to go in the direction of Thucydides (North) via five steps.
There is a clue that we need to be looking at ZIP codes in the image which has the ZIP code 02113 written backwards above the flower (noted by Adrian Krasniqi on the Mysterious Writings web page). This is the ZIP code for the North End. http://thesecret.pbworks.com/w/file/155235843/image11_zip_code.jpg
The five steps I think are the 5 ZIP code areas taken to reach the North End, starting from the library area - 02116 through 02111, 02110, 02114 to 02113 – the North End aera. This is the ZIP code containing Paul Revere’s House and statue, North End Church and Copp’s Hill Terrace and it also borders Commercial Street. http://thesecret.pbworks.com/w/file/155235846/boston_zip_codes.jpg

Limey said

at 7:41 am on Nov 26, 2023

In the image the code 31120 is also next to her hair which looks like the wharfs. Notice that the fairy is holding the jewel above the ZIP code telling us that it’s actually buried in the Zip code north of 02113 which is 02109 – Lagone Park’s ZIP code.
From here we follow the verse clues to Langone Park.
The cuff of her right sleeve is a baseball home plate and a stretched out leg about to touch it (as noted by Brad on this page). http://thesecret.pbworks.com/w/file/155235849/image11_home_plate_and_leg.jpg
Her left sleeve has the number “4” on it which I think also refers to home plate being 4th base. The leg is approaching from the right side of the plate, so the casque was probably buried on this side of it.

Limey said

at 2:43 pm on Dec 8, 2023

On reflection, this verse seems to me to make more sense if the first and last four lines or quatrain’s are swapped. Then we start our search with the Paul Revere clue leading us straight to the North End of Boston, confirmed by the reversed ZIP code in image 11. The centre portion of the verse describes where we should be – Langone Park. The verse then ends with us standing on the middle baseball field at home plate where we take five steps north to the corner of a patch of grass. BP then didn’t need to dig up the baseball home plate area.
http://thesecret.pbworks.com/w/file/155376399/Langone_Park_c-2014_%26_5_steps_north_of_home_plate.jpg

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