Real world mysteries
While it’s fund to create your own codes and ciphers, there are genuine puzzling mysteries out there that you could turn your mind to if you wish. Below is a selection of unsolved real world mysteries, in approximate chronological order from the 1400s to present day. I will add to this list as I find more or link to posts about them if I dig into them myself.
Voynich manuscript
This bizarre text has the look and feel of a movie prop, except the vellum it is written on has been carbon dated to the early 1400s!
The manuscript is written in a cipher or unknown language, and is filled with drawings of plants, astrological and astronomical symbols and people. It is named after the Wilfrid Voynich; the book dealer who bought it in 1912.
The document is owned by Yale University and the whole 225 pages have been scanned and made available in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. The text is over 170,000 characters and has not been deciphered despite numerous attempts, although analysis has shown there isn’t compelling evidence the text is just made-up gibberish either.
It’s entirely possible this is a made-up language, a mash-up of multiple languages or shorthand of the author. Without further clues (like a Rosetta Stone) I’m not sure the mystery will ever be solved. Most attempts at deciphering the text appear to come from the West, I suspect someone with a background or history of the texts location would have a better chance at intuiting a potential solution.
Rohonc Codex
The Rohonc Codex is similar to the Voynich manuscript in that it is an old text of unknown origin that cannot be deciphered. It is written in an unidentified language, code or writing system. The codex appeared in Hungary in the 1800s but the paper it is written on “is most probably a Venetian paper made in the 1530s“, although the text could have been written well after that, or copied from an earlier version.
Similarly to the Voynich manuscript, analysis has shown it is probably not pure gibberish, and like Voynich could be a cipher, shorthand or made-up language. It could still be an elaborate hoax though.
Shugborough inscription
The Shugborough inscription is carved on Shepherd’s Monument in the grounds of Shugborough Hall in Staffordshire, England. It consists of two lines, the first is a string of 8 letters; OUOSVAVV while the second is only a D on the left and an M on the right (pictured below).
The monument was built sometime in the mid-1700s and the meaning of the inscription has been lost to time. Due to it’s mystery many theories have been put forward for it’s significance, ranging from a set of initials to links to Jesus and Mary Magdalene (a la The Davinci Code.)
Given the nature of the sculpture and context, I’m guessing it’s more likely to be a set of initials rather than a ciphertext, however it clearly has enough mystery to arouse peoples imaginations.
The Beale Treasure and Papers
In 1885 a pamphlet called The Beale Papers was published by James B. Ward, telling the story of the lost treasure of Thomas J. Beale. Allegedly Beale and a group of 30 men obtained gold and silver from a mine in New Mexico, transported it to Virginia and buried it in a secret location. The details of the haul were enciphered in three texts, one for the contents of the stash, one for the location and one a list of shareholders or beneficiaries.
The story goes that the unknown author obtained these texts from a friend of a friend of Beale, spent lots of time and money on them and managed to decipher one text (the contents of the stash) using the Declaration of Independence as the key. Unable to continue the search he published the story and cipher texts in a pamphlet hoping someone else may solve it instead.
Given the pamphlet was sold for 50 cents (about $15 today) I’m guessing this is a hoax. It’s very convenient the only text deciphered is the details of the quantity of treasure, tempting you to delve into the mystery. I suspect J. B. Ward was basically selling a treasure map scam.
If you’re interested the full text of the papers can be found here.
Dorabella Cipher
In July 1897 English author Caroline Alice Elgar and her husband English composer Edward Elgar was staying with their friends the Penny family at the Wolverhampton Rectory and Edward became friends with their daughter, Dora. A few days after leaving Alice wrote a thank you note and her husband Edward included a ciphertext to Dora as a bit of a joke. Unfortunately she couldn’t decipher it and neither has anyone else ever been able to do so!
The text is made up of 87 characters made up from 24 symbols which are mostly squiggles. Can you work it out?
Kryptos (CIA sculpture)
Kryptos is a sculpture that sits outside the USA’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) headquarters in Langley, Virginia. It contains 4 encrypted messages, only three of which have been solved.
Dedicated on 3 Nov 1990, Kryptos‘ theme is “intelligence gathering”. As the 30th anniversary of the sculpture approached, James Sanborn (the artist) released a single word clue to help in the solving of the puzzle, “NORTHEAST”.
Can you solve this decades old puzzle? Unlike the other ciphers in this list this one is most likely to have an actual solution!
Conclusion
There you have it, six real code or cipher mysteries from the middle ages to today. Have a go at solving them if you have the inclination and let me know how you go!
Of these I’m most interested in Kryptos as it should have an actual solution, it’s based in English (my native language) and is a known cipher riddle. All the others leave too much open to interpretation beyond my experience, but they are excellent material to draw from to create your own mysteries!
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