THE BOSSALL TREASURE SOLUTION
BY
NICK SPERA
The solution to The Bossall Treasure was divided into 11 chapters. Each chapter’s text and image either by itself or with info from a preceding chapter would give the reader one or more words that ultimately made up the solution to the puzzle. Here is the solution chapter by chapter and then at the end, how it ties into the final chapter text for a confirmer.
CHAPTER 1:
The solution for this chapter is used by taking the first letter of each component of the image which is backed by the chapter text. We have a map of Lombardy, which is the origin of the Belt family. Next is the Arms of the Medici Family. After that, we have the Indenture or Deed. Finally, the image shows York Minster. All 4 components are then used with their first letter: Lombardy Arms Deed York
The clue derived from Chapter 1 is LADY
CHAPTER 2:
The solution for this chapter is solved almost the same as the first chapter. You again use the first letter of all the image components. We have a Graveyard, the arms of Robert, Elias Ashmole, two chests, and Queen Elizabeth. The first letters of each image component are used to then spell a word: Graveyard Robert Ashmole Chests Elizabeth
The clue derived from Chapter 2 is GRACE
CHAPTER 3:
The solution for this chapter deals with a grid full of letters and 3 images. The reader will learn about the characters’ trip, who they meet, and the treasure they carry to identify the 3 pictures in the image. The 3 images are London, Renzo, and Plate. The solver is to then spell those three words by eliminating letters from the letter grid. They should also notice all three of those words are spelled with letters from the inner box of the grid. To help the solver, the first letter of each of those 3 words were colored red. After eliminating the letters of those 3 words, now match each letter to the letter next to it in the outer box by going through the same order again: LONDON RENZO PLATE. The letters on the outer box next to each will spell WORD CHAPTER THREE. Now, notice next to each letter that started the original three words: L, R, P; there is a number. Going in order, the solver will get 833. The last thing to do is to count the 833rd word of Chapter 3. That word is “Cross”.
The clue derived from this chapter is CROSS.
CHAPTER 4:
The solution for this chapter is solved by using the dates of the six events in the image (gravestones) and then number/letter subbing them to the alphabet. The solver only needs to use the day, not the month or year. In the text, the author changed one of the dates to alert the reader of the potential clue. All the reader needs to do is go by the days on the headstones in the image. Those numbers are: 9th, 4th, 18th, 21st, 5th, 2nd. Subbed to letters in the alphabet gives the letters I D R U E B. Those letters are an anagram to the word: Buried.
The clue derived from this chapter is BURIED
CHAPTER 5
The solution to this chapter is solved by using the image. The image shows Selby Abbey, a market cross scene, and a map in the background. The key is to look at how the cross on top of the market cross is shaded so it overlays perfectly onto the map. By doing this, it looks like it’s a symbol for a church on that map. Next to the cross are the words “on the marsh”.
The clue derived from this chapter is ON THE MARSH
CHAPTER 6
The solution to this chapter is solved with a shift cipher and then anagram. Use the first letter of each characters first name and shift it so A=O. If you use the order from left to right on the page, the answer will still be jumbled, but if you can see pretty easily the jumbled letters will spell the word Opposite.
The clue derived from this chapter is the word OPPOSITE
CHAPTER 7
The solution to this chapter is solved by viewing the image and using the components to create 3 words. From the text we know Picklington lives in Micklegate York. The text states it’s the south gate of the city. In the image we have a map of York with an arrow pointing to its southern “gate”. The last component is John Anstis in the image, who has the meeting at Mickelgate in the chapter. John Anstis is an anagram for Saint John’s. This anagram is used along with “gate” derived from the arrow indicator.
The clue derived from this chapter is SAINT JOHN’S GATE
CHAPTER 8
The solution to this chapter has a short and long way to solve the puzzle. Once again, there is a grid with letters and numbers. This is the first chapter that uses a piece from an earlier chapter that helps align the numbers. The short way to solve this puzzle is to ignore the numbers completely and attempt to anagram the letters to get the term EIGHTY FIVE FT.
The longer way involves the numbers and three marriage dates that are mentioned in the chapter Those dates are: 14th February 1687, 19th May 1710, and 20th July 1719. The solver should notice that 14, 19, and 20 are all numbers in the grid. The key is to solve the puzzle using multiplication to arrive at the other numbers. The pattern is Day= x1, Month= x2, Year is split into two numbers and the first number is x3 and the second is x4. Here is an example of the first marriage date of 14th February 1687: 14×1=14 2×2=4 16×3=48 87×4=384. The solver will now notice all the resulting numbers appear in the grid. Do the same process with the other two marriage dates. By using the letters adjacent to those numbers using the dates in that order, it will spell EIGHTY FIVE FT.
The clue derived from this chapter is EIGHTY FIVE FT
CHAPTER 9
The solution from this chapter is solved with the image and some text in the beginning of the chapter. The chapter describes Belt looking at a document the in the morning. His desk had a window that looked true south over the hills. The image shows the character looking up from the document and out the window. There is also a compass in the corner. Compasses usually denote North if they only show one direction. However, this one shows South. The reader at this time should gather that the clue is True South. The clock shows 2:42. This doesn’t match the time of day the character is sitting at his desk. The key is to understand the difference between True South and Magnetic South. If one looks at the publication of the book which is 2012 and checks the declination between True South and Magnetic South at that point in time, they will see that it is 2 degrees 42 minutes. This is used later on with the final walking steps to the burial of the treasure along with Ch 10’s solution to confirm
The clue derived from this chapter is TRUE SOUTH
CHAPTER 10
The solution from this chapter is derived from the text and image. The image shows a compass with names as well as death years. The reader should notice also an arrow on the East direction of the compass, as well as numbers in the inner circle. The first step to solve the puzzle is to determine the order by matching the proper death year to the right name using Ch 10’s text. After that is complete it should look like this:
Elizabeth Cutler 1745
John Pearson 1781
William Read 1798
Elizabeth Pearson 1809
Henry Pearson 1810
Thomas Cutler Rudson Read 1838
Now that the order is established, line up the numbers in the inner circle with the name order shown above. The result will be 3 .6 6 5&5 20. The reader will notice the 3 . 6 is in blue. Leave these as is. The black numbers are then number/letter subbed to the word FEET. Now combine it with the 3.6 and the arrow indicating East to get 3.6 FEET EAST. The 3.6 feet east is the difference between walking 85ft true south from the gate and walking magnetic south 85ft and then turning east and walking 3.6 feet. The 3.6 feet covers the declination between the two at the 85ft mark at time of the burial of the cross.
The clue derived from this chapter is 3.6 FEET EAST
CHAPTER 11
The solution from this chapter is gained from the family tree in the image along with confirmation from the text. The Pearson’s from this chapter have 8 children but only six of them survive. In the family tree, if you take the first letter of the names of children who survived, you get the word LYTHAM.
At this point you have all the clues solved and should have this message:
LADY GRACE CROSS BURIED ON THE MARSH OPPOSITE ST JOHN’S GATE EIGHTY FIVE FT TRUE SOUTH 3.6 FEET EAST LYTHAM.
The image for chapter 11 also confirms the area by showing St Johns the Divine Church and Lytham Marsh. The BOTG portion would be to stand at the center of the gate of St John’s, and face magnetic south. Walk 85ft in that direction. Then turn east and walk 3.6 feet. That was the burial location of the cross. One could also just walk true south from the gate, which is about 171 deg bearing. This is also confirmed in the text of Ch 11 where it describes the cross being buried in the passage below where the character realizes the curse the cross brings and how he wishes to rid himself of it.
“He entered the Church (St John’s) and took a moment to pray for less troubled times and the new life he was to embark on. On his way out, he walked slowly down the path and he paused under the lichgate. He then continued onto the marsh and paused again, re-affirming to himself his intention for a change of fortune.”
This concludes the solution for the Bossall Treasure. A big thanks to my team of Robert, Lisa, and Adam. Another big thanks to Doug Pearson for creating the hunt that stood the test of time unsolved for almost a decade. I hope you enjoyed reading the solution and that it answers your questions.
