The administration of the Plugastel commune in the French region of Brittany offers a reward of two thousand euros to the one who can decipher the inscription on the stone found nearby.
A stone with an inscription of 20 lines was discovered several years ago on a beach near the commune. The age of the inscription is estimated at 230 years.
Most of the letters carved on the stone are Latin, but some of them are inverted, in addition, there are symbols similar to the Scandinavian runes.
You can distinguish two numbers - 1786 and 1787. Perhaps this means that the inscription was made two years before the French Revolution. There you can also see an image of a ship with sails and a steering wheel, as well as a “sacred heart” - an image of a heart crowned with a cross, one of the most important Catholic symbols.
But local scientists fail to decipher the meaning of the inscription. Someone thinks that it was made in ancient Breton or the Basque language, others - that it was written by a semi-literate person.
"ROC AR B … DRE AR GRIO SE EVELOH AR VIRIONES BAOAVEL" - says one of the excerpts.
"OBBIIE: BRISBVILAR … FROIK … AL," reads another.
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According to one theory, the inscription has something to do with the construction of the defense of the nearby sea coastline.
In the 1780s, fortresses and firing positions were erected here to protect the Brest Bay, reminders of which can still be seen. Until 1783, France and England were at war.
“We asked local historians and archaeologists, but no one could figure out what the story is behind this stone,” says Dominique Kap, mayor of Plugastel.
“Therefore, we thought that maybe there are people in the world who have the necessary expertise. Instead of being ignorant, we decided to announce a competition,”he added.
The competition was named "The Mystery of Champollion at Plowastel-Daulas" - after the linguist Jean-Francois Champollion, who deciphered the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs from the Rosetta Stone in the 19th century.
Fans of linguistics and archeology are invited to register with the mayor's office, after which they will be sent photographs with the full inscription. Hundreds of people have already taken an interest in decoding this mysterious message.
The submission of applications with transcripts will be closed in November, after which the commission will select the most plausible interpretation of the riddle.