FRENCH ROCK RIDDLE
Village seeks help in deciphering inscription
A village in Brittany is offering a 2,000 euro (£1,726) prize for help in deciphering a 230-yearold inscription found on a rock. No one has yet made out the meaning of the 20 lines of writing, first brought to the village council’s attention in 1979.
The metre-high slab is in a cove accessible only at low tide near the village of PlougastelDaoulas. Among the normal Roman letters some are reversed or upside-down. There are also some Scandinavian-style Ø letters. Two dates are visible – 1786 and 1787, shortly before the French Revolution. There is also the image of a ship with sails and rudder, and a sacred heart (a heart surmounted by a cross). Some think the writing may be in old Breton, Basque, or Scottish Gaelic. Or is it the phonetical transcription of a semi-literate engraver misspelling another language? In one section the letters read: “ROC AR B … DRE AR GRIO SE EVELOH AR VIRIONES BAOAVEL”. Another reads: “OBBIIE: BRISBVILAR ... FROIK … AL”. One theory is that the inscription is linked to the building of naval defences near this point. A fort and gun emplacements – whose remains can still be seen – were erected here in the 1780s to protect the Bay of Brest.
The public appeal for help in decipherment is called “The Champollion Mystery at Plougastel-Daoulas” – honouring Jean-François Champollion, who deciphered the Rosetta Stone’s hieroglyphics. Linguistic and archæological enthusiasts who registered at the mayor’s administration were sent photographs of the inscription. By 21 May, more than 2,000 replies had been received. Some suggest the words refer to a love story, a shipwreck – or a sleepy Georgian greengrocer. When entries close in November, a panel will choose the most plausible interpretation. BBC News, 10 May; Times, 21 May 2019.