The Unsolved Riddle of La Chouette d'Or

The Unsolved Riddle of La Chouette d'Or

I have had this thread made for a year or so. Actually, I forgot about it if I’m honest. Thought I’d share it with you now as I just stumbled on it while looking for another one. So, if you are in to solving mysteries and puzzles, this one may be just up your alley.

The golden owl was/is a treasure hunt started in the early 90’s by a gentlemen that called himself Max Valentin. By the look of his website, he was a professional treasure hunt organizer …

Most of the treasure hunts he organized have been found or cancelled, but there is one that is still in full swing. It is one that he, himself, had initiated. 9375 days it has gone unsolved. He thought it would last for a few months, we are going on years now, and the treasure is still up for grabs.

The Treasure

The Golden Owl was Max Valentin's first treasure hunt. He first thought of the puzzle in the late 1970s, and spent 450 hours designing eleven textual riddles, which together hold the clues to a final location and a cache, somewhere in France.[1]

Michel Becker created the eleven paintings for the book, as well as the final prize, the Golden Owl statuette.[2] The statuette is 10 inches (25 cm) high, 20 inches (50 cm) wide, and weighs 33 lbs (15 kg). It is entirely made of gold and silver, with diamonds on the head.[3] In 1993, the owl was estimated at 150,000 euros.[4] A legal protector holds it, in Paris. Becker also created a replica made of bronze, which was buried somewhere in France by Hauser on the night of 23 April 1993.[5] The treasure hunt was launched on 15 May 1993.

Valentin designed the hunt to last for a few months and to be solvable by experts or amateurs, insisting that "If all the searchers put all their knowledge together, the owl would be found in....two hours". Valentin also included false trails in the riddles, which he admitted was normal in treasure hunt games,[7] but which he later regretted putting too much work into. He estimated that the hunt would last between four months and a year …

The puzzle was/is still unsolved today. The creator, Max, died in 2009 leaving the solution to the puzzle with his lawyer:

Hauser ("Max Valentin") died in 2009, leaving the secret to the puzzle inside a sealed envelope.[46] The solutions are now held by his lawyer.

There were a few lawsuits and people wanting to just take the owl and sell it, but all that was stopped and as far as I’ve read, the treasure is still in tact and hasn’t been found.

I’m wanting to present the clues, as well as to see if someone wants to take a shot at solving it. So, the clues...


Continued..

The Clues

Max provided us with 11 clues. Each contains a picture and a riddle. There is a suggested order to put them in but I am keeping them in the original order for this thread. I will link the suggested order at the end and I have found translations for all the riddles which will be listed below each clue.

Clue #1:

THERE IS NO WORSE BLIND PEOPLE THAN THE ONE THAT DOES NOT WANT TO SEE
1 = 530
3 = 470
5 = 600
7 = 420
9 = 650

Clue #2:

FROM THE SKY COMES THE LIGHT
365-HI-10752 I-10752 WHERE 365-HE EAGLE
90677-RI-60140-365-ED 365-HE
687-ARK OF HI-10752 CLAW-10752
I-60140 365-HE 10752-ABLE,
O-60140-E H-30667-60140-DRED DAY-10752 BEFORE
BREAKI-60140-G HI-10752 BEAK
A-60140-D LOO-10752-I-60140-G HI-10752
FEA-365-HER-10752

Then lend a bow to Apollo:
from this point, he will count 1969,697 measures towards the zenith.
In a fraction of a 46,241,860th of a sidereal day,
his line will fall.
Hasten to find the arrow.

Clue #3:

IT’S THE RIGHT WAY IF THE ARROW TARGETS THE HEART
My First multiplies by gaiety.
My Second offers you space, My Third air, and my Fourth water.
When he’s lying, my Fifth snores.
My Sixth is worth one hundred, and my Seventh is just one node.
My Eighth tastes like laurel,
While my Ninth, with astonishment, stays behind.
My Tenth is always naked when there’s a link.
My Eleventh, finally, is the unknown.
Found my all, and through the opening, you will see the light

Clue #4:

UT QUEANT LAXIS
At 2424-42-424-44-224-24-42-24, take the orthogonal.
To find the Spiral with four centers,
560.606 measures, it’s far.
But by the Mega, it’s a million times less.

Clue #5:

EARTH OPENS
Between them, there would be only two intervals if they were aligned.
But this would be a too easy game!
Now that you have undone all the yarns,
Doubt is the last torment that will be inflicted to you.
Because it is the rule of this cruel game:
Alone, you have to find where to land your shovel.
Show your respect for Mother Nature,
And before getting away, close its injury

Clue #6:

OPENING
My first, first half of the half of the first age,
Precedes my Second and Third, seeking their way.
My Fourth is inspired, my Fifth is in rage,
But, without protest, follows my Fourth and the roman alpha.
My Sixth is hidden at the limits of ETERNITY.
My Seventh, standing, spits his venom.
To find my all, just to be wise,
Because the Truth, in truth, will not be a Devin’s affair


Continued...

Clue #7:

AD AUGUSTA PER ANGUSTA
When at Carusburc, you will have Albion in the back,
Seek the opening that reveals the Heavenly Light.
Don’t linger, don’t ask for your rest,
But prepare yourself to walk on water.
Twice, Neptune will help you
And carry you away from the icy north.
Pursue your road and do not interrupt your journey
Before seeing, through the Opening, the becalmed Nave.
Without deviating an inch, draw a line,
And you will not regret what you did.

Clue #8:

THE GOOD WAY, IT IS THE WAY OF THE OPPOSITE WAY, AND VICE VERSA
19.9.13.12.15.19.18.21.15.9.19 will be worth 1
12.15.19.18.21.15.9.19.18.9.13.8.15.4 will be worth 2
9.13.16.16.9.13.9.5.18 will be worth 3
25.1.12.14.18.9.13.16.9.13 will be worth 4
8.15.4.1.12.9.19.18.15.1.6 will be worth 5
18.9.13.13.5.18.18.1.12.18.9.13.12.15.19 will be worth 6
20.18.21.15.15.4.9.18.9.13.8 will be worth 7
9.13.18.9.15.19.19.9 will be worth 8
15.4.1.12.14.18.1.12.10 will be worth 9
19.18.9.13.12.15.19.14.1.12 will be worth 0

Clue #9:

WHEN AL-MAR ALLIES TO PRAENESTE FIBULA, DARKNESS SHINE
BDI,J. DF,F. CFD. BJ. HJ. EA,B. BC. E. DC,B.
CDI,B. BAB,H. BE. CD. FB. BCG,J. BIG,D. BE.
BG. BJD,B. DB. BGH,C.
BC. E.


Clue #10:

WHEN ALL IS REVEALED
Back to the Ponant, seeks the Sentinels.
At 8000 measures from there, they are waiting for you.
Find them, you need to review them.

Clue #11:

FIRST STEP…
Wherever you want,
By the ross and the coachman.
But where you have to,
By the compass and the foot.


The 12th and final clue is hidden within the first 11. It is absolutely necessary in order to find the exact location of the bronze owl. But it isn’t actually the last clue. Max left some additional clues for us to use in the quest for the golden owl.

Some additional clues left are:

* The use of maps. The reader must do something with a map, to reveal the final zone of the game, then use a precise map of that zone to find the cache that contains the owl.

* The existence of a "mega trick", which is the key to using the sequence of eleven riddles to identify the final zone. Many readers had already reached the conclusion that such a technique must exist.

* The existence of a final, hidden riddle that completes the game. When a reader finds this riddle in the final zone, he or she will be able to utilize elements of the previous riddles to form and solve the last riddle. The decryption of the last riddle will lead to the cache that contains the owl

Max also said that the “remainders” are the key to the owl, and that they can be found in the decryption of some of the ten riddles that have wavelengths.


Continued...

In 1995 Max stated that the books readers have collectively gotten 95% of the solution. But because they are not sharing or communicating their solutions, they can’t solve the last 5%.

The suggested order of the clues: B | 530 | 780 | 470 | 580 | 600 | 500 | 420 | 560 | 650 | 520

And some links:

Official Website
Max’s website
Online PDF of the book/clues
Possible solutions to some of the riddles
More info at reddit
Wiki

There you have it. A mystery yet to be solved and meant to be done by “armchair treasure hunters”. Some of the clues have already been solved but there are still more to go and honestly, who knows for sure if they were solved correctly? Max said that there were false roads and he even felt the need to correct some of them at the time.

Anyhow, just thought I’d throw this one out there and see what happens.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

blend

a reply to: blend57

So cool blend!
Thank you for the beauty and quality you bring to the boards!

What a great thread so far and super interesting!

This sort of thing is why I still search ATS!!!!

Thanks for this

a reply to: blend57

THERE IS NO WORSE BLIND PEOPLE THAN THE ONE THAT DOES NOT WANT TO SEE 1 = 530 3 = 470 5 = 600 7 = 420 9 = 650

Pretty sure the numbers are wavelengths of light. Each number is a color.

originally posted by: LookingAtMars
a reply to: blend57

THERE IS NO WORSE BLIND PEOPLE THAN THE ONE THAT DOES NOT WANT TO SEE 1 = 530 3 = 470 5 = 600 7 = 420 9 = 650

Pretty sure the numbers are wavelengths of light. Each number is a color.

Yes, and I believe the textual clue is telling us to remove "1 = 530" as it isnt needed to find the solution to this particular clue, but is one of the "remainders" to be used to find and solve the 12th clue.

Or is that too simplistic? Or maybe he just Wanted us to think it was too simplistic.

I already found the owl, I just instructed the lawyer to keep it a secret so I can watch people scurry about.

a reply to: blend57