Watch on Video or Read Below:
I write in the preface of my Introduction to Codes and Ciphers book how the desire to communicate secretly dates back thousands of years. There have been numerous systems and methods used to conceal information over the ages. While many of these techniques have become known, some, however, remain hidden. This means the messages they encoded remain hidden as well.
Below are Six top unsolved codes and ciphers. Can you discover their hidden messages? You might find a lost treasure or even the name of a murderer!
The Beale Treasure and Papers
The story of the Beale Treasure is one of mystery. It was first brought to the public’s attention in 1885 by way of a pamphlet published by James B. Ward. The fifty cent booklet detailed circumstances in which an immense treasure was buried, and included coded messages left on how to find the secret stash of gold, silver, and other jewels. If a person solved the codes, he would be led to all that was hidden. The codes needed to locate the treasure have never been broken.
Kryptos
Standing in the main courtyard of the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia, is an impressive encrypted sculpture called Kryptos. Greek for the word hidden, Kryptos features a large S shaped copper plate streaming out from a piece of petrified wood. The grand structure was designed by Jim Sanborn and holds what is considered one of the most famous unsolved codes in America.
Kryptos is sectioned into four parts with each to be separately decoded for a phrase. Three of the sections have been deciphered, but the last section consisting of 97 letters still conceals its message.
The Somerton Man Code
On December 1st, 1948, a man was discovered dead on Somerton beach in Adelaide, Australia. Commonly referred to as simply the Somerton man, because his identity remains unknown today, the deceased man and his body left few clues to help with the investigation. Many of the circumstances surrounding the death led to only more questions. One of the most curious was a code found within a rare book which was linked to the dead man. This code has never been broken. What it says might help discover who he really was or who killed him.
The Dorabella Cipher
Edward Elgar (1857-1934) is known not only for his musical talent, composing such a title as Pomp and Circumstance, but he is also known for creating a code which remains unsolved to this day. Written in 1897, eighty seven squiggly characters form a secret message referred today as the Dorabella cipher.
It was a note written to a girl named Dora Penny who had become friends with over a summer stay. It is believed to have been a playful note which Dora Penny should have been able to solve easily. But it has proved challenging, and the message remains unknown.
The Voynich Manuscript
I had the wonderful opportunity to go see The Voynich Manuscript on display at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC. This early 1400’s book is often considered the most mysterious manuscript in the world. Its 240 elaborate pages of writing is of an unknown script and holds illustrations of unidentifiable plants and images. No one to date has been able to conclusively answer the questions; ‘What does it say?’, ‘What is its purpose?’, or ‘Who wrote it?’
The Zodiac Letters
In the late 1960’s a serial murderer named the Zodiac Killer was on a spree in Northern California. The identity of this person remains unknown today, as do solutions to three of his coded messages sent to the press and investigating authorities during that time. It’s possible solving these ciphers might reveal or confirm who the Zodiac Killer was. Can you help bring a murderer to justice by solving the Zodiac Ciphers?
.
,
.