Andrew Gough's Arcadia

By Dr. Elias Van Kasteel

Introduction

Let me start with a hypothesis: “there is no Templar’s treasure; it is all a hoax.” Those who agree probably also believe that dinosaurs are mythical creatures and not historical fact, given that there are none alive today. Hmmm, let me provide a perspective that rejects this hypothesis by stating: “there is more proof to support that belief that the Templar’s did indeed retrieve and hid a treasure from the biblical lands than there is proof to suggest they did not.” As a matter of fact, the evidence is right under our nose and clues are provided by many practioners in the field, such as Allan Scott, whose impressive work I admire in particular. Moreover, we should not forget that substantial amount of evidence has already been provided by Bérenger Saunière himself, who left many clues of interest in his church. In other words, there is a treasure the only question is (1) where is it located and (2) who brought it there? Let me examine the last question first, and then I will address the first question.

Grand Master of the Knights Templar of Jerusalem

In my previous article, I provided intriguing information that suggested that the treasure found by Saunière fell under the responsibility of Guillaume de Saunhac (William of Sonnac), who was the Grand Master of the Knights Templars from 1245 until 1250. [1] I have two reasons to support this argument; the first being that the Saunhac family were residents of the Chateau de Belcastel in the Languedoc region in the South of France. [2] The Chateau resembles the castle in the painting by David Teniers, which Saunière acquired a reproduction of while in Paris. The second reason is that Guillaume de Saunhac oversaw all of the operations of the Order, including both the military operations in the Holy Land and Eastern Europe, and the financial and business dealings in the Order's infrastructure of Western Europe. How and why this painting helped Saunière to find the treasure remains unanswered, nevertheless one scenario is that the treasure was hidden in the South of France by the Templar’s Order under the responsibility of Guillaume de Saunhac in the 13th century.

Although more research is required in order to confirm the person(s) or organizations that hid the treasure, we will move on to investigating the identification of the likely artifact(s). It is well documented that nine knights excavated the ruins of King Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem from 1118 to 1125 and allegedly uncovered something of great importance. [3] Did the Templar’s find the Copper Scroll treasure of the Quamram Essenses in the tunnels beneath the Temple Mount? [4] If they did in fact discover a treasure, we must ask; how did it end up buried in the vicinity of Rennes-le- Château? Or do Saunière’s clues have no relationship whatsoever with the knights excavation in Jerusalem? Given the evidence available today, the later does not seem likely

Treasure Location

The location of Sauniere’s treasure is an intriguing topic for many. For those eager to learn where the treasure was hidden, the exact location remains a mystery - or does it? My intention in this article is to provide you with the tools necessary to locate the treasure that Saunière allegedly discovered in 1891 – for in my condition I am physically unable to retrieve it myself. To accomplish this, I will reference some of the original documents that Antonie Bigou hid in the church at Rennes-le-Château in 1644, which Saunière later found them during restoration of the church, in 1887. [5]

In locating the treasure I used three documents: the small parchment allegedly found by Bérenger Saunière while restoring his church in July 1887 (see rlcresearch.com), the tombstone of Marie de Nègre d’Ables (drawings by La Société d’Etudes Scientifiques in 1905) and the Dalle de Coumesourde – the stone of Coume Sourde, which was discovered in 1928 by Ernest Cross. It is important to understand that I will not go into detail about how these documents came to light or how they can be interpreted, as much analysis has already been preformed by others. My goal is simply to illustrate how you can use these three documents to find the location where Saunière allegedly found a tomb.

The Documents

Document One: Small Parchment

Saunière discovered mysterious parchments in a hollow Visigothic pillar underneath the altar stone, including the small parchment presented in Figure 1. At first sight, the parchment appeared to be Latin texts of passages copied from the Gospels, but on closer examination, a code or cipher was discovered. Specifically, it was observed that certain letters were out of line with the rest of the text and the letters spelled out words in French. [6]

Figure 1. Small parchment

Figure 2. Geometric substructure of parchment

Connecting the lines between the three red crosses and the figure in the upper left corner gives you “the geometric substructure” of the parchment as presented in Figure 2 (see also research of Allan Scott and Henry Lincoln). Supposedly, this echoes the pentagonal geometry that has been observed all over the Rennes-le-Château region, in both natural and man-made features of the landscape. [7]

Document Two: Tombstone of Marie de Nègre d’Ables

The tombstone of Marie de Nègre d’Ables is also called the Arcadia Stone and is presented in Figure 3. This stone was placed horizontally on the tomb in 1781 by Abbé Antonie Bigou, who had retrieved it near Les Pontils. [8] The engraving is believed to have been commissioned by Bigou. Saunière is said to have gone to great lengths to erase the face of the stone. If true, he must have had a good reason for doing so – but what? The priest later used the defaced stone as a roof for the ossuary in the village cemetery. [9]

Figure 3. Tombstone of Marie de Nègre d’Ables

If we take a look at the tombstone of Marie we see that it yields extremely odd Roman numerals, and reads: “JESUS, King of Rhedae, hidden near Arques, reigns by the Ark. Behind him is the TREASURE composed of gold. Not far from him, and in front, is the Ark”. [10]

Document Three: Coumesourde Stone

There is rumored to be a stone at Coumesourde, not far from Rennes-le-Chateau, although its whereabouts are unknown. We know of the artefact from the work of Ernest Cros, which includes a diagram of the inscription and is presented in Figure 4. [11]

Figure 4. Coumesourde stone

The translated inscription on the Coumesourde stone reads: “in the tomb with the riches of the forefather where the treasure lies, and, the lamb, brought in the middle for burial where the M-line cuts the short line in half.” Furthermore, notice that P.S. PRAECUM is a Latin phrase that also appears on the tombstone of Marie. This plays an important role in locating the treasure.

We have identified the three items that play a substantial role in the Rennes-le-Chateau mystery, and now with the help of established research, we can locate the treasure by following just two steps.

The Two Steps

Step 1: What can we learn from the Coumesourde stone?

The Coumesourde stone represents a triangle with two crosses and the text; “M-line cuts the short line in half”. The text P.S. PRAECUM and the two crosses appear on the tombstone as well. So, the Coumesourde stone and the tombstone contain the same messages and are clearly related. This enticed me to connect the two crosses on the tombstone with a line, in a similar manner as the lines between the crosses on the small parchment are connected (Figure 2). This is presented in Figure 5. The results are intriguing; the blue (longer) line intersects at exactly the middle of the vertical (shorter) line at 45° between REDIS REGIS and CELLIS ARCHIS. Could it be that we found “the M-line” which cuts the short line in half? Perhaps, but we cannot be sure since there is no M to be found anywhere on the tombstone.

However, there is more than meets the eye, for it is as if the Coumesourde stone is trying to tell us that the tombstone is some kind of key that if used properly, will reveal the spot in a triangle on a map associated to some M. As Corjan de Raaf and Jean-Pierre d’Aniort point out in their article about the Coumesourde mystery: “Somewhere there’s an area that was arranged to this geometry or which already had some of its points naturally……it must be or have been an area with clear lines of sight. In this area, on the crossing of the two M’s lies a secret or something that is key to determining where the secret is.”

Figure 5. Tombstone of Marie de Nègre d’Ables

Step 2: With the help of Coumesourde, integrate tombstone in small parchment

Since the small parchment could be used as a code key, I was eager to apply my findings and search for a triangle in which some line cuts an unidentified short line in half at some M at 45°. In order to find that location, I turned the tombstone 90° to the right in order to integrate the code key in the triangle, which according to Allan Scott (2005), represents the Rennes-le-Chateau region on the parchment (see Figure 6 integrated in Figure 2).

Figure 6. Tombstone of Marie de Nègre d’Ables turned 90° to the right

What I discovered was intriguing: in that particular region I found a (longer) line that cuts a (shorter) line in half on a location “M” at 45°. Moreover, the distance from the upper left M to the M in the center and the lower right M to the M in the center is exactly the same, similar to the two crosses on the tombstone. But there is more.

Figure 7. Tombstone of Marie de Nègre d’Ables integrated in small parchment

The drawing in Figure 7 has the same features associated with drawings in the Coumesourde stone of Corjan de Raaf and Jean-Pierre d’Aniort. These authors point out that by drawing the vertical line in the Coumesourde stone the two crosses are cut, and a new crossing is created, namely where the vertical line cuts the bended line (see Figure 8). The authors conclude that this is the point where two M’s cross (the blue and the red one) and a simple M (/|\) is created.

Figure 8. Coumesourde stone of Corjan de Raaf and Jean-Pierre d’Aniort

In order to validate this theory, I turned Figure 7 (the parchment) 90° to the left and what I found is indeed the exact same features of which two M’s cross (blue one and red one) and a simple M (/|\) is created. This is illustrated in Figure 9. Also notice the remarkable similarity of the two crosses on the vertical line in Figure 8 (Coumesourde stone) and the two M’s on the vertical line in Figure 9 (small parchment).

Figure 9. Tombstone integrated in small parchment, turned 90° to the left

In the center of the red line lies M, which represents the location of a treasure. What is the nature of this treasure? If we quote Silvain, who investigated the tombstones quite extensively: “JESUS, King of Rhedae, hidden near Arques, reigns by the Ark. Behind him is the TREASURE composed of gold. Not far from him, and in front, is the Ark.” I think that one does not need much imagination to figure out what this treasure represents…

Conclusion

The question that must be burning in many minds is invariably; what is the name of the location where this treasure is hidden? In order to answer that question one needs to know the names of the locations that correspond to the letters on the small parchment (Figure 2). But again, my goal is not to reveal the precise location, only to provide the information necessary for you to complete the investigation. To this end, I will suggest two locations where the treasure may be located. With respect to the research of Henry Lincoln, the location according to his map is near Rennes-le-Chateau. To be precise, it is between Esperaza, Couiza and Rennes-le-Chateau. Alternatively, if you believe the geometric structure provided by Allan Scott, whom I believe provides the strongest evidence; the treasure is located south of Carcassonne, in the region near the ruins of Belcastel. I suggest you pack a map, shovel, torch and a mobile phone with video, and go exploring. Lastly, hanging on the wall in a small monastery in the South of France is a painting of a monk of Noirmoutier; perhaps it can provide you with further clues… Good luck, and do let me know how you get on.

Picture 1. Painting left side on wall

Picture 2. Painting right side on wall

Notes:

1. Solomon’s Temple, see website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon%27s_Temple

2. Guillaume de Sonnac, see website: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillaume_de_Sonnac

3. Chateau de Belcastel, see website: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Belcastel

4. Copper Scroll treasure, see website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_Scroll

5. Marie was the widow of Francois d’Hautpoul-Rennes, Marquis de Blanchefort. On her deathbed Marie confided her family secrets to Antonie Bigou who was the priest and confidant of the family Hautpoul de Blanchefort. It is believed she gave documents of great importance to Bigou which originally had been entrusted to a notary by Francois-Pierre d’Hautpoul who died in 1644.

6. Mariano Tomatis, see website: www.renneslechateau.it.

7. University of South Florida, see website: http://chuma.cas.usf.edu/~dietrich/rennes-summary5.htm

8. P. Silvain, see website: http://www.rennes-le-chateau-la-revelation.com/secrets2-uk.htm

9. Rennes-le-Chateau Research and Resource, see website: http://www.rlcresearch.com/tag/marie-de-negre/

10. P. Silvain, see website: http://www.rennes-le-chateau-la-revelation.com/secrets2-uk.htm

11. See article Written in Stone, the secret of Coumesourde by Corjan de Raaf and Jean-Pierre d’Aniort.