What We Know and Don't Know

What We Know

Tying Cleveland to Image 4 and Poem 4 was well established by Zinn and Abrams. Besides the aforementioned details, the month associated with the Cleveland puzzle is March, as evident in the triangle on the sphere (three sides). The flower is daffodil and the gem, aquamarine. These and the details in the following paragraph were discovered by previous researchers and are well documented at secret.pbworks.com.

The latitudes and longitudes that form a box around Cleveland can be found hidden in the clearly displayed numbers 1442 and 1881, almost. By that I mean, if the numbers were 1442 and 1882, then by reversing the first two digits, we would have 41 and 42 latitude, 81 and 82 longitude, which would form a nice box around our city. But those aren’t quite the numbers. The question is, why not? The dig instructions are reversed horizontally, so the number 1882 would still hint at this while also indicating the correct box around Cleveland. I don’t get it. There must be some other meaning to the number 1881, something important. 

Welcome to Level 2. 

What We Don’t Know

• Backwards: The most important outstanding mystery of all is, why do the dig instructions clearly indicate right to left, when they should indicate left to right? Anyone interpreting the instructions would certainly be standing in front of the planter when counting off the stones. There’s no clear indication that the final dig instructions are backwards.

• 1442 and 1881: What is the meaning of these numbers? The two numbers, besides hiding latitude and longitude, are presented in a way that would suggest dates. But these dates don’t seem to hold any significance. 

• Keystone: Why is the gem embedded in the keystone of the arch? This would suggest Pennsylvania, the keystone state—but the casque was found in Cleveland, Ohio. 

• L and Bell: What is the meaning of the L and Bell near the bottom of the Image? The logical interpretation, combining L and a bell would be the Liberty Bell, particularly since the bell looks a lot like the Liberty Bell. But what does the Liberty Bell have to do with Cleveland? It visited Cleveland on April 27, 1893 on its way to a Fair in Chicago, but the bell visited a number of cities around that time. 

• The WWI Helmet: Why is the centaur wearing what appears to be a World War I helmet? It seems out of place on an ancient mythological creature. 

• Free Speech, Couplet, Birch: Each item relates to the corresponding Ancient Greek name in the line above. Socrates chose to die rather than relinquish his freedom of speech. Pindar was a great poet while couplet is a type of rhyme scheme. And Apelles was a great painter relating to paint brushes often being made of birch. What is this line’s purpose in the puzzle? Hmmm. 

Let’s begin our analysis with the final words of the poem as we try to answer our first question regarding the dig instructions being backwards. 

To find casque’s destination

Seek the columns

For the search.

The word seek can mean to look for, attempt to acquire, or go to. The last definition fits with how Abrams interpreted the puzzle. The clues are intended to be interpreted from the perspective of the columns. Consequently, we’re left with the question, is there any other indication that the dig instructions are from the perspective of the east side of the wall while the planter containing the casque is on the west side? The natural place to stand while interpreting the dig instructions is in front of the planter (behind the wall), making the instructions backwards. Is there a more elegant solution that doesn’t involve first digging in the wrong place as Zinn and Abrams did? It feels like there should be. Expecting treasure hunters to randomly try reverse instructions would be tedious, not fun or interesting at all. 

Someone with better eyes than me found the word BACKWARDS well hidden in the cracks of the structure in Image 4. See thesecret.pbworks.com for details. This clue seems awfully thin for such an important detail. Finding nothing obvious telling us that the instructions are backwards, let's skip to our second question and change tactics.