143:
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135:
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118:
288:("Best of wives, Best of sisters, a most devoted Widower dedicates (this) to your virtues"). This was the solution favoured by former Bletchley Park employee Shiela Lawn. It has been pointed out, however, that the grammar of this sentence is incorrect, and that abbreviations following Latin rules cannot be expanded arbitrarily.
347:, Thomas Anson's brother, had buried Spanish treasure. Anson mounted a secret expedition to recover this treasure, which was located but due to unforeseen circumstances remains in place. According to Edmunds, Anson received letters in code sent by the expedition leader which include part of the cipher.
243:
placed on top of the main tomb. Below the relief is a stone plaque displaying a ten-letter inscription. The inscription is broken into two lines. There are eight letters on the first line, and two below on the second line, placed at either end of the letters on the first line. The letters on the
357:
Margaret, Countess of
Lichfield (1899–1988) suggested that the monument was built by Admiral Anson as a memorial to his wife. She thought that the inscription referred to a poem that related a story of a Shepherdess, Alicia, who lived on one of the hills of Rome and helped convert pagans to
335:
Dave
Ramsden (2014) suggests that the monument be understood as a funerary altar, dedicated to a syncretic female figure known as the "Shepherdess". He interprets the eight-letter inscription as a polyalphabetic cipher used to encrypt the name
262:
In recent decades, investigators have proposed several possible solutions. Despite the many theories, staff at
Shugborough Hall remain sceptical of all proposed solutions. A spokesman for the property (now owned by the
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Museum and two former
Bletchley Park employees, Shiela Lawn and Oliver Lawn. The promotion of the event included repeated references to the idea that there could be a connection between the monument and the
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299:. He has speculated that the phrase may be the source of the earlier inscription "OMNIA VANITAS" which may have been carved on an alcove at the estate of one of Thomas Anson's associates,
264:
365:
A. J. Morton observes that some of the letters match the names of the residents of
Shugborough in the early 19th century, and believes that the inscription denotes the words
76:
contained hidden meanings of great esoteric significance. The book makes a passing reference to the
Shepherd's monument and the inscription, but offers no solution. In 2003,
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depicting laurel wreaths, and two containing carvings of stone heads. One head shows a smiling bald-headed man; the other bears a likeness to the goat-horned Greek god
536:
818:
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33:
is a sequence of letters – O U O S V A V V, between the letters D M on a lower plane – carved on the 18th-century
Shepherd's Monument in the grounds of
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775:
291:
Steve
Regimbal interprets the letters as standing for a new Latin translation of the phrase "Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity." (
892:
239:" or "I am, even in Arcadia"). The carving displays a number of small alterations from the original painting, including the addition of an extra
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267:) was quoted in 2014 asserting, "We get five or six people a week who believe they have solved the code so we are a bit wary of them now."
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96:. In 2004, Richard Kemp, the then general manager of the Shugborough Estate, launched a promotional campaign with the
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64:
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109:. Despite the fact that organisers of the event had their own favoured theories, no conclusive answer emerged.
391:
The Six
Unsolved Ciphers: Inside the Mysterious Codes That Have Confounded the World's Greatest Cryptographers
276:
One suggestion is that the eight letters are a coded dedication by George Anson to his deceased wife. In 1951
344:
637:
223:
127:
51:
178:, was built sometime between 1748 and 1756. The outer form of the monument is a portico featuring two
574:
451:"Bletchley Park tries to crack a 250-year mystery: Do 10 letters at stately home lead to Holy Grail?"
142:
92:, but made no mention of the Shugborough inscription. However, the book led to renewed interest in
55:. It has never been satisfactorily explained, and has been called one of the world's top uncracked
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Out Your Own Sweet Vale, Alicia, Vanishes Vanity. Twixt Deity and Man Thou, Shepherdess, The Way
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and shows a woman and three men, two of whom are pointing to a tomb. On the tomb is carved the
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166:
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476:
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8:
608:
343:(2016) proposed a cypher encoding the latitude and longitude of an island where Admiral
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418:
389:
317:("I pray that all may follow the Way to True Life") in reference to the Biblical verse
706:
429:
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88:
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34:
703:
Unveiling the Mystic
Ciphers: Thomas Anson and the Shepherd's Monument Inscription
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Orgreave United with Overley and Shugborough, Viscount Anson Venables Vernon
105:, based on the brief reference made to the monument in the pseudohistorical
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Keith Massey interprets the letters as an initialism for the Latin phrase
21:
240:
183:
179:
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56:
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Christianity. In this theory, the initialism referring to the lines
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Optimae Uxoris Optimae Sororis Viduus Amantissimus Vovit Virtutibus
203:
244:
second line, D M, were commonly used on Roman tombs to stand for
199:
42:
655:
Fishwick, Duncan (2011). "A Secret Code at Shugborough Hall?".
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210:
191:
187:
801:
Bletchley veterans tackle 'toughest puzzle yet' (The Guardian)
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Inside the portico is a rusticated arch, which frames a
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The eight letters 'OUOSVAVV', framed by the letters 'DM'
146:
Fingers touching the letters 'N' and 'R' in the phrase
768:"Shepherd's Monument 'code' was 19th century graffiti"
362:, but no source for these words has ever been traced.
16:
Unsolved cryptogram carving in Staffordshire, England
605:"200-year-old mystery of Shugborough Code 'solved'"
138:
The Shepherds Monument, enclosed in its rustic arch
529:
417:
388:
297:Orator Ut Omnia Sunt Vanitas Ait Vanitas Vanitatum
742:Thomas Anson of Shugborough and the Greek Revival
504:Thomas Anson of Shugborough and the Greek Revival
477:"'Bletchley Veterans Tackle 'Toughest Puzzle Yet"
849:
351:
811:Holy Grail 'clue' at stately home (The Times)
62:In 1982, the authors of the pseudohistorical
540:(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
270:
68:suggested that Poussin was a member of the
415:
315:Oro Ut Omnes Sequantur Viam Ad Veram Vitam
888:Undeciphered historical codes and ciphers
575:"Shepherd's Monument at Shugborough Hall"
325:("I am the Way, the Truth and the Life").
893:Latin inscriptions in the United Kingdom
673:
654:
628:
626:
599:
597:
386:
280:speculated that the letters might be an
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141:
133:
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806:Da Vinci Code at Shugborough Hall (BBC)
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537:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
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448:
850:
527:
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623:
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121:The Shugborough relief, adapted from
883:Tourist attractions in Staffordshire
198:. The entablature is topped with an
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13:
416:Dunn, Jeff; Bubeck, Craig (2006).
329:
221:is a copy of the Poussin painting
213:fashioned by the Flemish sculptor
14:
904:
794:
774:. 1 February 2011. Archived from
420:The Gospel According to Dan Brown
387:Belfield, Richard (August 2007).
162:Carved bald head of a smiling man
107:The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail
94:The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail
83:The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail
65:The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail
170:Carved head with goat-like horns
873:Inscriptions of disputed origin
760:
732:
719:
701:Ramsden, Dave (December 2014).
694:
667:
648:
475:Laville, Sandra (12 May 2004).
657:Religious Studies and Theology
567:
521:
468:
442:
409:
380:
323:Ego sum Via et Veritas et Vita
174:The monument, commissioned by
1:
373:
638:Staffordshire County Council
561:UK public library membership
449:Herbert, Ian (12 May 2004).
250:, meaning "dedicated to the
7:
580:https://historicengland.org
531:"Scheemakers, Peter Gaspar"
352:English Initialism Theories
339:George Edmunds in his book
257:
112:
10:
909:
182:columns. These support an
45:, below a mirror image of
878:Modern Latin inscriptions
858:18th-century inscriptions
634:"The Shepherd's Monument"
293:Ecclesiastes 12:8
271:Latin Initialism Theories
86:in his bestselling novel
128:The Shepherds of Arcadia
80:copied many elements of
868:History of cryptography
528:Roscoe, Ingrid (2004).
31:Shugborough Inscription
863:Alleged tombs of Jesus
739:Baker, Andrew (2019).
546:10.1093/ref:odnb/24801
501:Baker, Andrew (2019).
171:
163:
155:
139:
131:
26:
284:for the Latin phrase
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161:
145:
137:
125:'s second version of
120:
24:
834:52.80139°N 2.01250°W
74:Shepherds of Arcadia
52:Shepherds of Arcadia
830: /
682:on 15 November 2011
609:The Birmingham Post
839:52.80139; -2.01250
778:on 2 February 2011
748:. pp. 171–173
676:"Hidden Meanings?"
611:. 21 December 2014
424:. Victor. p.
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164:
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140:
132:
27:
729:, published 2016)
559:(Subscription or
435:978-0-7814-4440-8
402:978-1-56975-628-7
395:. Ulysses Press.
233:Et in arcadia ego
224:Et in arcadia ego
215:Peter Scheemakers
190:comprising three
148:ET IN ARCADIA EGO
89:The Da Vinci Code
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678:. Archived from
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644:on 10 June 2011.
640:. Archived from
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49:'s painting the
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330:Cypher Theories
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260:
235:("I am also in
186:decorated by a
150:("I am also in
123:Nicolas Poussin
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72:, and that his
47:Nicolas Poussin
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795:External links
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39:Staffordshire
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780:. Retrieved
776:the original
762:
750:. Retrieved
741:
734:
727:Anson's Gold
726:
721:
702:
696:
684:. Retrieved
680:the original
669:
660:
656:
650:
642:the original
613:. Retrieved
584:. Retrieved
578:
569:
549:. Retrieved
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523:
511:. Retrieved
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484:. Retrieved
481:The Guardian
480:
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458:. Retrieved
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345:George Anson
341:Anson's Gold
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176:Thomas Anson
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837: /
615:22 December
336:"Magdalen".
247:Dis Manibus
241:sarcophagus
184:entablature
57:ciphertexts
852:Categories
563:required.)
374:References
295:), namely
282:initialism
103:Holy Grail
822:52°48′5″N
319:John 14:6
204:anthemion
202:using an
78:Dan Brown
825:2°0′45″W
752:21 April
686:14 March
663:(1): 89.
586:12 April
551:12 April
513:21 April
311:linguist
258:Theories
206:design.
113:Monument
782:1 March
306:Former
237:Arcadia
200:antefix
192:metopes
152:Arcadia
43:England
709:
557:
486:31 May
460:31 May
432:
399:
252:shades
219:relief
217:. The
211:relief
188:frieze
746:(PDF)
508:(PDF)
231:text
229:Latin
180:doric
784:2011
754:2020
707:ISBN
688:2011
617:2014
588:2020
553:2020
515:2020
488:2020
462:2020
430:ISBN
397:ISBN
29:The
542:doi
308:NSA
254:".
196:Pan
37:in
854::
770:.
661:30
659:.
636:.
625:^
607:.
596:^
577:.
534:.
479:.
453:.
428:.
426:91
321:,
154:")
59:.
41:,
786:.
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725:(
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369:.
303:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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