Treasure: In search of the golden horse (SOLVED!!)

[labgo]

As I did each and every year since 1989, I spent a few days earlier this year looking at my notes to see if I could find the path toward the solution. This year (2023), I did find this path. And after a couple of months of work, I reached the final solution: the exact coordinates (latitude and longitude in degrees, minutes, seconds) of the Treasure location. This solution is not about collecting clues here and there to be interpreted as a real location. The whole process is much more involved. It is based on extracting and manipulating text from specific chapter sentences, using clues hidden in the sentences themselves (double meaning) and the map as a guide. Sentences are heavily self-referential, telling a story while at the same time providing raw text to be manipulated and information about how to proceed. This puzzle is a real masterpiece. At the end you are left with adding letters (a=1, b=2,...) in different columns corresponding to degrees, minutes, seconds.

The following links to my site, where I provide a short video as a teaser to the solution, giving a high level overview of the path without giving away the actual solution to the many puzzles. You will also find a link to a pdf document giving the full, detailed solution. This is a large document, as there are many steps to follow (I can see why the solution was not revealed!). Cryptic sentences in the book will suddenly make sense when you know what these sentences are really talking about. Although everything can be done with pen and paper and there is no fancy cryptography involved, the pdf document includes some Mathematica code that was used to process relevant text (such as extracting sentences containing specific letters) and provide a clean output.

(SOLUTION UPDATED TO VERSION 2 ON 2023-12-04)

Treasure Solution
         


Note that elsewhere on this site you will also find a summary of previous attempts at making sense of the chapters in the book. Although this is now obsolete, some of it has been useful in finding the actual solution. The 7-31 on the cover and the ten possible arrangements on the clue card are examples of this. 

[astree]

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I am going through the pdf, very well written, explained, and laid out. Thanks very much for this. I agree that the Captain Nemo solution wasnt satisfying.

Mike Stadther, of A Treasures Trove, had claimed (second hand info) that he solved this puzzle, and that it was too complicated. I ne er saw any of his solve, though.

On the cover, nice find on the 7 and 31; I am partway through the grid construct at courtyard text.  I need to keep reading, to see 1) if you do anything with the XVIII and 2) INGOTRESTATESHSPESATA. (if i recall that correctly)

[labgo]

Thank you for your comments, astree. Someone on rec.puzzles.narkive.com claimed that Paul Hoffman said at one point that any 13 year old can figure out the puzzle. What he meant is not clear but I find interesting that my solution requires making 13 kites (one every year according to the book). The string of letters associated with kite #13 is the one that will reveal the coordinates when further processed and converted to numbers.