An encrypted message from the Secret Archives of the Vatican has now been published on MysteryTwister C3. Can a reader solve it?
Everybody interested in codebreaking should know MysteryTwister C3 (MTC3), the largest crypto puzzle website in the world.
On MTC3, you can try your luck on hundreds of encryption challenges in four different classes of difficulty: simple (1), medium (2), hard (3), and unsolved (X). Some of the challenges were designed by me. Most of these are level 3 or X challenges, which means that they belong to the tough ones. Among others, I provided a Dorabella challenge and a number of M-138 challenges.
The Vatican Challenge #1
In January 2018, a level X challenge titled Vatican Challenge part 1 was launched. It was authored by linguist and crypto history expert Beáta Megyesi from Sweden, whom I saw earlier this week at HistoCrypt in Mons, Belgium (the picture was arleady taken last year).
Source: Schmeh
Last year in March, I blogged about the Vatican Challenge #1. It consists of three double pages from 1628 representing a letter. Here’s the first one:
Beáta found this letter in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, the Main Library of the Vatican. The Vatican owns a large collection of historical writings, including manuscripts, letters, and printed books. Many of these writings are currently digitized to be made available to the public. Some of these old documents contain unsolved ciphertexts. I expect that many of them will be discussed among crypto history scholars in the years to come.
After I had published the Vatican Challenge #1 on my blog, reader Thomas Bosbach solved it (like many other ciphertexts I introduced on this blog). Thomas first found out that this encrypted letter is mentioned in a 19th century book, then he saw that the same source also provided the plaintext. By analyzing the encrypted and the non-encrypted version of the message, Thomas found out how the encryption system worked. Beáta finally confirmed that everything was correct.
Thomas’ thoughts and the replies of other readers can be followed in the comment section of my 2018 blog post.
Thomas handed in the description of the cipher to MTC3 and received a high number of credits. In order to avoid closing the challenge, the details were not published. Meanwhile, two other MTC3 users have solved the challenge, too.
The Vatican Challenge #2
At HistoCrypt 2019, George Lasry informed me that a new Vatican challenge is now available on MTC3. Again, it was provided by Beáta Megyesi. The ciphertext is a letter written by the Vatican nuncio in France on March 14, 1625. It comes from the Segretario di stato (Secret State Archive).
For copyright reasons, no scans of the message are available on MTC3. This means that I can’t publish any here, either. However, the message looks pretty similar as the one from challenge #1 shown above. It mainly consists of a long sequence of digits without separations. I assume that the digits need to be read in groups of equal length, probably in pairs. Here’s a similar cryptogram from about the same time. A transcription of the first page (the rest is available on MTC3) is reproduced here.
#Segr. di stato Francia 64/10
#130r.jpg
<CLEAR IT Di Parigi LI 14 Marzo 1625>
6 4 1 2 3 7 4 8 0 3 3 7 4 0 4 1 4 4 5 8 7 2 9
3 1 8 3 4 0 8 4 1 0 9 9 3 4 4 5 7 7 1 4 6 5 7
6 2 1 9 3 0 1 6 5 1 7 4 0 3 7 4 8 1 8 4 1
1 1 4 0 5 8 1 1 7 9 3 0 9 1 4 0 5 1 9 3 9 3 0
5 3 1 0 3 3 4 0 9 3 3 1 8 5 7 0 2 1 9 0 9 3 0
5 8 9 8 3 8 9 4 1 1 6 3 7 0 6 5 8 9 8 7
3 7 0 3 4 4 5 1 4 3 3 1 6 4 1 0 9 4 4 2 2 4 8
4 1 1 8 8 9 4 1 3 8 0 9 5 7 7 2 7 6 5 1 9 0 6
9 3 1 8 8 1 5 1 7 0 6 4 8 1 8 4 1 3 8 5
8 4 5 8 0 1 7 1 1 4 0 4 1 2 4 6 4 4 5 3 3 1 8
5 1 3 4 0 4 8 1 6 3 3 9 3 4 4 5 8 9 8 7 2 3 8
7 5 1 1? 0 2 1 9 4 1 0 9 8 0 5 7 7 2 1 8
3 3 8 7 2 9 3 1 6 7 8 5 8 7 2 3 3 3 2 1 4 8 5
8 4 5 1 0 7 5 8 9 2 3 4 1 8 8 8 4 8 3 9 5 7 7
2 7 6 5 3 3 1 6 5 1 3 1 8 4 8 3 8
1 3 0 3 1 6 4 1 5 7 7 2 4 0 3 7 4 0 3 9 5 3 0
3 9 4 8 3 9 1 7 0 6 2 4 0 5 3 3 0 9 1 6 7 0 5
1 7 2 3 1 0 8 4 7 1 8 5 1 6 4 7 7 5 4 7
1 6 9 3 0 6 7 0 2 7 9 5 3 4 1 8 9 1 0 6 5 9 8
2 1 0 7 5 1 4 1 6 1 7 8 8 5 2 2 8 4 5 1 1 3 2
3 1 4 0 5 1 1 0 6 8 0 1 7 1 1 4 0 9 3 1 6 5 4
0 5
3 0 1 7 ? 5 4 0 3 4 0 9 4 8 1 6 2 3 4 0 9 1 6
5 8 1 2 3 9 5 1 0 7 2 7 7 5 3 7 1 6 1 7 3 6 5
4 6 4 4 5 8 9 4 7 4 4 7 1 5 4 8 1 8 8 9
4 1 5 4 0 2 6 4 1 5 1 1 0 2 8 6 5 4 8 4 0 3 7
4 4 5 8 8 5 3 3 1 8 4 9 2 1 9 4 1 0 6 1 9 4 1
3 9 4 4 5 2 2 1 8 5 1 1 0 5 6 0 7 2 1 3
4 0 9 3 1 6 5 1 6 4 7 7 2 3 4 1 6 9 3 0 9 3 0
1 6 5 4 6 4 0 1 7 9 3 0 3 1 7 4 6 1 8 5 8 8 2
3 3 0 3 1 6 1 4 3 6 5 1 9 0 6 4 8 1 6 5 4 0
3 0 9 3 3 1 1 8 1 7 9 3 0 9 4 8 1 6 2 8 1 5 6
4 1 2 8 6 5 4 8 4 0 3 7 4 4 5 1 9 4 1 1 6 1 9
4 1 3 9 4 4 5 4 8 1 8 8 9 4 1 4 4 5 1 6 2
1 7 0 6 5 8 7 5 8 0 1 7 2 1 1 4 1 0 9 9 3 4 4
5 4 0 3 3 5 1 3 4 1 4 0 9 3 1 8 3 3 1 6 2 9 8
5 4 6 6 5 1 4 8 2 3 3 1 8 5 3 8 7 2 8 9
1 0 7 2 4 0 3 3 1 8 3 7 4 0 1 7 1 1 4 1 0 9 7
1 5 1 4 4 0 1 8 9 3 4 0 7 1 5 3 4 1 8 8 8 4 8
3 9 5 7 3 2 4 0 3 3 1 1 0 6 4 7 4 1 4 0 1 7 8
8
1 7 3 6 5 8 1 1 4 3 0 3 9 4 1 1 7 3 6 2 8 6 5
9 3 1 8 3 4 1 9 3 6 5 1 1 4 0 5 7 6 2 1 9 0 6
9 3 1 8 4 1 2 8 6 8 1 1 4 1 7 4 0 4 1 5 1 4 9
4 1 0 9 9 3 1 6 2 9 3 4 1 1 6 3 0 4 0 1 7 1 1
0 6 8 3 5 3 3 2 0 3 1 7 3 6 5 1 8 3 3 2 4 0 3
3 9 3 4 1 1 6 5 3 1 0 8 1 7 4 1 3 9 4 8
3 6 5 4 0 3 3 1 3 6 2 8 1 1 7 9 1 4 4 5 1 3 4
1 4 0 9 3 1 8 3 3 4 9 2 2 4 1 0 9 4 8 1 8 3 0
0 8 4 1 3 8 3 9 5 4 0 5 1 3 0 2 1 3 3 6
4 1 9 3 0 3 1 7 4 4 5 8 8 2 3 7 4 0 7 9 5 0 8
1 7 9 3 4 1 4 0 9 3 1 6 5 7 7 5 6 4 1 2 8 3 4
4 5 8 6 5 3 3 3 2 8 1 5 3 7 1 9 0 9 4 1
4 4 2 8 7 5 4 0 8 2 1 6 5 7 1 5 1 4 8 2 1 1 4
0 5 4 8 3 9 1 6 2 4 8 4 1 0 8 1 1 0 6 5 7 7 2
8 9 1 9 1 8 1 7 1 1 4 4 5 8 4 2 1 9
0 6 4 1 9 3 4 0 4 1 5 3 4 0 6 9 1 0 8 9 3 4 4
5 0 6 2 7 1 5 1 8 1 3 7 2 4 0 3 3 9 3 4 1 1 8
5 7 4 8 1 1 4 3 0 1 8 1 7 9 1 1 8 5 1 1 4 0
3 3 1 8 5 1 6 4 2 3 4 5 4 0 3 7 9 3 1 8 4 1 3
8 4 9 5 2 8 1 1 1 3 5 0 9 2 6 1 7 5 8 8 2 3 3
3 5 7 6 5 8 8 3 7 9 3 8 6 1 4 3 0
4 0 1 7 3 6 2 7 9 5 3 3 1 8 2 7 9 3 7 1 6 7 0
5 1 9 4 1 0 6 1 9 4 1 3 9 1 8 2 7 0 5 9 3 1 8
3 4 1 9 1 6 2 7 0 5 4 3 0 2 2 1 9 0 6 9 3
4 1 0 9 4 4 5 1 7 2 7 7 5 6 4 1 2 8 3 5 9 3 4
1 1 6 3 0 4 0 8 1 5 4 6 4 4 2 9 9 5 9 3 1 8 3
4 1 9 1 6 5 8 9 8 7 2 4 8 1 8 3 3 0 8
4 7 4 1 4 0 9 3 0 9 1 6 7 0 2 9 8 5 4 0 0 5 8
8 5 8 0 1 1 4 4 8 0 2 4 8 1 6 3 3 5 4 4 1 2 8
8 1 4 4 0 3 3 1 8 3 7 5 1 8 2 1 3 0 6
4 1 8 1 2 1 1 0 5 7 7 5 1 8 1 4 3 3 0 9 2 3 0
1 8 1 7 3 9 8 1 5 8 8 2 7 9 3 7 1 6 1 7 4 4 5
8 1 1 1 3 2 8 7 5 1 9 0 9 3 0 2 4 8 1 6 3 7
3 0 7 0 5 1 8 2 8 6 5 7 4 9 3 4 1 4 0 4 1 3 9
1 6 5 2 8 6 5 0 6 1 4 1 7 0 9 5 4 8 4 0 3 7 1
6 5 8 3 2 1 9 3 0 1 6 5 4 8 4 1 1 8
8 9 4 1 2 7 7 5 0 8 3 3 8 7 5 8 3 2 9 3 4 1 1
6 3 0 4 0 4 1 0 4 5 4 6 4 0 5 8 6 2 9 3 1 8 3
4 1 9 1 6 5 8 8 2 4 7 0 3 7 8 1 7 1 4
4 0 8 6 5 7 9 2 8 4 5 1 6 4 5 1 9 3 0 4 1 5 8
3 2 1 9 4 1 1 8 1 9 4 0 4 1 0 4 7 1 5 1 3 0 2
4 8 1 6 8 1 5 1 8 2 8 6 9 3 1 8 1 7 1 1 0 6
7 7 2 3 7 4 0 4 1 4 4 5 4 1 0 9 4 8 1 8 0 3 9
3 1 6 5 9 9 2 1 9 4 0 8 7 9 1 3 6 5 9 8 2 3 9
1 2 2 3 3 0 9 5 1 1 0 6 3 9 5 1 9 0
3 7 9 3 4 1 4 4 5 4 1 9 2 3 8 1 5 8 3 2 8 8 4
8 1 8 5 7 7 2 3 1 4 0 1 7 1 7 0 6 5 1 4 0 9 1
6 4 1 1 7 4 0 3 3 1 4 0 5 9 7 2 4 6 6 5
The Vatican Challenge #2 is listed as level X challenge on MTC3. Apparently, three people have already solved it. So, if you you find the solution, too, I recommend handing it in to MTC3. If you have any other comments, you are welcome to publish them here.
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Further reading: Revisited: A terminology for codes and nomenclators
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