" Today, we have taken a big step ", welcomed Monday 24 February to AFP Dominique Cap, mayor of Plougastel-Daoulas, after having unveiled at a press conference the names of the tied winners of this competition with an envelope of 2,000 euros.
" We have a totally different path but we still arrive at a background of history which is similar, that of a sailor who perished at sea and a loved one who had this stone carved in his homage, " explains l edile, recalling that until now the inscription was " totally mysterious ".
Teams from around the world
The jury of the competition, made up in particular of historians, selected two hypotheses among the 61 received, the great majority of which were from France, but also from Brazil, the United States, Thailand, Russia, Spain, Italy and the Emirates. United Arabs. For the two winning teams, it is a text in Breton and the dates correspond to the moments of the facts and the engraving.
The first hypothesis, put forward by Noël René Toudic, associate professor of English and graduate of Celtic studies, evokes a soldier, Serge Le Bris, who would have perished at sea during a storm. Another soldier, Grégoire Haloteau, is said to have engraved the text in honor of the deceased.
The second proposal, made by Roger Faligot, reporter, writer and author, and Alain Robet, cartoonist and author of comics, mentions a person expressing his anger against those responsible for the death of a friend.
Noël René Toudic (left) Robert Faligot (right) FRED TANNEAU / AFP
" There is still a long way to go to completely lift the mystery, " said Dominique Cap, adding that certain parts of the text could not be deciphered and that there was still an attempt to identify the two soldiers whose the names were deciphered by Mr. Toudic.
" The Champollion mystery "
The town, at the origin of this operation called " The Mystery Champollion ", from the name of the scientist considered as the father of Egyptology, now plans to enhance the rock, making it more accessible in particular.
Located on a shore at the foot of a cliff, it is entirely engraved on one of its faces, with capital letters for the most part, but also with drawings, including a sailboat with its mast and saffron. There are also dates, including 1786 and 1787, roughly corresponding to the years of construction of the various batteries that protected the harbor of Brest.
