SOMERTON MAN CODE PAGE CRACK, LETTERS M & R, MICRO CODE

 

FIRST CUT

 First cut results from uncovering the code letters. It is a very difficult and time-consuming task, the letters are very small and are still a little obscured by darker surroundings but I think I have the fix for that.

You'll notice that both of these letters appear to have 5 separate components, each one has been arrowed. you'll also notice that this is a 'first cut', I will have to revisit these two letters and it may be that, dependent on lighting, some of the characters revealed will need to be changed, it's imprecise as it is.

LETTER 'M'

When I put the M under a large magnifying glass with lighting:

1. I noticed that in the line marked 1., that it is not a straight line, some of the characters are set at an angle, specifically at the top of that stroke. At the base of line 1, there are in fact two parallel lines of characters, very small. There appears to be a total of 15 numbers and 1 letter X and 1 letter R. My understanding is that the letter X was meant as a delineator, marking the end of one group and the start of another, 5 characters are indecipherable: 

135032 X 35432 72343 R

2. The line marked 2 in the letter M looks to be straight with 12 numbers, no letters plus 3 characters that are indecipherable:

624245 242724

3. The line marked 3, has 8 numbers and no letters:

35832345

4. The line marked 4, has 8 numbers with one letter, X

310255 X 25

5. The line marked 5, us different in that it is in fact 2 parallel lines in the main, it has 18 numbers and one letter, X, with 4 characters indecipherable:

23154485 X 8543235235

LETTER 'R'

Again we have 5 components to look at, I don't think there is any significance in that there are 5, other letters I have briefly looked at certainly don't have that many.

Part 1. A small group of 5 letters/numbers mixed:

 234 X O

Part 2. This is, in fact, the straight line of characters that extends into the centre of the elliptical part of the R. This part seems to be made up of letters and numbers:

WRC 28 X 22V RA X 2

Part 3. This is the semi-elliptical 'loop' that forms the upper part of the letter R. One letter and numbers, and quite a few of them:

2443452725 X 2652

Part 4. This part has the first 4 characters written from one direction and the balance from the other, closest to the join of the loop and the upright,

44129 X  5533 X 256225344

Part 5. This is the straight-line that extends from the join of the loop and downwards:

042392 X 504

Summary

At least it is a start! It is the first cut and I can see that some of these characters will be changed when I revisit the letters next week.

The questions I have now are 1. Is this a code? 2. Is it a set of telephone numbers? 3. Is it meaningless? Could it be another training exercise just like Alf Boxall's version of the Rubaiyat? Right now, I honestly don't know but I hope that others will take a close look for themselves. In the next few days i will post just how the fine detail is recovered especially just what fluid is used to soak away the upper layers of ink. I found it a fascinating process.