Unsolved 1982 New Orleans treasure hunt

[BJG]

Hi all -

I've been researching an old unsolved treasure-hunt from 1982 called "The Secret" by Byron Preiss (paperback). There's a theory that there's a unique decorated ceramic box buried somewhere in New Orleans, and I have an idea it might be near the entrance to Louis Armstrong park. I'm in the UK, but I was hoping to contact someone local who might be interested in trying to find it.

Byron buried twelve of these around the US , but only two were ever recovered. There used to be a jewel prize for finding them, though he's not around any more so there's just the box. It would be an intruiging souvenir though. (They were made by the New York sculptress JoEllen Trilling.)

I've put together some notes on this puzzle here:

http://www.lemontiger.co.uk/images/m...neworleans.pdf

Is there anyone in New Orleans who might be interested in taking a look next to that arch to see if there's a spot where something could have been buried...? (I'm not sure how much this area has changed since 1982, or what flood damage there might have been at this location.)

Ben

[NOLA_Ken]

Hi Ben, I just read your info, and I'd be interested in checking into it a bit more. A lot of things have been changed there over the years, our last mayor had very ambitious plans for the park which never seemed to come together. When I get a chance I'll see if I can find any period (1982ish) photos to compare it to. The only problem is I have no idea how I could pin point it if it is there, no metal and possibly 3 feet deep will make it a real challenge.

It's a really cool story, and it would definitely be cool to find, so hopefully others will be interestd as well, and maybe one of us will find it.

Ken

[BJG]

Cheers Ken...somewhere beside the Armstrong Arch is my best guess (as explained in the above PDF file), though I don't know how much this area has changed since 1982. I can't get near enough on Google Maps to take a proper look. Out of the two found casques, one was buried beside a fence, and the other beside a wall. The Armstrong Arch has a low wall next to it. The picture might have a disguised version of something which can be seen at this location; eg, something resembling this pole. It would be great to get some photos if anyone passes that way.

[NOLA_Ken]

Ben, If you use google earth, you can zoom in fairly close to the park, and using the historical imagery feature you can see the park at different dates as far back as 1998, it shows a lot of changes in the park.