The Treasure of Rennes-le-Chateau - Hardcover

Putnam, Bill; Wood, John Edwin

3.66

41 ratings by Goodreads

9780750930819: The Treasure of Rennes-le-Chateau

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0750930810 ISBN 13: 9780750930819

Publisher: Sutton Publishing Ltd, 2003

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

In south-west France's beautiful Aude valley is the small town of Rennes-le-Chateau. It was here in the 1890s that the parish priest started a rumour which has swelled to a legend that of the fabulous treasure of the temple of Jerusalem and the Holy Grail, brought to France for safe-keeping. There have been many books elaborating this story and extending it to include the final resting place of Jesus among the mysterious alignments in the landscape. Bill Putnam and John Edwin Wood attempt to get to the bottom of the mystery and critically examine the sources. A major historical hoax is revealed and a fascinating detective story is recounted in their book. They go back to Rennes-le-Chateau, to the botched trail of forgeries and cover-ups and reveal the true source of the parish priest's treasure the donations of those whom he conned into believing that there was indeed a great and mysterious secret in the landscape. The hoax is certainly one of the most elaborate and complex ever perpetrated and created an ever-deepening whirlpool of fantasy. Its solution is a detective story with a cast of gullible local historians and duplicitous priests.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

From the Publisher:

A fascinating and highly readable historical detective story, The Treasure of Rennes-le-Ch�teau, will captivate those interested in mystery, conspiracy and archaeology.

From the Author:

The claims for the story of Rennes-le-Ch�teau are so astounding that it is essential to test the strength of their foundations. This is what we have attempted to do. One of us is a professional archaeologist, the other studied physics. We have tried to look at the evidence in the same way that we would approach a problem in our own specialist fields, not with the intention of supporting or rebutting any particular theory, but asking what information is reliable and what seems suspect. We do come to some conclusions about the story, and although our findings are less sensational than some others that have been published, they are quite surprising nevertheless.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.