It may sound like the plot of a Dan Brown novel, but this story certainly isn't fiction. Researchers have finally decoded a mystical manuscript that has confounded experts for centuries, revealing the bizarre inner workings of an 19th-century Masonic organisation.
Known as the Copial Cipher, the 105-page document was written in Germany over 250 years ago, using complex code that had seemed uncrackable. Researchers used a combination of cutting-edge technology and human intuition to unlock the document's secrets.
The document was reportedly an instruction manual for setting up society initiation ceremonies and suggested to scare tactics to frighten the initiates. Suggested initiation procedures range from the uncomfortable (plucking pledges' eyebrows) to the downright unpleasant (telling candidates they should "prepare to die").
