Nexus - 0403 - New Times Magazine-pages

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with enormous quantities of water to fulfil their task. mysteriously, he decided to retreat as quickly as he could. Upon Though the treasure was apparently safe, the reputation of the —_ reaching the surface, he decided never to return, so he made sure castle as holding the Templar treasure became public knowledge, _ that no one would ever discover the hole through which he had at least in certain circles. In later centuries, the dukes of Camus _ reached the underground network. and Moncepey bought the castle. One member of the Camus fam- The oldest part of the castle is a tower—the "Tower of the Eight ily put alchemical graffiti in one of the chambers and on the her- _ Beauties". Constructed in red bricks, its walls are more than one ald of the castle. He made sure he would be buried in a subter- _— metre thick. It appears circular from the outside, but inside, on ranean chamber, so he arranged for his tomb to be defended by the first floor, the tower becomes octagonal. At the top are eight traps that would release huge quantities of water to surprise any —_ openings that appear to have no functional use. It is also known trespasser. Tradition tells us as the "Tower of Alchemy", for that the tomb is very near the the walls were once covered fabled treasure left by Jacques with alchemical symbols. de Molay through his nephew, Though these symbols are Count de Beaujeu. almost invisible today, but we Others involved in the have photographic records of Templar treasure hunt report them in our possession. that several levels of subter- It was towards this tower that ranean galleries exist under- two of the greatest alchemists neath the castle. It is known of our age set course: Eugéne that later owners of the castle Canselier and Armand made use of some or many of Barbault, the author of Gold of these galleries. a Thousand Mornings. Their visit to the castle was not a tourist outing; instead, Barbault and his wife stayed there for several weeks, in the company of the now infamous Jacques Breyer. In 1950, a mysterious English colonel came to Arginy and asked whether the owner, Gilbert Marie Jacques de Chambrun d'Uxeloup de Rosemont, was willing to sell the estate for no less than one hundred million French francs. De Rosemont flatly refused. Two years later, he and Jacques Breyer decided to have another go at discovering the treasure of Arginy. THE TREASURE HUNT BEGINS The first organised search of the treasure trove left by de Beaujeu was organised by one of his descendants, Anne de Beaujeu. She talked about "very old documents that testi- fied about the presence of a major and historical depot". The men entering the under- ground network of tunnels were decimated by traps that had probably been put in place by Count de Beaujeu. Anne de Beaujeu eventually gave up and had the entrance to the under- ground network sealed off. In 1914, the new owner of the castle, Duke Pierre de Rosemont, felt the time was ripe for a new enterprise. After The new team decided to dig breaking down the wall that underneath the Tower of the Anne de Beaujeu had built, the The "Tower of the Eight Beauties" at Arginy castle Eight Beauties. In their search Duke opened the entrance to they hit upon the underground the underground caverns. One of his workmen, however, had his _ stream that was responsible for the sudden flooding that had legs crushed when he was hit by two stone balls that rolled out of | plagued previous seekers. Jacques Breyer believed that the a wall—another trap installed so many centuries earlier. De Templar treasures at Arginy consisted of several different forms, Rosemont decided to change his tactics and opted for safer meth- _ each requiring a certain kind of focus on his part if he was going ods. After some scouting of his own, de Rosemont discovered a to find them. He believed that there was a material treasure, taken hole that led downwards, so he decided to try to reach the treasure —— from the Treasury of the Temple in Paris and therefore possibly on his own. involving large quantities of gold; a spiritual treasure, detailing One of the Duke's descendants claims to have excellent evi- the rituals and doctrines of the Order; and an esoteric treasure—a dence concluding that Pierre de Rosemont was able to gain access _—_ treasure of Wisdom that contained information on magic and to the tomb of Camus—said to be very close to the secret treasure Hermetic rituals. Breyer also believed that the castle might have of the Knights Templars. Apparently, though, having almost been specifically converted into an "alchemical stronghold" so reached his goal, the Duke was struck by violent blows and cries _ that certain alchemical experiments could take place there. In any emanating from below, balls of mauve fire encircling the room, case, it does seem that alchemical thought was applied in the and strange odours and visions. When the water began to rise Tower's construction. THE BIRTH OF NEO- TEMPLARISM APRIL - MAY 1997 NEXUS - 63 The "Tower of the Eight Beauties” at Arginy castle