Is La Buse's Treasure Still Hidden?

Introduction

The legend of La Buse’s treasure is the most enduring mystery in Seychelles’ strange-history tradition. Unlike many pirate stories, it begins with real historical events: the French pirate Olivier Levasseur, nicknamed La Buse (“The Buzzard”), took part in one of the richest pirate captures of the eighteenth century. What transformed history into Fortean legend was the later claim that he concealed part of the loot somewhere at Bel Ombre on Mah and left behind a cryptic coded message pointing to its location. More than a century of excavations, decipherment attempts and family-led searches have produced intriguing artefacts but never the legendary hoard. That combination of authentic history, ambiguous evidence and repeated failure is precisely what has kept the story alive.

The pirate, the ship and the alleged hoard

The historical foundation is unusually solid. In April 1721 Levasseur and his associates, including the English pirate John Taylor, captured the Portuguese treasure ship Nossa Senhora do Cabo (also known as Virgem do Cabo) after it had been badly damaged by storms. The vessel was carrying exceptionally valuable cargo from Portuguese India, including precious metals, jewels, luxury goods and important religious treasures belonging to colonial officials and the Church. Contemporary accounts agree that it was among the richest prizes ever taken during the Golden Age of Piracy.[Wikipedia]WikipediaCryptogram of Olivier LevasseurCryptogram of Olivier Levasseur

Exactly what became of Levasseur’s share is much less certain. Some was undoubtedly divided among the pirates, sold or spent. Later tradition, however, insists that a substantial portion was hidden somewhere in the western Indian Ocean rather than dispersed. By the nineteenth century, Seychellois tradition increasingly associated that hidden cache with Bel Ombre on Mah, eventually making the district synonymous with buried pirate treasure.[Seychelles Heritage]seyheritage.scSeychelles Heritage Treasure Site | Seychelles Heritage FoundationSeychelles Heritage Treasure Site | Seychelles Heritage Foundation

The legendary contents became ever more extravagant as the story spread. Modern retellings often mention gold, diamonds, pearls, ceremonial church objects and the celebrated “Fiery” or “Flaming Cross of Goa”. While many of these items are historically plausible because they were listed among the Portuguese cargo, no evidence shows that such objects were ever buried in Seychelles rather than divided among the pirate crews.[Shipwreck Center]shipwreckcenter.orgOpen source on shipwreckcenter.org.

The cryptogram, rock marks and the Bel Ombre searches

The mystery’s defining feature is the alleged 17-line cryptogram attributed to Levasseur.

According to the best-known version of the story, Levasseur threw the coded message into the crowd immediately before his execution on Runion in 1730, challenging onlookers to “find my treasure”. This dramatic scene appears in countless books and documentaries, yet historians point out that it is absent from contemporary execution records and only appears in print much later. The cryptogram itself was first publicised by the French historian Charles de La Roncire in 1934, creating an important gap of roughly two centuries between the pirate’s death and the story’s first documented appearance.[Wikipedia]WikipediaCryptogram of Olivier LevasseurCryptogram of Olivier Levasseur

That uncertainty has never discouraged treasure hunters.

By the early twentieth century, members of the Savy family of Mah believed documents inherited through local tradition linked the code to Bel Ombre. Between roughly 1913 and the early 1920s they excavated parts of the beach while also consulting cryptographers, none of whom claimed a convincing solution.[Seychelles Heritage]seyheritage.scSeychelles Heritage Treasure Site | Seychelles Heritage FoundationSeychelles Heritage Treasure Site | Seychelles Heritage Foundation

The hunt entered its most famous phase after Reginald Cruise-Wilkins arrived in Seychelles in 1948. Fascinated by the cipher, he spent decades searching Bel Ombre, convinced that the code worked together with carved rock symbols depicting animals and human figures. His interpretation mixed classical mythology, astronomy and engineering, proposing that Levasseur had designed a sequence of symbolic clues rather than a simple map.[Seychelles Heritage]seyheritage.scSeychelles Heritage Treasure Site | Seychelles Heritage FoundationSeychelles Heritage Treasure Site | Seychelles Heritage Foundation

Cruise-Wilkins’ investigations became increasingly ambitious. Government support, private investors and specialist equipment financed tunnelling beneath large granite outcrops, pumping underground chambers and blasting through rock. After his death in 1977, his son John Cruise-Wilkins continued the search using more modern machinery and surveying techniques, assisted by collaborators including Robert Graf.[Wikipedia]WikipediaCryptogram of Olivier LevasseurCryptogram of Olivier Levasseur

Despite decades of excavation, the discoveries have been modest rather than spectacular. Reported finds have included old coins, musket balls, pistols, porcelain fragments, human bones and isolated items of jewellery. Such objects demonstrate that the site contains historical material, but none proves the existence of Levasseur’s supposed treasure chamber. The discoveries are exactly the kind of mixed archaeological record one might expect from a coastal site occupied over many generations.[Seychelles Heritage]seyheritage.scSeychelles Heritage Treasure Site | Seychelles Heritage FoundationSeychelles Heritage Treasure Site | Seychelles Heritage Foundation

Does any of the evidence actually support the legend?

The Bel Ombre story sits at the meeting point of history and folklore because every major piece of evidence has competing interpretations.

The strongest evidence for the legend includes:

Against this stands equally important sceptical evidence.

Most importantly, historians note that no eighteenth-century document records Levasseur throwing a coded message before his execution. The famous cryptogram itself appears only in twentieth-century publications, making it difficult to establish whether it genuinely originated with the pirate or emerged through later storytelling. Likewise, no authenticated document places Levasseur burying treasure at Bel Ombre.[Wikipedia]WikipediaCryptogram of Olivier LevasseurCryptogram of Olivier Levasseur

Even the rock carvings remain controversial. Supporters regard them as deliberate navigational clues; critics argue that natural weathering, unrelated markings or later human alterations have been woven into an attractive narrative after the fact. Similar disagreements surround the archaeological finds, which demonstrate historical activity without proving the existence of an immense hidden hoard.[Seychelles Heritage]seyheritage.scSeychelles Heritage Treasure Site | Seychelles Heritage FoundationSeychelles Heritage Treasure Site | Seychelles Heritage Foundation

Recent archaeological work identifying what may be the wreck of the Nossa Senhora do Cabo near Madagascar strengthens the historical reality of the original pirate raid, but it does not confirm the Seychelles treasure legend. If anything, it sharpens the distinction between well-supported pirate history and later speculation about where Levasseur’s share eventually ended up.[Shipwreck Center]shipwreckcenter.orgOpen source on shipwreckcenter.org.

Why failure keeps the legend alive

Paradoxically, every unsuccessful excavation has strengthened the legend rather than weakened it.

Treasure stories usually fade once a location has been thoroughly searched. Bel Ombre has done the opposite because each failure encourages new explanations. Perhaps the cryptogram has been mistranslated. Perhaps crucial symbols remain undiscovered. Perhaps the treasure lies beneath collapsed tunnels, rising sea levels or granite impossible to excavate with earlier technology. Every negative result becomes another clue rather than a final answer.

The story has also become woven into Seychellois identity. It has inspired museum displays, newspaper features, tourist trails and even public treasure-hunt competitions based on the cipher. The search itself has become part of local heritage, almost independent of whether any treasure exists.[Seychelles Nation]nation.scSeychelles NationLa Buse virtual treasure Hunt captures public interest -Archive -Seychelles NationMarch 26, 2006…Published: March 26, 2006

For Fortean readers, this makes La Buse’s treasure especially revealing. It is not primarily a tale of paranormal forces but of how genuine history, uncertain documents, cryptography, landscape and human persistence combine into a mystery that continually renews itself. Bel Ombre remains compelling not because anyone has proved the treasure is there, but because no search has been able to prove that it is not.

Amazon book picks

Further Reading

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Under the black flag

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First published 2011. Subjects: Tax evasion, Tax havens, Foreign Banks and banking, Social aspects, Taxation.

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Endnotes

1. Source: Wikipedia
Title: Cryptogram of Olivier Levasseur
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptogram_of_Olivier_Levasseur

2. Source: nation.sc
Link:https://www.nation.sc/archive/213230/la-buse-virtual-treasure-hunt-captures-public-interest

Published: March 26, 2006

3. Source: nation.sc
Link:https://www.nation.sc/archive/212973/virtual-treasure-hunt-promises-winner-nearly-1000-prize-from-kenwyn-house

Published: February 25, 2006

4. Source: shipwreckcenter.org
Link:https://shipwreckcenter.org/sainte-marie-madagascar/

5. Source: seyheritage.sc
Title: Seychelles Heritage Treasure Site | Seychelles Heritage Foundation
Link:https://seyheritage.sc/heritage-sites/treasure-site

6. Source: belombrepedia.belombre.com
Title: pirate and treasure myths
Link:https://belombrepedia.belombre.com/en/content/pirate-and-treasure-myths

7. Source: detecting.org.uk
Title: Olivier Levasseur
Link:https://www.detecting.org.uk/html/Olivier_Levasseur_Pirate_Treasure.html

9. Source: voynich.fandom.com
Title: Olivier Levasseur
Link:https://voynich.fandom.com/wiki/Olivier_Levasseur

10. Source: goldenageofpiracy.org
Link:https://goldenageofpiracy.org/history/pirate-round/capture-of-the-nossa-senhora-do-cabo

Additional References

11. Source: labuse-facts.com
Link:https://labuse-facts.com/en/index.php/cryptogram/

12. Source: popularmechanics.com
Link:https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/archaeology/a70532856/1721-pirate-treasure-discovery/

13. Source: science-et-vie.com
Title: Qui tait La Buse ce pirate dont le cryptogramme dfie toujours les chercheurs?
Link:https://www.science-et-vie.com/science-et-culture/qui-etait-la-buse-ce-pirate-dont-le-cryptogramme-defie-toujours-les-chercheurs-201482.html

Published: June 8, 2025

14. Source: explorersweb.com
Title: Exploration Mysteries: The Treasure of Olivier Levasseur Explorersweb
Link:https://explorersweb.com/exploration-mysteries-treasure-olivier-levasseur/

Published: January 25, 2023

15. Source: seychellesnewsagency.com
Title: La Buse treasure hunt organised as part of Heritage Week in Seychelles
Link:https://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/9014/La%2BBuse%2Btreasure%2Bhunt%2Borganised%2Bas%2Bpart%2Bof%2BHeritage%2BWeek%2B%2Bin%2BSeychelles

Published: April 20, 2018

16. Source: smithsonianmag.com
Link:https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/treasure-quest-97145764/

17. Source: thecurseofoakisland.com
Title: Three centuries later, the cipher remains unsolved. At a Glance Ol
Link:https://thecurseofoakisland.com/theories/la-buse-and-the-unsolved-cryptogram

Published: July 5, 2026

18. Source: scienceblogs.de
Title: Six hidden treasures that are described in encrypted messages (1) Cipherbrain
Link:https://scienceblogs.de/klausis-krypto-kolumne/2018/02/02/six-hidden-treasures-that-are-described-in-encrypted-messages-1/2/

19. Source: lejdd.fr
Title: Aux Seychelles, sur les traces du trsor du pirate La Buse
Link:https://www.lejdd.fr/Societe/aux-seychelles-sur-les-traces-du-tresor-du-pirate-la-buse-3502208

Published: November 25, 2017

20. Source: newstoday.co.uk
Title: Oliver Mills-Nanyn: The Treasure of Olivier Levasseur
Link:https://www.newstoday.co.uk/2024/02/oliver-mills-nanyn-the-treasure-of-olivier-levasseur/

Published: February 20, 2024