Rosslyn Chapel Decoded ─ New Interpretations of a Gothic Enigma

With its superlative stone carvings and strong Templar and Freemasonic connections, Rosslyn Chapel—a 15th-century Gothic masterpiece that appeared in The Da Vinci Code—represents an absorbing historical puzzle. Alan Butler and John Ritchie believe that its walls once sheltered a holy relic: the skull of St Matthew. They lay out their startling evidence, complete with formerly unpublished images, and embark on an unprecedented exploration of the Chapel's history, as a Christian church and as something more: a reconstruction of King Solomon's Temple and an astronomical observatory.

Alan Butler has spent 30 years immersed in world history, writing books delving into neglected recesses of the past. Three of his books written with co-author Christopher Knight have attained cult status: Civilization One (2004), Before the Pyramids (2009), and The Hiram Key Revisited (2010), all published by Watkins. Butler is an expert in ancient astronomy and astrology and proficient in interpreting historical symbolism of the sort represented by Rosslyn Chapel.

John Ritchie has travelled the world as film cameraman and a still photographer. These days he is a broadcaster and a successful historian. He brings to this book his keen eye, a peerless knowledge of Scottish history and a trust on the part of its custodians that have given Butler and Ritchie unrivalled access to Rosslyn Chapel.