Captain Louis-Michel Aury (1788 – August 30, 1821) was a French privateer who operated in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean in the early 19th century. It's widely believed that he buried millions in treasure close to a spring. Springs served as reliable landmarks since they are less likely to change over time, and having access to fresh water is beneficial during labor-intensive activities like digging.
The petroglyph below was found embedded in the soil on Honeymoon Island off the west coast of Florida by treasure hunter Captain Joe Zsiga. Captain Joe sent me this photo without the red marks.
Top Right: Honeymoon Island (2 vertical red dots). Left: Greater Tampa Bay for perspective, Bottom Right: Wall Springs Park. The shape in red is flipped on the carving, a typical pirate trick.
The arrow with four chevrons marks both direction and distance. From the carved rock on Honeymoon Island, Wall Springs is exactly 4 miles in the direction of the arrow. This is based on markings that surveyors once used in Europe, called varas.
And if there's one thing Florida has is an abundance of springs, so not too far to the north is another spring and an old Spanish spring-fed well in Anclote River Park, Holiday, FL. That's where the other part of this petroglyph comes into play.
I found a Spanish Mission Cross and a Turtle in this part of the carving. A cross was a common way to define a country in symbology. So is it a coincidence that there's a Spanish Mission Cross right where there's a Spanish Well in Anclote River Park? I think not, especially combined with a turtle symbol, used by pirates to indicate the location of treasure.
From Honeymoon Island - which was a known hideout of Captain Aury's - the rock points to both Wall Spring Park (yellow star below) and the Spanish spring-fed well at Anclote River Park.
Thanks to Captain Joe Zsiga for showing me the petroglyph, Wall Springs Park, and Anclote River Park along with my friend and local guide, Dana Watkins Pair.
