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Roger Lhomoy claimed he discovered the treasure of the Knights Templar in the crypt of the Château of Gisors in 1946 (thirty coffers deposited in a Romanesque chapel beneath the château). He later worked for Gérard de Sède who took an interest in his story and in 1960 published a magazine article about it. De Sède then received a letter from Pierre Plantard and this resulted in their collaboration on Les Templiers sont parmi nous, ou, L'Enigme de Gisors (Paris: René Julliard 1962).
In 1964, an official excavation headed by the Minister of Culture André Malraux failed to find any treasure in the Château of Gisors and the matter was closed.
Roger Lhomoy, from the article “J’ai Retrouvé Le Trésor des Templiers”,
by Gérard de Sède and Pierre Branche (Ici Paris, N° 782, 22 August - 28 June, pages 12-13, 1960)
In private correspondence dated 7 March 1985, Gérard de Sède wrote:
“As far as I know there's no connection between Rennes-le-Château and Gisors (except for those which the fraudsters and fantasists have invented). My book has given rise to polemics because it told the general public about the existence of a crypt under the château in Gisors. I wrote down everything that I knew about it at that time. Today I know a little bit more (see the latest edition of my book published by Jean de Bonnot, Paris). The coffers had already been removed from the crypt by the start of the 19th century, as is shown by the English engraving in the museum of decorative arts at the Pavillon de Marsan, Rue de Rivoli, Paris.”
“Aucun rapport, à ma connaissance, entre Rennes-le-Château et Gisors (sauf les rapports qu’ont inventé les fumistes). Mon livre a soulevé des polèmiques parce qu’il faisait connaître au public l’existence d’une crypte sous le château de Gisors. J’ai écrit tout ce que je savais à l’époque; aujourd’hui, j’en sais un peu plus (voir la dernière édition de mon livre aux éditions Jean de Bonnot, Paris). Les coffres avaient déjà disparu de la crypte au début du siècle dernier, comme le prouve la gravure anglaise conservée au musée des arts décoratifs, Pavillon de Marsan, rue de Rivoli, Paris.”
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