Italian police have cracked an ancient mafia code used to initiate new members into the organized crime network.
Rome investigators found the age-old document while pursuing leads about a murder of a member of the 'Ndrangheta crime organization, based in Calabria, according to The Telegraph.
The text they found includes a code that uses Greek-like and Egyptian-like symbols and refers to the "blood and honor" vow recruits have to take to join the syndicate, Fox News reported.
Renato Cortese, the head of the police unit that found the document, told the BBC its content is basically the formula that a person must recite to become part of the 'Ndrangheta.
The document was handwritten and spanned three pages. Two police officers on the Rome force were able to crack the code and translate the symbols.
The 'Ndrangheta is now seen as more powerful that the Sicilian Mafia, with its fingers mostly in illegal drug trades around the world.