The original map with clearly defined text.


Enhanced inverse-colour version of original map.


Accurate and simple transcription of the map.


From the clarified maps that include the various Latin translations, we are able to learn a lot about the Dharma Initiative's past on the Island. Although I was not the one who clarified/translated the map, I can explain what most of it could potentially mean in relation to the story/mythology of LOST.

I will group the explanations by what station/event they relate to.


The Swan

• Described as
  Quote:

  3 of 6 (4, 8, 15 ,16, 23, 42)

  - this supports my theory that each of the stations is related to one of 'The Numbers' and therefore linked to a factor of the Valenzetti Equation.
  
  Interestingly, the Valenzetti Equation is mentioned on the map -
  Quote:

  LOW PRIORITY ZONE FOR EXPLORATION: POSSIBLE SITE FOR GROUND STUDY OF FLORA LOW RELEVANCE TO VALENZETTI-RELATED RESEARCH ACTIVITY

  - which proves that the Dharma Initiative are indeed studying the Valenzetti Equation, probably to find a way to alter its factors in order to postpone the date of the apocalypse, just as the Lost Experience said.

Small structure adjacent to The Swan - "H3"

• No direct references to this structure that appears on the left-hand side of The Swan. One possible part of the text that could apply to it is this -
  Quote:

  POSSIBLE RECREATION AREA FOR D.I.H.G. TEAMS

  - which is found very near "H4"

The Flame

• Connections with Smokey/Cerberus - It is very likely that Smokey and Cerberus are the same thing. I'll assume that they are for this explanation.
  
  The Flame is believed to be either a main power station or a control center for the Cerberus system by most LOST fans. It seems to me that it would be more probable that it is a control center for Cerberus, because of this note on the map -
  Quote:

  ALLEGED LOCATION OF #4/THE FLAME BUT UNLIKELY DUE TO CERBERUS ACTIVITY

  - which I infer to mean that the mapmakers believed that this station was not in use because of frequent Cerberus-related activity, but perhaps the frequent activity of Cerberus is due to the fact that The Flame is the place where it was made/controlled from.
  
  Cerberus is usually referred to as a "system" by the map, so it could be possible that Cerberus could be controlled from a computer terminal (remember in The Cost of Living Locke saw into another station, in which there was equipment similar to that of The Swan; computer banks etc. This could mean that Eyepatch Man is the controller or creator of Cerberus, and currently occupies The Flame). Also, remember the old saying "no smoke without fire".
  
  
• Possibly a power station - The Flame could also be a power station, because of the station's name and because next to The Flame there is this note -
  Quote:

  √16 √64 √225

  - which obviously evaluates to "4 8 15".
  
  Across the map, there is another note -
  Quote:

  x4 y8 z15 SUBTERRANEAN CONDUIT?

  - which could refer to the "√16 √64 √225", meaning that perhaps it is a denotation of the location of The Flame, and therefore meaning that The Flame has an underground network of metal pipes containing power cables, what one would expect if The Flame was a power station.
  
  One other thing. When the Castaways first explored The Swan Sayid noted that the station was powered by geo-thermal energy, via a generator. Note the connection between thermal and Flame; thermal -- heat -- fire -- flame.

The Arrow

• Quote:

  ARROW STATION: - PRIMARY FUNCTION - RESTOCKING AND STAGING AREA FOR D.I.H.G.

  - Suggests that The Arrow is, as Goodwin stated, primarily a storage facility.
  How Goodwin seemed to know this already can be pinned on the fact that he was an Other, but whether The Others know because they used to be Dharma Initiates is unclear.

The Staff

• Abandonment -
  Quote:

  CONFIRMED SITE OF CAUDUCEUS MEDICAL STATION (THE STAFF) CAUDUCEUS STATION BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN ABANDONED DUE TO AH/MDG INCIDENT OF 1985 OR POSSIBLE CATASTROPHIC MALFUNCTION OF CERBERUS SYSTEM

  This apparent abandonment (assuming that Ethan/The Others merely used it in passing when they kidnapped Claire) is somewhat concurrent with what Kate, Danielle and Claire find when they revisit The Staff, and find it to be empty.
  
  This could mean that The Others were the ones 'responsible' for the mentioned "AH/MDG INCIDENT", and that they had captured The Staff and forced the Dharma Initiative to abandon it. It is also possible that the "AH" stands for Alvar Hanso, though what significance that this would hold if it is true, also remains unclear.
  
  
• Quote:

  ESTIMATED TRAVEL TIME INCOMPATIBLE WITH 108. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SURVEY

? (The Pearl)

• It is clear from the map that the cartographers, Radzinsky and Kelvin Inman, did not discover The Pearl's location and thus did not know what it was built for. However, the fact that they made reference to it -
  Quote:

  The Pearl?

  - suggests that they had at least heard of the station.

Cerberus (system)
It is almost certain that Smokey and Cerberus are the same thing.

• Cerberus is described as a 'system' by the map, and is usually associated with the abandonment/inactivity of Dharma Initiative stations.
  
  When the map talks of The Staff, it mentions that it was abandoned because of a "massive malfunction" in the Cerberus 'system'. This could have been related to The Incident, or to the AH/MDG Incident (I have assumed that these two "incidents" are different, because the AH/MDG incident took place in 1985 whereas "The Incident" must have taken place prior to 1980, because it is mentioned in The Swan's Orientation film, which was published in 1980).
  
  What Cerberus actually is remains a mystery. It looks like a large black cloud of shifting smoke, but makes loud mechanical noises, is described by Danielle as a "security system" and is able to pick up objects (in Exodus, Cerberus attempted to drag Locke into a hole in the ground, then in The Cost of Living, it picked Eko up and smashed him into various trees and then the ground, killing him).
  
  Incidentally, there is a bit of Latin text on the map that links with Locke being pulled down a hole -
  Quote:

  Mus uni non fidit antro

  - which translates to "A mouse does not rely on just one hole". This could well be a reference to Cerberus.

Magnus Hanso / The Black Rock

• Quote:

  KNOWN FINAL RESTING PLACE OF MAGNUS HANSO / BLACK ROCK.

• Magnus Hanso - Alvar Hanso's great-grandfather. The Lost Experience revealed that Magnus Hanso was the owner of a major company back in 1880 that was strongly linked to slave-trade.
  
  
• The Black Rock - Evidently Magnus Hanso's ship, since Locke pointed out back in Season 1 that The Black Rock was a slave-ship. How it came to be in the middle of the Jungle is unclear, but since we have seen that Smokey has the ability to pick things up and move them with ease, it is possible that Smokey put the ship there, considering that the map states -
  Quote:

  PRIMARY NEXUS OF CERBERUS-RELATED ACTIVITY

  - next to where it says "FINAL RESTING PLACE OF MAGNUS HANSO/BLACK ROCK".

Other stations - "C3", "C4"
The Map gives the locations of 2 other station-sized and station-shaped structures that follow in the circular arrangement around The Pearl, like the other stations.

• C3 - It's location in relation to the following notations -
  Quote:

  MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN MOST LIKELY USED BY D.I.H.G. FOR METEOROLOGICAL RESEARCH

  - suggests that it is the station in which the Dharma researchers studied meteorology. There are various other notes that link to this station -
  Quote:

  GEOLOGICAL COMPOSITION LIKELY TO CAUSE MAGNETIC INTERFERENCE WITH WEATHER PROJECT

  - which confirms that there was indeed a meteorological project.
  
  
• C4 - Considering that C3 is the meteorological station, C3 is almost certainly The Hydra, revealed in season 3. This means that, if there are 2 islands as Ben says, that the Blast Door Map is spread out over at least 2 islands. Notes on The Hydra -
  Quote:

  STATED GOAL, REPATRIATION ACCELERATED DE-TERRITORIALIZATION OF URSUS MARITIMUS THROUGH GENE THERAPY AND EXTREME CLIMATE CHANGE

  Remembering that Ursus Maritimus is Latin for Polar Bear, this shows that Radzinsky/Inman knew of The Hydra (which if there were 2 islands, would suggest that they either communicated with it or they even visited it).

Dharmatel - Most likely the Dharma Intiative's intranet (that is also referred to on the map). The network that links the station's computers, allowing for communication. However, the omitted part of The Swan's Orientation film states that the computer (at least in The Swan) is not to be used for any purpose other than the input of the code, and warns that if it is used for communication then it may result in another "Incident".

Kelvin Inman described the 'Incident' as a leak in the "geologically unique source of electro-magnetism" that The Swan housed, but does not specify what actually caused this leak. Perhaps it was linked to an power overload due to continuous communication between the stations. This could fit, since the Dharmatel/intranet was apparently shut down, according to the map - (These notes could mean that, due to the Incident, the Dharmatel Intranet was shut down.

On the map, there are faint light-blue lines that link all of the stations together. However, whilst the ring of standard stations connect to two stations each, The Pearl appears to be connected to all of them (with the exception of C4, which I think is The Hydra. Why The Pearl does not have a link to C4 on the map is unknown). This could mean that the Dharmatel was perhaps used to transmit live video feed, or to allow communication through the computers.


Smaller structures - "CV I", "CV II", "CV III", and "CV IV"

• Quote:

  CV I - HIGHLY UNLIKELY

• Quote:

  POSSIBLE CV II - INACTIVE SINCE ACCIDENT.

• Quote:

  CV III

• Quote:

  CV IV?

What these smaller structures actually are has not been explained or even hinted at. There are a few notes that could apply to 1 of them, but it does not give any details as to what they are.

The way CV II is described as being "INACTIVE SINCE ACCIDENT" could be inferred as saying that 'CV structures' are perhaps power substations or network relays (for the "Dharmatel").


Scribbled out station - "C1"

• This station is mainly believed to be the false station that The Others had in their decoy camp. When Sayid discovered this camp and open the doors to their "hatch", he found nothing but a space not much larger than that of a walk-in cupboard.
  
  It is possible that it was once a hatch that had caved in (hence why it was blocked up). Evidence to support that it was once an actual station can be seen on the map -
  Quote:

  ALLEGED LOCATION OF ABORTED #7 LARGE NUMBER OF UNDERGROUND SPRINGS HEAVY WATER TABLE

  - which implies that there was a 7th station. However, this quote may simply apply to The Flame, since the note is located close to The Flame (one could presume that The Flame is Station '7').
  
  But this seems unlikely, since the Orientation films describe The Swan as "Station 3 of 6" and The Pearl as "Station 5 of 6", which means that 'station 7' was likely aborted prior to the start of the Dharma projects.

There are also numerous equations dotted around the map. It turns out that most of these equations are related to electro-magentism.


So there you have it. The Blast Door Map has many more notes, but right now they do not seem to have much meaning.