Lost Treasure And Ongoing Quests
By Aaron Love
11 months ago
The Original Amber Room
Image Source: Reddit
Although the Catherine Palace in St Petersburg now houses a re-creation of the original Amber Room, the OG artifacts haven't been seen since WW2. The room contained over 450kg of amber and a load of gold artifacts that were stolen by the Nazis during World War Two.The Menkaure Sarcophagus
Image Source: Reddit
During the height of the Pyramid exhibitions in the 1800's Howard Vyse used some destructive techniques to explore the pyramids (he blew parts of them up!!). In one of the chambers he found a sarcophagus believed to belong to Menkaure; he tried to ship them to the UK but the ship sank!The Honjo Masamune
Image Source: Reddit
Goro Nyudo Masamune is known as the greatest sword maker in history, and lived between the 11th and 12th century. One of the swords he made, the Honjo Masamune was passed down the Tokugawa family until WW2 when US authorities confiscated it. The sword never reappeared after that.The Ark Of The Covenant
Image Source: Reddit
The Ark of the Covenant is something many religious citizens wish they could find, it was said that it contained tablets engraved with each of the commandments. Some experts believe it lies in Aksum, Ethiopia although this has never been able to be confirmed. It also inspired Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark.Ireland's Crown Jewels
Image Source: Ireland Information
In 1907 the Crown Jewels of Ireland were stolen, they were used as a way to reward those high in power in Ireland at the time. All the jewelry came from the wife of King George III and were stolen thanks to dull security. No one was ever arrested for the robbery, although famous explorer Ernest Shackleton's brother was suspected.The Moscow Tsars Library
Image Source: Reddit
It's believed that Ivan III or Ivan the Great as you might know him, built a library that was full of Greek, Latin and Egyptian texts. His son Ivan IV or Ivan the Terrible hid this library before his death. Some experts don't believe it's even real but some claim it would be beneath the Kemlin still today.Butch Cassidy's Treasure
Image Source: Pioneer Press
Butch Cassidy might be the most notorious of outlaws from the American Old West. He was driven out of the US by the Pinkerton Detective agency but it is believed that before fleeing the country he buried his loot somewhere Colorado, and would be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars today.Oak Island Money Pit
Image Source: History Channel
There is a small mass of land just off Nova Scotia that has become renowned as a site of global treasures. A shaft was found here in 1795 and then explored ever since. Items not native to the local area as well as 16th century coins were found here but the pit would constantly fill with seawater and clay causing the shaft to collapse multiple times. You can still try today!John Dillinger's Hidden Money
Image Source: Reddit
Dillinger was a midwestern gangster known for robbing banks and escaping jail on more than one occasion. There have been rumours circulating that there is a hidden stash of cash around one of his former hideouts, as he intended to return for them but was shot by a policeman before he could get them back.The San Miguel Treasure
Image Source: Pinterest
After the War of Succession, Spain was desperate for a cash injection so they filled 12 ships with treasures from the 'new world' to bring back. However, the trip from Cuba was scheduled for hurricane season in order to avoid pirates, but the hurricanes themselves caused all the ships to sink. As of now, seven of the ships have been located meaning 5 ships remain, and they believe it would be worth $2billion.Lake Toplitz Treasure
Image Source: Travel Video Blog
Lake Toplitz, in the Austrian Alps was used as a Nazi naval testing station during the early 1940's. It's believed that they sank containers and items in to the lake including billions of dollara of gold. No valuables have been found as of yet but $860million worth of counterfeit British notes were found, believed to have been made to sabotage Britain's economy.The Beale Ciphers
Image Source: Newspapers.com
Thomas Beale and a group of his friends travelled to New Mexico and found gold and silver in 1817, after months of work he was sent home to Virginia to bury the treasure. He created three ciphers one describing the location, one the contents and the other listing the next of kin.La Chouette d'Or
Image Source: Reddit
French author Regis Hauser buried a bronze owl statue in the French countryside and then wrote a book based upon his burial, containing 11 clues. The goal was for someone to find the owl and then win an identical sculpture made of $1million worth of gold, silver and rubies. he passed away in 2009 and the books publishing company still runs the hunt.Nuestra Senora de Atocha
Image Source: Reddit
Another Spanish ship calamity here, again after being caught in a hurricane on its way back to Spain from Cuba. The ship was lost for centuries until 1985 when the front portion was found by Mel Fisher containing $400million of treasure. People are still searching for the back end of the ship today.Lima Treasure
Image Source: Autentic Distribution
Spain overthrew the Incas of Peru in the 16th century and gathered up all their riches. They trusted British man William Thompson to take the treasure away before a revolution lost them the treasures. However, he and his crew killed the Spanish guards and buried the treasure in Costa Rica never to be found again.The Florentine Diamond
Image Source: Reddit
This was a 137 carat yellow diamond originating from India and belonged to Pope Julius II. At some point it made its way to Austria as part of the Habsburg crown Jewels where it stayed until the Austrian Empire fell at the end of WW1. Charles I of Austria fled to Switzerland taking the diamond with him where it was stolen.Kusunagi-no-Tsurugi
Image Source: Myths and Folklore Wiki
This is a sword that combines with a jewel and a mirror to form the Imperial Regalia of Japan. Supposedly it was found in the body of an eight-headed monster and presented to an Emperor. It was then stolen by a monk who tried to sail away with it but sank. Japanese priests claim they reclaimed the sword but no one has seen it since.The Polish Royal Casket
Image Source: Grunge
Princess Izabela Dorota Czartoryska created a wooden chest to house valuable relics that belonged to the royal family of Poland. During WW2 the casket was moved to Krakow for protection, a German who worked for the Family ratted out its location to the Nazi's who looted it and it hasn't been seen since.Flor de la Mar Treasure
Image Source: The Thrifty Traveller
Also known as the Flower of the Sea, this was a Portuguese ship that served the route between Portugal and India. It's sheer size raised problems and was deemed unsafe. On its final journey, the ship wrecked after a storm whilst carrying $2.6billion worth of gold, a present for the king of Portugal.Faberge Eggs of the Tsars
Image Source: Reddit
The second piece of missing treasure related to the Tsars in this list. Peter Faberge was commissioned to make 50 eggs for the Imperial family made out of the most expensive materials and stones. 43 of these eggs have been recovered meaning 7 are still missing. The last one found was bought at a bric-a-brack market for $8000 but later discovered to be worth $20m.Dutch Schultz's Hidden Stash
Image Source: Reddit
Schultz was an American mobster operating throughout the 1920's and 30's. Much of his fortune came via crime and bootlegging. He got himself in the trouble with the Mafia, something he tried to get out of by killing the prosecutor. The Mafia killed him for this but not before he hid his $7m fortune somewhere in the state of New York.Paititi The Lost City
Image Source: Forbes
Incan legends still speak of the legendary city of Paititi, supposedly somewhere in the rainforests that border Peru, Bolivia and Brazil. Supposedly this is where their hero Inkarri retired. Spain stole much of the Incan's worth but not as much as it was claimed they owned so experts believe Paititi might hold a large amount of gold.The Sao Vicente Treasure
Image Source: Reddit
Yet another shipwreck, caused by pirates this time who stole the contents of the ship around the coast of Spain. The Sao Vicente was carrying treasures acquired by Thibaud de Castillion who had just died; The ship was captained by Martin Yanes who never appeared anywhere with the treasure.The Just Judges Panel
Image Source: Lost Treasures of History
This panel was hung in the Saint Bavo Cathedral, Belgium until 1934 when it was stolen. This wasn't the first attempt for the piece to be stolen, although this time they obviously succeded. Despite this happening nearly 100 years ago tips continue to come in until this day regarding its location.Dead Sea Scroll Treasures
Image Source: Livescience
One Dead Sea scroll found in the Qumran caves is a text engraved on a copper scroll. This is found in a museum in Jordan to this day and it details the location of treasures that experts believe are treasures hidden by Jews before the Roman Army could destroy one of the temples.Isabella Stewart Gardner Art
The Peking Man
Image Source: Ancient Origins
The fossils of a human from over 200,000 years ago was found in a cave in China; but they disappeared in 1941 during the Japanese invasion of China. Some experts believed they were lost whilst being transported to the USA while some bizarre reports believe they'll be found under a car park in China.Lost Portrait by Raphael
Image Source: Livescience
This is another piece of history lost as a result of the Nazi's invasion of Poland; and stolen at the same time, from the same place, as the Royal Casket. They intended to use the painting in the Fuhrer Museum in Austria although this was never actually built. It was last seen in 1945 in Hans Frank's Chalet.Lost Shakespeare Work
Image Source: Reddit
It has been widely documented that William Shakespeare wrote a play titled Love Labour's Won, related to his popular Love Labour's Lost. Documents show this was published in 1598 although no copies have ever been found. People think Much Ado About Nothing could be this lost work.Michelangelo's Mask
Image Source: Livescience
The last piece on this list is another historic art piece stolen and lost thanks to the Nazi's. It remained in Florence, Italy from it's creation around the early 1500's until 1944 when it was stolen. They placed it in a truck alongside other stolen artworks and it was never seen or mentioned in documents again.What To Read Next
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