Showing posts with label treasure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label treasure. Show all posts

Sunday, January 29, 2017

A tremendous wealth of the Vikings was discovered on a small island in the Baltic Sea. The entire Swedish was much poorer

Riches found on the island of Gotland. Credit: Gabriel Hildebrand / The Royal Coin Cabinet























Stratification did increase on the island as time passed, though. Archaeologists have found that, throughout the ninth and tenth centuries, silver hoards were distributed throughout Gotland, suggesting that wealth was more or less uniformly shared among the island’s farmers. But around 1050, this pattern shifted. “In the late eleventh century, you start to have fewer hoards overall, but, instead, there are some really massive hoards, usually found along the coast, containing many, many thousands of coins,” says Jonsson. This suggests that trading was increasingly controlled by a small number of coastal merchants.

This stratification accelerated near the end of the Viking Age, around 1140, when Gotland began to mint its own coins, becoming the first authority in the eastern Baltic region to do so. “Gotlandic coins were used on mainland Sweden and in the Baltic countries,” says Majvor Östergren, an archaeologist who has studied the island’s silver hoards. Whereas Gotlanders had valued foreign coins based on their weight alone, these coins, though hastily hammered out into an irregular shape, had a generally accepted value. More than eight million of these early Gotlandic coins are estimated to have been minted between 1140 and 1220, and more than 22,000 have been found, including 11,000 on Gotland alone.


(Nanouschka Myrberg Burström)An example of one of the earliest silver coins minted on Gotland (obverse, left; reverse, right) dates from around 1140.
Gotland is thought to have begun its coinage operation to take advantage of new trading opportunities made possible by strife among feuding groups on mainland Sweden and in western Russia. This allowed Gotland to make direct trading agreements with the Novgorod area of Russia and with powers to the island’s southwest, including Denmark, Frisia, and northern Germany. Gotland’s new coins helped facilitate trade between its Eastern and Western trading partners, and brought added profits to the island’s elite through tolls, fees, and taxes levied on visiting traders. In order to maintain control over trade on the island, it was limited to a single harbor, Visby, which remains the island’s largest town. As a result, the rest of Gotland’s trading harbors, including Fröjel, declined in importance around 1150.

Gotland remained a wealthy island in the medieval period that followed the Viking Age, but, says Carlsson, “Gotlanders stopped putting their silver in the ground. Instead, they built more than 90 stone churches during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.” Although many archaeologists believe that the Gotland Vikings stashed their wealth in hoards for safekeeping, 

Carlsson thinks that, just as did the churches that were built later, they served a devotional purpose. In many cases, he argues, hoards do not appear to have been buried in houses but rather atop graves, roads, or borderlands. Indeed, some were barely buried at all because, he argues, others in the community knew not to touch them. “These hoards were not meant to be taken up,

” he says, “because they were meant as a sort of sacrifice to the gods, to ensure a good harvest, good fortune, or a safer life.” 

In light of the scale, sophistication, and success of the Gotland Vikings’ activities, these ritual depositions may have seemed to them a small price to pay.

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The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Archaeology . Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Thursday, December 15, 2016

A new treasure has been discovered in Greece it was found in the ruins of an ancient city dating back 2,500 years

A piece of pottery dating to the late 6th century B.C photo: atlasobscura.com
You would think that every single bit of archaeological evidence for ancient life in Greece would have been uncovered by now. But there are still discoveries to be made. A team of archaeologists from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden and the University of Bournemouth in England took a deeper look at a site that had been dismissed as unimportant and found the ruins of an ancient city dating back 2,500 years, reports the Local.The city was located on a hillside near Vlochós, five hours north of Athens


Mysterious lost Greek city photo: DailyMail.co.uk
Part of the ruins there had been previously known, but since this area of Greece was thought to be a backwater in ancient times, this place was thought to be a small settlement of little interest.

To this team, though, “the fact that nobody has ever explored the hill before is a mystery,” said Robin Rönnlund, the Ph.D student who led the fieldwork.


From the air, the walls are visible photo: atlasobscura.com

Since they started exploring the city, the archaeologists have found the city’s walls, gates, and towers, along with pottery and coins, dating as far back as 500 B.C. The team is using ground-penetrating radar to map the city and avoid disturbing the site through excavation. It’s “quite a large city,” says Rönnlund, and could reveal more about ancient life in this overlooked part of Greece—at least about life up until about 300 B.C., when the city looks to have been abandoned.


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The above post is reprinted from materials provided by AtlasObscura . Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Thursday, December 8, 2016

10 undiscovered treasures and the King John ‘The Bad’ treasure


King John’s Treasure

King John ‘the Bad’ was particularly fond of collecting (stealing) jewellery and gold plate for himself and coinage for his guards, soldiers and court followers. In 1216 King John travelled to Bishops Lynn in Norfolk where he arrived on the 9th October. The area is aptly named The Wash as it was once a huge expanses of marshes and dangerous mud flats. 

John of England (1167-1216) king of England from 1199 to 1216 Alamy 

At Bishop’s Lynn King John fell ill with dysentery and decided to return to Newark Castle via Wisbech. He took the slower and safer route around The Wash. However, his soldiers and carts full of his personal possessions, including the crown jewels he had inherited from his grandmother the Empress of Germany, took the shorter route through the marshes.


King John photo: pinterest

Trapped by the tide they were drowned – possibly close to Sutton Bridge. The treasure carts were lost and never recovered. King John died a few days later on the 18th October 1216. What really happened is probably much more complex.

Treasure:
Lost:
1216
Estimated Value:
$70,000,000
Contents:
Crown jewels, gold goblets, silver plate, golden wand with a dove, the sword of Tristram, gold coins.
Location:
Great Britain / The United Kingdom





Most people have heard the story of El Dorado, a city full of gold lost somewhere in the rainforests of South America. In fact, El Dorado is actually a legend about a Muisca Chieftain (the Golden One) who would cover himself with gold dust before certain religious ceremonies


photo: LunaticOutPost.com

How the Discovery Of Paititi, The Lost City Of Gold, Pinterest

The real City of Gold is Paititi. In brief, the Spanish had been at war with the Incas of Peru for nearly forty years and the Incas had retreated to Vilcabamba Valley where they held off the invaders until 1572. 

photo: granpaititi.com
When the Spanish conquered the Incas they found the city largely deserted. It appeared as if the Incas had fled to a new location in the rainforests of southern Brazil taking their vast treasure of gold with them. The new city was never found nor was the gold and eventually the story was relegated to the status of a myth.

However, in 2009 satellite photos of deforested areas of the Boco do Acre region of Brazil have revealed that there were once vast settlements. These can be clearly seen on Google Earth and have forced historians and archaeologists to review their thinking. It now seems possible once again that Paititi really did exist and hidden within it is a potential hoard of lost Inca gold
photo: MessageToEagle.com

Treasure:
Lost:
1572
Estimated Value:
$10,000,000,000
Contents:

Incan gold & artifacts, gold bars, jewellery, etc.
Location:
Brazil


During the Second Anglo-Boer War the South African descendants of the Dutch settlers, the Boers, realised that their capital, Pretoria, would soon be captured by British troops so they swiftly commandeered as much gold as they could from government reserves, banks and the mines. They also minted many thousands of new gold coins.

Kruger Millions Legend Treasure Tracer

Much of this gold is believed to have travelled with the Boer President, Paul Kruger, as he journeyed eastwards through Middleburg, Machadadorp and Waterfal Boven towards Mozambique to escape the advancing British. He departed, by ship, for France on the 19th of October 1900. 


The gold remained behind, hidden somewhere in the bushveld of the North Eastern Transvaal. It has never been officially found although it is a popular ‘scam’ for con men to try and sell the whereabouts of the gold to gullible tourists. 

photo: TreasureNet.com
Claims that the treasure (or part of it) was discovered in 2001 close to Ermelo are generally considered somewhat dubious.

Treasure:
Lost:
1890
Estimated Value:
$250,000,000.00
Contents:
Gold coins, ingots, gold dust, silver ingots & coins.
Location:
South Africa






Located to the west of the northern tip of the Dead Sea and near to the town of Kalya is the Qumran archaeological site. On a desert plateau carved by ravines are the caves where the famous Dead Sea Scrolls were initially discovered by bedouin in 1946. 

Flor de la Mar photo: Wikipedia.org

The later excavation of 11 caves by archaeologists sponsored by the Jordanian Department of Antiquities uncovered 972 parchment and papyrus texts and two unusual scrolls made of copper. These would turn out to be one scroll that had been divided into two pieces.

This rare find was discovered on the 14th March 1952 at the back of Cave 3, somewhat separate from the other finds. The scroll was badly oxidised and fragile to touch but it was obvious that it was different from the other leather and paper scrolls – it was a detailed list of 64 locations where significant amounts of gold and silver had been hidden. 

It was written as if anyone reading it would have familiarity with the places mentioned and is believed to have been created between 110 and 30 BCE. Although many historians believe that some of the treasure may have been located by the Romans during their occupation of the region it is reasonable to think that at least some of the locations were never revealed.

photo: Geocaching.com
For Example: Item 3. In the funeral shrine, in the 3rd row of stones: One hundred gold ingots. Item 5: In the ascent of the ‘staircase of refuge’, to the left-hand side, three cubits up from the floor are forty talents of silver. Item 32: In the cave that is next to (unknown) and belonging to the House of Hakkoz, dig six cubits. Within are six ingots of gold.

Treasure:
Contents of the Flor de La Mar
Lost:
1511
Estimated Value:
$2.6 Billion + (54,431kg of Gold x $49,000 per Kg)
Contents:
Gold goblets, silver plate and extensive gold bullion
Location:
Off the coast of Sumatra



In 1885 Tsar Alexander III (House of Romanov) commissioned the production of the gold and enamel ‘Hen Egg’ for his wife the Empress Maria which she adored. Fabergé was made ‘Goldsmith by Special Appointment to the Imperial Crown’ and over the next 33 years 52 eggs were made for the Russian Royal Family as well as a further 15 for other private buyers.

photo: coolinterestingstuff.com

The 1917 Russian Revolution toppled Tsar Nicholas II who was executed along with much of the royal family in July 1918. Fearing for his safety, Peter Carl Faberge abandoned Russia travelling first to Latvia then Germany and finally Switzerland where he died in Lausene in 1920.

The Fabergé eggs and many other treasures of the Royal family were confiscated and stored in the vaults of the Kremlin Armoury. Some were sold to raise funds for the new regime. Over time eight of the original 52 Imperial eggs have vanished and their whereabouts remain a mystery to this day. A full list of missing eggs is below. In 2007, just one egg, ‘The Rothschild’ was sold at Christies Auction House for $8,9 million.

The Missing Eggs: (1886) The Hen Egg with Sapphire Pendant (1888) The Cherub with Chariot Egg (PPC-USA) (1889) The Nécessaire Egg (PPC-UK) (1896) The Egg with Alexander III Portraits (1897) The Mauve Egg (1902) Empire Nephrite Egg (Alexander III Medallion) (1903) The Royal Danish (Jubilee) Egg (1909) The Alexander III Commemorative Egg.

Treasure:
Lost:
1917-1929
Estimated Value:
$90 – 150,000,000
Contents:
Eight Faberge Golden Eggs
Location:
Unknown / Russia


The San Miguel & The Lost 1715 Treasure Fleet

By 1712 AD Spain was desperately in need of funds due to the War of Succession that had seen Phillip V take the throne. To solve this problem the Spanish assembled one of the richest treasure fleets. Come 1715 it consisted of five ships of the Nueva España (Mexico) fleet and six ships of the Tierra Firme (Main Land) fleet. Significant amounts of silver (plate), gold, pearls, jewels (emeralds) and other precious items were loaded at Vera Cruz, Cartagena, Nombre de Dios and Portobello. 

photo: joeccombs2nd.com
A further ship, a French merchantman, the Griffon, also joined the convoy. As a further defence against pirates and privateers the fleet waited until just before the hurricane season before setting off from Havana. This was a mistake and a storm destroyed the fleet just seven days after leaving Cuba. Thousands of sailors died. Over the next four years the Spanish salvaged about half of the treasure although pirates hampered their efforts. Items of treasure still occasionally wash up on nearby shores. 
Largely due to the efforts of Kip Wagner, a marine treasure hunter, seven of the ships have been located but only a small percentage of the treasure has been recovered. The San Miguel, a Nao class vessel, has yet to be found and is believed to have separated from the fleet the day before the storm struck. Carracks are lighter than Galleons and were often used to carry treasure as they stood a greater chance of outrunning storms and privateers. The objective, after all, was to get the treasure home. This could mean that the San Miguel is actually one of the richest treasure ships yet to be found.

Ships of the 1715 Spanish (Plate) Treasure Fleet that have never been found:

Nueva Espana Fleet – General Juan de Ubilla – The Maria Galante – Frigatilla / Frigate

Tierra Firma Fleet – General Antonio de Echeverz – Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion – NAO Class (Carrack) – The (El Senor) San Miguel -NAO Class (Fast Carrack) – El Ciervo (La Franecsa ) Galera Class (Galley)

photo: coinbooks.org

Treasure:
Spanish New World Treasure
Lost:
30 July 1715
$2 billion
Contents:
Jewels, gold goblets, silver plate, bullion, coin
Off the coast of Florida (USA)


The original treasure room was a set of extraordinary wall panels made from purest amber, set in and on gold and mirrors. These panels were installed to create a room that was effectively coated with amber and gold

It was designed by Andreas Schlüter an architect from Hamburg, Germany and constructed at the Charlottenburg Palace in Prussia, between 1701 and 1709 by the renowned amber specialist Gottfried Wolfram of the Royal Court of Denmark. In 1716 the King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm I, gave it to the ruler of the Russian Empire, Tsar Peter the Great to seal an alliance against Sweden. 
photo: Ancient-Origins.net

It was taken first to the original Winter Palace in St. Petersburg and then later moved to the Catherine Palace near the same city where it was expanded by a team of German and Russian craftsmen. 

On completion it used 5,440 kg of Amber and was 17 meters in length. Considered to be unique and priceless it was the central showpiece of the palace and famous in aristocratic circles. In 1941 it was discovered by invading German soldiers and dismantled. Apparently it was packed into 27 crates and shipped to Königsberg, near the Baltic Coast, where it was put on display. In 1943 it was stored at Königsberg Castle

Officially it was destroyed in an WWII Allied bombing raid but significant evidence suggests that it was actually shipped out of the city in the latter months of the war and taken to be hidden along with many other treasures acquired by the Nazi regime. Priceless, it is considered one of the world’s greatest lost treasures. “There have been repeated claims in the media by treasure hunters that they have discovered the location of the hidden Amber room. Nevertheless none of them have actually produced the missing panels.

There have been repeated claims in the media by treasure hunters that they have discovered the location of the hidden Amber room. Nevertheless none of them have actually produced the missing panels. Estimates that the room would be worth $170,000,000 on the open market are considered conservative. A replica of the room made from identical materials has recently completed in Russia. It was opened by Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroederon the 31st May 2003.

Treasure:
The Amber Room / Amber & Gold Panels
Lost:
1943
$170,000,000
Contents:
Comprised of Danish amber, gold fittings, gold leaf, ornate mirrors, jewels, and numerous gold and amber fittings and decorations.
Poland / Germany / Russia / Unknown


The Knights Templar were a religious military order formed in 1119 AD to protect Christian pilgrims on their journey to holy lands of the Middle East. They established their headquarters on the side of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and were declared a charity by Pope Innocent II.

photo: BritainExplorer.com

Over the decades donations from patrons made the Knights Templar the wealthiest and most powerful military order in Europe. They invented an early form of banking which made them even richer but unpopular with people who had borrowed money. For nearly two hundred years the Templars amassed a fortune in lands, castles, gold, silver, jewels and precious objects. By 1291 AD the military prestige of the Knights Templar had failed and they were forced out of the Middle East. Their popularity fell further urged on by those who owed them money such as Phillip VI the King of France. 

On Friday the 13th of October 1307, and with the permission of the Pope, Phillip VI arrested the key leaders of the Order based in France and tortured them into confessions of heresy and devil worship. He seized their lands and raided the treasury but found it much emptier than expected.

knights-templar-sealAcross the rest of Europe the remaining Knights seem to have moved swiftly to hide their portable treasure. A month later Pope Clement II issued the ‘Pastoralis Praeeminentiae’ which instructed heads of state to arrest all Templars and seize their possessions which were to be given to another religious order – the Knights Hospitaller. This was only partially carried out but it was already too late. The vast treasure of the Knights Templar had largely disappeared and has never been found.
photo: templarstreasure.com
An equally intriguing mystery is what happened to the majority of Knights who were never arrested. At least several thousand men as well as a flotilla of ships simply vanished. In particular, 18 ships that had been berthed at La Rochelle, France, on the night of the 12th of October 1307 set sail under the cover of darkness just before the initial persecutions and passed out of history. A document, the Pergamino de Chinon, found in the Vatican archives in 2002 now shows that Pope Clement II actually absolved the Templars in 1308 AD.

photo: pinterest

Treasure:
The French Treasuries of the Knights Templar
Lost:
1307
$ Many Billions
Contents:
Gold and silver ingots, coinage, jewels, jewellery, gold & silver plate, land deeds, religious relics, weapons, documents and records, Middle Eastern trophies and artefacts, valuable curiosities and royal regalia held as securities.
Scotland / Unknown



This is probably the most excavated site that has still failed to deliver up its treasure. Oak Island is approximately 140 acres in size and located just off the southeast coast of Nova Scotia. It is one of many small islands in the area and is now linked to the mainland via a narrow causeway.

photo: pinterest

The story has been embellished and distorted over the years but here are the basic facts. In 1795 Daniel McGinnis (16) and a friend noticed a circular depression as if a pit had been dug and then filled in again. Believing something of value may have been buried there they dug to a depth of 9.1 metres. Initially they discovered a layer of flagstones followed by traces of pickaxes on the rocks. Some stories say they found platforms of logs approximately every 3 metres. They failed to find anything of value but the story spread and was quickly linked to the missing treasure of Captain Kidd and even the notorious Blackbeard – Edward Thatch (Teach).

Over the following centuries the pit has been excavated many times and prospectors have even included an American president, Franklin D. Roosevelt. It has not been an easy task and the pit is claimed to be ‘booby trapped” and has regularly flooded. The most tantalising clue found so far was a code inscription on a flat stone which, when translated, apparently stated: 

“Forty feet below, two million pounds lie buried.”

The deepest excavations reached 72 metres and over the years at least six people have died trying to find whatever is buried on Oak Island.

Various theories pertaining to the contents of the Oak Island Money Pit include:



Unknown / Pirate Hoard

Lost:

1500 – 1700AD
Estimated Value:
$Unknown
Contents:
Unknown (Pirate Hoard / Treasure of the Knights Templar / Spanish Gold)
Location:

– Captain Kidd’s Treasure – Blackbeard’s Treasure – The Fortress of Louisbourg Treasury – The Missing Jewels of Marie Antoinette – Spanish Gold from a Shipwreck – The Treasure of the Knights Templar – Treasure of the Freemasons – A Storage Pit for Walrus Ivory – Documents of Sir Francis Bacon.


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The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Britain Explorer . Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

New Anglo-Saxon precious treasure, discovered by archaeologists in England

Photo: The Vintage News 
In  the seventh century, Reswald the son and grandson of Wuffa Tytila east of England and member of Wuffingas Dynasty, began his reign as king of East England , a kingdom known as the heart of Anglo-Saxons.

10 years before his death, Redwald was seen as one of the most powerful kings of the south of the River Humber, gaining bretwalda name, which meant "leader of Britain".

photo: Searoom SF/ Flickr
When the remains of the king were discovered, they were inside the vessel. Besides the remains of the vessel, they were discovered and stunning metal objects, covered by gold and precious stones, a ceremonial helmet, a shield and a sword, and 37 coins. More have been discovered and two glasses of blue glass, two discs of gilded bronze with zoomorphic ornaments, a silver buckle, a button that belonged gold buckle and croissants which were drunk liquid, croissants that were silver.

Suton Hoo is a site where the bodies were found, whose death allegedly occurred through brutal methods. Discover the treasures on this site reveals important details about the precious objects from the pre-Christian, coming from different cultural backgrounds.


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The above post is reprinted from materials provided by The Vintage News . Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.