Treasure hunting!

Andrea here, Where I live in New England, the bright blaze of autumn colors are beginning to fade and give way to the more somber taupe and grey hues of Winter. The days are growing shorter too, the sunlight flickering out in late afternoon . . . which puts me in the mood for some bright, sparkly things.

And what can be more sparkly than a treasure trove of gold!

I’ve recently been looking at photos from my research travels (Oh, for the day when we can travels again!) and some pictures from my visit to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford caught me eye. Most of the shots I took related to Regency-era  research for my Wrexford and Sloane mystery series—lots of scientific instruments and early technology. But I also couldn’t resist stopping at the display of . . . buried treasure. Glittery gold—admit it—it sends some sort of primal thrill trilling down your spine to think of stumbling across such a discovery . . .

It’s called the Didcot Hoard (for the town in Oxfordshire, England near where it was discovered by Bill Darley, who was using a metal detector to explore) and it’s considered one of the most spectacular caches of Roman coins ever found in Britain.

Many hoards of bronze and silver coins have been found over the years. What makes this one so special it that the coins are gold—and not just any gold, but nearly pure 24k gold. (When you see them in person the richness of the color is breathtaking. The most recent coin in the hoard dates to 160 CE, which was the last year of the reign of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius.The coins are called aurei (singular:aureus) and were a standard denomination throughout the Roman Empire. They were very practical in that their worth make it easy to transport a lot of money with less bulk and weight than silver and bronze. They were often used for the payrolls sent to the legions stationed in the far-flung corners of the empire.

There are many speculations as to why it was buried . . . a rich local burying it for safekeeping during times of trouble . . . a legionnaire commander skimming off pay of the payroll . . . a theft, buried to hide it until the heat died down. Of course, we’ll never know for sure, but it’s fun to fantasize . . .

And speaking of fantasies, looking at these photos I took of the Didcot Hoard got me to thinking of mystique of buried treasure and the hold it seems to have on our collective imagination. As a kid, I was enthralled by Treasure island, and the idea of some magical map with X marks the Spot! ((I was chided about digging one too many holes in the back yard.) Then in grade school, I heard that part of the treasure accumulated by Captain Kidd, the notorious pirate, was recovered on Gardiner’s Island, off the tip of Long Island, after he was captured—but that more was rumored to have been buried somewhere on the New England coastline. Suffice it to say, I lugged along my pail and plastic shovel on every visit to the beach that summer.

My shovel is long gone, but I couldn’t resist digging around on the internet regarding the subject of “lost” treasures—and of course found a list of six famous missing treasures. (You can read all the details here.)

Included are the Ark of the Covenant (sorry, that’s not quite sparkly enough for me!) Blackbeard’s Treasure, which is rumored to lie somewhere between Chesapeake Bay and the Caribbean, and the legendary trainload of Nazi gold bars, which are said to have been sunk in the frigid water of Lake Toplitz in Austria.

So what about you? Does the lure of hidden treasure sing a siren song in your ear? Would you like to find a treasure map in some dusty antique shop . . . and would you follow it? And what sort of treasure would you like to discover? Another King Tut? A cache of fabulous exotic gems? Come on, let's have some fun! Let your imagination run wild!

Comments

[Mike]

Your six treasures link didn't work for me. It seems to have acquired a spurious right bracket at the end. A quick edit took me to the right page and numbers 4 and 5 were not known to me, so I learnt something new today.

[Sharon Farrell]

The Kruger Gold hoard here in South Africa...

[Lil]

Alaric's gold, the loot he carried off after the sack of Rome in 410 AD. When he died, it was buried with him somewhere in Calabria. Legend has it that the Goths diverted the river Busento, buried him and the treasure, and then returned the river to its usual route. People were still trying to find it in the late 19th century.

[Andrea Penrose]

Thanks, Mike. Will repair it!

[Andrea Penrose]

Wow—that would be a VERY sparkly one!

[Andrea Penrose]

Lili, that's a fabulous choice. I've heard of that one. All those ancient bruials . . .the tomb of Alexander the Great would be pretty amazing too!

[Denise]

Interesting post! We were in Florida in the early 80s a few months after Mel Fisher found the ship wreck Nuestra Señora de Atocha off the coast of Key West. The treasure at that time was displayed in an old fishing warehouse in makeshift display cases. There was gobs of gold chains, rings, and gold and silver coins. An emerald set gold cross was a breathe taking focal point along with a solid gold bar that could be touched and lifted, both in flimsy plexiglass cases. The floor was lined with silver bars (maybe 14”x4”x4”) stacked 4-5 deep and throughout several rooms. It really was an unbelievable find worth about $400M, and only half the ship was found so there is hope for someone out there to recover the remaining treasure. I am grateful that I got to see it, parts of the treasure are now located in a museum in Key West.

[Sue McCormick]

I like READING about buried treasure, but it doesn't attract me so much in real life. REAL treasure to me is something that uncovers hidden truths. In genealogy I am not sure that I have proven that my mothers given name was Adelle and that she spelled it that way. Her birth certificate says "female child"; (you know I sort of that she was a female child).

My husband's mother is even harder to uncover; she too is a "female child" on the birth certificate and we are totally unsure what her given name is.

Genealogy is full of missing facts like the above; THAT is where my treasure lies.

[Christina Courtenay]

Oh yes, love treasure of any kind, especially gold! The so called Gold Room at the Historical Museum in Stockholm has lots of wonderful items, all found in Sweden at some time or other. I go there as often as I can. I'd love for the lost treasure of the Knights Templar to be found - I know the French king seized a lot of their wealth but there has to be more! And I too was fascinated with treasure maps when I was a kid - such fun :-)

[Andrea Penrose]

Oh, Denise, what a thrill to see all that. ThOne has to figure there is still a LOT of Spanish sunken treasure around the Florida coast. Between pirate attacks and storms, the armadas heading to Spain with all their loot faced many perils.

Get out your snorkel and facemask (the glass underwater kind!)and start searching!

[Andrea Penrose]

Yes, Sue—you're toatlly right about what's really a treasure in life. Digging for genealogy gems must be such a wonderful challenge, and discovering facts that mean something very special to you are beyond measure.

But a little day-dreaming about stumbling over a long-lost historical treasure is bit of silly fun!

[Andrea Penrose]

Christina, that Gold Room in Stockholm sounds spectacular, and I love how you've woven items from it into your stories!

The Templar Treasure is one of history's most alluring treasure mysteries, isn't it? Hmm, maybe there's a map hidden away in some obscure library that will reveal where it is!

[Kareni]

What a fascinating article, Andrea. I don't think I'm too likely to go digging for buried treasure; however, I did find three five dollar bills once in a used book. That was fun! Perhaps I'll find a valuable signed first edition in a thrift store one day.

[Andrea Penrose]

Oh, Kareni, that you discovered "treasure" inside a book really made me smile!

Finding a signed first edition of some literary masterpiece (Jane Austen—fluttery sigh) in a thrift shop would truly be fun!

[Binnie Syril Braunstein]

Andrea - I've always been fascinated at the possibility (ha!) that I might be the one to discover the whereabouts of the fabled Amber Room. I've also had a desire to see behind closed doors and into forbidden areas. E.g., the books in the Vatican that are hidden away. I also have fantasized about discovering the secrets in documents that are sealed after a notable person's death. Or assassination. Thanks so much for a thought-provoking post.

[Anne Hardy]

Thanks for the interesting post. I'm fascinated by treasures found in archeological excavations, either maritime or on land. I like reading about finds and visiting dig sites or museums in which the finds are located. When I was younger, one of my brothers and I participated in day long digs in a fossil bonebed near the Royal Tyrrell Museum on Alberta. I uncovered and mapped some tendons from a hadrosaur and my brother found a raptor tooth. My daughter participated in a number of science camps with the Museum and also excavated some fossils. While fascinating, those discoveries aren't as juicy as hidden or sunken Spanish , pirate or Nazi loot. I'm looking forward to learning what treasures, including possibly the Amber Room, are on the Karlsruhe.

[Andrea Penrose]

Binnie, The Amber Room is a great quest!(I'll come with you!)

And the Vatican Library is also a great place to explore for hidden treasures. From what I've read there are archives that haven't ever been catalogued, and the thought of what amazing books and manuscripts might be lying in them isvery tantalizing.

[Andrea Penrose]

Anne, that's very cool that you and your family a have participated in an archeological dig. (That's on my Bucket List!) Granted, fossils—unless they are a momentous new discovery—aren't as juicy as gold. But very important to our knowledge of the world.

[Constance]

What a fun post, Andrea! Spending summers as a child on the Outer Banks of North Carolina meant a LOT of hunting for buried pirate treasure! I am not sure why my cousins and I thought WE would be the ones to find it; perhaps it was the continuous encouragement of the parents who saw it as a great way to keep us occupied. Day after day, year after year, and never a doubloon, much less the chests full of gemstones my sister particularly expected to uncover! But it did make us all close friends for life, and that's a treasure, isn't it? These days, I'd most like to find the gold earring I lost about 6 years ago and still miss each morning....

[Annette N]

Thank you so much for this lovely post and all the comments and ideas.

I am not sure about treasure hunting. I will be honest, I love the appearance of polished gems. Even some which are not considered precious. So, if I fell down a well and while being pulled out, I accidentally found a small bag of pretty gems, I would be thrilled. As you can see, it does not take much to get me excited.

I am not easy, but I am obviously cheap.

I hope everyone is taking care and staying well.

[Andrea Penrose]

Oh, Constance, you really were at ground zero for pirate treasure! That "hope springs eternal" sense of adventure is worth coming home every day empty-handed. And as you say, what is more valuable than special friendships, and all the laughs of recalling those memories of digging.

LOL on the lost earring! I swear, chest of all the lost earrings in the world would be probably ousthine any other horde of precious metal and gems!

[Andrea Penrose]

Glad you enjoyed the post, Annette! Falling down a well and finding gems would definitely be something about which to get excited! But I agree with you, some of my favorite 'gems" are polished rock and seashells which I find along the beach. Like you, I have cheap tastes! But they make me happy.

Take care and stay safe, too!

[Quantum]

I am always searching for the perfect (for me!) fiction audio book. It must have sizzling love scenes, mystery, adventure, a touch of the paranormal, wonderful scenic settings a stunning HEA and a narrator's voice to die for. Numerous authors satisfy subsets of my requirements and I have several favorite narrators but a book that brings it all together still eludes me. I'm sure that audio gold is buried somewhere but it may be in heaven!

[Andrea Penrose]

Well, Quantum, at least searching for "gold"is a more pleasurable experience than slogging through arid deserts or diving in stormy waters! You get to sit back and enjoy the story.

Perfection is elusive in any form. Whether it even exists is a question for theoretical physicists!

[Kathleen Humphries]

There is a lost treasure that I'm surprised did not make the list of six -- the lost crown jewels of King John of England.