The Tierra Firme fleet, consisting of twenty ships, set sail from the port of Havana in Cuba bound for Spain on September 4, 1622. These ships carried the riches of an empire along with crew, soldiers and passengers. The next day, the fleet was hit by a hurricane as it entered the Straits of Florida. The next morning, eight of the ships were at the bottom of the ocean, scattered from the Marquesas Keys to the Dry Tortugas.
Among them was Our Lady of Atocha. She was a heavily armed galleon that sailed as Almirante (rearguard). The Atocha was carrying a vast treasure from Colombia, Peru and other regions of South America, probably acquired by dubious means, consisting of 24 tons of silver bullion in 1,038 ingots, 180,000 pesos in silver coins and 582 copper ingots. , 125 gold ingots and discs, 350 chests of indigo, 525 bales of tobacco, 20 bronze cannons and 1,200 pounds of carved silver. Spanish saviors searched for Our Lady of Atocha for 60 years, but never found it.
The mission to find the Atocha and its treasure became the fixation of a chicken farmer turned deep-sea diver named Mel Fisher, who tenaciously searched for the treasure for 16 years starting in 1969. It was in July 1985, when the Fisher family found gold. – They had found the Our Lady of Atocha and her treasure. Artifacts worth around $500 million were brought to the surface, making it one of the most valuable shipwrecks ever discovered. The Atocha artifacts are now part of the collection of the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society Museum in Florida.
Bronze Age treasures from the Bush Barrow burial near Stonehenge – England
In 1808, William Cunnington, one of Britain’s first professional archaeologists, discovered what is known as the crown jewels of the “King of Stonehenge.” They were found inside a large Bronze Age burial mound just half a mile from Stonehenge, known today as Bush Barrow. Inside the 4,000-year-old mound, Cunnington found ornate jewelry, a gold lozenge holding his cloak and an intricately decorated dagger.
The process of creating the handle of a single dagger, adorned with up to 140,000 tiny gold studs just a third of a millimeter wide, involved making extremely fine gold thread, just a little thicker than a human hair. The end of the wire was then flattened to create a bolt head and then cut with a very sharp obsidian or flint knife, just a millimeter below the head. This delicate procedure was literally repeated tens of thousands of times. Small holes were then made in the handle of the dagger to accommodate the posts, and the surface was covered with tree resin to hold the posts in place. It is estimated that the entire process to create the dagger handle would have taken around 2,500 hours to complete.
In 1992, a sugar cane farm employee was working with a tractor in the fields of Hacienda Malagana located in Valle del Cauca in Colombia, when the ground gave way and both man and machine fell. As the worker attempted to resolve his situation, he noticed a shiny, golden object on the ground. Upon closer inspection he realized that he had found an immense treasure. The worker immediately set about recovering the treasure, including golden masks, bracelets, jewelry and other precious relics. He was soon joined by other employees and locals, who learned that there was treasure buried in the fields and began a frenzy of looting. Between October and December 1992, approximately 5,000 people are said to have arrived at Hacienda Malagana in what was described as the “Malaga gold rush.”
Nearly four tons of pre-Columbian artifacts were removed from the site and tragically melted down or sold to collectors. Hundreds of graves were destroyed in the process. The Bogotá Gold Museum reportedly obtained some of the gold objects looted from Malagana as early as late 1992. Some 150 pieces of Malagana gold were eventually acquired, and the museum paid almost 500 million pesos (US$300,000) for them. to looters in an attempt to preserve them. the artifacts. Unfortunately, looting at Hacienda Malagana has continued since the initial avalanche in 1992 (albeit in reduced numbers), with incidents of digging having been reported as recently as 2012.
The Eberswalde Hoard: Bronze Age gold hoard – Germany
The Eberswalde Hoard is a gold hoard that was unearthed during an excavation in an area northeast of Berlin, Germany, in 1913. It is one of the most valuable treasures in the country and is said to be the largest prehistoric collection of gold. objects discovered so far in Germany. The hoard consists of 81 ancient gold objects, including 60 wire-armed spirals, eight gold bowls and a gold ingot. The total weight of these objects is reported to be 2.6 kg. They are believed to be from the 11th or 10th century BC.
The original purpose or use of the Eberswalde hoard is unclear, although one scholar has suggested that it was a set of sacred objects. It has been argued, for example, that vases were the most common type of sacred offering during the Bronze Age. The Eberswalde treasure is believed to belong to the goldsmith known as the Villena type, originally from the Iberian Peninsula, due to its resemblance to the Villena Treasure. The treasure currently resides in Russia and Germany is trying to recover it.
The Treasures of Priam: Golden Riches of the Legendary City of Troy – Türkiye
During the 19th century, German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann embarked on a quest to prove that the legendary city of Troy really existed. He was successful in searching for it and Hisarlik in Turkey (the site Schliemann excavated) is today recognized as the ancient site of Troy. Among the treasures he hoped to find at Hisarlik was the so-called “Priam’s Treasure,” which, according to Schliemann, belonged to the Trojan king Priam.
On May 31, 1873, Schliemann found the precious treasure he was looking for. In fact, Schliemann stumbled upon “Priam’s Treasure” by chance, as he is said to have glimpsed gold on the face of a trench while straightening the side of a trench on the southwest side of the site.
The spectacular treasure includes weapons, a copper cauldron, a bronze shallow saucepan, a bronze teapot and many gold and silver objects, including a gold headdress, necklaces, earrings and gold bracelets. Today, Priam’s Treasure resides in Russia.
The golden death mask of Agamemnon – Greece
Having already discovered the actual location of the legendary Troy, Heinrich Schliemann’s next project was to discover the final resting place of Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae who led the Greek forces during the Trojan War. Although there is debate as to whether Schliemann ever achieved his second goal, he certainly made another impressive find in the process: the ‘Mask of Agamemnon’.
In 1876, Schliemann began excavating at Mycenae on behalf of the Greek Archaeological Society. Schliemann’s workers would soon discover steles marking the boundary of a tomb circle about 90 feet (27.5 meters) wide. It contained five pit tombs from the late Bronze Age. Schliemann’s excavation of the pit tombs revealed that they contained the remains of several Mycenaean chiefs, five of whom wore golden masks. In a telegram sent to King George of Greece, Schliemann proudly declared: “It is with great joy that I announce to Your Majesty that I have discovered the tombs which the tradition proclaimed by Pausanias indicates are the tombs of Agamemnon, Cassandra, Eurymedon and their companions. all murdered at a banquet by Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus.”
Schliemann claimed that one of the remains belonged to Agamemnon himself, hence the golden mask on his face was called ‘Agamemnon’s Mask’. The mask was a death mask and was made of thick gold sheet hammered against a wooden background. A sharp tool was then used to chisel away the finer details. Of the five golden masks, this was the only one to show a bearded man, hence Schliemann’s conclusion that it had belonged to Agamemnon. Although Schliemann’s discovery was certainly notable, it remains a matter of controversy whether or not he ever belonged to Agamemnon.
The incredible Anglo-Saxon gold hoard of Staffordshire – England
On July 5, 2009, amateur treasure hunter Terry Herbert was using a metal detector to search farmland in the village of Hammerwich, in Staffordshire, England, when his metal detector indicated that he had found a metal object. He soon discovered that, literally and figuratively, he had struck gold. For five days, Herbert filled 244 bags with gold objects extracted from the ground. At that point, he realized that the site must have great historical importance and contacted the local authorities. Soon, Birmingham Archeology was on site to conduct an excavation, covering an area 30 feet by 43 feet, hoping to recover any objects that might have been thrown and scattered while plowing the field. During this excavation, more than 3,500 pieces were discovered, including 5 kilograms (11 lb) of gold and 1.3 kilograms (2.9 lb) of silver. It was the largest known hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and metal ever found.
The treasure pieces were displayed at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, until they were declared “treasure” and therefore Crown property, valued at £3.3 million (approximately US $5.4 million). Most researchers agree that the pieces are usually dated to the 7th century AD, although it is not yet known when they were actually buried or deposited in their final location, or for what purpose.
The Varna man and the richest tomb of the 5th millennium BC – Bulgaria
In the 1970s, archaeologists in Bulgaria stumbled upon a vast necropolis from the Copper Age of the 5th millennium BC. which contained the oldest gold artifacts ever discovered near the present-day city of Varna. But it was not until they reached tomb 43 that they realized the true meaning of the find. Within burial 43 were the remains of a man of high status and unfathomable wealth: more gold was found within this burial than in the entire rest of the world in that period.
The Varna culture, which arose on the shores of the Black Sea lakes about 7,000 years ago in Bulgaria, was not a small, inconsequential society that arose in a small corner of Bulgaria and quickly disappeared into the pages of history. Rather, it was an incredibly advanced civilization and the first known culture to craft gold artifacts.
The first evidence of the ancient Varna civilization came in the form of tools, vessels, utensils and figurines made of stone, flint, bone and clay. Then an incredible chance discovery came to light that made headlines around the world. In October 1972, excavator operator Raycho Marinov stumbled upon a huge Copper Age necropolis containing immense gold riches. More than 300 tombs were discovered in the necropolis, and among them more than 22,000 exquisite artifacts were recovered, including more than 3,000 items made of gold with a total weight of 6 kilograms. Other precious relics found within the tombs included copper, high-quality flint, stone tools, jewelry, Mediterranean mollusk shells, pottery, obsidian blades and beads.
Secret chamber in Scythian burial mound reveals golden treasure of drug-fueled rituals – Russia
In 2013, elaborate golden treasures with traces of cannabis and opium were discovered in a secret chamber hidden in an ancient Scythian mound near Strovopol, Russia. Described as a once-in-a-century discovery, the golden artifacts and drugs point to ancient rituals and wars as recounted by Greek historian Herodotus.
The Scythian kurgan, or burial mound, was discovered during the development of power lines in the Caucasus Mountains of southern Russia. The site was discovered to have been looted at some point and it was assumed that there was not much inside. However, archaeologists found a hidden chamber containing a treasure of gold dating back 2,400 years. Solid gold objects worth seven pounds were found, including: two cube-shaped vessels or vase, rings, necklaces, a bracelet and three gold cups. The vessels are decorated with dramatic and highly detailed scenes. Animals and humans are depicted fighting and dying. The images have been crafted so intricately that details such as realistic weapons, clothing, and haircuts can easily be seen.
Criminologists analyzed a black residue found inside the gold containers. The results confirmed opium and cannabis, suggesting to researchers that the Scythians had used the plants and vessels in a drug-fueled ritual, as Herodotus originally reported.
Treasures from the Tomb of the Lord of Sipán, Mochicano Warrior Priest
In 1987, a huge complex of unlooted Moche tombs was unearthed at the archaeological site of Huaca Rajada, near Sipán, on the northern coast of Peru. The most famous of the tombs belonged to The Lord of Sipán, a Mochican warrior priest who was buried among dazzling treasures, unlike any seen before in the region.
The 5 meter by 5 meter tombs were found with a wooden sarcophagus in the center, the first of its kind reported in America. Inside the coffin, lay the remains of a man dressed in all the royal regalia, surrounded by a large number of dedicatory offerings that would accompany him in his afterlife. An analysis of his insignia and iconographic representations found in his tomb suggests that this man was a high-ranking Moche warrior priest and a preeminent ruler of the Lambayeque Valley.
The elite leader was found adorned with jewels and ornaments of gold, silver and copper, including a huge crescent-shaped headdress with a plume of feathers, a face mask, several pectorals composed of hundreds of shell beads, necklaces, nose rings , earrings, a gold and silver scepter, golden metal banners sewn on cotton fabric and two back flaps, which are trapezoidal sheets of beaten gold that the warriors wore attached to the back of their suits. The necklaces were made with gold and silver beads in the shape of peanuts (peanuts), an important staple food for the Moche. There were ten grains on the right side made of gold, symbolizing masculinity and the sun god, and ten grains on the left side made of silver, to represent femininity and the moon god. Also buried with the Lord of Sipán were many ceremonial utensils such as tropical seashells, silver and gold bells, knives, golden death masks, gold bells showing a deity cutting off human heads, three other headdresses and hundreds of beads. A total of 451 objects of gold, silver, copper, textiles and feathers were buried with the Lord of Sipán to accompany him in the afterlife.
