Lost Treasures Of The World
As far as I can remember, lost treasures have always fascinated me.
When I was at secondary school, I remember there used to be a poster of “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” on the door of the RE class, which only sated my treasures appetite.
Let’s face it – Indiana Jones is the epitome of treasure hunter cool.
Here are a few lost treasures that have captured my imagination over the years.
The Ark Of The Covenant
Indiana might have discovered the mystical Ark, but the real one’s whereabouts remain a mystery.
The Ark disappeared after the destruction of King Solomon’s temple in 587 B.C. Some say it now resides in Africa, the Middle East or even Europe, hidden away in a secret location.
The gilded Ark is supposed to contain Moses’s Ten Commandments, inscribed on stone tablets, priest Aaron’s staff and a jar of manna. You don’t have to believe in the validity of the Ark to be captivated by its mystique.
Blackbeard’s Treasure
English pirate Edward Teach, commonly known as Blackbeard, terrorised merchant ships sailing the Caribbean and the East Coast of America between 1716 and 1718.
Blackbeard’s demise came about on November 22, 1718, and with it any chance of recovering the pirate’s loot vanished. Discovered in 1996, Blackbeard’s sunken ship, “Queen Anne’s Revenge”, contained no treasure.
Maybe that’s what made a “good” pirate back in the day – the perfect hiding spot was worth its weight in gold.
El Dorado
The South American fabled city of gold. The Spanish first spawned the term “El Dorado” in the early 16th century, which means golden chief. Legend has it it that the rulers of the Muisca people, who populated modern-day Colombia, were covered in gold dust and gifted riches. This eventually led to stories of the city of gold itself.
The English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh made unsuccessful attempts to locate the city. Is El Dorado simply a myth? When it comes to the city of lost treasures, writer Edgar Allan Poe summed it up best.
“Over the Mountains
Of the Moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride,”
The Shade replied, –
“If you seek for Eldorado!”
After all, a sprinkling of fiction can only make lost treasures more real to the imagination.
For more from the “Friend” Fiction team, click here.
