The world is full of treasures. I’m talking way beyond fried eggs with grits. Or seeing a nuthatch peck at a tree. Although, I can’t imagine much better.
Yet, there are things in this world that many consider priceless, and people have spent their lives in a quest to find these riches. Throughout history, fantastic objects from various cultures have been stolen. Or lost their way somehow. Many times, these disappearances happen during wars. A military force might decide to take treasures back home as trophies. On other occasions, a natural disaster or some other miscue may have swept them away. So I’m here to tell you. A lot are still missing.
Probably, the most notable is The Lost Ark of the Covenant. According to the Hebrew Bible, the Ark of the Covenant was a chest that held tablets engraved with the Ten Commandments. Yes, the ones the Moses brought down from the mountain, burning bush and all.
According to historical legend, the chest was kept in a temple built by King Solomon. This temple was the most sacred site on Earth for the Jewish people way back when. But, as happens with temples, it was destroyed in 587 B.C. when that big bad Babylonian army came along and sacked the city of Jerusalem. Led by none other than King Nebuchadnezzar II. (He was a sequel, I guess.) But nobody knows what happened to the Ark of the Covenant, and its location has long since been a source of magical speculation.
All I have to say, it is a good thing someone in the crowd was taking notes when Moses had the tablets in hand. Otherwise, we’d be stealing things, and killing one another, and coveting wives all over the place. Oh. Crap.
Moving along.
Next on the list is the Amber Room. It was constructed in the Catherine Palace in the 18th century, in Tsarskoe Selo, near St. Petersburg, Russia. On a personal note, I have stood in this room with just four other people. Our guide, in Russia, got us there early one morning, and we were let in before any crowds were allowed in the Catherine Palace. We toured the entire place, mostly without seeing another person. It is an experience I will never forget.
Anyway, the Amber Room contained gold everything. Gold-gilded mosaics, gold mirrors, and gold carvings lined the walls. It glowed gold in there. But, the most amazing part was the amber panels. Floor to ceiling, constructed out of about 1,000 pounds of amber. Amber is a prevalent stone in that part of the world. We saw it in many places. But none like this.
Back to the story. Tsarskoe Selo was captured by Germany in 1941, during World War II. It was stripped. The room’s panels and art were disassembled and taken to Germany. And that was that. They haven’t been seen since, and they may have been destroyed. So, the room where I stood was an exact re-creation of the Amber Room. I have photos somewhere.
Next, we see the Crown jewels of Ireland. They were stolen too, in 1907 from Dublin Castle. Just to set the record straight, the “crown jewels of Ireland” were not connected with any royal ceremony. There was no crown. There were a few items. They included the jeweled star of the Order of St. Patrick and another diamond brooch, and five gold collars. (The Order was a sort of club to pay off high-ranking officials who supported the government.)
Regardless, “the jewelry was made from 394 stones taken from Queen Charlotte’s jewelry and an Order of the Bath Badge. The jewels also held rupees from a Mughal emperor and possibly precious stones provided by a Sultan of Turkey.” Or so the historians say.
Here’s the thing. They kept the jewels in a dang library, and they didn’t have much security there. Easy money for the robbers. The culprits remain a mystery. A wide range of people, including Francis Shackleton, brother of the famous explorer Ernest Shackleton, has been suspected of pulling off the heist. Another mystery.
There are many more treasures around the world, including The Florentine Diamond, a Lost da Vinci mural, the Menorah from Second Temple, and more.
So, if you are looking for a second career, this may be just the ticket. Indiana.
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“The soul is a treasure chest; hidden inside of it are priceless jewels.”
― Matshona Dhliwayo
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“When you treasure what you have, you are already rich.”
― Udai Yadla
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“Memory is the treasure house of the mind wherein the monuments thereof are kept and preserved.”
— Thomas Fuller
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Lost treasures in the midst of our treasures.
