20 Treasures From History that Remain Elusive and Yet to Be Found
People are pretty good at finding lost treasure, but these cool artifacts are still at large.
Published 2 months ago in Wow
From the tombs of the Egyptian Pharaohs to the Titanic's shipwreck, people are pretty good at finding lost treasure. It's part of human nature to be curious. But while there are plenty of mythological treasures that will never be found like the lost cities of Atlantis and Aztlán, these 20 cool artifacts are known to exist... and have still evaded us to this day.
Perhaps the coolest entry on this list is the tomb of the First Qin Emperor in China, the Qinshihuang Mausoleum. Unlike most other examples here, however, we know exactly where it is. The issue lies with what people think is inside. While extensive exploration of the surrounding Terracotta Army has occurred, legend has it that the tomb itself is extensively rigged with traps, and flowing rivers of mercury. Until scientists can find a way to map out the interior from the outside, the risk of harm to archaeologists, and the historical site itself is too high.
Speaking of tombs, the resting place of Alexander the Great, Cleopatra, and Marc Antony remains undiscovered. You would think such figures might demand elaborate tombs, but many researchers believe they lie beneath the modern city of Alexandria, and thus out of reach.
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The tomb of the First Qin Emperor of China, the Qinshihuang Mausoleum, exists and we know exactly where it is. The only part of the site that's been extensively excavated for artifacts is the famous Terracotta Army. The main tomb itself is still completely sealed and no attempts have been made to open it since legend states that it was filled not only with mountains of treasure inside, but also mechanically operated rivers of flowing mercury made to resemble the major rivers and bodies of water in China and booby traps to protect the massive subterranean complex, which has been measured to be around 1/4th the size of the Forbidden City using ground-penetrating radar and other non-invasive techniques.10
A large part of Pompei. What they have excavated so far takes an hour to walk through, but a huge part of it remains hidden. This is because they've found that being discovered is causing more damage to the remains than 2,000 years of being hidden beneath the pumice, and they're waiting for new technology to preserve it.18
Olavsskrinet; The sarcophagus of Olav Haraldsson. Remember the christian viking from Vikings: Valhalla? Yeah, he was real. After his death, he became a saint and a bridge between old Norse faith and Christianity. He was eventually laid to rest in a jewel adorned sarcophagus in the Nidaros Cathedral. It was Northern Europe's biggest destination for pilgrims until the reformation. When Norwegians broke with the catholic church, Olavsskrinet - maybe with Olav still in it - disappeared. Buried under the cathedral? Sent to Denmark? Nobody knows.