The Treasure Report

Golden dagger unearthed in Bulgaria

duane — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 17:10:35 +0000

Archaeologists have unearthed a 5,000 year old dagger and more than 500 other gold items in central Bulgaria. The artifacts shed new light on ancient Thracian civilization.

The gold and platium dagger is in remarkable condition, and still retains its edge. It probably belonged to a high priest. The past two years have been extremely productive for Bulgarian archaeologists. Less than a month before, archaeologists unearthed a unique, 50-item collection of 2,400-year-old Thracian riches, including a golden wreath with an image of the Greek goddess Nike.

Via “SETimes.com”:http://www.setimes.com

16 years later, man is still pursing a dream of treasure

duane — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 00:26:07 +0000

Ma Qingrong, 62, from Dayao County, Southwest China’s Yunnan Province, has spent the last 16 years of his life digging for treasure on Mount Maanshan near his village. Every day he toils in a tiny cave he’s caved into the mountain, picking and shoveling his way deeper into the mountain.

The treasure he’s after was supposed left behind by Zhuge Kongming (an accomplished strategist in China’s Three Kingdoms Period) while crusading in the area. Ma expects to find chests of treasure, along with important scriptures and artifacts.

With so much dedication and effort expended you’d expect that Ma has a pretty strong belief that the treasure lies within the mountain. You bet he does! Incontrovertible proof, in the form of a dream.

“In the dream, I was led by a girl clad in black dress to a mysterious stone palace” says Ma. Yes, that’s right. His only evidence is through his dreams. There is hope however, because according to his dream, he’s only got two more years to go.

Via China Daily News

Rare silver coin returned to Greece

duane — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 23:16:37 +0000

This rare silver denarium coin, circa 42 BC, was recently acquired from London and repatriated to its home country of Greece as part of an effort to reclaim lost antiquities by the Greek government. It is scheduled to be displayed in the Numismatic Museum of Athens in 2007.

The coin features the face of Marcus Brutus, of Caesar assassination fame. The coin was struck by a mobile military mint, somewhere in Greece in 43 or 42 BC. Armys often traveled with their own minting equipment in order to supply them with cash.

The reverse of the coin (shown) is a clear reminder of Brutus’s role in Julius Caesar’s assassination. Two daggers and an inscription referring to the Ides of March. The item between the daggers is the cap of Liberty, a common design element in Greek coins.

The Barber Fine Arts Institute has a “similar coin”:http://www.barber.org.uk/coins/ifbrutus.html in its collection, one of only 58 or so examples world wide.

Via the Athens News Agency