Amazing treasures from different cultures around the world have been stolen or mysteriously disappeared during wars .
The world’s greatest treasures remain unaccounted for to this day.
- 1. The Amber Room
- 2. The Ark of the Covenant
- 3. The Japanese sword Honjo Masamune
- 4. Easter Egg
- 5. The yellow Florentine diamond
- 6. The theft of artwork from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
- 7. Skull of an ancient Pekingese
- 8. The Nazi Gold Deposit
Live Science has researched around 30 lost treasures around the world. It’s possible they will never be found. Some of these treasures are now likely to have been destroyed.
1. The Amber Room
Many archaeologists are still searching for the “Amber Room,” built in the Catherine Palace in the 18th century in Tsarskoe Selo, near St. Petersburg (Russia).
The room contained mosaic paintings, mirrors, and gilded carvings, along with panels made from approximately 450kg of amber.
Tsarskoe Selo was captured by Germany in 1941 during World War II. The Amber Room was dismantled and taken to Germany. It has not been seen since.
2. The Ark of the Covenant
An illustrative image of the “Ark of the Covenant” – (Photo: GIZA PYRAMID TICKETS)
According to the Bible, the “Ark of the Covenant” was a chest containing the tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments.
The Ark is kept in a temple in Jerusalem, Israel, built by King Solomon. This temple is the holiest site on Earth for Jewish people.
However, the temple was destroyed in 587 BC when an army from ancient Babylon, led by King Nebuchadnezzar II, conquered Jerusalem and plundered the city.
3. The Japanese sword Honjo Masamune
Honjo Masamune is a sword forged by Gorō Nyūdō Masamune. He lived from 1264 to 1343 and was considered the greatest swordsmith in Japanese history.
The sword was owned by Japan’s first shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu.
At the end of World War II, the sword was given to the American government during the American occupation of Japan. But the sword never reappeared.
4. Easter Egg
Faberge Easter eggs – (Photo: MY MODERN MET).
From 1885 to 1916, Russian jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé created elaborately decorated “Easter eggs” for the Russian Imperial family.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 led to the execution of Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia. And these eggs were lost.
Many sources suggest that Easter eggs were shipped from the Soviet Union to the United States at the end of the Cold War.
5. The yellow Florentine diamond
After World War I, the last emperor of Austria-Hungary, Charles I, took it to Switzerland, where he hid it in a bank vault. What happened next is unclear.
6. The theft of artwork from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
On March 18, 1990, two thieves broke into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts, and stole 13 works of art worth approximately $500 million.
These include three works by the Dutch painter Rembrandt and five works by the French artist Edgar Degas.
7. Skull of an ancient Pekingese
A skull of a person from Beijing – (Photo: ALAMY).
In 1923, the fossil of an ancient human known as the “Peking Man ,” who lived approximately 750,000 years ago, was discovered in a cave near the village of Zhoukoudian, close to Beijing.
The fossils disappeared in 1941, during the war between Japan and China.
8. The Nazi Gold Deposit
Legend has it that, near the end of World War II, a Nazi force hid a massive amount of gold at the bottom of Lake Toplitz in Austria.
Several divers have died while trying to find gold in the lake’s waters.
