An amateur diver says he’s discovered tens of thousands of raw emeralds at the bottom of the ocean — but it may be years before he can profit. Armen Keteyian reports. . . . Text posted with video
Divers find wreck of legendary pirate treasure ship
Divers in Tonga have discovered the wreck of a vessel said to be a historic pirate ship containing a legendary hoard of sunken treasure.
The wreck is thought to be of the Port-au-Prince sunk by local islanders after its pirate crew had filled the ship’s hold with gold and treasures looted from British vessels.
The British ship sailed into Pacific water in search of whales in 1806 after straying from its main mission of ambushing and capturing treasure ships.
But upon finding the Port-au-Prince in Tongan waters, the local king Finau Ulukalala II and his
people seized the ship and massacred most of the crew. . . . Read Complete Report w/ photos
“A father dies at the hands of pirates and his noble son vows to avenge his death. So he infiltrates the pirate gang. He helps capture a ship, but discovers that there is a young woman on board whom he wishes to protect from the threat of rape. Will he sacrifice his identity for the lady?” . . . Text with Video posted to youtube.
The Syrian regime has as much as $25 billion stashed in offshore tax havens and investments across the Middle East. Finding that fortune could be big business for an elite group of modern-day treasure hunters
Even as the war in Syria rages and Bashar al-Assad clings to power, the race to find the regime’s vast—and mostly hidden—fortune is already underway. Experts say al-Assad and his associates have amassed as much as $25 billion through investments in banks, state industries and other concessions, and has stashed the money in offshore tax havens and in investments across the Middle East.
Finding the money is of keen interest to the modern-day treasure hunters who specialize in recovering the wealth of fallen dictators. . . . Read Complete Report
An original Pirate of the Caribbean’s loot from the 17th century has been recovered from the ocean and will go on show
By Anthea Gerrie 31 July, 2012
The belongings of a real-life Pirate of the Caribbean have been discovered off the coast of Panama and are set to go on show for travelers keen to see how 17th-century buccaneers lived.
The pirate was Captain Henry Morgan, of rum bottle fame, a Welshman who looted throughout the Spanish Main in the 17th century before losing five ships in the West Indies.
Fritz Hanselmann, an underwater archaeologist with the River Systems Institute and the Center for Archaeological Studies at Texas State University, found swords, barrels and chests belonging to one of Morgan’s ships after a three-year search.
“Morgan was one of the most infamous privateers of all time, so this was a chance to use archaeological research to bridge the gap between science and pop culture,” Hanselmann says.
The recovery follows the discovery of six of Morgan’s cannons off the Panamanian coast in 2010. . . . Read Complete Report w/photos
from youtube
Henry Morgan – the real pirate of the caribbean : Documentary
“He was one of history’s shrewdest military minds, a human chameleon who combined brutality with personal charm. Latest underwater forensic techniques reveal the truth about history’s most notorious pirate, Sir Henry Morgan. Three years into his quest to find the real Henry Morgan, salvage specialist Klaus Keppler made a sensational discovery — battleships from Sir Henry’s time, the 1660s. The ships were lying in only 5 meters of water in the Caribbean Sea, off the coast of Haiti, all accessible and perfectly preserved. We join Keppler and his team as they scour the ocean floor and unlock the secrets behind history’s most notorious pirate. Lovable rogue, brutal mercenary, successful businessman, alcoholic and loyal servant of the British Crown, The Real Henry Morgan tells a tale that puts ‘Treasure Island’ to shame” . . . Posted with video.
Last Modified: Saturday, July 21, 2012 at 11:54 p.m.
Fowler’s Bluff
A pirate’s curse is afoot, and it could be keeping some valuable booty several feet underground.
Here in this swampy hamlet on the east bank of the Suwannee River, where the air thickens with mosquitoes, a legend of buried treasure is firmly entrenched in local lore.
For years, through many landowners, treasure hunters have tried and failed to come up with the loot they believe was buried by 1800s French privateer Jean Lafitte — some say because such endeavors carry a curse preventing the treasure from being uncovered.
None have dug up the treasure, with the exception of one rumored recovery that may or may not have happened. . . . Read Complete Report
“The famous pirate Jean Laffitte made his home in Galveston, Texas after being run out of New Orleans by the U.S. Navy. He called his island home “Campeche” and he led a group of “privateers” on countless shipping raids around the Gulf of Mexico for 5 years. When he left Galveston, it is believed by many that he left stockpile of hidden treasure behind and intended to return to reclaim his pirate treasure – the treasure was never recovered and his fate remains somewhat of a mystery. Shot by M. Daleo for “Postcards from Texas” 2010 contact: mdaleo@wildcatterproductions.com”
Divers have recovered a number of 16th century silver coins from the wreckage of the legendary Swedish warship Mars, which was discovered last year off the coast of the Baltic sea island of Öland.
“The coins are in excellent condition and of great historic interest, especially considering where they were found,” the diving expedition organizers which found the wreck, Ocean Discovery/Deep Sea Productions, said in a statement, according to local news website Barometern.se.
According to the divers, the silver coins date from the time of Sweden’s King Erik XIV, who ruled over Sweden between 1560 and 1568. . . . Read Complete Report
One of the strangest treasure story’s that I’m aware of is the story of Oak Island and the elusive money pit. Sure, the exact spot of the so-called money pit is known. The problem is that due to an ingenious series of obstacles no one has ever been able to reach the treasure believed to be hidden at the bottom of the pit. If there is a bottom. Here’s a great site to virtually explore the famous “lost treasure” story. . . EDITOR
Imagine yourself walking through the trees of a wooded island rumored to hide buried pirate treasure. Suddenly you come across a depression in the ground. It’s roughly circular and there’s a tree standing above it with a branch that has been cut and appears to have been used as a pulley. Your imagination is fired and hope soars. You run off to get your friends and digging equipment.
You and two friends return the next day, shovels in hand, ready to claim your prize. The digging is easy. The dirt loose. Only two feet down your shovel strikes rock. As you clear the dirt away you find a neatly arranged layer of flagstone covering a circular area 13 feet in diameter. You pry the stones out, expecting treasure but there’s only more dirt.
You begin again. Digging down 8 more feet with no luck. Suddenly you hit wood. This is it. You scrap away the dirt only to find a platform of oak logs covering the pit. You pull out the logs and resume your digging.
Ten more feet and still nothing. Finally, you strike wood. This MUST be it. As you clear the area you find another level of oak logs.
Now you know there’s something valuable here. Why else would anyone go to so much trouble?
Now 20 feet below the surface you heave to again. Another 10 feet. Another set of oak boards.
Disappointed, you and your friends decide that you can’t go any further alone. You leave but vow to return to retrieve your treasure.
Now imagine that it’s more than 200 years later. The pit has been explored to more than 150 feet. The treasure, if any, that was buried is still there, protected by an ingenious booby trap that floods the pit with sea water anytime someone gets close.
Group after group after group have tried to solve the riddle. Neither brute force nor technology have been able to overcome the problems. Six lives have been lost and millions of dollars spent trying to uncover the secrets of what has become known as the Money Pit. Still, no one knows what lies at the bottom, who built it or why. There are numerous theories but little proof.
This is the story of Oak Island, Nova Scotia, one the most frustrating and intriguing mysteries of all time.
Join us as we explore what is known and what is theorized about this enigma. Perhaps you will be able to find the one clue or come up with the right approach that will finally help crack this puzzle. . . . Go to site
The crew aboard the 220-foot Sea Hunter is on the hunt for an exceedingly rare catch, nearly $4 billion in gold and platinum from a World War II era shipwreck.
The Maine-based Sub Sea Research crew aboard the vessel have searched for the Port Nicholson wreck for nearly five years and are now on their way to retrieve their first piece of treasure.
Sub Sea Research co-founder Greg Brooks believes the wreck could be carrying platinum and gold ingots that were originally a payment from the Soviet Union to the U.S. for war supplies. The Port Nicholson was sunk in 1942 by German U-boats only 50 miles off the coast of Provincetown, Mass.
Brooks talked to ABC News affiliate WCVB-TV about what it means to reach the wreck after five years of effort. . . . Read complete Report
This year a truly liminal book release is coming our way. Very little is known about the book so far as it has only recently been rediscovered. Yet the impact of its vast content could easily require us to rewrite some chapters in the history of Western Magic. Reason enough for us to take a brief sneak preview at the little we know about the book today…
The book is called the Summa Sacre Magice and has been compiled and redacted in 1346 by some Berengario Ganell (also known as Berengarius Ganellus in the latinized version). To begin with here are a couple of key points that explain why this release will be such an important contribution to the history of Western Magic . . . Read Complete Report
This treasure story is given to us through the efforts of Florida’s pirate “Gasparillia”.
If you should do a search on the internet for Jose Gaspar you’ll find several websites devoted to his pirate legend and about the parades and celebrations each year around Tampa Florida.
My spin isn’t the usual romantic version of the pirate’s career found in books and on other websites, and it certainly won’t win me any love… from the people in the Tampa area where he is the local hero.
I believe the pirates of the eighteenth century were a bunch of cowards similar to the terrorist of today who are not heroes… the way some democrats try to make them out to be.
When I sifted the information, I had, and considered it in the context of the time that the events occurred… painting these sea rogues as heroes doesn’t ring true. If there are heroes in this story it is the United States Navy, who cleaned the oceans for civilized travel and fought brilliantly against the original terrorist, North African Arabs.
Our Florida pirate “Jose Gaspar enters history’s scene in Spain where he was born in the year 1756 and started adult life with a career in the Spanish Navy, serving aboard the warship Floridablanca. . . . Go to web site
