From the Ark of the Covenant to the first feature film, when were these lost artefacts last seen?
A huge number of priceless treasures have disappeared from the historical record throughout the ages. These artefacts often go missing due to theft or under mysterious circumstances during times of war or disaster, when they can’t be protected or when military forces decide to take those treasures as a trophy. Sometimes treasures are recovered, but many are still missing.
Here are some lost treasures that have never been found. A few of these artefacts are now likely destroyed, but some may still exist and one day be recovered.
STOLEN AZTEC TREASURE
Last seen
June 1520
In the face of an Aztec rebellion against their colonial occupation, Hernán Cortes and his forces tried to sneak away from the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in the cover of night on 30 June 1520 with a huge haul of Aztec gold. But one of their vessels sank in a now dried-up canal that fed into Lake Texcoco, resulting in the death of many Spanish and the loss of some of the gold.
The Spanish returned a few months later to retrieve the lost gold, but they recovered only a portion of it. Some of that gold was found in 1981 when a construction worker unearthed a centuries-old gold bar in Mexico City – which stands where the Aztec capital and its surrounding waters once lay – but much of the gold is still missing.
ARK OF THE COVENANT
Last seen
Unknown
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Ark of the Covenant was a chest that held tablets engraved with the Ten Commandments. The chest was kept in a temple in Jerusalem in ancient Israel that was said to have been built by King Solomon. This temple, sometimes called the First Temple, was the most sacred site on Earth for the Jewish people, but it was destroyed in 587 BCE when an army from ancient Babylon, led by King Nebuchadnezzar II, conquered Jerusalem and sacked the city. It’s unclear what happened to the Ark of the Covenant, and its location has long been a source of speculation.
SARCOPHAGUS OF MENKAURE
Last seen
October 1838
The pyramid of Egyptian pharaoh Menkaure is the smallest of the three pyramids constructed at Giza around 4,500 years ago. In the 1830s, English military officer Howard Vyse explored the Giza pyramids, at times using destructive techniques (his use of explosives being the most notorious) to make his way through the structures.
Vyse made a number of discoveries at Giza, including an ornate sarcophagus found in Menkaure’s pyramid. Vyse tried to ship the sarcophagus to England in 1838 aboard the merchant ship Beatrice, but the ship sank during its journey and took the ornate sarcophagus down with it.
THE AMBER ROOM
Last seen
1944
The Amber Room was constructe
