A treasure trove of gold and silver jewelry, ancient coins and precious stones has been found at a Hindu temple in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
Gold ring with square jade stone attached – Photo: Reuters
Mr. K. Jayakumar, a senior official of the Indian Civil Service (IAS), said these objects were initially estimated to be worth more than 500 billion rupees ($11.2 billion). He also revealed that “there is a basement that has been closed for 140 years and still cannot be entered.”
It is known that this derelict treasure is hidden in at least five underground vaults at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, famous for its exquisite sculptures. The discovered treasure also helped this temple become one of the most valuable temples in India. Sree Padmanabhaswamy is a temple of Lord Vishnu, built in the 16th century in the Travancore kingdom. The treasure buried beneath the temple is a gift from devotees to show respect to this god.
Meanwhile, on the Florida reef, divers have recovered a gold ring with a jade stone, two silver spoons and other artifacts believed to have come from the richest shipwreck ever discovered. known – the Spanish warship named Nuestra Senora de Atocha, sank in a storm in this sea in 1622.
According to Tim Meade, a diver at Mel Fisher’s Treasure Company specializing in finding treasure from famous shipwrecks, this ring is worth an estimated $500,000. Spoons and other objects must be processed in a laboratory before being released into the air.
Mel Fisher’s Treasure divers began searching for the Atocha ship in 1969. In August 1985, they found a huge treasure trove of more than 40 tons of gold, silver, gems and other artifacts. estimated value of half a billion USD.
