Amazing treasures from different cultures around the world have been mysteriously stolen or lost during wars.
The world’s greates
1. Amber room
Many archaeologists still search for the “amber room” built in the Catherine Palace in the 18th century in Tsarskoe Selo, near the city of St. Petersburg. Petersburg (Russia).
The room contains mosaics, mirrors and gilded carvings, along with tablets made from around 450kg of amber.
Tsarskoe Selo was captured by Germany in 1941 during World War II. This amber room was disassembled and taken to Germany. They have not been seen since.
2. Ark of the Covenant
Illustration of “Ark of the Covenant” – (Photo: GIZA PYRAMID TICKETS)
According to the Bible, the “Ark of the Covenant” is a chest containing tablets engraved with the 10 commandments.
The chest was kept in a temple in Jerusalem in Israel, built by King Solomon. This temple is the holiest site on Earth for Jews.
However, the temple was destroyed in 587 BC when an army from ancient Babylon, led by King Nebuchadnezzar II, conquered Jerusalem and sacked the city.
3. Japanese sword Honjo Masamune
Honjo Masamune is a sword forged by Gorō Nyūdō Masamune. He lived from 1264 to 1343 and was the greatest swordmaker in Japanese history.
The sword was owned by Japan’s first shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu.
At the end of World War II, the sword was handed over to the US government during the US occupation of Japan. But the sword never appeared again.
4. Easter egg
Faberge Easter eggs – (Photo: MY MODERN MET).
From 1885-1916, Russian jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé made lavishly decorated “Easter eggs” for the Russian Royal Family.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 led to the execution of Nicholas II, Russia’s last tsar. And these eggs were lost.
Many reports suggest that the Easter eggs were shipped from the Soviet Union to the United States at the end of the Cold War.
5. Yellow Florentine diamond
After World War I, the last emperor of Austria-Hungary, Charles I, fled with it to Switzerland, where he put it in a bank vault. It’s unclear what happened next.
6. Theft of art 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 about $500 million.
They include three works by Dutch artist Rembrandt and five works by French artist Edgar Degas.
7. Skull of an ancient Beijing man
Skull of a Beijing man – (Photo: ALAMY).
In 1923, fossils of an ancient human known as “Peking Man”, who lived about 750,000 years ago, were discovered in a cave near the village of Zhoukoudian, near Beijing.
The fossils disappeared in 1941, during the war between Japan and China.
8. Nazi gold warehouse
According to rumors, near the end of World War II, a Nazi force hid a huge amount of gold in Lake Toplitz in Austria.
Several divers have died while trying to find gold in the lake’s waters.
