Treasure hunting

"Treasure hunt" and "Treasure hunters" redirect here. For other uses, see Treasure hunt (disambiguation) and Treasure hunters (disambiguation).

Treasure hunter Heinrich Schliemann.

Treasure hunting is the physical search for treasure.

In modern times

In recent times, the early stages of the development of archaeology included a significant aspect of treasure hunt; Heinrich Schliemann's excavations at Troy, and later at Mycenae, both turned up significant finds of golden artifacts. Early work in Egyptology also included a similar motive.

More recently, most serious treasure hunters have started working underwater, where modern technology allows access to wrecks containing valuables which were previously inaccessible. Starting with the diving suit, and moving on through Scuba and later to ROVs, each new generation of technology has made more wrecks accessible. Many of these wrecks have resulted in the treasure salvage of many fascinating artifacts from Spanish treasure fleets as well as many others.

Treasure hunting is condemned by a growing number of nations, and UNESCO issued a chart for the protection of the underwater cultural heritage in 2001: the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. This convention is a legal instrument helping states parties to improve the protection of their underwater cultural heritage.

Notable treasure hunters

Main article: List of treasure hunters

• Bayerle, Capt. Martin located the shipwreck of RMS Republic in 1981.
• Chatterton, John (discoverer of the Pirate Ship of Joseph Bannsister Golden Fleece)
• Fisher, Mel (discoverer of the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha)
• Fismer, Carl (underwater explorer, author)
• Graham, Cork (war correspondent, author)
• Haskins, Goin Evans "Jack," Jr. (underwater treasure hunter, researcher)
• Hatcher, Mike (discoverer of the "Nanking Cargo")
• Marx, Robert F. (underwater archaeologist, author)
• Masters, Phillip (led the hunt for and discovery of the Queen Anne's Revenge)
• Mattera, John (author and discoverer of the Pirate Ship of Joseph Bannsister Golden Fleece)
• Ponce de León, Juan (searched the new world for gold and the Fountain of Youth)
• Spence, Dr. E. Lee (pioneer underwater archaeologist, discoverer of the Hunley, SS Ozama, SS Georgiana. etc.)
• Weller, Robert "Frogfoot" (underwater explorer, historian, author)

Notable treasure hunting companies

• Columbus-America Discovery Group located and salvaged treasure from 1857 shipwreck of the SS Central America, using research by Dr. E. Lee Spence
• Odyssey Marine Exploration located and salvaged treasure from 1865 shipwreck of the SS Republic, using research by Dr. E. Lee Spence
• Shipwrecks, Inc. chartered in 1967 by Dr. E. Lee Spence, received 1st salvage license issued in South Carolina, for work on CSS Georgiana

See also

• Armchair treasure hunt
• Buried treasure
• Geocaching
• The Golden Owl
• Letterboxing
• List of missing treasure
• Lost mines
• Marine salvage and treasure hunting (marine)
• Metal detector
• Oak Island
• Shipwreck

Further reading

• Robert E. Burgess, Sunken Treasure (Dodd, Mead; New York; 1988)
• Cork Graham, The Bamboo Chest; 2004
• Dr. E. Lee Spence, Treasures of the Confederate Coast: the "Real Rhett Butler" & Other Revelations (Narwhal Press, Charleston/Miami, 1995)

External links

• Two firms seek ship, Carolina Coast Online
• Treasure hunter in race to uncover ship of riches, Google
• Philip Masters, True Amateur of History, Dies at 70, New York Times
• Shipwrecks and Treasure: the Spanish Treasure Fleet of 1750
• Treasure hunter that found Blackbeard's pirate ship sues state for $8.2 million, Fayetteville Observer
• Lawmakers enter legal battle over Blackbeard's ship, News & Observer