Lost Treasures of the World Trivia Quiz

Answer: Oak Island

Legend has it that excavation began in 1795 by three friends who noticed a depression beneath a tree branch on which had hung a tackle block. The Money Pit was found to be connected to tunnels that flooded it with seawater on the high tide. Coconut fibres have been discovered at the site, along with the reputed recovery and immediate disappearance of gold links.

In 1971 drilling samples from 200ft revealed the presence of brass, china and wood. A camera sent down the hole sent back images that one observer stated was of a "human hand, cut off at the wrist". Many theories exist about the origins of the money pit including the pirate treasure of Captain Kidd, the treasure of the French royal family, and even the Knights Templar have been associated with the mysterious hole.

Answer: Gold

To this day Harold Lasseter's "reef" has remained undiscovered. Though Lasseter disappeared into the desert, his diary, discovered years later states that he once again stumbled upon his find before perishing.

Answer: England

Spain guarded its overseas colonies and the loot obtained from them jealously. Losses however were inevitable, and the greatest cause of lost ships was bad weather, however notable enemy victories include the 1553 capture by Vincent Bocquet of eight Spanish ships with only two of his own.

In 1628 Piet Heyn captured an entire Spanish flota capturing 180,000 pounds of silver, 135 pounds gold, 37,000 hides indigo, spices and pearls.

Answer: Dan Cooper

Claiming he had a bomb Cooper forced the plane down at Seattle Tacoma Airport where he released the passengers in exchange for $200,000 and then ordered the plane back into the air. Over the Cascade Mountains Cooper leapt from the rear of the plane at 10,000 feet at 200 mph into a freezing rain. He was never heard of again prompting law enforcement agencies to say Cooper "either got away or left a big hole in the ground".
In 2000 a Florida woman claimed she had been married to Dan Cooper for 17 years under the name of Duane Weber and he had passed away in 1995.

Answer: Austria

Many people have attempted to discover the legendary loot hidden within the lake, and indeed, some has been retrieved. Printing presses and counterfeited British pound notes were discovered in the lake in 1959. In 1963 the Austrian government banned diving in the lake after a second death resulted from treasure hunting.

In 1983 a biologist researching life in the lake's low oxygen waters discovered Nazi rockets and missiles, not to mention a new species of worm. Still exploration continues within the lake with rumours persisting that within its depths lies bullion, documents linking stolen Jewish assets to Swiss accounts and even the fabled Amber Room of Tsar Peter the Great.

Answer: Captain Kidd

The story goes that Captain Kidd was on his way to New York in 1699 in an attempt to negotiate a pardon for his crimes. Along the way he traveled up the Connecticut River and hid his loot. Unfortunately for Kidd he was captured and sent to England where he was hung for piracy.

Answer: Lost Dutchman's Mine

Jacob Waltz, who incidentally was a German, made trips into the Superstition Mountains, notorious Apache country, returning to Phoenix with hauls of gold. On his death-bed he told of his mine but also claimed no other would find it. However, this didn't stop numerous attempts trying, beginning with Julia Thomas, Rhinehart and Hermann Petrasch.

They failed to find the mine but attempted to recoup their investment by selling erroneous maps of its location. Over one hundred people have claimed to have found the Lost Dutchman's mine but still the search goes on prompting the U.S Department of Agriculture to close the Superstition Wilderness Area to mining activity in 1983.

Answer: El Dorado

Spaniards Orellana and Pizarro and Englishman Walter Raleigh all sought out this city of gold but to no avail. The origins of the legend seem to have been based on a ceremony performed by the Musica. During religious rituals the high priest was covered with gold dust and sent off into the middle of Lake Guatavita where he proceeded to drop gold and jewels into the lake as offerings to their god. El Dorado is Spanish for "gilded one". Sir Walter Raleigh during his exploration of Guyana and Venezuela claimed El Dorado was a city on Lake Parima and placed it on a map despite not visiting the region.

Answer: The Amber Room

The Amber Room was constructed in Prussia in 1701 but presented to Peter the Great in 1716. Having little time to hide the treasure during the German invasion curators attempted to hide the Amber Room behind wallpaper, a ploy that failed. Konigsberg was heavily bombed during WWII and the Amber Room may have been destroyed during the conflict.

However many people have continued to look for this treasure which is quite literally priceless. Rumours tell of the Amber Room being stored in underground bunkers either in Germany or Russia.

Answer: Genghis Khan

Over the years there have been a number of claims by expeditions using everything from local legend to satellite imagery announcing at the very least they are close to finding the tomb. But as yet none have found a tomb that has evaded discovery for hundreds of years. American lawyer Maury Kravitz has sent organized numerous expeditions to seek out the tomb and expects to find "The greatest single treasure trove ever amassed on this planet." should he find it.