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Like a "modern-day pirate," 75-year-old Ray Ives has been diving for sunken treasure for decades. Wearing an ancient, bronze-helmeted diving suit, he searches the ocean floor and keeps a huge collection of marine salvage (including antique cannon balls, 'bottles, bells, swords, portholes and diving gear') in a shipping container "museum" at a British marina.

Ray: A Life Underwater: Vimeo / YouTube. (A short film documentary.) [more inside]
posted by zarq on Sep 23, 2011 - 5 comments

A court-mandated opening of some secret chambers at the Sree Padmanabhaswami temple in Kerala - family temple of the ruling royals of the former Kingdom of Travancore - has led to the discovery of a treasure estimated to be worth billions of dollars.
posted by vidur on Jul 3, 2011 - 92 comments

A 55-year-old metal detectorist has unearthed the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found. [more inside]
posted by puckish on Sep 23, 2009 - 100 comments

Secret London has the story of a circulation promotion gimmick that runs awry.
posted by tellurian on Jun 24, 2009 - 19 comments

Renowned blacksmith, Phillip Simmons, of Charleston, SC has died at age 98. [more inside]
posted by 1f2frfbf on Jun 24, 2009 - 16 comments

"Songs From the Life of Leonard Cohen. More a biographical documentary than a concert, the 70-minute program combines live performances--some complete, many abridged--mainly from Cohen's 1988 show at Carnegie Hall, in support of his then-current album, I'm Your Man, with interviews with Cohen himself, his original musical patron Judy Collins and protege Jennifer Warnes." Parts: one two three four five six seven eight nine [more inside]
posted by item on Jun 6, 2009 - 27 comments

Is salvaging sunken treasure a form of piracy or the preservation of history? Does commercial for-profit exploration of historical shipwrecks taint the historical legacy of these naval graveyards? Who owns the treasures lost for so many centuries? Marine archeology is testing its legal limits with one man's work. [previous]
posted by infini on Jun 5, 2009 - 25 comments

On August 7, 1979, under cover of darkness, artist Kit Williams took a jeweled, 18-karat gold pendant in the shape of hare and buried it near the monument to Catherine of Aragon in Ampthill Park near Bedford, England. Clues to its location were hidden the text and artwork of his book Masquerade. The armchair treasure hunt sparked a worldwide craze. The end was disappointing. But 30 years later, the quest is being commemorated with a new hunt in the Cotswolds. (previously) [more inside]
posted by Joe Beese on Apr 23, 2009 - 30 comments

In more or less chonological appearance, here are examples of one of our very own still extant national musical treasures:
Ramblin' Jack Elliott - Talking Merchant Marine
Ramblin' Jack Elliott - San Francisco Bay Blues
Ramblin' Jack Elliott - Salt Pork West Virginia
And here, from SXSW 2006, is Ramblin' Jack Elliott & Billy Bragg - The Ballad of Pretty Boy Floyd
Also from SXSW 2006, Jack Elliott & Marty Stuart - Engine 143
From last year, here is Ramblin' Jack Elliott - Old Shep
and Ramblin' Jack Elliott - South Coast
And from last week's Bill Graham's Birthday Bash, here is
Phil Lesh, Jackie Greene & Ramblin' Jack Elliott - Friend of The Devil [more inside]
posted by y2karl on Jan 20, 2008 - 8 comments

A man seeking Confederate gold and his own family's hidden history uncovers a cryptic trail that may stretch back to a secret society and Jesse James.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders on Dec 5, 2007 - 13 comments

In 1840, the Cuerdale Hoard - the greatest Viking silver treasure trove ever found outside Russia - is found in Lancashire. 2007: a father and son find an amazing Viking hoard while metal detecting in in Harrogate. The most important find of its type in Britain for over 150 years, it reveals a remarkable diversity of cultural contacts in the medieval world, with objects coming from as far apart as Afghanistan in the East and Ireland in the West, as well as Russia, Scandinavia and continental Europe.
posted by chuckdarwin on Jul 20, 2007 - 20 comments

Treasure Hunt Puzzle I've been nutting my way through some of these puzzles with some difficulty but with a great deal of fun. Thought I would share...
posted by gnomesb on Feb 12, 2007 - 63 comments

Randy Newman has "A Few Words To Say In Defense Of Our Country" Lyrics here
posted by gfrobe on Feb 5, 2007 - 109 comments

Ahmad Nadalian's work can be found all over the world. He is an artist that carves symbols on rocks and then leaves them at the site where they were created (sometimes burying them).
posted by tellurian on Aug 2, 2006 - 7 comments

Two years after the Abu Ghraib scandal, new research shows that abuse of detainees in U.S. custody in Iraq, Afghanistan, and at Guantánamo Bay has been widespread, and that the United States has taken only limited steps to investigate and punish implicated personnel. A briefing paper issued today, 'By the Numbers,' presents findings of the Detainee Abuse and Accountability Project... the first comprehensive accounting of credible allegations of torture and abuse in U.S. custody in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo. The project has collected hundreds of allegations of detainee abuse and torture occurring since late 2001 – allegations implicating more than 600 U.S. military and civilian personnel and involving more than 460 detainees.

U.S.: More Than 600 Implicated in Detainee Abuse

See also Projected Iraq War Costs Soar, See also The Trillion Dolllar War.
posted by y2karl on Apr 27, 2006 - 110 comments

On the Chilean island of Robinson Crusoe, a small GPR-enabled robot named Arturito (google translated page) has apparently just found "The biggest treasure in history..." (estimated at $10 Billion).
posted by numlok on Sep 26, 2005 - 25 comments

Scientific Sleuth Cracks Code to $54,000 Treasure The treasure was the 12th and last set out in Treasure's Trove , a children's book published last fall. People shared information on many forums. The solution to the Beetle puzzle is in this forum. Missed out? All is not lost. Apparently, a new 14th puzzle has been announced. Maybe we can solve it together.
posted by notmtwain on Sep 22, 2005 - 12 comments

"Sometimes wanting to be famous is really the downfall of people." Funny how initial news reports often don't tell the full story. It seems the gents who claimed to have found buried treasure in their back yard actually found it while doing paid repair work on someone else's house. If they'd only kept their yaps shut...
posted by twsf on Apr 29, 2005 - 27 comments

A True Relation, of the Lives and Deaths of the two moft Famous Englifh Pyrats, Purfer, and Clinton who lived in the Reigne of Queene Elizabeth. From Isle of Tortuga, a freecache-linked geocities site. It has a wealth of primary sources and is refreshingly retro to boot! [mi]
posted by mwhybark on Sep 19, 2004 - 3 comments

Mongo is the treasures people discover in garbage, and Ted Botha has written an excellent book about it and talked about it. If your curiousity is peaked, you might want to try it yourself.
posted by drezdn on Aug 14, 2004 - 11 comments

Put MLK on the $20 Bill. Conservatives have clamored to put Ronald Reagan on the dime or the $10 bill. One outfit wants to name something after Reagan in each of the US's counties. Why not put one of "the greatest moral leaders of the 20th century" on one of our most commonly used pieces of currency instead? (Better to have King on the $20 than Andrew Jackson, whose unconstitutional Indian Removal policy created the "Trail of Tears.")
posted by Vidiot on Jan 19, 2004 - 59 comments

Oak Island is one of the greatest treasure hunting mysteries of the last 400 years. The Money Pit as it is called, has stirred up a bevy of questions including how this simple pit has alluded treasure hunters and scientists to this day. Some believe that it might be the location of the Holy Grail, stashed by the Templar Knights. Other's believe that it might be the resting place of Sir Francis Bacon's original plays acreditted to William Shakespear. The most common belief is that The pirate Captain Kidd hid his huge stash of gold deep within the pit which accounts for all of the unusual traps. Regardless of the wild speculation there has been evidence to suggest that there is deffinately something in the pit. But not all agree....
posted by Benway on Jan 15, 2004 - 17 comments

The treasures of the sea. A fascinating look at underwater archeological sites in France. The Cosquer Cave is particularly enthralling due to the art and the difficulty in getting to it. (warning - annoying frames and popup info boxes that don't work so well in Mozilla) [More inside...]
posted by Irontom on May 29, 2003 - 2 comments

Beer + Bums = Free Housing. Being a bum isn't easy. You have to panhandle lots of money, go Dumpster diving for treasure and hit up the friendly neighborhood liquor store a few times a day. Luckily, Seattle is finally recognizing how tough it is to bum for booze. Fat Tire with that free apartment, anyone? (Via The Raven)
posted by Happydaz on Oct 15, 2002 - 46 comments

In 1900 a sponge diver called Elias Stadiatos discovered the wreck of an ancient merchant ship off the tiny island of Antikythera near Crete. The corbita, dating from the first century B.C., was heavily laden with treasure of all kinds, original bronze life-size statues, marble reproductions of older works, jewelry, wine, fine furniture and one immensely complicated scientific instrument. The Antikythera mechanism was originally housed in a wooden box about the size of a shoebox with dials on the outside and a complex clockwork assembly of gears inscribed and configured to produce solar and lunar positions in synchronization with the calendar year. By rotating a handle on its side, its owner could read on its front and back dials the progressions of the lunar and synodic months over four-year cycles. The device has been estimated to be accurate to 1 part in 40,000. (more inside...)
posted by lagado on Sep 24, 2002 - 15 comments