Seven Unfound Treasures. Treasure at the location Treasure Island Blackbeard's Treasures

Treasures worth billions of dollars are hidden underground and in the depths of the ocean. Where to look for them?

According to scientists, treasures worth $900 billion or more are hidden and forgotten on our planet. Treasures of ancient civilizations, jewelry from sunken ships, treasures of sea pirates, lost world masterpieces and religious relics - where to look for them and is the game worth the candle? We have collected seven of the greatest treasures that haunt treasure hunters around the world. Read with caution: gold fever is highly contagious!

Tomb of Genghis Khan

The burial place of the founder and first khan of the Mongol Empire has still not been found, despite the efforts of many people. Treasure hunters are convinced that in the grave, in addition to the body of the great conqueror, lies untold wealth: precious stones, gold coins, expensive dishes, exquisite weapons - a treasure worth several billion dollars. Unfortunately for them, Genghis Khan was buried secretly in a remote area and his grave was deliberately unmarked. Some scientists believe that the grave should be looked for in Russia: in the forests of Altai, in the area of ​​the Ridder depression. Others believe the legend according to which Genghis Khan was buried in the same places where he was born: in the vicinity of Mount Burkhan Khaldun in Mongolia. This mountain, sacred to the Mongols, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in July this year as the birthplace and possible burial place of Genghis Khan.

Treasures from the ship Flor de la Mar

Treasure hunters call the treasure from the ship Flor de la Mar (Flower of the Sea) the largest treasure in the world, and the ship itself the most valuable shipwreck ever. On it, the Portuguese carried a significant part of the trophies obtained during the capture of the Malacca Sultanate. However, the battered sailing ship never delivered any trophies to the king: it sank in 1511 and has been lying at the bottom of the Strait of Malacca in an unknown place for 300 years. Treasure hunters from all over the world are ready to rush to search for treasures in Indonesia at any moment. Thus, the American Robert Marks, who specializes in treasures from sunken ships, stated that he was ready to spend $20 million to find and raise the Flor de la Mar cargo to the surface. However, the Indonesian authorities reject all offers, hoping to find the treasure without the help of foreigners. In July of this year, an archaeological underwater expedition was announced off the coast of Sumatra. According to archaeologist Ali Akbar, finding the "Flower of the Sea" in the Strait of Malacca will not be easy, as it is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world - there may be about 400 ships that sank between 1500 and 1800: go find out where lies the same golden one...

Gold 11 Spanish galleons

300 years ago, in 1715, 11 ships of the Spanish fleet sank off the coast of Florida, carrying treasures from the New World, which were supposed to replenish the treasury of the Spanish King Philip V. On board were goods and jewelry worth up to 14 million pesos. On one ship alone, the Nuestra Senora de la Regla, there were 300 chests of coins and ingots, 23 chests of processed silver and 62 chests of gifts for the king and his retinue, not counting a chest of gold items, doubloons and pearls. On another ship - Santo Cristo de San Roman - according to the inventory, they carried 684 chests and bags of pesos, 53 chests of processed silver, 14 chests of Chinese porcelain and much more... On the same fleet, destroyed by a severe hurricane, there was a dowry and gifts for the newly-crowned queen of Portugal Isabella Farnese, the young wife of Philip V, never received her jewelry. After the galleons sank, the Spaniards searched for cargo under water for four years, attracting Indians to them: under threat of death, divers went into the water with heavy stones tied to their feet. Managed to raise 30% of the treasures. However, due to attacks by pirates, sharks and Indian uprisings, the search had to be stopped. They were continued only 250 years later, after builder Kip Wagner accidentally found a Spanish silver coin on the shore. The search is currently being carried out by Brent Brisbane's company and local treasure hunters. Six ships still remain undiscovered, and those that have been discovered are hidden under a layer of sand, making access to the untold riches difficult. But here and there divers manage to catch gold coins. More recently, an American family of treasure hunters.

Relics of the Jerusalem Temple

For centuries, treasure hunters, historians and archaeologists have been looking for the treasures of the Jerusalem Temple, which stood on the Temple Mount and was the center of the religious life of the Jewish people from the 10th to the 6th centuries BC. e. First of all, everyone is interested in the fate of the Ark of the Covenant - a Jewish shrine that symbolized the union of God with the people of Israel. In this box, received by Moses from God on Mount Sinai, according to beliefs, the tablets of the Covenant with the Ten Commandments, a vessel with manna and Aaron's staff are kept. There are detailed descriptions of it in the Old Testament, and, among other things, it is said that it is trimmed with pure gold. It is believed that the Ark of the Covenant was taken out during the destruction of the Temple by King Nebuchadnezzar, after which it was securely hidden, but where is a mystery. Hundreds of tons of gold, silver and other valuables from the temple storage also disappeared without a trace. A clue to their discovery, according to many scientists, may be the Copper Scroll, one of the legendary Qumran manuscripts, also known as the “Dead Sea Scrolls.” This ancient document, found in the Qumran cave in 1953, is an inventory of hidden treasures with locations to look for - albeit rather abstract ones. More than 60 caches are mentioned, in which a total of 65 tons of silver and 26 tons of gold are stored. The text from the fragile Copper Scroll, at risk to the artifact, was deciphered in 1955, and since then debate has raged about the reality of the existence of the wealth described. Many believe that there were no treasures, pointing out that the Essenes of the Qumran community, who compiled this text in 50-100 AD. e., could not possess such values, and strict views would not allow them to hide the treasures of the Jerusalem Temple.

The eighth wonder of the world

The famous Amber Room, given to Peter I by the Prussian king, was taken by the Germans from the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo during the Great Patriotic War. She was last seen in 1945 at Königsberg Castle three days before the storming of the city. Despite versions about the death of the Amber Room as a result of fire or decomposition, they continue to persistently search for it in different parts of the world: not only in Europe, but even in America. Two years ago, 90-year-old Wilhelm Kraft, a former Wehrmacht soldier, made a statement that the masterpiece was buried in the ground in the Danish village of Asaa. And this year, Russian historian Sergei Trifonov announced that he had practically found the Amber Room in Kaliningrad under the secret bunker of the last commandant of Koenigsberg, Otto von Lyasch. The bunker led to the now defunct Königsberg Castle and was found only recently. In February, Trifonov already made his first studies: with the help of a probe lowered into the dungeon, he saw a large metal box under the bunker and the entrances to the tunnels. Further work is planned for autumn 2015. The episode about the search for the Amber Room was included in the new documentary film of the My Planet TV channel about Kaliningrad-Konigsberg.

Baikal treasure and Kolchak's gold

In 1918, a significant part of the treasury of Imperial Russia was at the disposal of Admiral Kolchak, who was proclaimed the Supreme Ruler of Russia. These 490.5 kg of gold began to be called “Kolchak’s gold,” despite the fact that already in 1920 the admiral was shot, and the money went to the Bolsheviks. Kolchak managed to spend part of the reserve on strengthening his power and buying weapons, part was stolen, and another part disappeared without a trace. Many believe that the boxes containing the surviving gold fell into Lake Baikal during transportation and still lie at the bottom of the deepest lake in the world. One of the ardent supporters of this version, archaeologist Alexey Tivanenko, claims that he saw witnesses to the railway accident. “When I was still a young man, I lived on the shores of Lake Baikal and traveled a lot. Local residents showed exactly where the military train cars fell into the lake. About 40 boxes of gold went to the bottom,” says Alexey. In 2008-2010, a search for Kolchak’s treasures at the bottom of Lake Baikal took place using the Mir deep-sea submersibles. The expedition managed to find the wreckage of a railroad car and a box of ammunition from the Civil War. Tivanenko, who took part in the dives, claimed that four gold bars of 16 kg each were also discovered, but since they were sandwiched by stones, all attempts to grab them with a probe ended in nothing. Another participant and sponsor of the expedition, multimillionaire Mikhail Slipenchuk, recently admitted to Forbes that he revived the legend of Kolchak’s gold in Baikal specifically to attract attention to the scientific expedition, but in fact, part of the imperial treasury is a priori impossible to find in Baikal, since the thick, loose sediment , formed in the lake, absorbs everything that falls to the bottom.

Pirate treasures

According to one American banker, together the pirates hid treasures worth several billion dollars, and no more than 7% of these treasures have been found to date. They are looked for by researchers and lone treasure hunters everywhere and anywhere where famous pirates hunted, not only on land, but also in water. So, this year, off the coast of Madagascar, archaeologists from the ship of the Scottish pirate William Kidd. The ingot was recovered from the frigate Adventure, which sank more than 300 years ago. A total of 13 sunken ships have been found off the coast of Madagascar, and we are sure to hear about more pirate treasures. Scientists search for buried treasures, guided, as a rule, by maps, drawings, and diaries of pirates and their comrades. “Those who hid treasures almost always left notes about it. The whole point is to understand in what form these records were left or how to decipher their contents,” says American researcher Richard Wilborn. This scientist managed to guess where the pirate Drake's treasure was hidden - 40 tons of silver. The diary of one of the team members, old Drake nautical charts kept in the Bancroft library, and drawings on one of them allowed him to decipher the “Drake code” and establish the exact location of the treasure: it is buried on Mount Livermore on Angel Island (Angel) at a depth of 6 feet , or 72 inches. True, it has not yet been possible to verify this guess: officials do not give permission to work on the island, which has the status of a federal nature reserve and is part of the California National Park.

While you are reading this material, treasure hunters are taking gold coins from the oceans, digging the ground in search of Napoleon's Moscow trophies and dreaming of discovering the library of Ivan the Terrible. But not all treasures are destined to be found: some are hidden too well, while others never existed, being just a legend disturbing the minds.

There are many amazing places in the Lazovsky district, striking with their fantastic beauty and uniqueness. For example, the walls of the Benevsky waterfalls sparkling in the sun, falling from the rocks with noise like diamond splashes. But besides this, there is a real treasure island in the Lazovsky district, rich in amazing natural objects. It is not famous for the fact that many centuries ago, dashing pirates left their looted treasures on it. No, this island has a different value, because it is a protected area, with unique flora and fauna, surrounded by mysticism, myths and legends - we know it as Petrov Island.

Why was the island named after Petrov, and not the “well-known” Ivanov or Sidorov? In the second half of the 19th century, on the screw schooner “Vostok” under the command of Lieutenant P. L. Ovsyannikov, the head of the scientific expedition, Vasily Matveevich Babkin, a Russian hydrographer and explorer of the seaside coast, approached the shores of the Primorsky Territory. This expedition discovered many bays, and among them Preobrazhenie Bay. And the island discussed in this story was discovered and mapped in 1860 and named after the naval officer Alexander Petrov. The next time people visited the island was in 1930. This was a group of people with a plan for a five-year expedition, and naturally, in order to comfortably live and work for a long time on a small piece of land surrounded by the sea, they cut down part of the yew grove, built housing and set aside a small plot for farming. They didn’t forget about relaxation either: there was even a place for volleyball.

Time passed, people left the island again. And already in 1935 it was officially declared a protected area. Subsequent expeditions (1964-1967) were carried out solely for the purpose of archaeological research, which provided more complete information about what was happening on the island over the last few decades. Unfortunately, destruction is a one-time process, unlike creation: in the place where the yew trees were cut down by the first expedition in the 30s of the last century, even after almost 90 years, nothing special grows. Currently, this is a huge clearing, where only thorny thickets of wild roses feel comfortable, and the dense grass cover hides the wounds inflicted by humans. And yew trees grow slowly; it will take hundreds of years for them to be reborn in their old place. But the happiness is that in the short period of stay people were not able to destroy everything. Currently Fr. Petrova is a natural botanical garden and multi-layered archaeological site, which is protected thanks to a protected area.
The protected island is a place with the richest nature; almost a quarter of the entire flora of the region is represented on a small territory of the island. Huge pine trees, double the girth, mysterious burls, ancient wells, centuries-old yew trees, bent in the most unimaginable way, create an indescribable, bizarre picture of the island forest. Black squirrels jump along the twisted trunks and branches of trees - everywhere you can see cones ground off by squirrel teeth. There is a bird market on the rocks. The cries of gulls, guillemots and cormorants can be clearly heard on the approaches to the top of the island. Among the inhabitants of the island. Petrov includes such birds as the white-tailed eagle, eagle owl, and white-rumped swift. In addition to the common squirrel, American mink and otter periodically appear on the island. And if you are lucky, you can meet a sealed seal in the sea - it is also called a sea hare, probably because of the cutest expression on its face. Surprisingly, “guests” from the mainland come to the island from time to time: most often these are deer, sometimes a bear hunts for wild garlic; Once, traces of the owner of the taiga, the Amur tiger, were also noted in the sand. And this is all - the real treasures of Petrov Island!
Currently, most people know about Petrov Island as a nature reserve, but once upon a time, several thousand years ago, people lived on it. Archaeological finds indicate that the first person chose the island to live in the 9th century BC. The culture developed, houses were built, fortifications were erected, the sea spit (by the way, also not man-made) was maintained in working order, but then the residents were forced to leave their home. The island is deserted. Over time, the houses began to collapse, and in their place, from seeds brought from the mainland by birds, yew trees sprouted, which after many centuries formed the yew grove known to us. The fact that the island was once inhabited is now evidenced by the remains of stone buildings, a protective rampart, artificial terraces, and sometimes the foundations of ancient dwellings reaching the surface. The uniqueness of the grove, in addition to the fact that it grew on the remains of an ancient settlement, is also that under the influence of severe weather, the island yews are thinner and squat, unlike the mainland ones. Their trunks and branches are severely twisted due to exposure to storm winds. There are only a few natural monuments like the island yew groves left around the world. And ours, located on about. Petrova, the only one in the entire Asian region.
However, those who want to visit the “miracle island” will face a real test in the form of off-road... From the head office of the reserve with a wonderful museum to the sea, drive about 70 km along bumpy dusty roads. But it's worth it! The beauty that reveals itself to the eye is exciting and difficult to describe. The sea route by boat from the coast to the island also adds to the delight. Bright sun, sea wind and salty spray, and then an exciting journey around the island! What could be more beautiful? Petrov Island is a very unusual place, it delights and inspires... Having once visited this mysterious place, you certainly begin to strive with your soul there, back under the dome of tightly woven yew branches, in order to again feel that delight and awe, close to the sacred, that you experience when looking at it , which was created by the invisible hand of nature and long, heavy centuries. The memories from this trip are truly a treasure!

When talking about treasures, one cannot ignore such an amazing and legendary piece of land, lost in the Black Sea, as Zmeiny Island. For three thousand years, humanity has been telling legends about the island, both terrible and beautiful. The fairy land contains many unsolved secrets and treasures.
The island is older than History.
Snake Island is located approximately 35 kilometers east of the coast at the latitude of the Danube Delta. The island has a cruciform shape and an area of ​​20.5 hectares. Its length is 615 m, width – 560 m, the narrowest point is a little more than 90 meters. The island is now small, although before, before the water level rose by 5 m, it was much larger. The nearest settlement on the coast is the Romanian city of Sulina. The nearest settlement in Ukraine is the city of Vilkovo. The coast of the island is mostly rocky, but there are also four beaches: “Damsky”, “Dergach”, “Zolotoy” and “Banditsky”.
According to historical and literary references, Zmeiny was known about three thousand years ago. It was the holiest place on both banks of the Pontus Euxine (Black Sea). On this small piece of land off the western shore of the Black Sea, ancient myths and fantastic reality come together. As the ancient Greeks believed, this is where the entrance to the underground kingdom of the dead is located, and the souls of the dead appear before the ruler of Tartarus, Hades. In Soviet times, there were even plans to build a nuclear power plant on the island. Such is the allegory...
Zmeiny has an ancient history. People first settled here in the 7th century BC. These were the Greeks who began migrating to the Northern Black Sea region. They also brought to the island the cult of the main hero of the Trojan War - Achilles. More than thirty ancient authors wrote about the island. The temple of Achilles on the island was mentioned by ancient travelers, geographers, poets, playwrights - Pausanias, Strabo, Arrian, Pindar, Euripides.
Over its long history, the island has changed many names. Only we know eight: Levka, Achilles Island, Island of the Blessed, Philoxius, Fidonisi, Ilan-Ada, Sherpilor, Zmeiny...
"Levka" is translated from Greek as "white". Some believe it is due to the abundance of white birds on the island. Some people think that it was named after the nymph Levka, whom the god of the underworld Hades (an unpleasant type - a misanthrope and theophobe) wanted to seduce. But his jealous wife turned the nymph into a poplar. Finodisi (Ofinodisi) translated from Greek means Snake. Sherpilor (Serpilor) translated from Romanian is the same.

Myths of Ancient Greece

Its widely known name in ancient times was Achilles Island. There is a romantic legend associated with this name. Achilles or Achilles (Acilleuz) is one of the greatest heroes of the Trojan War, the son of the Myrmidon king Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis. The mother, trying to make her son invulnerable and give immortality, tempered him in fire at night and rubbed him with ambrosia during the day. She bathed her son in the waters of the underground river Styx, holding him by the heel. And only the heel remained vulnerable.
The mother knew that her son was predicted to die during the siege of Troy and sought to save him from this. She hid Achilles in the palace of King Lycomedes on the island of Skyros. There he was found by the “cunning” Odysseus. Achilles becomes a participant in the campaign against Troy. He fights fiercely, killing kings and heroes, but he himself dies, struck in the heel by Paris. The prophecy came true. The ashes of Achilles were buried under a mound on Cape Sigei (now Cape Yenisehir in Turkey)...
And the soul of Achilles, according to legend, was transferred to the island of Levka, where the hero continued to live the life of the blessed. The island began to be named after him. The gods granted eternal life to the beautiful Helen, because of whom the Trojan War broke out, and was also transferred to the island of Levka, where she became the wife of Achilles, resurrected by the gods.
The sailors, the founders of Olbia, worshiped Achilles and considered him their divine patron. They believed that the island of Levka became the home of the hero god and his beautiful wife Helen, daughter of Zeus and Leda. The Olbians built a magnificent temple on a deserted island, in which Achilles was revered as the ruler of the Euxine Pontus. It was believed that Achilles was the patron of seafarers; it was not for nothing that he was later called “Pontarch” - “Lord of the Sea”.
For the sake of the safety of the voyage, sailors specially visited the island of Achilles and presented him with expensive gifts and sacrifices. Merchants and pirates, nobles and adventurers from all over the world, visiting the temple, worshiped the hero who became a god, begging for good luck. They brought money, jewelry, jewelry, dishes as gifts, and left memorial inscriptions.

Shield of Achilles

It was forged for the hero in one night in the forge of the lame god Hephaestus. Not a single artistic retelling of Homer's Iliad is complete without its detailed description.
Huge, round and convex, it is forged from five folded copper sheets and framed by a triple rim. It is decorated with many images made of gold, silver and white tin. The sky stretched out in a semicircle above. It features a golden sun, a silver moon and brilliant constellations. Below is the Earth and the people on it.
Two cities are visible. One is peaceful, there is a wedding on the street, in the square on hewn stones
Elders sit with scepters in their hands: they listen to the requests and complaints of citizens and administer justice.
Another city is under siege. An army of city defenders emerges from it. Above the warriors are two figures in golden armor - these are the gods Ares and Athena leading them. Enmity and ferocious Death prowl the ranks.
Peasants work around the cities. They drive the oxen harnessed to the plow, reap the golden fields and knit the sheaves. Under the shade of an oak tree, heralds slaughter sheep and roast meat for the reapers' dinner, and women bake bread.
Beyond the field is a golden vineyard. Workers carry wicker baskets filled with grapes. A herd of gold and silver bulls goes to water. Shepherds with a pack of dogs follow him. Two fierce lions knocked over the bull and are tormenting him. The shepherds set the dogs, but they are afraid to approach the predators and bark from afar, with their tails between their legs.
A cheerful round dance of boys and girls completes the picture. Young men with golden knives on a silver belt over their shoulders, and girls all in light clothes, with wreaths on their heads. The shield is bordered by a white stripe, symbolizing the World Ocean flowing around the Earth.
The description is so plausible that you inevitably begin to believe that this magnificent masterpiece of divine art stands somewhere in an underground or underwater grotto, waiting for its Schliemann. Possibly next to the hero statue.
By the way, the famous Heinrich Schliemann, who excavated ancient Troy with money earned in Russia, often said that he must find the shield of Achilles. But for world fame it was enough for him that he found the “treasure of King Priam” - the famous gold of Troy.

What is hidden in karst caves?

Over the course of many centuries, untold wealth accumulated in the temple. The famous Roman writer and statesman Flavius ​​Arrian wrote about this in the 2nd century AD:
“Almost opposite this mouth lies an island, which some call the island of Achilles, and others - the Run of Achilles, and still others - by color - White. There is a legend that Thetis raised it from the bottom of the sea for her son and that Achilles lives on it. On the island there is a temple of Achilles with an ancient statue of him. There are no people on the island; only a few goats graze on it. They are said to be dedicated to Achilles by all who come here. There are many other offerings in the temple: cups, rings, precious stones, as well as inscriptions - some in Latin, others in Greek, composed in different meters in praise of Achilles.
Scientists have a burning curiosity about this piece of land, including ours. Back at the beginning of the 19th century (in 1823), when the study of the ancient monuments of the Northern Black Sea region began especially rapidly, an expedition of Captain Crete visited here. In the southwestern part of the island, on an elevated place, researchers saw a powerful foundation made of large limestone blocks. In some places, the lower parts of the walls have also been preserved. Cretan drew up a plan of the island and marked the ruins of the temple on it.
In June 1841, the ship Cecilia visited Zmeiny Island with a scientific expedition. One of the founders of the Odessa Society of History and Antiquities, Murzakevichiz, and other scientists took part in it. They were struck by the picture presented: “piles of stone, piled into cubic fathoms, and this stone was the remains of the Temple of Achilles.”
The remains of the temple were later barbarically used to build a lighthouse.
Caves and grottoes are found in the rocks. Some voids were explored and described by an expedition in 1899. People could hide in them, they could also store valuables - for this you didn’t even need to dive into the water. Above the grottoes there are barely noticeable cracks in the rock that come to the surface. They are covered by grass, and it is not easy to find them.
Scientific interest in the island continues unabated. In 1964, excavations were carried out by an expedition led by archaeologist N.V. Pyatysheva. This is what she says in her diaries when describing the southwestern part of the island:
“In many places... voids are felt under the rocky soil, which suggests the presence of karst caves. It is likely that these caves were used as hidden treasures, where, when sea pirates approached, the priests hid statues of gods and jewelry.”
There was no settlement on Levka whose inhabitants could guard the temple and treasures. Living, and even spending the night, on the island was prohibited. There were only a few priests serving the temple there. Therefore, it is likely that they lowered valuables and religious objects into hiding places through cracks in the walls of caves or under the floor slabs of the temple, at a time of danger.

Stumbling Island...

Until the end of the 18th century, the island belonged to the Ottoman Empire. This is the first official owner of “treasure island”. At the beginning of the 19th century, Zmeiny, together with other lands of the Ottomans, went to Russia, which defeated Turkey in a fierce war for access to the Black Sea. In 1856, after Russia's defeat in the Crimean War, the island returned to the Turks. And 22 years later, Romania, which had just appeared as a state on the map of Europe, became the owner of the island.
The island first appeared on maps of the Russian Empire in 1785. In 1801 its coordinates were determined, in 1823 a topographical survey was carried out and a detailed plan was drawn up.
In April 1944, Soviet sailors, having landed on Zmeiny, took possession of it without a fight, since the Romanian garrison did not offer resistance. And later a corresponding protocol was signed, according to which “Snake Island, also known as Sherpilor, located in the Black Sea at 45 degrees 15 minutes 18 seconds north latitude and 30 degrees 19 minutes 15 seconds east longitude from Greenwich, was returned by the Romanian People's Republic to the Soviet Union and included into the territory of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics."
At the end of 1946, the island completely passed to the USSR - as an integral part of the Ukrainian SSR. And since 1991, Zmeiny has been part of independent Ukraine.
In recent years, archaeologists, speleologists and scuba divers have landed on Zmeiny more than once. But their attempts to find the hiding places have not yet been successful. At the bottom of the sea, near the island, amphoras and coins from the ancient Greek period continue to be found.
Many secrets are kept on the rocky island. Treasure hunters hope to find treasures. But they are very well hidden. The search is hampered by the rising water level (5 m). Although modern technology was almost not used here. Everything is ahead!
Archaeologists dream of finding their Troy. They persistently continue their search, hoping to find the statue of Achilles itself, and even his famous shield, forged by Hephaestus and sung by Homer. Heinrich Schliemann himself, the discoverer of Troy, dreamed of finding this magnificent creation of the blacksmith god. There is no doubt that the search for the statue of Achilles should continue. But Achilles' shield is a real miracle!

The real wealth of the island

Currently, the island is actively being developed and settled in Ukraine. Perhaps there is fresh water on Zmeiny. Drillers are actively looking for it. If they find it, it will be a radical turn in the development of the island.
It is planned to build a wind-diesel power plant with a capacity of up to 500 kilowatts. The station will consist of five wind turbines, each with a capacity of 110 kilowatts. Its estimated cost is about three million hryvnia. There is also an interesting option for placing the station - it is proposed to move it out to sea.
As for strengthening the bank of Zmeiny, the President of Ukraine was convinced of the need for this with his own eyes during a visit to the island. The trip was timed to coincide with the commissioning of the berth complex.
The development of the island's infrastructure is impossible without the construction of a permanent pier. The Odessa State Administration was entrusted with its construction. Prolonged storm winds constantly disrupt construction deadlines, but work on the island does not stop. And the costs are worth it. They should pay off. The island has rich potential.
The island will open to tourism, not mass tourism, but elite tourism. Zmeiny is supposed to be made an interesting object for wealthy travelers, for diving enthusiasts (underwater tourism) and ornithologists (those who study birds).
The island will also become more accessible to scientists. Research can be continued on a new, modern basis, making it long-term. The island's shelf is rich in seafood and delicacies such as crabs and rapana. Geographical location makes it possible to predict emergency situations.
For now, the island remains an inhospitable and extreme destination for visitors. This place is training for romantics. A place where physical fitness, psychological stability and willpower are tested to the limit. But for treasure hunters (underwater and above water), it is a real reserve of undiscovered treasures and cultural values. The stone hero Achilles with a huge copper shield in his hand was tired of languishing in his dungeon. He is waiting for you with great impatience!

Treasure Island - Travel

The location is located quite far and requires 80 units of fuel from us one way. It is also necessary to put in the hold, and it is best to secure it in it, Pirate's Compass. Without it, flying to the location is impossible. The Old Fort is located on the location; if it is restored, it will be possible to make some of the items you need.

To go to the location we need one of:

Arriving on the island, you will find an area densely shrouded in clouds. As resources are cut down, the fog will clear and you will find a lot of interesting things.

Catapult:

To destroy the Tower, we need a catapult.

Construction stages:

Once you have restored the catapult, all that remains is to load and fire.
First shot:

Second shot:

Third shot:

Fourth shot:

When you fire all the shots, the Tower and catapult will turn into a mountain of treasure that you can load into the airship and take it to the estate.

Portal:

Moving further through the location, you will be able to discover a portal that will take you to the treasury.

Construction of the portal:

Main building:

On Treasure Island we will discover the Old Fort.

Construction stages:

Can be produced:

Pirate chests:

On Treasure Island we will find Pirate Chests.

By opening Pirate Chests we will receive:

Quest:

	Old fort on the horizon! We're descending! Yeah, he got it pretty hard. Let's restore it - it will come in handy! Great job! Now you have access to new production facilities and a warehouse. All that remains is to find what to put in it.

Treasure at the location Treasure Island:

In the chests you can find the necessary resources for construction

Many legends have been preserved, according to one of which participants in the Pugachev uprising hid here from the tsar’s wrath. But most often they remember hermit Vera, who was canonized by local Old Believers during her lifetime. This is where she is buried. Every year in mid-May a religious procession is held at her grave.

Everything changed in the summer of 2003, when a new hypothesis was born - about the existence of archaeological site...

The first person to draw attention to the obvious contradiction was Vladimir Korolev, deputy chairman of the Chelyabinsk Regional Cultural Foundation. An engineer by training, he thought: this megalithic structure could not have been the work of Russian settlers. Megalithic structures of the Mediterranean, Northern and Atlantic Europe have always been considered the most outstanding monuments of antiquity. Scientists know the “quarries” on the Iset River, built in the second millennium BC. Similar structures have been found in Armenia and Palestine. But still, the structures in the Middle East were not distinguished by the capital construction that scientists could observe at Lake Turgoyak.

In general, as you know, there are several types of stone structures: dolmens, alleys of menhirs, rock and gallery tombs. Korolev suggested that the structures on Vera Island most closely resemble dolmens. (Until recently, the only monuments of this type on the territory of our country were the dolmens of the Western Caucasus.)

As an expert, Korolev invited Stanislav Grigoriev, a Chelyabinsk archaeologist, candidate of historical sciences, senior researcher at the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. An eighteen-meter-tall structure opened before them, consisting of several chambers, all of them connected by corridors. The largest of them was called the Central Hall, the rest - according to parts of the world: Northern and Western. The walls of the structure were lined with stones without any cementitious material. The chambers are covered with massive slabs weighing from five to seventeen tons.

The megaliths found on the island have baffled scientists. It remained unclear why it was necessary to cover the chambers with such powerful stone slabs? You cannot escape the harsh Ural winter in such sarcophagi. The whole island itself, as they say, is one ship grove - wouldn’t it be easier to build a roof from timber? And how could these slabs be delivered here? And for what purpose was it necessary to build this unique structure?

In general, this is just some kind of mysticism,” Stanislav Grigoriev was surprised. - The monument stood for a thousand years. Four years ago, shortly before our arrival, everything began to collapse...

And yet, the expedition led by archaeologists Yulia Vasina and Stanislav Grigoriev appeared on time. Until recently, the unique structure was in relative integrity. But imagine how several times a day the catamaran brought 30-40 people here on excursions, a good half of whom “danced” on these slabs! It is not surprising that cracks gradually began to appear in them. And not so long ago some dubious individuals visited here, introducing themselves as archaeologists from Moscow. They dismantled the wall on which the slabs rested in two places, and they simply hung. Chelyabinsk scientists rushed to save the ancient structure, installing temporary supports and stopping people from accessing it. It was clear that the destruction of the monument itself, which had fallen into disrepair, could lead to mass deaths. After all, the fallen slabs can only be lifted with the help of a crane, which, of course, cannot be brought to the island. Despite such dangerous conditions in which the excavations were carried out, scientists managed to establish the main thing. Firstly, the cameras were undoubtedly used by the Old Believers. Moreover, the latter most likely mistook these buildings, covered with grass and turf, for real caves. Actually, the discovery itself took place only because the ancient buildings were used as dwellings by the Old Believers. (According to some sources of the early twentieth century, in particular according to the descriptions of the architect N. Filyansky, there was a refectory in one of the large megaliths.) In the corridor between the chambers the cultural layer was not disturbed, and scientists discovered a unique picture: four thin humus layers were located at fifteen centimeters , separated by sterile layers formed from crumbs falling from the ceiling. They all read quite well. The top one is the “autographs” of modern tourists, just below are traces of the life of the Old Believers (19th century), the bottom one is the calling card of the “architects” themselves. But the question is - who were they?

Today we can say with a certain degree of confidence that the megalith was built at the end of the fourth - beginning of the third millennium BC, says Stanislav Grigoriev. - This is much earlier than Arkaim! We are talking about the so-called Copper-Stone Age, when, along with stone ones, metal products also appeared for the first time.

(In the Bronze and Early Iron Ages, such structures were no longer erected.)

Actually, the problem of the megalith itself is the problem of the transition to the Copper-Stone Age, the development of metallurgy. The second period of use of the megalith occurred at the end of the Bronze Age - the beginning of the Early Iron Age (Gamayun culture). Thus, we can talk about the presence here on the island of several monuments from different historical periods - from Stone Age structures to a huge number of dugouts, a cemetery for Old Believers, and fragments of their chapel.

The closest analogues of these megaliths are the megalithic tombs of Western Europe, says Stanislav Grigoriev. - The layout of the buildings is practically the same: a corridor and several chambers branching off from it. And the similarity is amazing - down to the smallest detail! For example, the “design” of the cut windows on Vera Island is almost identical to those that were discovered on the territory of modern Germany.

And again an interesting parallel! While working on the mound, scientists found three steles. According to American scientists, in the gallery tombs of Western Europe, the mounds were surrounded by alleys of menhirs. Such similarities indicate that bearers of these megalithic traditions came to us from Eastern and Western Europe.

And yet the nature of the monument remained unclear until the end.

Once, during one of the evening September sunsets, scientists suddenly saw a ray of the setting sun penetrating the entire megalith, which illuminated the back wall. The hole in the megalith seemed to catch the sunset ray. This could have been ignored if not for one circumstance. This happened on the day of the autumn equinox... Of course, elements of chance could not be ruled out. If at least two megaliths had been found, also clearly oriented to the cardinal directions... Chelyabinsk geologist Vyacheslav Nikolsky, who worked together with archaeologists, drew attention to the fact that the construction of the megalith could be associated with tectonic cracks. Scientists took this as the main version, paying attention, however, to the fact that the megalith seemed to be specially turned with its hole towards sunset and somewhat shifted from the direction of the cracks.

Of course, it is somewhat incorrect to compare the find on Vera Island with Stonehenge, argues Stanislav Grigoriev. - After all, what is Stonehenge? Menhirs placed in a circle, with which the structures on Vera Island certainly have little in common. We have a monument of a different type, although no less interesting. Today, something else is more important: if the version that the discovered structure had an astronomical purpose is confirmed, then this will become another parallel with European monuments. For example, participants in paleoastronomical research conducted in the Kurgan and Chelyabinsk regions came to the convincing conclusion that some of our monuments have much in common with Stonehenge and other European henges. And we are talking not only about circular structures, but also about alleys of menhirs. The menhirs, found in the mid-90s near the village of Akhunovo, Uchalinsky district of Bashkiria, were also the remains of an ancient observatory (located in a circle, the stones cast a shadow, based on which ancient astronomers could record the same days of the winter and summer solstices).

Nevertheless, argues Stanislav Grigoriev, megalithic structures have never been dwellings in the traditional sense of the word. Rather, they were sanctuaries for performing certain cult rituals. Mostly such sanctuaries were located in caves and grottoes. Why exactly they were erected is another question. For example, burials were found in the same European buildings. No traces of burials have yet been found here, but this does not mean that they are not there.

The uniqueness of the megalithic structures found on the island of Vera is also that these are the easternmost cultural monuments, created at the same time as the monuments of Western Europe. The only strange thing is that such monuments have not yet been found in Eastern Europe.

And yet who could build structures on the island of Vera? Scientists do not rule out that these could be proto-Finno-Ugric peoples (the ancestors of the current Finno-Ugric peoples - Khanty, Mansi, Mordovians, Mari, Hungarians, Estonians and Finns).

Today, scientists hypothesize that Europe and the Urals were some kind of centers of sacred initiations. At the same time, the megalithic sanctuaries found in the Urals could be a center for Eastern Europe, Siberia and other regions. If this is so, then it is quite logical to assume that our ancient land also preserves other megalithic monuments.