- 2 days ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00A legendary Japanese samurai sword disappears amidst the chaos of World War II.
00:06The Honjo Masamune embodied Japan's feudal past and the enduring legacy of the samurai.
00:12Police handed the Honjo Masamune to a soldier from the Foreign Liquidations Commission in 1946.
00:20Could this soldier have unknowingly taken one of Japan's greatest treasures?
00:24The sarcophagus of an Egyptian pharaoh goes missing en route to London.
00:30The 18th and 19th centuries saw a surge in plunder as countless artifacts were shipped to Europe on vulnerable vessels.
00:37So what happened to the Bancora sarcophagus?
00:41The exquisite collection of infamous Fabergé eggs mysteriously disappear.
00:46These eggs reflected the vast wealth, power, and ultimately the corruption and excess that fueled the discontent leading to the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.
00:56So what happened to those lost Fabergé eggs?
01:01The chain of history has many missing links.
01:05Prominent people, priceless treasures, extraordinary artifacts.
01:11Their locations still unknown.
01:14Lost to the fog of time.
01:16What happens when stories of the past become vanished history?
01:22In 1837, the quiet sands of Giza, Egypt, witnessed an excavation that would leave a mark on the annals of archaeology.
01:46Colonel Richard Howard Weiss, a British army officer turned explorer, embarked on an expedition across the Giza Plateau, aiming to unlock the secrets of the pyramids, including the smallest of them all, the Pyramid of Menkora.
02:02In the 19th century, a wave of archaeological obsession drew wealthy explorers to Egypt's ancient monuments.
02:12Weiss, in particular, was convinced that the pyramids held far more hidden chambers than anyone had yet discovered, especially within the enigmatic pyramid of Menkora.
02:21Menkora, the grandson of Khufu and son of Khafre, had built the third pyramid to complete his family's legacy.
02:29Though smaller than his ancestors' monumental structures, it did stand apart.
02:34Its base was encased in dark, rich granite, and was a stark contrast to the gleaming white limestone of his forefather's tombs.
02:41Weiss noticed a big channel carved into the pyramid, deep, but not deep enough to get inside.
02:49So, to reach what he called the Sepulchral Chamber, his team made the wildly contentious decision to use gunpowder and dynamite to blow their way in.
03:02Even back then, some of his colleagues were absolutely outraged.
03:05After months of blasting and digging, Weiss reached the burial chamber, and what he found there would become one of archaeology's greatest mysteries.
03:18A large basalt sarcophagus that would eventually disappear when the ship it was supposedly on, named the Beatrice, vanished into the depths of the Mediterranean Sea.
03:32So, what happened to the Beatrice and the Menkora sarcophagus?
03:38Colonel Weiss later described the sarcophagus in meticulous detail.
03:42It was about eight feet long, made of polished basalt, and covered in intricate carvings and the classic palace façade motif of Old Kingdom architecture.
03:53But despite its grandeur, when Weiss found it, the sarcophagus was completely empty.
03:58The lid was shattered, with pieces scattered all over the chamber floor.
04:03Arabic graffiti covered the walls, suggesting others had entered long before.
04:10The discovery was groundbreaking nonetheless.
04:13Weiss noted the sarcophagus seemed to be sawn with some sharp substance, possibly emery powder, a technique he thought the Romans discovered much later.
04:21And although it wasn't inscribed with hieroglyphs, Weiss did feel hopeful that the sarcophagus belonged to the pharaoh Menkora himself.
04:32Weiss made the controversial decision to remove the sarcophagus and send it to the British Museum in London, claiming it would have been destroyed had it remained in the pyramid.
04:42The export of Egyptian antiquities to Western institutions, like the British Museum, had surged since the French surrender at Alexandria back in 1802.
04:55And Weiss was very much part of that colonial approach, focused on taking precious artifacts out of the country, instead of preserving them in the place where all that history happened.
05:06And that seems to have led to complex negotiations with the museum's keeper of antiquities, who was eager to keep adding to their collection.
05:16Following weeks of grueling effort using a combination of levers, wheel trucks, and sheer muscle power, the sarcophagus was finally brought into daylight for the first time in over 4,300 years.
05:31It was then transported over 140 miles across the desert to the port of Alexandria and loaded onto the Beatrice, which set sail in the autumn of 1838, bound for Liverpool.
05:47According to the Lloyd's List, one of the oldest and most detailed sources on British merchant vessels from the 19th century, the Beatrice left Alexandria on September 20th with around 200 boxes of other precious Egyptian artifacts, including pink granite sphinxes and gold pieces.
06:06Her captain, Richard Mayle, had exclusively sailed the Beatrice for years.
06:12By her final voyage, she was rated second description of the first class, well-equipped and reinforced with copper sheathing and iron supports to strengthen her deck, which makes her disappearance all the more confounding.
06:25The Beatrice was last recorded in Malta on October 13 or 14, before disappearing off the coast of southern Spain.
06:33What happened next remains a mystery.
06:36Raising questions about her cargo and the dangers it might have posed.
06:41The evidence suggests that Beatrice was seaworthy, but it might not have been designed to carry such a heavy, irregular load.
06:50If it wasn't loaded properly, some think the sarcophagus could have seriously compromised the ship's stability.
06:56And if it shifted during the voyage, maybe that would have spelled disaster.
07:00The last official record of the ship is from Malta.
07:05But according to Weiss's accounts, the Beatrice was last heard from in Livorno, northern Italy.
07:13And if that's true, then historical shipping patterns would indicate that the Beatrice would have followed a southwesterly route from Livorno toward Gibraltar.
07:25If the Beatrice encountered a storm near the coast, the captain may have ordered a sharp turn south to steer clear of danger, a maneuver that might have worked under normal conditions.
07:37But the abrupt shift of the heavy sarcophagus could have easily caused the ship to capsize.
07:43While capsizing is certainly a possibility, a closer look at the bureaucratic maneuvers of the time reveals a more mundane theory.
07:54It's possible that the sarcophagus was never on the Beatrice to begin with, or that it was simply lost.
07:59Research shows inconsistencies in the records, suggesting a bureaucratic blunder may have occurred.
08:04Shottily kept manifests could mean it was listed as cargo, but never actually loaded onto the ship.
08:09Taking a sarcophagus out of Egypt could be a very complicated process, with officials from the British Museum and Egypt's consular network getting involved.
08:22And the collectors, who were rushing to get their hands on the treasure, didn't always worry about leaving behind a proper paper trip.
08:30So it's not too hard to believe the sarcophagus could have been misplaced somewhere, or even left behind in a web of red tape.
08:39With such a complicated chain of custody, errors and miscommunications were common, which may have led to the sarcophagus disappearing into the fog of history.
08:51If that's the case, it could still be hidden away in a forgotten storage room, or even resting in an undocumented private collection.
09:01But some historians suggest the disorganization may have concealed a darker motive.
09:07The mysterious circumstances of the shipwreck that supposedly claimed Mencuri's sarcophagus have fueled speculation that it may have been a cover for an illegal sale.
09:20It's possible that the disappearance might have been orchestrated to mask a secret transaction, given the demand for rare and valuable artifacts at the time.
09:30The 18th and 19th centuries marked an era of relentless smuggling, and saw a surge in plunder as countless artifacts were shipped to Europe on vulnerable vessels.
09:41One such ship, the HMS Colossus, wrecked in 1798, carrying Sir William Hamilton's priceless Greek vases.
09:48They now sit shattered in the British Museum.
09:50Records show the Beatrice stayed in port much longer than usual, which could be a hint.
09:57There's a possibility of some backroom deals, and Captain Wichlow didn't sail with the ship on its final voyage.
10:04Instead, his son John took command, while Wichlow stayed behind in Alexandria for some unknown reason, which has also raised a few eyebrows.
10:13Most archaeologists believe the wreck of the Beatrice can be found, but a coordinated search remains mired in bureaucracy, requiring cooperation and approval from the Spanish government.
10:26If the sarcophagus is indeed at the bottom of the sea, it could still be remarkably well-preserved, since basalt is far less vulnerable to seawater than other materials like limestone.
10:39Luckily, the Beatrice wasn't the only ship carrying artifacts.
10:45The lid from the sarcophagus and other items were sent on a separate ship that safely arrived at its destination.
10:53If we could find Menchora's sarcophagus, it would be like opening a time capsule from the Old Kingdom, offering invaluable insights into ancient Egyptian craftsmanship and burial practices.
11:02Feral Menchora's sarcophagus endured millennia in the desert, the threats of tomb robbers, and the dynamite blasts of 19th century explorers, only to disappear without a trace.
11:16Yet, the search continues, driven by the hope that this ancient treasure may still be found.
11:22Emerging in the 10th century as regional soldiers who served local chieftains, Japan's samurai evolved into a class of nobility that shaped the country's history for hundreds of years.
11:44Synonymous with the historic warriors was the weapon of choice, the samurai sword.
11:49The Hanzo Masamune, the most legendary samurai sword in Japanese history, was far more than just a weapon.
11:59It was the ultimate symbol of power and authority.
12:03Created by the masterful Guru Nyudo Masamune in the 13th century, this iconic weapon came to represent the unstoppable might of the Tokugawa shogunate.
12:13The blade had 30,000 layers of steel, balanced between strength and razor-sharp precision.
12:24The spine was durable, while the edge was so thin, it's said to have been atoms thin.
12:29This masterpiece remains unmatched in craftsmanship and power.
12:34For over 700 years, the Hanzo Masamune was passed down through Japan's elite, becoming a symbol of dominance and might.
12:43It was wielded by high-ranking nobles as a mark of prestige, and ultimately found its way to the legendary warlord, Tokugawa Iyasu,
12:51who would go on to shape the course of Japan's history as the founder of the last shogunate.
12:56The Hanzo Masamune wasn't merely a weapon.
12:59It embodied Japan's feudal past and the enduring legacy of the samurai.
13:04By 1939, it was designated a national treasure and revered as an emblem of honor, loyalty, and strength.
13:12By the end of the Second World War, nearly two million Japanese soldiers carried swords as a powerful symbol of a warrior tradition that spanned centuries.
13:23But with Japan's surrender in the Allied occupation, Supreme Allied Commander General MacArthur ordered every single sword,
13:32from mass-produced blades to priceless heirlooms, to be handed over.
13:37In the process, the Hanzo Masamune disappeared.
13:40And ever since, people have been trying to figure out what happened to it.
13:46Japan's defeat was followed by a cultural and military disarmament.
13:50The Allied occupation under MacArthur aimed to reshape Japan, dismantling symbols of its feudal warrior culture.
13:59By confiscating swords, they weren't just removing weapons.
14:03They were stripping away centuries of samurai tradition, symbolically reinforcing Japan's shift from a militaristic empire to a peaceful democratic society.
14:11It was a powerful statement, signaling the end of an era.
14:14Over three million swords were confiscated in the process, many destined to be buried or melted down.
14:23Japanese families tried to protect their swords, but thousands of priceless treasures were lost.
14:29For many people in Japan, the sword hunt wasn't just about a loss of weapons, but the erasure of a centuries-old tradition.
14:36It was a devastating loss for the Japanese people, whose swords weren't just weapons, but treasured family heirlooms,
14:44passed down through generations and deeply rooted in history and tradition.
14:48In December 1945, the Honjo Masamune's last known owner, Takugawa Aimasa, a descendant of the shoguns,
14:57obeyed the law and handed over the family's treasured swords to the Majiro Police Station.
15:03And then, without a trace, the Honjo Masamune disappeared.
15:07In the turmoil of post-war Japan, countless swords met violent ends, stoking the belief that the Honjo Masamune may have been one of them.
15:20The Allies' post-war demilitarization of Japan was swift, decisive, and indiscriminate.
15:28Across the Pacific, surrender ceremonies were organized, where Japanese soldiers handed over their swords to the Foreign Liquidation Commission.
15:35It's entirely possible that the Honjo Masamune was tragically destroyed during this process.
15:43Swords were seized and piled high in warehouses, many destined to be buried, dumped at sea, or melted down for scrap.
15:49Thousands of them ended up at the U.S. 8th Army Weapons Depot in Akabane, Tokyo.
15:55As word of the destruction spread, influential collectors, museum curators, and cultural figures urgently raised concerns to MacArthur,
16:02explaining that this was more than just disarmament.
16:06It was an assault on Japan's cultural identity.
16:09There was a meeting between Dr. Junji Honma, an expert in swords, and Colonel Victor Cadwell of the U.S. 8th Army,
16:17the person in charge of weapons collection.
16:20Dr. Honma explained that many of these swords, like the Honjo Masamune, weren't just weapons, but ancient works of art.
16:28That they were cultural treasures, significant to Japan in many of the same ways cathedrals are significant to the West.
16:37Cadwell was ultimately convinced that they should be preserved, and he began efforts to save Japan's cultural swords by differentiating them from wartime weapons.
16:46Although MacArthur eventually rescinded the edict, the damage was done.
16:52Countless swords had been lost or destroyed, and five irreplaceable blades, officially registered as national treasures, had already vanished.
17:01The Honjo Masamune's absence from the records raises the grim possibility that this priceless treasure was lost,
17:08or destroyed, before its significance was fully understood.
17:11But given the dedicated efforts to preserve Japan's national treasures, it's hard to believe such an iconic sword could have been overlooked.
17:21Despite the widespread destruction, no evidence has confirmed that the Honjo Masamune was destroyed, or that it ever reached Akabane,
17:30leaving open the possibility that it slipped through the cracks, or into more mysterious hands.
17:36In 1966, a mysterious figure surfaced, Sergeant C.I. Bymore.
17:44According to an article in Saga, a British mystery magazine,
17:48Majiro police handed the Honjo Masamune to a soldier named Koldy Bymore from the Foreign Liquidations Commission in 1946.
17:57Could this soldier have unknowingly taken one of Japan's greatest treasures?
18:01Some elements of the saga story align with what we know.
18:06The 7th U.S. Cavalry was stationed in Tokyo at that time, conducting patrols to inventory and dispose of weapons, including swords.
18:13But if Bymore acquired the Honjo Masamune, why has no trace of it been found since?
18:19It's possible Bymore took the Honjo Masamune without realizing its significance.
18:24But the real mystery lies in the fact that there is no official record of a C.I. Bymore in U.S. military archives.
18:33Frustratingly, it seems the American military records that would have listed him weren't retained, so it's hard to trace the story.
18:40Japanese records do suggest that a Koldy Bymore did collect the sword, but all police documentation from that period was lost,
18:49and the name itself is likely a mistranslation, or theoretically could even be an alias.
18:56So, the trail of C.I. Bymore quickly goes cold entirely, leaving us with nothing more than hopeful speculation.
19:05Although it may just be wishful thinking, the belief that the Honjo Masamune still exists endures,
19:12along with the tantalizing possibility that this legendary sword is still out there,
19:18its true worth yet to be realized by its current owner.
19:23After the war, countless priceless artifacts, including swords, were taken home by U.S. soldiers as souvenirs.
19:29Those assigned to weapons depots like Akabane likely recognize the quality of certain swords, if not the significance.
19:37So, it's possible that the Honjo Masamune ended up tucked away in an attic or garage somewhere in the U.S.
19:43A priceless treasure left to collect dust.
19:46The Allied occupation of Japan lasted until 1952.
19:54Millions of Japanese swords were confiscated during that time,
19:58more than seven tons of them taken to the United States,
20:02many as trophies of war to be kept in private collections.
20:06The influx of swords into America was like a tidal wave.
20:10For the few who truly understood the craftsmanship behind these blades, it was a golden opportunity.
20:17Dealers uncovered historical significant swords hidden among the confiscated weapons now scattered across the U.S.
20:24And it's possible the Honjo Masamune was one of them.
20:29Some historically significant swords have resurfaced in unlikely places.
20:36An American collector stumbled across another one of the national treasure swords that disappeared at the end of the war.
20:44This one was by another famous swordsmith, Kunemune.
20:47It had been bought at a military junk sale for $10.
20:52And after he realized what he was, he returned it to Japan in 1963.
20:57So, if it could go unnoticed for so long, it's possible that someone in the U.S. has the Honjo Masamune and just doesn't realize it.
21:08Since World War II, thousands of Japanese swords have been returned, including the Shimazu Masamune,
21:15a treasure missing for over 150 years that was rediscovered in 2014.
21:20Although no credible trace of the Honjo Masamune has surfaced, the return of other artifacts keeps hope alive that this legendary sword may one day reappear.
21:33Most Japanese swordsmiths etched their signatures into the hilt of their blades, making them easier to identify.
21:40But Masamune rarely signed his work, which makes authenticating his swords incredibly difficult, but not impossible.
21:48The Honjo Masamune is unlike any other sword.
21:54It has distinct, irrefutable features, like its signature wave-like hamon.
21:58If it ever surfaces, we could verify it almost immediately,
22:01using detailed drawings created when it was declared a national treasure in 1939.
22:07The Honjo Masamune isn't just a missing artifact.
22:11It's a piece of Japan's identity.
22:13Finding it would mean reclaiming a lost piece of history
22:16and restoring a symbol of the nation's heritage.
22:21Whether lost to the vagaries of time, hidden in a private collection,
22:26or destroyed in the chaos of war,
22:29the Honjo Masamune remains one of Japanese history's greatest puzzles.
22:34Its fate is unknown, but its legend endures.
22:36For over three centuries, the Romanovs ruled Russia with an iron grip,
22:55a dynasty steeped in grandeur, opulence, and deadly secrets.
22:59At the heart of their vast wealth were the legendary Fabergé imperial Easter eggs,
23:05commissioned from the world-renowned jeweler, Peter Carl Fabergé.
23:10The Romanovs' tradition of gifting imperial Easter eggs
23:13began with Tsar Alexander III in 1885, just four years into his reign.
23:19Seeking an extraordinary gift for his wife, Maria Fedorovna,
23:22he turned to master goldsmith, Peter Carl Fabergé.
23:24What he received was far beyond an ordinary jewel.
23:29It was the now-famous hen egg,
23:31a deceptively simple white egg that opened to reveal a golden yoke,
23:35a miniature hen, and hidden treasures within.
23:38What began as a carefully planned gift from Alexander III
23:41soon became an annual showcase of Fabergé's imagination and artistry.
23:47While the first eggs followed the Tsar's specifications,
23:50Fabergé was eventually given free reign to create masterpieces.
23:54Each egg became more than a gift.
23:56It was a hidden world of wonders,
23:58reflecting the extravagant tastes and personal lives of Russia's royal family.
24:03Over time, these eggs became more than symbols of personal devotion.
24:08They reflected the vast wealth, power,
24:10and ultimately the corruption and excess
24:12that fueled the discontent leading to the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.
24:17And one year later, the assassination of the Romanov family.
24:22Fifty eggs were crafted for the imperial family between 1885 and 1917,
24:29each more extravagant than the last.
24:32Seven of the masterpieces vanished after the chaos of the revolution,
24:36and their whereabouts are still unknown.
24:39So, what happened to those lost Fabergé eggs?
24:44The story of Fabergé and his exquisite bejeweled eggs
24:48is one of beauty caught in the path of revolution.
24:52As Russia transformed in 1917,
24:55toppling the monarchy and descending it to turmoil,
24:58Carl Fabergé's creations were scattered across the world.
25:02In a nation on the brink of irrevocable change,
25:05even its greatest artistry was overshadowed by chaos.
25:10By 1917, a revolution was nearly unavoidable.
25:14The Romanov's weakening grip,
25:16the endless bloodshed on the front lines,
25:18and Nicholas II's refusal to embrace liberal reforms
25:21created a perfect storm.
25:24Even before the Bolsheviks seized full power,
25:27Fabergé himself had come under close surveillance.
25:30His international clients and high-profile connections
25:33marked him as a potential threat to the new regime.
25:37In February 1917, revolution erupted in Petrograd,
25:41as St. Petersburg was named back then,
25:43where Fabergé's jewel house was headquartered.
25:46Military regiments mutinied,
25:48policemen were shot,
25:49and prisons were overrun.
25:52As a fragile, provisional government emerged,
25:55the old Russian empire,
25:56along with Fabergé's world,
25:58was slipping away.
26:00During the brief period of provisional rule,
26:03Fabergé's business managed to survive,
26:05adapting to make munitions instead of luxuries.
26:08And wealthy Russians continued to cling to his pieces
26:11as portable wealth,
26:12since they were easy to smuggle or hide.
26:15The rise of Lenin marked a dangerous turning point.
26:19When Lenin and the Bolsheviks seized control,
26:22Fabergé was placed under close watch.
26:24His family harassed,
26:25his sons arrested.
26:27In 1918, the company was nationalized,
26:32and within months, it closed forever.
26:34Fabergé was forced to flee for his life,
26:37escaping Russia in disguise,
26:39eventually ending up in Switzerland,
26:41where he died not long after, in 1920.
26:44In the 1920s and 30s,
26:49economic survival outweighed cultural preservation.
26:53The Soviet regime began liquidating Romanov treasures,
26:56selling them off to foreign collectors
26:58with little regard for their historical value,
27:01desperate for foreign currency
27:03to stabilize the struggling state.
27:05Some of the missing eggs
27:07might have quietly changed hands
27:10during this tumultuous period.
27:12Lenin initially tried to preserve
27:14that cultural heritage,
27:16but Stalin's rise to power marked a shift.
27:20Between 1930 and 1933,
27:23the Soviets sold 14 Fabergé imperial eggs
27:27to Western collectors,
27:29and the eggs that left Russia
27:31included the legendary Nécessaire egg,
27:34which had been crafted in 1889.
27:39In 1949, the Nécessaire egg
27:42appeared anonymously at an exhibition,
27:44only to vanish again three years later
27:47when it was sold for just $1,600
27:49to a buyer known only as a stranger.
27:53At the time, the Cold War's iron curtain
27:56meant that little was known about these treasures,
27:58and it wasn't until decades later,
28:00with the openness of Glasnost,
28:02that it became clear
28:03that the Nécessaire egg had been lost.
28:07For decades, the Nécessaire egg remained missing,
28:10until 2017,
28:12when a long-lost photograph surfaced
28:13showing the egg alongside another Russian treasure,
28:16the Golden Chalice,
28:18commissioned by Catherine the Grade.
28:19Until recently,
28:21we only had a basic description
28:23and a grainy image of the Nécessaire egg.
28:25And while the new photograph has sparked excitement,
28:28there's been no trace of it since.
28:31During Stalin's sell-off in the early 1930s,
28:33many of the buyers were from Britain,
28:36and that's where the Nécessaire egg was last spotted.
28:39So it's entirely possible
28:40that it's still out there somewhere,
28:43sitting in some unsuspecting person's home.
28:47The Nécessaire egg
28:48may still be hidden in a forgotten collection,
28:51waiting to be rediscovered.
28:53But in the tumult of revolution,
28:55other Fabergé treasures weren't so lucky,
28:58and some may have never made it out of Russia.
29:02Amid the Romanov's desperate flight,
29:04their most treasured possessions
29:05were moved from place to place
29:07in a frantic attempt to protect them.
29:09So it's possible that some of the Fabergé eggs
29:11were lost or hidden during this time.
29:13In April 1919,
29:16the British Navy orchestrated a dramatic evacuation
29:19of Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna
29:21from Crimea to England.
29:24She fled with all her personal belongings,
29:27including jewels,
29:28and possibly the Royal Danish Egg,
29:30a deeply personal Fabergé creation from 1903.
29:33The Royal Danish Egg was a tribute
29:37to the Empress's Danish roots,
29:39adorned with delicate portraits of her parents
29:41and standing an impressive nine inches tall.
29:44But during the frantic evacuation of the Imperial family,
29:47HMS Marlborough, prepared for around 10 passengers,
29:49was suddenly overwhelmed with over 80 people
29:52and 200 tons of unmarked luggage.
29:54In the rush, many valuables were lost or forgotten,
29:57and it's entirely possible
29:58that the Royal Danish Egg never made it out of Crimea.
30:02In the upheaval of war,
30:04it's easy to see how a priceless treasure
30:07like the Royal Danish Egg could disappear.
30:09Perhaps it returned to Russia
30:11or was stored away with the Empress,
30:13hidden in England or Copenhagen,
30:15where she spent her final years.
30:17It could still be tucked
30:19in some forgotten corner of Europe,
30:21uncatalogued and unnoticed,
30:23or deliberately concealed as a safeguard.
30:28In times of war, items of great value
30:31often slip through the cracks.
30:33While some Fabergé eggs
30:34may have been lost in the turmoil,
30:37others could have suffered a darker fate,
30:40one sealed by the harsh economic realities
30:43of the Soviet state.
30:45By the 1920s,
30:46the Soviet government had shifted
30:48from selling treasures to dismantling them,
30:51reducing the Romanov wealth to raw materials.
30:54Gold and jewels were melted down
30:56to fuel the regime's industrial ambitions.
30:59So it's possible
31:00that some of the missing Fabergé eggs,
31:03including the Mauve egg,
31:04were destroyed.
31:06The Mauve egg,
31:08an 1897 masterpiece gifted to Maria Fedorovna,
31:11was last seen in the Gatchina Palace
31:12before vanishing from records.
31:15It's completely absent
31:16from both the 1917 and 1922 inventories
31:18of seized treasures.
31:20The surprise,
31:20a diamond-encrusted heart
31:22that opens into a clover
31:24resurfaced decades later.
31:26It was passed between collectors
31:28in the 1970s and 2000s
31:30and now sits on display
31:31at St. Petersburg's Fabergé Museum.
31:34But the fate of the gold
31:35and mauve enamel egg itself
31:37remains a mystery.
31:39It's possible it was dismantled,
31:41its gold and jewels repurposed
31:42to finance the new regime.
31:44But it's also possible
31:45that the mauve egg survived liquidation,
31:47even under the most ruthless regime.
31:50Some people risked everything
31:51to protect Russia's cultural heritage.
31:54Curators and officials
31:55often hid treasures
31:56or smuggled them out of the country,
31:58though there's no proof
31:59the mauve egg was among those saved.
32:02The logistics of moving
32:03such valuable items
32:04would have been meticulously planned,
32:06and it's unlikely
32:07that they would simply vanish.
32:10Seven Fabergé eggs
32:12remain missing today,
32:13each one a priceless artifact
32:15of a vanished world.
32:16Their stories continue
32:18to captivate historians
32:20and treasure hunters alike.
32:22Of the missing Fabergé eggs,
32:24only two are known
32:25to have survived the revolution.
32:27But every so often,
32:28a new clue raises
32:29the thrilling possibility
32:30that more of these lost treasures
32:32may yet be found.
32:34In 2012,
32:36the third imperial egg
32:38turned up at a flea market
32:39in the United States,
32:41bought by a scrap metal dealer
32:43for less than $14,000.
32:44He planned to sell it off
32:46to be melted down for his gold
32:48until an expert valued it
32:51at nearly $33 million.
32:54So if the third imperial egg
32:56could resurface in a flea market,
32:58then who's to say
32:59the other missing eggs
33:01aren't still out there somewhere
33:02waiting to be discovered?
33:04The mystery of the Fabergé eggs
33:07is far from over.
33:09Some are out there.
33:10The next clue waits to be uncovered.
33:13And as history has shown,
33:15sometimes the most priceless treasures
33:17are hidden in unexpected places.
33:20In 1952,
33:35near the northwestern shores
33:37of the Dead Sea
33:38and the Judean Desert,
33:40and deep in a cave
33:41in Qirbat Qumran,
33:42the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls
33:44had first been discovered
33:45five years prior,
33:47a startling new revelation
33:48came to light.
33:51Tucked in a niche
33:52behind a large stone
33:54and embedded in the dirt
33:55were the two broken halves
33:58of a metal scroll.
34:00All the scrolls found
34:02at the Dead Sea
34:03up to that point,
34:04literally hundreds of them
34:06in 11 different caves,
34:09had all been either
34:10parchment or papyrus.
34:12But this scroll
34:14was solid copper.
34:18The scroll was so ancient
34:19and corroded
34:20that it couldn't be unscrolled.
34:22It had to be cut into strips,
34:24which were placed edge to edge,
34:26revealing a document
34:27about eight feet long,
34:29dense with Hebrew text,
34:31composed by an anonymous author.
34:33It was a list
34:34detailing the contents
34:36of dozens of stashes
34:37of gold and silver,
34:39over a billion dollars worth,
34:41and giving clues
34:42as to where each stash
34:44could be found.
34:46The first few locations
34:48were deciphered,
34:49but the initial excavations
34:50didn't find any treasure at all.
34:53Still, people knew
34:54it would be an immensely
34:55important find,
34:56historically and culturally,
34:59not to mention
34:59the monetary value.
35:01So the search was on.
35:03Where was all this gold
35:05and silver?
35:06Who originally owned
35:08the treasures
35:09of the Copper Scroll?
35:10The original Dead Sea Scrolls,
35:14discovered by chance
35:15in 1946 or 47,
35:18are often said
35:18to contain biblical texts,
35:21but even that description
35:22isn't quite so simple.
35:25The Dead Sea Scrolls
35:26are believed
35:27to have been written
35:27between 200 BCE
35:29and 68 CE.
35:30That was about 1,000 years
35:32before the earliest known Bible.
35:34Much of what was written
35:35in the scrolls
35:36would then also show up
35:37in the Bible
35:37about a millennium later.
35:39This was pre-biblical.
35:41A big find,
35:42probably one of the most important
35:44in modern archaeology.
35:46The task of deciphering
35:48the scrolls
35:49started immediately
35:50and continues
35:51to this day.
35:52It's been an uphill battle
35:54because most of the
35:55800 to 900 scrolls
35:57were so old and brittle
35:59that they've crumbled
36:01into fragments,
36:02about 15,000 of them,
36:04most of them tiny.
36:06It wasn't until
36:08the early 90s
36:09that a computer program
36:11was finally able
36:12to reconstruct
36:13one of the texts.
36:16So much has been learned
36:18from the scrolls
36:19about culture,
36:20history,
36:20and of course,
36:21religion.
36:22The texts
36:23helped push the date
36:24of a stabilized
36:25Hebrew Bible
36:26back to at least
36:2770 CE.
36:29They helped
36:30reconstruct
36:30Palestine's history
36:32from the 4th century BCE
36:34to 135 CE.
36:36And they revealed
36:37a great deal
36:38about the relationship
36:39between early Christian
36:40and Jewish religions.
36:43How the Dead Sea Scrolls
36:44came to be in those caves
36:45has been a mystery
36:46from the start.
36:48Were they moved there
36:49from a library somewhere,
36:50maybe to protect them
36:51from some kind of threat?
36:53Even then,
36:54when exactly
36:54were they moved?
36:56Who wrote them?
36:57Why?
36:58There's lots of debate,
36:59but all those questions
37:00remain unanswered.
37:03The discovery
37:04of the Copper Scroll
37:05introduced a whole
37:06new set of questions.
37:09For starters,
37:10the language.
37:12Most of the other scrolls,
37:13the ones on papyrus
37:14and parchment,
37:15were written
37:15in literary Hebrew.
37:17The Copper Scrolls' language
37:18was closer to an early
37:19form of Mishnah,
37:21which was more casual.
37:22And whoever inscribed
37:24the text got some
37:25of their Hebrew letters
37:26mixed up.
37:27It could be
37:28that the people
37:29who had the scroll made
37:30used an illiterate scribe,
37:33so they wouldn't know
37:34where the treasures
37:35were hidden
37:36and couldn't tell anyone else.
37:39Kind of a low-tech encryption,
37:41but also pretty ingenious.
37:45Stranger still,
37:46the scroll was not even
37:48written entirely in Hebrew.
37:49There were some Greek words
37:51used,
37:51and even sequences
37:52of Greek letters
37:53that weren't words.
37:55They looked like code.
37:56The Copper Scroll
37:59described riches
38:00of immense value.
38:02Researchers tried
38:03to work out
38:03the treasure's likely owners
38:05based on proximity
38:06and history.
38:07One very popular theory
38:11is that the treasure
38:12belonged to the Temple
38:13of Jerusalem,
38:15which wasn't even
38:1515 miles west
38:17of the caves.
38:18According to the Hebrew Bible,
38:20it was first built
38:21in 957 BCE
38:23and is said to have housed
38:25the famous Ark
38:26of the Covenant.
38:28So, the building
38:29certainly had
38:30a high enough profile
38:31to be used
38:32to store staggering amounts
38:34of gold and silver.
38:37What seems to be
38:38a catch here
38:39is that the Temple
38:39of Jerusalem
38:40was looted and destroyed
38:41by the Babylonians
38:42in 587 and 586 BCE,
38:45long before the Copper Scroll
38:47is believed
38:48to have been made.
38:49But by 515 BCE,
38:51the Temple was rebuilt
38:52on the same site
38:53into the Second Temple
38:55of Jerusalem.
38:56And the Second Temple,
38:57while it no longer
38:58housed the Ark,
38:58was documented
38:59as having held
39:00vast amounts
39:01of gold and silver.
39:02The Second Temple
39:04stood intact
39:05until 70 CE
39:07when the Romans
39:08destroyed it.
39:09And some believe
39:10that the Copper Scroll
39:12could have been inscribed
39:13a couple of years
39:15before that,
39:16in 68 CE.
39:19There's a troubling
39:20inconsistency
39:21with that suggestion,
39:22though.
39:23Historical records
39:24from that time
39:25claim that when the Romans
39:26destroyed the Second Temple,
39:28the treasure
39:28was still in it.
39:30And even if the gold
39:31and silver had been removed
39:33and hidden
39:33before the Romans
39:34came in,
39:35it's hard to link
39:36the location descriptions
39:37given in the Copper Scroll
39:39with the area
39:40around the temple
39:41or with Jerusalem itself.
39:44If not the Temple
39:45of Jerusalem,
39:46the Copper Scroll
39:47and the riches
39:47it described
39:48may have had their origins
39:50even closer
39:51to the caves.
39:53One theory suggests
39:54the owners
39:54of the Copper Scroll's
39:56treasures could have been
39:57the Essenes,
39:58an ascetic Jewish sect
39:59who may have had a community
40:00within walking distance
40:02of the caves.
40:03Some believe they lived
40:04at Qumran
40:05in modern-day Palestine
40:06from about the 2nd century BCE
40:09until the end
40:10of the 1st century CE.
40:12Those dates overlap
40:13with when the Copper Scroll
40:15might have been made,
40:16so some think maybe
40:17the gold was part
40:18of the Essenes'
40:19communal wealth.
40:21Roman arrowheads
40:22and evidence of burning
40:24were found at the ruins
40:25of the Essenes' settlement,
40:26which rather ominously
40:28supports the idea
40:29that they may have had
40:30something the Romans wanted.
40:32And the Essenes
40:33didn't believe
40:34in temple worship,
40:36so while many communities
40:38may have stored
40:39their riches in a temple,
40:41the Essenes would have
40:42had to find
40:43some other way
40:44to store whatever wealth
40:45they had
40:46and find some place
40:48to hide it
40:49from the Romans.
40:50The Copper Scroll
40:52might have been describing
40:53their hiding places.
40:55The issue with that theory
40:57is that the Essenes
40:58were an ascetic sect.
41:00They believed in manual labor
41:01and seclusion.
41:03The copper alone
41:04that went into the scroll
41:05would have been
41:05extremely costly
41:06at the time.
41:07It can't be ruled out,
41:09but it's hard to imagine
41:10that the Essenes
41:11possessed the kind
41:11of material wealth
41:13described in the Copper Scroll.
41:15If the Essenes
41:16didn't hide the treasures,
41:18there was another group
41:19that was more accustomed
41:20to subterfuge
41:21and the necessities
41:22of hiding
41:22and communicating in code.
41:25Another theory claims
41:26that gold and silver
41:27could have belonged to
41:28and been hidden by
41:30Jewish rebels
41:31who rose up
41:32against the Romans
41:33around that same time,
41:36maybe during
41:36the first Jewish revolt
41:37from 66 to 70 CE
41:39or the Bar Kokhba revolt,
41:42the final war
41:43between the Jewish people
41:44and the Roman Empire,
41:46which was fought
41:46between 132 and 136 CE.
41:49Both of those date ranges
41:51are within the realm
41:52of possibility,
41:53according to some scholars,
41:55based on what's known
41:56about the age
41:57of the Copper Scroll.
41:59Behaviorally,
42:00this hypothesis fits.
42:02Jewish rebels
42:02were known
42:03to hide themselves
42:04or their valuables
42:05in safe rooms
42:06to keep the Romans
42:07from finding them
42:08and to make sure
42:09they could access them
42:10when necessary.
42:11This helped fund
42:12and sustain the resistance.
42:16Interestingly,
42:17a number of the cryptic clues
42:18the Copper Scroll contained
42:20regarding the hiding places
42:21seemed to fit the area
42:23around the caves
42:25and caves used
42:27by the Jewish rebels
42:28have been located.
42:30And one of them
42:31found in the 1960s
42:33is called
42:34the Cave of Letters
42:35because several letters
42:37were discovered in it
42:38from Bar Kokhba,
42:39who was the leader
42:40of the last rebellion.
42:43Many of the caves
42:44in the Judean desert
42:45have been thoroughly excavated,
42:47but none of the treasures
42:48described by the Copper Scroll
42:50have been found.
42:51To some,
42:52the degree of wealth
42:53described in the scroll
42:54seems like it might have been
42:55beyond what the rebels
42:56could have gathered together.
42:58But who knows?
43:01The scholar and historian
43:02of the day,
43:03Flavius Josephus,
43:05wrote that after the war,
43:06Roman warriors
43:07dug up gold, silver,
43:09and other riches
43:10from the Jewish people,
43:11whether civilian citizens
43:13or rebels,
43:14and tried in vain
43:15to hide.
43:16What Josephus wrote
43:18suggests at least
43:19two significant things.
43:22The gold and silver
43:23were hidden
43:24from the Romans
43:24and that some of it
43:26was found.
43:27But he didn't specify
43:29whether all of it
43:30was discovered,
43:31so if there's anything
43:33the Romans didn't find,
43:35it could still be hidden
43:36wherever it was buried.
43:37One person claims
43:41to have found
43:41at least two locations
43:43near Qumran
43:44that match what's described
43:46by the Copper Scroll.
43:47Given the conflict
43:48and strife
43:49the region continues
43:50to suffer from,
43:51the local government
43:52is not likely
43:53to grant excavation permits
43:55anytime soon.
43:56The Copper Scroll's secrets
43:58and the treasures
43:59it describes
43:59still await discovery.
44:02The Copper Scroll
Be the first to comment