July 6, 2011, 2:18 PM IST.
The World’s Top Five Treasure Troves
By Margherita Stancati
When a team of unlikely explorers, including former judges and temple officials, started opening the vaults of a Kerala temple last week, they didn’t expect to find gold and precious stones worth $22 billion, according to preliminary estimates. A complete inventory of the artifacts found in the 16th century Hindu temple is expected to be filed to India’s Supreme Court next week.
With the findings, Kerala’s Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple joins the ranks of the world’s top treasure troves. After eluding explorers and archeologists for years, these were found stashed in hidden vaults, secret chambers and caves.
Here is our list of the world’s top five, plus one we wish had been found:
1. Tutankhamun’s tomb, Egypt.
2. The Dead Sea Scrolls, Israel.
3. Bactrian Gold, Afghanistan.
4. The Domus Aurea, Italy.
5. Treasure of Nimrud, Iraq.
blogs.wsj.com
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