Neither man nor key ever materialized, and the mystery of the Beale Ciphers remained.īefore that innkeeper died, he handed the ciphers over to a friend. He promised to return in person to retrieve the goods or, failing that, to send the innkeeper a key to the cipher in 10 years’ time. He handed three coded sets of the clues to a local innkeeper and disappeared. In the 1820s, one Thomas Jefferson Beale is supposed to have buried a heaping helping of treasure somewhere in Bedford County, Virginia. Guess the concept of a savings account reached Oak Island a little late, huh? 3.

In the early 1800s, an excavation purportedly revealed a flagstone with an inscription promising buried riches: “Forty feet below, two million pounds lie buried.” Numerous excavations have followed in the centuries since, each ending in failure, flooding, frustration, and occasionally fatalities.Īs if a death pit filled with gold weren’t enough, Oak Island’s various other treasure troves include a bolder formation called Nolan’s Cross, a beach called Smith’s Cove, and a triangular swamp. The most famous involves the “Money Pit,” an enigmatic treasure trove first explored in 1795. Tiny Oak Island, a 140-acre speck of land of the coast of Nova Scotia, is home to a slew of hidden treasures. You’ll have no trouble locating the treasure with such helpful entries as the scroll’s very first: “In the ruin that is in the valley of Acor, under the steps, with the entrance at the East, a distance of 40 cubits: a strongbox of silver and its vessels with a weight of seventeen talents.” Good luck! 2.

Found in 1952, it reads like an inventory and apparently lists the locations of 64 hidden troves of silver and gold. Each entry in the scroll includes three parts: a general location, a specific location, and the sort of treasure involved.Īssuming it’s not a hoax-a common theme among many real-life scavenger hunts and hidden treasures-feel free to go search for the goods. The so-called Copper Scroll, or scroll 3Q15, is less interested in scripture or history than in money.

One of the Dead Sea Scrolls is not like the others. Read on for more amazing real-life adventures, thanks to everything from a Dead Sea Scroll to Levi’s jeans. We’ve already covered some of the most famous treasure hunts in the world, including the Fenn Treasure and La Chouette d’Or. Thankfully, the world has enough eccentric rich people and lost treasures to give you the opportunity to join real-life scavenger hunts. Unless you’re Indiana Jones or a stunt person, you could probably use more adventure in your life.

Real life treasure hunt game