Hum Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 A court-ordered search of vaults beneath a temple in India has turned up a treasure worth at least $11 billion, according to reports from the Indian state of Kerala. An inventory of what lies beneath the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, as reported on the website Business-Standard.com and others, reads like a prop list from an "Indiana Jones" movie: * Rubies, sapphires, emeralds and pearls * Replicas of coconut shells made of pure gold * Hundreds of thousands of gold and silver coins, some dating to the 16th century * Gold chains as long as 18 feet * Solid-gold human figurines and idols * Crowns and pendants * Gold and silver bars The wealth was amassed in at least six vaults, some of which had not been opened in 150 years, according to media reports. India's Supreme Court ordered an inventory of the vaults after hearing a private complaint seeking "more transparency and trustworthiness in the temple administration". The former royal family of Travancore manages the temple. The Kerala government said Monday the treasure will remain property of the shrine, according to media reports. "The wealth belonged to the temple and it will be preserved where it was found. There is religious and historical significance to the findings. The state will ensure its security," Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told the Times of India. more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheElite Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fr33k Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 I wonder how long until someone tunnels under one of the vaults? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted July 5, 2011 Author Share Posted July 5, 2011 I'd like to walk thru for just 2 minutes -- filling my pockets ... :shifty: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaCrip Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 someone you know will have a attempt on that as 11billion is way to much to pass up assuming there is not a huge risk to get caught. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vip Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Thats a lot of stuff, I would love to see this kind of treasure in real life. Reading the list of things found, sounds exactly like a movie .... I know these gems and things exist, but it would be amazing to be the one who found them! I could only imagine the looks on their faces when they went into the tombs and saw all the shinies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yusuf M. Veteran Posted July 5, 2011 Veteran Share Posted July 5, 2011 The value of the treasure is already at $22 billion and it's expected to go as high as $25 billion. It's a shame they can't take pictures of it. It'd be interesting to see what it looks like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oceanmotion Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 I wonder where it was stolen from and who stole it. That would be quite interesting to find out about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted July 5, 2011 Author Share Posted July 5, 2011 ^ I would guess pirate English, or maybe Dutch ships may have brought it to India. And the depositers died without passing on the secret treasure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psionicinversion Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Good thing is you dont need any armies or IT guys to go in when they put booby traps there... just send in harisson ford with his hat, job done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surrealvortex Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 I wonder where it was stolen from and who stole it. That would be quite interesting to find out about. It is said that the money was donated to the temple by the king of Travencore in the 18th century. The religious figurines found add credibility to the claim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey B. Veteran Posted July 5, 2011 Veteran Share Posted July 5, 2011 dont you love it when someone "finds" something that people already knew was there :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinggus Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 That temple looks awesome! I wish I could actually see it in real life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liju Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 I wonder where it was stolen from and who stole it. That would be quite interesting to find out about. ^ I would guess pirate English, or maybe Dutch ships may have brought it to India. And the depositers died without passing on the secret treasure. * facepalm * It was not something stolen. It belonged to the Kings of Travancore state which later joined with the Cochin and Malabar to become Kerala when states were divided on the basis of language. I live in Kottayam which is part of Central Travancore. Oh and the British didn't bring any treasure to India, what they did was they looted us and took treasures of various Princely States back to their country. Dutch was driven out of here by Marthanda Varma, King of Travancore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
still1 Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 I wonder where it was stolen from and who stole it. That would be quite interesting to find out about. ^ I would guess pirate English, or maybe Dutch ships may have brought it to India. And the depositers died without passing on the secret treasure. It seems like it belongs to the royal family and they manage the temple. Maybe they kept it there to protect the wealth from being stolen by plunders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Ferson Veteran Posted July 5, 2011 Veteran Share Posted July 5, 2011 That's crazy to think about! In a rather odd coincidence it's very similar to the plotline of a book I read recently - I think it might even have been India in the book... though it was fictional. Still, hearing news like this makes you wonder how many more hidden secrets there are in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anibal P Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 That much treasure would easily pay off a few countries debts and still have some left over!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisSiteHasLostItsCharm Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Good thing is you dont need any armies or IT guys to go in when they put booby traps there... just send in harisson ford with his hat, job done that be a mighty big bag of sand he'd need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nithinr6 Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 LOL am from Kerala and have visited that temple once before. I'd always thought that there would be some valuables hidden in temples like these, but hadn't even imagined that it would have been worth this much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liju Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 LOL am from Kerala and have visited that temple once before. I'd always thought that there would be some valuables hidden in temples like these, but hadn't even imagined that it would have been worth this much. Hi, I think this is the first time I've seen another Malayalee here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nithinr6 Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Hi, I think this is the first time I've seen another Malayalee here. I have been reading Neowin for quite sometime now..just wasn't active in the forums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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