Expedition to search for treasure on Costa Rican island
9th August 2012
Cocos Island, located 350 miles off the coast of Costa Rica, is to be searched for legendary hidden treasure by a team of researchers
Cocos Island is said to hold the “Treasure of Lima”, reportedly worth £160 million. The team of researchers led by British engineer Shaun Whitehead will scour the island to uncover the lost stash. A team of 15 other researchers from the University of Costa Rica and the Senckenberg Institute (a German-based natural history research organisation) will be accompanying Whitehead on the expedition.
An inventory for the hidden stash lists 113 gold religious statues, 200 chests of jewels, 273 swords with jewelled hilts, 1,000 diamonds, 150 chalices, solid gold crowns, a life-sized Virgin Mary, and hundreds of silver and gold bars.
The expedition will begin in November and has been scheduled to last for ten days. Its mission will not just be to discover treasure. Mr Whitehead has assured officials that he will also be carrying out detailed archaeological, geological and ecological research on the uninhabited island, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
“This is a scientific survey, including archaeological, geological and biodiversity aspects,” Mr Whitehead said. “Unlike previous trips we are not going to dig vast holes or do anything destructive at all. The real treasure of the island is its natural beauty. Anything else we find there is simply a bonus.”
The buried treasure of gold and jewels was stolen by Captain William Thompson in 1820 after he was originally instructed to deliver it to Mexico from Peru. The Captain was eventually apprehended and to save his own life made a deal to show his captors where he had hidden the treasure. However, he managed to evade his captors and fled into the island's interior so the treasure has remained lost ever since.
Notable people that have tried to uncover the treasure include former US President Franklin Roosevelt, Errol Flynn and racing driver Sir Malcolm Campbell.
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