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Buried treasure is a literary trope commonly associated with depictions of pirates, vikings, criminals, and Old Westoutlaws. According to popular conception, these people often buried their stolen fortunes in remote places, intending to return to them later (often with the use of a pirates treasure map).
Howard Pyle illustration of pirates burying Captain Kidd's treasure, from Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates.
Pirates burying treasure was rare. The only pirate known to have actually buried treasure was William Kidd,[1] who is believed to have buried at least some of his wealth on Gardiners Island near Long Island before sailing into New York City. Kidd had originally been commissioned as a privateer for England, but his behavior had strayed into outright piracy, and he hoped that his treasure could serve as a bargaining chip in negotiations to avoid punishment. His bid was unsuccessful, however, and Kidd was hanged as a pirate.
In English fiction there are three well-known stories that helped to popularize the myth of buried pirate treasure:[2]Wolfert Webber (1824) by Washington Irving, The Gold-Bug (1843) by Edgar Allan Poe and Treasure Island (1883) by Robert Louis Stevenson. These stories differ widely in plot and literary treatment but are all based on the William Kidd legend.[3] David Cordingly states that "The effect of Treasure Island on our perception of pirates cannot be overestimated," and says the idea of treasure maps leading to buried treasure "is an entirely fictional device."[1] Stevenson's Treasure Island was directly influenced by Irving's Wolfert Webber, Stevenson saying in his preface, "It is my debt to Washington Irving that exercises my conscience, and justly so, for I believe plagiarism was rarely carried farther... the whole inner spirit and a good deal of the material detail of my first chapters... were the property of Washington Irving."[3]
In 1911, American author Ralph D. Paine conducted a survey of all known or purported stories of buried treasure and published them in The Book of Buried Treasure.[4][5] He found a common trait in all the stories: there was always a lone survivor of a piratical crew who somehow preserved a chart showing where the treasure was buried, but unable to return himself, he transfers the map or information to a friend or shipmate, usually on his deathbed.[5] This person would then go search in vain for the treasure, but not before transferring the legend down to another hapless seeker.[5]
Cases
The Roman historian Dio Cassius says that, in the early 2nd century, the Dacian king Decebalus had changed the course of river Sargetia and buried tons of gold and silver in the river bed. Later, he ordered the river to be restored and the slaves involved in the works to be executed. However, one of his nobles revealed the treasure's location to the Romans. The Byzantine historian Jordanes tells a similar story of the burial of the Visigoth king Alaric I and his treasure under the river Busento in 410. The burial places of the Khazar kings (qoruq) and other inner Asian people were also under a rerouted river.[6]
There are a number of reports of supposed buried pirate treasure that surfaced much earlier than these works, which indicates that the idea was at least around for more than a century before those stories were published. For example, extensive excavation has taken place on Oak Island (in Nova Scotia) since 1795 in the belief that one or more pirate captains had hidden large amounts of valuables there. These excavations were said to have been prompted by still older legends of buried pirate treasure in the area. No treasure has yet been reported found.
The Treasure of Lima is a supposed buried treasure on Cocos Island in the Pacific abandoned by pirates.[7] The treasure, estimated to be worth £160 million, was stolen by British Captain William Thompson in 1820 after he was entrusted to transport it from Peru to Mexico.[7]
Pirate Olivier Levasseur, also known as "The Buzzard" (La Buse), was rumoured to have hidden treasure before his death in 1730. No such treasure has been found.
During the 1666 Great Fire of London, wealthy residents of the city buried luxury goods such as gold and wine in the ground to protect it from the raging flames above.[9]Samuel Pepys, the noted diarist, buried a wheel of cheese in his garden to protect it from the fire.
Buried treasure is not the same as a hoard, of which there have been thousands of examples found by archaeologists and metal detectors. Buried treasure is as much a cultural concept as an objective thing. It is related to pirates and other criminals who leave stolen artifacts behind for later retrieval, typically in remote places like islands, sometimes with maps leading back to the treasure.
The Fenn treasure was reportedly buried by millionaire Forrest Fenn around 2010 and found in 2020, somewhere in Wyoming.
^The Book of Buried Treasure at Internet Archive (scanned books original editions)
^ abcSimon Garfield. On the Map: Why the World Looks the Way It Does (2012). Pgs. 176-180
^DeWeese, Devin A. (1994). Islamization and Native Religion in the Golden Horde:Baba Tükles and Conversion to Islam in Historical and Epic Tradition. Hermeneutics, Studies in the History of Religions. Penn State Press. p. 181. ISBN978-0-271-04445-3. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
^ abJasper Copping (5 August 2012). "British expedition to Pacific 'treasure island' where pirates buried their plunder". The Telegraph. from the original on 12 August 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
^Abravanel, Lesley; Miller, Laura Lea; Miller, Laura (2010-07-30). Frommer's Florida 2011. p. 302. ISBN9780470890219.
^Mercer, Chris (2016-09-05). "Great Fire of London: Wealthy buried wine to save it". Decanter. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
February 18, 2023
buried, treasure, other, uses, disambiguation, treasure, chest, redirects, here, other, uses, treasure, chest, disambiguation, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, mes. For other uses see Buried treasure disambiguation Treasure chest redirects here For other uses see Treasure chest disambiguation This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article s lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article April 2019 This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Buried treasure news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Buried treasure is a literary trope commonly associated with depictions of pirates vikings criminals and Old West outlaws According to popular conception these people often buried their stolen fortunes in remote places intending to return to them later often with the use of a pirates treasure map Howard Pyle illustration of pirates burying Captain Kidd s treasure from Howard Pyle s Book of Pirates Contents 1 Pirates 2 Cases 3 See also 4 ReferencesPirates EditPirates burying treasure was rare The only pirate known to have actually buried treasure was William Kidd 1 who is believed to have buried at least some of his wealth on Gardiners Island near Long Island before sailing into New York City Kidd had originally been commissioned as a privateer for England but his behavior had strayed into outright piracy and he hoped that his treasure could serve as a bargaining chip in negotiations to avoid punishment His bid was unsuccessful however and Kidd was hanged as a pirate In English fiction there are three well known stories that helped to popularize the myth of buried pirate treasure 2 Wolfert Webber 1824 by Washington Irving The Gold Bug 1843 by Edgar Allan Poe and Treasure Island 1883 by Robert Louis Stevenson These stories differ widely in plot and literary treatment but are all based on the William Kidd legend 3 David Cordingly states that The effect of Treasure Island on our perception of pirates cannot be overestimated and says the idea of treasure maps leading to buried treasure is an entirely fictional device 1 Stevenson s Treasure Island was directly influenced by Irving s Wolfert Webber Stevenson saying in his preface It is my debt to Washington Irving that exercises my conscience and justly so for I believe plagiarism was rarely carried farther the whole inner spirit and a good deal of the material detail of my first chapters were the property of Washington Irving 3 In 1911 American author Ralph D Paine conducted a survey of all known or purported stories of buried treasure and published them in The Book of Buried Treasure 4 5 He found a common trait in all the stories there was always a lone survivor of a piratical crew who somehow preserved a chart showing where the treasure was buried but unable to return himself he transfers the map or information to a friend or shipmate usually on his deathbed 5 This person would then go search in vain for the treasure but not before transferring the legend down to another hapless seeker 5 Cases EditThe Roman historian Dio Cassius says that in the early 2nd century the Dacian king Decebalus had changed the course of river Sargetia and buried tons of gold and silver in the river bed Later he ordered the river to be restored and the slaves involved in the works to be executed However one of his nobles revealed the treasure s location to the Romans The Byzantine historian Jordanes tells a similar story of the burial of the Visigoth king Alaric I and his treasure under the river Busento in 410 The burial places of the Khazar kings qoruq and other inner Asian people were also under a rerouted river 6 There are a number of reports of supposed buried pirate treasure that surfaced much earlier than these works which indicates that the idea was at least around for more than a century before those stories were published For example extensive excavation has taken place on Oak Island in Nova Scotia since 1795 in the belief that one or more pirate captains had hidden large amounts of valuables there These excavations were said to have been prompted by still older legends of buried pirate treasure in the area No treasure has yet been reported found The Treasure of Lima is a supposed buried treasure on Cocos Island in the Pacific abandoned by pirates 7 The treasure estimated to be worth 160 million was stolen by British Captain William Thompson in 1820 after he was entrusted to transport it from Peru to Mexico 7 The only authenticated treasure chest in the United States once owned by Thomas Tew is kept at the Pirate Soul Museum in St Augustine Florida 8 Pirate Olivier Levasseur also known as The Buzzard La Buse was rumoured to have hidden treasure before his death in 1730 No such treasure has been found During the 1666 Great Fire of London wealthy residents of the city buried luxury goods such as gold and wine in the ground to protect it from the raging flames above 9 Samuel Pepys the noted diarist buried a wheel of cheese in his garden to protect it from the fire Buried treasure is not the same as a hoard of which there have been thousands of examples found by archaeologists and metal detectors Buried treasure is as much a cultural concept as an objective thing It is related to pirates and other criminals who leave stolen artifacts behind for later retrieval typically in remote places like islands sometimes with maps leading back to the treasure The Fenn treasure was reportedly buried by millionaire Forrest Fenn around 2010 and found in 2020 somewhere in Wyoming See also EditChest furniture List of missing treasures Treasure of Guarrazar Oak IslandReferences Edit a b Cordingly David 1995 Under the Black Flag The Romance and Reality of Life Among the Pirates ISBN 0 679 42560 8 Paine pp 27 28 a b Paine pg 28 The Book of Buried Treasure at Internet Archive scanned books original editions a b c Simon Garfield On the Map Why the World Looks the Way It Does 2012 Pgs 176 180 DeWeese Devin A 1994 Islamization and Native Religion in the Golden Horde Baba Tukles and Conversion to Islam in Historical and Epic Tradition Hermeneutics Studies in the History of Religions Penn State Press p 181 ISBN 978 0 271 04445 3 Retrieved 10 February 2013 a b Jasper Copping 5 August 2012 British expedition to Pacific treasure island where pirates buried their plunder The Telegraph Archived from the original on 12 August 2012 Retrieved August 12 2012 Abravanel Lesley Miller Laura Lea Miller Laura 2010 07 30 Frommer s Florida 2011 p 302 ISBN 9780470890219 Mercer Chris 2016 09 05 Great Fire of London Wealthy buried wine to save it Decanter Retrieved 2019 03 16 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Buried treasure amp oldid 1130619690, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
