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Important Historical Artifacts That Are Still Missing
Museums are home to collections of relics from around the world, allowing the general public to interact with history. However, many of those relics fail to hold a candle to certain extraordinary artifacts that have gone missing over the years. From ancient reserves to abandoned WWI artifacts, lost treasures are a staple of both fictional and real-life adventures.
Most of the more well-known missing artifacts will likely never get recovered - many were wiped out - but this won't deter relic hunters who continue to search for treasures to this day. All it takes is one new story about rare artifacts found in pawn shops to keep the dream alive.
No One Knows The Whereabouts Of The Bayeux Tapestry's Final Panels
The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the most recognizable treasures from the Middle Ages that still exists today. Reportedly created within a few years of the Battle of Hastings in 1066 CE, the lengthy narrative wall-hanging depicts William the Conqueror's invasion of England.
Uncovered in 1729, the tapestry spans 230 feet long, but it is missing its final scene, as evidenced by its frayed ending and lack of a narrative conclusion. While modern-day embroiderers have attempted to complete the story, the real final panels of the Bayeux Tapestry have never turned up.
Blackbeard's Treasure May Still Be Out There
Edward Teach, AKA Blackbeard, may have tight competition for the title of most famous pirate, but when it comes to pirate lore, his missing treasure is the most well-known piece of lost history. In 1718, Blackbeard and Queen Anne's Revenge supposedly ran aground on a sandbar in North Carolina; no one has ever found the enormous trove of treasure that the ship reportedly carried.
Since this incident neither rendered the ship unusable - and experts argue if this ship is indeed Queen Anne's Revenge - nor significantly impacted the people aboard it, the crew would have had more than enough time to unload and conceal their haul. As of 2018, there is no definitive find of Blackbeard's purported treasure.
Somebody Seemingly Took JFK's Brain
At some point between 1963 - the year when President John F. Kennedy passed - and 1966, JFK's brain - which medical professionals had removed during his autopsy - went missing from its storage place in the National Archives. Nobody can explain when, how, or why this happened.
Numerous conspiracies abound about this case, with one theory centering on JFK's brother, Robert Kennedy. Some believe Robert took the brain to hide evidence of the many supposed illnesses JFK was hiding from the public while he was in office.
The Map Used To Plan The Atomic Event At Hiroshima Remains Lost
The atomic devices dropped by the United States on Hiroshima and Nagasaki altered world history forever, but the map used to plan the first offensive strike is currently gone. The document, titled Map of Target Area 90-30-748, Hiroshima Area, A-2 Section, XXI Bomber Command, is supposed to be in the National Archives, but it disappeared at an unknown date and has never been recovered.
For posterity's sake, however, a few copies of the map still exist.
The King John Version Of The Crown Jewels Is Lost Forever
King John is one of the most controversial monarchs in the annals of the English throne, and his infamous loss of the Crown Jewels likely has something to do with his reputation. Known as Bad King John, this ruler was infamous as much for his incompetence as his malevolence.
While fleeing enemies in 1216, King John and his entourage attempted to cross a shallow, muddy section of the River Nene. His baggage train got caught in rising waters and got dragged away, never to be seen again. Its contents included John's version of the Crown Jewels, including his actual crown. Centuries of relic-seekers have yet to track down the treasure.
The Sarcophagus From The Smallest Pyramid Of Giza Sank Into Obscurity
The smallest of the Great Pyramids of Giza houses the tomb of Pharaoh Menkaure - far from a household name to most, but he is perhaps one of the most celebrated figures by Egyptophiles. Over the centuries, tomb raiders took most of the statues, artifacts, and treasure buried with Menkaure, including his mummy.
When British soldier Richard Vyse discovered Menkaure's sarcophagus in 1837 - with a fake replacement mummy inside - he tried to have it shipped back to London before it, too, went missing. Unfortunately, the ship carrying it sank on the journey - no one has found the sarcophagus after this incident.
The Third Reich Made The Amber Room Disappear
Some monarchs use stones and jewels to decorate their crowns and sceptres, but King Frederick I of Prussia took it a step further by having an entire room constructed from his favorite gemstone: amber. The bedazzled Amber Room came about in 1701, then 15 years later, King Frederick William I gifted the room to Peter the Great as a symbol of their newly cemented alliance.
The room comprised several large, removable panels, which could be transported with ease. However, this advantage quickly turned into a detriment when the Germans began Operation Barbarossa in 1941 and invaded Russia.
The Third Reich looted countless Russian treasures, including the Amber Room, which they sent to a castle museum in Königsberg, Germany. Some believe offensive strikes destroyed this German castle in 1944, presuming the Amber Room as lost. Rumors persist, however, that perhaps a group deconstructed the Amber Room once again and moved it to a secret location. Others believe the panels were loaded on to a steamer called the SS Karlsruhe for transport to Germany during the war, but Soviet planes took down the ship.
In 2020, Polish divers discovered the wreck of a ship called the Karlsruhe filled with crates that they believe might hold the amber panels. Tomasz Stachura, leader of the dive team that found the ship, told Live Science that "the possible examination of the load will have to be discussed with the Maritime Office in Gdynia, Poland, and they will make the final decision."
The Honjo Masamune Sword Didn't Make It Through WWII
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Goro Nyudo Masamune was a storied Japanese swordsmith, and the Honjo Masamune was arguably his finest work. The legendary katana supposedly emerged around the 13th century, with famed samurai Honjo Shigenaga wielding it. Generations of shoguns handed down the sword, which served as a powerful symbol of Japanese leadership.
The blade became an official National Treasure of Japan in 1939, but it did not survive the next six years of conflict. After Japan surrendered to the United States at the end of WWII, the US government demanded Japanese families relinquish personal arms, which included the Honjo Masamune. It remains unknown where the sword is now located.
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The 'Peking Man' Specimen Has Vanished
In piecing together humanity's evolutionary history, the "Peking Man" specimen - identified in 1927 as a prime example of Homo erectus - was one of the most important clues. Uncovered near Beijing, China, the specimen gained worldwide notoriety when researchers definitively declared it an ancestor of modern humans. However, the Peking Man became lost during WWII.
With an impending Japanese invasion, Chinese scholars attempted to export the specimen out of China, but no record exists of where it went thereafter.
An Entire William Shakespeare Play Is Lost To The Annals Of Time
William Shakespeare isn't simply the most renowned playwright of all time, he's also one of the most prolific. Most of Shakespeare's work has survived centuries and readers can still read his plays today - but the major exception seems to be Cardenio, an apparent full-length play that scholars are only aware of due to bureaucratic records. Some scholars believe the play, sometimes referred to as The History of Cardenio, was based on the story of Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote.
No pages of Cardenio is known to exist today, but some literary historians surmise that a later production, Double Falsehood, is a close adaptation of it.
A Camera Could Reveal If George Mallory And Andrew Irvine Made It To The Top Of Everest, But It's Never Been Found
In 1924, George Mallory and Andrew Irvine made an ill-fated attempt to become the first explorers to reach the top of Mount Everest. Mallory's remains were recovered in 1999, but Irvine's is still missing. As a result, nobody is sure whether or not the men ever reached the peak.
According to Howard Somervell, a member of Mallory's climbing team, Mallory borrowed his camera before he and Irvine departed on their final journey. Somervell's camera never turned up afterward. Some believe if the camera were found and its images got developed, this could prove once and for all if Mallory and Irvine were the first to master Everest.
Three-Quarters Of The World's First Feature-Length Film Got Blacklisted From History
There is a robust list of missing films from cinematic history, but arguably the most historically significant item was The Story of the Kelly Gang, a 1906 silent motion picture widely recognized as the world's first ever feature-length narrative film.
The Australian movie told the story of Ned Kelly and his mischievous crew, and it was a smash success despite its apparent runtime being over an hour long. Unfortunately, all records of the film became lost by the mid-1900s. In the decades since its disappearance, some fragments of the film have emerged, which adds up to about 25% of the entire movie; these parts are available for public viewing. The rest of the film remains lost.
Someone Took The 1937 Oscar For 'Best Supporting Actress' From The Stage - It Was Never Seen Again
In 1937, Alice Brady won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in In Old Chicago, but she was unable to accept the Oscar in person due to an issue with her ankle. An unknown man hopped on the stage to accept the award on Brady's behalf, then he walked away with the accolade. Supposedly, no one has ever seen the mysterious man or Brady's Oscar after the ceremony.
The Academy eventually sent Brady a replacement. Brady passed of cancer less than two years later in 1939.
NASA Accidentally Got Rid Of The Controllers That Steered 'Apollo 11'
The Apollo 11 mission that landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon is among the most important endeavors in human history. Unfortunately, someone at NASA erroneously ordered three command-module hand controllers used to steer the Apollo 11 to be thrown out. The employee tasked with the controllers' disposal chose to sell them to an anonymous buyer instead.
Thus, the whereabouts of the controllers are still a mystery to this day.
