Treasure hunters say they are on brink of unearthing secret hoard of jewels in Finnish cave
A team of determined treasure hunters believe they are close to finding a haul in a cave in Finland that could unearth a secret stash of tens of thousands of gemstones.
Members of "The Temple Twelve" have been trying to find a hidden stash of gold, jewels and ancient artefacts, after a local mythologist and eccentric claimed it was on his family's land some three decades ago.
Some reports have placed the value of the so-called "Lemminkäinen Hoard" at £15bn, though it is not clear where the valuation has come from.
Nor has the Finnish Heritage Agency officially recognised that the site should have any special archaeological significance - at least according to the website dedicated to the saga.
Nonetheless, the prospect of such a find has seemingly attracted the interest of thousands of amateur archaeologists from at least five countries, including the UK.
They have shown an interest to help dig up the treasure, thought to be in an underground temple within the labyrinthine Sibbosberg cave system in Sipoo, a town 20 miles east of Finland's capital Helsinki.
Dating back thousands of years, it is said to consist of 50,000 gemstones, including rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds, and at least 1,000 antiquities.
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Several 18-carat gold life-size statues in human form are also thought to have been entombed in the cave.
Until now, the Temple Twelve have excavated the huge site alone, armed with little more than cheap buckets and spades.
Over the past 35 years, members have each dedicated up to six hours a day, seven days a week, removing hundreds of tonnes of rock and clay.
Their efforts hit the headlines last year when they claimed they could be just metres away from reaching the fabled temple door.
The Temple Twelve says it has since received thousands of enquiries from people wanting to join its ranks or to lend a hand.
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According to historian Carl Borgen, the group’s biographer and sole point of "outside" contact, this “small army” of unpaid volunteers could start arriving on site within a matter of weeks in readiness for when digging resumes in spring.
He said the extra helpers would “substantially” increase the Temple Twelve’s chances of reaching the jackpot - if it exists - this year.
“The existence of an undiscovered hoard of this vast scale has, quite naturally, captured the public’s attention and generated unimaginable levels of support,” he said.
“A small army of people from a variety of countries including the United States, the UK, Australia, Canada, France and Finland have been in touch asking if and how they can help with the dig and with the multitude of preliminary activities.
“If only a handful of those people turn up then the Twelve believe strongly that this season could be the big one and that the cave will finally give up her secrets, whatever they may be.”
The hoard’s alleged existence first emerged in 1984 when the local landowner and self-proclaimed mystic Ior Bock claimed that his family – one of the oldest in Scandinavia – were direct descendants of Lemminkäinen, a prominent figure in Finnish pagan mythology.
He said the cave, which lies on his sprawling ancestral estate, was home to the fabled Lemminkäinen Temple, where the collected treasures from countless generations of ancient Finnish pagans had been stored.
According to Bock, the temple entrance was sealed up with huge stone slabs in the 10th century to protect the treasures within from invading Swedish and Swiss armies.
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By 1987, news of the so-called "Bock saga" had spread worldwide and the possibility of finding the temple’s entrance had attracted the attention of historians, corporate sponsors, and professional archaeologists.
It also captured the imagination of amateur treasure hunters, who flocked to the site in search of gold and glory.
Among them was a group of 24 who joined forces with Bock to become the site’s permanent, self-funded excavation team.
Since then, most of the original party have left or died, including Bock himself, who was stabbed to death in 2010.
Their number gradually dropped to 12 and has since been maintained with new members from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Holland, Germany, Australia, Russia and the US.
Borgen said the site could yield its treasures by the summer, adding: “We’re entering the end game and, if we win, the treasures to be found there will be unimaginable.”
