Coming across a valuable item in your treasure hunt can be a real thrill. Even an item that may not have monetary value could be personally attractive to the right hunter. Part of the thrill is in the chase; not knowing what you may find lends a sense of mystery and intrigue to the treasure hunt.
In years past, a treasure hunt could have been a very dangerous quest. Pirating was rampant, with several competitive and devious hunters often after the same prize. Quite often, the myth or rumor of a valuable buried or sunken treasure led to bloodshed and fighting between hunters.
Before airplanes became the preferred method of worldwide travel, those in search of life in a new land would travel by ship to their new destination. One might pack several trunks of furs, coins, jewelry, dishware, and other valuable goods to take with them to their new life.
Ships were always on the look out for pirates that may try to board and rob, or even kill, the passengers onboard.
While this high seas robbery is certainly not called treasure hunting, it demonstrates just how vulnerable these 'treasures' were. People traveling away from home were not only vulnerable to theft while sailing; these pirates had no qualms about robbing a ship after a natural disaster struck.
Ships sailing far from home had to endure terrible storms, barrier reefs, extremely high waves and more as they slowly made their way from one point to the next. Unfortunately, many ships succumbed to the dangers they faced, and sank. Tales and fables would develop about the location of the sunken ship and its possible contents. For example, if a royal family member or businessman was on board, one might assume that quite a bit of valuable merchandise sank with the ship.
If the ship was not immediately located, an air of mystery would develop around the tale as it was passed down through generations of curious people.
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