Treasure Hunt! 5 Stashes of Gold, Silver Waiting to Be Found

An Indian temple uncovered more than $22 billion in valuables in vaults.

ByABC News
July 4, 2011, 9:40 PM

July 5, 2011 — -- Gold coins, statues studded with diamonds and other precious stones. A trove of artifacts with a value of more than $22 billion.

That's what's facing -- and causing much debate among -- politicians, religious leaders and historians in Kerala, India, where a bounty of riches was recently found in a 16th-century Hindu temple.

Six days of searches ordered by India's Supreme Court unearthed treasures upon treasures donated during hundreds of years by temple patrons.

E. Lee Spence, an underwater archaeologist and well-known treasure hunter in South Carolina, called the find in India "amazing."

He said that an aspiring treasure finder didn't have to head across the world to uncover riches, though.

"There are multibillion-dollar treasures on this side of the world that can be found," Spence said.

With the riches at Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple causing a major stir, ABC News put together a list of five unfound treasures that still have hunters and historians perplexed.