Enigmatic Facts About Treasure Hunters Who Were Real Life Indiana Joneses
“Fortune and glory, kid. Fortune and glory,” says Indiana Jones, explaining both the meaning of Shankara and also, his raison d’etre.
Jones might have been a fictional character but there have been a lot of famous and infamous real-life treasure hunters. Here are 27 examples of treasure hunters who lived life like they were a real-life Indiana Jones.
Treasure Hunters Facts
27. The Young Indy
World-renowned treasure hunter and academic Dr. E. Lee Spence might be one of the youngest successful treasure hunters ever. He found his first shipwreck when he was just twelve years old using diving gear that he had designed and built himself.
Despite being stabbed underwater twice and shot once, Spence has recovered over $100 million worth of artifacts.
26. From Circus Strongman to Egyptologist
Circus strongman Giovanni Battista was more fortune hunter than academic and turned to archaeology for the money. He excavated numerous Egyptian tombs, pillaging items to sell to museums, and made more than a few enemies along the way.
He captured an obelisk from Nile Island, only to have it taken from him at gunpoint by armed French agents. Battista died at the age of 45 on his way to Timbuktu.
25. Adventurer or Con Man?
That depends upon which account of the life of Heinrich Schliemann you believe. He spoke 15 languages and was a wealthy adventurer, world traveler and amateur archaeologist who just may have discovered the ancient city of Troy.
He found numerous artifacts and was an avid self-promoter, earning him the ire of the Turkish government, who tried to prevent him from further exploration with lawsuits.
He claimed that he was the one who found Troy at the Turkish city of Hisarlik but his “discovery” was actually based on the work of Frank Calvert, who had told him where to look. Schliemann never gave any credit to Calvert.
