A trio of treasure hunters in Germany believe that they have determined the location of the legendary and long lost Amber Room.
Pilfered by the Nazis from a Russian palace during World War II, the exquisite paneling of amber and gold went missing at the conclusion of the conflict.
Since that time, countless historians and armchair researchers have attempted to locate where the treasure may have wound up, but the ostensibly secret location somewhere in Europe has yet to be found.
And now a new theory has been advanced by three scientists in Germany who suspect that they may have finally tracked down the Amber Room.
Using ground penetrating radar, the group says that they have spotted what appear to be previously-undiscovered bunkers beneath a cave system in a series of hills near the Germany city of Dresden.
The scan also indicated that there are booby traps in the surrounding underground area, suggesting that whatever is contained in the heretofore-unknown bunkers was considered quite valuable.
Alleged first-hand witness testimony to the delivery of the Amber Room to the area has also strengthened the convictions of the researchers that they have found the genuine spot where the lost treasure rests.
Apparently their argument is compelling enough that officials in Germany are allowing the treasure hunters to proceed with their investigation of the area in the hopes that perhaps their hunch is correct.
The group is now trying to raise the funds to conduct a more thorough search of the cave complex sometime in early 2018.
However, one would be wise to temper expectations as one museum curator in Russia dismissed the theory to the media outlet TASS as the latest in a long line of "unbelievable stories."
"We would very much like it to be true," she said, "but with each passing year, hope that the room will be found is keeps getting dimmer."
Indeed, an entirely different search in Poland made headlines just last year, yet also proved to be as fruitless as all other previous attempts to find the lost treasure.
As with so many other decades-old mysteries, the answer to what became of the Amber Room appears poised to remain forever unsolved while also continually being renewed by the occasional optimistic development only to be once again plunged back into the world of the unknown.
That's not to say that the searching should cease, since, as we all know, when something is lost, it's always found in the last place you were looking for it.
Source: Daily Mail / TASS