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Theories Rennes le Chateau Is there really a treasure?
Theories Rennes le Chateau Is there really a treasure? | Is there really a treasure? |
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A 50 Kilo gold bar is extremely heavy and one would think, if dropped, would be noticed. Also, it is not the kind of object an individual uses in the form of his secret investment. It was normal of people in bygone days to usually bury coins, being more mobile. These gold bars could have come from a number of sources. One possibility is that caravan was transporting them across country. If a heavily laden horse stumbled and fell or a cart lost a wheel it is possible that the mass of gold it was carrying would have spilled out across the land and it is not unfeasible that one or two bars may have become embedded in the soft soil and were overlooked. The caravan may have been fleeing an enemy, thinking it preferable to loose a few gold bars than waste time gathering the spilled gold only to end up loosing the entire convoy. This could be part of the treasure of the Visigoths, the sacked plunder of Rome and Jerusalem. It would be a phenomenal tonnage. Therefore a possibility exists that some part of this treasure may still exist, buried, perhaps long forgotten. Even the Third Reich during World War II sent treasure hunters to the region. To date not one of them has come up with more than a handful of dirt, at least that we know of. If there is a treasure out there it's buried deep and it's hidden well. The treasure is very likely that of the Visigoths. Their reign was quite long and their conquests were many and varied, ending in the sacking of Rome in 410 AD. This would be an incredible amount of treasure by any stretch of the imagination. They would have not have confined themselves to plundering simply gold and silver but anything which could conceivably be considered of value. The quantity of treasure must have to be in the realm of several thousand tons. Towards the end of 5th Century when the Visigoths were being pursued by "Clovis", we know that Alaric II was forced to abandon his stronghold at Rhoda (Rennes-le-Château) and to flee south. The problem that must have faced Alaric almost from the outset was what to do with his treasure. The sheer volume would make transportation over a long distance an exceptionally complicated and risky operation. Several suggestions as to what he may do with the immense weight of treasure are plausible: He could bury the treasure although moving such a vast quantity of bullion across country to a suitable and presumably remote location would be almost impossible. The ground would not support heavily laden carts plus there would be the problem of excavating a hole deep enough and secure enough to accommodate the treasure. The treasure could be deposited in a cave, typical to the region. However, the tracks of such a huge convoy would be clearly visible on the ground and act as a sure sign as to the whereabouts of the treasure. The treasure could have been deposited into many small treasures and hide it all over the countryside. This is more feasible but it is also highly labour intensive. An excellent option would be to drop it into a lake but preventing the recovery of such at a later date. It is possible that during the many years that Alaric occupied Carcassonne and Rheddae, large subterranean vaults were created to house the treasure. It is doubtful that such vaults could have remained undiscovered beneath the feet of French citizens. By transporting it to the coast, it could be taken by ship to some other country. This is very plausible particularly when you consider how near the coast is to Rennes-le-Château. The fact that large lumps of gold have been found lying in fields is testimony to the fact that someone at sometime tried to move a mass of ore and lost some of it. The fact also that the Visigoths resided in this area for a great many years means that they could easily have designed and built some sort of permanent installation in which to house their treasure. |
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