5 Ancient Artifacts That Mysteriously Disappeared

In the late 15th century, Myanmar was an enlightened nation. Under the reign of King Dhammazedi, a former Buddhist monk, the country reached a pinnacle in antiquity during the Golden Age – complete with treasures to match. Cast in the 15th Century, the Great Dhammazedi Bell was, according to popular legend, placed alongside the gleaming gold Shwedagon Pagoda, the most sacred Buddhist site in Myanmar.

Said to be the largest bell ever made, the Great Bell is said to measure roughly 20 feet by 13 feet and was cast from 294 tons of metal, including silver, gold, copper and tin. It was engraved with a script described by a visiting foreigner as indecipherable language covering the entire surface.

In the 16th Century, European explorers began to make contacts in Lower Burma and the Portuguese warlord and mercenary Filipe de Brito e Nicole was one of them. This adventurer worked for the rival Arakanese culture and led a force that sacked the cities of Syriam and Pegu, the capital of Lower Myanmar. He was appointed by the King of Arakan as the governor of Syria and by 1600, had extended his power across Myanmar.

After declaring independence from the Arakan King, in 1608 De Brito and his men removed the Dhammazedi Bell from the Shwedagon Pagoda, intending to melt it down to make a massive cannon. After rolling it down a hill, they placed it on a waiting raft on Pazundaung Creek. Unfortunately, the bell was far heavier than De Brito could have imagined and whilst travelling along the river, the bell disappeared under the waters and has never been seen since.

Many rescue attempts to retrieve the bell have been unsuccessful. There are at least three other shipwrecks in that area, and with the water muddy and the seabed soft, there is near-zero visibility.

The Great Bell is a significant part of Myanmar’s history and religion and after its disappearance, many civic and government leaders believe that if the bell can be found and recovered, it will usher in a new age of prosperity for Myanmar...

[YankeePendragon]

What I love about these pieces is how just the available information is presented, without judgement or preference, on the subjects in question. It certainly gives one a starting point to do one's own research (and plenty of motivation).

[AlanCringLtd]

If memory serves me, Josh Gates of "Destination Unknown, " went to find the Great Dhammazedi Bell. In the show, the suspected location of the bell was in a turbulent intersection of waterways. While his team stayed in the boat handling ropes and an air tube, Gates went into that mess of water, debris, and shipwrecks. If I recall, he did find a massive object, but the water was far too murky to get verifying photographs of what he was feeling; then he got tangled in debris, and tense minutes passed before he finally managed to resurface. He did not try any further dives.

[crusiethmaximuss]

That giant bell should be easy to detect with today's technology. I hope it's real and is still intact.

[mikeypiros]

I'm pretty sure that a lot of these missing artifacts can probably be found at the Vatican or the Smithsonian!

[AlexBigShid]

You should do 5 occurrences of ancient people discovering even more ancient ruins

[Cretten]

Can you do a video about actual treasures found? Love this channel

[patrickgraham]

The honjo sword is probably in a attic or basement somewhere in the US.

[ShadowEclipex]

It's depressing that most of these were lost due to war and conquest.

[BasementPepperoni]

haven't watched a Dark5 video for a long time, but this channel has blown up big time over the past 2 years.

[carlosi.]

Ever since i was a young kid, I have heard about "El Tesoro de Runinahui" when i lived in Ecuador. Its rumored to be so vast that if found it could totally pay off the country's debt.

[jeremywhite]

As always fantastic! love the work man keep them coming this one literally just made my day

[dutchman]

That was a wonderful documentary thank you for sharing it and thank you for making it.

[michaellowe]

Wow, seeing such a complete and comprehensive list of the most famous missing artifacts is like finding the holy grail.

[HoosierThrottle]

The theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark kept playing in my head while watching this. Good video, very interesting.

[jhmqihu]

Catholic Church has a crap load of artifacts that will never see the light day

[DeCypher_]

video is amazing.. its wild how many things I have learned through all your previous video's... Edward Ullendorf ~ former professor of Ethiopian Studies at the university of London stated ( he examined the Ark at the Church of Axum in 1941 as a British Army Officer, ( they have a wooden box, but its empty. seems to be Middle- to late-medieval construction) . In 1991 when they were to show it to the world they backed out and said that they can assure people its there. IF you could do a possible video on that take of the Ark that would be Again, thanks for all the hard work on your videos.

[Bundy]

I love the Dark5 content, and I think the intro music, and the narration tone and style is absolutely the best on Youtube. I could listen to this dude read a terms of service agreement. He's got the most soothing voice and delivery that borders on monotone but without the associated bad connotations of speaking in monotone. If you know what I mean. haha

[jamierose]

That giant bell totally gives me golden bell of Shandora, from the manga One Piece, vibes!
Oda must've gotten inspiration from it. Guys a GOAT!

[guidosillaste]

We now know that there were other advanced civilisations before us. Yet people in power really dont want us to know about that.

[outdooradventurer]

I love how he has never changed the intro