The Economist 1843, a culture magazine by The Economist, published a feature on treasure hunters in Turkey who are searching for riches they believe were hidden by Armenians during and after the 1915 Armenian Genocide.
In the detailed article, author Erin O’Brien explores how racist stereotypes in Turkey, portraying Armenians as hoarders, have fueled the relentless search for treasure allegedly buried by Armenians fleeing during the genocide. This misguided hunt has led to widespread destruction of Armenian churches and graveyards, often causing irreparable damage to historical sites in the process.
The author notes that sometimes the pursuit of riches is harmless, but adds that the frenzied digging taking place in Armenian churches and graveyards is destroying the country’s historical fabric. Artefacts are siphoned off to private dealers, and the hunters’ crude methods cause irrevocable damage to archaeological sites.
According to O’Brien, the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has largely neglected the plundering of regions formerly inhabited by Armenians.
These days, most treasure hunts begin on social media. “Countless treasure maps supposedly drawn by Armenians circulate online, the vast majority of which are amateurish fakes, with notes written anachronistically in modern Turkish. The business is rife with scammers. People purporting to be imams or Armenian priests will perform ” for a price ” rituals they promise will reveal the location of treasure. Another common tactic involves drawing a fake map showing a cache buried on a rich person’s property. The con artist produces a coin he claims to have found there, and convinces the landowner to pay him to conduct further excavations. Then he absconds with the money,” O’Brien writes.
He noted that many antiquities trafficked by Turkish dealers find their way out of the country. Some are hidden in shipping containers holding commercial goods and are labeled as something innocuous, like “appliance.”
“Once, there were more than 600 churches around Lake Van. Now, fewer than 100 are left. Those that remain standing look like skeletons, their interiors pillaged by treasure hunters. Armenian engravings have been gouged out, and domes and columns have collapsed into piles of rubble,” O’Brien writes.
