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Broadcasting Gelderland
NOS News••Amended
The municipality of Buren has given a historian permission to search for a Nazi treasure that may be hidden in Ommeren. It concerns four chests full of jewels that are said to have been buried by German soldiers in 1944.
The treasure hunters were inspired by the publication of an old sketched map by the National Archives early last month. That map contains clues to a never-found treasure.
“It is worth several millions,” said Annet Waalkens of the National Archives at the time. The map comes from the archives of the Netherlands Management Institute, which went in search of German assets in our country after the war.
After the map was made public, several people went hunting for the coffins in defiance of a municipal ban. The municipality now hopes, by giving permission for the search, that it will become clear whether the treasure is really there. “By conducting research, we want to be able to rule out once and for all whether or not there is a treasure,” said a spokesman Broadcasting Gelderland.
The honor fell to the regional museum Baron van Brakell and Historische Kring Kesteren en Omstreken. “I really like it and am very happy. Ever since I found out about the treasure map, I’ve been working on it day and night,” says regional historian Joke Honders.
However, the municipality has attached conditions to the granting of the exemption. All excavation and reporting must be performed by a certified archaeological agency.
A one-off subsidy is given to cover the costs thereof. According to Honders, the amount involved is 2,000 euros. Another condition is that any finds are properly handed over to the designated depot for further investigation.
Honders does not expect that anything will be found, but of course hopes for it. “I think the chance is very small, but it would be great if there is indeed a treasure and we find it. It puts the region on the map, it is good for the museum and I think it’s fantastic that I can contribute there have been able to deliver.” She expects the search to begin within a few weeks. The search is expected to take half to a full day.
