Gelderland broadcast
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Gelderland broadcast
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Early this morning, a handful of treasure hunters went in search of four chests filled with jewels and jewels said to have been buried by German soldiers in 1944 near Ommeren. They do so despite a municipal ban. The police are present, but only issue warnings.
Earlier this week, people also searched Betuwe village with metal detectors and shovels for alleged Nazi treasure, reports Gelderland broadcast. Even then there was the police, who have issued nine warnings so far.
The treasure hunters were inspired by the publication on Tuesday of an old sketch map from the National Archives. The map contains clues to a treasure never found: four ammunition boxes filled with watches, jewels, jewels and diamonds that are said to be buried in the village. “It’s worth several million,” said Annet Waalkens of the National Archives then.
Bank hit by a bomb
In August 1944 a bank branch in Arnhem was hit by a bomb. The contents of many safes have been exposed. German soldiers collected all kinds of valuables, put them in their greatcoats and then buried them in coffins near Ommeren.
The chests have already been searched. Archival documents show that a Nazi officer was also brought from Germany to Ommeren after the war. The man had with him a sketch of where the treasure would be, but the search turned up nothing. Experts do not rule out that the coffins were dug up some time ago, perhaps during the occupation.
But that doesn’t stop treasure hunters in 2023 from giving it another try. This week there were few, this morning a handful, observed by the local residents of Ommeren.
Excavation certificate
The police are not yet intervening harshly, even if the municipal ban is clear. It is forbidden to use or carry a metal detector or any other object to detect metal objects in public without the authorization of the Municipal Executive. state to be read in the municipal ordinance. To be clear: this exemption is only granted to official organizations with an excavation certificate.
Council also points out that searching for mineral resources can be risky. For example, why there may still be unexploded ammunition in the ground. And what is absolutely forbidden is digging into private land as a treasure hunter without permission, even if this is compliant Gelderland broadcast it happened in Ommeren in the past few days.
