Treasure hunters claim to be 'on verge' of discovering stash of £15 billion worth riches

A crew of treasure hunters are "on the verge" of discovering stash of gold, jewels, and antiquities worth up to £15 billion. If the 'Lemminkäinen Hoard' is unearthed, it will be the world's largest and most valuable treasure. It is believed to contain about 50,000 gemstones, such as rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds. At least 1,000 items dating back thousands of years are likely to be in the treasure. Several 18-carat gold life-size statues in human shape are claimed to be among the gold in the trove, according to Mirror News.

The treasure is said to be stashed 20 miles east of Finland's capital, Helsinki in the vast Sibbosberg cave system. It is thought to be buried in Sipoo's underground temple. Over 100 professional prospectors from all over the world have been trying to get their hands on the treasure since the past three decades. Now, a group of "penniless" friends claims they are only a few metres away from the treasure and expect to find it next year. In 1987, the "Temple Twelve," as they were known, began their search, reported the outlet.

"Temple Twelve" spent a lot of time digging through intricate cave

The "Temple Twelve" has spent their summers digging through the intricate cave complex near Helsinki, putting in six hours a day, seven days a week. The group has members from Finland, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Australia, Russia, the United States, and Germany. 60-year-old, Carl Borgen, the world's greatest specialist on the Lemminkäinen Hoard, has written about the lives of the Temple Twelve and their fortune in his book 'Temporarily Insane.' “I gather that tremendous progress has been done at the temple and that the crew is very eager about the months ahead," he was quoted as saying by Mirror News.

The treasure's existence was publicly acknowledged in 1984. Ior Bock, a local landowner, claimed that his ancestors were direct descendants of Lemminkäinen, a legendary figure in Finnish mythology. The Temple Twelve group thinks they have the tenacity to locate and remove the massive granite slabs from the temple door, despite the fact that there is no evidence the treasure has been found yet. Using only simple tools such as spades and buckets, the group was able to remove multiple four-tonne boulders from the cave's entrance and excavated approximately 400 tonnes of sediment below it, reported the outlet.

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