104 Items Tagged

Gold

Rodalquilar Gold Mine

Rodalquilar, Spain

Rodalquilar Gold Mine

This abandoned gold mine found a second life as a post-apocalyptic film set.

Hornet Balls

Goldvein, Virginia

Hornet Balls

These massive concrete balls were used to mine gold in Virginia.

The carved-shell llama and the gold roll are recurring motifs in Inca offerings, submerged and otherwise.

Found: A Miniature Incan Llama at the Bottom of Lake Titicaca

The centuries-old offering was nestled inside an underwater stone box.

Isaac Schultz August 12, 2020

View of the entrance in 2017

Bremen, Germany

Der Lichtbringer (The Bearer of Light)

A stunning gilt bronze relief denounced by Hitler as "degenerate art"—even though it was dedicated to the Nazi leader.

A Cairo goldsmith works on golden rings depicting a pharaoh.

The Secret Language of Cairo's Goldsmiths

Their words speak to the legacy of a lost community.

Shira Telushkin May 21, 2020

The Temple of Artemis at Sardis.

Salihli, Turkey

Sardis

These ruins once flourished as the capital of the Lydian kingdom, often credited with the invention of metal coinage.

The 20-stater coin at the Cabinet des Médailles, 2010.

Gold 20-stater of Eucratides I

The heaviest gold coin ever minted.

The Golden Pavilion in 2011.

Rokuon-ji Temple

This 14th-century temple is also known as the "Temple of the Golden Pavilion" for its gorgeous gilded reliquary hall.

Sumpter Valley Gold Dredge

Sumpter, Oregon

Sumpter Valley Gold Dredge

During its heyday, 72 one-ton buckets from this dredge bore into the Powder River excavating vast gold deposits.

Armstrong Nugget

Baker City, Oregon

The Armstrong Nugget

This 80.33 troy ounces of solid gold is believed to be the largest nugget from Oregon still in its original form.

A <em>Triarthus</em>, preserved with the arm of the shrimp-like predator <em>Anomalocaris</em>.

In Upstate New York, Ancient Arthropods Can Get Turned Into (Fool's) Gold

Pyritized trilobites aren't just flashy—they preserve incredible detail.

Sabrina Imbler January 3, 2020

A 17th-century gold posy ring, a postmedieval version of a promise ring, was determined to be treasure at an inquest in October 2019.

In England, Coroners Decide What Is Treasure and What Is Not

“It’s a bizarre holdover from a previous age.”

Isaac Schultz December 12, 2019

The robots are a bit creepy, but that's part of the fun.

Sado Kinzan

For centuries, this gold mine was the powerhouse behind the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Etchison rappels into yet another mine.

North Carolina’s Abandoned Gold Mines Don’t Have Gold, But Do Have Bats

A deadly disease could devastate these thriving colonies of winged critters.

Sabrina Imbler August 14, 2019

Tembagapura, Indonesia

Grasberg Mine

This mile-wide crater high in the mountains of Indonesia is the largest gold mine in the world.

An illuminated atlas depicts Mansa Musa, emperor of Mali from 1312 to 1337, widely known for his vast vast wealth in the form of gold deposits.

Medieval Africans Had a Unique Process for Purifying Gold With Glass

And scientists in Illinois have recreated it.

Evan Nicole Brown May 9, 2019

Molson, Washington

Okanogan Highland Ghost Towns

This former mining hub holds a surprising abundance of undisturbed relics from the Old West.

Allectus and Apollo were just chilling on a field in Kent.

Found: A Gold Coin From Britain's Roman Revolt

Allectus only reigned for three years, but here he is, nearly two millennia later.

Matthew Taub April 8, 2019