The Hunt For the Transylvanian Gold

2017, Mystery  -   6 Comments
6.92
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Ratings: 6.92/10 from 26 users.

At the opening of the 21st century, a series of exceedingly valuable gold snake-like spiral bracelets made appearances at museums and auction houses across the globe. So rare were these artifacts that many archeologists were unaware of their existence. The Hunt for the Transylvanian Gold chases the clues in an attempt to uncover their origins and the sinister subplots that surround their sudden emergence on the international stage.

Some believe these bracelets are the remnants of the vast treasures hidden by a Dacian king nearly 2,000 years ago. Still others believe they are elaborately produced fakes. But even if they authentic, how were they uncovered and by whom?

Romanian prosecutor Augustin Lazar operates under the belief that they were illegally procured by members of a fierce mob who specialize in the looting of archeological sites.

German antiquities expert Barbara Deppert was presented with two of the bracelets by a young man who claimed he found them in the mountains of Transylvania. Eventually, met with Lazar to contemplate their possible source of origin and authenticity. During the course of their investigations, they discovered that the bracelets also made appearances in New York and London in recent years.

The plot thickens with the introduction of Calin Ciota, a car dealer, dog enthusiast and ex-convict who was sold one of the mystery bracelets by a man desperate for a loan. When he attempted to resell the piece, he inadvertently became part of an undercover sting.

The film offers the testimonies of all three figures as it weaves a complicated international web of intrigue. Along the way, we are presented with elements of organized crime, scandal, and a high stakes game of cat-and-mouse. The end result could prove to be one of the biggest forgeries in the history of archeology or lead to a complete rethinking of ancient Romanian history. The film also features a touch of the mystical as the interview subjects question whether the artifacts are imbued by an ancient religious curse.

The Hunt for the Transylvanian Gold is by no means a bland slice of obscure archeological history. It's paced like a heart-pumping globe-trotting thriller.

Directed by: Andrei-Nicolae Teodorescu

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6 Comments / User Reviews

  1. Paul S

    I think that these spirals were not made to be worn by people, but we're always intended as votive offerings to their gods. I think that is why they're buried the way they were in layers of different groupings.

  2. Roger Andout

    That was interesting. Very original that a criminal should call a pre 1989 copper , a Communist.

  3. Voluntaryist

    A prosecutor who assumes a "fierce mob" is selling illegally procured artifacts? Prosecutors generally assume everybody is guilty until they prove themselves innocent. This is the authoritarian world we live. I don't accept it. I defy it. That makes me a prime suspect.
    I denounce the initiation of violence, threats, and fraud that forms the basis of the worldwide political paradigm. It is immoral, impractical, unjust, and collapses society. Economically, we prosper in a capitalist (free trade) business model. None exists, or ever has. A mixture of freedom and authoritarianism, e.g., socialism, has always existed, with the freer economies creating the highest standard of living. History shows this. But it is constantly rewritten to justify authoritarianism. No matter. All we need do look at the present. The freer nations are better off, e.g., for decades Hong Kong as been the freest and most prosperous.

  4. Ken Kelly

    I am no gold expert, I thought the metal Gold was not a metal that could make springs from without adding large amounts of other netal.

    1. N. Shani

      I think you are correct, not to mention that such a large object will be heavy!

    2. C.Rama Murthy

      You are right. Chemical analysis proved that the ornament's gold metal contained traces of Copper, Silver and Manganese (characteristic of specific mining location) as pure gold is soft and does not retain shape. WWW search gives you the papers with details of the trace metals and methods employed to confirm.