After a local claimed to have identified the location of King Ham Nghi’s treasure, a historical expert said it is just a myth and the king did not bury anything valuable in the central province of Quang Binh.
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| Cong claimed this was the entry to the treasure |
59-year-old Nguyen Hong Cong, who since 1982 has been digging through mountains in the central province of Quang Binh, said the treasure is buried in Minh Hoa district’s Hoa Son commune.
But Nguyen Khac Thai, Phd in history, said that he has dug up the area Cong mentioned but there are no signs of anything being buried there.
The area turned up undisturbed soil, indicating that it had not been dug up before, Doctor Thai added.
He explained further that King Ham Nghi and his servants were on the run from the invading French colonialists so bringing with him heavy gold and jewelries across treacherous terrains seems unrealistic.
Meanwhile, Hoang Ngoc Hoa, deputy office chief of the Quang Binh provincial People’s Committee told Tuoi Tre Tuesday that Cong’s claim he has identified the treasure’s location is groundless.
In the letter sent to local authorities, Cong said the treasure hunting has cost him nearly 30 years and VND2 billion (USD96,360). He has asked local authorities to let him have 20 percent of the treasure value, instead of ten percent according to current regulations in case he finds it.
In March last year, Cong announced he would stop hunting for the treasure but early this year, the hunting resumed.
King Ham Nghi who ascended the throne in 1884 at the age of 13 years old is said to hide a vast treasure in Minh Hoa to finance a big fight against the French colonialists.
But the patriotic king was arrested in 1889 and sent to live in France. He died in 1913 under exile. Since then, information related to the treasure is said to have been lost.
In 1930–1932, some Frenchmen visited the area to allegedly hunt for the treasure. In the 1960s, a story circulated that a local found some gold bars. A little while later, another story was rumored that valuable gold and jewelries were unearthed after a flood uprooted a big tree.
Although such rumors have never been confirmed, many people have spent countless hours trying their luck, all in vain.