Treasure Hunters Found Some WWII Tubes In A Forest, They Contained The Most Amazing Things!

(Photo Source: Imgur)
(Photo Source: Imgur)

Hunting for hidden treasure has long been a romantic and adventurous activity in our history.

The Gold Rush spurred a huge migration across the US, with desperate families searching for golden nuggets for financial freedom. The diamond trade has brought about countless criminal and inhumane activity, in the name of getting a few priceless carats.

Not to mention that every day estate sales of the rich and famous end up crawling with those looking for hidden gems and antiques to sell off to the highest bidder.

But for the real treasure hunters, it’s about the hunt just as much as the reward. The pursuit of fascinating objects and secret treasures is a rush unto itself; and for a group of people with metal detectors scouring the woods recently, it was merely a happy accident.

Recently, a group of treasure hunters in Latvia – going by the name of Legenda Club – decided to go out on an expedition with their metal detectors and potentially score some amazing finds from beneath the rocky soil. Before they knew it, their detectors started to go off in unison, signaling that they were definitely on the right track to something.

A Once-in-a-Lifetime Find is Finally Brought to Light

What they found was about to blow their minds. After settling on the perfect spot, the hunters grabbed their shovels and began digging into the dirt below. Once they’d made a decent hole in the ground beneath their feet, they discovered and managed to unearth five sealed mystery tubes that looked as though they’d been hiding there for decades.

(Photo Source: Imgur)
(Photo Source: Imgur)
And the tubes themselves were only the beginning since the group was about to stumble upon even more hidden goodies within their confines.

As it turns out, these tubes appeared to be saboteur caches used during WWII. They indicated that they’d been stashed there by German soldiers, who were hoping to secretly disrupt the operations of their enemy  when the time came to strike back.

Once the group figured out how to unseal the tubes, they came upon a few knives and guns, which was to be expected for use in enemy warfare. However, they discovered even more unbelievable military weaponry the longer they kept diving into their new discovery.

For instance, they found large quantities of ammunition, mostly for the French M1892 model revolvers of the period, which perhaps in itself didn’t seem too strange. However, it was the fact that the ammo appeared to be  last resort items, behind the other equipment in the tubes that really threw the hunters into shock.

They came across a couple different styles of grenades that were more than able to inflict some permanent damage. Beyond that, there were some magnetic mines, handy for sticking to metal objects that could be placed in hidden areas, prepared to detonate upon the arrival of whichever unwitting victim happened to be wandering by.

A Polish-made w.33 pineapple grenade (left) and RGD-33 grenade (right) (Photo Source: Imgur)
A Polish-made w.33 pineapple grenade (left) and RGD-33 grenade (right) (Photo Source: Imgur)
A variety of unknown explosives also made their way into the tubes, demonstrating the Germans penchant for readying themselves for any possible situation. And to tie everything together, the soldiers made sure to also throw in some detonators, as well as detonation cord, to ensure all of their weaponry would be available for use at a moment’s notice.

But It’s the Quiet Ones that Should Really Be Watched For

Perhaps the greatest surprise for the hunters was a seemingly harmless object that, upon further inspection, could prove the most destructive – and presumably fatal – of the bunch.

Deep within one of the tubes, a member of the group revealed a small lump of coal hidden amongst the other weaponry. At first glance, this chunk of rock wouldn’t seem relevant to the findings of the rest of the tubes. But the hunters were soon to discover just how wrong they were.

Because that lump of coal was indeed a ruse, a makeshift ball of explosives bound together to appear inconsequential. Essentially, though, it was the best tool the Germans would have at their disposal once it came time to attack.

After all, the coal could simply be tossed into a coal car in one of the locomotives, never appearing anything but ordinary. And once this object would be shoveled into the engine, it would undoubtedly explode from within, sabotaging and disabling a train within seconds. This mystery weapon would’ve been the greatest tool this German saboteur had to really cause some chaos for the other side.

Explosives disguised as a lump of coal (left) and det chord (right) (Photo Source: Imgur)
Explosives disguised as a lump of coal (left) and detonator cord (right) (Photo Source: Imgur)
Finally, the remaining contents of the tubes displayed some efficient tools for creating bombs if necessary, completing this anarchist’s perfect toolbox of devices that could render the soldier’s enemies useless.

All in all, this was an amazing find for these treasure hunters, who merely set out to find what little their metal detectors could pick up along their journey. Such a unique discovery can only lead one to ponder how many more stealthy, operational military weapon caches may exist out in this land, or anywhere on the weathered battlegrounds of previous wars for that matter.

So while many of those spend their days searching for treasure in the likes of the priciest gemstone, the oldest antique, or the shiniest gold and silver tokens, they should be making better use of their time searching for the history and ruins of what many centuries of humankind has undeniably left beneath our feet.

Because that’s the real prize – something of historical significance that should have no monetary value, only cultural value. It seems likely that these treasure hunters had a moment of clarity upon this finding, and others should join in the effort to search for these hidden relics instead.

Or, if nothing else, this finding certainly makes you want to be more careful of where you step into some unknown territory – you could be standing on your own historical goldmine.

David Herold

David Herold is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE