Random Important Historical Artifacts That Are Still Missing (14 items)

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  (#7) The Third Reich Made The Amber Room Disappear

  Some monarchs use stones and jewels to decorate their crowns and sceptres, but King Frederick I of Prussia took it a step further by having an entire room constructed from his favorite gemstone: amber. The bedazzled Amber Room came about in 1701, then 15 years later, King Frederick William I gifted the room to Peter the Great as a symbol of their newly cemented alliance.

  The room comprised several large, removable panels, which could be transported with ease. However, this advantage quickly turned into a detriment when the Germans began Operation Barbarossa in 1941 and invaded Russia.

  The Third Reich looted countless Russian treasures, including the Amber Room, which they sent to a castle museum in Königsberg, Germany. Some believe offensive strikes destroyed this German castle in 1944, presuming the Amber Room as lost. Rumors persist, however, that perhaps a group deconstructed the Amber Room once again and moved it to a secret location. Others believe the panels were loaded on to a steamer called the SS Karlsruhe for transport to Germany during the war, but Soviet planes took down the ship.

  In 2020, Polish divers discovered the wreck of a ship called the Karlsruhe filled with crates that they believe might hold the amber panels. Tomasz Stachura, leader of the dive team that found the ship, told Live Science that "the possible examination of the load will have to be discussed with the Maritime Office in Gdynia, Poland, and they will make the final decision."
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  (#13) Someone Took The 1937 Oscar For 'Best Supporting Actress' From The Stage - It Was Never Seen Again

  In 1937, Alice Brady won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in In Old Chicago, but she was unable to accept the Oscar in person due to an issue with her ankle. An unknown man hopped on the stage to accept the award on Brady's behalf, then he walked away with the accolade. Supposedly, no one has ever seen the mysterious man or Brady's Oscar after the ceremony.

  The Academy eventually sent Brady a replacement. Brady passed of cancer less than two years later in 1939.
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  (#2) Blackbeard's Treasure May Still Be Out There

  Edward Teach, AKA Blackbeard, may have tight competition for the title of most famous pirate, but when it comes to pirate lore, his missing treasure is the most well-known piece of lost history. In 1718, Blackbeard and Queen Anne's Revenge supposedly ran aground on a sandbar in North Carolina; no one has ever found the enormous trove of treasure that the ship reportedly carried.

  Since this incident neither rendered the ship unusable - and experts argue if this ship is indeed Queen Anne's Revenge - nor significantly impacted the people aboard it, the crew would have had more than enough time to unload and conceal their haul. As of 2018, there is no definitive find of Blackbeard's purported treasure.
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  (#1) No One Knows The Whereabouts Of The Bayeux Tapestry's Final Panels

  The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the most recognizable treasures from the Middle Ages that still exists today. Reportedly created within a few years of the Battle of Hastings in 1066 CE, the lengthy narrative wall-hanging depicts William the Conqueror's invasion of England.

  Uncovered in 1729, the tapestry spans 230 feet long, but it is missing its final scene, as evidenced by its frayed ending and lack of a narrative conclusion. While modern-day embroiderers have attempted to complete the story, the real final panels of the Bayeux Tapestry have never turned up.
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  (#9) The 'Peking Man' Specimen Has Vanished

  In piecing together humanity's evolutionary history, the "Peking Man" specimen - identified in 1927 as a prime example of Homo erectus - was one of the most important clues. Uncovered near Beijing, China, the specimen gained worldwide notoriety when researchers definitively declared it an ancestor of modern humans. However, the Peking Man became lost during WWII.

  With an impending Japanese invasion, Chinese scholars attempted to export the specimen out of China, but no record exists of where it went thereafter.
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  (#8) The Honjo Masamune Sword Didn't Make It Through WWII

  Goro Nyudo Masamune was a storied Japanese swordsmith, and the Honjo Masamune was arguably his finest work. The legendary katana supposedly emerged around the 13th century, with famed samurai Honjo Shigenaga wielding it. Generations of shoguns handed down the sword, which served as a powerful symbol of Japanese leadership.

  The blade became an official National Treasure of Japan in 1939, but it did not survive the next six years of conflict. After Japan surrendered to the United States at the end of WWII, the US government demanded Japanese families relinquish personal arms, which included the Honjo Masamune. It remains unknown where the sword is now located.

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