GOLD OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 180, 1 August 1925, Page 17

GOLD OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT.

a ' SEARCH INSPIRED. BY AN ANCIENT LEGEND. The Archaelogical Society of Azerbeidjan has decided to make an attempt ts discover the treasure which, according to a legend, Alexander the Great buried near Baku, writes the Moscow correspondent of the "Daily Express." The burial of the treasure is said to have been due to a mutiny of Alexander's troops while the great commander was crossing the Caspian plains from Persia, about 300 B.C. Although there are no definite historical indications as to the hiding place ef the legendary treasure, is has been established that there was a mutiny in Alexander's troops. Tbe story of the existence of the fabulous treasure has been popularly accepted in Azerbeidjan for at least two centuries. The actual decision of the Archaeological Society to send out an exploration party is based on the statement of an old man named Savelieff, who claims to know the actual spot where the treasure is supposed to be buried. Savelieff furnished a statement some sixty years ago to the Caucasian Viceroy, and certain work was then undertaken by the Government, but no records of the result are available. It is said that Savelieff obtained his knowledge of the location of the treasure from an ancient map which was stolen from the library of the Sultan of Turkey. The map indicates that the treasure is located near the village of Andreyevka, in the Shemakha district, about sixty miles from Baku. The Archaeological Society, while discrediting the legend of the buried treasure, hopes that excavation work may lead to the discovery of relics which will shed light on the life and habits of the nations who inhabited the present Azerbeidjan territory during previous epochs.