BOOTY OF KINGS

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 November 1928, Page 10

BOOTY OF KINGS

L. • • -— • — ” HUNT IN CASTLE RUINS. L' Vast quantities of treasure, the u booty of the Norse Kings, who ravag- ’’ ed Britain and the Mediterranean coasts five or six centuries ago, are believed to lie hidden, in the pictur- \ esquo ruins of Peel Castle, • Isle of ; Man. An organised search for the J * treasure is to be started shortly. £ The Imperial Government at Whitehall, as owners of the castle, have giv,e en permission for the work, which widl 11 be under the supervision of Mr. J. E. V Douglas, the 1.0. M. Government sur- . veyor, Mr. G. H. Quilliam, clerk to the 1 Peel Town Commissioners, and Mr. ° P. M. Kermode, a leading member of ® the island’s Antiquarian Society. ~ Tho legend of buried gold has been handed down by Manx families for 7 many generations, and the story of the discovery from time to time of old . gold coins and other articles of value. 1 ■f'he ruins stand on seven acres of a massive rock, linked to -the mainland by a causeway. A more romantic spot ' would be difficult to find in all Bri- n tain.- - 1 In the grounds are earthworks made 1 by Stone Age men, and long borrows or burial places, which were used hun'C dreds of years before the birth of ? Christ. The great rock, in turn, be--1 came the sanctuary of early Qhristian monks and missionaries, the fortresscastle of the Sea Kings, and the lair “ of pirates and smugglers. The present • ruins are partly ecclesiastical and • partly military. ’ Tho. story of the secret treasure be- • gins with the , year 1266, when the island was overrun by Norsemen, and Peel Castle became J:he home of 1 Orry, an Icelandic king'and adventur5 er. Roving the seas in search of loot, he burned and pillaged coastal regions as far south as Africa, and his stolen riches were brought back and deposited in Peel Castle. His treasure chami her has never been discovered. After the hasty departure of the i Norsemen came the Celtic,raiders, who - also used the castle as a storehouse ! for their booty. ’ For hundreds of ; years later the i rocky caves were an ideal haven for contraband, and in the 18th century - the castle was the headquarters of a ■ smuggling organisation which, it was estimated, caused the Government the huge loss of £250,000 a year. The British Government finally bought the castle in order to stamp out the traffic. hunters who have been round the ruins have found three caves which, it is believed, lead to different parts of the ancient building. The present organised search is being undertaken as a result of letters from an old Peel native, Mr. F. A. Price, who left the island nearly 60 years ago for Australia. '