HIDDEN TREASURES

Taranaki Daily News, 9 December 1931, Page 7

HIDDEN TREASURES

FIND IN A CAVERN. BIBLICAL STORY RECALLED. The gems and treasure recently found in a hidden cavern in a remote region of Abyssinia by Frank Payter, a big game hunter, have aroused fresh speculation about the supposedly rich mines in that area. The theory is now advanced that the gems were taken from the same cavern that was the source of the jewels of the Queen of Sheba, says the New York Times. This queen is perhaps best remembered ■by the biblical etory of her visit to King Solomon, in which she is reputed to have “come from the uttermost parts of the earth” to hear his wisdom. As the Hebrew kingdom grew in riches and power an increasing commerce was established with the kingdom of thq Sabaeans —whose capital was Sheba —in ■South Arabia Felix, by means of farlying trade routes. The Bible, as well as classical writers and Assyrian inscriptions, attest the wealth and trading importance of Sheba, or Saba, as it is more generally known, from the days of King Solomon to those of Cyrus, King of Persia.

The trade routes from India to Egypt and Northern Syria passed the Sabaean capital, giving a tremendous advantage to the people of that country in the marketng of their goods. Many legends about the mysterious queen have 'sprung up. Her prominence was partly due to the fact that she was head of an important empire when queens were scarce. The modern Ethiopians hold the tradition that their Emperor Haile Selassie is a. lineal descendent of David, son of King Solomon, and the Queen of Sheba.