Skip to main content

Does X mark the spot?

Does X mark the spot?

As explorers in Lost Gold Of World War II look to unearth a treasure trove on HISTORY®, see what else has been discovered in recent years

Fancy going on a treasure hunt?

Lost Gold Of World War II, Monday 13 May, 9pm, HISTORY®/HD (CH 270/299). Also available for 30 days in Catch Up > Channels > HISTORY

“In all my years of treasure hunting, I’ve never seen an X mark the spot,” says team leader John Casey. Yet that’s exactly what he and his team stumble across in this brand new and exclusive series on HISTORY. Their mission is to find Yamashita’s gold – a treasure named after a general in the Imperial Japanese Army who was assigned to defend the Philippines in 1944.

 

Towards the end of the Second World War, Japanese forces allegedly built a series of underground tunnels in the country in a bid to hide vast amounts of stolen money, jewels, art and valuable artefacts. Yamashita was eventually executed in 1946, taking the location of the tunnel system with him to the grave. Some say the treasure has already been seized, but there’s no harm in looking, right? Climbing boots, drones and metal detectors at the ready! Beep… beep… beep-beep-beep-beep!


What follows is a fascinating journey as Casey and fellow investigators and engineers Manny Paez, Jeremy McMillian, Peter Struzzieri and Brad Carr search high and low for clues that could lead them to some serious swag. The northern area in which the show is filmed is not mentioned by name, as various areas are still active treasure sites. You even need a permit to be a treasure hunter!

 

All this red tape is not without reason, however, as treasure hunting can be a dangerous business. Luckily, these guys are experts and know their stuff. You’ll learn about various markers beyond the obvious “X”, from flowers (meaning a bomb is in the vicinity) to circles with a dot inside (meaning a tunnel is nearby). Perhaps the most impressive “clues” are the animal-themed markers the team encounters – the eyes, position of their head, or even their tail often indicating a direction to follow.

 

Will it all lead to something, or nothing at all? Well, you’ll have to watch to find out. Before you go raiding your own dusty attic to see what treasures abound, click/hover over the items in our Aladdin’s attic below to learn more about some of the wildest, most profitable finds in recent years – all of them accidental.

 

 

Lost Gold Of World War II, Monday 13 May, 9pm, HISTORY®/HD (CH 270/299). Also available for 30 days in Catch Up > Channels > HISTORY

You might also like

TV channels: Channels, content and features available depend on your chosen package. Channel line-ups and content are subject to change at any time and to regional variations.

HD: HD TV set, V HD Box, TiVo box or Virgin TV V6 connected with HDMI cables required for HD channels. Number of inclusive HD channels depends on package.

Catch Up TV: Catch Up TV content available for up to 7 days or up to the 30 days after broadcast, depending on content.