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>One of the most imposing bridges, that of Ballıgerme, was blown up with dynamite in 2020 by treasure hunters who erroneously believed they could find gold in t

>One of the most imposing bridges, that of Ballıgerme, was blown up with dynamite in 2020 by treasure hunters who erroneously believed they could find gold in the ruins. What? I couldn't find anything else about this story, but my search revealed an even more bizarre story where Bulgarian treasure hunters blew up a Roman bridge looking for Turkish treasure. Only a millennia or so off on their dating. http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2016/02/23/treasure-hunters-destroy-ancient-roman-bridge-near-bulgarias-drangovo-in-search-of-legendary-gold-treasure/ http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2016/02/23/treasure-hunters...

oceliker 6y ago
I did a search in Turkish and found this video (I timestamped it to the relevant drone footage): https://youtu.be/DHkxKc3ah0w?t=538 https://youtu.be/DHkxKc3ah0w?t=538
space_ghost 6y ago
That section caught my eye as well, and my search turned up this [0] result. "According to gossip, which is spoken among the people and is not essential, those who made these works put the gold among the stones and asked the people to use it in times of absence." ... that's quite an odd legend. Gold certainly wouldn't be a component of the construction itself, and it makes absolutely no sense to embed your critical infrastructure project with a strong motivation to destroy it. [0] https://www.archyde.com/urban-legend-has-destroyed-1600-years-of-history/ https://www.archyde.com/urban-legend-has-destroyed-1600-year...
- hinkley 6y ago
  Bridges are gold. Anyone who tells you they aren't lives by a stream, not a proper river. In Bangledesh there are families who build living bridges that their children and grandchildren will be the first to use. I've lived consecutively in two areas for which I thought, "they need more bridges here" and if you stop to think about it, impassable terrain informs just about everything you do. I don't think most flatlanders ever really internalize this. I-5 in Seattle is in a really stupid spot for a modern city, stretching it out like a noodle. But where else were you going to put it? Water on both sides and hilly terrain everywhere in between. Parts of it - miles of it really - are built into a hillside because in some places there's nowhere else and in others there's a narrows where it can cross water.

oceliker 6y ago

I did a search in Turkish and found this video (I timestamped it to the relevant drone footage): https://youtu.be/DHkxKc3ah0w?t=538 https://youtu.be/DHkxKc3ah0w?t=538

space_ghost 6y ago

That section caught my eye as well, and my search turned up this [0] result. "According to gossip, which is spoken among the people and is not essential, those who made these works put the gold among the stones and asked the people to use it in times of absence." ... that's quite an odd legend. Gold certainly wouldn't be a component of the construction itself, and it makes absolutely no sense to embed your critical infrastructure project with a strong motivation to destroy it. [0] https://www.archyde.com/urban-legend-has-destroyed-1600-years-of-history/ https://www.archyde.com/urban-legend-has-destroyed-1600-year...

hinkley 6y ago
Bridges are gold. Anyone who tells you they aren't lives by a stream, not a proper river. In Bangledesh there are families who build living bridges that their children and grandchildren will be the first to use. I've lived consecutively in two areas for which I thought, "they need more bridges here" and if you stop to think about it, impassable terrain informs just about everything you do. I don't think most flatlanders ever really internalize this. I-5 in Seattle is in a really stupid spot for a modern city, stretching it out like a noodle. But where else were you going to put it? Water on both sides and hilly terrain everywhere in between. Parts of it - miles of it really - are built into a hillside because in some places there's nowhere else and in others there's a narrows where it can cross water.