Why are so many people fascinated by treasure? Is it purely a desire for wealth, or is it also the romantic appeal of tales of lost ancient artifacts?<br><br>It is certainly true that the stories behind the loss and recovery of a number of ancient treasures read like edge-of-the-seat fiction, somewhere between Indiana Jones and James Bond.<br><br>In <i>Ancient Treasures</i>, you will read fascinating stories of lost hoards, looted archaeological artifacts, and sunken treasures, including:<br><li> The Sevso Treasure, a hoard of large silver vessels from the late Roman Empire--estimated to be worth $200 million--looted in the 1970s and sold on the black market.<br><li> The Amber Room, a complete chamber decoration of amber panels backed with gold leaf and mirrors, stolen by the Nazis in 1941 and brought to the castle at Königsberg in Russia, from which it disappeared.<br><li> The fabulous wealth of Roman and Viking hoards buried in the ground for safekeeping, only to be unearthed centuries later by humble metal detectorists.<br><li> The wrecks of the Spanish treasure fleets, whose New World plunder has been the target of elaborate salvage attempts by modern treasure hunters