The intrepid Scott Wolter (pictured above with me) has been back on American TV screens once more with his incredible investigative series America Unearthed. I was honoured to be asked to hook up with Scott in Scotland to unearth clues that might prove the Knights Templar got to the New World with their treasure!
America Unearthed: Does a carving in a cave show the Knights Templar got to America?
We spent a weekend doing some historical detective work around Rosslyn chapel and then Wemyss Caves – a dangerous subterranean world up the coast. To find what we were seeking there, I had to make a very undignified entrance into the bowel of the cave by very literally crawling on my belly. But it was worth it!
FIND OUT MORE: Caves as sacred places to the Templars
In the cave, as you will have seen on the programme, there is a very odd carving that we took a good look at and I won’t spoil your viewing by telling you what Scott began to uncover.
America Unearthed: Knights Templar – from Scotland or Portugal to America?
I’m asked all the time what the Templars did with their treasure. Some believe the knights escaped southwards to what is now Portugal and were protected by the king in that country who re-branded the Templars as the Order of Christ.
Others believe the Templars went northwards to Scotland and were shielded by Scottish families who not only had connections to the brotherhood but may also have been descendants of Jesus Christ. From Scotland, the theories run, the treasure may have found its way along Viking routes to the Americas.
And then there are those who say the treasure either never existed or had been depleted by the time the Templars were crushed in the year 1307. What I can safely say to all parties is that the case is not closed.
DISCOVER MORE: Where did the Templar treasure go?
The story of the Knights Templar is undoubtedly fact woven with fiction and speculation but contrary to what some wiseacres think, it’s not that easy to disentangle the history from the mystery. Many often asserted facts are hearsay and destructive rumours from medieval chroniclers – while many apparent conspiracy theories can possess a germ of truth.
In short – enjoy America Unearthed on the trail of the Knights Templar and blow a huge raspberry at the naysayers!
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