Legends say that the Tatar-Mongol Khan Batu, during the invasion of Russia, captured many treasures that are hidden somewhere in the territory of our country. But so far no one has managed to get to them.
Burnt Fortress
One of such places may be the vicinity of the village of Zolotarevka near Penza. Remains of an ancient settlement have been preserved there. According to the historian Gennady Belorybkin, in the XIV century there was a fortress, which was destroyed and burned by the army of Khan Batu. For some unknown reason, the corpses of killed soldiers, weapons and jewelry were left at the site of the burned fortress. The marauders were afraid to touch the values, as they were afraid of a curse that supposedly struck everyone who encroached on them. So everything remained in place. Already in our time, archaeological excavations were carried out in the Zolotarevka area, but no khan's treasures were found.
Golden horses
Another legend tells about the "golden horses of Khan Baty". They were allegedly cast from gold collected from all over Russia as a tribute to the khan. These ruby-eyed horses once "guarded" the gates in Sarai, the capital of the Tatar state, the Golden Horde, located in the lower reaches of the Volga, serving as a symbol of its power.
Then the Tatar-Mongols moved their capital to the area of the present village of Tsarev, Volgograd region. The golden horses also moved with her. But after the victory of the Russians over the army of Khan Mamai on the Kulikovo field, nothing else is heard about the legendary treasure. One of the horses was supposedly buried together with the body of Mamai, so that he would "guard" the owner. According to legend, the khan was buried on one of the hills beyond the Volga. But no one knows the exact location of Mamaev Kurgan.
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The second horse was allegedly first taken with them by the Cossacks, who attacked the Horde camp. But they rushed in pursuit of the wagon train carrying the loot. A battle took place in which many people were killed. As for the statue of the golden horse, it disappeared without a trace. Some historians suggest that the Cossacks threw her into one of the nearby reservoirs, and she still lies at the bottom of some lake …
True, there were many more rumors about this golden horse. Thus, the Soviet writer Ivan Efremov, in his book "The Andromeda Nebula", insisted that the statue rests at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. Another writer, Sergei Alekseev, wrote in the novel “The Treasures of the Valkyrie” that both Batu's horses were found back in the 60s of the twentieth century by a “special KGB group”. But it was not possible to find out whether the literary fiction is supported by some real facts.
In the late 90s of the last century, information appeared that one of the Batu horses was discovered during excavations near the village of R. An expedition of the Scientific Research Association "Cosmopoisk" visited there. Researchers interviewed the local population, but received no information about the find.
Wagon train at Seliger
According to another myth, Batu's warriors hid a whole trainload of looted valuables somewhere in the area of Lake Seliger in the Tver region. They were allegedly looking for him during the time of Catherine II. Then, people from St. Petersburg arrived in these regions with old papers, which indicated the location of the treasure. In particular, they said that if they were digging from the east, the diggers would stumble upon a cast-iron door, behind which "there is such wealth that the entire Tver province will last for a hundred years."
According to legend, excavations were carried out in the area of the village of Zherebtsovo. Finally we came across a huge cleaver and the corner of some stone structure. But they did not have time to get to the bottom of it: at night, a black-mustache warrior in armor with the same sword in his hand appeared to the head of the excavation and threatened that if everyone did not get out of here in the morning, they would find their death here. Others saw the warrior too … They did not try fate, the expedition returned to the capital.
About ten years ago, search engines from the Moscow club "Rarity" tried to find a train with Batu's treasures at the bottom of Lake Serebryany. A certain psychic woman told them that the values were there.
We took water samples from the lake. It turned out that they really have an increased silver content. Also, there was no fish in the reservoir. And in the very middle there was an incomprehensible hillock. But it was not possible to obtain permission to carry out serious prospecting works at Serebryany, since the lake is located on the territory of a state reserve.
Private individuals also tried to look for treasures at the bottom of the lake. They say that there were cases of divers' death: the reason was convulsions due to a sharp temperature drop: at the depth of Serebryany there are areas with ice water. But the local population is sure: the seekers fell victims of the curse, because the Batu treasure is guarded by supernatural forces …
Diana Merlin