Treasure Hunts
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98 free Treasure Hunts trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
50 free treasure hunts trivia questions with answers. Are you ready to embark on an adventure of knowledge? Our treasure hunt trivia quiz features 50 engaging questions covering famous treasure hunts, exploration history, and adventure lore from around the world. Test your expertise and discover how much you really know about the thrill of the hunt.
30 of 98 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What year was the treasure hidden by art dealer Forrest Fenn finally found?
2020
After a decade-long search, the treasure chest hidden by eccentric art dealer Forrest Fenn was found in June 2020.
Q 02Who wrote the classic adventure novel 'Treasure Island'?
Robert Louis Stevenson
"Treasure Island," an adventure novel about buccaneers and buried gold, was written by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson.
Q 03Under what name did Blackbeard's future Queen Anne's Revenge sail for the French?
La Concorde
It was La Concorde, a French slave ship Blackbeard captured near Martinique in November 1717 and renamed Queen Anne's Revenge; he ran it aground off North Carolina in 1718 and the wreck was found in 1996.
Q 04What outdoor activity involves using a GPS receiver or mobile device to find hidden containers?
Geocaching
Geocaching hides containers, called geocaches, at coordinates published online for others to find with a GPS receiver or phone.
Q 05What famous Spanish galleon, sunk in 1622, was discovered off the Florida Keys in 1985 by Mel Fisher?
Nuestra Señora de Atocha
The Nuestra Señora de Atocha, a Spanish galleon laden with treasure, sank in a hurricane in 1622 and was famously found by treasure hunter Mel Fisher in 1985.
Q 06Which spot off Nova Scotia has drawn treasure hunters for over two centuries with tales of a 'Money Pit'?
Oak Island
Oak Island in Nova Scotia, Canada, has been the focus of treasure hunters for over two centuries, with legends of a 'Money Pit' containing vast riches or historical artifacts.
Q 07In the 1985 film The Goonies, what legendary pirate's treasure are the children searching for?
One-Eyed Willy
One-Eyed Willy's map turns up in the Walshes' attic alongside a 1632 doubloon.
Q 08The legendary lost city of gold, El Dorado, was believed to be located in which continent?
South America
South America's Muisca, skilled goldsmiths of the Andean highlands, began the legend, which swelled into a whole city of gold; their golden raft now sits in Bogotá's Museo del Oro.
Q 09What was the common name for the Spanish silver dollar coin linked to pirate treasure?
Piece of Eight
The Spanish eight-real silver coin was widely known as a 'piece of eight' and became an iconic symbol of pirate lore and buried treasure.
Q 10In which German mine did US troops find the Reichsbank's gold reserve in April 1945?
Merkers
Merkers: on 7 April 1945 soldiers of the US 90th Infantry Division entered the Kaiseroda salt mine at Merkers, Thuringia, and found more than 8,000 gold bars, sacks of currency and crates of looted art.
Q 11What navigational instrument measures the angular distance between two objects, often the horizon and a celestial body?
Sextant
A sextant is a navigational instrument that uses reflecting mirrors to measure the angle between an astronomical object and the horizon for celestial navigation.
Q 12What map feature shows the cardinal directions and their intermediate points, often drawn as a star?
Compass Rose
The compass rose, also called a wind rose, shows north, east, south and west and the points between in a star-like pattern.
Q 13In which US state was the first documented GPS-located cache, a bucket of beans and a slingshot, hidden in May 2000?
Oregon
Q 21Which 2009 metal-detector find is the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver ever discovered?
Staffordshire Hoard
The Staffordshire Hoard, found by detectorist Terry Herbert near Hammerwich in July 2009, runs to almost 4,600 gold and silver fragments, including 5.1 kg of gold, and was valued at £3.3 million, split between finder and farmer.
Q 22Which instrument did the 10th-century astronomer al-Sufi describe as having over 1,000 uses?
Astrolabe
The astrolabe: the 10th-century astronomer al-Sufi listed more than 1,000 uses for it, from surveying to finding the direction of Mecca, and mariners later carried a simplified version to read latitude from the noon sun.
Q 23Kit Williams' 1979 picture book Masquerade sent Britain digging for what jewelled prize he had buried?
Oregon: the first bucket was hidden near Beavercreek, Oregon, on 3 May 2000, the day after the US switched off GPS 'selective availability' and made civilian receivers accurate enough to locate a small container.
Q 14Well-digging farmers in 1974 uncovered the Terracotta Army guarding which emperor's tomb?
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, was buried near Xi'an in 210 BC; farmers digging a well in March 1974 struck the clay soldiers of the Terracotta Army that guard his mausoleum, estimated at some 8,000 figures.
Q 15What is an armed private ship licensed by a government to attack enemy shipping called?
Privateer
A privateer was a private person or vessel engaged in commerce raiding under a commission of war, often referred to as a letter of marque.
Q 16What is the general term for goods or valuables taken by force, especially during war or robbery?
Plunder
Plunder, booty, loot, spoils and pillage all name the proceeds of looting.
Q 17Which outdoor hobby mixes orienteering, art and puzzle solving, often using rubber stamps?
Letterboxing
Letterboxing is an outdoor hobby that involves hiding small, weatherproof boxes containing a notebook and a rubber stamp, with clues leading to their discovery.
Q 18Which three encrypted texts supposedly locate treasure buried in Bedford County, Virginia, around 1820?
The Beale Ciphers
The Beale Ciphers are a set of three encrypted texts that purportedly reveal the location of a buried treasure of gold, silver, and jewels in Bedford County, Virginia.
Q 19What iconic phrase, often depicted on treasure maps, signifies the location of hidden riches?
X marks the spot
'X marks the spot' was popularised by Treasure Island in 1883; real pirates almost never buried treasure, let alone mapped it.
Q 20In which state was Forrest Fenn's Rocky Mountain treasure chest eventually found?
Wyoming
Wyoming: Forrest Fenn confirmed in 2020 that the chest had been found in Wyoming, ten years after he hid it in 2010; the finder declined to reveal the exact spot.
A golden hare
A golden hare: Williams buried the 18-carat jewelled hare at Ampthill, Bedfordshire, in 1979; it was dug up in 1982 by a claimant whose tip-off traced back to Williams's former girlfriend.
Q 24Which historical figure is often associated with seeking the legendary 'Fountain of Youth'?
Juan Ponce de León
Juan Ponce de León reached Florida in April 1513; the tale that he was hunting the Fountain of Youth was attached to him only after his death, by the chronicler Oviedo in 1535.
Q 25What is the study of creating and breaking codes and ciphers?
Cryptography
The word comes from the Greek for 'hidden writing'. Modern cryptography sits at the intersection of mathematics, computer science and engineering, and underpins everything from online shopping to messaging apps.
Q 26In trail marking, what is the term for a mark slashed or painted on a tree to show the route?
Blaze
Forrest Fenn's treasure poem told searchers to look 'quickly down' once they had found 'the blaze', which is why the word is so loaded for treasure hunters.
Q 27What is the nautical term for a measurement of water depth, equal to six feet?
Fathom
A fathom is six feet, about 1.8 m; 'to fathom' something is to get to the bottom of it.
Q 28Which 1857 shipwreck, the 'Ship of Gold', sank carrying California Gold Rush gold?
SS Central America
The SS Central America sank in a hurricane on 12 September 1857 with 425 people and some 30,000 pounds of California gold, a loss that fed the Panic of 1857; Tommy Thompson's team found the wreck in 1988.
Q 29What type of map uses contour lines connecting points of equal elevation?
Topographic map
A topographic map's contour lines connect points of equal elevation, so closely packed lines mean steep ground.
Q 30Which pirate captained the Whydah Gally when it sank off Cape Cod in 1717?
Samuel Bellamy
Samuel Bellamy, the 'Robin Hood of pirates', went down with the Whydah in a storm off Cape Cod on 26 April 1717; the wreck lay under the sand for 267 years until it was found in 1984.