Follow the Map...

Greetings all you Treasure/Antiquity Seekers!

So...

When was the last time YOU stumbled across a treasure map?

Yeah, I can't remember the last time I found one, either.

But they are a major staple in adventure stories.  A definite trope. perhaps even a cliche.  Every pirate and every western bank robber is supposed to have a map that leads to his ill-gotten gains.  You know it, I know it, everyone knows it!  I wonder how many I actually know of...

First of all, there's "Treasure Island".  When young Jim Hawkins got his hands on Mr. Flint's map, he had himself a proper treasure map that led to a secret pirate treasure!  Of course, there were a band of pirates who also wanted the treasure, chiefest of all was Long John Silver.

Then, of course in "The Hobbit", Bilbo Baggins and Thorin's Company had a map that led to a secret entrance of the Lonely Mountain, where the dragon Smaug slept upon their stolen gold.  A cool map that boasts hints and riddles written in a special invisible ink that can only be read in the light of the moon.

Hmm...except for a map--that we never got to see--that was tattooed on the back of a blind violinist in a Doc Savage story...I can't really think of any more treasure maps in literature.  I must be reading the wrong pulp.  I'll have to go to the Internet Archive and find some digital copies of Adventure Magazine.  In the meantime, I'll move on to movies!

You recall the beginning of "Raiders of the Lost Ark", where our stalwart hero, Indiana Jones treks through forbidden South American jungles with untrustworthy allies.  At one point he consult a map that had been ripped into three pieces.  We never get a good look at that map, but I found this interpretation online.

What everyone really remembers is the Map of Souls in the lost city
of Tanis.  Because, of course, if you position the Staff of Ra in the proper place, the sun will shine through the jewel in the Headpiece and a beam of light will show you where to find the Well of the Souls--the resting place of the Lost Ark!

But that's not the only treasure hidden in Egypt!  we know this because of "The Mummy" movie with Brendan Fraser.  The ancient puzzle box is actually an all-purpose key that opens secret books and forbidden sarcophagi, and it contains a map to the Lost City of Hamenuptra, where the wealth of Ancient Egypt is hidden.  

Meanwhile, a pair of Spanish rapscallions named Tulio and Miguel....or is that Miguel and Tulio?  Anyway, during a dice game they managed to win a map depicting "the wonders of the New World".  Through a series of madcap misadventures that may or may not have been influenced by some divine intervention, they sailed to the New World and found that the map depicted "The Road To El Dorado", the City of Gold itself!  They found themselves in the unique position to save this virtual paradise from a bloodthirsty and lunatic priest, but also the imminent arrival of Cortes and his conquistadors.

Of course, sometimes you don't have to go so far to find treasure and adventure.  "The Goonies" found it all right in their own backyard!  Well, okay, in their own hometown.  Because when your father is the curator for the local museum, and uses the attic of his house as extra storage space...that increases the likelihood that you and your friends can find a treasure map that leads to One-Eyed Willie's wrecked ship, and all his plundered gold.  Of course, you have to read Spanish to have a chance at the riddles, and a few piano lessons will help you conquer the music notes on the back.

On the other hand, in "Romancing the Stone", romance novelist Joan Wilder received her mail and found the map to El Corazon, a big heart-shaped emerald wanted by some antique smugglers and a South American warlord. 

This was an especially cool map because you had to fold it over to find some of the clues, if you didn't, you would never find the jewel.  Then how would it ever get swallowed by the crocodile?

Then again, sometimes maps don't lead to a specific item or
place...sometimes a map can lead to several, uh, locations of interest.  For instance, Sao Fang's rotating map in "Pirates of the Caribbean:  At World's End".  This fantastic navigational device leads to several weird and wonderful locations; including Davy Jones' Locker and the Fountain of Youth.  Who knows what other mysteries it can guide one to?

The only map I can readily think of that may be even more fantastic, is the map that belongs to the Supreme Being.  It is a map of all the holes in Time and Space, and it was stolen by some disgruntled employees who decided to use it to steal great treasures from various historical figures, then escape to another time so they could never be caught.  And while they were pursued by the Supreme Being, they were also constantly watched by Evil One, who also wanted the map for his own nefarious schemes. That's right, I'm referring to "Time Bandits".  But here again, they may have been part of some Divine Plan without realizing it at the time.

That seems to be all I can think of right now.  Can you think of any prominent treasure maps from literature or film?  And no, I DO NOT mean the "Map of the Realm" that seems to be included in very Fantasy novel nowadays.  I'm talking a map that leads to an actual treasure, or magical place.  I'll have to read less Hero Pulp and more Adventure Pulp to try and find more.

Until then, I wish you all...

Good Adventuring!
Timothy A. Sayell