Historian claims to have struck gold at Nazi bunker

MAMERKI, Poland, April 23 (UPI) -- A Polish historian claims he found the location of the long-lost Amber Room, a treasure assumed lost after Nazis stole it during World War II.

After scanning one of Poland's most well-preserved Nazi bunkers, located 60 miles from Kaliningrad, Bartlomiej Plebanczyk is "almost certain" he has located the long-lost chamber in a hidden underground room, according to Express.

Plebanczyk is the head curator at Namerki Museum and has been studying the former German bunker with ground-penetrating radar, he told local media.

He is in the process of seeking approval to drill into the room and lower a video camera to inspect its contents.

The Amber Room, which was stripped from the Russian palace in 1941, was lined with wall coverings of pure amber, gold and precious gems. An 18th-century gift to the tsar and once believed eighth wonder of the world, the room's contents disappeared after World War II and were assumed destroyed by bombings.

Experts say the precious remains of the 300-year-old room, if found, can now be worth more than $504.1 million.

Plebanczyk, however, claims it still exists after he was tipped off by locals who claimed to have seen German trucks delivering heavy cases to the bunker at the war's end.

"If it's not the Amber Room, then maybe its some other treasure," said Deputy Mayor Andrzej Lachowicz, according to the Telegraph.

Plebanczyk will now reportedly wait for approval from authorities to further his search.