Knights Templar to Search for Clues in Bulgaria

Hola darlings! First of all, our Random Round-up column at Goddesschess has been updated. We update every Sunday with items of interest from around the world. You can find it on the right hand side of the page. Now, about the Templars. I confess, I'm absolutely fascinated by their history and lore. In some 200 years they built one of the most powerful and wealthy organizations in the western world - only to become objects of vilification and censure. Of course, even though officially the Templars were a banned organization, they didn't just disappear. Many Templars were accepted into other organizations such as the Hospitalliers and the Knights of St. John - and many sought and received safe refuge in Scotland. It is a testament to the power and mystery of the Templars - an order who took vows of poverty, chasity and obedience to the Holy See in Rome - that we still wonder about them today. Did they bury treasure in the new world, in a "money pit" that floods all the more the more people try to dig? Did they uncover mystical secrets of immense power in excavations of the ruins of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem? Did they really aid in the construction of Roslyn Chapel and were some of their secrets embedded and encoded in the strange architecture of that place? And did some renegade Templars sail under the Jolly Roger some 200 years later, terrorizing the high seas? Countless books have been written about them - and doubtless, countless more books will be written about them in the future! So, whenever I see an article about the Templars, I take a look at it. I found this article extremely interesting. This is the modern-day version of the Knights Templar, who have officially been forgiven all their various "sins" and "blasphemies" that were alleged against them in 1307, and are a "fraternal" sort of organization (but not exactly, as some Templars enclaves admit women to their ranks). Fraternal organizations today - at least, in the USA - are in a hard way. People don't join them anymore. In my hometown alone, the Fraternal Orders of the Eagles, the Elks, the Moose, and the Knights of Pythias have become extinct within my lifetime. Only the Shriners and the Masons have any presence in my city now, and that is rather limited. Here is the article: Knights Templar to Seek Traces of Order's Members in Bulgaria November 24, 2007 The Knights Templar are to launch excavation works in the Danube town of Russe to find out traces of order's members, who have once passed through Bulgaria and the Balkans. The statement was made at a Saturday press conference, given by the Order in the National Palace of Culture in Sofia. The order is to finance the initiative, called "Nisovo Project", is to be launched after Russe citizens signalled they noticed "interesting stone crosses" in the region. The Templar Knights consider also making archaeological excavations in the town of Veliko Tarnovo, where they will look for a medieval catholic temple. In order to achieve that aim, the knights will prepare a joint program with the Mayor Rumen Rashev. Bulgaria's Prior Rumen Ralchev has announced the order is to built one of the most modern houses for old people in Europe, which will be situated near the seaside town of Kavarna. ******************************************************************************* Okay - so what are the Templars really interested in excavating, hmmm?