10 Craziest Things Josh Gates Has Actually Found on Expedition Unknown

Josh Gates has spent years traveling to some of the most remote and mysterious places on Earth. From ancient Egyptian tombs and buried treasure to shipwrecks and rare archaeological objects, Expedition Unknown has produced plenty of moments that sound almost too strange to be real.

But there is an important distinction.

Not every mystery featured on the show has been solved, and not every object discovered during an investigation was personally unearthed by Gates himself. In many cases, Gates joined archaeologists, historians, divers or local researchers who made the discoveries.

So instead of listing exaggerated claims, here are ten of the most remarkable documented finds and discoveries featured in Josh Gates' Expedition Unknown universe, based on Discovery's own material and related reporting.

1. A 2,500 Year Old Egyptian Mummy

One of the most extraordinary moments came during Expedition Unknown: Egypt Live in 2019.

Gates joined Egyptian archaeologists and other experts during a live excavation in Middle Egypt.

Inside an ancient sarcophagus, the team revealed a remarkably preserved mummy believed to be a high priest of Thoth who lived approximately 2,500 years ago.

The discovery was not just about the mummy.

The excavation also produced two other mummies, four intact canopic jars, an ancient board game, the remains of a family dog and a mysterious wax head believed by the excavation team to represent a high priest.

It remains one of the most spectacular archaeological events associated with the show.

2. The Mysterious Wax Head

The Egyptian excavation produced another object that looked almost unbelievable.

Archaeologists showed Gates a detailed wax head that they believed represented the face of a high priest.

Discovery described it as a unique find from the tomb and said it appeared to be an exact cast of a 2,500 year old mummy.

The object was particularly striking because of the level of detail preserved in the facial features.

Rather than simply finding another ancient artifact, the team had encountered something that appeared to preserve a physical representation of an individual from ancient Egypt.

3. An Ancient Egyptian Senet Board

Another unusual discovery from the same tomb was a Senet board.

Senet is one of the oldest known board games.

Discovery describes the board as an ancient game whose original rules are not fully known. The game was also associated with the journey into the afterlife in ancient Egyptian culture.

It is easy to overlook an object like this next to a mummy and sarcophagus.

But archaeologically, it offers a fascinating glimpse into everyday life and beliefs thousands of years ago.

4. A Buried Treasure Casque From The Secret

Josh Gates also became involved in one of the strangest modern treasure hunts imaginable.

The 1982 book The Secret contained twelve elaborate paintings and twelve poems that were intended to lead treasure hunters to buried ceramic casques containing keys and jewels.

For decades, people searched for the hidden objects.

During Expedition Unknown, Gates investigated one of those treasure hunts and eventually examined a buried casque and its contents.

Discovery's footage shows Gates holding the key and examining pieces recovered from the buried box, including a green gemstone identified as peridot.

The discovery was especially significant because only a small number of the original treasure boxes had been located.

5. A Stone Scepter at Göbekli Tepe

One of the more unusual archaeological discoveries featured by the series came from Göbekli Tepe in Turkey.

During excavation work, researchers recovered a fragment identified as part of a stone scepter.

What made the object particularly interesting was its rarity.

The archaeologist explaining the discovery noted that only a very small number of stone scepters had been found within the structures at Göbekli Tepe.

The find also raises fascinating questions because Göbekli Tepe predates the traditional era of kings and kingdoms.

So although the word "scepter" immediately makes people think of royalty, researchers cautioned that there was no evidence this particular object belonged to a king.

6. A Great White Shark Tooth

Not every incredible discovery on Expedition Unknown is ancient.

During an investigation connected to the show's shark and megalodon stories, Gates encountered a remarkably fresh example of something far more common than a dinosaur fossil.

A great white shark tooth became stuck in a decoy during an experiment.

Discovery's footage captures Gates reacting as the team realizes there is literally a tooth embedded in the decoy.

The moment was memorable because the team was using the tooth to compare the cutting ability of modern great whites with the teeth of the extinct megalodon.

7. A Shipwreck in the Bermuda Triangle

The Bermuda Triangle has generated decades of stories about ships and aircraft disappearing without explanation.

Gates investigated one of those mysteries in Expedition Unknown.

Discovery's own retrospective on his journeys identifies the Montana shipwreck as one of the finds associated with Gates' expeditions in the Bermuda Triangle.

The discovery did not prove every legend surrounding the Bermuda Triangle.

Instead, it demonstrated something much more useful.

There are real shipwrecks beneath those waters, and locating them can help researchers replace speculation with physical evidence.

8. A Rare Hellenistic Object at Qumran

Another archaeological find highlighted by Discovery came from the Qumran area in the West Bank.

Gates was shown a third century BC Hellenistic object recovered from Cave 53.

Discovery's archive identifies Gates alongside archaeologist Dr. Oren Gutfeld of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem during the investigation.

The discovery is particularly interesting because Qumran is famous for the Dead Sea Scrolls and the caves where thousands of ancient fragments and artifacts have been discovered.

9. A Possible 19th Century Bottle Connected to Lord Dunraven

One of the strangest finds was much less glamorous than a golden treasure.

While investigating the history of Lord Dunraven and his connection to the American West, Gates and his team recovered an old glass bottle from the ground.

The bottle was not proven to be a whiskey bottle belonging to Dunraven.

In fact, the investigators concluded it appeared more likely to have contained something such as medicine, syrup or tonic.

However, they considered its age and possible connection to Dunraven's travels intriguing. The bottle was described on the program as potentially dating to the 1800s.

This is a perfect example of why the word “found” should not automatically be confused with “proven.”

The object was real.

Its exact connection to Lord Dunraven remained a possibility rather than an established fact.

10. Civil War Era Treasure and an Old Musket Ball Mold

In one of Discovery's compilations of Gates' most impressive finds, the network highlighted a musket ball mold and a rare Civil War era Seated dime associated with an investigation involving the Reno gang.

These may not have the cinematic impact of an ancient mummy, but they demonstrate something important about Expedition Unknown.

The show does not only chase legendary treasures.

Sometimes the most interesting discoveries are small historical objects that help reconstruct a story about people who lived generations ago.

The Most Incredible Find Was Not Always Treasure

Looking at these discoveries together reveals something interesting about Josh Gates' television career.

The most spectacular moments were not necessarily the ones involving gold.

A 2,500 year old mummy.

A mysterious wax head.

A prehistoric stone scepter.

A buried treasure casque.

A shipwreck beneath the sea.

A tiny historical coin.

Each one tells a different story.

And many of the discoveries were made possible because Gates worked alongside specialists rather than attempting to solve everything himself.

That is an important part of the Expedition Unknown formula.

Josh Gates Does Not Actually “Find Everything”

There is a misconception that the show presents Gates as personally discovering every object shown on screen.

That is not how archaeological and historical exploration normally works.

Gates often joins teams that have already spent years researching a location.

Archaeologists conduct excavations.

Divers locate wrecks.

Historians examine documents.

Local experts provide knowledge.

Gates brings those investigations to a television audience.

Discovery itself describes Expedition Unknown as Gates investigating unsolved events, lost cities, buried treasures and other mysteries around the world.

That distinction actually makes the discoveries more impressive.

They are not simply television props.

They are often the result of real research carried out by specialists.

And Some Mysteries Remain Unsolved

That may be the most important part of the entire series.

Finding an object does not necessarily solve the mystery surrounding it.

The Secret treasure hunt still has unanswered questions.

The Bermuda Triangle still has plenty of legends.

Ancient artifacts can raise more questions than they answer.

And some supposed treasures remain completely unverified.

That uncertainty is what keeps Expedition Unknown interesting.

Gates is not always searching for a dramatic final answer.

Sometimes the discovery itself is the story.

Final Thoughts

After years of global exploration, Josh Gates has been involved with some genuinely remarkable discoveries.

From a 2,500 year old Egyptian high priest to a buried treasure casque, from Göbekli Tepe's rare stone scepter fragment to shipwrecks beneath the sea, the range of objects and discoveries associated with Expedition Unknown is extraordinary.

But perhaps the biggest lesson is that reality is often more interesting than the legend.

A mysterious object can turn out to be historically important.

A legendary treasure can lead to a real artifact.

And a decades old mystery can sometimes produce physical evidence that researchers can actually examine.

That is what makes Josh Gates' expeditions so fascinating.

The craziest discoveries are not necessarily the ones that prove the wildest theories.

Sometimes they are simply the things that were hidden for centuries and finally came back into the light.