History Main / TreasureMap

Expect at least one group of antagonists to be on the heroes' heels throughout all this.

* In ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}} Next'', Lina acquires a decidedly unhelpful treasure map that guides her to the location of a book of singularly useless ritual spells/festival dances.

[[folder:Audio Adaptation]]
* The AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho audio adventure ''[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho043DoctorWhoAndThePirates Doctor Who and the Pirates]]'' features just about every pirate trope. Including a treasure map.

* Averted in the ''ComicBook/{{Tintin}}'' two part story, "Recap/TintinTheSecretOfTheUnicorn" and "Recap/TintinRedRackhamsTreasure" in the necessary information is not a map, but three papers that when held together reveal the coordinates of the sunken ship's location. Even then, Tintin had to reckon with Capt'n Haddock using the Paris Meridian and not the Prime Meridian for his starting point and even then the whole message on the papers really meant that the treasure was [[spoiler:actually hidden in Marlinspike Hall]]. At one point they misunderstand the map, thinking the treasure is buried on the Island, then after digging realize that Sir Francis wouldn't have left the treasure on the island and never come back for it.
* In ''Comicbook/SevenSoldiers: Manhattan Comicbook/{{Guardian}}'', the Subway Pirates are fighting over a map to the fabled "Foundation Stone" or "God Machine", (which is actually [[spoiler: a Father Box]]). The map was tattooed on one pirate's back, which doesn't stop a rival crew from stealing it.
* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: In #48 the Barnacle Gang discovers the map made by the long dead ruthless pirate Capt. Storm which leads to his buried treasure.

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'': Treasure maps form a huge part of the endgame, as they open randomly-generated dungeons full of horrible monsters and treasure (emphasis on the random- one Japanese player found one with a floor full of [[MetalSlime Metal Slimes]]). Some specific ones let you fight [[BonusBoss Bonus Bosses]] from earlier games.

* ''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse'': Creator/CarlBarks' and Creator/DonRosa's ncle Scrooge stories often used this plot.

* The "Kitchen Irish" arc of ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'' revolves around a modern version of this trope. An evil elderly irish gangster had willed three map coordinates that would lead to his hidden money somewhere in New York, and given each to a different gang leader, knowing that they all hated both him and eachother and would tear eachother apart trying to get the others coordinates after he died. [[spoiler: On the off-chance that they ever decided to put the hostilities on hold and find the treasure together (which they do at the climax of the story), it turns out the treasure wasnt even real, it was just a bomb with the word CUNTS! carved into the C4 attached to it.]]
* Averted in the ''ComicBook/{{Tintin}}'' two part story, "Recap/TintinTheSecretOfTheUnicorn" and "Recap/TintinRedRackhamsTreasure" in the necessary information is not a map, but three papers that when held together reveal the coordinates of the sunken ship's location. Even then, Tintin had to reckon with Capt's Haddock using the Paris Meridian and not the Prime Meridian for his starting point and even then the whole message on the papers really meant that the treasure was [[spoiler:actually hidden in Marlinspike Hall]]. At one point they misunderstand the map, thinking the treasure is buried on the Island, then after digging realize that Sir Francis wouldn't have left the treasure on the island and never come back for it.

* Featured in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', complete with a LampshadeHanging on the trope. The beginning of the movie has Indy telling his students that "[archelogists] don't follow maps to buried treasure, and X never, ever marks the spot." Of course, both statements turn out to be untrue.

* In ''VideoGame/LoveAndPies'', Amelia finds one of Appleton while cleaning the walls of the café, gives it to Sven, and asks him to find the treasure with it, hoping that it'll pay off all her debts.

* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed''

* In ''VideoGame/LoveAndPies'', Amelia finds one of Appleton while cleaning the walls, gives it to Sven, and asks him to find the treasure with it, hoping that it'll pay off all her debts.

* There are several treasure maps to be found by the player in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', each leading to a particular location with a wooden chest containing loot equivalent to a large chest from the end of a dungeon. In the ''Dragonborn'' {{DLC}}, one particular map (obtained by besting a group of pirates) provides the locations of each piece of the Deathbrand armour, which belonged to the long-dead pirate king Haknir Death-Brand.

* ''VideoGame/SidMeiersPirates'': The player character can buy or win maps to buried PirateBooty, lost [[CityOfGold Cities of Gold]], and villain strongholds where their long-lost family members are held in captivity. Some maps are obtained [[TwoHalvesMakeAPlot in pieces]], but a lucky player doesn't always need to reassemble the whole thing before following its directions.

* ''VideoGame/SidMeiersPirates'': In addition to the fairly straight examples, there're also maps that help you locate long-lost kidnapped family members.

* ''Literature/TreasureIsland'': The map Jim Hawkins pilfered from among Billy Bones' possessions is the Trope Codifier, and possibly the Trope Maker too.

* Inversion: The whole premise of Hanna-Barbera's ''WesternAnimation/SpaceKidettes'' is Captain Skyhook and his crony Static trying to get hold of a treasure map the Kidettes presumably have. The map is never seen nor its potential treasure disclosed.

* In ''13'' (the American remake of ''13 Tzameti''), a [[GotVolunteered 'contestant']] in the DeadlyGame draws a map of where he's buried money from a heist, and tells a guard that [[IfIdoNotReturn if he dies]] (a likely possibility, as they're playing RussianRoulette) he can take the map off his corpse and keep half the money, as long as he gives the rest of his son. Turns out he survives, so the guard tries to murder him for the map. The other guards intervene, whereupon the contestant brandishes a blank sheet of paper to taunt him, [[ILied claiming there never was any buried money]]. He then burns the genuine map once the guard is out of sight.

* In ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndHerSistersInTheGreatPuppyAdventure'', Barbie and her sisters finding a treasure map in the attic is what sparks the plot.

* In one ''WesternAnimation/EquestriaGirls'' short, while on the beach, Sunset, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie discover a map in a bottle. [[spoiler:Much to their chagrin, however, it turns out to be merely a publicity stunt when it leads them to a sushi truck]].

* In one ''WesternAnimation/EquestriaGirls'' short, while on the beach, Sunset, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie discover a map in a bottle. [[spoiler:Much to their chagrin, however, it turns out to be merely a publicity stunt when it leads them to an ice cream truck]].

* Kit Williams' ''[[Literature/KitWilliamsMasquerade Masquerade]]'', published in 1979, was a picture book containing clues to a '''real''' hidden treasure: a jeweled rabbit crafted by the author to promote its sales.

If it turns out that the map isn't real, it's a FoolsMap. In a series that doesn't usually feature this plot, see the SubTrope TreasureHuntEpisode.

* Played with in ''The Ghost in the Noonday Sun'' by Creator/SidFleischman, which revolves around the search for a legendary pirate captain's treasure. His old crew know what island it's on but not where exactly it's buried -- there was a map, but it mysteriously disappeared after the first mate killed him for it. The map never does reappear, but the protagonist figures out what happened to it, which gives him to clue to where the treasure was buried.

%%* There were quite a few of these in ''Pirates!''.

%%* ''VideoGame/ZackAndWikiQuestForBarbarosTreasure'' {{justifie|dTrope}}s this seeing as it's a game about a Pirate.
* Treasure maps are items to be collected in ''VideoGame/TreasureAdventureGame''. They reveal the location of secret passages that lead to dungeons and special items.

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1503037810056781700
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* An episode of ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'' included the search for a large, hidden treasure with a treasure map that had been ripped into several pieces. The different people looking for the map were forced to work together as they had memorized their portions of the map and then destroyed them. Most of the treasure was the usual gold trinkets, but it included a place of Ambrosia, which would supposedly would turn whoever ate it into a god.




* On ''Series/{{Leverage}}'', Hardison invokes this during "The Gold Job" when he attempts to run the con, basing it on video game design. [[spoiler: [[ComplexityAddiction Unfortunately, it fails and Nate's 60 second plan actually works.]]]]
* The ''Series/TimeTeam'' dig on Looe Island was actually given a real "treasure map" that had been discovered by an amateur historian which, intriguingly, managed to coincide with a real geophysical anomaly. It turned out to be the marker place for a Victorian era flagpole. So much for the treasure of Cornish pirates.
* ''Series/BassieEnAdriaan'': The series "het geheim van de schatkaart" (the secret of the treasure map) resolves around one of these found behind an old painting. It comes with the added difficulty that one first has to solve a riddle to find the starting point of the map.
* ''Series/WhodunnitUK'': In "Which Eye Jack", Jack is murdered so the killer can steal a valuable pearl and a map showing the location where the rest of the treasure is hidden.
* ''Series/TheGhostAndMrsMuir'': In "Treasure Hunt", the water heater breaks down, but skinflint Claymore will not repair it, so the captain hits upon a scheme of burying treasure maps around the grounds, so Claymore will fix things as a cover for digging up treasure.
* In the ''Series/{{Porridge}}'' episode "Happy Release", TheOldConvict Blanco draws Fletch a treasure map, saying that if he doesn't make it out, he wants Fletch to have his hidden loot. It gets stolen by a vindictive fellow prisoner who's due for release. [[spoiler: Which turns out to be the plan, the whole treasure map business was just a way of tricking this guy into digging up a football pitch.]]

* In ''Pinball/{{Congo}}'', shooting the Map Saucer displays a map on the display; at each juncture, the player can choose one of three routes to take and travel to either the Volcano or Diamond Hunt Multiball.

* In ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' you can follow Treasure Maps and follow them for treasure, achievements, and perks. Also, the character Seth has long been searching for treasure via maps and word of mouth, and though the treasure he threw his life away to find turns out to be a dud, after the end of the game you can read a newspaper which implies he eventually found another one elsewhere.
%%* There were quite a few of these in ''Pirates!''.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' has a LOT of these. {{Justified|Trope}} seeing as the majority of the game is based on sailing and navigation. The Dungeon maps may or may not count, seeing as they ''do'' show locations of treasure maps..

* Some examples turn up in the ''VideoGame/NancyDrew'' video games, although they're more likely to lead to an intermediate clue to the treasure than the actual loot.
* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed''
** In ''Videogame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag'', you can find and follow treasure maps. Some just have money, but others contain schematics for elite upgrades for [[CoolBoat the Jackdaw]].
** ''Videogame/AssassinsCreedRogue'' also uses the trope in the exact same manner, but they only give you keys to a cage containing a set of 12th Century Templar armor.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has treasure maps inside bottles that players can find while mining, fishing, or doing botany. The map shows a small section of the regional map and a red X indicating where the treasure coffer is located. After digging up the coffer, trying to open it will always have a group of monsters attack you since the coffer is rigged with a trap and you have to kill all the monsters before you can open the coffer for its contents (usually rare materials, tomestones, gil, or even a more rare treasure map). Certain coffers summon beasts so numerous and deadly that the map's tooltip recommends bringing a full party of players -- these coffers also have a chance of summoning a portal to a dungeon full of ''even more'' treasure.
* There are several treasure maps to be found by the player in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', each leading to a particular location with a wooden chest containing loot equivalent to a large chest from the end of a dungeon. In the ''Dragonborn'' {{DLC}}, one particular map (obtained by besting a group of pirates) provides the locations of each piece of the Deathbrand armour, which belonged to the long-dead pirate king Haknir Death-Brand.
* Tattered Maps in ''VideoGame/{{Wayward}}'' provide a ''very'' grainy image of some place in the game world. If you keep trying to read it, your cartography skill will increase and you'll get more hints such as the map image being larger and less covered up, the general direction of the treasure, and the approximate distance. If you manage to find and dig at the precise right space, you'll find a treasure chest with random items that may or may not be worth the trouble. [[spoiler:And a number of powerful enemies might suddenly spawn.]]
* Oceans in ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' are littered with shipwrecks in which you can find maps with spots marked with [[XMarksTheSpot an "X"]]. If you dig in these marked spots you may find a chest containing valuable loot, including exclusive "Hearts of the Sea" used as components in conduits, structures that provide various benefits to nearby players in water.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In ''Webcomic/LilGotham'', the pirate Greenbeard plants treasure maps to lead unsuspecting tourists into his ambush. When they reach the spot, there is even a giant X painted on the ground.
* In ''Webcomic/TheStoryOfAnima'', [[http://tapastic.com/episode/91187 a treasure map belonging to the Blackmare Pirate clan]] is what leads into the Treasure Hunt arc.

* Kor Icomb of ''Literature/SkiesUnbroken'' inherited one (ekhm) from his old SkyPirate captain. He's now following it.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** In an episode, Bart and Grandpa ''do'' find the treasure, and it's ''not'' worthless, but it's [[EasyComeEasyGo immediately seized]] by the US State Department for return to its original owners.
** Another episode subverted the idea with a parody of ''Film/ItsAMadMadMadMadWorld'' - the criminal lied about the treasure to give himself the time to escape from prison. Of course, the Springfieldians are too stupid to realize that there's no treasure, even after they find a note from the crook telling them the truth.
* On the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "Aargh!", Spongebob, Patrick and Mr. Krabs play a board game called Dutchman's Treasure, which Krabs becomes obsessed with. The next day, Krabs claims to have a real treasure map and takes Spongebob and Patrick on a journey to find it. Later, the map turns out to be [[spoiler:the game board, which Krabs had taken for a real map. However, it does turns out to be a ''real'' treasure map, as they do find the treasure, only for the Flying Dutchman to take it back.]]
** [[spoiler: He did give Spongebob and Patrick a gold doubloon for digging it up for him, while Mr. Krabs got a little plastic treasure chest based on the real thing]].

* A continuous bumper segment of ''WesternAnimation/TheBeatles'' has George and Ringo following a treasure map which eventually leads them to what they think is a giant pearl atop a tree. It turns out to be a goose egg.

* Inversion: The whole premise of Hanna-Barbera's ''Space Kidettes'' is Captain Skyhook and his crony Static trying to get hold of a treasure map the Kidettes presumably have. The map is never seen nor its potential treasure disclosed.
* In ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndHerSistersInTheGreatPuppyAdventure'', Barbie and her sisters finding a treasure map in the attic is what sparks the plot.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Gofrette}}'' episode "The Pirates of Zanimo", Gofrette, along with Fudge and Ellie, try to find his treasure map, sent by his Granny Smith, after two pirates get a hold of it and reach the treasure first.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheRuffAndReddyShow'': "The Treasure Of Skipper Kipper" story arc has villains Captain Greedy and Salt Water Daffy holding the titular sailor and his parrot hostage in exchange for a treasure's whereabouts. Ruff and Reddy help Skipper Kipper elude the two villains, and he shows our heroes the map where the treasure is located--it's drawn on top of his head.
* WesternAnimation/{{Popeye}} has a treasure map hidden somewhere in his house in an Al Brodax-produced episode, so the Sea Hag employs a circus midget to impersonate Swee'Pea and search for the map while she kidnaps the real Swee'Pea. Presumably successful, the midget and Sea Hag take off for the treasure (giving back Swee'Pea) while Popeye was hip to the plot all along. The map the Sea Hag has is a bogus map while the real map was used as Swee'Pea's diaper.

* ''Popeye's Treasure Hunt'' and its all-star Hanna-Barbera redeux ''WesternAnimation/YogisTreasureHunt'' used no map as such. Just clues leading to a treasure (some of worth, some not).

* ''WesternAnimation/SeaPrincesses'': In "The Treasure", when the Shark King leaves a secret treasure map lying around, Tubarina, Marcello, Ester and Polvina see it and go off in search of the treasure. Will they be able to work together to follow the map and find the treasure?