Lost mines

novel by Henry Rider Haggard (1885)

Ophir (; ) is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous for its wealth. Its existence is attested to by an inscribed pottery shard found at Tell Qasile (in modern-day Tel Aviv) in 1946, dating to the eighth century BC, which reads "gold of Ophir to/for Beth-Horon [...] 30 shekels". The location of Ophir is unknown, though the find confirms it as a real place which exported gold.

Alleged lost gold mine in the Superstition Mountains