He doesn’t crack a whip and a 20-ton ball does not hurtle towards him inside a tomb.
But Hamilton White does have a fedora hat and something Indiana Jones could only dream of ... a £100million treasure trove dating back to the 1200s.
The antiquities hunter has spent 10 years putting together more than 100 pieces from a collection believed to have belonged to the Knights Templar.
It includes a libation cup, a sword bearing three Templar crosses, a helmet and an obsidian chalice.
White and his fellow hunter Carl Cookson believe the hoard could even reshape our view of the Templars.
White, 49, said: “Everybody has been looking for these for 800 years, so they’re bound to be controversial. People want to know how we’ve got them.
“The items could rewrite Templar history. They prove ceremonies certainly existed.
“There were rumours these mixing vessels were used to mix psychotropic drugs. We believe the sword belonged to the last Grand Master, from 1291.”
The Order of the Knights Templar was founded in the 12th century to protect Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land.
It was Europe’s biggest standing army since the Roman Empire but within 200 years, it had disappeared.
The 15th century Rosslyn Chapel in Midlothian has been has long been connected with the Knights Templar and the Holy Grail and Freemasonry.
It was featured in this role in Dan Brown’s bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code and film adaptation, even though Medieval historians are less convinced.
No major Templar artefacts have been found – until now.
Hamilton and Cookson have been working to check the authenticity of their haul and chart the history behind it.
The collection was unearthed in the 1960s when treasure hunters stumbled across the items at the site of a Templars’ base in Portugal.
Not knowing what they were, the items were sold to dealers across the world. Hamilton said: “They must not have realised the value and sold the items piece by piece.
“I’ve spent the last 10 years carefully tracking down the items and putting the hoard back together. It’s so valuable, it’s impossible to insure. It’s hidden at a secure location. It’s a very difficult job to value something like this. Others have been keen to put numbers on it. They may be right to suggest north of £100million is an attainable figure in the art market.
“A tiny 13th century painting in France recently made more than £20million. This was a single early medieval item. What I have is 100 items – and many are far more significant than this French find. Anyway, they aren’t for sale.”
Hamilton and property millionaire Cookson met while living in Monaco and set their sights on the Templars’ cache.
White, who hails from the Midlands, was fascinated that Cookson owned a former Knights Templar property in Aubeterre, France. He said: “It started our voyage of discovery.”
Cookson, who is based in Surrey, helped finance the search and joins White as they reveal the artefacts in History Channel Lost Relics of The Knights Templar, tomorrow at 9pm.
White and Cookson’s journey took them across Europe from London through Paris, Portugal and on to the Templars’ headquarters in Jerusalem.
The Templars were outlawed in 1307 after being accused of heresy, denying Christ and worshipping idols – but the treasures are believed to
have been grabbed by knights who managed to escape.
White said: “The chalice is made from volcanic glass. Could it represent the Holy Grail?
“On the marble libation there are strange heads. Could it be that they were worshiping false idols?
“I will continue to learn more as the in-depth science goes on behind the scenes.”
He added: “The Templar Hoard will go out on public display once conservation of the items is completed and a suitable venue is found.”
