
AMSTERDAM - Muddy holes dot the ground in a Dutch village where a map allegedly showing the location of Nazi loot buried in World War II has triggered an invasion of treasure hunters.
"It really fires up the imagination," smiles Klaas Tammes, president of the foundation that owns the land in Ommeren in eastern Gelderland province at the centre of the search.
The Dutch National Archive unveiled the hand-drawn map in early January, featuring a tell-tale red 'X' believed to mark the spot where German soldiers stashed their hoard.
Documents held along with the map include testimony that the Nazis buried four ammunition boxes filled with jewellery, precious stones and gold coins, believed to be worth 11 million euros ($11.9-million) at current value.
The Nazis allegedly looted the treasure after the bombing of a bank in Arnhem in 1944, but are then believed to have buried it after the Allied "Market Garden" offensive near the town.
A few steps from his home there are muddy holes from the excavations, along a tree-lined path and a shallow ditch consistent with the drawings on the map.

So many people armed with metal detectors have flocked to the quiet village in recent days that the local municipality brought in a ban, and police began to move on treasure hunters as soon as they arrived.
But some persist.
National Archives spokesman Erwin Tuil said the "interest was unprecedented."
Documents show at least three unsuccessful attempts to find the treasure in the spring of 1947 following the testimony of Helmut Sonder, a German soldier who said he was involved in hiding it.
'Disturbed earth'
Several scenarios could explain the failure of those earlier excavations, according to Dutch officials.
One is that the loot is a figment of the soldier's imagination, although he was deemed credible at the time.
Another is that it could have already been found and taken, either by people involved in hiding it in the first place, or by people who took part in the initial investigations.
Archival documents refer to a final search in August 1947 during which investigators noticed "disturbed earth" before being approached by two American officers.