On Tuesday, the amateur historians Piotr Koper and Andreas Richter (left in photo) and a team of about 35 people began excavation work to unearth a legendary treasure train thought to be stashed by Nazi German troops in an underground tunnel between Wroclaw and Walbrzych. In local lore, the lucre-laden locomotive disappeared into a mountain tunnel as the Germans fled the advance of the Red Army at the end of World War II.

Koper and Richter say they discovered the armored train last year using ground-penetrating radar, and some Polish officials have endorsed the claim. However, geologists using magnetic equipment have found no evidence of the locomotive in that location.

Concentrating on three spots, the excavators will initially dig 6 metres (20 feet), spokesman Andrzej Gaik said on Tuesday. Last week, the team leveled the terrain and cleared trees on the cordoned-off site.

Koper and Richter will stream the dig online, and results could come within two days.

mkg/se (dpa, AP)