Robert the Bruce got a lot of trained knights out of nowhere in a hurry about the time the Templars disappeared. And Scotland was one of the few places where the edict against the Templars was never enforced.
The Templar were also some of the worlds first archaeologists in that they excavated the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Whatever they took from the site has remained the subject of speculation to this day.
a.cricket
That 'secret' removed from the Temple Mount is part of one of my current novel projects. You will be pleasantly surprised with the revelation of that 'thing' secreted off to the castle region of Spain, then to a small Church in Scotland. The Templars figured decisively in the recent movie "The Last Crusade" ... an Indiana Jones venue.