What does any person associate with the phrase "treasures of South America"? Of course, with placers of gold and precious stones that the mysterious Incas hid from the eyes of a white man. But it turns out that this continent keeps an even more valuable treasure - somewhere in the rocky tunnels all the knowledge accumulated by a powerful civilization that existed many thousands of years ago is hidden.
Among the explorers of South America, there are those who claim that they have seen with their own eyes a huge library, entirely consisting of iron books and quartz tablets. Hidden deep underground, it is still safe and sound today. Only now we have not been able to find the way to it.
The secrets of the dungeon
The first visitor to this “reading room” was the Argentine businessman Janos Moritz. In any case, being under oath, he claimed that in 1965 a certain person showed him the entrance to the tunnel, which led him to a mysterious hall literally littered with imperishable books. Then the president gave him full carte blanche to organize research in the dungeons. Articles about Moritz's upcoming expeditions appeared in all the newspapers.
Naturally, all kinds of archaeologists and adventurers could not help but be interested in this sensation. Among them was the renowned Swiss writer, explorer and filmmaker Erich von Daniken. In 1972, he met with Moritz, and he took him to the entrance to the maze. Moreover, the discoverer took the writer through some underground halls. But he did not show the library itself. However, what he saw was probably enough for the writer. After the journey from under his pen a book was published, which was called "The Gold of the Gods." In it, the author spoke about underground tunnels and metal plates, on which the historical prophecies of a vanished civilization are engraved. Daniken concluded that, in all likelihood, “this is a real metal library, which sets out a short history of mankind. And this library with the prophecies of a disappeared civilization can illuminate the history of mankind in a new way."
However, Moritz, the guide of the writer himself, in an interview with the authoritative edition of Der Spiegel, said that he had not shown anything like that to von Daniken.
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Fantasy and reality
The story with the labyrinth hit hard on the reputation of von Daniken, who was already out of favor with other scientists because of his idea of supposedly visiting Earth by aliens. Erich was called a liar and a fabricator of sensations, and his attempts to justify himself were unsuccessful.
But the more caustic scientists still had doubts, they decided that Moritz was hiding something. If you trace the chronology of events and re-read the interviews given to various publications, then at first the Austrian stated that he had never seen von Daniken in his life. But he did not deny the existence of the tunnels. When the journalists tried to find out how he learned about the entrance to the library, he tactfully kept silent. Then he hinted at a certain person about whom he could not speak. Moritz soon announced that the underground city was being guarded by ancient tribes. But the entrepreneur still admitted that he showed von Daniken a small cave, not connected with the main network. Most likely, at the last moment he decided not to let the enterprising Swiss into his secret, as he lived in constant fear that someone would outstrip him and seize the Ecuadorian treasure.
The question of the "metal library" is hanging in the air. Scottish scientist and traveler Stanley Hall decided to find her. He met with Moritz and suggested organizing a joint Ecuadorian-British expedition with the participation of the Ecuadorian army, biologists, botanists and other specialists. His compatriot and colleague Stephen Coppens recalled that Hall primarily wanted to map the tunnels of the Cueva de los Tayos cave leading to the secrets of a lost civilization. “We needed an authoritative figure to lead the expedition, and I offered to lead it to astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon,” Hall told Coppens. The American immediately agreed to join us."
In 1976, researchers led by Armstrong descended into the tunnels. Wandering through the underground labyrinths, they discovered a burial cave with a seated body and made other discoveries - in particular, biologists found 400 unknown plants in the jungle near the cave. However, they failed to reach the halls of the main storehouse. Either Moritz himself did not know where the hall was, or he decided again not to betray his secret. In any case, the outcome of the expedition can be considered a failure. The searchers did not find any library.
This story was forgotten for several years. However, the annoying Hall continued to hope that he could find the artifact. In 1991, Moritz died without giving away his secret. However, by that time, Hall had found a man who showed Moritz the entrance to the mysterious labyrinth. The name of the informant was Petronio Jaramillo Abarca.
Sacred place
According to Jaramillo, he first entered the cave with the library in 1946, when he was traveling with an uncle who was friends with the tribe that guarded the entrance to the tunnel. As a token of gratitude for the help, the Shuar Indians showed their benefactor a sacred place. Jaramillo could see thousands of metal books on the shelves, each weighing about 20 kilograms. He visited the cave again and managed to get 7 books from the shelves, but could not bring them to the surface: they were too heavy. Their pages, covered with a green bloom (evidence that the sheets were made of copper), were covered with ideographic and geometric symbols and some kind of writing.
In his opinion, the metal books contained the historical prophecies of the Incas or the knowledge of the tribes that once lived on the planet, perhaps even the legendary Atlanteans. In the center of the library there were objects that resemble a table and chairs around it, but the material from which they are made is not known to anyone. “This is not stone, wood or metal, but, most likely, something similar to ceramics or modern composite materials,” an eyewitness said.
In the second room, he found quartz tablets. Further, there was a warehouse of iron bars, statues of people and animals stood in the halls. He saw sealed golden doors, apparently leading to burials, and in one of the rooms he came across a large sarcophagus made of translucent material, in which lay the giant's mummy, covered with gilding. It seemed that someone had carefully collected all the most valuable things in the dungeon in order to protect them from the impending threat.
Jaramillo agreed to Hall's proposal to join forces in the exploration of the tunnels. At the same time, negotiations were held with the Ecuadorian authorities, the result of which was an agreement on the further search for a metal library under the auspices of UNESCO.
However, in 1995, due to the conflict between Peru and Ecuador, the expedition had to be postponed. Then the political regime changed in Ecuador. The situation in the country became so aggravated that Hall had to leave the continent.
Point of no return
When the political situation more or less settled down, the expedition had to be postponed again. Now for more compelling reasons.
Petronio Jaramillo Abarca was found murdered on a street in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito. He carried a decent amount of money in his pocket that day. Not far from the house, a gang of local bandits attacked him. The last guardian of the secret passed away.
Many believe that the murder could well be related to Jaramillo's intention to show the way to the "metal library".
Today, dozens of treasure hunters are engaged in the search for the treasures of Atlantis, but they seem to be pursued by an evil fate, stubbornly leading away from the desired find. One of the enthusiasts, Sten Grist, established close contact with the Shuar Indians in 2005, intending to persuade them to show the secret entrance to the tunnels. According to Trist's calculations, it is located on the side of the Pastaza River and lies under water.
The aged Stanley Hall again and again appeals to the Ecuadorian government for help in the search for the artifact. Hall believes that the efforts of single enthusiasts will not lead to success, therefore, an expedition should be equipped with the assistance of specialists, and assures that he has sufficiently accurate coordinates of the place where the entrance to the cave may be. But for some reason, the scientific world is in no hurry to deal with ancient prophecies. Maybe she's just afraid of what the ancient writings keep. This is true: as the wise King Solomon said, in great wisdoms there are great sorrows.
Irina EROFEEVA