above sea level.
Father Crespi, the collector of the treasure, which is priceless just for its weight in gold, has been living in Cuenca for forty-five years. He is accepted as a trustworthy friend of the Indians, who during past decades fetched the most valuable gold, silver and metal objects from their hiding places piece by piece and gave them to him, and still do so today.
I had been warned beforehand that the good Father was fond of pulling his visitors’ legs. I soon had a taste of this. In all seriousness he showed me an object that was obviously the lower part of a flatiron. “Look,” he said, “that proves that the Inca rulers had their trousers pressed even in those days!” We laughed and Father Crespi led us through his treasure chambers. Room I houses stonemason’s work; Room II contains Inca artifacts of gold, silver, copper and brass, while Room III holds the gold treasure, which he very seldom shows anyone, and then unwillingly. Cuenca has a “Gold Museum” of its own, but it cannot compare with Father Crespi’s.
----
THE showpiece was a stele, 20 1/2 inches high, 5 1/2 inches wide and 1 1/2 inches thick. Fifty-six different characters are “stamped” on its 56 squares. I had seen absolutely identical characters on the leaves in the metal library in the Great Hall! Whoever made this metal stele used a code (an alphabet?) with 56 letters or symbols arranged to form writing. What makes this all the more remarkable is the fact that hitherto it has always been claimed that the South American cultures (Incas) possessed no alphabetical writing or script with alphabetical characteristics.
“Have you seen this lady?’ asked Moricz.
She was 12 1/2 inches high and naturally of solid gold. Her head was formed of two triangles, whose planes seemed to have wings welded to them. Coiled cables emerged from her ears; they were obviously not jewelry, for the lady’s earrings were clipped to her ear lobes.
She had healthy, if triangular proportions, with well-formed breasts and stood with legs apart. The fact that she had no arms did not mar her beauty. She wore long, elegant trousers. A sphere floated above her head and I felt that the stars on either side referred to her origin. A star from a past age? A maiden from the stars?
Next came a brass discus, 8 1/2 inches in diameter. It cannot have been a shield, as the archaeologists would catalog it. For one thing it is too heavy, for another it has never had a hand-hold on its smooth reverse side. I believe that this discus, too, was intended to transmit information. It exhibits two stylized, but incredibly accurate spermatozoa, two laughing suns, the sickle of a waning moon, a large star and two stylized triangular men’s faces. In the middle are small raised circles, arranged to give the beholder visual pleasure, but apparently intended to produce a different and more serious effect. Father Crespi put a heavy copper plaque in front of the camera.
“Here is something special for you, my young friend. This piece dates to the period before the Flood.”
Three creatures, holding a tall tablet with some signs on it, stared at me. The pairs of eyes looked as if they were peering from behind goggles. The upper left-hand monster pointed to a sphere, the right-hand one was clad from head to foot in an overall, which was fastened at the sides, and proudly wore a three-cornered star on his head. Above the tablet with signs floated two winged spheres. What were the monsters holding? Some kind of Morse code, dots, dashes, SOS’s? A switchboard for electric contacts? Anything is possible, but I suspect technical analogies rather than letters on this tablet. And according to the Father, who has been given special Vatican permission to carry out his archaeological research, it does date to the period before the Flood.
Take my word for it, when you catch sight of the treasures in the back patio of Maria Auxiliadora, you have to be very strong-willed not to get
Father Crespi, the collector of the treasure, which is priceless just for its weight in gold, has been living in Cuenca for forty-five years. He is accepted as a trustworthy friend of the Indians, who during past decades fetched the most valuable gold, silver and metal objects from their hiding places piece by piece and gave them to him, and still do so today.
I had been warned beforehand that the good Father was fond of pulling his visitors’ legs. I soon had a taste of this. In all seriousness he showed me an object that was obviously the lower part of a flatiron. “Look,” he said, “that proves that the Inca rulers had their trousers pressed even in those days!” We laughed and Father Crespi led us through his treasure chambers. Room I houses stonemason’s work; Room II contains Inca artifacts of gold, silver, copper and brass, while Room III holds the gold treasure, which he very seldom shows anyone, and then unwillingly. Cuenca has a “Gold Museum” of its own, but it cannot compare with Father Crespi’s.
----
THE showpiece was a stele, 20 1/2 inches high, 5 1/2 inches wide and 1 1/2 inches thick. Fifty-six different characters are “stamped” on its 56 squares. I had seen absolutely identical characters on the leaves in the metal library in the Great Hall! Whoever made this metal stele used a code (an alphabet?) with 56 letters or symbols arranged to form writing. What makes this all the more remarkable is the fact that hitherto it has always been claimed that the South American cultures (Incas) possessed no alphabetical writing or script with alphabetical characteristics.
“Have you seen this lady?’ asked Moricz.
She was 12 1/2 inches high and naturally of solid gold. Her head was formed of two triangles, whose planes seemed to have wings welded to them. Coiled cables emerged from her ears; they were obviously not jewelry, for the lady’s earrings were clipped to her ear lobes.
She had healthy, if triangular proportions, with well-formed breasts and stood with legs apart. The fact that she had no arms did not mar her beauty. She wore long, elegant trousers. A sphere floated above her head and I felt that the stars on either side referred to her origin. A star from a past age? A maiden from the stars?
Next came a brass discus, 8 1/2 inches in diameter. It cannot have been a shield, as the archaeologists would catalog it. For one thing it is too heavy, for another it has never had a hand-hold on its smooth reverse side. I believe that this discus, too, was intended to transmit information. It exhibits two stylized, but incredibly accurate spermatozoa, two laughing suns, the sickle of a waning moon, a large star and two stylized triangular men’s faces. In the middle are small raised circles, arranged to give the beholder visual pleasure, but apparently intended to produce a different and more serious effect. Father Crespi put a heavy copper plaque in front of the camera.
“Here is something special for you, my young friend. This piece dates to the period before the Flood.”
Three creatures, holding a tall tablet with some signs on it, stared at me. The pairs of eyes looked as if they were peering from behind goggles. The upper left-hand monster pointed to a sphere, the right-hand one was clad from head to foot in an overall, which was fastened at the sides, and proudly wore a three-cornered star on his head. Above the tablet with signs floated two winged spheres. What were the monsters holding? Some kind of Morse code, dots, dashes, SOS’s? A switchboard for electric contacts? Anything is possible, but I suspect technical analogies rather than letters on this tablet. And according to the Father, who has been given special Vatican permission to carry out his archaeological research, it does date to the period before the Flood.
Take my word for it, when you catch sight of the treasures in the back patio of Maria Auxiliadora, you have to be very strong-willed not to get
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