They find eight vessels full of emeralds in the area where the gold was sought

Archaeologists have found the vessels in the area where El Dorado was searched for during the Spanish conquest of America. Inside, dozens of gems were deposited along with gold and silver figurines.

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When the Spanish arrived in the region in the 16th century they were amazed at the mastery with which the local indigenous people worked metal. The abundance of objects made of gold soon gave rise to the legend of a city built entirely of this metal, an idea reinforced by an indigenous ritual in which the king smeared his body with golden dust and threw gold objects into a sacred lagoon.

THE GEMS OF EL DORADO

Although the conquerors never found the mythical city, archaeologists have been recovering for some time the beautifully carved objects of the Muisca culture, which dominated the region from the 6th century BC until the arrival of the Europeans in 1530.

The temple was excavated as a preventive measure before work begins on a new road, and the vessels were found both inside and around the enclosure. The finding of tributes of this type is common in this culture, and they are usually associated with the cult of the sun god Sua and his wife Chia (the moon).

The archaeologists were surprised to find the first vessel, inside they not only found emeralds but also brought to light vivid representations of noble characters dressed in scepters, weapons and spectacular headdresses. As the work progressed, new jewels in the shape of snakes and needles appeared.

FUNERAL OFFERING?

For the director of the excavation, Francisco Correa, it is clear that the containers were some type of ritual sacrifice, since according to Hispanic sources, the indigenous people buried objects of great value as a sign of respect and to obtain the favor of the spirits.

However, Correa is not so sure about who the offerings would be addressed to, on the one hand he believes that it could be an ancestor cult, but he does not rule out that it was a temple dedicated to the divine couple formed by the sun and the moon. . Without more data it is impossible to determine for sure.

The excavation has been carried out by the National University of Colombia with the collaboration of the Bogotá Gold Museum and the engineering department of the Javierana University.

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