Father Crespi and his artifacts

Crespi won the hearts of the people and they began to bring him artifacts. The items came from all corners of the country.

Father Carlos Crespi Croci was a Salesian monk who was born in Italy in 1891. He studied anthropology at the University of Milan before becoming a priest. In 1923, he was assigned to the small Andean city of Cuenca in Ecuador to work among the indigenous people. He devoted the rest of his life to charitable work until his death in 1982. Over time, Father Crespi acquired more than 50,000 objects.

Thousands of Crespi’s artifacts are unremarkable but there was a small subset of items that sparked intense controversy. Some of the artifacts are Babylonian in style, others appear to have been carved in gold with strange motifs and symbols that don't resemble objects from any South American culture. Some of the gold plates appeared to show a type of ancient writing.

In 1973, Eric von Däniken launched his book ‘ Gold of the Gods ’, claiming the artifacts had been created by a lost civilization with extraterrestrials. Father Crespi and the story of his artifacts shot to fame. According to Däniken, the so-called Metallic Library consisted of thousands of books made with metallic pages. An investigation proved them to be crude fakes.

Father Crespi’s collection was purchased by the Central Bank of Ecuador and is stored in their vaults, with most being authentic and valuable artifacts. Nowhere to be found however are the artifacts that were photographed and filmed in the 1970s consisting of gold carvings, hieroglyphs, and Sumerian figures.

No one at the Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, Church of Maria Auxiliadora or the Central Bank Museum can say what became of the items.

Monsters on ancient coins

CRETE, Knossos. Stater (11.93g). about 425 – 360 BCE. Product of a union between Queen Pasiphaë and a white bull, the Minotaur was a ferocious man-eating beast, imprisoned in the Labyrinth of Daedalus. Theseus slew the Minotaur. This is a rare coin with less than 20 known.

Crete, Phaistos AR Stater. Mid-Late 4th century BCE. Herakles (Latin name is Hercules) was the champion monster-slayer. In a fit of madness, Herakles killed his family; to atone for this grave crime he undertook a series of heroic quests. The Lernaean Hydra was one. Sever one of the Hydra’s heads and two grew back, making the monster hard to kill. Herakles slew the Hydra, helped by his companion Iolaus, who cauterized the neck with a torch as each head was cut off.

SIKYONIA, Sikyon. Circa 335-330 BCE. Bellerophon, riding Pegasus, killed the fire-breathing Chimaera (or Chimaira) with a block of lead impaled on a spear he lodged in the beast’s throat. The fire melted the lead, choking the beast. The Greek city of Sicyon, near Corinth adopted the chimaera as a symbol on coins, which are relatively common, from c. 430 to about 280 BCE

Cerberus (or Kerberos) is a giant, ferocious three-headed dog who guards the gateway to the land of the dead. He is often depicted as the companion of Hades (or Pluto) god of the underworld. As his 12th labor, Herakles wrestles Cerberus into submission and drags him back to the land of the living. Cerberus appears on a magnificent electrum stater of Cyzicus (c. 500-450 BCE).

Medusa often appeared on ancient coinage. One of three sisters known as Gorgons, the image of Medusa was thought to have protective qualities and appeared throughout antiquity.

2,600-year-old perfume bottles

Lekythoi are ancient Greek vessels made by a method known as “red-figure pottery.” These were used to store extremely valuable oil and perfume. They were used by women of the upper social strata and were often buried with them. Very few red-figure lekythoi survive. “Precious scents are very rare, and the work of an artist who lived in ancient times is priceless." The Izmir Archaeological Museum showcased the containers.

Santorini - Thera

The Greek Island of Santorini was in the headlines in early 2025 because of a swarm of severe earthquakes. The earthquake swarm prompted an exodus from the island. Santorini, classically Thera, is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km (120 mi) southeast of Greece's mainland. It is the remnant of a volcanic caldera.

The eruption of Thera was a catastrophic eruption which is thought to have occurred some 3,400 years ago at the height of the Minoan civilization. It was the largest volcanic event on Earth in recorded history. The eruption devastated the island of Thera, and may have led to the collapse of the Minoan civilization on Crete.

Kolumbo is a submerged active volcano. Its most recent eruption in 1650 CE, generated a tsunami causing destruction in the islands of Santorini, Ios, and Sikinos, while the poisonous gas emitted from the eruption killed 70 in Santorini.

Kolumbo’s edifice was created by at least five eruptive cycles, the earliest dating back more than 1M years.

New research into ancient tree rings from half a world away helped settle lingering questions about when Thera erupted. Scientists believe the volcano erupted in the 16th century B.C., about 3,400 years ago, blowing some 24 cubic miles of rock and ash into the atmosphere. The eruption had long lasting and wide ranging effects world wide. Researchers were able to determine colder years in the tree rings of Irish oaks and bristlecone pines in California. Scientists believed that the eruption happened between 1600 and 1525 B.C.

Evidence of a catastrophic tsunami that followed the eruption of Thera was found at Çesme-Bağlararası on Turkey’s Aegean coast, more than 100 miles north-northeast of Santorini.

Researchers found an articulated skeleton of a man (and his dog) believed to have been killed by the tidal wave following the eruption that devastated the Aegean island. Calibrated radiocarbon ages found within the tsunami deposit say the remains date no earlier than 1612 BCE. The eruption left a large caldera surrounded by volcanic ash deposits hundreds of metres deep.

The myth of Atlantis, described by Plato, may be based upon the Santorini eruption. Excavations in 1967 at Akrotiri made Thera the best-known Minoan site outside Crete.

Only the southern tip of a large town was uncovered, yet it revealed complexes of multi-level buildings, streets, and squares with remains of walls standing as high as eight metres, all entombed in the solidified ash. Pipes with running water and water closets found at Akrotiri are the oldest ever discovered.

The advanced architecture, and the layout of Akrotiri resemble Plato's description of the legendary lost city of Atlantis.

Dense patches of crocus flowers on the fresco ‘The Saffron Gatherers’ from Santorini suggest cultivation. Saffron crocuses are effectively clones dating back to saffron’s emergence in ancient times.

In 2015 archaeologists discovered 39 ingots scattered across the sea floor near a 2,600-year-old shipwreck off the coast of Sicily. The ingots were made from orichalcum, a cast metal which ancient Greek philosopher Plato wrote was from the legendary city of Atlantis. X-ray fluorescence analysis indicate the ingots were made from a mixture of zinc (15-20 per cent), charcoal and copper (75-80 per cent) with traces of nickel, lead and iron. Orichalcum is a brass-like alloy, which was made in antiquity through the process of cementation, which was achieved through the reaction of zinc ore, charcoal and copper metal in a crucible.

In Plato's Critias, orichalcum was described as a lustrous metal second only to gold in value. It was used to cover the walls of the inner sanctuary in the Temple of Poseidon in Atlantis.

Dupondius of Faustina the Younger.

Roman coins were made of orichalcum. Orichalcum was officially valued higher than bronze, but sat just below silver and gold. The Romans standardized their use of orichalcum during Augustus's monetary reforms in 23 BCE. The alloy was typically reserved for higher end base metal coins, the prestigious sestertius and slightly smaller dupondius. Coins were brightly gold coloured when newly struck but tarnished over time to a darker or greenish patina.

Roman marching camp found in Slovakia

Archaeologists in Slovakia have uncovered a large Roman military camp likely used by troops of Marcus Aurelius.

The "extremely rare" camp came as a surprise to archaeologists, as it holds the hastily buried remains of numerous soldiers in unusual graves, including wells. Most are thought to be Roman soldiers.

Military equipment found with the remains included spearheads, arrowheads, fragments of helmets, pieces of segmented and scale armor, legionary brooches, coins, and iron hobnails from Roman military caligae. Researchers also recovered everyday items such as an axe, a cutting tool, and a gaming die. Between A.D. 166 and 180, the Romans fought a series of battles against the Marcomanni, who lived north of the Danube River along the border of the Roman Empire in what are now Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Marcus Aurelius reigned as Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and commanded troops in the Marcomannic Wars.

Gold of ancient Syracuse found

Archaeologists have uncovered a rare fifth-century BC Syracusan gold coin during an emergency excavation at the Maddalusa necropolis near Agrigento, Sicily. The discovery was made during the recovery of a Greek tile-covered burial, known as a cappuccina tomb, in the coastal dunes west of the mouth of the Akragas River. The excavation revealed an exceptionally well-preserved gold coin dating to the final decades of the fifth century BC. The obverse depicts the head of Heracles facing left, wearing the leontè—the skin of the Nemean Lion, which he defeated during his first labour. The reverse features a quadripartite incuse square enclosing a small female head, accompanied by the inscription Syra, identifying the coin as an issue from Syracuse.

The coin belongs to a series of emergency gold issues struck by Syracuse during the Carthaginian invasion of Sicily at the end of the fifth century BC. The city minted these coins to help finance its military campaign as it allied with Akragas against advancing Carthaginian forces. In 406 BC, Carthaginian armies captured and destroyed Akragas after a prolonged siege, marking the end of the city’s Golden Age as one of the leading Greek colonies. The Maddalusa necropolis is recognized as one of the primary burial sites of ancient Akragas.

Aquila - SPQR

Jaws flapped about Trump's use of the Nazi eagle.

The Nazi eagle (Parteiadler - Imperial Eagle) was stolen from the Romans. The Nazi swastika was also hijacked.

The word swastika comes from the Sanskrit svastika, which means 'good fortune' or 'well-being.'

An aquila, or eagle, was a prominent symbol used in ancient Rome, especially as the standard of a Roman legion. A legionary known as an aquilifer, or eagle-bearer, carried this standard. Each legion carried one eagle.

The eagle was extremely important to the Roman military, beyond being a symbol of a legion. A lost standard was considered a grave event. The Roman military often went to great lengths to protect a standard and to recover it if lost. In the aftermath of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest the Romans spent decades trying to recover the lost standards of the three destroyed legions. No legionary eagles are known to have survived. SPQR stood for Senatus Populusque Romanus. The meaning was "The Senate and People of Rome". S · Senatus = 'The Senate', P · Populus = 'The People', Q · Que = 'And', R · Romanus = 'Roman'.

Battle of Pharsalus

The Battle of Pharsalus was the decisive battle of Caesar's Civil War fought on 9 August 48 BC near Pharsalus, Central Greece.

Julius Caesar and his allies faced the command of Pompey. Pompey had the backing of a majority of Roman senators and his army significantly outnumbered the veteran Caesarian legions. According to Caesar, his own army included 22,000 Roman legionaries distributed throughout 80 cohorts (8 legions), with 1,000 Gallic and Germanic cavalry. Pompey was described as having 88 cohorts of Roman infantry, which at full strength would come to 44,000 men.

Pompey also had 5,000 to 7,000 cavalry, and thousands of archers, slingers and light infantrymen in general.

Pompey used his superior cavalry to try and crush Caesar's right flank. Caesar anticipated this and hid a select reserve of 3,000 close-quarters shock soldiers behind his lines. Caesar had studied Pompey's cavalry commander Titus Labienus. Labienus was a former top lieutenant of Julius Caesar who defected to Pompey at the start of the conflict.

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (106-48 BC) ‘Pompey the Great’

He commanded Pompey's large cavalry force. Caesar pulled 3,000 veterans from his third line and gave them an order that broke the rules of Roman warfare. Late Republican armies typically deployed in three lines. He ordered his 4th line men to hold their javelins like spears, and to not throw them. They were ordered to advance and drive them into the rider's faces. When the legionaries unexpectedly advanced and drove steel toward their faces, the riders flinched, wheeled, and ran. Their retreat collapsed the entire Pompey flank.

Titus Labienus

The fourth-line legionaries couldn't outpace the fleeing cavalry, but they were soon among the lightly armed archers and slingers – men without armour, trained and equipped only to fight at a distance. They were cut down in large numbers. The fourth line then halted, reformed, and with the 3 line executed a devastating right hook, plunging into the exposed left flank and rear of Pompey’s main line. Pompey took horse and fled. Elements of his broken army rallied, but they surrendered when Caesar offered generous terms.

The Caesarian army lost only 200 killed, including 30 centurions, while the Pompeians lost 15,000 killed and wounded, while more than 24,000 surrendered. Death came to Labienus in the Battle of Munda, an evenly matched conflict between the armies of Caesar and the sons of Pompey. Pompeians suffered massive casualties during the rout, in which Labienus himself was killed. This defeat ended Caesar's Civil War. According to Appian, his head was brought to Caesar, who then dispatched men to locate the body of his former friend, and buried him with full honours.