2. »A Sad Discovery«

Author: Walter J. Langbein, Germany
(Walter J. Langbein is author
of some 60 non-fiction books on
“mysteries of the world,
many of which have become bestsellers in Europe)
Translation: Marlies Bugmann

Fotos/ copyright: Walter-Jörg Langbein

Foto 1: Strange faces

“There is nothing of Padre Crespi’s collection left in our building!” ‘Brother Gatekeeper’ assures us when we arrive at the main portal of the Salesian monastery of Cuenca in Ecuador. “No metal tablets?” I ask. The monk does not conceal how awkward it is for him to answer such questions. I understand. He would often have been asked the same thing. Nevertheless, I keep enquiring: “Where is Padre Crespi’s collection?” The gatekeeper emits a deep sigh: “It was sold in its entirety to the ‘Banco Central’!”

Foto 2: Strange animals

And yet, I will be successful in photographing some of the mysterious objects inside the Monastery. These photos have never before been published. Here, in this blog, I am showing these images for the first time! They are documents that give evidence of a sad discovery. They show artifacts trampled under foot—and which have most likely vanished by now!

Esteban Salazar, who is the caretaker of the Crespi Collection at the ‘Banco Central’, interjects: “Our bank has acquired only the terracotta and stone objects! Many of the metal items must still be in your monastery!” ‘Brother Gatekeeper’ promises to enquire about it. We may return in a few hours. Willi Dünnenberger, two other travel companions and I amble along the ‘Gaspar Sangurima’ and the ‘General Torres’ streets.

Foto 3: Strange scenes

We enjoy the ‘Maria Auxiliadora’ park. It offers respite in a dusty, dirty, and loud city. A monument to Padre Crespi stands there. It is a memorial to the archaeologist and clergyman. We watch as some native inhabitants place flowers at its base. Thus, they remember the padre, who was one of them. With the floral tribures they continue to demonstrate their gratitude ten years after his demise.

At the prearranged time we return to the main portal of the monastery. What a surprise! We are permitted to enter! “There could still be metal tablets from Crespi’s collection…somewhere in the monastery!” ‘Brother Gatekeeper’ explains to me. “May we be permitted to see some of the artifacts?” The monk hesitates. “If there is still such a thing here, then Brother Superior must decide.” The latter would decide about our enquiry. But that could take a while.

The Salesian gatekeeper cannot fathom this: Some Germans from far away Europe travel to Ecuador, only to inspect Padre Crespi’s allegedly worthless collection. I ask: “Why did Padre Crespi collect worthless metal junk, as well as stone and terracotta artifacts of immense value? Was he unable to distinguish archaeological treasures from useless rubbish?” Brother Superior will answer my questions, if he can spare the time.

Foto 4: God or human?

Hours of more waiting followed. A statue of Mother Mary in the courtyard of the monastery attracts my attention. It is the ‘helpful Mother of God’, the name-giver of the monastery. I count three levels on the building. There are many windows. A decaying wooden staircase leads up to each of the levels. And suddenly, I make a sad discovery—everywhere I look I see metal plates and tablets, some of them merely millimetres thin—they contain mysterious symbols. They are the artifacts from Padre Crespi’s collection. The monks used them to repair the stairs, the walls, and the floors.

A young brother follows me around, step by step. I point to one of the metal plates. “Is this from Padre Crespi’s collection?” He nods. When I ready my camera, the otherwise taciturn monk snaps at me: “No Photos!” During the ensuing hours, I walk back and forth, up and down the monastery courtyard, under the constant, watchful eye of my guardian. And yet, I succeed in taking several photos—without looking through the viewfinder, ‘free-hand’ as it were.

Foto 5: Strange pyramid

Repeatedly, I pace around the courtyard, climb the partly rotten stairs, walk past barred windows…

Are the treasures, which have allegedly been sold to the ‘Banco Central’, where only the ceramic and stone items arrived, behind those windows? One of the monks reveals to me that, since Däniken’s publishing of Aussaat und Kosmos, veritable armies of travellers followed the trail of the Swiss author, wanting to see the metal tablets. The monastery inhabitants had fobbed them off with the advice: “Everything was sold to the bank!” The small trick worked! The monk gives me a mischievous grin.

Are they hiding Crespi’s metal objects behind some of the locked doors? Each time I approach one of them, my guardian cleverly prevents me from getting near one of the windows. A plaque on one of the doors refers to the dead Padre Crespi, and his work for the poorest of the poor in Cuenca.

Foto 6: Strange faces

The hope of seeing at least a few of Crespi’s metal tablets led me to visit the Salesian monastery in Cuenca. First, the monks denied that there were metal objects still present in the monastery, and then they admitted to it. But I saw only disappointing evidence. I was forced to make a sad discovery. The community reveres Padre Crespi almost like a saint. In ‘his monastery’, however, his mysterious legacy is literally being trampled under foot.

Esteban Salazar still has hope. He intends to reconstruct a ‘Crespi Collection’ and make it accessible to the public. Will he succeed? I have my doubts! My secretly taken photos date from 1992. Twenty-four years later, Crespi’s artifacts, used to repair the floors and stairs of the monastery, are probably lost forever.

Foto 7: A "chief"

One can read a book, only to be sent on a long journey. In 1972, I devoured Erich von Däniken’s third international bestseller, Aussaat und Kosmos. In 1992, I travelled to Ecuador, tracking Padre Crespi’s mysterious collection. A decade after the demise of the beloved clergyman, the collected metal objects faced oblivion, but were still—at least partly—in existence. Why do the inhabitants of the Salesian monastery so zealously disregard Padre Crespi’s legacy?

Are the artifacts truly only worthless junk? Or are they a part of a valuable treasure that is still hidden? Erich von Däniken pointed to such a treasure in a gigantic cave system: Nonsense or Truth? I investigated, and searched for a trail…and made a discovery!

The perhaps largest archaeological treasure is still waiting to be unearthed in Ecuador. To date, no one embarked upon such an exploration. Are the members of the established World of Science afraid of disagreeable findings?

Foto 8: An angry cat?

Foto 9: Cat-God?

Foto 10: Destruction of ancient heritage..

Foto 11: Drifting creature

Fotos/ copyright: Walter-Jörg Langbein

>> Here you find part 1

1. »On the trail of Padre Crespi’s Collection«

Author: Walter J. Langbein, Germany
(Walter J. Langbein is author of some 

60 non-fiction books on 

“mysteries of the world",

many of which have become bestsellers in Europe)
Translation: Marlies Bugmann

1. Monument in honor of Padre Crespi

A desperately poor clergyman tends to a small South-American community. He teaches the children, and procures the schoolbooks for them. The people are poor and cannot afford medical assistance; therefore, the padre organizes aid as well as he can. Pious phrases are of no help to the children, the

clergyman is well aware of it, but regular school meals are. The native population cannot pay their padre with money, but they give him gifts: to thank him they bring clay objects from ancient times, metal plates with peculiar inscriptions and drawings. They trust him and in this manner express their gratitude. The Indians give to the padre what archaeologists often search in vain. And so comes into being a fantastic collection of archaeological objects—not in the hallowed halls of noble museums, but in the pathetic courtyard of a church in Ecuador!

Padre Carlo Crespi (1891-1982) came to Ecuador in 1923. He attempted to convey his religion to the people in the eastern part of the country. However, the poverty of the Indians deeply affected him, and he tried to alleviate the misery. Instead of hypocritically preaching charity—he lived it. In 1935 he opened a school in Cuenca. In the courtyard of the church of ‘Maria Auxiliadora’, the ‘helpful Mother of God’, he built a small private museum. Luc Bürgin, in his book Lexikon der verbotenen Archäologie (Lexicon of forbidden archaeology) writes: “There, he displayed the exhibits of the indigenous cultures, which he received from the friendly natives: ritualistic objects, ceramics, figurines of gods made from stone and wood, many other cult-related objects as well as items used in the daily life of the Indian tribes of Ecuador.”

Swiss best-selling author, Erich von Däniken, became world-famous in 1968 with his book Erinnerungen an die Zukunft (Chariots of the Gods?). In 1969 followed Zurück zu den Sternen (Return to the Stars). During his travels, von Däniken made the acquaintance of venerable Padre Crespi. In 1972 he introduced the padre’s collection in his book Aussaat und Kosmos (The Gold of the Gods).

2. Poverty in Cuenca

Overnight, Crespi’s collection of artefacts was thrust into the spotlight of international publicity. The academic world reacted and its members unanimously declared their outrage! Padre Crespi, a modestly dressed, poor clergyman was supposed to have collected valuable archaeological objects? That was simply not true. Thus, the countless objects in the courtyard of the ‘helpful Mother of God’ were declared worthless junk, cheap forgeries without value.

Were the scientists gifted with supernatural powers? Obviously! What other explanation could there have been for their ability to evaluate the objects in Crespi’s collection without having travelled even near Cuenca in Ecuador? From thousands of kilometres away the scientists had delivered their crushing verdict.

Twenty years later, I travelled to Ecuador. I spoke about the clergyman to the people in the market of Cuenca—he had passed away ten years earlier. Without exception, the people expressed their admiration of him, and spoke with loving reverence about the man who had lived among them, and had shared their poverty. They venerated him like a saint, and in prayer asked for his assistance. They still placed flowers at his resting place. Repeatedly, I heard the mention of Padre Crespi’s many precious archaeological artifacts from ancient times.

3. Court of Padre Crespi's monastery

Did the collection really exist? Was it valuable? Or did it in truth consist merely of worthless junk the poor Indians had palmed off onto unsuspecting Crespi? My research informed me that Padre Crespi had held the position of director at the gold museum in Cuenca for several years. Would he have collected worthless rubbish? That seemed very unlikely to me. Consequently, I went on a search for Padre Crespi’s collection. And I found it.

According to some rumors, the ‘Banco Central’ of Cuenca had bought Crespi’s collection. Critical voices were doubtful. During my preparations for the trip, I was told that a respectable bank would not purchase a worthless collection! Esteban Salazar, an employee of the ‘Banco Central’ explained this to me: It is true! The bank acquired a significant portion of the Crespi collection for US$433,000 after the clergyman had passed on!

Esteban Salazar led our small group of four travellers into the cellar of the ‘Banco Central’. Down there, we were simply astonished at the thousands of artifacts. We admired the ceramic objects diligently sorted on orderly shelves. I asked: “And these objects all came from Padre Crespi’s collection?” Esteban Salazar replied in the affirmative. The people of the bank had sorted the items according to shape and size: small dishes, bowls, and vases. I enquired: “Are these items old?” “Many are merely a few hundred years old, but others up to three thousand years!”

Obviously, the scientific distance critics had prematurely dismissed Crespi’s collection as ‘worthless junk’. Padre Crespi had clearly owned thousands of genuine archaeological objects, which truly belonged in a museum. In 1982, Estefan Salazar hoped that at least some of these artifacts would ‘soon’ be displayed to the public in an exhibition. That has not happened to this day.

4. The triangular tablet

Harvard professor, Barry Fell, (6 June 1917 - 21 April 1994) distinguished himself by deciphering ancient texts. Prof. Fell, founder of the ‘Epigraphic Society’, intensively studied one object from the Crespi collection. The triangular tablet contains three rows of peculiar lettering. Above it, one can see an elephant-like animal. At the apex shines the depiction of the sun.

Prof. Fell came to an astonishing realization: The letters on the tablet are not at all nonsensical scribbles. They belong to a known writing, and are best compared to that used in the third century BC in Thougga, Tunisia. The writing was discovered, for example, on a monument for King Masinissa. Would forgers in Ecuador have played with an ancient script? Prof. Bell dismissed the notion. He succeeded in translating the short text: “The elephant that supports the Earth upon the waters and causes it to quake.”

5. Padre Crespi taught the children of the poor

My summary on location: Padre Crespi’s collection contains thousands of artifacts that are unequivocally genuine. The ‘Banco Central’ acquired these valuable finds for a small fortune; they are stored in the cellar of the respectable financial institution. Almost thirty years have passed since Padre Crespi’s death. Officially, the archaeological treasures have neither been catalogued, nor publicly exhibited to date! Why not?

6. Padre Crespi's church
Maria Auxiliadora after renovation

In 1972, Erich von Däniken triggered an international discussion about the Crespi collection. Metal objects, metal plates with mysterious images and inscriptions caused a sensation. Erich von Däniken had photographed many of the plates, and featured them in his book Aussaat und Kosmos. Twenty years later I went on my search. What happened to those plates after Crespi’s death?

Footnotes:

(1) Bürgin, Luc: »Lexikon der verbotenen Archäologie/Mysteriöse Relikte von A bis Z«, Rottenburg, December 2009, Pg. 61

(2) Fell, Berry: »America B.C.«, New York 1976, Pg. 184

Fotos/copyright:
Fotos 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6: Walter-Jörg Langbein
Foto 4: Archive Walter-Jörg Langbein

Part 2 - will follow soon: A sad discovery 
Sensation! Pictures from Crespi's lost collection.....

>> Here you find part 2