Colombia Marks Lost City Anniversary
Colombia is marking the 50th anniversary of the official rediscovery of the ancient "Lost City" in the Sierra Nevada with new archaeological work and tourism initiatives. The celebration aims to preserve and share indigenous heritage at the site. The Lost City, known as Ciudad Perdida or Teyuna, was built by the Tairona people between 800-1650 CE.
- The site was first stumbled upon in 1972 by a group of local treasure hunters called "Los Sepúlvedas," who were hunting a wild turkey. The appearance of gold artifacts and ceramics on the black market subsequently alerted archaeologists, leading to an official expedition and reconstruction that began in 1976. - To reach the city's entrance, one must climb approximately 1,200 stone steps through the dense jungle. The site itself is comprised of a series of 169 terraces carved into the mountainside, along with a network of tiled roads and circular plazas. - Indigenous groups who are direct descendants of the Tairona—including the Kogi, Wiwa, and Arhuaco peoples—have stated that they visited the city, which they call Teyuna, regularly before its widely reported discovery but had kept its existence a secret. - Founded around 800 CE, Ciudad Perdida is significantly older than Peru's famous Machu Picchu, predating it by about 650 years. It is believed to have been a political and manufacturing center for the Tairona, potentially housing between 2,000 and 8,000 people. - The Tairona were renowned for their sophisticated goldwork, creating intricate pieces from a mixture of gold, silver, and copper known as Tumbaga. They were also skilled engineers, constructing stone foundations, canals, and terraced farms. - Access for tourists was halted in 2003 after the kidnapping of eight foreign visitors by the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group. After the Colombian Army increased its presence, the area was deemed safe and reopened to tourism in 2005. - Since 2009, the non-profit organization Global Heritage Fund has been working at the site to help preserve it against threats like climate change and unsustainable tourism, and to involve local indigenous communities in its management. - Recent archaeological work using LiDAR mapping technology has revealed more than 200 structures across 80 acres and identified an additional 20 archaeological sites further upriver, highlighting that much of the region remains unexplored.
