The famous Cave of the Tayos is found in Ecuador and it is an amazing cavity that has aroused the interest of many people, especially when a few decades ago it was said that inside it had found a metal library that showed that there had lived an ancient culture very developed more than one hundred thousand years ago. Join us to discover what hides the legend of the metal library and if it is a hoax or the vestige of a remote civilization in the Cueva de los Tayos .
The Cave of the Tayos
In an area of tropical forest, in the province of Morón Santiago, at the bottom of what is known as a dry valley, there is access to the Cave of the Tayos . There are three entrances, but the largest one is a 65-meter-deep hole that descends with ropes and opens to more than 4.5 km. of spacious hallways. The largest chamber measures 90 x 240m.
The Shuar Indians, native to the area, go down annually to collect the newborn tayo chicks in the spring. The tayos, guácharos or oily birds, are a unique species since they are the only nocturnal birds that eat fruit. They usually live in large colonies of more than 1,000 individuals and for that they need large caves as habitat. There is documentation certifying that the Cave of the Tayos It has been systematically explored since 1860 in search of gold and for military reasons.
However, different archaeological explorations have found remains that point out that it was already used in the Neolithic and abandoned to improve the climate, to be inhabited again in the Neolithic period, around 3000 BC, by a pre-Shuar tribe. About 1500 BC The Shuar arrive in the area and mix with the inhabitants of the Cueva de los Tayos, which is occupied until approximately 500 AD. in that it is used only as a ceremonial place and for the annual hunting of tayo chicks. The respect that the Shuar feel for the Cave of the Tayos comes from the belief that the spirits of their ancestors dwell in it. At present it is possible to descend to the cave with the permits given by the Cueva de los Tayos Corporation in Kuankus.
One of the most impressive features of the Cave of the Tayos they are the stone formations that contain right angles and smooth and symmetrical forms in such a way that they seem carved by a human hand, although they are the result of the geological composition and the action of the water on the stone.
The Metallic Library of the Cueva de los Tayos
The legend of the Metallic Library of the Cueva de los Tayos was born after the expedition that in 1968 organized the Hungarian speleologist Juan Moricz. He claimed that he had found in a hidden place in the cave a library composed of metal plates left by a very advanced civilization that lived there 250,000 years ago. Moricz used to reinforce his claims the collection of objects that an old religious named Carlo Crespi kept in his convent in Ecuador basin . The Swiss writer Erich Von Danikën, a supporter of the theory of ancient astronauts, wrote a book entitled "The gold of the gods" in which he claimed to have made an expedition to the Cave of the Tayos and had found the mysterious metal library. Later it was found that everything was an invention. The objects that Father Crespi had disappeared mainly in a fire and at his death the rest apparently was sold. Only photos and footage remain. Those who could study these objects believe that most were gross fakes that the Shuar gave to the kind Father Crespi because they believed that they made him happy.
In 1976, Scottish explorer Stanley Hall organized an expedition to the cave in which numerous people from various fields of science participated and which was sponsored by astronaut Neil Armstrong. Although Stanley Hall was an enthusiastic supporter of the theory that the Earth had been visited in antiquity by aliens, the conclusion was negative in this regard. No remains of any metal library were found , it was found that what some people had thought human hands were geological formations and, yes, they remarked the mysterious beauty and grandeur of the Cueva de los Tayos.
If the controversy continues it is due to the fact that, apparently, in this last exploration, they were taken out of the Cave of the Tayos several boxes whose contents the expeditionaries did not want to show to the Shuar who tried at the beginning to prevent them from taking, giving up later.
Did you know the existence of Cave of the Tayos ? Do you think the existence of the Metal Library seems possible or do you think it is all a deception? If you want to know other mysteries found in nature, we invite you to read the post: The mysterious stone spheres of Costa Rica.
Images: MezzoforteF