Category: Ancient Mysteries

Unexplained and anomalous phenomenon from out of the past.

Neil Armstrong and the Lost Library of Gold

The article discusses Neil Armstrong’s unexpected expedition in 1976 to find a legendary library of gold in Ecuador, which was linked to Father Carlo Crespi’s mysterious collection of artifacts. These artifacts, bearing unknown writing and ancient cultural similarities, sparked speculation about extraterrestrial origins and connections to ancient civilizations, attracting explorers and researchers.

We had to write this article because the whole thing sounds like Pulp Fiction from the 1930’s.  What’s most shocking about this story (besides the fact that Neil Armstrong did go searching for a lost library of gold in South America) is that it was so out of character for America’s first man on the moon. 

He was always such a steady guy, so in 1976 when he went down to Southeastern Ecuador to look for a lost library of gold…it counts as an anomaly.  In fact, outside of the moon landing, this is the most famous expedition of the intrepid adventurer known as: Neil.

The Discovery

The expedition began with a discovery.  A local Salesian priest named Father Carlo Crespi (1891-1982) worked with the indigenous people of Ecuador.  He was a revered humanitarian, academic and historian.  He is credited with acquiring the first film footage of the native Shuar people of the region in the 1920’s, and they liked him. 

They liked him a lot.  They began to bring him local artifacts they found as thanks for his kindness.  Many of the artifacts were metallic and included strange writing.

Father Carlo Crespi – With his Ethnogrpahic Collection – Wikidata

Crespi knew the natives were poor but proud.  While he thought they might be reluctant to accept donations, they would accept payment for the objects they brought to Crespi.  So, the villagers continued to bring Crespi objects and he would pay for them when he could (even if the objects were fake). 

The result was a collection of 50,000 artifacts from various periods of South American history ( and not just South American).  Many of them were authentic. Over time, Father Crespi is estimated to have collected 50,000 artifacts. The objects were kept in the courtyard of the church Maria Auxiliadora in Ecuador.  However, in 1962 there was a fire and many of the objects were lost.

Many of the remaining artifacts disappeared with the assumption they were sold to private collectors, claimed by the Vatican or just plain stolen.  Still, some of the artifacts remain as does photographic evidence of the collection and they contain numerous anomalies.

The objects bear similarities to artifacts from distant ancient cultures such as Babylon, Assyria, Egypt, China, and Africa.  The writing and alphabet on some of the objects is completely unknown and intricate.  It matches no known alphabet, ancient or otherwise. 

Furthermore, pyramids identical to the Egyptian pyramids (rather than the stepped pyramids of South America) are depicted along with a symbol resembling the “Eye of Horus” or “Eye of Providence.”  It can be seen hovering over the top of the pyramid the same way it can be seen on the dollar bill or The Great Seal of the USA. 

What remains of the objects is no longer accessible to the public and the origin and date of the artifacts remains unknown.  Naturally, this mystery attracted interest and speculation.

Depiction of a Pyramid – Father Crespi Collection

The Entrance to the Cave

In the 1960’s an explorer by the name of János Juan Móricz claimed to have discovered a library within a massive cave system which would come to be known as “La Cueva de los Tayos” or The Tayos Cave System.  He claimed to have wandered through the system until he came to a hall of man-made walls and architecture. 

Within these halls were tablets made of precious metals such as gold and silver with strange writing on them.  Móricz thought they contained the history of humanity.

He claimed the symbology on the artifacts resembled ancient Sumerian and Egyptian pieces.  However, once Móricz left the cave system he (apparently) lost track of the library but was able to still identify the entrance. 

The claims made by Móricz echoed the artifacts collected by Father Crespi, which made researchers wonder if Móricz had not found the source of the objects given to Crespi by the Natives.

Cueva de los Tayos, Ecuador – Google Maps

This theorizing culminated with the publication of a book by ancient astronaut theorist Erich Van Daniken titled “Gold of the Gods.”  In the book, Van Daniken expanded on the alleged findings of Móricz and publicized the idea that the Metal Library was extraterrestrial in origin. 

He believed the findings in Ecuador were similar to findings at other ancient sites, such as Nan Madol in Micronesia. Van Daniken argues these sites show contact between ancient cultures over vast distances and artifacts which go beyond coincidental, and point to past contact with ancient aliens and advanced technology.

Exploration

Stan Hall was a Scottish researcher and engineer with a penchant for exploration and adventure.  He became intrigued by Móricz ‘claims and attempted to mount an expedition. 

Through an acquaintance(they had a distant relation), Hall reached out to Neil Armstrong who was living on a farm in Ohio and teaching Aerospace Engineering.  For reasons of his own, Armstrong agreed to join Hall on the expedition and this added the star power needed for the expedition to gain resources.  Funding came from the governments of the United Kingdom and Ecuador, allowing Armstrong and Hall to pursue the “Metal Library” of legend.

In 1976 Hall and Armstrong entered the cave accompanied by more than a hundred people including top scientists, joint special forces and sperologists.  They did not find the library, but they did find evidence of human occupation along with a body dating back to 1500 BCE. 

They also found more than 100 new species of butterflies, 40 new species of bats and 200 new species of beetles.  It’s still one of the largest cave explorations ever conducted and Neil’s second most-famous adventure.

Legend of Los Tayos 1976 program

Today, Stan Hall’s grand-daughter Eileen Hall still explores the area and leads expeditions in the hopes of finding “The Metal Library.”  The cave system entered by Armstrong and Hall has been heavily explored since the 1970’s.  There are even tours into parts of it. 

Yet, there is controversy as to how much of the cave has been explored.  There is also debate as to whether or not Armstrong and Hall went through the right entrance to find the Metal Library.  Adventurers still head to the Tayos caves today in hopes of finding the hidden pathway of Juan Móricz and the Metal Library of the ancient aliens.

Analysis

Armstrong’s involvement and evidence of Father Crespi’s collection are the two strangest pieces of evidence in this affair.  Stan Hall was also known as an analytical and logical man.  While less is known of Juan Móricz, who did know the entrance to the cave system.  Yet, he (suspiciously)  did not bring back evidence of the metal library or its exact location.  Crespi’s collection is a complete unknown. 

What remains of it might be in the Vatican museum or has been taken by private collectors and thieves, which would make them very hard to verify.  Finding and dating the objects in Crespi’s collection seems to be the shortest and most logical path to determining whether or not they are authentic and anomalous. So, we’ll hope one turns up available for study. Until then, we can hope one of the present day adventurers into the unknown hands us a metal library card.

What is a Fortean?

There are varying definitions, but a Fortean follows the anomalous researcher and writer tradition of Charles Fort. Charles Fort (1874- 1932) wrote numerous articles and books involving unexplained scientific and paranormal events.

He is regarded by many to be the god-father of UFOlogy, the discoverer of ball lightning and the inventor of the term “teleportation.” Could any anomalous researcher match this curriculum vitae? We think not, but we endeavor to persevere.

As do many, in their own unique ways. Some Forteans focus on one aspect of the phenomenon. Faerie religions and the Fay are a favorite topic of many. You can find articles on faeries and ultrahumans in copies of the Fortean Times. Other Forteans form societies, groups or organizations.

There are a number of them, and they all perform research in their own way. However, it’s worth noting that Fort himself chose to turn away from the first Fortean Society to bear his name. So, one doesn’t need to join any group or receive anyone’s blessing to become a Fortean.

From the Fortean Winds POV: In order to become a Fortean one needs only curiosity and an open mind. Fort rejected scientific dogma. He often used humor to make his point. This doesn’t mean he rejected science. He didn’t allow theory to overcome data. UFOs or UAP are the perfect example.

Fort followed the subject closely. He was an early proponent of the extra-terrestrial hypothesis. In 2019, the Government admitted (again) that UFOs were real and NASA administrator Bill Nelson considers the extra-terrestrial hypotheses plausible.

Charles Fort – 1920 – Public Domain

Some of Fort’s hypotheses were tongue-in-cheek. He knew they were ridiculous, and put them out as a way of “trolling” science. This has value. He would not allow science to reject a world filled with anomalies and the unexplained. However, today people often confuse humor with fact, and when it comes to the subject of the unexplained this has created a distortion.

I believe nothing. I have shut myself away from the rocks and wisdoms of ages, and from the so-called great teachers of all time, and perhaps because of that isolation I am given to bizarre hospitalities. I shut the front door upon Christ and Einstein, and at the back door hold out a welcoming hand to little frogs and periwinkles. I believe nothing of my own that I have ever written. I cannot accept that the products of minds are subject-matter for beliefs. But I accept, with reservations that give me freedom to ridicule the statement at any other time, that showers of an edible substance that has not been traced to an origin upon this earth, have fallen from the sky, in Asia Minor.

Charles Fort (Lo! )1931

To illustrate this we would point to the second most famous Fortean of all time: John A. Keel. He wrote “The Mothman Prophecies” and a number of other books regarding anomalous subjects. While Fort did much of his research in the library, Keel was prone to adventure.

He visited Point Pleasant, West Virginia in the 1960’s and became a part of the infamous UFO and cryptid flap during that era. He visited Egypt to look for ancient anomalies and saw a UFO. Like Fort, Keel was a bit of a loner. Many of his investigations were done by himself, and he chose not to join any particular group.

Fortean Winds is a collective made up of private and anonymous researchers. We have no organization and rarely agree on anything. This is healthy in our opinion.

So, if you’re that type of person who needs a place to publish your research…please reach out. The only commonality we have is our data driven approach to the phenomenon. We do what we can to separate our theory from data. Because theory is always changing…

John A. Keel author of “The Mothman Prophecies” Vanity Fair.

Due to his experiences in Point Pleasant, Keel adopted a different view of UFOs and the paranormal in general stating: “I abandoned the extraterrestrial hypothesis in 1967, when my own field investigations disclosed an astonishing overlap between psychic phenomena and UFOs,” Keel wrote.

“The objects and apparitions do not necessarily originate on another planet and may not even exist as permanent constructions of matter. It is more likely that we see what we want to see and interpret such visions according to our contemporary beliefs.”

Keel’s work bears a striking similarity to the current events and theories surrounding Skinwalker Ranch.

Keel coined the term “ultraterrestrial.” It featured heavily in his book “The Eighth Tower” and was meant to give readers his evolved view of the phenomenon toward the end of his career.

The term “ultraterrestrial” was a way of getting people to stop thinking about the entities behind UFOs as E.T.’s from science fiction, and more like interdimensional beings or what’s commonly associated with demons and evil spirits.

He felt this term was a failure as people began to name the ultraterrestrials and assign them personalities. It became its own form of research when it was merely meant as a literary device. They forgot John A. Keel’s first maxim: “Never Form a Belief.”

Theorize, hypothesize, guess, joke….but never form a belief. We’re looking for anomalous phenomenon and trying to show people it exists. That’s it. As you can see by looking at Fort and Keel. The reason they are so well known is they found real anomalies. They didn’t know what they found.

There are many other Forteans continuing to fight the good fight by pointing out that mysteries still happen every day. Some of them focus on taking field reports and following up on sightings.

This is valuable data, and no doubt the people who witnessed the events are pleased to find someone who believes them. We can’t imagine how alone that must make someone feel, to witness the unknown and be called mad. It’s awful.

We don’t typically add single witness accounts to our research because they’re too hard to validate, but that doesn’t mean we don’t believe people. This is our own brand of Fortean research and you can read more about our approach in our about section.

However, those firsthand accounts are important and we read as many as we can. Groups like “The Singular Fortean Society” are publishing detailed reports of anomalous activity frequently. As we look for patterns in the data, we always need more data.

The term “Fortean winds” specifically refers to a phenomenon described by Fort in which strange events seem to occur in clusters or waves, often coinciding with unusual weather patterns or changes in atmospheric conditions.

For example, there might be a sudden increase in reports of UFO sightings or mysterious creatures seen in the woods during a period of stormy weather. This term has become a popular expression among paranormal researchers and enthusiasts, and is often used to describe strange and unexplained phenomena that seem to occur in inexplicable patterns or waves.

So, what is a Fortean? A Fortean is someone who researches the anomalous or unexplained. They are doing it in groups, they are doing it by themselves. They are doing it for no money, because there’s no money in it. Sure there are con-artists out there, selling all the answers for money.

Yet, if they have all the answers, they’re not researching the unexplained because they have all the answers. We don’t have the answers. We have data, and we have theory. We’re just trying to understand it better. To us, that’s what a Fortean is. So, congratulations. You just became a Fortean.

Göbekli Tepe : Our Oldest Architecture and a Reminder

Göbekli Tepe, a 12,000-year-old archaeological site in Southern Turkey, predates Stonehenge by 6,000 years and may have served as a temple or ancient observatory. Its advanced architecture and artistic reliefs challenge previous beliefs about early human civilization and agriculture, reshaping our understanding of human history before and during the Younger Dryas event.

At 12,000 years old Göbekli Tepe predates Stonehenge by at least 6000 years. That’s a long time. That’s as long ago as Stonehenge was built compared to where we are now.

So, if people from the era of Stonehenge found Göbekli Tepe, it looked to them like Stonehenge does to us today. That’s old. The site sits over 8 hectares on an artificial mound in what is now Southern Turkey and draws in researchers from around the world.

The structures qualify as architecture by any definition:

Architecture: the art or science of building

specifically : the art or practice of designing and building structures and especially habitable ones

Merriam Webster Dictionary

The buildings our ancient ancestors erected were stylized, functional and habitable. That counts as architecture on all fronts. The current thinking around Göbekli Tepe’s function is that it served as a temple (or group of temples) and meeting area.

Goods were likely exchanged and gatherings certainly occurred here for religious purposes. This is all occurring at a time when farming and agriculture is not supposed to exist. Which is the first of many mysteries surrounding Göbekli Tepe.

These buildings were erected during what is considered the “Pre-Pottery Neolithic” era, but that term (and what it indicates) was invented prior to discovering Göbekli Tepe.

Clearly, we see a civilization far ahead of where scientific theory thought early man was prior to understanding the significance of Göbekli Tepe in 1994. The layout of the various buildings show an understanding of geometric shapes and the layout of three main structures follow an equilateral triangle.

Beytullah eles – Wikimedia commons

The art at Göbekli Tepe depicts a variety of animals and events carved in reliefs on massive stone pillars up to 5 meters high. The art shows a style and aesthetic far more advanced than would have been expected in this period (This is supposed to be Pre-Pottery Neolithic era). Of particular interest among the carvings is “The Vulture Stone.”

Sue Fleckney – CC FLikr

The Vulture Stone includes a depiction of a vulture holding an orb, egg or sphere. The significance of the sphere is debated. Some scholars say it points to the existence of a Vulture cult and the structure is a temple to this cult. Yet, further down the rock we see a relief of a scorpion and headless man. The headless man is thought to represent a catastrophe and a team of scientists from the UK think they may understand this special rock.

The Edinbugh team ran computer simulations and found the carvings on the Vulture Stone likely represented constellations. In fact, Göbekli Tepe may not have been a temple. It was likely an ancient observatory. This observatory appears to have predicted and recorded a mini ice age known as “The Younger Dryas” which occurred around 12,900 to 11,700 B.C.E..

The Younger Dryas was an incredibly important event in the history of humanity. It is believed the colder climate forced humanity to switch from nomadic hunter and gatherers to a more sedentary agriculture-based civilization. The rise in agriculture and large societies is what allowed us to create cities and share knowledge. Resulting in the evolution of our technology and science.

Yet, here in Göbekli Tepe we find a civilization which existed prior to (or on the edge of) the Younger Dryas which undoubtedly was able to process wheat. The existence of agriculture during the building and occupation of Göbekli Tepe is still debated.

We at Fortean Winds would guess that a structure of that size was not erected without some form of agriculture to feed its people. We’d go so far as to guess…they grew the #$%@ wheat.

Scientific theory can be slow to change…

Göbekli Tepe was occupied for roughly a thousand years before, for completely unknown reasons, the occupants filled it in and left. Leaving us with yet one more history mystery to uncover, and it is still literally being uncovered. If you were taught history prior to the mid-1990s you never heard of the place, and everything your history teacher was telling you about pre-pottery man…was about to change.

The history books still haven’t caught up, and they can’t. This place changes everything we knew about ancient man. So, if you’re someone who is fascinated with our ancient past. Or, if you just love the fact science is always changing…keep an eye on the discoveries being made at Göbekli Tepe. We’ve given you some good links here to start researching, but the significance of this place is still being uncovered, and there are mysteries here YOU can help uncover. Here’s a good one to start.

In 2003, Researcher Klaus Schmidt found the mound is positioned in a location filled with geomagnetic anomalies.

In 2003 a geomagnetic survey could demonstrate that
the prediction based on the archaeological surface investigations at Göbekli Tepe, that round or oval enclosures
exist all over the site and are not restricted to a specific
part of the mound, was right. More than ten large enclosures could be located in the geomagnetic map

Klaus Schmidt (NEO-LITHICS 2/03)

The connection between the Vulture Rock and the constellations was made in 2019. Our past is constantly changing and with it comes a new understanding of our present. Göbekli Tepe is a reminder to all of we still have much to learn and must continue to learn. To us at Fortean Winds, that is just plain EXCITING.

The Curious Case of Moses Wilhelm Shapira

Moses Wilhelm Shapira, a 19th-century antiquities dealer, gained notoriety for discovering the controversial “Shapira Strips,” potentially an ancient biblical relic. Despite initial declarations of forgery leading to his suicide, discussions around the scrolls’ authenticity persist. This case highlights the tension between evolving historical narratives, faith, and scientific inquiry.

The revered Fortean John A. Keel wrote about Moses Wilhelm Shapira. A 19th Century antiquities dealer who died of suicide by revolver in a hotel in Rotterdam. He also may have found the most exceptional biblical relic of the modern age.

You can find Moses’s story recounted by John Keel in “The Eighth Tower” on page 17, but it’s a complex story which has evolved some. Even in the last year. We thought the Wikipedia entry on Moses was solid if you’d like more information after our summary below.

Moses was an an adventurous buisnessman in the 19th Century. He became infamous during the relic craze of the 1880’s. Some of his antiquities were proven to be genuine and some were proven to be hoaxes.

His most famous and controversial find was the “Shapira Strips,” which contained a different version of the book of Deuteronomy and an eleventh commandment: “Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart: I am GOD, thy GOD.”

Shapira Scrolls Rendering *public domain

When Moses presented these scrolls to experts at the time, they declared them a forgery. This disgrace ultimately lead to Moses taking his own life. However, that is not where the story ends, and it didn’t end in John’s book either. It’s still debated today. If they’re proven to be authentic, these scrolls would be about as old as the Dead Sea Scrolls. And that 11th Commandment might be hard for some people to take to take.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are used as evidence by some biblical scholars of divine intervention. The modern Christian Bible IS remarkably similar to the text of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Their accuracy over time IS remarkable. Yet, if this is proof of divine words, aren’t all of the Dead Sea Scrolls divine? Even the texts found by Moses Wilhelm Shapira?

One of the more interesting open questions is how Moses came to be in possession of these scrolls. Here we had a businessman with a spotty past in relics. How did he get a hold of (possibly) one of the greatest historical biblical finds of all time? According to Keel, some shepherds wandered into his shop and offered them up. Shapira’s account of how he came into possession of the scrolls varies. We find Keel’s account more likely given Shapira’s penchant for showmanship.

Why does it matter? Beyond the historical and biblical significance of Moses Wilhelm Shapira’s find, we see how quickly foundational theory becomes forgotten. Regardless of whether or not Shapira’s find is proven true, fragments of the Book of Enoch were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Yet, they didn’t make it into most current versions of the Bible. In case you’re unfamiliar, Enoch’s book is a wild ride.

Biblical history like all other history is subject to constant change caused by new discovery.

Does this mean there is no God? No Jesus? No Christian Church? Of course not. Shapira himself converted to Christianity. As a society we’ve unnecessarily conflated history and fact with religion. If our standard of what God intended to say is dictated by the age of his words, God will always be changing his mind. Religion is Faith pure and simple.

The Curious Case of Moses Wilhelm Shapira remains unsolved and as such becomes a grand reminder: Even our deepest held beliefs are subject to change. We shouldn’t apologize for changing our mind based on new information. For example, we at Fortean Winds are people who believe wholeheartedly in science, and we’ve been proven wrong time and time again.

To us, that is science. We’re all just learning. So, let’s be open to new discoveries and follow their threads wherever they may lead. Keep your faith close to you while we do, our research has lead us to believe Faith has a power of its own.

We do believe science will ultimately solve the mystery of the authenticity of Moses Wilhelm Shapira’s find. What that means is entirely up to you.

The Oldest Human Anomalies

This post explores the evolutionary history of humans, tracing back to Australopithecus and the genus Homo, known for early stone tool usage. It discusses fossil preservation challenges and the migration of humans from Africa in waves. Additionally, it raises questions about ancient megalithic sites and their purposes, hinting at future explorations of anomalies.

For our first ancient history post we thought it made sense to start at the beginning. Evolutionary history is interesting, and the competing species of humans, is also an interesting piece of our history which is still being uncovered. In terms of evolutionary history, we’ll just say something resembling humans existed 6 million years ago and one of those species became Australopithecus.

From Australopithecus developed the genus homo somewhere around 2.8 million years ago, and from a data driven anomalists perspective, this is where things start to get interesting. They started making stone tools, and that gives us more to go off of than the fossil record.

First stone tool dated 3.3 million years ago. *fair use

There are certainly many mysteries buried in our deep past, but we simply have no way of knowing what they are unless we find a fossil or remnants of humanity.

Theories abound involving everything from aliens to monsters. Yet, we’re lucky to find bones which predate the homo genus. So, we don’t hold out much hope for discovering links to anomalies we study in the time before civilization.

We’ll just point out the one anomaly we just told you and go back to fossils. The genus of homo is supposed to have coincided with the rise of the making of stone tools. Yet, the picture above shows a stone tool existing 500k years before the homo genus. This is odd. A distant human ancestor was using stone tools.

When the homo genus arrives on the scene (2.8 million years ago), they have bigger brains and more tool making.

A huge barrier in front of our window to the past is created by the fossil record (or lack thereof). Not everything that dies creates a fossil. Bones turn to dust unless something intervenes.

So, in order to preserve bones and DNA we need something to die in a specific way, or under specific circumstances. Something like a dying creature falling into tree sap (a la Jurassic Park) will do it. Many fossils are contained in layers of rock, and these layers give us a good idea of when they existed.

Yet as you can see from the modern record, fossil preservation is somewhat random. Therefore, many creatures have come and gone on this planet, and we have no idea what they were.

From what we currently know, humanity began or was located in Africa. Our ancestors left Africa in two waves. The first wave occurred between 130k to 100k years ago. The second wave came around 70k to 50k years ago.

Here is another area which is ripe for theory and exploration. Why did they end up settling where they did and when? Australia 65k years ago, Eurasia 60k years ago and Americas 15k years ago. Shifting geography and migration patterns account for much of the movement in this time, but we find the specifics of where these groups chose to settle fascinating.

Many ancient dwelling are located near water sources which makes perfect sense, but what about the ones which are not? Why mine granite rocks 500 miles away from the Egyptian pyramids? Seems an awful long way to carry them. We’re just using Egypt as an example of a strange megalithic site. There are many more. Why was Stonehenge built? No one knows. Period. Thus, as humanity begins to build and create art. We find evidence of our first anomalies.

We’ll look forward to exploring some of the ancient sites with you in greater detail. For example, the “Baghdad Batteries” are likely actual batteries which date back to 300 b.c.

Now that’s an anomaly.

Coming Soon:

Industrialization

Modern Era

Information Age