FINDING LOST CIVILIZATIONS This

Then I found another toppled column adjacent to theSpiral and noticed several symbols etched into the stone. Tomy great surprise I clearly saw a sun, but then to my greatersurprise I saw the name “Arturo” etched into the stone. Ipondered how we often find ourselves at a crossroads wherethe past and present meet. A thousand years from now Arturo’sname will be considered a symbol of ancient man. Buttoday it was graffiti!It appeared that at one time, many columns had beenerected in a vertical manner around the summit, perhapssomething akin to a smaller scale of the columns found inStonehenge, England. I wondered what would have toppledthese stones. This area is in an earthquake zone and severaltremors over the centuries certainly could have toppled thecolumns. I also noticed that much of the mountain was usedto grow some sort of cattle hay and was subdivided intofarming parcels. Many substantial ancient sites have beenplowed and furrowed over by succeeding cultures; this siteclearly suffered a similar fate. In addition, the earth aroundthe Spiral column had been excavated. Two days later I meta fellow from the nearby town of Otates who claimed he wasa protector of ancient sites. But then he mentioned he hadaccess to sixty clay bowls, plates, and figures from severalexcavated tombs. When he heard I had visited San Ignaciohe became very inquisitive; my impression was that he wasinvolved in some excavations atop San Ignacio.Before we left the hilltop Manuel said that during thedry season when the summit is cleared of vegetation, manyof the boulders are exposed and reveal petroglyph symbolsof snakes and birds. And indeed we found a nesting areaamong the boulders that contained two large eggs laid by abird that Manuel described as large and colorful and similarto a parrot. I felt a sense of joy during the descent because Iwas probably the first “gringo” to have visited this site sincethe dawn of mankind. Although we did not find a pyramidwe certainly discovered strong evidence that the crest of SanIgnacio had once been an ancient worship site. I also felt agreat sense of kinship and gratitude to Manuel and to all thewonderful, gracious, and common people of the land whoI had met along my journey as I followed the thread of lostcivilizations. Whenever I think of Manuel I remember anold quote that said something to the effect that “Commonpeople are the best in the world—that is the reason theLord made so many of them.”151