Malagana
During the few days after its discovery, the place was subject to a large scale looting with a rough estimate of 4 tons of pre-Columbian artifacts illegally removed from the burial mounds.
[1] A rescue archaeological mission was sent by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (ICANH), led by archaeologist Marianne Cardale de Schrimpff.
Archaeological excavations at the site established a previously unknown cultural complex, designated as Malagana-Sonsoid, that dates between 300 BC to 300 AD.
A worker was driving a piece of heavy equipment (a tractor)[2] across the field when the ground suddenly collapsed, and the vehicle fell into a large hole.
[3] Even the police and army on the scene were ineffective in controlling the chaos, including one murder, and the wide scale destruction of the ancient cemetery.
Remarkably, museum archaeologists were able to obtain general information about the archaeological context for a number of these objects by pursuing accounts from individuals who had witnessed the plundering frenzy of 1992.
As a result, the archaeologists were able to designate the artifact assemblies for twenty-nine of the graves, which provides important knowledge not only about religion and burial practices, but also about the political and social structures and value systems of the Malagana culture (Bray 2000:94-95).
In several instances interviews with the 1992 observers coupled with meticulous study of the artifacts, the actual arrangement of the gold, pottery and other items in the tombs have been able to be reconstructed by the archaeologists.
In a niche in the wall above the head of the corpse were two Ilama-style pots: one a bowl with four feet and the other an alcarraza (a vessel with two spouts joined by a bridge handle) in the form of a recumbent woman.
Prior to 1939 the gold objects that treasure hunters removed illegally from archaeological sites were either taken to the bank to be exchanged for cash or were sold to gallery owners and dealers in art and antiquities.
In 1939 a man named Julio Caro convinced the board of the Banco de la República in Bogotá that the gold items should be preserved and retained within Colombia.
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., presented an exhibit entitled "The Spirit of Ancient Colombia Gold" from November 9, 2005, through April 9, 2006.
The treasure inspires its makers' descendants and the rest of the world with a sense of awe and utmost esteem for the craftsmen and culture of its origin.
