The Crespi Collection

The Crespi Collection is one of the most frequently cited examples of so-called “out-of-place artifacts” (OOPArts) in South American archaeology. It revolves around Carlo Crespi Croci, an Italian Salesian missionary who lived in Cuenca from the 1920s until his death in 1982. Crespi was widely respected for his charitable and missionary work, but the large and unusual artefact collection he assembled became a focal point for alternative history narratives.

According to Crespi, many of the objects were brought to him by members of the Shuar people, allegedly originating from the jungle cave system known as Cueva de los Tayos. The collection was extremely diverse. It included gold-colored metal plates embossed with animals such as elephants and serpents, and inscribed with symbols that appeared to resemble Phoenician, Egyptian hieroglyphic, or Sumerian scripts. There were also stone statues depicting figures that seemed stylistically non-indigenous, as well as numerous metal objects made of brass, copper, and in some cases claimed to be gold or silver.

The collection achieved international notoriety in the 1970s, when it was promoted as evidence for diffusionist or even extraterrestrial contact theories. In The Gold of the Gods, Erich von Däniken described Crespi’s artefacts as part of a mysterious “metal library” supposedly hidden within Cueva de los Tayos, interpreting them as traces of ancient astronauts. Zecharia Sitchin later incorporated the material into his own narrative of Sumerian Anunnaki colonizing the ancient world in The Lost Realms. Meanwhile, Richard Wingate argued in Lost Outpost of Atlantis that the artefacts represented survivals of an Atlantean civilization in South America.

Mainstream archaeological assessment has been far more cautious. Detailed examinations of surviving objects indicate that many of the “golden” plates are in fact brass, zinc, or tin, often displaying modern tool marks, rolled sheet metal, and industrial soldering. The iconography tends to combine motifs from disparate ancient cultures in ways that do not correspond to any coherent historical context. Rather than demonstrating transoceanic contact, the objects often appear to be eclectic pastiches. A widely cited skeptical study by Glen W. Chapman,  The Crespi Ancient Artifact Collection of Cuenca Ecuador (1998), argues that much of the metalwork is modern in manufacture. A common explanation is that local craftspeople produced the pieces, perhaps drawing inspiration from illustrated books or popular imagery, knowing that Crespi was generous in exchange for items he believed to be ancient.

The cave itself was the subject of a major scientific expedition in 1976, known as the British-Ecuadorian Expedition, which included astronaut Neil Armstrong. Despite extensive exploration, the team reported no evidence of a “metal library” or lost advanced civilization within Cueva de los Tayos.

After Crespi’s death in 1982, much of the collection was dispersed, sold, or lost. A substantial portion was reportedly acquired by the Central Bank of Ecuador and transferred to the Pumapungo Museum. Subsequent assessments suggested that while thousands of items were purchased, the majority consisted of modern handicrafts, alongside a smaller number of authentic but conventional pre-Columbian ceramics.

For another account, see Jason Colavito, ' Father Crespi and the Toilet Tank Float of the Gods' Blog 26th March 2015.