Relic2010
Greenie
One of the ideas which has firmly grasped the mind of most, if not all treasure hunters at one time or
another is that of discovering a ‘lost city’. Exploring the ruins of an ancient or little known civilization has been the plot for thousands of books, movies and stories throughout the ages. But few try to find such sites, and those who do, most often fail, frequently paying a dear cost, some ending up bankrupt and in some cases, at the cost of their lives. So how does one go about finding a lost city? The answer is with great patience, attention to detail and a lot of research. It is, in fact, no different to treasure hunts for more recent treasure, except that sources are different, scarcer and more difficult to follow. There is also much more of an involvement of legend and superstition in searching for a lost city as opposed to your average treasure cache. In addition to this, an anthropological element is introduced: the treasure hunter must be able to interpret symbols, stories and generally earn a wide range of local indigenous people’s trust, making this a specialized area within the treasure hunting profession.
Definitions
‘Lost City’ is a term often thrown about by the media when describing
any sensational archaeological find of any significance, and is constantly
abused by novelists and scriptwriters in their work. Consequently, the
first step to finding lost cities is to get clear on just exactly what the term
itself means. Although terms for human settlements change constantly
with time and geography and often shade into one another, for our
purposes, the term lost city can describe a large settlement of over 5,000
people, which is at least 200 years old, and usually, but not always, has
monumental architecture. Small cities of the ancient world had 2,000 or
3,000 inhabitants; the largest, such as Rome, or Changan in China, may
have had over a million. By contrast a lost village may mean a smaller
settlement of approximately 500 people, existing in any age of human
history, a town may have contained roughly 500 – 2,000 people, and a
ghost town is a term usually reserved for larger settlements of about 5 –
6,000 which often appeared in the ‘old west’ of the United States about
200 – 150 years ago. The term Hamlet can be applied to sparse, tiny,
usually medieval settlements of no more than 50 houses clustered
together, although 6 – 20 houses are quite often a much more realistic
number. All these terms, however, are subject to changing political,
social, domestic, demographic and geographical factors. They also
change with time, which is why experts have difficulty pinning down
exactly what constitutes a city and what is a large town. A ‘city’ on one
side of the world, or in one era, may be considered a ‘village’ on the other
side of the world or in another era, for example.
Consideration of the above problem prompted archaeologists to begin to
try and define the characteristics of urban centers such as cities. In 1950,
one of the most distinguished archaeologists of the 20th century, V.
Gordon – Childe suggested the following developments needed to
characterize a large human settlement as a city:
1. Size and density of the population should be above normal.
2. Differentiation of the population. Not all residents grow their own
food, leading to specialists.
3. Payment of taxes to a deity or king.
4. Monumental public buildings.
5. Those not producing their own food are supported by the king.
6. Systems of recording and practical science.
7. A system of writing.
8. Development of symbolic art.
9. Trade and import of raw materials.
10. Specialist craftsmen from outside the kin-group.
An excerpt from the ebook 'How to find Lost Cities' By Michael Corbin
http://www.treasurehunter.org.uk
another is that of discovering a ‘lost city’. Exploring the ruins of an ancient or little known civilization has been the plot for thousands of books, movies and stories throughout the ages. But few try to find such sites, and those who do, most often fail, frequently paying a dear cost, some ending up bankrupt and in some cases, at the cost of their lives. So how does one go about finding a lost city? The answer is with great patience, attention to detail and a lot of research. It is, in fact, no different to treasure hunts for more recent treasure, except that sources are different, scarcer and more difficult to follow. There is also much more of an involvement of legend and superstition in searching for a lost city as opposed to your average treasure cache. In addition to this, an anthropological element is introduced: the treasure hunter must be able to interpret symbols, stories and generally earn a wide range of local indigenous people’s trust, making this a specialized area within the treasure hunting profession.
Definitions
‘Lost City’ is a term often thrown about by the media when describing
any sensational archaeological find of any significance, and is constantly
abused by novelists and scriptwriters in their work. Consequently, the
first step to finding lost cities is to get clear on just exactly what the term
itself means. Although terms for human settlements change constantly
with time and geography and often shade into one another, for our
purposes, the term lost city can describe a large settlement of over 5,000
people, which is at least 200 years old, and usually, but not always, has
monumental architecture. Small cities of the ancient world had 2,000 or
3,000 inhabitants; the largest, such as Rome, or Changan in China, may
have had over a million. By contrast a lost village may mean a smaller
settlement of approximately 500 people, existing in any age of human
history, a town may have contained roughly 500 – 2,000 people, and a
ghost town is a term usually reserved for larger settlements of about 5 –
6,000 which often appeared in the ‘old west’ of the United States about
200 – 150 years ago. The term Hamlet can be applied to sparse, tiny,
usually medieval settlements of no more than 50 houses clustered
together, although 6 – 20 houses are quite often a much more realistic
number. All these terms, however, are subject to changing political,
social, domestic, demographic and geographical factors. They also
change with time, which is why experts have difficulty pinning down
exactly what constitutes a city and what is a large town. A ‘city’ on one
side of the world, or in one era, may be considered a ‘village’ on the other
side of the world or in another era, for example.
Consideration of the above problem prompted archaeologists to begin to
try and define the characteristics of urban centers such as cities. In 1950,
one of the most distinguished archaeologists of the 20th century, V.
Gordon – Childe suggested the following developments needed to
characterize a large human settlement as a city:
1. Size and density of the population should be above normal.
2. Differentiation of the population. Not all residents grow their own
food, leading to specialists.
3. Payment of taxes to a deity or king.
4. Monumental public buildings.
5. Those not producing their own food are supported by the king.
6. Systems of recording and practical science.
7. A system of writing.
8. Development of symbolic art.
9. Trade and import of raw materials.
10. Specialist craftsmen from outside the kin-group.
An excerpt from the ebook 'How to find Lost Cities' By Michael Corbin
http://www.treasurehunter.org.uk
They do go back to the early modern period, and as you point out, are self sufficient units, often found near mines. Besides, homes of the wealthy are always worth exploring! The book is based on locating more ancient cities, but the principles will work just as well for medieval or early modern settlements. In fact, it should be easier to track these down due to the greater likelihood (usually) of documentation. Haciendas weren't just a Latin American phenomenon though, I think they existed in other Spanish colonies too, like the Philipines, didn't they? I could be wrong, if I am, hopefully someone can correct me on this. The hacienda mirage you mention would be a LOT of trouble tracking down though. Even if you were right about the source of the mirage, and that's a BIG if, one would then have to search for past documentation in the area of the existence of such an estate, rule out possibilities, select a likely site, and start digging. And that's if it's an unknown hacienda...if it's not 'lost', then you could be even looking at a famous ruin! How do you go about researching your sites? I suppose you could try tracking down old mining permits and seraching around the areas mentioned for evidence of a large establishment. Does anybody else have any thoughts on site research? I'd like to get a few opinions on cultures older or outside of Colonial North America.
