A QUEST to find a fabulous lost city is to be stepped up with the imminent exploration of a site deep in the Honduran jungle.

President Juan Orlando Hernandez has announced that scientists and archaeologists are to search the area where it is believed the White City, also known as the City of the Monkey God, is hidden.

The legend of the monkey god city is as powerful as that of El Dorado or Atlantis, with Spanish colonisers the first to search for the long lost riches of an ancient civilisation.

Stories of a species that was half human, half monkey and reports of sightings of the city over the centuries have fuelled the rumours and now archaeologists are to dig near the country’s Caribbean coast in an attempt to uncover the lost remains.

Hernandez has welcomed the dig as recent finds of carved stones and ruins have sparked international interest.

“The rest of the world is talking about us and the White City in tourism terms and we want to put that in the context of the new infrastructure we are building – highways, airports, ports. We need to be ready to take advantage of this great opportunity,” he said.

ISN’T IT JUST A MYTH?

IT is true that some archaeologists are sceptical about whether the monkey god city can ever be found or, indeed, ever existed.

The origin of the stories about the metropolis often referred to as Ciudad Blanca, the city built of white stone, are obscure but in a region covered by the largest rain forest in Central America it is not surprising that there are tales of a lost civilisation.

This Mosquite region of Nicaragua and Honduras covers 20,000 square miles of rivers, swamps and almost impenetrable vegetation and is a hotbed of deadly predators and disease-carrying insects.

Just last autumn, members of a team of scientists and archaeologists trying to find the lost city were struck down by the tropical disease Leishmaniasis which causes potentially disfiguring sores.

“I’m not Indiana Jones,” said Colorado State University archaeologist Chris Fisher. “I’m a scientist. I’m very, very careful in the field so this was an unexpected thing.”

SO WHAT IS THE PROOF?





IT is Fisher, left, who has been leading the way in the search for the lost city in recent months. He claims he doesn’t believe in legends but he is certain that a particular valley inside the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve does contain the ruins of a lost city and that he has recovered evidence to prove it. His most recent expedition last October, while blighted by the contraction of Leishmaniasis, also found carved stone artefacts and is the reason the site is to be explored further.

It is hoped that what they find will confirm the tales, first recorded in 1526 by Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortés, of the seriously rich cities hidden in the jungle. Anthropologists later found that the Pech, Tawahka and Miskito Indians spoke of a “White House” where the indigenous people found sanctuary from the Spanish invaders.

Interest in the lost civilisation grew in the United States after aviator Charles Lindbergh flew over Honduras in 1927 and apparently reported seeing a white city. Some dispute whether he ever said this but it did not stop adventurer and eccentric journalist Theodore Morde claiming in 1939 that he had found it. He refused to reveal its location on the grounds it could attract looters and later committed suicide, taking his secrets with him to the grave.

WHY THE RENEWED INTEREST?

IN this century, documentary film-maker Steve Elkins sparked new speculation about the lost city when along with business partner Bill Benenson, he used infra-red laser beams to reveal ruins along a valley previously pinpointed as a possible site for the elusive remains.

The pair asked Fisher to help and he agreed to make his first trip to the site early last year after his analysis of the laser data showed large plazas, irrigation canals and other examples of farming practice, as well as a possible pyramid.

What’s more the infra-red laser technology uncovered not just one possible city but two.

To help cope with the dangers of the exploration from snakes, insects and diseases the team enlisted the help of three ex-British Special Air Service (SAS) officers. Among its discoveries, the team found altar-like stones atop tripods made from white boulders along with beautifully carved sculptures such as the head of a jaguar and vessels carved with snakes as well as what looked like decorated thrones. Fifty-two objects were found above ground with many more believed to be below the surface.

WHAT ARE THE THREATS?

NOW the last, most expensive expedition is due to begin with the backing of the Honduran government which has ordered the protection of the site by the military.

Unfortunately the area is threatened by the destruction of the rain forest by cattle farmers and while this is illegal it may soon reach the vicinity of the city, clearing the way for looters. Some archaeologists are also critical. Honduran Ricardo Agurcia said the finds have little scientific merit.

Added Honduran archaeology expert Rosemary Joyce, of Berkeley, California: “Reading these reports, it seems like 1915 has come again and everything actual archaeologists have spent the last century learning has been swept away. For modern archaeologists who aren’t trying to aggrandise themselves or live a fantasy about tomb raiders, the imagery of ‘discovery’ and ‘lost civilizations’ make this story tragic: instead of knowledge, this story is a message of ignorance.”

Whether the remains are those of Ciudad Blanca or not, the find will be significant for the indigenous people as the lack of evidence of a lost city has also highlighted the lack of detail about their former golden age and autonomy.