Casey's Journal

--Continued from Previous Journal #6

Approx. 400 miles N of Lima, Peru. Moche Excavation/Search

July 6, 2005
Still hung over from my own personal July 4th celebration. Miguel brought me something that smelled more like
gasoline than rum, but we made due.  After giving the work assignments to the crew, Miguel and I took the day off
and hacked our way through 5 miles of dense forest to a river that some of the local villagers told us about.  The
water was surprisingly warm considering the height of the mountain it runs from. First bath I’ve had in 3 weeks. I don’
t know who is happier about that, Miguel or me.
Beautiful mountains, lush forest. Paradise. At least it should be. I’m still having nagging doubts.
Digging has gone slower than I expected since the local government moved us half a mile from the original Moche
excavation. We found several tombs that, in my estimation, compare with the recent findings at Dos Cabezas in
the lower Jequetepeque Valley. Gold and copper burial masks… Skeletal remains of prisoners who evidently were
sacrificed after losing ritualized battles. Shipped specimens for carbon dating in Venezuela.
Anyway, I’m tired… going to bed…. I miss you Tika.

July 8, 2005
Still digging but so far, nothing. We should have stayed in the main site. I’ve looked at every damn map and
geological record that I can get my hands on and can’t find a reason to dig here. The Peruvian officials that I’m
dealing with are business like when it comes to talking about the reasons for our relocation and they are adamant
that we dig here. When I question the status of our previous site, and the relics we found, they assure me that they
are being transported to the Peruvian Historical Information branch.  

July 15, 2005
Nothing to report. Just dirty and tired…. The usual.

July 19, 2005
Got letter from Tika. I just can’t… I need to be here now. I hope you will understand.

July 22, 2005
3 more feet down on 7 different holes and still nothing.

July 23, 2005
Hitched a ride back to original site 4. A few guards were standing watch for looters while the excavation
continues, albeit at a much slower pace.  Lots of trucks standing ready for shipping the artifacts.  The crews here
are expecting some UCLA archeology students to arrive within the next 2 days to help with the ongoing
research and dating.

July 25, 2005
FINALLY!  The government officials called a halt here today. We’ve been here for 3 weeks and digging our
asses off with nothing to show. Lord knows I’ve got patience for this job but, not running on a fool’s errand. We’ll
start breaking down the tents and digging tools and moving at first light. The next site looks promising. We’ll be
traveling to a site 300 miles South of here which is just East of El Brujo. I’ve talked to some friends who have
been there in the past few years but the Peruvian government wouldn’t give them permission to dig. Now we have
permission from the Regional Institute of Culture and the University of Trujillo.
I truly believe I can find verifiable proof that the Moche civilization is far older than we have dated so far. I believe in
my heart that we will find and date the outlying villages at more than 3000 years earlier than previously discovered.

July 27, 2005
We have set up and will begin our prelim search in the morning. Impossible to sleep.  I can’t relate in words for this
journal what the air feels like here.  There is electricity in every step, every breath. It is a euphoria to watch the
breeze move the tops of the tall trees.  Miguel feels it as well. Something is here, and it’s no wonder that the
government is so adamant about inspecting the ways and means of the groups that dig here. I’ve never felt anything
like this…..

July 28, 2005
Sent query to colleagues in the States concerning this site. The sun descends below the horizon long before we
are tired. The locals we have hired as porters and laborers have begun a steady chant that, if I interpret correctly,
the translation is—we are in the circle.. bathe us with the light… Heaven (or sky). .. and we shall rejoice.—
Miguel can only understand a limited amount of the words.  The men say it is a very old song, from their
grandfathers, grandfathers ancestors. Most of the words have lost their meaning in time.

August 10, 2005
We have broken through a wooden door in pit 2, which is set at a 45 degree angle against vertical.  Our depth is
20 feet from the surface, through loose stone and aggregate rock.  The air in the cavern must be vented before we
can continue. 2 of our diggers passed out when they accidentally broke through the door and the contained
gases escaped through the opening.  I am having gas generators brought in along with electric fans that will pull
fresh air into the cavern so that we can continue as soon as possible.  
From what I can make out so far.. The diggers were following a path of least resistance to the door, which seems
to be made of timber about 6 inches thick.  It's almost as if the soil in the tunnel was laid in at a different time...
Sometime after the forest swallowed the rest of the site. The approximate door measurement would then be 6
feet 6 inches tall, by 3 feet 3 inches wide, and 6 inches thick.  Looks to be a local wood but we'll run tests to be
sure.  Digging continues in the 3 other pits with no result.

August 15, 2005
We have vented the gases and cleared the doorway in pit 2 and have sent samples to UCLA for carbon dating.  
Once inside the hallway we found our way blocked after 90 feet.  The slope of the tunnel/hallway took us 70
down. I can’t tell yet how thick the stone wall is in front of us but, on a hunch, we are attempting to tunnel left
(south) in an effort to find another door or a corner. The wall we have encountered is set in perfect orientation to
magnetic north.

August 20, 2005
After tunneling 210 feet south, we have reached a 90 degree corner in the wall and are following it west. I have
requested ultra sonic equipment to be brought in so that we don’t have to dig all the way around this son of a
bitch.  By my measurements, we should be able to ascertain the location of the West wall where, I believe the main
door should be.

August 21, 2005
Letter from Tika. I wish… I’m on the edge of finding what I have looked for all my life. I can’t turn away from it now. I
never meant to leave you alone, though that’s what I have done.  I wasn’t running away from you, I was running
towards something else. Some hope of something more than me. But when I stop… I did run from you… And you
are perfect. And moving on… You didn’t say so but.. Maybe …

September 03,2005
Ultrasound came this morning. Somebody in the Peruvian government must think highly of us.  The main wall and
door is close to where I thought, facing West. We should reach the opening in 2 days.

September 04, 2005
Rain. A torrential rain. Started this morning at 0900 or so.  Should pass soon.  I've been looking at diagrams and
drawings of other temple complexes found in this area and they don't match what we seem to have found. The
prelim graph from the ultra sound equipment  indicates much thicker stone work than expected. When this storm
passes I'll have more workers brought in.

September 07, 2005
No luck.  El Nino rain still pouring down on us.  Hope we don't get 30 years of it. The tunnels  are now mostly
submerged. We put up sandbags to divert most of the water from the openings but it's seeping in from the over
saturated ground above. Two of the workers tents were blown loose in the night.
I've been going over the Moche pottery that is set to be transported out.  Some of the sexual drawings are....
optimistic. Or maybe they had a lot of time on their hands for experimentation. The ladies in Boys Town can't
come close to this!  I'll draw them out later for cataloguing.  Most of the depictions are of sexual play other than
that needed for insemination and pregnancy.  No wonder the Inca were pissed.

September 10, 2005
Rain has stopped. Clearing the tunnels of water and mud. Mosquito's are in rare form and seem to love our
discomfort. Some of the villagers roll in the mud to form a coating of mud and clay that the little bastards cant get
through. I'll stick to copious amounts of campfire smoke. I can't guess how long it will take to clear the tunnels...
Especially if the rain returns.
I've heard word of another discovery about 15 miles away, from Tim Dillray that suggests the Moche society
survived beyond 650AD. I wish him luck, but I'm after the origination of the culture.

September 15, 2005
Almost done clearing the tunnel. No more heavy rain, just a few light showers. The workers I requested are still not
here. Our crew is still 25 locals and 3 team leaders from the Regional Institute of Culture, and Miguel. We are still
optimistic that we will find..... everything. There is still such a power here.
We are sleeping in shifts so that there is a constant presence at the pit. I'm not willing to accept that the locals
would steal... actually, I'm not willing NOT to accept it.  These sites have been looted since Christ was in diapers
and I'll be damned if some fool with dollar signs in his eyes gets the proof I need. I'm considering asking our hosts
for the same guards as on site 4. Hope it won't be necessary but, if we find what I think, we might as well be
prepared. The poverty this region has endured makes a man consider foolish things.  Our proximity to Columbia
causes me some concern as well.

September 19, 2005
Broken through the main door on the West wall.  It took 2 days to lift the door off it's hinges and remove it, while
leaving it as intact as possible. We were met by the same noxious fumes as before but had the equipment to deal
with it immediately. I am tired to the bone but can manage only a few hours of sleep at night. My dreams are so lucid
on occasions that I can taste the salt on your lips Tika.  The smell of your hair hangs a breath above my cot as I
struggle to wake in the night.
I'm so close. There are always taxes...

September 23, 2005
We have searched over a mile of corridor to find the chamber of a noble.  After moving aside the stone door, we
found the remains of a female servant. Her hands were not bound behind her back as usual, but her throat was cut,
as in sacrifice. I assume she was the servant of the noble in life, and followed her in death.  The walls have been
painted in elaborate decoration. Not the glyph's of the Egyptians. Actual drawings of life events. Of birth and
parenting, of marriage and sex, then devotion to the god Decapitator. Signified by the god holding a severed
head in one hand and a knife in the other. The mask covering her face was the most complex I have seen. Solid gold
with opalescent jewels for eyes. I had Miguel wrap it immediately in his shirt before we allowed the rest of the
diggers into the chamber. I'll send him to Caracas in the morning to deliver it and some specimens for carbon dating
to a friend from UCLA who is leaving for the states.
The inscriptions are faded but I believe this is what I have searched for.  There are no mention of the
catastrophes that occurred in the region in 200 BC. The depth of the structure and the ceramics are unique for
this area. If the carbon dating reveals what I believe it will.... This find must date 3000 years before Christ. I'm not
jumping the gun Tika. I believe. I've spent 5 years searching for this. As soon as the carbon dating comes back in 3
weeks, I'll start the paper and release my findings. I'll be home soon.

September 27, 2005
We have continued to excavate. 2 more chambers have been found. They do not truly compare to the first but the
finds are still of great importance.  The walls of the last chamber describe in drawings a period of flooding that
should be substantiated by core samples from the region. I'll bring the UCLA students in to pull the samples so
that there is no difficulty with corroborating evidence.  Another batch of samples will also be sent with the core
samples.  I expected Miguel back yesterday.
I'll continue to push on into the interior of the structure though, as with most of these sites, the main antechamber
is most indicative of the holdings throughout.

October 1, 2005
I reported Miguel missing to the authorities this morning.  Worried..
Where are you my friend?

October 4, 2005
I don't believe Miguel ever made his flight from Trujillo, our friends in Caracas would have called... Still no word
from him, although  Ciudad de Universitaria in Caracas has sent a cable asking  when the specimens will be
delivered. I will be leaving this site tomorrow, and tracing his route to the airport in Trujillo. Tika, I'm sending copies
of the notes for this dig to you as well as to a friend in LA, just to be safe.  I've gotten no help from anyone here...
I know how you must feel about me but I have to ask you to hold these documents. I wouldn't ask if it wasn't
important..

October 23, 2005
Found Miguel 5 miles from the dig site. They dumped his body in a ravine on the way to the airport. I spent 2
weeks looking from Trujillo to Lima before re-tracing his steps from the beginning. No one but us knew he had
anything other than the usual samples. I thought I was being so careful.