Douglas Eugene \u201cGene\u201d Savoy was born in Bellingham, Washington on May 11, 1927. He had no formal training as an archaeologist, but nevertheless, he spent a lot of time deep in the jungles of Peru. He discovered more than 40 lost cities in his career, including Vilcabamba, the Incas\u2019 last refuge from the Spanish conquistadors. People magazine called him \u201cthe real Indiana Jones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, like the movie-hero Indiana Jones, Savoy\u2019s expeditions weren\u2019t entirely driven by archaeology. He had much grander plans \u2014 including finding the legendary city of El Dorado, where rumors have it that one can delve into the \u201cancient roots of universal religion\u201d \u2014 and \u2014 the fabled fountain of youth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1969, Savoy captained a research ship and sailed around the world gathering information on sea routes used by ancient civilizations to prove his theory that they could have been in contact with one another. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Savoy returned to Peru in 1984, where he discovered Gran Vitaya, the largest pre-Columbian city in South America. On one of his last trips to Gran Vitaya, he discovered a tablet that held inscriptions alluding to ships that were sent by King Solomon to the biblical land of Ophir to gather gold for the king\u2019s temple.\u00a0
Discovery of the tablet started Savoy on what was maybe his most ambitious adventure \u2014 to find the exact location of Ophir and to find proof that the gold in Solomon\u2019s Jerusalem temple came from South America. And \u2014 to learn the secret to immortality.
It probably doesn\u2019t come as a surprise to you that throughout his career, scholars scoffed at his theories and were skeptical of his findings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I hate to spoil the ending, but Savoy didn\u2019t find the secret to immortality. He died in Reno, Nevada, where he was known as The Most Right Reverend Douglas Eugene Savoy \u2014 head of the International Community of Christ.\u00a0
Members of his church believed that staring at the sun would allow them to take in God\u2019s energy and become immortal. (I suspect that they might not ever have good eyesight, though.) Savoy\u2019s religion was based on a secret Savoy said was revealed to him in the jungles of Peru.
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Douglas Eugene \u201cGene\u201d Savoy was born in Bellingham, Washington on May 11, 1927. He had no formal training as an archaeologist, but nevertheless, he spent a lot of time deep in the jungles of Peru. He discovered more than 40 … Continue reading