History of Laguna de Guatavita

reduce the water level by 20 metres, before collapsing and killing many of the labourers. A share of the findings - consisting of various golden ornaments, jewellery and armour - was sent to King Philip the 2nd of Spain. Sepúlveda's discovery came to approximately 12,000 pesos. He died a poor man, and is buried at the church in the small town of Guatavita.

In 1801, Alexander von Humboldt made a visit to Guatavita, and on his return to Paris, calculated from the findings of Sepúlveda's efforts that Guatavita could eventually offer up as much as $300 million worth of gold.

In 1898, 'The Company for the Exploitation of the Lagoon of Guatavita' was formed and taken over by 'Contractors Ltd.' of London, in a deal brokered by British expatriate Mr Hartley Knowles. The lake was successfully drained by means of a tunnel that emerged in the centre of the lake. The water was eventually drained to a depth of about 4 feet of mud and slime.

This made it impossible to explore, and when the mud had dried sitting and being baked by the sun, it had set like concrete. A haul of only £500 was found, and subsequently auctioned at Sothebys of London. The company eventually filed for bankruptcy and ceased activities in 1929