Day 858
San Agustin
“So, why are we going to San Agustin?” I asked. Looking at the map I realised that to go there was a 60-mile round trip with hills, and lots of them. Even feeling fitter I needed a really good reason to go there. Tom shot me a withering look, glanced at the phone in my hand, his expression telling me to perhaps stop scrolling social media and do some research. Wikipedia to the rescue, turns out San Agustin is home to a Unesco World Heritage Site, the San Agustin Archaeological Park, home to the largest collection of prehistoric stone carvings in Colombia, and the world’s largest necropolis, or burial ground to you and me. OK, I started pedalling.
Around 5,000 years ago, in the eastern foothills of the Colombian Massif, a nomadic people made this area their home. It was, and still is, a rich fertile land with plenty of water from the Magdalena River and a great variety of wildlife. Over the years these people started to settle in small groups. Very little is known about them other than for some reason they decided to carve these awesome statues. At this site alone there are over 300, all uniquely different. Two further sites nearby contain 200 more. They often have a mix of human and animal features, vary in height with the tallest being 7 metres tall. Originally, they were painted in bright colours, but now only traces of pigment remain. The statues were found guarding graves, some as sentries outside, more inside directly in front of the grave. The graves and statues were then buried with earth, creating huge mounds. Probably only the leaders of the community were honoured in this way. There are three types of ‘coffin’ - stone, wood or the body would be placed in the foetal position and buried in a large earthen pot. The graves contained no riches for the deceased to use in the afterlife, just a few pots. Unfortunately, over the centuries this did not stop people damaging the graves looking for gold, taking the statues to place in their homes or even use for building materials. Back in 1935 the Colombian government set about recording and preserving the site and it became a Unesco site in 1995. At some point in the 14th and 15th centuries this community appears to have disappeared. Did they die out? Move to join other communities elsewhere? No one knows.
Today we were able to stroll along shady paths lined with different statues, see awesome carvings in the river bed, visit the sites of many of the excavated graves, learn as much as is known about these people, which isn’t much, and have a fantastic coffee made with beans grown in the hills nearby. It was all beautifully laid out, spotlessly clean and definitely worth the effort to get here.
We also visited a small family run museum opposite our hotel. About 70 years ago a local farmer started to find graves, statues, pots, tools etc. on his land, as did many others. However, instead of selling or utilising these finds, he set up a museum in his home. The Colombian government would like them to be housed at the main site or in a museum in Bogota but the family prefer to display them themselves. Long term I’m unsure which is the better option, but it was certainly a treat for us to get a personal tour of this private collection.
San Agustin itself is a great place to chill for a few days. Laid out in the usual grid pattern of streets, all the buildings are painted a uniform white and dark green. Though clearly a town that attracts a lot of visitors because of the archaeological site, it has managed to retain its identity. Yes, there are a few locally run restaurants and shops catering for the tourists but they don’t dominate and its all the better for it. And it’s downhill on the way out, for a little bit anyway!
