In search of the remains of the first city founded by the conquistadors

With brushes and trowels, a group of indigenous women dig the earth in the heart of the Colombian jungle, searching for the archaeological remains of the first city founded on the American continent by the Spanish conquistadors. What appears to be an old pier paved with pebbles rises from the ground to the rhythm of the clicking of shovels. It is one of the possible river entrances to Santa Maria la Antigua del Darien, the first Spanish city founded on the American continent in 1510. It is located in the municipality of Unguia, in northwestern Colombia, in a region bled dry by the Clan del Golfo, the largest drug trafficking gang in the country. Most of the participants in the excavations are women, particularly indigenous and Afro-Colombian. They work under the supervision of Alberto Sarcina, a 55-year-old Italian archaeologist who looks like Indiana Jones. Rubber boots and a large straw hat on his head, he has been trying for ten years to reconstruct the history of the first Hispanic capital in the New World. All around, the thick Darien jungle extends to neighboring Panama.

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“I like finding little things that we don't even know how to make today,” says Karen Suarez, 28, from the Embera people, after unearthing indigenous pottery buried under the old pier. Christopher Columbus first arrived on the island of Hispaniola (now the Dominican Republic and Haiti) in 1492, believing it to be India. From there he led short-lived expeditions to the continent. The founding of Santa Maria la Antigua del Darien was one of the first steps in colonization. “It is here that the conquest of the entire continent begins to develop, that the indigenous genocide begins (...) the arrival of slaves from Africa (...) the interbreeding and resistance” to the conquistadors , underlines Alberto Sarcina, researcher at the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History, at the origin of the excavation project.

The archaeological site extends over around fifty hectares, 33 of which cover the ancient basement of the city, which has now disappeared. There we find tiles, old nails or ceramics from pre-Hispanic communities expelled by Spanish settlers. The ancient city lasted 14 years and had, at its peak, some 5,000 inhabitants. The community is paid for the excavations, its participation in the restoration of the objects found and the reception of tourists. In his workshop, restorer Gilberto Buitrago, 67, tries to give shape to the pieces found: pots, human figures, coins, daggers, utensils. Women help him clean and polish the pieces. In the village without permanent electricity, the working day begins by the light of cell phone torches. “You could say, 'it's just a few stones, a few roads', but no, it's the first city! And it is a part of history (...) a very important contribution,” underlines Gilberto Buitrago.

For Jeniffer Alvarez, 32, the site is “a respite” from the violence in the region, and the machismo that accompanies it. “It’s us, the women, who pay the bills now,” she emphasizes, pouring soil into a cart. Signs explain the ancient sites already identified, such as cobbled streets, a hospital, a furnace where people worked in the forge.

They also tell the story of the conquest and its vicissitudes: the attempt to recreate a Castilian city in the middle of the jungle, the deadly scourge of a mysterious influenza epidemic, the discovery of another sea to reach Asia , the violence of conquest. At the beginning, it was “difficult” to convince the indigenous community of the project, recognizes Alberto Sarcina, because many “did not want to know anything about the city that triggered the tragedy” of the Spanish conquest. The transfer of the conquistador capital to Castilla del Oro, Panama, marked the decline of Santa Maria la Antigua del Darien. In 1524, enslaved locals killed their masters and set fire to the almost uninhabited town. Archaeological research has revealed traces of the fire and burnt remains. A thatched museum showcases the city's discoveries and history. At sunset, it transforms into a cultural center with film screenings, an open-air university for villagers deprived of everything, including basic services. “It captivated me,” enthuses Hector Monterrosa, 16 years old. “For me it’s wonderful, because here I can learn what I want to do: study archaeology.”