Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2011 10:36:37 -0700 (PDT)
From: Bob Archman <bldhrymn@yahoo.com>
Subject: Treasure Hunt 2

Treasure Hunt 2

By Bald Hairy Man

This is a story for adult men. It depicts gay sex.  If this offends or
bothers you, DO NOT READ IT. It is a fantasy and is not a sex manual, or a
discussion of safe sex. If you have, any comments send them to
bldhrymn@yahoo.com

A major storm came in later that night so there was no way we could get to
the site for the next two days. We spent the day planning. I had more
experience than anyone else with expeditions, but a month or two in the
field during the summer didn't make me an archaeologist.  I had worked with
Dr. Samuel West on a site in western Mexico. He impressed me as a gifted
and skilled man. He taught at Penn and thus moved in elevated circles.

Julio knew one of the top men in Mexico City, Xavier Colonna. I was aware
of the name and had read several articles he wrote in academic journals. We
discussed an all-Mexican staff, but Julio was opposed. He wanted broad
media coverage and exposure to the site. He felt a joint Mexican-United
States effort was desirable. I called Penn and was told Dr. West was in
Guatemala. He had a cell phone and it worked. I outlined what we had found
and he said he could be there in a day.

Julio called Xavier and had the same experience. Julio and Rod would
finance the expedition. Julio had no end of men who were willing to serve
as diggers. He wanted his own people to do the labor.  He trusted them and
could avoid the petty pilfering that can be typical of digs.

He also wanted to make sure we had a season or two of digging before any
big announcements. He was insistent that any mention of the Duke of Lerna
was kept secret. "We will be overwhelmed by treasure hunters otherwise," he
said.

"I can take care of those," Captain Luis said.

Julio laughed. "I am afraid you greatly underestimate the lure of
treasure," he said. "If you just mention the words gold and emeralds we
will have half the population of Mexico here."

"And perhaps fifty percent of the redneck population of the United States,"
I added. "We need to keep it quiet and keep it ways from the cable
television fake documentaries. Long inscriptions are one thing. Gold and
jewels are another." We had a plan of action but needed the professional to
make a final plan. They were on the way.

Since it was raining, I took a trip to Padre Ernesto's Church.  It was
spectacular.  It was an ancient pile, largely unchanged. It was perfectly
preserved; it didn't have electricity.  The library was on an upper level
of the bell tower and was unexpectedly dry. The documents seemed to be in
good condition. Ernesto pulled a lead box from a shelf. When he opened it
there was a sheaf of parchment pages, all inscribed in Greek.  The title
was An Account of the Southern Regions, 1594.  By the standards of the
time, the script was simple and workmanlike. The Author did not sign the
work other than referring to himself as the Greek.

I was vaguely aware some Greeks fled to Spain after the fall of
Constantinople, El Greco was a descendant of that group. Apparently, one of
these Greeks attached himself to an expedition. He wasn't a calligrapher,
so the script was simple and easy to read compared to the elaborate efforts
of calligraphers. The Greek had subdivided the text into chapters and given
each a title and a descriptive paragraph.

The title of Chapter I was, "Arrival."  The paragraph began with, "I
arrived in S. Maria Espagnosa and met the Abbott."  I quickly looked
through the chapters headings. Chapter XIII was, "Conversion," and the
description was, "By Father Juan's powerful preaching we convert the Bear
Tribe from their heathen ways to bask in the grace of our Lord Jesus."
Chapter LXVII was "Massacre. We find the remains of a noble party of
Spaniards massacred by the Bear Tribe many years earlier." "The final
Chapter was "Plague." It was unfinished.

Frankly, the last thing you would expect to find in a Renaissance
manuscript is clarity. Later on, I discovered our Greek was also fluent in
Latin and he much admired the simple prose of Caesar's Gallic
Wars. Elsewhere in the text the Greek wrote, "This is a true account
unembellished by the fantasies demanded by the expectation of our
times. Father Juan wanted the text to be useful for those who followed him
so they would be better prepared for the trials that awaited them. The good
Father wanted the failures as well as the successes chronicled.  Thus I
wrote this in Greek so it could be understood only by the worthy."

There were a total of 67 manuscripts in the library. Most were copies of
religious and theological works. Our Greek had two more works of his
own. One was "Memories."  In this book, he had interviewed older men and
women and recorded their memories of the place. The other was, "An Account
of the Bear Tribe." This was an effort to compile stories of the history of
the local tribe, complete with a history and customs and religion.

I leafed through this and found Chapter XLI, Sacrifice. "While the heathens
followed many of the barbaric customs of the residents of most of this
area, the Bear Tribe was distinguished by its rejection of Human sacrifice.
At one time elders recall hearing of such practices, but no one recalled a
human sacrifice in their or their grandparents' lifetimes."

The Bear tribe offered the seed of life as their gift to the Gods. The
Greek was a bit cagey about the exact meaning of seed of life. He said the
rituals were obscene but not violent. He went into some detail about the
debates among the priests as to how to stamp out the practices.

Apparently, our Greek and Father Juan wanted to take the slow and easy way
to emphasize the virtues of the Church. "While the practices of their
religion are shocking, they are far less so than the vile brutality of most
of this area. I fear if we stamp them out, they may well be replaced by
something much worse," he wrote quoting Father Juan.  His opponent was a
man named Brother Carlos. He felt the rites "were depraved and far worse
than Human sacrifice."  The Greek did not like Brother Carlos and was very
frank in his opinions. I assumed Brother Carlos could not read Greek.

Father Juan observed, "Salvation is still available to those who
participate in the Bear Tribe rituals no matter how disturbing you find
them. Dead men can't repent." Father Juan was the senior priest and his
ideas carried the day. The outbreak of the plague ended all discussions on
the subject.

I returned the book to its lead box and returned to the hacienda. I told
Julio about the documents. We needed a conservator who was knowledgeable
about parchment books. I was concerned about the state of the documents in
their lead boxes.  Once they were opened, they might deteriorate. He called
Mexico City and the next day Brian Salazar arrived.

Brian looked like a dapper English gentleman except for his dark complexion
and black hair.  I thought he almost looked like a Mexican playing the role
of an Englishman. It was disconcerting, and got more so when he talked. He
had a pure Oxford accent.

I wondered if he were a stunningly pretentious man. I later found out his
father was a diplomat and served at the Mexican embassy in London, as well
as New Delhi and Ottawa. Brian was indeed educated at Oxford. We went to
the church and I showed him the documents.  He was stunned.  Their value
was incalculable. After an afternoon exploring the treasures, we went to
talk to Julio.

Brian wanted to take them to a conservation lab in Mexico City.  Julio
would have none of that.  He wanted to make sure the objects stayed in the
area. "What would it take to set up a lab," Ron asked.

"It is very expensive, $200,000.00 to $300,000.00," Brian replied.

"That is doable," Rod replied.

"Let me show you something," Julio said.  He took us to a building to the
rear of the hacienda. We went in and discovered it was his library. "My
mother loved to read.  My father built this for her," he explained. "It is
air conditioned and humidity controlled.  The books would mildew without
it."

The room was somewhat cool and was dry.

After considerable discussion, Brian agreed to the arrangement. He did not
read Greek and understood Julio's concern about losing the district's
treasures to Mexico City. Since Julio and Ron had deep pockets and were
sensitive to the conservation needs of the documents, he was satisfied.  He
knew of a scholar who spoke Greek and could do a Spanish translation along
with my English translation.

Samuel and Xavier arrived the next day. They knew each other, but had never
worked together. Samuel tended to act and look likes the absent-minded
professor. Actually, he was more like the absent-minded professor meets
Gabby Hayes. He had been in the field and his beard and hair were out of
control. They were never much under control anyway, but he looked almost
deranged. Xavier was perfectly groomed and I foresaw a problem.

Both men were completely bi-lingual and the hit it off
immediately. Xavier's strong suit was linguistics and decipherment. Samuel
was a field man who enjoyed getting in the dig and getting his hands
dirty. Xavier liked analysis and the careful study of objects and
inscriptions. Their talents complimented each other. When they saw the
site, I immediately saw how complimentary they were.

Julio's men had cleared more of the inscription. We had christened the area
the Plaza of the Inscriptions, but we had since found a second site, the
Grand Boulevard. This was a diagonal street lined by as yet unexplored
mounds. The inscriptions in the Plaza alone could occupy a team for years.

The architecture of the mounds appeared to be distinctive and somewhat
different from other sites.  There was more than enough work for several
teams of excavators. Samuel and Xavier split up the work. Xavier was the
chief archaeologist, the director; Samuel was the Site Manager and in
charge of field operations.

I knew there was no reason to have an amateur like me involved at all. I
did know Samuel and we had a good experience several years earlier, but
that was hardly a qualification. My Greek skills were needed and I had
presented the site in a clear and direct way to the men. Clarity isn't a
characteristic of most archaeological presentations, and both men
appreciated that.

More importantly, Rod was my friend and he would be partially funding the
excavation. Keeping the donor happy is the most important unwritten rule of
excavations. One the expedition I had been on with Samuel we had the son of
the donor working with us.  He was trying to find himself without any
success. Finding himself seemed to involve a lot of Mexican beer. Samuel
had a good relationship with the local Police chief and that saved the
day. An amateur archaeologist who could read Greek was not a problem.

Samuel bunked with Robin and me while he was at La Casa. Xavier got his own
room. I was impressed this didn't bother Samuel.  Status is complicated in
a foreign country.  It is better to be modest and unassuming, than to be
bent out of shape over what might or might not be a slight. Xavier was the
Executive Director for a federal agency, and was accorded the appropriate
considerations.

I knew Samuel was unmarried and noticed while he was strictly professional
with all the volunteers at the dig he was a bit more attentive to some of
the younger men.  I put one and one together and assumed he was a member of
the fraternity. I also assumed he liked younger men, but he got along with
us well. Pedro liked him a lot

Physically, Samuel had all the grace an elegance of a brick. He looked
short and squat, although he was of average height. He was above average
width. He wasn't fat; he was just thick. Samuel had no waist and almost no
neck. He had a drooping beer can sitting on two oranges in place of
genitals.

When he discovered the nearly naked dress code of La Casa, he was a happy
man; he had no problem being naked in the room. The first night Pedro
treated him to one of his sleep inducing treatments. Samuel liked
that. Samuel had a big cock head with a wide slit that was partially
open. On the second night Samuel was with us, Alfonso dropped in to
talk. He wore only his gold cock ring. Samuel's cock began to drip.

After Alfonso left, Samuel apologized. "Sorry about that," he said. "I
can't control my cock as well as I should."

"It's hard to keep secrets when you're naked," I said. He was standing next
to me as I sat on the bed. I leaned over and licked his cock drool. He
spurted a thick ribbon of sperm in response. I opened my mouth and took it
as well as the following spurts. Later Robin joked I sure had a way to make
friends.

Samuel was always ready to play. He explained to me that he liked younger
men, but most were strictly off limits for a tenured professor. "I wasn't
as if I was a stud magnet even when I was young," he said. "As I got older
and woollier, it got harder to find the men I wanted. The Gabby Hayes look
isn't for everybody. About five years ago, I gave up and had fun with some
men my own age. This may sound strange I thought I need a stud to ring my
chimes. It was nice to have any sex with anyone and pretty soon it was a
lot more than nice."

"I also discovered once I stopped hunting for young stud muffins, I seemed
to attract more," he continued. "That look of desperation isn't that
attractive. It turns out there are some young men who want to play with
gramps. I need to warn you; I am in heat all the time. I am always ready to
play. If I'm awake, I willing!"

"You sound like a teenager," Robin said.

"That's it. I'm a randy teenager trapped in a fifty-five-year-old body,"
Samuel replied. "I am ready, willing and able most of the time."

We laughed and went to bed. In time, we discovered Samuel described himself
correctly.  He was always willing to join in. He was most open minded as to
playmates and seemed to attract younger men who wanted a father figure.

Pedro knew of Samuel's tastes and brought some younger men to the
room. These were all in their early twenties, and seemed to like Samuel,
Robin and m genuinely.  At first, I thought they were just doing us a
favor, but Pedro explained the tribal customs.

Given the rough life in the jungle, men tended to die young. Older men were
greatly respected since advanced age was a mark of divine favor. It was an
honor to associate with older men, especially if they were wise and
learned. We fit those characteristics.  When I said they associated with
older men, I meant they had sex with older men. I got the impression they
thought we transmitted wisdom and longevity through sperm. I later found
this was correct and a major part of the tribal traditions.

Robin liked to top; I tended to bottom and Samuel did it all.  This was a
revelation to the Indians. Traditionally older men topped; younger men
bottomed. It was a great honor for them to top an older man.  It also
seemed Indian sexual relations were firmly of the slam, bang, and thank you
ma'am school. Samuel got them to take their time.  They discovered the joys
of spending ten or fifteen minutes in a welcoming ass.

Given his unusual sexual drive, Samuel was a workhorse, and never seem to
have a conflict between his sexual urges and his professional life. He
could be drenched in sweat and covered in dirt, but still suck a cock and
get the work done. He struck me as a human bulldozer.

Samuel got along well with the laborers on his digs. Traditionally there
was a wall between the academic staff and the peons, the diggers and
laborers who actually did the physical labor. On many of his excavations,
the laborers were students so it was a different relationship. It was more
of a coach-team sort of thing. Samuel discovered you got better work by
treating the hired help well. He always insisted they be well paid, and he
explained the significance of a find to the man who found it.

He also gave credit where credit was due. He had the photographer take a
picture of the laborer with his find and gave credit to the laborer. This
was shocking to most of the men. Traditionally the archaeologist got credit
even if he or she had been on vacation at the time of the actual discovery.

Samuel's attitude combined with Rod's good pay made for a happy site. We
had no problems with pilfering and work moved at a good pace. I remembered
when a student at an earlier excavation referred to a worker as a peon.  He
never made that mistake again, or at least never in Samuel's
presence. Samuel had a good memory for names and knew many of the men.

This was oddly erotic. He was a man's man. He certainly had a face and body
only a man could like. By contrast, Xavier was sleek and almost
elegant. While Samuel was an over grown forest of a man, Xavier was a
carefully pruned topiary shrub. Every hair was in place; every phase he
said was carefully composed and considered. I discovered later his sexual
drive may well have equaled Samuels, but Xavier was careful and selective.

When the rain stopped, we visited the site and they were dazzled. The
buildings appeared to have been abandoned, not conquered. The only damage
was from the thick vegetation. Every stone either seemed to be in place, or
could be easily put back in place. Xavier's quick survey of the exposed
inscriptions suggested it was a mythological work as I surmised. It was not
just a chronicle of dates and events. It appeared to be a literary
composition.

Of course, only a portion of the lengthy inscriptions was exposed and there
was room for a variety of literary works including histories.  Samuel was
interested in the diagonal grand boulevard. We as yet didn't know where it
led, but such a street was odd. Most Mayan buildings were on an
approximately rectangular grid. The boulevard seemed to lead from the
square Plaza of the Inscriptions at forty-five degrees to another site. The
diagonal geometry was rare.

The jungle was exceptionally thick and it was hard to see more than a few
yards ahead. You almost had to be on a building to find it and it was hard
to tell the difference between a natural feature and a mound. So far, we
had not found a major pyramid site.

Samuel thought it was almost inconceivable that a pyramid was not a part of
the site. I asked if there might be a Cenote, or sacred well associated
with the city. That too would have been typical of a sacred site.

My supposition of the existence of a sacred well was a lucky guess.  A week
later, we found it. In this case, the Mayans carved the edge of the well
into a series of terraces forming an amphitheater, focused on the well. It
was essentially an inverted pyramid carved into the earth.  It was at the
other end of the Grand Boulevard. The inverted pyramid was cone shaped and
perfectly round.

We were in the rainy season and we rarely got more than a day or two of
work done before rain interrupted progress. This gave us some time to think
and relax. This was good for us. The rain also cleaned off the exposed
portions of the Plaza of the Inscriptions. When we returned to the site
after a rainstorm, the sunlight on the white stone glyphs was beautiful. It
also brought out details in the carving that were hard to see. We took
pictures in the early morning to show the detail.

I had planned to go home after a week to make up my mind if I wanted to
work on the project. I couldn't do that. I was like a child in a candy
store. Every day was so exciting I couldn't tear myself away. I called a
cousin and told him to close up the house.

Luck was with me. My cousin Ralph had just lost his job and needed a place
to live. He said he'd move in and keep the home fires burning until I
returned. I stayed at the site for several months.  Expeditions usually
take years to be organized and funded. Julio and Rod weren't men who
developed a grant proposal, submitted it to a foundation and waited for a
board to review and approve it.

Both were men of action and of wealth.  In Julio's case, wealth was paired
with power. If they wanted to do something, they did it. There was a
potential for such driven men to steamroll over the site, missing important
artifacts. Rod was driven, but knowledgeable. He was interested in
archaeology, and well aware of excavators who destroy important information
and artifacts in their search for treasure.  Rod wasn't academically
trained, but he admired academic excellence.

Fortunately, Samuel and Xavier were careful, thorough and fast. They took
time when necessary, but tended to move at a brisk pace. Julio had labor
available. In a short period, we found there were no artifacts in the
debris that covered he ruins. When the site was abandoned, there was no
later habitation. It was as if the residents owners turned off the lights,
closed the front door and vanished, never revisiting the site again. I
thought of my Greek's book with the unfinished chapter labeled plague.

A month later, we had transferred most of the documents from the church
tower to Julio's library. Julio had upgraded the climate control system to
meet museum standards and provided a generator for back up protection. I
was in the tower library of the church with Father Ernesto, when he found a
door behind a bookshelf.  The walls were four or more feet thick, so there
was room for a closet or stair in the wall. I half expected to find a
secret stair or passage, but it was a closet with additional books.

We found several large Mayan Codices as well as several smaller codices and
documents. Most Mayan books were burned as part of the Spanish effort to
suppress traditional Mayan religion.  To say there were rare would be an
understatement. There were two large folio sized books and three smaller
volumes.  One of these books was titled, A secret account of the Capture of
Father Juan Desoto, his subsequent trials and liberation.  It had a
companion volume of well-drawn illustrations. The first page featured a
portrait of Father Juan in his clerical robes. The second page showed the
priest nude.  He was sitting in a chair with his legs spread, exposing his
generously scaled genitals.  He was flanked by two fully erect Indians.

From the Secret Account, I discovered that male sex played an important
role in the religious life of the tribe. I seemed as if the tribe
sacrificed sperm to the gods, rather than blood. Human sacrifice, the least
attractive aspect of Meso-American life did not play a role. This taste for
sperm seemed to be characteristic of some of the modern residents of the
area.

There is a fundamental difference between blood offerings and sperm
offerings. Human sacrifice does not require the agreement of the
sacrificial victim. Most seemed to be prisoners of war, although some might
have been true believers. Sperm requires full participation of the donors.
Indeed, it requires the enthusiastic participation of the men.

Doc had jokingly referred to sexual activities as a substitute for
television in the area, and he was right. As far as I could tell, sex was
male. Women were carefully protected and sheltered from anyone other than
family and husbands.  There didn't seem to be any restrictions on men
sexual activities as long as it didn't involve a woman. Rape was absolutely
forbidden.  Apparently, neighboring tribes used rape as a part of normal
warfare, and that was the greatest sin.


I seemed to me that in the pre television, pre movie and pre entertainment
world, sex was magical in its pleasure making ability. Pedro knew the
tribal rules well.