![]() Von Däniken wrote in Chariots of the Gods? that a version of the Piri Reis map depicted some Antarctic mountains that were and still are buried in ice, and could only be mapped with modern equipment. Father Crespi's gold artifacts, according to an archeologist consulted by Der Spiegel, were mostly brass imitations sold locally as tourist souvenirs. A geologist found no evidence of artificial tunnels in the area. 'And that's what I have done.' Four years later, he admitted that he had never been inside Cueva de los Tayos, and had fabricated the entire cave adventure. 'In German we say a writer, if he is not writing pure science, is allowed to use some dramaturgische Effekte – some theatrical effects,' he said. During the 1974 interview, von Däniken asserted that he had indeed seen the library and the artifacts in the tunnels, but he had embellished some aspects of the story to make it more interesting. Moricz told Der Spiegel that there had been no expedition von Däniken's descriptions came from 'a long conversation', and the photos in the book had been 'fiddled'. A local priest, Father Crespi, stewarded a collection of the gold extraterrestrial relics, he said, with special permission from the Vatican. He reported seeing mounds of gold, strange statues, and a library containing metal tablets, all of which he considered to be evidence of ancient extraterrestrial visitation. In The Gold of the Gods, von Däniken describes an expedition that he undertook through man-made tunnels within Cueva de los Tayos, a natural cave system in Ecuador, guided by a local man named Juan Moricz. In 1970, Der Spiegel referred to the hype over Däniken as Dänikitis. Von Däniken was paid 7 percent of the book's turnover, while 3 percent went to Utermann. Against all expectations, the book gained widespread interest and became a bestseller. The re-write of Chariots of the Gods? was accepted for publication early in 1967, but not printed until March 1968. Utermann was a former Schriftleiter of Völkischer Beobachter and had been a Nazi bestselling author. Econ Verlag (now part of Ullstein Verlag) was willing to publish the book after a complete reworking by a professional author, Utz Utermann, who used the pseudonym of Wilhelm Roggersdorf. The draft of the book was turned down by several publishers. Following his release, von Däniken became a manager of the Hotel Rosenhügel in Davos, Switzerland, during which time he wrote Chariots of the Gods? (German Erinnerungen an die Zukunft, which literally translated is 'Memories of the Future'), working on the manuscript late at night after the hotel's guests had retired. ![]()
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