I love conspiracy theories. I’m not sure why but there’s something incredibly special about getting onto the side of the internet where absolutely everything is made up. Moon landing: fake. Earth: flat. Government: Run by shape-shifting reptilian humanoids from Mars. Obviously. However, there’s a thin line between a conspiracy theory and pure fiction, and humans have a sincere habit of confusing the two, particularly when it comes to sparkly things. For thousands of years, humans have been fascinated with imaginary worlds. They give all the appeal of exotic discovery with none of the pesky interstellar travel. But something interesting happens when these imaginary worlds merge with the land of conspiracy theories, and people begin putting down the books and picking up the navigation tools. Today, I want to combine my love of conspiracy theories and assorted history nonsense to bring you a short list of the most expensive expeditions into Mythical Civilizations. 

I’d like to begin with an honorable mention to Middle Earth. It was considered mostly fictional until Jeremiah Reynolds, a scientist of the nineteenth century, proposed an expedition to the North Pole to uncover its entrance. This proposal actually passed through the House of Representatives and was approved by President John Quincy Adams. It would probably be one of the more expensive expeditions on this list had it not been canceled by President Andrew Jackson before it left American shores. It still felt worth mentioning, though, considering that this one was straight up backed by the United States government. 

Our next stop is El Dorado, The Lost City of Gold (though it’s actually just translated “the Golden”, which turns out to be a pretty accurate summary of everything about this one). Now, gold is objectively useless, unless you assign some sort of arbitrary societal value to it. Central American tribes often did not give it such a power, and used it mostly for decoration. One group in particular, the Muisca people, would use it in a ceremony for appointing their new chieftain( His official title was the Iraca, but “chieftain” is a more recognizable comparison).

In this ceremony, the man in question would be covered with gold dust and jump into the nearby Lake Guadavida as assistants tossed gold artifacts in after him to appease the lake god. Now imagine you’re a Spanish conquistador, arriving on the scene of this event. Remember, your tiny brain is composed of three thoughts: conquest, gold, and gold. There are thus two options. One: This is a culturally significant tradition which has been passed down for generations, and we should seek only to observe and record, as it is a valuable piece of these people’s history. Two: GOOD GOD THESE PEOPLE ARE SO WEALTHY THEY CAN AFFORD TO THROW GOLD INTO A LAKE. WHERE ARE THEY HIDING THE REST OF IT??? 

I’ll give you one guess as to which one they chose. 

So they enslave the Muisca people and spend a ridiculous amount of time trying to get the gold out of Lake Guadavida. But apparently, this civilization of gold wasn’t enough for them, and they began to fantasize about the real civilization of gold that was elusively hidden somewhere in the Amazon River Basin. These rumors made their way back to Europe and naturally, a wave of people wishing to find this lost city followed in their wake. 

Naturally this prompted many explorations, but the most expensive one was led by a totally adept British lad named Sir Walter Raleigh. He was convinced of the existence of El Dorado, but not related to the Muisca. He thought that there was a completely different city of gold which sat on the shore of a Lake Parime (a completely fictional lake he fabricated for the occasion). He thus set out with a 30,000 pound grant from the British crown (6.1 million in today’s dollars), a fleet of ships, and a heart full of hope. Unfortunately for him, El Dorado was not feeling particularly cooperative. After years of searching, he was forced to return to England with no gold to show for the escapade. 

Our next stop will bring us across the globe, to the outskirts of the Mediterranean. Grab your diving equipment because it’s time to find the sunken paradise, Atlantis. The idea of searching for Atlantis is quite funny when you think about it, considering that the whole city was created by Plato as a thought experiment. The exceptionally short version of Plato’s story is that Altantis was semi-divine, but the more generations passed, the more human its residents became, and the more easily they were corrupted by material pleasures, eventually leading to such excessive hubris that Posiedon was forced to drown the civilization. In this story, Plato gives us a healthy dose of Athenian moralism, but he also gives us maps. And a specific location for Atlantis- an island allegedly the size of Texas. You’d think that abjectly fictional evidence would convince people that Atlantis did not exist, but come on now, did you really expect logic from 20th century explorers? 

In 1931, a research vessel captained by Henry Bryant Bigelow set out to research the climate effects of the Gulf Stream, and of course do a little digging for Atlantis while in the area. They spent months exploring the area of the ocean in which Atlantis was said to be located, but even with a 50,000 pound ship and the finest equipment available at the time (totalling 5.2 million in modern currency), the ship logs record no findings of an underwater metropolis. Many more expeditions followed, but all of them came to the same conclusion. 

Overall, I would say I’m surprised that so many people have taken such outrageous measures to find civilizations that are self-proclaimed fiction but honestly, this tracks with everything I’ve learned about humanity so far. The development of satellite imaging has destroyed any hope we might have for a lost civilization, but there’s still something so delightful about the idea of another world hidden just out of reach, waiting to be discovered. In conclusion, the world is worth exploring, just know that the only reward you’re likely to find is the friends you make along the way. ;)

Works Cited:

Beazley, Charles Raymond (1911). "Cook, James" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 71–72.

Freiburger, Brett. “How WHOI Scientists Once Looked for the Lost City of Atlantis.” Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 3 Feb. 2021, https://www.whoi.edu/news-insights/content/how-a-newly-established-oceanographic-institution-in-woods-hole-searched-for-the-lost-city-of-atlantis/. 

Magazine, Smithsonian. “John Quincy Adams Was an Ardent Supporter of Exploration.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 7 May 2015, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/john-quincy-adams-ardent-supporter-exploration-180955203/. 

Overly Sarcastic Productions, director. Legends Summarized: El Dorado. YouTube, YouTube, 4 Oct. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHzkGueRz3g. Accessed 27 Jan. 2023. 

Overly Sarcastic Productions. “Legends Summarized: Atlantis.” YouTube, YouTube, 12 July 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXOyw-csJoE. 

 "Walter Raleigh – Delusions of Guiana". The Lost World: The Gran Sabana, Canaima National Park and Angel Falls – Venezuela. Archived from the original on 14 October 2002