An introduction

Foreword to the diary of Captain Hieronymus Bartholomew, former professor of antiquities and latterly, adventurer and explorer.
I started my tenure at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1871 where I was quite content in my academic career for several years. My chambers comfortable, my peers convivial, my lectures on ancient civilisations of South America were legendary, I hear, and there was talk of higher office.

In my chambers one night in 1883, together with professor Cuthbert Pryce, we began our plans to explore the darkest reaches of Peru and Mexico over a glass of my finest single malt. It was our dream to follow in the footsteps of Cortez and Pizzaro and perhaps even tread the golden pavements of El Dorado itself.

It was in the late summer of 1888 when we disembarked from Ollantaytambu and met with our guide, Victor Gonzales. We trekked through the Sacred Valley and then on to the mountains beyond. The weather was kind and our hopes were high.
Here you will find original photographs and sketches and in addition, many of the original items in my possession, which, due to lack of funds I am reluctantly selling. I hope you find the following records of my adventures enlightening and go some way to restoring my reputation which has become sullied by the whole affair. I hope that one day, possibly many years after my death, the truth will be revealed. I truly believe that what I have discovered may very well hold the key to a much larger mystery and change our firmly held beliefs regarding the very fabric of the universe.