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The Treasures of Chuquisaca (6x9)

: 05, 1972

27,000 pearls, 19,000 diamonds, 8,000 rubies and 12,000 assorted precious gems. A BBC expedition found them unguarded in Bolivia - encrusted upon a gold and silver statue of the Virgin. The team set out from the highest capital in the world - La Paz. They followed the path of the Spanish Conquistadors. In Potosi they found a silver hill which had supplied a third of the silver of the New World. Here the expedition members heard rumours of treasure even further to the south. As they drove they climbed higher, to 16,000 feet and the ruined city of Lipez. A solitary isolated peasant family lived among the ruins. It seemed they had made a wasted journey. But here was the biggest surprise of all.