The *Lady of Elche*, a limestone sculpture, was discovered in 1897 in an archaeological site located about 2 km from Elche, Spain. It is currently on display at the National Archaeological Museum of Madrid.
Despite its unique appearance, with a strange decoration around its head and chest, scholars have been unable to determine its exact origin. One popular theory is that the statue is related to the Carthaginian goddess Tanit, a deity once worshiped by the Iberian Punic people, however, this is only speculation based on vague similarities.
What makes this statue unique and controversial is the strange details on its head and chest, which some scholars believe could be a lost technology or a symbol of a long-lost Atlantean goddess. Some believe that the ornamentation around the head is not a complex headdress but a form of lost technology, indicating the high level of development of the lost Atlantis civilization. However, most scholars believe that the work is of Iberian origin and not the work of an advanced civilization.
Although there is a lot of evidence that the *Lady of Elche* is a long-standing work, there are skeptics who believe that the statue may be a hoax, as the details on the statue’s face, such as the eyes and nose, are too elaborate for pre-Christian sculptures in Spain.
In 1997, the mayor of Elche requested that the statue be returned to the city for display during the city’s 2,000th anniversary celebrations, but this request was refused. The director of the Elche Archaeological Museum, Rafael Ramos, said that it was absurd that the statue could not have survived the transport, since more fragile works have been shipped all over the world. The question is, are these actions a sign of a group trying to preserve a precious but unknown relic, rather than suspecting it to be a fake?
Questions about the origin of the *Lady of Elche* remain unanswered. Was she an ancient queen or an alien? The debates and theories surrounding the statue suggest that it has great esoteric value. In 1997, the discussion surrounding its return to Elche highlighted the importance of the work. Independent researchers have also proposed theories about a lost ancient civilization, making the *Lady of Elche* one of the most mysterious objects in the history of archaeology.
In addition, other archaeological discoveries in Spain have revealed the existence of ancient cities with complex structures, advanced sanitation systems, and sophisticated population management, suggesting that these ancient civilizations may have possessed advanced technology. However, these discoveries are often dismissed or under-researched by scholars, possibly because they contradict current historical theories.
In addition, discoveries such as ancient structures buried at sea or abandoned buildings may be evidence of a catastrophic event, possibly a great flood, that led to the collapse of ancient civilizations.
Questions about how giant stone blocks, such as those found at sites like Loch Maria K in Brittany, were built and moved, or how monuments and megastructures were moved around the world, have led many to believe that these civilizations may have developed more advanced technology than we think.
In short, the *Lady of Elche* is one of the great archaeological mysteries, raising many unanswered questions about the history, technology and existence of forgotten ancient civilizations.
