User:Auric/Warren Shufelt

G. Warren Shufelt was an engineer and inventor who claimed to have discovered a series of gold-laden ancient tunnels situated underneath downtown Los Angeles, with his invention, a "radio X-ray" device, capable of visualizing radio returns.

The story is today considered to be a hoax, after repeated excavations failed to discover any tunnels or treasure.

Previous Searches
He was first contracted to use his machine to locate treasure, by Roy Martin, who claimed to have an old Spanish map showing the location of buried Spanish treasure, in catacombs under Fort Moore Hill. A lawyer named Rex I. McCreary was also assisting in the search.

A man named C. R. Brown later joined the search, claiming the three were digging in the wrong place.

They were eventually denied permission to dig deeper than 50 ft.

Lost City
Shufelt claimed to have discovered a series of branching tunnels deep underneath downtown Los Angeles.

Shufelt said he learned of the purpose of the tunnels from a Hopi chief named "Little Chief Greenleaf" who lectured under the name L. Macklin.

Macklin claimed the tunnels were one of the three lost cities of the lizard people, having been dug out about 5000 years ago after a great fire from the southwest.

A shaft about 250 feet deep was dug on North Hill street overlooking North Broadway, Sunset and Spring streets in search of the "Key Room" which contained the cities records, written on tablets of gold.

After that depth, technical restrictions halted the digging (the depth is under the local water table) and the hole was filled in.

Later, a religious group called the Kiva Lodge claimed they were in connection with the remnants of the city builders and hoped to use the tunnels to survive an atomic deluge. The group claimed inspiration from Joanna Southcott and her mysterious box.

In popular fiction
An SCP file, SCP-088 "The Lizard King" is based on his story, with the proviso that the story was real and has been suppressed by the SCP Foundation. The being in question is an ancient reptilian humanoid that can transform humans into loyal creatures that resemble him.

Personal life
Shufelt was married and had two daughters.