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Ellas dijeron que el oro es muy antiguo.

Ellas dijeron que el oro es muy antiguo.
They said that the gold is very ancient.
From Lesson 104:Irregular preterite stems·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Ellas dijeron que el oro es muy antiguo.

Why is it dijeron and not "decieron" or "dijieron"?
Dijeron is the "they" form of decir (to say) in the preterite (completed past) tense. Decir is highly irregular: its stem changes to dij-. Also, verbs that get a j in their irregular past stem drop the i in the ending. So, instead of the normal -ieron ending for this group, it just takes -eron, making it dijeron.
Why use the present tense es if they "said" it in the past?
Just like in English, Spanish uses the present tense es here because the gold is still ancient today. When someone talks in the past about a general fact that remains true in the present, you can keep the second verb in the present tense.
Could I use viejo instead of antiguo here?
You could, but antiguo is a much better fit. Antiguo is used for historical items, ruins, or past civilizations, meaning "ancient" or "antique." Viejo is typically used for everyday things or living beings that have aged, like an old shoe or an older person.
In English we can just say "They said the gold is ancient." Can I drop que in Spanish?
No, you can never drop que in this situation. In English, the word "that" is optional in sentences like "They said (that)...". In Spanish, the connecting word que is strictly required to link the two parts of the sentence together.

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