Archaeologists uncover pre-Incan ruins at Cuzco site
Friday, 14 Mar 2008 16:56
Archaeologists discover ruins that may predate Incans at site overlooking Cuzco, capital of the ancient civilization.
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Ruins that may predate the Incas have been found at a site overlooking Cuzco in Peru, the capital of the ancient civilization.
A team of archaeologists have discovered a temple on the periphery of the Sacsayhuaman fortress measuring some 2,700 sq ft (250 sq m).
The structure contains 11 rooms of various sizes believed to have housed mummies and idols and a structure in the shape of Chacana, an Incan religious symbol.
Made of stone and adobe, the temple was uncovered in the Sacsayhuaman archaeological park, a hub of Peruvian tourism which includes the iconic Machu Picchu ruins.
Though the discovery is still to be carbon-dated, experts believe it could be older than the Incan civilisation which thrived along the western edge of South America in the early 15th century before the arrival of the Spanish conquistador.
"It's from both the Inca and pre-Inca cultures, it has a sequence," Washington Camacho, director of the Sacsayhuaman archaeological park, was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying.
"The Incas entered and changed the form of the temple, as it initially had a more rustic architecture."
He described the temple as "one of the most important in the Sacsayhuaman site".
The team also discovered a roadway which had been hidden for hundreds of years by a metre-thick layer of soil as well an ancient irrigation system.
It is thought the latter may have been built by the Ayarmaca, who dwelt in the region from 900 to 1200 AD, and could have been used to supply water to Cuzco by the Incas.
Mr Camacho said the excavations at the site are to continue for a further five years.