Ancient Peruvian Temple Unearthed
Monday November 12, 2007
A temple estimated to be about four thousand years old has been unearthed in northern Peru, and archeologists say it could well be the oldest site in the Americas. According to dig leader Walter Alva, the temple includes an altar used for fire worship, and contains murals on the walls.
The temple is actually located within a larger structure, located nearly 500 miles from Lima, the nation's capital. Situated in the Lambayeque valley, near the ancient Sipan complex -- a project Alva worked on two decades ago -- the temple's age has been determined with the use of carbon dating.
Alva's team located a number of discoveries at the Sipan site in the 1980s, including a gold-filled tomb of a pre-Incan king built around the year 300 C.E. The Incas ruled for hundreds of years, in an empire that stretched over much of South America. Alva says that the Lambayeque temple find, which predates the Sipan excavation by about two thousand years, indicates that the region was an area of "great cultural exchange between the Pacific coast and the rest of Peru."
The temple is actually located within a larger structure, located nearly 500 miles from Lima, the nation's capital. Situated in the Lambayeque valley, near the ancient Sipan complex -- a project Alva worked on two decades ago -- the temple's age has been determined with the use of carbon dating.
Alva's team located a number of discoveries at the Sipan site in the 1980s, including a gold-filled tomb of a pre-Incan king built around the year 300 C.E. The Incas ruled for hundreds of years, in an empire that stretched over much of South America. Alva says that the Lambayeque temple find, which predates the Sipan excavation by about two thousand years, indicates that the region was an area of "great cultural exchange between the Pacific coast and the rest of Peru."
That is amazing. My whole family will watch and read about things like this. I wonder if they’ll show it on TLC or Discovery. They better!
Looks VERY interesting & what the photos show of the murals, it must of been a beautiful place.
Have you heard of the cave in Rome that they have recently discovered. That looks amazing too.