Scientists have discovered an Inca-era tomb under a house in the heart of the city PeruThe capital of Lima, a cemetery believed to contain cloth-wrapped remains along with ceramics and luxurious ornaments.
Chief archaeologist Giulio Abantu told Reuters the 500-year-old tomb contained “multiple funerary packages” tightly wrapped in cloth.
Those buried, he said, may have been from the elite of the Ruricancho society, a culture that once inhabited present-day Lima before the powerful Inca ruled a sprawling empire across the length of western South America in the 1400s.
It is famous for its golden and sophisticated structures, including: Royal mountaintop retreat in Machu PicchuThe Spanish conquistadors defeated the Incas in 1532.
Hipólito Teca, the owner of the house in Lima, said he was overwhelmed with emotion upon discovering the surprise. “Something amazing. I don’t really have other words to describe it,” he said, hoping that future generations in the working-class neighborhood of San Juan de Luregancho would better appreciate the rich history around them.
Excavations began in May after plans to build Tekka for his property led to a much needed archaeological survey. The Lima region is famous for hundreds of previous archaeological finds from cultures that developed before and after the Inca.
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