Campeche is one of the safest countries: AMLO

EFE Latam videos

Peru discovers a new ancient gem, which is 3,200 years old

Lima, March 26th (EFE). – The discovery of a 3,200-year-old mural, saved at the last minute from its complete destruction in the middle of a crop field, once again highlights the astonishing development and complex worldview that a pre-Spanish world had on the northern coast of Peru. This “very ancient architectural gem” was found almost by accident by archaeologist Regolo Franco, who alerted that an ancient hill is being destroyed in a crop-growing area in the Viru Valley, in the northern region of La Libertad. About 510 kilometers from Lima. “I got a call on November 11 last year, from a friend, who told me that they destroyed Huaca (a pre-Hispanic temple), inside a large hill, and that they left beautiful frescoes exposed,” said Franco. Efe about this great discovery. 3,200 years of age When a friend gave him the warning sound, he also sent him a picture of the place, which made Franco a “fan” as he found it to be of “great archaeological value”. “I went to the site and could see that it is a small building, from the Cupisnique culture, which is 3,200 years old, and has frescoes,” he explained. Originally, these paintings were not shown outside, but most likely were related to other architectural or ceremonial spaces of that millennial culture before the Spaniards. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by the heavy machinery responsible for the owner of the crop field where the hill is located or Huaca, which I baptized with the name “Tomabalito,” because the site of “Tomabal Castle” is very close, to the Viru culture (200 BC – 500 AD). ” . Franco’s emergency project, which accompanies in this department and the documentary work of archaeologist Ferienne Castillo, decided to prepare an emergency project for a first investigation of three months and, most likely, to find other murals on the west side, which are still covered with a large archaeological filling. Franco explained: “There are still more representations, obviously, inside the ceremonial case, which contain curved corners, which are characteristic of the formative period, even before the occupation of the Kubisniks.” Experts specifically point out that the architecture with curved corners in Peru dates back about 5,000 years, as it was also found at important sites such as the Ventarrón Temple, in the Lambayeque Valley, by archaeologist Ignacio Alva. Significant destruction Despite good intentions, this emergency intervention could not be carried out due to the epidemic and lack of funding, but surveys in the area made it possible to identify some of Cupisnique’s architectural evidence. “We have proven in its structure, construction and fillings the presence of handcrafted conical bricks … which are very typical of this culture, dating back to 1000 or 1200 years before Christ,” Franco referred to. The archaeologist informed the decentralized Directorate of Culture in La Libertad that this “great discovery” had destroyed nearly 60% by heavy machinery, so it was decided to take legal action and see a project to protect the memorial. Jewels in the fields of agriculture, Franco, an experienced archaeologist with decades of work on the northern coast of Peru, where he runs the famous El Brujo Archaeological Complex and the Museum of Cao, verifies through ancient aerial photographs that the archaeological mound was more spacious and that its destruction was a product of the improvement of the crop fields. “Many of those hills were large and densely populated architectural complexes, which were unfortunately completely destroyed by machines over the centuries, with the aim of dedicating themselves to the cultivation of cotton, in principle, and now sugar cane,” he said. In fact, “Tomabalito” is not a secluded hill, but it is possible that it was associated with “a whole group of public ceremonial structures that were destroyed over time,” which in turn are directly connected to the nearby Carabamba River. Objects of water and fertility. The unearthed frescoes, and those that can still be found, are “viewed eastward, towards the sunrise” and creatures similar to those in Cupisnique “discovered on other pillars in various locations north of the coast of Peru” are shown. It is about “images of supernatural beings associated with fertility, fertility, water and rain”, which have always been “a vital component of all societies at all times”. Franco noted that at the time of the occupation of Cupisnique, the Virú Valley was’ densely populated, because it concerns not only this discovered temple, but also about other important structures located on both banks of the Carabamba River, in very important places to be researched. Still to be done in the future. “. Now, in the presence of the Ministry of Culture, it will seek to protect the frescoes to prevent further destruction or entry of vandals or “huaqueros” (looters), with the expectation that “in the very near future, the epidemic may lead to an end.” Specialized work can begin at the site. David Blanco Bonilla (c) EFE Agency