Video Description: Archaeologists reveal their findings by Canal N, Lima Peru.
 

Pre-Incan tomb 1700 years old found in Peru

July 6, 2008. Source AFP

LIMA (AFP) - A Canadian-led team of archaeologists has unearthed the 1,700 year-old tomb of a leader of the pre-Columbian Moche culture in northern Peru, the scientists said.

Canadian archaeologist Steve Bourget said the tomb was discovered in the Ucupe dig 39 kilometers (24 miles) from Chiclayo on Peru's northern coastal plain.

The leader's remains were found, decorated with pieces of copper, in a wooden sarcophagus.

Inside the researchers found bracelets, a staff and a breastplate made of smaller metal plates, according to Bourget, an expert in Peru's ancient Moche culture which flourished in the area during the first millennium AD.

During their excavations at the Pepe Quinones site in Ucupe, they also found crowns, earflaps, nose pieces and other gold and copper objects.
 

Ancient Peruvian tomb unearthed

July 6, 2008. Source BBC News

Archaeologists have unearthed an ancient tomb in northern Peru that could throw light on the pre-Columbian Moche Indian culture.

The tomb in Ucupe, 670km (416 miles) from the capital Lima, contained well-preserved human remains along with jewellery and ceramics.

The finds suggested the tomb related to nobility, experts said.

The Moche Indians thrived from 100-800 AD and were famed for their ceramics, architecture and irrigation.

The northern coast has been a treasure trove for stunning archaeological discoveries for the last few decades, the BBC's Dan Collyns reports from Peru.

The dry desert climate of the region has helped to preserve these relics of the Moche civilisation.

Archaeologists said the tomb's body, found inside a wooden sarcophagus, was wearing a gold-coloured funeral mask and was surrounded by copper crowns, earrings, nose pieces and ear flaps.

More remains, of a young man and animals such as llamas, were found nearby. Peruvian archaeologist Walter Alva, whose son Bruno was the dig co-director, told AP news agency: "Some elements like sceptres and crowns of gold are those that identify people of the highest hierarchical level." Archaeologists believe the tomb may be linked to the other world-renowned Moche ruins in the area.