TheByte

Mikael · 11-19-2007, 12:00 PM

Temple built 4,000 years ago unearthed in Peru

Sat Nov 10, 2007 9:44pm EST
By Marco Aquino

LIMA (Reuters) - A 4,000-year-old temple filled with murals has been unearthed on the northern coast of Peru, making it one of the oldest finds in the Americas, a leading archaeologist said on Saturday.

The temple, inside a larger ruin, includes a staircase that leads up to an altar used for fire worship at a site scientists have called Ventarron, said Peruvian archaeologist Walter Alva, who led the dig.

It sits in the Lambayeque valley, near the ancient Sipan complex that Alva unearthed in the 1980s. Ventarron was built long before Sipan, about 2,000 years before Christ, he said.

"It's a temple that is about 4,000 years old," Alva, director of the Museum Tumbas Reales (Royal Tombs) of Sipan, told Reuters by telephone after announcing the results of carbon dating at a ceremony north of Lima sponsored by Peru's government.

"What's surprising are the construction methods, the architectural design and most of all the existence of murals that could be the oldest in the Americas," he said.

Lambayeque is 472 miles from Lima, Peru's capital.

Discoveries at Sipan, an administrative and religious center of the Moche culture, have included a gold-filled tomb built 1,700 years ago for a pre-Incan king.

Peru is rich in archaeological treasures, including the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in the Andes.

Until the arrival of the Spanish in the 1500s, the Incas ruled an empire for several centuries that stretched from Colombia and Ecuador in the north to what are now Peru and Chile in the south.

"The discovery of this temple reveals evidence suggesting the region of Lambayeque was one of great cultural exchange between the Pacific coast and the rest of Peru," said Alva.

Source: Temple built 4,000 years ago unearthed in Peru | Science | Reuters

cawimmer430 · 11-20-2007, 02:19 PM

GT75 · 09-27-2011, 04:31 PM

11-19-2007, 12:00 PM	#1
Mikael Fanatic Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 1,836 Thanks: 828 Thanked 415 Times in 233 Posts	Temple built 4,000 years ago unearthed in Peru Temple built 4,000 years ago unearthed in Peru Sat Nov 10, 2007 9:44pm EST By Marco Aquino LIMA (Reuters) - A 4,000-year-old temple filled with murals has been unearthed on the northern coast of Peru, making it one of the oldest finds in the Americas, a leading archaeologist said on Saturday. The temple, inside a larger ruin, includes a staircase that leads up to an altar used for fire worship at a site scientists have called Ventarron, said Peruvian archaeologist Walter Alva, who led the dig. It sits in the Lambayeque valley, near the ancient Sipan complex that Alva unearthed in the 1980s. Ventarron was built long before Sipan, about 2,000 years before Christ, he said. "It's a temple that is about 4,000 years old," Alva, director of the Museum Tumbas Reales (Royal Tombs) of Sipan, told Reuters by telephone after announcing the results of carbon dating at a ceremony north of Lima sponsored by Peru's government. "What's surprising are the construction methods, the architectural design and most of all the existence of murals that could be the oldest in the Americas," he said. Lambayeque is 472 miles from Lima, Peru's capital. Discoveries at Sipan, an administrative and religious center of the Moche culture, have included a gold-filled tomb built 1,700 years ago for a pre-Incan king. Peru is rich in archaeological treasures, including the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in the Andes. Until the arrival of the Spanish in the 1500s, the Incas ruled an empire for several centuries that stretched from Colombia and Ecuador in the north to what are now Peru and Chile in the south. "The discovery of this temple reveals evidence suggesting the region of Lambayeque was one of great cultural exchange between the Pacific coast and the rest of Peru," said Alva. Source: Temple built 4,000 years ago unearthed in Peru \| Science \| Reuters

11-20-2007, 02:19 PM	#2
cawimmer430 Contributor Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Mühldorf am Inn, Germany Posts: 4,741 Thanks: 451 Thanked 374 Times in 200 Posts	Re: Temple built 4,000 years ago unearthed in Peru

09-27-2011, 04:31 PM	#3
GT75 Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	..

Search Cloud