Unsealed for the First Time in 600 Years, This Tomb in Peru Was Just Declared the 'Discovery of the Decade'
Reported bySmithsonian Smart News ↗·Sourced by Goodlede
Excavations at Chan Chan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site near Trujillo, Peru, uncovered a sealed Chimú mausoleum dating to the mid-15th century containing the remains of at least 38 high-status individuals alongside metal weapons, copper and gold artifacts, ornate jewelry, and colorful textiles. Lead archaeologist Jorge Meneses describes it as the first time Peruvian archaeologists have encountered an almost-intact funerary platform with unaltered contents and a main chamber sealed for nearly 600 years.
Some bones are missing from the primary individual, suggesting the remains were moved or reburied—a common Andean practice at the time.
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