14 DAY TRIAL // An international team of archaeologists has recently unearthed a royal tomb in Peru. What makes their finding stand out among others of its kind is the fact that the tomb had been undisturbed for several centuries at the time when the researchers found it and entered it.
The archaeologists later explained that, interestingly enough, the tomb remained untouched for hundreds of years despite the fact that it was located in an area that had been looted by robbers several times in the past.
The tomb reportedly dates back to some 1,200 years ago. It is located north of Lima, in El Castillo de Huarmey.
Evidence suggests that it was built by people in the Wari empire. This empire reached its heydays between AD 700 and 1000, when it stretched over a large portion of present day Peru.
Live Science reports that, when entering the royal tomb, the researchers came face to face with gold and silver jewelry, wooden artifacts, semi-precious stone beads, and bronze axes.
They also discovered several human remains, some of which were carefully tucked away in small side chambers and some of which were merely leaning against the wall.
By the looks of it, the three people whose remains were found inside the smaller chambers used to be Wari queens.
The other sixty appear to have been ordinary folks, who specialists suspect were buried with the queens as human sacrifices.
Information shared with the public says that, when having a closer look at the remains of these three Wari queens, the researchers found traces of insect pupae.
This suggests that, rather than being placed in their tomb and abandoned there, the queens were every once in a while taken out of their grave and put on display.
It is believed that, whenever this happened, the Wari people gathered to pay their respect and maybe even worship them.
The site of this royal tomb is now referred to as the “temple of the dead” by archaeologists.