A 3,000-year-old megalithic ‘water cult’ temple used for fertility rituals has been discovered in Peru by a team of Peruvian archaeologists.
3000-year-old megalithic temple in Peru.
The religious monument is over 131ft long and is located in the springs of the Zaña Valley river about 500miles from Lima, the modern capital of Peru.
Inside the temple archaeologists found a square with an alter that was likely used to offer important fertility rituals with water taken from the Zaña Valley river.
It should be noted that this is the first megalithic temple made from large stones discovered in this area. It was situated between two rivers and joined together to give rise to the current Zaña River, which is currently dry most of the year.
A cult that worships water
As per the archaeologists, it is an interesting find as it is the only known megalithic architecture in the Lambayeque region, which is known for desert landscape as well as dry forests. Secondly, it’s built by the earliest “great religion of ancient Peru.”
It should be mentioned that the water cult, whose members used to worship the water, built this megalithic temple in an area where a new river rises as a kind of “territorial symbolism.”
Archaeologists from Peru, seen here, found stunning walls surrounding the monument as well as a central alter likely used for fertility rituals
The temple was discovered by Walter Alva – pictured – who also discovered the tomb of the Lord of Sipan in 1987 in northern Peru.
They found a staircase on the site that was 32ft wide and 49ft long
Edgar Bracamonte, an archaeologist with the Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum in Peru and one of the researchers involved in this excavation program said that this ancient temple dates back 3,000 years, to the Formative period, which was generally seen as the beginning of about 2000 BCE and lasted until about 200 CE.
Ancient inhabitants used to predict rains
Bracamonte stated that the location of the temple, between the rivers and the presence of the surrounding “pocitos,” or small wells indicate that ancient inhabitants of this region used to predict rainy seasons.
In addition, he also mentioned that the location also shows the importance of water to the people of the Formative period, which is an era of spectacular social transformation marked by the development of social stratification and monument building.
The archaeologists revealed that the 3000-year-old temple was built by using different sizes of large, carved rocks, which were moved to the area from mountains located over three kilometers away. It is believed that the temple has been abandoned around 250 BC.
Used as a burial ground by Chumy people
Later, the site was used by Chumy people as a burial ground. Archaeologists found 20 tombs belonged to the Chumy people, while one belonged to a man buried during the Formative period. Bracamonte said that the adult male was buried with a ceramic bottle that had two spouts and a bridge handle.
Leave a Reply