- Title: Archaeologists discover ancient friezes in Lima
- Date: 24th May 2017
- Summary: LIMA, PERU (MAY 24, 2017) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF GARAGAY ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE EXCAVATION TEAM WORKING AT SITE GENERAL VIEW OF EXCAVATION TEAM BRUSHING AWAY AT SITE ARCHAEOLOGISTS BRUSHING AWAY SAND AT RUINS VARIOUS MORE OF ARCHAEOLOGIST BRUSHING AWAY SAND AT RUINS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DIRECTOR OF THE GARAGAY ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT, HECTOR WALDE, SAYING: "Right now we're on top of the central pyramid of Garagay. Garagay from the air is a U-shaped temple. It is made up of a main pyramid and two lateral arms which enclose the main square. The main building is 400 metres long and 30 metres high. The building is accessed by a great staircase that is 25 metres high and 12 metres wide. In the central part, we have a space that is like a ceremonial plaza which is 25 by 25 metres. All the walls of the ceremonial square are decorated with friezes with anthropomorphised interpretations of what we think are the deities of that formative era." ARCHAEOLOGIST BRUSHING AWAY AT WHAT APPEARS TO BE A FACE CARVED INTO ROCK CLOSE-UP OF BRUSH WIPING AWAY SAND AT WHAT APPEARS TO BE A FACE CARVED INTO ROCK (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DIRECTOR OF THE GARAGAY ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT, HECTOR WALDE, SAYING: "We are talking about a date of about 1,800 to 800 years before Christ. It would be more or less on par with civilizations in Crete with the Knossos Palace, with the oldest part of Roman civilisation. It is an era in which civilizations were emerging in different places and in Peru this building was being built." ARCHAEOLOGISTS WORKING AMIDST NEW DISCOVERY ARCHAEOLOGIST SCRAPING SAND FROM SITE GENERAL VIEW OF ARCHAEOLOGIST CROUCHED DOWN AND WORKING AT SITE GENERAL VIEW OF ARCHAEOLOGISTS WORKING AT SITE
- Embargoed: 8th June 2017 00:50
- Keywords: prehispanic Garagay archaeolgical site discovery friezes Peru archaeology
- Location: LIMA, PERU
- City: LIMA, PERU
- Country: Peru
- Topics: Human Interest / Brights / Odd News
- Reuters ID: LVA0016I79MBN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Archaeologists in Peru have discovered polychrome friezes believed to be over 3,500 years old in the capital Lima, shedding new light on the emerging prehispanic civilisation at the time.
Experts working at the Garagay archaeological site say the friezes were part of a temple structure believed to be part of a ceremonial courtyard.
With excavators carefully brushing away sand at the site, what appears to be the face of ancient deities carved into rock has emerged.
Although much of the site still remains to be unearthed, Garagay is among one of the country's most elaborate archaeological sites. It features a U-shaped temple believed to have been used for religious ceremonies.
The discovery of the friezes could shed new light into the ancient Cupisnique and Chavin cultures that dominated the area that is now Peru's capital.
The Cupisnique and Chavin cultures date as far back as 900 BCE. However, much is still not known about these lost cultures, including what language they spoke and the religion they might have practised. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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