In Peru, discovery of a mass grave from pre-Columbian times

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient mass grave containing around twenty-five largely intact pre-Columbian skeletons, mostly of women and children, in the Chan Chan citadel in northern Peru, a team member said Thursday.

They also found dozens of ceramics and items such as needles used for sewing, archaeologist Jorge Meneses told AFP.

The tomb was discovered about three weeks ago in Chan Chan, about 500 kilometers north of the capital Lima.

Chan Chan - which means "shining sun" in the Chimu language - was a citadel of the Chimu culture, which flourished between the 900s and 1450s on the northern coast of Peru before falling to the Incas.

One of the child's skeletons found in this mass grave which included twenty-five bodies in total.

MINISTRY OF CULTURE OF PERU / AFP

The citadel was built over an area of ​​about 20 square kilometers for up to 30,000 citizens at its peak and had ten fortified palaces.

It was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1986 but is also on its list of World Heritage in Danger.

Pre-Columbian remains and artefacts are frequently found in Peru.

Last month, workers laying gas pipes on a street in Lima came across the remains of a grave including 2,000-year-old ceramic burial vessels.