Posted on 04/03/2002 5:59:39 PM PST by vannrox
Mar. 19, 01:00 EDT
Ancient Inca town called `unparalleled' archeological find
100 structures uncovered at site high in Andes
Craig Mauro
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LIMA, Peru — Explorers have found the extensive ruins of an Inca town, complete with human remains, sprawled spectacularly across a mountain in southern Peru, the expedition leaders said yesterday.
The ancient settlement clings to the slopes of a rugged peak in a region of the Andes Mountains where the Incas hid after the Spanish conquest. It consists of more than 100 structures, including a ridge-top truncated pyramid, ceremonial platforms and an 8-kilometre-long irrigation channel.
British author Peter Frost, who led an eight-member expedition to the area last year, said it is the largest Inca site found since 1964, when American explorer Gene Savoy discovered Vilcabamba, considered the capital of the empire's jungle refuge.
"Few, if any, Spanish conquistadors ever reached the southern part of Vilcabamba," Frost said in an interview. "This site may ultimately yield a record of Inca civilization from the very beginning to the very end, undisturbed by European contact — an unparalleled opportunity.''
The Incas ruled Peru from the 1430s until the arrival of the Spaniards in 1532, constructing stone-block cities and roads and developing a highly organized society.
The settlement is 400 kilometres southeast of Lima and about 40 kilometres southwest of Machu Picchu, Peru's most famous Inca ruins and its top tourist destination.
Frost, 56, who writes about Inca history and guides hiking tours in the Andes, first saw ruins in 1999 while leading an adventure trek nearby. He returned in May, 2001, with a month-long expedition sponsored by the National Geographic Society.
"The site turned out to be far more extensive than we expected," said Alfredo Valencia, a Peruvian archeologist who participated in the dig. "It's spread over 6 square kilometres and is up around 3,500 metres on very steep terrain, and its natural beauty is stunning.''
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