A group of Peruvian archaeologists from the National Institute of Culture discovered some ceremonial offerings buried under Machu Picchu, which would be from Incan times.
INC archaeologist Ruben Maqque said to El Comercio that the findings include three ceramics or miniature aryballos with globular body and covered with stone slabs forming a circle, known as “apachetas.”
“These are likely to be part of a ceremonial rite of payment to the land, the only of its kind found in Machu Picchu,” said Maqque.
He also said that the findings took place at a sector known as Cementerio (“Cemetery”),where there are nine different types of rocks, brought from several parts of Cusco by the Inca workers.
There were no traces of skeletal remains, which rules out the hypothesis that the place was an Inca cemetery. However, archaeologists believe that this was an exclusive site for ceremonial rites.
Machu Picchu citadel is included in the UNESCO Worldwide Heritage since 1983, and was chosen as one of the new seven wonders of the world in 2007 by New 7 Wonders Foundation.
Author: Isabel Guerra | Source: Living in Peru [July 24, 2010]