Gas line workers in Lima, Peru, unearthed eight pre-Inca mummies in September.
The workers were helping to excavate an area of the city to expand natural gas lines when they discovered the mummies wrapped in funeral bales, according to The Associated Press. The bodies are believed to be members of the Ichma culture, which came to power around A.D. 1,100. Eventually the culture was absorbed into the Inca Empire in the 15th century.
The remains are thought to be those of two adults and six children. It’s crazy to think that in the almost thousand years since this family or group of people lived, the ground above them turned from a beautiful valley to a road filled with braised chicken restaurants that leads to Peru’s only nuclear power station.
Eight mummies that could be at least a thousand years old were found in Peru during gas works in Lima. These pre-Inca burial bundles are not the first discovery by the gas distribution company – it’s already experienced several disruptions to its work due to similar findings. pic.twitter.com/zQIhqVgLGM
— RT (@RT_com) September 24, 2023
“We are recovering those leaves of the lost history of Lima that is just hidden under the tracks and streets,” archaeologist Jesus Bahamonde said Friday. The bales were made from cotton cloth and tied with ropes made from the liana vine, native to the surrounding rainforest, according to LiveScience. (RELATED: ‘Wiped Out In The Blink Of An Eye’: Archaeologist Claims He Has Found The Biblical City Of Sodom)
The mummies are far from the only discoveries being made as Lima updates its infrastructure. Workers have found opium pipes, hand-rolled cigarettes, shoes, playing cards from China, Peruvian coins minted in the late 1800s and even a Spanish contract.
Just goes to show that you don’t need an archaeology degree to find cool stuff.