Inca altar with intricate carvings emerges from river near Machu Picchu
Road workers cleaning the Vilcanota River in Peru's Cusco region discovered a 20-ton Inca altar, measuring 2.5 meters long and 1 meter high, buried under dirt, weeds, and debris. The pre-Hispanic artifact, a rare example of Inca water worship dating between 1200 and 1500 AD, was taken in charge by archaeologists from the Cusco Department of Culture (DDC). After cleaning, it revealed detailed carved decorations. Historian Victor Angles Vargas had recorded the altar in the 1980s as a valuable historical testimony of water cult. Researchers believe this is the same piece thought destroyed four years ago during road construction near Ollantaytambo, at the foot of Machu Picchu.
Key facts
- Workers cleaning the Vilcanota River in Cusco, Peru discovered a 20-ton Inca altar.
- The altar measures 2.5 meters long and 1 meter high.
- It dates between 1200 and 1500 AD.
- The artifact is a rare testimony of Inca water worship.
- Historian Victor Angles Vargas documented it in the 1980s.
- Archaeologists from the Cusco Department of Culture (DDC) cleaned and studied the piece.
- The altar is believed to be the same one thought destroyed four years ago during road construction near Ollantaytambo.
- The discovery was made by road workers, not an academic team.
Entities
Artists
- Victor Angles Vargas
Institutions
- Cusco Department of Culture (DDC)
Locations
- Vilcanota River
- Cusco
- Peru
- Ollantaytambo
- Machu Picchu