Cahuachi Sanctuary is bigger than Chan Chan, says archaeologist

“Cahuachi Sanctuary is bigger than Chan Chan,” says Italian archaeologist, Giuseppe Orefici, according to a press release provided to Living in Peru.

Cahuachi, in Peru, was a major ceremonial center of the Nazca culture, 
based from 450 BC to 450 AD in the coastal area of the
Central Andes [Credit: Canatur/Carlos Chuquín]

The archaeologist has been excavating and conducting research on the ceremonial site in Nazca, southern Peru, for the last couple decades. As a major proponent of research and preservation of the site, he expresses concern over its future with the climate phenomenon of El Niño on the horizon.

Cahuachi was once the capital of the Nazca culture, from the period 450 B.C.- 450 A.D..

“It is the largest ceremonial center in the world and of this dimension, there are none like it,” says Orefici. In other words, it is the largest ceremonial center made of mud, and larger than the pre-Colombian citadel of Chan Chan located in Trujillo, northern Peru.

“The influence of Cahuachi arrived until the outskirts of the Tablada de Lurin (Lima), and to the east reached Huanuco, Huancayo (Junin) and Ayacucho, while to the south, it spread to the town of Acari (Arequipa),” explained the Orefici.

Reconstruction of Cahuachi Sanctuary, 
Nazca, Peru [Credit: Gnosis]

In the two decades of work he’s conducted, Orefici and his team have only excavated 1% of the entire 24 km2 of the sanctuary.

“It has been a job of 20 years and my preoccupation is the imminent arrival of El Niño that could crack its principal structures. I can indicate that each 500 years a Mega El Niño arrives and I believe that we are in the period of one Mega violent Niño,” said Orefici.

So today, the archaeologist dedicates himself to the conservation and promotion of the archaeological complex.

He reported that about 150 tourists have visited the archaeological site daily so far in the month of August. They are mostly European tourists and they express a lot of interest in the site.

However, he said that despite this interest to the sanctuary, there are still infrastructure improvements lacking. For example, he said the road to Cahuachi needs to improve, among other developments.

Author: Hillary Ojeda | Source: Peru This Week [August 17, 2015]