Hidden Tunnels And Chambers Found Beneath Peru’s Chavín De Huántar Temple
Just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, archaeologist John Rick of Stanford University and his team noticed a duct while exploring the 3,000-year-old Chavín de Huántar temple in Peru. Using a robotic camera to enter the duct, the team realized that it exposed a chamber. But when the pandemic started, they were forced to put their exploration on hold — until 2022.
Returning to the site, Rick and his team were finally able to continue their study of the temple. The archaeologist even squeezed himself through the tiny tunnel, helping to make the thrilling discovery of 35 interconnecting tunnels, a ceremonial gallery, and two ceremonial bowls.
AntaminaOne of the bowls the archaeologists found was in the shape of an Andean condor.
The first bowl weighed almost 40 pounds and was molded in the shape of an Andean condor. The second bowl, which was roughly the same size, was more simple in design. Because of the imagery on the first bowl, archaeologists decided to name the gallery the “Condor Gallery.”
The archaeologists suspect that the gallery had a “purely ceremonial” role and served as a “transitional” site between the Caral people and the later Chavín people. They think that the bowls were likely left as offerings when the chamber was closed for the final time, about 3,000 years ago.
