Archaeologists are celebrating the discovery of an ancient temple complex.
The remains were uncovered at Los Paredones, an archaeological site near the city of Nazca, in Peru.
The excavations, carried out by archaeologists from the Peruvian Ministry of Culture, revealed the remains of a complex dating back to the Preclassic Era, which could make it some 5,000 years old.
The temple is defined by walls built using mudbrick and encompassing a central staircase leading to a raised plaza in the centre.
Archaeologists analysing the temple found friezes adorned with anthropomorphic images, including one depicting a human body with a bird’s head and reptile claws.
Another notable piece of art was found in the upper part of the complex, with a wall decorated with fine plaster and a pictorial design featuring white, blue and red pigments.
A second excavation area unearthed traces of more recent ceremonial architecture, dating from the late Moche period between 600 and 700 AD.
The skeletal remains of an infant who died aged five or six were found in this area, alongside a stepped platform with buttresses.
Los Paredones was an administrative centre during the Inca Empire.
The civilisation constructed the settlement a short distance from Cahuachi, the ceremonial centre of the Nazca civilisation and the Nazca Lines in the desert – believed to be older than 2000 years.
The Peruvian Ministry of Culture said of the successful excavations, as reported by Heritage Daily: “These investigations seek to examine the appearance, evolution, and development of the ceremonial centre and elite cemetery of La Otra Banda and Úcupe, which were built and consolidated regionally between the Formative and Moche periods, in association with several other emerging centres in the Jequetepeque Valley and Lambayeque.”