Archaeologists working in Peru have opened a tomb that had remained sealed and untouched for roughly six centuries, a find one outside expert has described as "the discovery of the decade." The burial, located within the UNESCO World Heritage-listed site of Chan Chan, offers the first undisturbed look at how the Chimú civilization's elite were laid to rest.
The tomb sits inside a palatial complex known as Utzh An. In total, 38 skeletons were recovered from the site, along with a collection of grave goods that had never been disturbed by looters.
Chan Chan was constructed by the Chimú, a society that reached its height in the 15th century through a network of large settlements defined by extensive irrigation canals and royal residences. The Chimú are believed to have developed a highly stratified society, sophisticated political organization, and civil infrastructure that the later Inca adopted after conquering them in the 1460s.
The burial platform is one of several attributed to the Chimú elite. At the base of a staircase, excavators discovered a mausoleum that measures 4 feet wide and 16 feet deep. Inside the central chamber lay a single individual whose skull showed traces of a red pigment. Two secondary chambers opened off either side of the main chamber; one of them held the remains of 20 people alongside a variety of artifacts.
Among the objects recovered were metal weapons, jewelry of an ornate design, textiles in vivid colors, and items fashioned from copper and gold — evidence pointing to the interred belonging to the society's aristocracy. An additional 17 skeletons were located in the tomb platform surrounding and above the mausoleum.
Jorge Meneses, who led the team of archaeologists excavating the tomb, has been explaining the significance of the find to media outlets. He told El Pais that prior knowledge of elite Chimú burials had come only from platforms that had been looted, from private collections, and from museum holdings. According to Meneses, no scientific data existed on the individuals themselves or on the artifacts and associations connected to them.
In remarks to the state-run Andina news agency, Meneses said the red-painted individual had been buried with the body fully extended — an arrangement that stands out from other Chimú burials, which typically featured flexed or seated positions. The body was also missing several bones, raising the possibility that the individual had been relocated there from another site, a practice common among the Chimú and other Andean cultures.
Gabriel Prieto, an anthropologist at the University of Florida who was not involved in the research, spoke with the New York Times about the discovery. He called it "the discovery of the decade," noting that it provides the first undisturbed glimpse of an elite Chimú burial.
Meneses also noted that only 7% of Chan Chan has been excavated, suggesting the site holds enormous potential for future discoveries — a comparison he framed as making it a veritable Peruvian Pompeii.