Ruins of
5,500 Year Old Plaza Found in Peru
MOSCOW (RIA
Novosti) — A group of archaeologists have discovered the ruins
of an ancient ceremonial plaza in Peru,
built 5,500 years ago, local media said Tuesday.
The ruins, measuring 180 by 120 meters, were found at Sechin
Bajo in Casma, north of the country’s capital Lima. The plaza,
believed to have been built between 3,500 B.C. and 3,000 B.C.,
is one of the oldest discoveries in Latin America.
The El Comercio newspaper cited Peter Fuchs,
director of the Sechin Bajo archaeological project, as saying: "Whoever
built Sechin Bajo had advanced knowledge of architecture and
construction."
Experts said that older structures could be found underneath
the site.
"There are four or five plazas deeper down, which means
the structure was rebuilt several times, perhaps every 100 to
300 years," thetechherald.com cited archaeologist German
Yenque as saying.
The oldest previously discovered building near Sechin Bajo had
been dated at 3,600 B.C.
The finding signals that civilization in Peru was flourishing
at the same time as in the Middle East and South Asia.