1,000-year-old mummy with preserved hair found under Lima streets

Peru: A 'pre-Inca mummy' approximately 1,000 years old, was found while utility workers were excavating trenches to expand the network of natural gas pipelines in Peru's capital, Lima.

The mummy was found barely half a meter (20 inches) from the surface.

Despite the ongoing urban development in the city which has transformed agricultural fields into working-class neighborhoods, the mummy had gone unnoticed for a long time.

Dark Brown Hair Intact?

Reportedly, an archaeologist with utility Calidda, Jose Aliaga, said that the exhumed mummy was found in a seated position, covered in a bundle, still with its dark brow hair.

The archaeologists received remains and evidence that there could be a pre-Hispanic burial near the site. Soon after, workers made the remarkable discovery.

As per the information provided to the media by Jesús Bahamonde, director of the archaeological monitoring plan of metropolitan Lima, at Calidda, the mummy found would have belonged to a society of fishermen of the Chancay culture, which flourished between 1,000 and 1,470 AD.

Lima Is a Hub Of Archaeological Sites?

The capital city of Peru is not just home to the 'Lima Historic Centre', A UNESCO World Heritage Site, but has a vibrant culture, rich history, and innovative cuisine too.

Lima is located in a valley irrigated by three rivers fed from the Andes. The city is said to have housed human civilizations thousands of years before the Spanish arrived in 1535.

Now what is home to nearly 10 million people also has over 400 archaeological sites, most of which are intertwined with the current urban fabric.

According to the statement given by the dean of the College of Archaeologists of Peru, Pieter Van Dalen, "It is very common to find archaeological remains on the Peruvian coast, including Lima, mainly funerary elements: tombs, burials, and, among these, mummified individuals."

Though Dalen is not involved in the discovery, he said that mummies on the Peruvian coast are usually found mummified naturally, generally in desert areas, with the skin dehydrated by the summer heat. The other unearthed remains have been found to have undergone mummification procedures for cultural reasons and are usually discovered in a seated position with their hands covering their faces.