It is a funerary chamber with 63 mummies and more than a thousand valuable archaeological pieces. PUCP professionals, together with specialists from the University of Warsaw, had been working in the area since 2002. We spoke with Professor Krzysztof Makowski, scientific advisor to the project. “It is the first intact Wari tomb that deserves the title of imperial. It has no comparison with everything previously found”, announces categorically Krzysztof Makowski, scientific adviser of the archaeological project responsible for the discovery. The also professor and former dean of the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences of the PUCP, told us how the patient work together was. to the research team from the University of Warsaw, before discovering the valuable tomb. “We have been working in the Culebras Valley, close to the Huarmey Valley, since 2002. But it is since 2010 that we moved to the Huarmey Castle, which has never been systematically excavated by any other project,” he says. Makowski's joint work with the University of Warsaw was born as a result of the numerous postgraduate seminars that our professor dictates. Precisely Milosz Giersz, director of this archaeological project, was a student of his, as well as the co-director of the project Roberto Pimentel, a graduate of our University.

The area where Huarmey Castle and the discovered mausoleum are located was thought to belong to the Moche culture, but the team led by Giersz disproved this hypothesis. “The pyramid already showed potential links with the Wari culture, because although it was made with northern adobes, the way it was built was very different. The walls were linked to the slope by a framework of large wooden beams (7 meters long). In addition, the steps were covered with stones, in the mountain style”. At the foot of this pyramid was a palace with high walls, with porches, platforms, ramps, plazas, among other facilities. "We have realized that we are facing an important political center, made up of a palace at the foot of an immense mausoleum, probably built to worship the heads of living lineages, which was common in the Wari culture," he adds.
THE MAUSOLEUM: The excavation carried out by Peruvian and Polish archaeologists and bioanthropologists was the product of hard and fine work. Explorations were made in surrounding areas in order to know the context and analyze the findings as part of a whole. In the burial chamber, the team discovered 63 bundles of noblewomen, which had been deposited sequentially and entombed from according to the mountain ritual. “It is the first time that so many people are buried in a monumental place, separated from other cemeteries of the same time, which are on the plain. This is a population that consciously separates itself from the rest,” explains Makowski. "This monument dominates the entire valley, it is located in a public space, in the capital, where power was demonstrated." Each of the mummies was a Wari of important lineage. She carried with her finely pierced wooden earmuffs worked with precious metals. Three of them, the most important and possible Wari queens, were located in small chambers, like cubicles. The trousseau that kept the reed chests next to them differentiated them. Each contained weaving objects, finely carved looms, and semi-precious stone-encrusted earmuffs. In addition, vessels, ceramics, a sculpted and embedded kero similar to Huamanga stone, lime burners and various artifacts made of wood, copper, gold and silver were found.
FUTURE PLANS: Although material is needed to accurately date the burial chamber, the evidence of these objects would be between 750 and 850 A.D., according to Professor Makowski. “The next step is definitely some intense analysis work. We are in contact with the best geneticists to analyze the genetic distance between these women and between individuals from other burial chambers, ”he says. The good news is that, thanks to the support of various institutions, the findings can be exhibited next year. “All objects will be preserved in the most appropriate way. Plans for a site museum will come later,” he notes. According to the researcher, this finding may also provide us with clues about the political role of women at the time, as well as how the organization was within the Wari empire. "They had another way of governing, instead of imposing barracks and administrative centers, they respected local governments and ensured their fidelity. What was discovered could be a cult monument under hegemonic control.”
SOURCE:http://puntoedu.pucp.edu.pe/videos/historico-descubierta-arqueologico-wari-en-huarmey/