They have rediscovered a unique mythological painting in Peru, seen only 100 years ago in photos

The rediscovery in northern Peru of a pre-Hispanic wall painting with mythological scenes, a place that archaeologists had only seen in photographs taken by early 20th centuryit reaches exceptional value for the good condition it is in, the Swiss researcher responsible for the discovery told AFP.

“It is an exceptional discovery, first of all because it is rare to be able to do it excavate wall paintings of such quality in pre-Columbian archeology,” he says Sam Ghavamiwho spent four years searching for the mural in the remains of the Huaca pintada funeral center, in Illimo, a town in Lambayeque.

“The composition of this painting is unique in history of mural art in pre-Hispanic Peru”, adds the archaeologist trained at the University of Fribourg.

The fresco is part of a temple called Painted huacabelonging to the pre-Hispanic Moche culture, whose inhabitants worshiped the moon, rain, iguanas and spiders.

In the found fragment of the mural, approx 30 meters longthe blue, brown, red, yellow, black, white and lucuma (mustard yellow) colors with which it was originally painted are clearly visible.

The scene depicted in the fresco “seems to be inspired by the idea of ​​a sacred hierarchy built around a cult of ancestors and their intimate ties with the forces of nature“Ghavami says.

The picture shows a procession of walking warriors towards a central divinity with ornithomorphic features.

The researcher told AFP news agency that deciphering the mural’s message will be part of his investigation, but he believes it “could be interpreted as a metaphorical image of the political order and religions of the ancient settlers of the region”.

The value of this mural also lies in the stylistic syncretism between two pre-Inca cultures: the Lambayeque, who developed on the northern coast of Peru between 900 and 1350, and their Mochica ancestors, who dominated between 100 and 850.

The mural is also unique because it has a particular historywhich dates back to just over a century ago.

Its existence was known black and white photographs taken in 1916 by one of the most important ethnologists then present in Peru, the German Hans Heinrich Brüning.

The lack of laws for the protection of heritage has led to pre-Hispanic treasure hunters unleash their misdeeds and plunder the temple of Huaca pintada, which was located in an area covered by thick vegetation.

Ghavami recalls that the research began in 2018 with a team of students from Pedro Ruiz Gallo University of Lambayeque and the support of the Bruning Museum. The work paid off last October, when the mural appeared faintly. Now, it has been fully discovered confirming its rediscovery.