沒想到在要出發前，祕魯發現新遺址，不知此次是否有機會目睹其風采。
秘魯新遺址 比印加更古老
【聯合報╱編譯王先棠╱報導】
2008.03.15 02:17 am
秘魯考古學家13日表示，他們在秘魯東南部一處古柯樹叢林中發現了包含神殿、車用道路與灌溉系統的古文化遺址，年代很可能比13世紀興起的印加帝國更為久遠。
庫斯科「國家文化研究所」的學者說，研究團隊從去年6月開始對靠近印加帝國古城庫斯科的地區進行考掘。最新發現的神殿遺址，位於薩克塞瓦曼考古園區的外圍地帶，其中包含11個房間，當初的用途應該是收藏木乃伊與神像。
這個遺址由石塊與泥磚構成，神殿面積約76坪，與另一個印加帝國遺跡「馬丘比丘」同樣位於秘魯南部考古文物非常豐富的區域。
學者強調，這個遺址的建築融合了印加帝國與比印加帝國更早出現的前印加文化。其結構原本比較簡單樸素，但印加人後來修改了神殿的外型，擴大了神殿的規模。
學者指出，遺址的灌溉系統，也應該屬於西元900年到1200年之間活躍的阿亞馬卡人，直到印加帝國時期，印加人才用這個系統把水送往庫斯科城。
不過，研究人員也說，要等碳14放射性同位素定年檢測的結果出爐，才能確定這個遺址真正屬於哪個年代。根據考察，將近100年前，遺址附近一座採石場曾經引爆炸藥，把一部分的遺址摧毀，他們現在還能挖出這座古老神殿的遺跡，實在非常幸運。
【2008/03/15 聯合報】
Ruins of Ancient Temple Found in Peru
By ANDREW WHALEN,AP [AOL News]
Posted: 2008-03-14 13:10:29
LIMA, Peru (March 14) - Archaeologists in Peru have discovered the ruins of an ancient temple, roadway and irrigation systems at a famed fortress overlooking the Inca capital of Cuzco, officials involved with the dig said Thursday.
The temple on the periphery the Sacsayhuaman fortress includes 11 rooms thought to have held mummies and idols, lead archaeologist Oscar Rodriguez told The Associated Press.
The team of archaeologists that made the discoveries believe the structures predated the Inca empire but were then significantly developed and expanded.
"It's from both the Inca and pre-Inca cultures, it has a sequence," Washington Camacho, director of the Sacsayhuaman Archaeological Park, told the AP. "The Incas entered and changed the form of the temple, as it initially had a more rustic architecture.
"Archaeologists are still waiting for carbon dating tests, but Camacho said their calculations about the facilities' age are supported by historical references such as ceramics and construction style.
The Inca empire, based in the ancient city of Cuzco, flourished along the western edge of South America during the 1400s, prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the next century.
Today, Cuzco is Peru's main tourism hub and a launching point for visitors to the jungle-shrouded ruins of Machu Picchu, 60 kilometers (40 miles) northwest.
The temple lies some 1,500 meters (a little under a mile) from zigzagging walls of the Sacsayhuaman fortress, alongside an enormous rock formation believed to be one of the fortress' burial mounds.
(Sacsayhuaman, Cuzco Photo from The Wondering Eye)
"The temple is one of the most important in the Sacsayhuaman site," Camacho said.
Part of the structure was destroyed by dynamite blasts in the early 20th century, when the site was used as a stone quarry.
The roadway, buried for hundreds of years under a meter (a yard) of soil, is believed to have formed part of a network connecting Sacsayhuaman's buildings, according to Camacho.
Archaeologists are also busy unearthing an advanced hydraulic system, which may have been used to supply water to Cuzco during the Inca empire.
The team believes the irrigation system was built by the Ayarmaca, who occupied the region from 900 to 1200. Remnants of Ayarmaca ceramics are scattered throughout the site.
The new excavations, directed by Cuzco's National Culture Institute, began in June 2007 and will continue for another five years, Camacho said.Associated Press writer Fernando Zora-Carvajal contributed to this report from Cuzco.
(Read more...)
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