The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has discovered new ancient structures in the Tiwanaku archaeological complex, located 15 km from Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the republic, the researchers used a drone and a space satellite in their work.
According to UNESCO archaeologist José Ignacio Gallegos, experts, in particular, spotted a large building underground, which was probably a temple. They also found that the Puma Punku temple, located on the territory of the complex, is almost twice as large as archaeologists thought. The latest data showed that there are two more levels of the building underground.
In addition, experts found several more large buildings and more than a hundred small ones. According to researchers, small round and rectangular buildings in the vicinity of Tiwanaku were residential buildings. The archaeologists also plotted several ancient roads on the plan of the complex and determined the approximate boundaries of the pre-Columbian city.
UNESCO began work on a detailed map of Tiwanaku and a plan for further exploration of the ruins last May. Archaeologists, in particular, wanted to use images taken by a drone and a satellite to find out what the likelihood is that undetected ancient structures still remain underground. Now specialists are planning new excavations.
It is believed that the ancient city of Tiwanaku, located at an altitude of about 4 thousand meters above sea level, was the capital of the ancient Andean empire, which flourished between 300 BC. and 1000 A. D. Its inhabitants have built an immense system of irrigation facilities in the area of Lake Titicaca. It is believed that in 1180 the inhabitants left the city after a devastating raid by hostile tribes.
According to researchers, at the time of the heyday of the empire, the area of Tiwanaku was about 400-600 hectares. Now the territory of the archaeological complex occupies only 30 hectares.
Elena Kondratieva