Ancient adobe pyramid found in Peru: 07-10-2008
Travellers in Peru could soon be heading to a new site to get their history and culture fix after it emerged that a new technology has helped uncover an ancient adobe pyramid in the country.
Remote sensing technology allowed archaeologists to peel away layers of mud and rock near the Cahuachi desert to reveal the ancient site, according to Italian researchers.
The area, close to the river Nazca, is close to the Cahuachi archaeological site, which is said to contain the remains of the world's largest mud city.
Italian National Research Council (CNR) researchers Nicola Masini and Rosa Lasapornara made the discovery using images from the satellite Quickbird.
"We know that many buildings are still buried under Cahuachi's sands," Ms Masini explained to Discovery News.
"But until now, it was almost impossible to exactly locate them and detect their shape from an aerial view.
"The biggest problem was the very low contrast between adobe, which is sun-dried earth, and the background subsoil."
But the discovery was made nonetheless and adds another string to the bow of the Cahuachi site.
Cahuachi is the best known Nazca site and is a throwback to a time between 100 BC and 500 AD when the Nazcas ruled Peru.