Anniversary of Machu Picchu 'discovery': 28-07-2008
Last week saw the 97th anniversary of Archaeologist Hirman Bingham arriving at the lost city of the Incas, Machu Picchu.
Almost a century on controversy still shrouds the ruins as to who first discovered the city.
Bingham almost certainly didn't as it has been well documented that he was led there by locals, who had been using the farming terraces, on his third expedition to South America.
Bingham was however the first to carry out excavations at the site and document and record his findings for the sake of archaeology.
The Yale professor was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and was also responsible for the discovery of the Inca capital Vitcos prior to his arrival at Machu Picchu.
Bingham died in 1956 after spells in politics as lieutenant governor and governor of Connecticut and in the US Senate.
While some claim that Bingham may have been the first European to visit Machu Picchu, many believe a German adventurer named Augusto Berns may have reached the site towards the end of the 19th century.
Berns is said to have legally looted the site and sold off artefacts through his forestry company; the aptly named Inca Sites Exploitation Company.