Inca farming terraces, enclosures discovered in Cusco

A long-buried group of enclosures and agricultural terraces have been discovered at an archaeological park in the southern Peruvian region of Cuzco, officials said Wednesday.

Undated photo shows workers at an archaeological site, in Chinchero, Cuzco region, Peru
[Credit: EPA-EFE/Peru's Ministry of Culture]

The Decentralized Culture Directorate of Cuzco said in a statement that the find was made in the Qentepata sector of the Chinchero Archaeological Park during restoration and enhancement work that began in 2013 and is to be completed this year.

The project head, archaeologist Felix Vilca, said the farming terraces and enclosures had been buried due to the construction of homes and an archaeological museum in Chinchero, a town 28 kilometers (17 miles) from the colonial city of Cuzco.

Undated photo shows workers at an archaeological site, in Chinchero, Cuzco region, Peru
[Credit: EPA-EFE/Peru's Ministry of Culture]

A total of 1,262,000 soles (around $382,000) was invested in 2017 to execute works at terraces 1, 2, 3 and 10 of the Qentepata sector, Vilca said.

The work encompassed more than 200 linear meters of Inca walls that form "part of the stair-step like terraces rising to the top, where the Chinchero site museum is located," the archaeologist added.

Undated photo shows workers at an archaeological site, in Chinchero, Cuzco region, Peru
[Credit: EPA-EFE/Peru's Ministry of Culture]

Excavation work at terrace No. 1 revealed small enclosures dating to the Inca era and an aqueduct at the foot of the wall that was used for irrigating crops.

At terrace No. 2, excavators found on one side part of a multi-section enclosure and evidence of another wall pointing northward, as well as another enclosure with similar characteristics on the opposite side.

Undated photo shows workers at an archaeological site, in Chinchero, Cuzco region, Peru
[Credit: EPA-EFE/Peru's Ministry of Culture]

Three large rectangular enclosures that fully cover the cultivation area were discovered at terrace No. 3.

Evidence of a stone floor was found at one of those enclosures, indicating it dates from the colonial or republican period.

Source: EPA-EFE [January 26, 2018]