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Burial
I and Burial II of Sipán, Paintings by Christiane
Clados
"Little
did we realize that as our excavation proceeded at Sipán
we would find the answers to our questions. Ultimately,
these objects, which seemed so strange and puzzling out
of context, were to become known and familiar to us. Moverover,
they were to provide valuable information not only about
the Moche people, but also about the specific individuals
whose royal tomb had been so ruthlessly torn apart by
the looters."
On a dark night in February 1987, a group of tomb robbers
called huaqueros, dug feverishly into an eroded Moche pyramid
near the village of Sipán. Lookouts were posted nearby
to warn them if police or government officials appeared.
All of a sudden, one of the diggers broke into a burial
chamber with the platform. As he scanned the chamber with
his kerosene lantern, he saw gold beads, and gold and silver
ornaments glistening in the moonlight. Quickly, the men
grabbed the beads from gold and silver necklaces and parts
of other ornaments, breaking some as they stuffed the artifacts
in a bag. The next day, they sold some of the treasures
to middlemen, who paid them more money than the huaqueros
could make by harvesting sugarcane for a year. Before a
month had passed, these gold and silver artifacts were sold
to collectors throughout the world, at much higher prices
than the robbers were paid. When the rest of the villagers
learned about how much money the huaqueros had been paid
for the treasures unearthed at the Sipán pyramid,
they wanted to enjoy some of the same success. Soon men,
women, and children flocked to the adobe mound. Using shovels
and their bare hands, they poked and pried in frenzy for
scraps of metal, ceramic vessels, and beads; anything the
huaqueros had not discovered or had overlooked. When Peruvian
archaeologist Walter Alva realized what had happened at
Sipán, he persuaded the police to help him stop the
pillaging of what he knew was a burial of unprecedented
magnificence. With funds from the National Geographic Society
and some local agencies, he hired local workmen to construct
a fence around the site and he began a scientific excavation
of the tomb.
Internet
Links
Moche
Revealed: The Digger
Moche
Burials Uncovered National Geographic
Dynasty of the Moche Culture: Lesson Plan (PDF File)
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A
Dynasty of the Moche Culture: The Royal Tombs of Sipán
Map
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