Tales from a Peruvian Crypt 



The looting of a prehistoric pyramid stimulates an operation in salvage archeology, 

 with unexpected scientific dividends 



by Walter Alva and Christopher B. Donnan 



In the fertile river valleys that relieve 

 Peru's arid coastal plain, mud-brick pyra- 

 mids stand as the most visible evidence of 

 the prehistoric Moche civilization, which 

 flourished between the first and eighth 

 centuries a.d. Rising out of agricultural 

 fields in the Moche River valley, the mas- 

 sive Pyramid of the Sun was the largest 

 structure ever built in South America. 

 With a ramp that led up to small buildings 

 on its flat summit, it stood about 135 feet 

 high and sprawled over 12.5 acres at its 

 base. It once contained more than 130 mil- 

 lion sun-dried bricks. Some of it has 

 eroded away naturally, while part was de- 

 molished in die seventeenth century by 

 Spanish entrepreneurs in search of rich 

 burials or other treasures. 



About ninety-five miles north of the 

 Pyramid of the Sun, in the Lambayeque 

 River valley, the Moche cemeteries and 

 three pyramids near the village of Sipan 

 have long been the target of looters. Over 

 the years they have dug many deep holes 

 wifli picks and shovels in hopes of locating 

 intact tombs containing ceramic vessels, 

 shell and stone beads, and rarer ornaments 

 of silver and gold. By November of 1986, 

 they had nearly exhausted the cemeteries, 

 and one group of treasure seekers decided 

 to focus on the smallest pyramid. Working 

 at night to avoid police detection, they dug 

 a series of holes, but found little of value. 

 Then, on the night of February 16, 1987, at 

 a depth of about twenty-three feet, they 

 suddenly broke into one of the richest fu- 

 nerary chambers ever looted, the tomb of 

 an ancient Moche ruler. 



The looters removed several sacks of 

 gold, silver, and gilded copper artifacts. 

 They also took some ceramic vessels, but 

 they broke and scattered many others in 

 their haste. Almost immediately, the loot- 

 ers quarreled over the division of the 

 spoils, and one of them tipped off the po- 

 lice. The authorities were able to seize 

 some of the plundered artifacts, but only a 

 pitiful amount was salvaged from the find. 

 The rest disappeared into the hands of Pe- 



Adapted from Royal Tombs of Sipdn, by Walter Alva and 

 Cliristopher B. Donnan (Los Angeles: Fowler Museum of Cul- 

 tural History, University of California, 1993). 



26 N.'^TURAL History 5/94 



