THE MYSTERIOUS WINDOWS OF OTUZCO

 

 

 

This interesting archaeological complex called LAS VENTANILLAS DE OTUZCO owes its name to the shape of some unique structures in the form of small windows carved into the living rock. They are located 8 kilometers from the city of CAJAMARCA (northern highlands of Peru) and 840 kilometers from Lima.

 

 

   

 

 This funerary site was built by the CAXAMARCA civilization, which developed in the northeastern highlands of Peru between 50 BC and 500 AD. It was a necropolis where locals deposited the mummified remains of their ancestors in niches, which at one time had a tombstone made of stone slabs with strange reliefs as decoration, since during the excavations fragments of these tombstones were found at the foot of this ancient cemetery.

 

 

  

 

 

These rectangular crypts measure between 50 and 60 centimeters wide and can reach from 2 to 8 meters deep. They were carved from volcanic rock and arranged in overlapping rows, perfectly protected from the rain by a curious network of small channels, and ledges carved into the rock to preserve this sacred site, dedicated to the veneration of the dead.

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                      Armando el cronista