Inca Ritual Baths Fed by Waterfall Reveals More of Its Secrets

[Judi Lynn]

By Laura Geggel, Senior Writer | February 22, 2019 04:10pm ET

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Archaeologists excavate the ceremonial complex in Chachabamba, located within Machu Picchu National Park in Peru.
Credit: Dominika Sieczkowska

Deep in Peru's Sacred Valley, a ceremonial Inca complex — complete with a stone altar and 14 baths — sits in a jungle clearing. And now, cutting-edge radar and laser scans, and on-the-ground excavations are revealing just how the Inca built and used these structures more than 500 years ago.

The excavation is a thorough one; ground-penetrating radar detected the foundations of the complex, and billions of laser scans shot from an airborne drone revealed two previously unknown Inca structures hidden in the tropical forest.

Moreover, excavations at the site revealed how the Inca built and used the ceremonial baths, said project researcher Mariusz Ziółkowski, the head of the Center of Andean Studies at the University of Warsaw in Cusco, Peru. [In Photos: Digging Up Incan Fortresses]

New radiocarbon testing suggests that the site dates back to the 15th century, before Europeans landed in the New World, Ziółkowski added.

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The jungle towers behind the ceremonial stone complex at Chachabamba.
Credit: Dominika Sieczkowska

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