Huaca de la Luna
Trip Start
Sep 11, 2008
1
42
70
Trip End
Jan 03, 2009
Trujillo, Peru
Thursday, October 30, 2008
There are actually about 5 temples at this site, each one built on top of the other, over a period of hundreds of years.
Each time a new temple was needed, they filled the spaces of the old temple with mudbricks, to create a solid platform, and then built the new temple on top of this, and so on. Each successive temple was slightly bigger than the previous one.
The thing that makes this site so special, apart from the grand scale of it, is the fact that it has been so well preserved, covered with sand for hundreds of years, and the stunning paintings that covered the walls of the temples can still be seen. They really are incredible. The colour is ORIGINAL. They have not been retouched. Scientists have used a special coating to protect the paint from light and other damage, so you can take photos of everything!
The site has won several big prizes for itīs preservation techniques and incorporation of tourism etc, even while work is still going on, so at present, there is funding for future digs. A museum is currently being constructed to house the findings, but unfortunately will open too late for me to see it. Recently, they discovered a huge tomb containing the body of a FEMALE ruler, which is really unusual and is changing the way archaeologists see the Moche culture, so I think this site will be even more interesting in future years.
