Strange mummies with carved masks found in Peru – and the discovery could shed light on an ancient empire

One of the carved wooden masks found with the mummies. Photo: Valley of Pachacamac Archaeology Programme

Vishwam Sankaram
© UK Independent

Archaeologists have unearthed 73 strange mummies in Peru, some with carved masks, from different time ­periods ranging from around AD800 to AD1100.

The mummies were found in ­funerary bundles in a “spectacular” state of preservation at Pachacamac – the site of an extensive complex of cemeteries dating to the expansion period of the Wari empire.