Peru is a land of beauty and culture. College kids often like to fit in an adventure there to find themselves before they go backpacking somewhere else around the world like Europe and lose themselves all over again. Archaeologists and anthropologists also like to adventure through Peru where almost half of the people living there are indigenous to the land, most of whom are Andean, as well as being home to some very impressive archaeological digs. You’d think that after all these years, the adventure would be over, and Peru would have no more stories to tell, but a recent event has happened that offers even more insight into Peru’s mysterious past.
In the region of Ica, 3 geoglyphs (like giant hieroglyphs in the ground) have been found on 2 hills, the bosom of El Ingenio valley in the Nazca desert near San Jose. It is still unsure if the geoglyphs were created by the Nazca people (whom the desert is named after) or the Paracas who lived in that land from around 800B.C. until the Nazca took over circa 100B.C. for a nice long rein of about 900 years.
The 3 geoglyphic shapes are of the likeness of a bird, a snake, and a zig-zag, possibly representing water. They are massive, the snake, measuring 60 meters in length and 4 meters in width, would make any anaconda feel insecure.
It makes one curious how many lost wonders still remain hidden in our planet, somehow not destroyed by nature and time. In fact, this latest discovery wasn’t dug up by man, but was unveiled from strong winds and sandstorms blowing through the area. It was first witnessed by Eduardo Herrán Gómez de la Torre, a pilot and researcher. The site is now registered as a historical site, so the geoglyphs will remain protected so long as a big sandstorm doesn’t come around and cover them up again.
It goes to show that you never know when adventure will strike. You can see a place a thousand times, and then a change happens, and that place becomes something new, greater than it was before. It’s like buried treasure that you didn’t even have to dig for.
