The Tomb of the Craftworkers discovered by a Polish-Peruvian team of archaeologists led by Professor Miłosz Giersz from the Faculty of Archaeology of the University of Warsaw is among the 10 Discoveries of 2022, according to Archaeology.
In December, the prestigious magazine announced its list of the 10 most important archaeological discoveries of 2022. The distinguished projects include this year’s Polish-Peruvian research in the royal necropolis at the site of El Castillo de Huarmey.
The site is located on the northern coast of Peru, near the town of Huarmey. The necropolis in El Castillo de Huarmey functioned over 1,300 years ago and was associated with the Wari Empire, one of the most important empires of pre-Inca Peru. Researchers from the University of Warsaw began the first ever excavations at the site in 2010.
In the Tomb of the Craftworkers they found seven burials of craftsmen who worked at the court of the Wari rulers: four adults and three teenagers. Hundreds of tools and raw materials they had used during their lifetime were also found by their bodies, including an axe, knives, a saw and materials for making baskets.
Wooden and textile products as well as fragments of objects with iconographic imagery painted on leather and reeds were also placed next to the deceased. These discoveries confirm that El Castillo de Huarmey functioned not only as a royal tomb, but also as a place of ancestor worship, an important administrative centre of the Wari Empire and a place of elite craftwork.
The Tomb of the Craftworkers was the first place where we discovered the graves of high-status Wari men, who were also outstanding artists and craftsmen. This is evidenced by the rich grave offerings and objects, including ornaments made of gold and silver. This discovery confirms what we expected in previous years: both men and women buried in El Castillo de Huarmey were devoted to the highest class craftwork and produced the most perfect products of their era.
said Professor Miłosz Giersz.