Hidden Incan Labyrinth Discovered Under Peruvian City of Cusco

Something long rumored but hitherto unknown has been found in the heart of the Incan empire. For centuries stories existed of a secret tunnel network, an Incan labyrinth underneath their mountain capital of Cusco.

Now, archaeologists Jorge Calero and Mildred Fernández have announced that they have turned rumor into reality. Using ground penetrating radar they have found the tunnel network, reports Lima Gris.

At it core the labyrinth spreads out from a single central tunnel which connects Coricancha, the Temple of the Sun in the city itself, to Sacsayhuaman, the immense Inca fortress which towered over Cusco. The tunnel stretches some 1,750 m right under the city.

Other tunnels branch out from this central passage, leading to the Incan district of Callispuquio, the sector near Sacsayhuaman known as Muyucmarca, and a third tracing its path behind the parish of San Cristóbal.

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In finding the labyrinth the researchers had to rely on a smattering of clues from documents from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. A key clue was provided by an anonymous Jesuit who lived in the city.

Writing in 1594, this Jesuit was concerned with the construction of a Jesuit mission in the city, and noted that in building their structures the central tunnel of the labyrinth was not affected, but that it passed under the nearby houses built for the Jesuit bishops. This allowed the team to pinpoint one end of the tunnel, which must have passed behind Cuzco Cathedral.

The unknown Jesuit noted further that the tunnel led from Sacsayhuaman, an unmistakable landmark even today, and “comes down from the top to the bottom of the hill and town or parish of San Cristóbal.” This allowed the team to find both ends of the tunnel, the one at Sacsayhuaman and the other in the modern-day Rodadero sector of the city.

Like an enormous subterranean snake the route can be traced right under the Incan capital. Parts of it are not even finished, with sections of the labyrinth near the Choquechaca River having been hidden in plain sight for centuries. Multiple entrances to the network exist, but all are hidden beneath the modern city, waiting to be rediscovered. For a significant portion of its length the central tunnel runs right under the main Inca street from Coricancha to Sacsayhuaman.

The tunnels were built by digging a trench which was then lined and covered with stone slabs, forming a platform above. The Inca were master stonemasons but had not discovered building techniques such as the arch, hence the distinctive trapezoidal design of their windows and niches. The tunnels were built in this same fashion.

Now we know it is there, all that remains is to find a useable entrance into the labyrinth, and to see the Inca tunnel network for the first time in 500 years.

Original Article: Lima Gris.

Header Image: The route traced by the central tunnel of the Incan labyrinth, which links Coricancha, the Temple of the Sun, to the Incan fortress of Sacsayhuaman. Inset, Jorge Calero and Mildred Fernández who found the tunnel, using centuries-old clues. Source: Lima Gris.