Another archaeological site has been destroyed, as yet another indication of the lack of resources spent on protecting world heritage sites.
A man, who claims ownership over a plot of land in Cajamarca, leveled what was once an archaeological complex and built a fence enclosure over it, according to Peruvian newspaper, El Comercio.
Peru continues the long and possibly never-ending battle to protect its thousands of archaeological sites spread throughout the country. With sites in the high Andes, in the open dessert, off its coastlines, and even in the urban capital, Peru is one of the richest countries in its archaeological history.
Greenpeace activists damaged the world-famous “Nazca Lines” in late 2014, by posting an environmentalist protest statement next to them, in yellow letters, and visible aerially. The letters read “Time for Change: The Future is Renewable”.
The Nazca Lines are a series of ancient geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert in southern Peru, which were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.
The irony, of course, was that by protesting for future world-change, the group managed to damage an ancient UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Peruvian authorities are currently looking into suing the organization for the damage done by the campaign.
Now in northern Peru, near Cajamarca, Jose Cruzado Bardales of Guadalupe has destroyed another one of these threatened archaeological sites that Peru holds dear in its history. According to Bardales, he has owned the property since 1989 after the Land Freedom Unit granted him a certificate of possession.
The monumental area, known as Farfan, stretched five acres in the town, Ciudad de Dios, in the district of Guadalupe in Pacasmayo, La Libertad.
Farfan once served as the provincial center for the Chimu Empire, which likely grew out of the remnants of the Moche culture, and rose to prominence in 900 CE, before eventually being conquered by the Inca in 1470 CE.
This occurred roughly 50 years before the arrival of the Spanish Empire in South America.
Bardales began working on the property February 8, as he built and inserted beams and wires into the southern section of the archaeological site.
He used heavy machinery to remove and plow the debris over the land.
He started his work after the ministry of culture had removed 1,500 cubic meters of garbage and debris from the site. Citizens of the local, Ciudad de Dios, had been dumping trash over the site for years.
Representatives from El Comercio arrived at the site to assess the damages and found protective walls by the ministry of culture and multiple bikes and a truck roaming the property.
The site of Farfan, has a long history of being looted and damaged by agricultural activities and construction companies. However, it could still contain a treasure trove of archaeological artifacts, and remnants of the culture that once occupied its grounds.
More damage has been done by this most recent incursion, which is now being assessed by the ministry of culture.
