Peruvian archaeologists have unearthed a Spanish colonial-era cemetery comprising 42 human burials in a former hospital built in 1552 in the historic center of Lima.
The discovery was made recently in what was once San Andrés Hospital, one of the oldest colonial buildings in the Peruvian capital. “We are in the oldest and best preserved cemetery in the city of Lima, used from 1552 to 1808, where we found 42 remains of bodies buried among men and women between the ages of thirty and fifty,” said Luis Martin Bogdanovich, head of the municipal program for the recovery of the historic center of Lima, told AFP. The researchers dug just thirty centimeters deep to discover dozens of bones, some in perfect condition. “People from different social classes were buried here,” said Bogdanovich, who called the discovery “fundamental for the history of the city of Lima.”
In colonial times, there were no public cemeteries and people, including Spaniards and Creoles, came to the hospital to die when they were sick. After ceasing to function, San Andrés Hospital was converted in 1808 into a convent for nuns, a home for abandoned children, and then a public school until 2007, when an earthquake damaged it. An underground crypt, in the form of a vaulted brick structure where high-ranking figures were buried, was also discovered at the site. “This is an exceptional find because (normally) burials are not so well preserved, even inside the church,” said archaeologist Hector Walde, head of the archeology team. of Lima. “There are different causes of death, but the most striking is syphilis in one case,” Walde explained.
The cemetery covers an area of ??150 square meters. Among the objects discovered are tiles and ceramic fragments. According to specialists, the mummies of the Inca emperors Huayna Capac, Pachacutec and Tupac Yupanqui, as well as two of their wives, were buried there. “The mummies were removed from Cuzco where they were venerated. There is evidence that the mummies were buried in the hospital,” Walde said. Lima was founded on January 18, 1535 by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro. Since its foundation, it has been the capital of Peru.