Gas Workers Digging Beneath the Streets of Lima Stumble Upon 1,000-Year-Old Mummy With Dark Brown Hair

The burial belonged to a child who may have lived among fishermen from the Chancay culture, which thrived in Peru before the rise of the Inca Empire

Ellen Wexler - Assistant Editor, Humanities

July 2, 2025

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While installing new pipes in Lima, Peru, utility workers stumbled upon a pre-Inca burial: a mummy of a child between ages 10 and 15, who had been resting undisturbed for 1,000 years.

Located approximately four feet beneath the surface, the mummy was found in a seated position. Wisps of dark brown hair were still visible on the child’s head.

“The burial and the objects correspond to a style that developed between 1000 and 1200,” archaeologist Jesus Bahamonde, scientific coordinator for the gas company Cálidda, tells Agence France-Presse.

Workers made the discovery while expanding a network of natural gas pipelines in the city’s Puente Piedra district. The area used to be covered by agricultural fields, but in recent years it has been developed into a residential neighborhood.

In mid-June, the workers first unearthed the trunk of a huarango tree, which once “served as a tomb marker,” at a depth of roughly 20 inches, Bahamonde adds. The mummy was wrapped in a shroud a few feet below the tree trunk. Nearby, workers found grave goods such as ceramic plates, pots and jugs.

“In some of these plates and bowls, crustacean remains, such as crabs, have been found,” which will help archaeologists learn more about this individual’s diet, Bahamonde tells Reuters.

Some of the ceramics were adorned with geometric patterns and images of fishermen. According to the Associated Press, Bahamonde thinks the mummy—which was facing west, toward the sea—belonged to a community of fishermen from the Chancay culture.

Before the rise of the Inca Empire in the 15th century, the Chancay culture thrived on the Peruvian coast between roughly 1000 and 1500. Europeans arrived in the region in the 16th century, and the area has since grown into a thriving city with a population of roughly ten million.

Because of Lima’s rich history, companies like Cálidda are required to hire archaeologists to supervise digs. The discovery “reminds us that every project is an opportunity to protect what lies below our feet,” says Cálidda in a statement. The company began building natural gas pipelines in the city about a decade ago, and its workers have since unearthed more than 2,200 archaeological discoveries, which have been preserved under the supervision of Peru’s Ministry of Culture.

“It is very common to find archaeological remains on the Peruvian coast, including Lima, mainly funerary elements: tombs, burials and, among these, mummified individuals,” Pieter Van Dalen, dean of the College of Archaeologists of Peru, who wasn’t involved in the dig, tells the AP.

Van Dalen explains that many centuries-old mummies of this kind were preserved naturally, their skin dehydrated by the hot climate. Meanwhile, those that were mummified intentionally are typically found in a seated position with their hands over their faces.

Peru’s most famous archaeological site is Machu Picchu, the ancient Inca citadel built in the Andes Mountains in the 15th century. But the country is also home to tens of thousands of other archaeological sites spanning 3,000 years of history. Hundreds can be found in Lima alone.

More are surfacing as the city grows. In recent years, crews have made archaeological discoveries during construction at airports, courthouses and even private homes, as the New York Times’ Mitra Taj reported in 2022.

“In Lima, 3,000 years of history are literally just beneath our feet,” Cecilia Camargo, an archaeologist with Cálidda, told the Times. “We’ve made findings in nearly every district.”

Ellen Wexler | | Read More

Ellen Wexler is Smithsonian magazine’s assistant digital editor, humanities.