16 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists unearth hidden tunnels under the 3,000-year-old temple complex

Archaeologists have discovered a system of hidden tunnels beneath the 3,000-year-old Chavín de Huántar temple complex in the Ancash Region of Peru.

The tunnels contain unique architectural features never seen before, made by the Indigenous Chavín people.

The Chavín de Huántar temple complex has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Chavín de Huántar is believed to have been occupied as early as 3000 BC, with ruins and artifacts dating back to around as early as 1200 BC. Between 900–500 BC, the locale was occupied by the Chavín, a significant pre-Inca culture.

According to experts, this huge complex served as a major ceremonial center and gathering place for pilgrims and perhaps a home for an oracle.

The ceremonial gallery beneath the Chavín de Huántar temple complex. Photo: Antamina-Twitter

According to Heritage Daily, archeologists from Stanford University’s Chavin de Huántar Archaeological Research and Conservation Program initially suspected the gallery’s existence in 2019 when they found a small duct in the temple’s Building D.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



The epidemic, however, caused studies to be postponed.  Archaeologists were only able to discover the gallery and a network of 35 interconnected tunnels last month.

“It’s a passageway, but it’s very different,” archeologist John Rick of Stanford University, who coordinated the team behind the discovery, told Reuters. “It’s a different form of construction. It has features from earlier periods that we’ve never seen in passageways.”

According to John Rick, the tunnels may have been built before the temple’s main galleries.

The ancient bowl filled with vulture symbolism found under the temple. Photo: Antamina
The ancient bowl filled with vulture symbolism found under the Chavín de Huántar temple. Photo: Antamina

Rick and his crew discovered 35 interconnected tunnels beneath the temple, as well as a ceremonial gallery and two ceremonial bowls, one of which had depictions of the Andean condor. The gallery has been called the Condor Gallery in honor of the animal shown on the bowl.

The first stone bowl, weighing almost 40 pounds and standing nearly 10 inches tall, depicted the head of an Andean condor on one side, its tail on the other, and its wings in between. The second bowl, about the same size, was more simple in design and had a refined rim.

From this discovery, archaeologists have affirmed that the gallery is purely ceremonial and represents a transitional space of time between the late pre-ceramic site of Caral, and the middle and late formative period.

Related Articles

In the Black Sea, there is a “Ship Graveyard” with 2,500 years of wrecked ships

15 February 2022

15 February 2022

The Black Sea is the inland sea lying between Europe and Asia. Blacksea is located in Eurasia, surrounded by Europe,...

Denisovans or Homo Sapiens: Who Were the First to Settle Permanently on the Tibetan Plateau?

8 December 2021

8 December 2021

The Tibetan Plateau has long been considered one of the last places to be populated by people in their migration...

“Cardiff’s earliest house” unearthed during an archaeological dig may shed light on the city’s earliest inhabitants

15 July 2022

15 July 2022

Archaeological excavation in a city park in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, has uncovered what is believed to be the...

A newly Discovered Church in Sudan could be a Cathedral

2 June 2021

2 June 2021

Archaeologists have found the remains of the largest church known from medieval Nubia in old Dongola (Sudan). Dongola was the...

New documentary searches history of Turkey’s 7,000-year-old Arslantepe Mound

28 December 2021

28 December 2021

The tale of Turkey’s fascinating 7,000-year-old Arslantepe Mound, an ancient building in Malatya, eastern Turkey that was just added to...

3,000-year-old Bronze Age Hoard Discovered During House Building Project in Scotland

31 July 2024

31 July 2024

Recent laboratory investigations of the Rosemarkie find, unearthed during the Black Isle housing development at Greenside in Rosemarkie, Highland Scotland,...

Ancient Pottery Find at Megiddo May Corroborate Biblical Battle and Hint at “Gog and Magog” Narrative

27 April 2025

27 April 2025

Archaeological excavations at the ancient site of Megiddo in northern Israel, also known as “Armageddon,” have unearthed a significant amount...

7,000-year-old Ritual Complex Found In Jordan Desert

23 February 2022

23 February 2022

The team of French and Jordanian archaeologists has discovered a 7,000-year-old ritualistic complex near what is thought to be the...

The First Dinosaurs Discovered in Japan From the Late Cretaceous Period

30 April 2021

30 April 2021

Yamatosaurus Izanagii, a new genus, and species of hadrosaur or duck-billed dinosaur have been discovered on one of Japan’s southern...

Archaeologists uncover 850-year-old 170 silver medieval coins in an ancient grave, in Sweden

27 April 2024

27 April 2024

During archaeological excavations in a medieval graveyard in Brahekyrkan on the Swedish island of Visingsö, archaeologists uncovered about 170 silver...

Archaeologists have pinpointed the location of a famous early Islamic battle using declassified spy satellite images

14 November 2024

14 November 2024

Archaeologists from Durham University in the UK and the University of Al-Qadisiyah have identified the site of the historic Battle...

Exceptional Iron Age Artifacts Discovered at Celtic Necropolis in France

18 April 2025

18 April 2025

An archaeological excavation in Creuzier-le-Neuf, a small town located six miles north of Vichy, has unveiled a remarkable Celtic necropolis,...

The Stonehenge road tunnel is illegal, according to the High Court

23 June 2021

23 June 2021

The transport secretary’s decision to allow a road tunnel to be built near Stonehenge was unlawful, according to the high...

3,000-Year-Old Rare British-Style Sickle Unearthed in France

9 August 2025

9 August 2025

On August 6, 2025, France’s Inrap (Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives) announced a remarkable archaeological find at Val-de-Reuil, in...

Egypt opens King Djoser’s 4,500-year-old tomb after a 15-year restoration

15 September 2021

15 September 2021

Egypt on Tuesday showcased an ancient tomb structure belonging to the cemetery complex of King Djoser, a pharaoh who lived more than 4,500...