From this seemingly inconsequential mound of mud came one of the most significant archaeological finds of the Americas. The mound is the remains of a pyramid made of millions of adobe bricks. It contained the tomb of the "Lord of Sipan." Discovery of the tomb came about in 1987 when a dispute among grave robbers led to a report to the local police. Grave robbers have destroyed much of the archaeological heritage of South America by removing valuable artifacts from their archaeological context, but here scientists were able to conduct a careful, methodical investigation and they were amazed at what this adobe mound revealed.

To reach Sipan we traveled north from the port of Salaverry, through desert interrupted by fields of asparagus, sugar cane, and rice (yes, rice in the desert!) to reach the Lambayeque Valley. The Moche culture flourished in the valleys of northern Peru for about seven centuries, AD 100 to about 800. They left hundreds of flat-topped pyramids, now eroded by recurrent El Ni¤o rains, and a rich legacy of ceramic pottery.

Many of the images painted on Moche pottery showed human sacrifice, but it was not known if this was fanciful or if human sacrifice was actually practiced. The discovery of the intact tomb of the Lord of Sipan answered that question. The tems buried with him matched precisely with the ceramic images. Human sacrifice was eal, and the Lord of Sipan was the ruler shown consuming a goblet of human blood. The image on the right looks down into the actual tomb, with replicas of the gold, silver, turquoise, and ceramic objects that accompanied this "Warrior Prince" into the afterlife 1,700 years ago.

After gazing down into the tomb, we visited the magnificent Bruning Museum, where the actual burial items are on display. Their beauty is breathtaking, but their value in unlocking the secrets of the great pre-Incan Moche civilization is much greater.