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An eroded brick pyramid in Túcume.
Purgatorio (purgatory) is the name by which local people refer to the dozens of pre-Hispanic pyramids, enclosures and mounds found on the plain around La Raya Mountain, south of the La Leche River. This is the site of Túcume, covering an area of over 540 acres and encompassing 26 major pyramids and platforms.
This site was a major regional center, maybe even the capital of the successive occupations of the area by the Lambayeque/Sican culture (800-1350 AD), Chimú (1350-1450AD) and Inca (1450-1532AD). Local shaman healers (curanderos) invoke power of Tucume and La Raya Mountain in their rituals, and local people fear these sites. Hardly anyone other than healers venture out in this site at night.
The plains of Túcume are part of the Lambayeque Valley, the largest valley of the North Coast of Peru. The Lambayeque Valley is the site of scores of natural and man-made waterways and is also a region of about 250 brick pyramids.
[edit] See also
- Batán Grande, another area with Lambayeque pyramid
[edit] External links
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