Surrounded by residential houses and commercial buildings in the center of Miraflores, is a pyramid temple built out of adobe bricks. Built on flat ground by the Lima culture, Hauca Pucllana was originally built and continuously expanded between 200-700 AD. It was used by the elite clergyman for religious ceremonies and religious offerings to the gods.


Until about 30 year ago, the land that included this temple was private property. At that time it appeared only to be a sandy hill with disintegrated adobe walls around it.  It wasn't until the government made it illegal to destroy ancient ruins that the site was excavated. Below the top layer of sand was a much better preserved adobe structure then previously thought.  Even today, they are still clearing away sand one section at a time to better reveal the 7 layers of the structure.




The Lima culture and religion had a strong connection to the ocean so many of the artifacts found depicted many types of marine life, with a particular focus on sharks. During excavations they've found pits with marine life skeletons  large ceremonial pots and human burial grounds.

A recreation of how they found some of the human burial plots

I love the mohawk on the Peruvian hairless dog. This one lived on the ruins site and was incredibly friendly.