Archaeologists have identified more than 2.5 kilometres of previously undocumented pre-Hispanic roads near Machu Picchu, thanks to advanced laser technology that revealed features hidden beneath the dense vegetation of Peru’s cloud forest.
The discovery contains a main road which runs at least 1.2 kilometres long and what researchers think could be previously unknown agricultural terraces and platforms.
Peru’s Ministry of Culture announced the findings following preliminary archaeological reconnaissance carried out in July 2023 around the Mandor wall, close to the celebrated Inca citadel of Machu Picchu.
Researchers used LiDAR — Light Detection and Ranging — technology to scan the landscape from above, allowing them to effectively see through thick vegetation and map subtle archaeological features that can be extremely difficult to identify from ground level.
Road Shows Signs of Inca Construction
Among the most significant discoveries is the 1.2km road, whose layout displays characteristics associated with Inca construction techniques.
Researchers identified a distinctive zigzagging pattern along its route, suggesting that the road may have been built during the Inca period.
However, archaeologists have stressed that its age has not yet been conclusively established.
Further field investigations will be required to determine when the road was constructed, what purpose it served and how it was connected to other structures within the wider Machu Picchu landscape.
The discovery could provide important new evidence about how people moved through the mountainous territory surrounding the famous citadel before the Spanish conquest.
Secrets Hidden Beneath the Cloud Forest
The survey was conducted within the Machu Picchu National Archaeological Park, where rugged mountains and exceptionally dense vegetation have long made conventional archaeological exploration challenging.
LiDAR works by firing laser pulses towards the ground and measuring the reflected signals. Researchers can process the resulting data to create detailed models of the underlying terrain, revealing roads, foundations, terraces and other human-made features that may be almost invisible beneath vegetation.
The technology has increasingly transformed archaeological research in heavily forested regions around the world.
At Machu Picchu, the latest scans have revealed not only roads but possible platforms and terraces that will now become targets for more detailed archaeological investigation.
Discovery Could Change Understanding of Machu Picchu Landscape
The Mandor wall lies east of Machu Picchu and forms part of the wider cultural landscape surrounding the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Researchers believe the newly detected features could help provide a more detailed picture of how the area was organised and occupied in pre-Hispanic times.
Rather than viewing Machu Picchu solely as an isolated monumental complex, discoveries across the surrounding landscape are helping archaeologists investigate the wider network of roads, settlements, agricultural areas and other structures connected with the site.
The newly identified routes also raise questions about the role the Mandor sector may have played in controlling movement and organising territory around Machu Picchu.
International Team Behind Discovery
The research is the result of a scientific partnership between the Center for Andean Studies at the University of Warsaw and Peru’s Decentralized Directorate of Culture of Cusco.
The archaeological survey and documentation were led by Dr Jan Kłaput of the University of Warsaw’s Center for Andean Studies.
Dr Bartłomiej Ćmielewski of Wrocław University of Science and Technology oversaw the use of advanced remote-sensing technology.
The international team also included archaeologist Jeff Rocky Contreras Soto of Apu Space and Dr Paweł Dąbek of Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences.
Fieldwork was supervised by Dr Nino del Solar Velarde, head of Machu Picchu’s Archaeological Research Coordination at the Cusco Regional Directorate of Culture, with funding provided by the University of Warsaw.
Archaeologists Plan Further Excavations
The discovery represents only the beginning of the investigation.
Culture officials in Cusco have ordered targeted archaeological studies of the newly identified features, including field surveys and detailed recording.
Researchers will attempt to establish the age, construction methods, function and preservation of the roads and other structures.
Officials will also assess measures needed to protect and conserve the archaeological remains, as well as possibilities for documenting and potentially presenting them as part of the wider heritage landscape.
Maritza Rosa Candia, executive director of the DDC Cusco, said incorporating new technology into archaeological research was significantly expanding knowledge of the territory surrounding Machu Picchu and helping specialists decide where future investigations and conservation efforts should be concentrated.
Professor Mariusz Ziółkowski, director of the University of Warsaw’s Center for Andean Studies, also highlighted the importance of international scientific cooperation in identifying and studying previously unknown archaeological evidence.
A Wider Machu Picchu Still Being Revealed
Built high in the Peruvian Andes, Machu Picchu remains one of the world’s most important archaeological sites and has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1983.
In more than a century of intensive archaeological activity, however, the landscape surrounding the citadel still shows signs of a much broader and more complex system of human activity.
The discovery of more than 2.5km of roads beneath the forest adds another piece to that puzzle.
Future studies could help us to know whether the newly discovered routes were part of the Inca road system and how they linked Machu Picchu to agricultural areas, settlements and other areas of the Andean landscape.
Sources : Peruvian State
