Archaeologists working high in Peru’s northern Andes have uncovered what appears to be an Inca state storage complex equipped with a sophisticated system designed to circulate air through its buildings.
The discovery was made at the Wancasanga archaeological site in the Condebamba Valley, Cajabamba province, at an altitude of approximately 3,400 metres.
Researchers with the Wancasanga 2026 Archaeological Research Project identified a series of circular structures believed to be colcas — storehouses used by the Inca state to preserve food and other essential supplies.
The project is led by archaeologist Jerry Solano Calderón and funded by the District Municipality of Condebamba.
Twelve Possible Inca Storehouses Uncovered
The first systematic archaeological investigation of Wancasanga concentrated on Sector C of the site.
Excavations revealed 12 circular structures arranged in an orderly crescent-shaped formation along the edge of the settlement.
Nearby, archaeologists uncovered a separate structure containing two carefully constructed ventilation ducts.
The channels were formed from side walls of hewn and partially dressed stone blocks, with large stone slabs apparently placed across the top as a roof.
Archaeologist Oswaldo Ezeta Latoche said the design would have allowed air to circulate through the structures, potentially helping regulate conditions inside the storehouses and protect their contents.
Similar ventilation features have previously been identified in Inca colcas associated with the Qhapaq Ñan, the extensive road network that connected territories throughout the Inca Empire.
Inca Pottery Strengthens Identification
Further evidence emerged with the discovery of fragments from an aryballos, a distinctive Inca vessel, inside one of the suspected storehouses.
The pottery strengthens the interpretation that the complex was constructed or used during the Inca period.
Researchers believe the position of the buildings was also deliberately selected to take advantage of local environmental conditions.
“The structures are located towards the western end of Sector C, an area exposed to a greater incidence of winds, a condition that would have favoured the functioning of the ventilation ducts,” Solano said.
The combination of exposed terrain, ventilation channels and organised storage buildings suggests the complex was carefully planned rather than positioned randomly.
The 2026 investigation builds on research conducted in 1989 by architect José Pineda Quevedo, whose survey of settlement patterns in the Condebamba Valley produced an initial division of Wancasanga into archaeological sectors.
More than three decades later, archaeologists have returned to conduct systematic surveys and excavations in Sectors C and D.
The multidisciplinary team includes archaeologists Oswaldo Ezeta and Diana Agapito Torres, anthropologist Anny Vega Fajardo, conservation specialist Susy Esquivel Valverde and communications specialist Felipe Arroyo Cornejo.
Local residents from Chauchabamba have also participated in excavation work and educational programmes connected with the project.
Researchers hope continued investigations will clarify Wancasanga’s role within the Inca administrative and logistical system and its relationship with nearby archaeological sites such as Ichabamba.
The discoveries could ultimately provide new evidence of how the Inca state used architecture, environmental conditions and carefully positioned storage facilities to manage resources across the mountainous landscape of the Andes.
Sources : Andina
