Inca Tunnel System Identified Under Cuzco

CUSCO, PERU—IFL Science reports that the presence of more than one mile of tunnels built by the Inca under the city of Cuzco, the capital of the Inca Empire, has been confirmed. Known as the Chincana, the main tunnel radiates from the Temple of the Sun, or the Coricancha, toward a fortress on the edge of the city. Archaeologists began the search for the legendary tunnels with a review of historical accounts from the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries. One such account, written in 1594 by a Spanish priest, stated that a main tunnel began at the Coricancha, traveled under the bishop’s house behind Cusco Cathedral, and ended at the citadel of Sacsahuaman, about one mile away. Using acoustic prospecting, the researchers then searched for hollow chambers in areas described in the historic accounts. Ground-penetrating radar was then employed to map the tunnel system, including the main tunnel connecting the Coricancha to Sacsahuaman. Three smaller branches of the tunnel system were also detected. One of the smaller branches ends at an area near the fortress of Sacsahuaman known as Muyucmarca, another tunnel ends at Callispuquio, and the third travels behind the Church of San Cristóbal. The researchers think that the tunnels may reflect the layout of streets and walkways in the Inca capital. “Now we have to excavate at key points to be able to enter the Chincana—perhaps in March or April,” concluded archaeologist Mildred Fernández Palomino. To read about the skilled workers who maintained the Inca royal estate of Machu Picchu, go to "Inca Workers' Homelands," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2023.