Peru’s Lost Temple

A warrior surrounded by geometric shapes, Huaca Pintada, Illimo, Peru(Courtesy Sâm Ghavami)

While working toward a degree in Andean studies at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, archaeologist Sâm Ghavami took a bus every day from the city of Lambayeque to the town of Pacora along a stretch of the twisty Pan-American Highway. During each trip, in the tiny hamlet of Illimo, the bus passed a blue sign next to the road indicating a historical or archaeological site that read Huaca Pint