Archaeologists in Peru have discovered the skeletons of over 40 humans that date back to when the country was conquered by Spanish invaders in the 16th century.
The 42 skeletons were unearthed near to the Hospital Real de San Andres, a famous building in the capital Lima which dates back to the arrival of the Spaniards.
It no longer operates as a hospital but it is believed to have been one of the very first in South America having been built in 1552 and intended for Spanish patients.
It trained doctors and part of the hospital was also designated for treating the mentally ill.
Surprisingly the skeletons have not been discovered up until now despite having very shallow graves which are only 12 inches below the surface.
It is a fascinating discovery that has led archaeologists to think that there may also be mummies belonging to the Incas, the population that inhabited and ruled the Andean region of South America before the Spaniards arrived.
The site is made up of three sections, a central part, a church and older medical wards.
The digging began in 2021 and as well as the bodies an underground crypt has been uncovered made of bricks which is thought to have been used for 300 years. There were also ceramics from a pre-hispanic period including glass and tiles.
Meanwhile, a team of archaeologists have also discovered a network of passageways under a more than 3,000-year-old temple in the Peruvian Andes.
Chavin de Huantar temple, located in the north-central Andes, was once a religious and administrative centre for people across the region.
The passageways were found earlier in May and have features believed to have been built earlier than the temple's labyrinthine galleries, according to John Rick, an archaeologist at Stanford University who was involved in the excavation.
Located 3,200 metres above sea level, at least 35 underground passageways have been found over the years of excavations, which all connect with each other and were built between 1,200 and 200 years BC in the foothills of the Andes.
"It's a passageway, but it's very different. It's a different form of construction. It has features from earlier periods that we've never seen in passageways," Rick said.
Chavin de Huantar, declared a World Heritage Site in 1985, was the inspiration and name of the operation carried out when the Peruvian armed forces built a network of tunnels to rescue 72 people taken hostage by the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) rebel group at the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima in 1997.
