Archaeologists in Bolivia find 1,500- year-old treasures

Gold and silver pieces
as well as bones and
pottery from 1,500
years ago were
discovered in Lake
Titicaca by underwater archaeologists, a
researcher said Tuesday.
"We found 2,000 objects and fragments,"
Christophe Delaere, the Belgian co-director
of the Huinaimarca Project that unearthed
the items, said at a ceremony in La Paz.
President Evo Morales, Bolivia's minister of
culture and diplomats from Belgium were
also in attendance.
The expedition began two months ago on
the Bolivian side of the lake, which is
shared with Peru. Underwater explorations
turned up objects from different eras, both
Inca era and pre-Inca (1438-1533).
The project unearthed 31 gold fragments,
mainly around the Isla del Sol, where
legend holds that mythical founders of the
Incan empire emerged from the lake's
waters.
Underwater excavations were carried out in
other parts of the lake where objects from
different dates were found.
"There are ceramics and urns from more
than 500 to 800 years ago," Delaere said.
Elsewhere, 1,500-year-old objects such as
stone vessels, incense containers and
figures of animals like pumas were found.
Tales about the lake containing underwater
citadels and wealth supposedly stashed by
indigenous Quechua and Aymara people
from Spanish conquistadores have existed
for centuries in Bolivia.
In the late 1960s French explorer Jacques-
Yves Cousteau conducted several
expeditions in Lake Titicaca, finding signs
of a civilization.
Morales stressed that Bolivia, South
America's poorest nation, is keen to recover
its national patrimony on display in
countries in Europe and the United States.