One of the famously detailed Nazca lines
The Nazca Lines are a famous group of geoglyphs drawn into Peru's Nazca Desert. The drawings range from stylized animals like birds and monkeys, to simple lines and other shapes. Thanks to a recent bout of powerful winds a new series of designs have been discovered.
According to the news source, El Comerico, the new lines were discovered in the Valley of El Ingenio in the Nazca Plains. The discovery was made by pilot Eduardo Herran and researcher Gómez de la Torre as they were doing an inspection of the plains. The glyphs were found on two hillsides of either side of the valley. The four images discovered have been described as a camel, a zigzag line, a bird, and a snake measuring 60 meters long and about 4 meters wide.
Ruben Garcia Soto, head of the Archaeological Area-Property of the Heritage Office Decentralized Culture of Ica, has said that this discovery is "a valuable contribution to the knowledge of the ancient Nazca." From some of the designs on the lines archaeologists believe that these images are related to the time that the Paracas culture transitioned into the Nazca culture.
The Nazca lines have been dated to around 400 AD. The lines were formed by removing layers of the reddish pebbles of the desert until the white ground beneath it is visible. Hundreds upon hundreds of lines were carved into the earth to form these images and shapes. Their purpose has never been completely agreed upon, but many believe that these images were made for some kind of religious significance. Because of the arid and stable climate of the desert these images have remained in relatively good condition for researchers to study and view.
What is so odd about these images is that their designs can only be seen from up in the air. Since air travel still had more than a millennia before its inception, the level of detail that the Nazca put into some of the designs is extremely impressive.
The geoglyphs were quickly georeferenced so they could be registered by the National Registry of Cultural Property. By doing so the images will now be protected and kept from possible destruction.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
