Laguna de las Momias

BW

The Kondorsee (Spanish: Laguna de los Cóndores, or even Laguna de las Momias ) is about 1 km ² large lake in the region of the Amazon in the Andes mountains of north Peru. It is located at an altitude of 2,900 m, 71 km from the provincial capital of Chachapoyas and a day's journey on foot and by mule from the small town Leymebamba (36 km). In Leymebamba 3-day tours are offered with a visit of the site by different leaders.

Mummy find the Kondorsee

1997 discovered members and staff of a shepherd family in a hillside grave some houses in which they found buried after gold and jewelry looking after Inca mummies of the Chachapoyas type ( Sachapuyas ). They destroyed many of the mummies and also the natural protective layer of plants, which has protected the tombs for centuries not only from looters, but also against corruption. The authorities learned of the existence of the tomb only when the shepherd family and their employees are mutually anzeigten because they were involved in a dispute over the sale of stolen grave goods. In 1997, a rescue excavation was initiated to protect the archaeological objects from further destruction by moisture and souvenir -hunting visitors.

Today, there are all 219 mummies from the tomb of the condor lake at the Museum of Leymebamba where they are explored by means of X-ray machine and kept and preserved under similar conditions as the protective vegetation coat at Kondorsee. Some time the name of the lake was disputed until you found a clay pot in the tomb, which clearly represents a condor. This clay pot is also on display at the Museum of Leymebamba. Some mummies were studied in Innsbruck and Vienna, 2006. By the end of July 2006, it could be seen at the Technical Museum Vienna.