HUACA DE LA LUNA

To see the latest discoveries of Peruvian archaeology, head 8 km south of Trujillo toward two massive, crumbling adobe mounds that rise from the desert. These were built during the Moche Empire (1–700 a.d.). The farthest, Huaca del Sol (Temple of the Moon), was an administrative center, and the other, Huaca de La Luna, was a religious complex. This last hauca has been the focus of a well-funded archaeological campaign since 1991 and has produced some of the most dazzling and best-preserved murals in all of Peru.

The hauca’s shape mirrors that of Cerro Blanco, an adjacent mountain that has a curious arching dike of black rock near its summit. The Moche probably believed this arch represented the rainbow serpent, a fertility symbol that appears alongside Ai-Apaek. Archaeologists believe the hauca’s first single, compact platform was built around 100 a.d. But every century, the Moche apparently sealed the bodies of deceased rulers into the hauca and then completely covered the platform with a new, stepped platform above it. In this way, over 700 years, the L-shaped temple evolved into a 100-yard-long stepped pyramid with as many as eight stepped levels. The overall shape is oddly similar to temples of the Maya, a culture that some say influenced the Moche.

Because of the gold buried here, the temple has been the target of relentless plundering by huaqueros since at least colonial times. A dozen caves penetrate the base of the hauca and a massive house-sized hole is found up top, with an alley cut through the sides of the pyramid where the grave robbers cleared debris. Although much treasure and murals have been lost, the huaquero holes have helped archaeologists examine cross-sections of the temple’s various platforms. On the huaca’s north face, archaeologists have discovered a stairwell and a horizontal mural of soldiers performing a victory dance. Elaborate designs of Ai-Apaek in the form of a snake, crab, octopus, spider, and even a potato and a corn cob have also been found. In 1997, just a few inches from a huaqero’s hole, archaeologists discovered a cane basket filled with gold disks, textiles, and characteristic feline images, an indication that tombs remain hidden nearby and below, hidden in hundreds of feet of adobe bricks.

The top of Huaca de la Luna, nearly 10 stories high, offers an impressive view of Huaca del Sol, which was built with an estimated 100 million adobe bricks and is considered one of the largest adobe structures in the world. Few excavations have been done at Huaca del Sol, however, and there is little for visitors to see. Much of the hauca was eroded in the 17th century when the Spaniards diverted the Río Moche in a failed attempt to uncover hidden treasure. A Moche city with irrigation channels between the two haucas is being excavated and will be open for tours in the future.

The Huaca de la Luna (9 a.m.–4 p.m. daily, $3, including guide) can be reached via $6 round-trip taxi or via the combis at Suárez and Los Incas near the Mercado Mayorista that say Campiña de Moche. Get off near Huaca del Sol and walk the half kilometer toward Huaca de la Luna.