In the year 1916, a group of grave looters operating in the Huaca Pintada, a pyramidal mound located in the north coast of Peru, uncovered one of the most fantastic sets of images in a large painted wall depicting deities in full color and great detail. Regrettably, due to lack of care the murals were destroyed the same year and the site was then abandoned by the scientific community.

However, in 2022, after three years of research, the Huaca Pintada Archaeological Research Project (PIAHP) composed by a Swiss-Peruvian team managed to rediscover the vestiges of the long-lost mural. This painted wall was up to 100 feet long and still showed the original colors on two sections, untouched by the looters, or anyone else, for more than a thousand years.

Join the Oxford Peruvian Society for a talk with Sâm Ghavami, who led the PIAHP, to learn more about this fascinating discovery. This event is in collaboration with the Embassy of Peru in the UK.