Intrigued when we later found out it was a pre-Incan site currently being excavated and open to the public, we hired a taxi to take us there.

I couldn't get over the fact that this enormous structure, visible above rooftops, was only discovered in 1969. How could that be? It encompassed the space of an entire city block.

But once we entered the site we learned that the recent discovery was not the pyramid, but the area adjacent to it on ground level. Here ruins of an ancient city silently existed underneath present day Lima until an earthquake cracked open modern streets and revealed them.

Currently being excavated, many of the mud-clay bricks, ramps and walls have been found intact. An amazing feat when you realize it dates from the 4th century and has withstood countless earthquakes.

These ruins were inhabited by pre-Incas, Lima's earliest residents, who also built the pyramid to honor their god Pachacamac. Later when the Incas arrived, they adopted the religious beliefs, gods and sacred temples of the pre-Incan people which explains why the pyramid was not destroyed.

It was fascinating to walk around and imagine life in this ancient city. A young girl led us around doing her best to explain the site in very limited English. A faint yellow tinge was still visible on some of the mud bricks, indicating that these walls were once colorfully bright yellow. The girl pointed out the fruit from nearby trees that was used to create the yellow dye.

We saw ornamental bowls and pitchers decorated with statues and animal designs that had been unearthed on site. Very cool! (I can only imagine the thrill in carefully extracting a perfectly intact decorative bowl from the 4th century...when on a dig years ago I'd been excited about finding a few meager pottery shards from the 18th century!)

Most of the artifacts were displayed in a small museum, but some were placed in excavated structures throughout the complex. A skeleton of a small girl was lying in a horizontal position where she had been found, near caged animals including llamas, guinea pigs and strange-looking ducks that represented animal skeletons also found here. What else is hiding? Guess we'll find out as subsequent earthquakes continue to reveal Lima's past.

Archeologists are still attempting to determine if this area was a residential area or a temple site. Not fluent in Spanish, it was difficult to fully understand the explanations, but it was still worthwhile to explore! Judging from the quiet, unpopulated atmosphere and surprised scurrying of the attendant to find us a guide, I don't think many tourists visit. Too bad. It's a gem!

Located on the corner of Larco Herrera and Elias Aquirre in Miraflores district of Lima. Closed Mondays. Cost was $2 US.