The excavation of a 4,000-year-old temple in northern Peru reveals an ancient mural in red and white.

The newfound temple site, called Ventarron, is yielding crucial clues about the ancient civilization that built it, archaeologist Walter Alva said on November 10, 2007.

Ventarron is unusual for having been constructed out of bricks made from sediments dug out of nearby rivers rather than stone, he said.

"What's surprising are the construction methods, the architectural design, and most of all the existence of murals that could be the oldest in the Americas," Alva told the Reuters news service.

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