A mural spreads across two walls of a recently discovered temple in northern Peru.

The impressive state of preservation at the 4,000-year-old site is likely due to its having been intentionally buried thousands of years ago, lead archaeologist Walter Alva said on November 10, 2007.

When the site's use was complete, the culture that built the temple covered it with earth, Alva told the Scotsman newspaper.

The skeleton of a monkey and fragments of turquoise found at the complex are probably artifacts from a ceremony held to commemorate the closing of the temple, he said.

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