hile working toward a degree in Andean studies at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, archaeologist Sâm Ghavami took a bus every day from the city of Lambayeque to the town of Pacora along a stretch of the twisty Pan-American Highway. During each trip, in the tiny hamlet of Illimo, the bus passed a blue sign next to the road indicating a historical or archaeological site that read Huaca Pintada, or Painted Temple. When Ghavami finally had a chance to get off the bus and visit the site, he didn’t see much resembling an ancient temple, but instead came upon an abandoned mound covered by trees, weeds, and garbage. “It was in really bad shape,” he says. “If
