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Wednesday, 23 August, 2000, 11:04 GMT 12:04 UK
Ancient temple found under Lake Titicaca
![]() Divers went as deep as 30m in their exploration
The ruins of an ancient temple have been found by international archaeologists under Lake Titicaca, the world's highest lake.
Dating back 1,000 to 1,500 years ago, the ruins are pre-Incan. They have been attributed to the indigenous Tiwanaku or Tiahuanaco people, said Lorenzo Epis, the Italian scientist leading the Atahuallpa 2000 scientific expedition. The holy temple measures 200m by 50m (660ft by 160ft) almost twice the size of an average football pitch. More than 200 dives were made into the lake, to depths of as much as 30m (100ft), to record the ruins on film.
The complete findings of the 30-member team, backed by the scientific group Akakor Geographical Exploring, are to be published in November. The team also hopes to eventually raise the archaeological remains to the surface. Legends of lost city The lake has long drawn fascination with various legends around it, including one of an underwater city called Wanaku and another of Inca gold lost by the Spanish.
Stories of the lost treasure were enough to draw the famous French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau to explore the lake. However, he discovered only ancient pottery.
The Tiahuanaco culture lived on the shores of the lake before becoming part of the Incan empire, based in Cusco, Peru. The Bolivian Government has said it will provide financial and technical support to preserve the ruins. "This means our civilisations have left more footprints than we had thought," said Antonio Eguino, Bolivia's vice-minister of culture.
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