Complejo Arqueológico Mateo Salado, Lima

The monumental archaeological complex Mateo Salado, also known as huaca Mateo Salado, is located in the district of Lima, in its limit with the districts of Breña and Pueblo Libre. The monumentality of the five staggered and truncated pyramids that form it, as well as the considerable extension of the complex, make it one of the most important archaeological complexes of the central coast of Peru. It is also one of the most representative expressions of the pre-Hispanic architecture of the Peruvian capital, having also the particularity of being located in the middle of the city.

It was an administrative and religious center of the Ychsma culture during the Late Intermediate period, beginning its construction around 1100 A.D. Its occupation continued with the Incas, who modified the architecture of the site and incorporated it into the Andean road system known as Qhapaq Ñan, which covered thousands of kilometers of the Tahuantinsuyo. After the arrival of the Europeans in 1532, the archaeological complex suffered many depredations until it was in danger of disappearing in the 20th century. Nevertheless, and due to its importance, in 2001 it was declared Cultural Patrimony of the Nation.

Since July 2007, the Ministry of Culture initiated a long-term project for the recovery of the archaeological complex. Thus, the archaeological research, conservation and the works of habilitation for tourism were applied to three of the five pyramids of the complex: the Pyramid A or Templo Mayor, the B or Pyramid of the Birds and the E or Minor Funerary Pyramid. The excellent results of such recovery, coupled with the management program towards the community that is carried out there, have made Mateo Salado a model of archaeological heritage recovery in Peru.