America’s oldest urban site uncovered in Peru

It’s a circular plaza 5,500 years old.

A team of Peruvian and German archeologists uncovered the circular plaza, which was hidden beneath another piece of architecture at the ruins known as Sechin Bajo, in Casma, 229 miles north of Lima, the capital. Friezes depicting a warrior with a knife and trophies were found near the plaza. […]

Prior to the discovery at Sechin Bajo, archeologists considered the ancient Peruvian citadel of Caral to be one of the oldest in the Western Hemisphere, at about 5,000 years.

Scientists say Caral, located a few hours drive from Sechin Bajo, was one of six places in the world — along with Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, India and Mesoamerica — where humans started living in cities about 5,000 years ago.

There are even older layers underneath the structure they’ve uncovered, so this may be one of the oldest cities in the world, not just the Western Hemisphere.

They’ve had to fill in the site to keep it safe from, you guessed it, looters. It’s a miracle the site was discovered intact to begin with.