Revash Funerary Complex

2006 World Monuments Watch

Used as a sacred burial ground by the Chachapoya, whose culture flourished in the cloud forests of Peru from the beginning of the ninth century until their subjugation by the Inca in the 1470s, the Revash site is composed of a series of chullpas, or stone tomb chambers, nestled in the limestone cliffs overlooking the Utcubamba River. The Revash chullpas are built of small stones set in mud mortar, plastered and painted in cream and red. Some chambers have two levels and contain hundreds of funerary bundles. Until the discovery of the Chachapoya fortress of Kuelap in 1843, the Amazonas region was relatively unknown. Scientific interest and public curiosity, however, resulted in an influx of visitors. The chullpas are relatively accessible, making them easy to plunder and vandalize. Water infiltration has also damaged or destroyed chambers and their contents.