The cat is two thousand years old! No, not exactly the cat. Cats. Not alive, carved on the hill. Archaeologists are still struggling to gather enough evidence before reaching the final conclusions about the size of the cat.
According to US media CNN, the image was found carved on a hill in southern Peru. The Peruvian Ministry of Culture says the artwork is more than 2,000 years old.
The plateau is 250 miles south of the Peruvian capital, Lima. It is part of an ancient landscape known as the Nazca Lines in the country. Archaeologists have found hundreds of mysterious works of art there so far.
The area has been searched at various times in the last century. As a result, ancient artifacts have been found, including pictures of hummingbirds, skybirds and monkeys. The area has long been a favorite destination for tourists due to its ancient artefacts. The new work of art has been found during the maintenance work to increase the tourism facilities.
A press release from the Peruvian Ministry of Culture said the image of the cat was rarely visible. There is a steep slope next to the place. Landslides often occur naturally there. Because of this the work of art was about to be erased.
The ministry says cleaning and preservation work was undertaken there after the artwork was discovered. The artwork has since become visible. It has been illustrated by many diagrams. This diagram is 30 to 40 centimeters (12 to 16 inches) wide depending on the place. Archaeologists say the carvings were made between 200 and 100 BC. That time included the Paracas period. The pottery and weaving materials of the Paracas civilization that have been found so far in South America often match the image of the cat.
The Nazca Lines in Peru covers an area of 450 square kilometers. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to the company, the Nazca Lines were created between 500 and 500 BC. It is one of the most mysterious treasures in the world.
A team of researchers from Yamagata University in Japan last conducted an investigation in this area in 2019. They found more than 140 landscapes through three-dimensional imagery.
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