Peru’s Andean Jungle Is Hiding A City That Turns Out To Be Four Times Larger Than Anyone Knew

Archaeologists must have one of the coolest jobs ever—as long as a lifetime of digging around in the dirt yields some epic results, like priceless artifacts, treasure-filled tombs, or groundbreaking insights into how ancient civilizations rose and fell.

One team of researchers was lucky enough to have such a breakthrough in the remote Peruvian Andes, unearthing over 100 structures tied to the Chachapoya or “Warriors of the Clouds,” a people who resisted conquest by the Inca Empire for centuries.