Elite Moche Residence Unearthed in Northern Peru

Archaeologists excavating the Moche site of Licapa II in Peru’s La Libertad region have uncovered the remains of a 1,400-year-old residence believed to have housed members of the local elite.

The building, described by researchers as a “small palace,” dates to the Late Moche Period (ca. 600–700 CE), a time of growing regional interaction during the Middle Horizon, when the Wari Empire was beginning to expand its influence.

Led by Henry Tantaleán of the National University of San Marcos and Carito Tavera of the University of Barcelona, the Chicama Archaeological Program found a five-room adobe structure painted yellow on the exterior and separated by walls from surrounding areas used for craft and domestic work.

“We are talking about the possible residence of the curaca or of the people who ruled this site,” Tantaleán told Andina News Agency. The discovery confirms a hypothesis first raised in 2024, when initial excavations suggested the presence of an elite household.

Finds within the residence point to the occupants’ wealth and reach. High-quality Moche ceramics decorated with warrior imagery were uncovered alongside imported vessels from Cajamarca, textile fragments, and food remains. Bones of capuchin monkeys from the Amazon, Andean camelids, and coastal birds indicate that exotic goods and animals were brought in as offerings or tribute. Archaeologists also found evidence of lucuma and other fruits, suggesting the residents enjoyed a diet richer than that of ordinary Moche communities.

Before its abandonment around 700 CE, the structure was deliberately buried beneath more than a meter of adobe brick, requiring the modern excavation team to remove roughly a thousand bricks to reach the building.

“This great effort to cover this residence is a sign and indicator of its importance and the respect it was given,” Tantaleán added.

Excavations at Licapa II are ongoing, with researchers continuing to recover decorated ceramics and animal remains. The site, located in the Chicama Valley, appears to have flourished after the neighboring ceremonial center at El Brujo reached its peak, underscoring the shifting centers of power within the Moche world.