Inca tomb discovery turns up archeological trove

It's being celebrated as the most important archeological finding in Peru since the rediscovery of Machu Picchu more than a century ago. Peru's government this week released details of the discovery of nine tombs dating back to the pre-Hispanic Wari civilization that existed in the country's Andes region near the city of Cusco.

Between the year 500 CE and 900 CE, the Waris inhabited the south-central Andes and coastal areas of what's now Peru.

"This is a story of great significance for the cultural heritage of our country," Peru's Deputy Minister of Cultural Heritage and Cultural Industries, Bernardo Roca-Rey.

A team of archaeologists made the discovery in Vilcabamba, in Peru's Cuzco state. Among the findings: a Wari noble who was buried with a silver breastplate. The team nicknamed him `The Lord of Vilca' after the Lord of Sipan, which was a third century mummy discovered in the north of the country in 1987.