The Wari Elite at Espiritu Pampa, Vilcabamba,

the site of the Last City of the Incas

The Anglo Peruvian Society (APS) is excited to present Javier Fonseca’s research on Espiritu Pampa.

APS members may be familiar with the Inca province of Vilcabamba, which, after the Spanish Conquest, became the stronghold of resistance against the Spanish for 30 years.

Since 2008, Javier Fonseca has led the excavation of the forested site for the Instituto Nacional de Cultura, which revealed the state of the city on the day the Incas put it to the torch rather than surrender their capital in exile to the invading Spanish force in June 1572. Further excavation of the forested plain exposed another city dating from the Wari Empire that preceded the Inca by 500 years.

In a video link from Cusco Fonseca describes this astonishing discovery, including the sumptuous burial of a Wari governor.

If you would like some reading material prior to the lecture, we suggest reading Javier Fonseca’s paper (2013) and the wonderful piece in The Guardian, written by Laurence Blair.