Amazing discoveries in the water of Lake Titicaca made by the Tiwanaku 2004 Expedition - Bolivia

The AKAKOR team for the Tiwanaku 2004 expedition was joined by 22 people from Italy (Lorenzo Epis, Emanuele Gaddi, Alessandro Anghileri, Stefano Castelli, Paolo Costa e Giovanni Confente), Brazil (Soraya Ayub, Wilson Miranda, Guy Collet, Otto Heitzmann, Mario Favareto, Jorge Maruo, Roberto Baracho, Sebastião Simões, Roberto Tavarez, José Scaleante e Calina Scaleante) and Bolívia (Eduardo Pareja, Wilson Perez, Ramiro Arispes, Javier Salas e Renan Ramirez).

The team has been working in Bolivia for 10 years and carried out expeditions searching for traces from ancient time. In 2000 they found structures and man made artefacts at 0 to 30 meters depth. It's believed to be from the Tiwanakotas civilization.

Photos. Tiahuanaco (also called Tiwanaku) near La Paz in Bolivia. © Travel Explorations.

Tiahuanaco is believed to has been a major ceremonial centre of a culture that spread across much of the region. The ancient people built a pyramid of crude stones known as the Akapana.

The AKAKOR team returned in 2004 with necessary technology to work at 50 to 150 meters deep. They got support and help from governments, other organisations, Bolivian Navy and indigenous people who live in the area. 

This time the team discovered roads and containing walls dated back to 6,000 years ago at 120 meters depth. A particularly interesting discovery was the find of a gold statue (35 kilos in weight). According to the official historical version, the birthplace of the civilization precursor to the Incas would be the Isle of the Sun. The "Isla Del Sole" was not an island at the time and, thanks to bathometrical measurements, the link to the land has been found at a depth of 75 meters. Everything has been methodically mapped out and now the team search for finding the real Isle of the Sun, which would be under water.

Probably the team's most amazing find was cave. During centuries locals have told stories about an old cave where humans become sacrificed. It's believed that 200 children become sacrificed in one day. Nobody knew where this was and some doubted the cave's existence. This cave was found together with the remains of little children.

The AKAKOR team has achieved approvement for their work. CNN has followed the team for a documentary. At Tiwanaku, on the occasion of the opening of a dig at the pyramid of Akapana, the AKAKOR team was received by the Bolivian President Dr. Carlos Mesa.

The gathered material will be processed and analysed by the AKAKOR expedition team. They will also extend their search for new finds in a wider area below the surface of Lake Titicaca. So far their research has been restricted to 20 square kilometres out of the possible 8,000, according to the expedition team. There is no doubt that these finds will bring new light to the history of an ancient civilisation in South America. 

Stein Morten Lund, 27 October 2005

Additional information
Links for more information about the AKAKOR team work and finds:
http://www.akakor.com/english/tiwabrief-uk.html
http://www.akakor.com/english/tiwasped-uk.html

Read also articles on our website Travel Explorations based on my tour in Bolivia in July 2002. One of the highlights on the tour was exploring the ancient site of Tiahuanaco.

Tiahuanaco (also called Tiwanaku) was obvious a major ceremonial centre of a culture that spread across much of the region. The ancient people built a pyramid of crude stones known as the Akapana.