<p dir="ltr"><strong>Archaeologists working at the site of an ancient town in the coastal desert of northern Peru made a surprising discovery in late August—a multichamber tomb from the much later<a href="http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&amp;id_site=366"> Chimú culture</a> that held the remains of at least four noble musicians and weavers.</strong></p><p dir="ltr">Two human sacrifices, seen in this photo, accompanied the tomb's elite occupants into eternity.</p><p dir="ltr">The site of Samanco spreads over some 75 acres in the Nepeña River valley. Most of its ruins belong to a small trading community that flourished between 800 and 200 B.C.</p><p dir="ltr">But amid the early stone structures, archaeologists uncovered a ten-foot-deep adobe shaft tomb dating to the 15th or 16th century A.D. At that time the Chimú were among the many conquered peoples who made up the<a href="http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/04/inca-empire/pringle-text"> vast Inca empire</a>.</p><p dir="ltr">"This is one of the very few Chimú-Inca tombs ever excavated," lead archaeologist<a href="http://www.sru.uea.ac.uk/doctoral-research-matthew_helmer.php"> Matthew Helmer</a>, both a<a href="http://www.nationalgeographic.com/explorers"> National Geographic Society</a> and a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nationalgeographic.com/explorers/grants-programs/waitt-grants/" target="_blank">Waitt Foundation</a> grantee, said in an e-mail. "It reveals interesting details about the coastal Andean world just prior to European contact."</p><p dir="ltr">Looters attacked the tomb's main chamber during the Spanish colonial period, but the contents of two side chambers remained intact.</p><p dir="ltr">The wealth of artifacts uncovered by Helmer's team includes the grave goods shown in this gallery.</p><p dir="ltr"><em>—A. R. Williams</em></p>