The Royal Ritual Rooms of Palacio Tschudi

Chan Chan was the capital of the ancient Chimú civilization that flourished on the northern coast of Peru between the 12th and 15th centuries.  

In the middle of the massive mud brick city there are nine rectangular complexes. Palacio Tschudi is one of the largest and includes palaces, a large reservoir, funerary platforms and places for offerings surrounded by a tall thick mud wall. 

Tschudi also contains an area of U-shaped audiencias or ritual rooms that lead through to storerooms where it’s believed offerings were kept. These are around 4 square metres and originally had elevated floors and gabled roofs. 

Pan round the audiencias to see the honeycombed mud walls thought to represent fishing nets.

Many of the walls feature geometric, human, and animal designs.

Patterns of seabirds and fish show how important the sea and its resources were to the people of Chan Chan.