# Walter Alva > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Walter_Alva > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Walter_Alva.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Alva > Source revision: 1300459647 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Walter Alva** (born 28 June 1951), born **Walter Alva Alva**, is a Peruvian archaeologist specializing in the study and excavation of the prehistoric [Moche culture](/source/Moche_culture). He is known for two major finds: the tomb of the [Lord of Sipan](/source/Lord_of_Sipan) and related people in 1987, and 2007. ## Early life and education Alva was born on 28 June 1951 in [Contumazá Province](/source/Contumaz%C3%A1_Province).[1] He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in [archaeology](/source/Archaeology). ## Career Alva has worked for years at the [Bruning Archeological Museum](/source/Br%C3%BCning_Museum) in [Lambayeque, Peru](/source/Lambayeque,_Peru). He advanced to the post of director there. ## Major finds ### Lord of Sipan In 1987, Alva was called by police to investigate a site at [Sipán](/source/Sip%C3%A1n), where *huaqueros* (grave robbers) had stolen artifacts from an archaeological site. Despite being ill with [bronchitis](/source/Bronchitis), he made the trip. The robbers had discovered a crypt of a lord, filled with jewels and gold, and Alva knew it was significant.[2] Alva did most of the excavating without delay, as he was concerned that robbers might come back and cause more damage. As a result, he started digging without any funding or the support of the area police, with matters made worse as the result of the primary robber being killed by police.[2] After further digging, Alva found, among other things, the undamaged body of a Moche lord.[3] From these finds, he and other scholars were able to determine that [Huaca Rajada](/source/Huaca_Rajada), a group of three pyramids once thought to belong to the later [Chimú culture](/source/Chim%C3%BA_culture), were a part of [Moche culture](/source/Moche_culture).[3] The findings were later described by the [National Geographic Society](/source/National_Geographic_Society) as the richest intact pre-Columbian tomb in the Western Hemisphere.[4] During many of these years, Alva was the director of the Bruning Archaeological Museum in [Lambayeque, Peru](/source/Lambayeque,_Peru). ### Murals at Ventarron In 2007, Alva discovered murals at a 4,000-year-old Peruvian temple in [Ventarron](/source/Ventarron). The murals, showing a deer caught in a net, are considered the oldest murals in the Americas.[3] Alva determined their age by the process of [carbon dating](/source/Radiocarbon_dating).[5] The construction material that was used at the temple was not primitive.[6] As a result, Alva was able to show that the civilization was able to spread farther than originally thought.[3] He worked on the dig with his son Ignacio, who is also an archaeologist.[7] ## Legacy and honors - 1990, the [Orden El Sol del Peru](/source/Order_of_the_Sun_of_Peru) was awarded to Alva.[1] - 2015, Alva won the [Esteban Campodónico Prize](/source/Esteban_Campod%C3%B3nico_Prize) in the area of outstanding professional activity in service to Peruvian society.[8] ## References 1. Jorge Pereyra Terrones (2009). [*101 Razones por las que estoy orgulloso de ser cajamarquino*](http://www.cajamarca-sucesos.com/2009/presentacion%20de%20libros/101_razones.htm) (in Spanish). Cajamarca: Universidad Antonio Guillermo Urrelo. p. 87. 1. ["Raiders of the Lost Tomb"](http://www.unmuseum.org/raiders.htm). UnMuseum. Retrieved 2010-02-09. 1. ["Walter Alva"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100528220729/http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/abcde/alva_walter.html). Minnesota State University, Mankato. Archived from [the original](http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/abcde/alva_walter.html) on 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2010-02-09. 1. Gomer, Peter (September 14, 1988). "Gold-filled tomb casts light on ancient culture". *[Chicago Tribune](/source/Chicago_Tribune)*. p. 1. 1. Heam, Kelly (November 12, 2007). ["Oldest Temple, Mural in the Americas Found in Peru"](https://web.archive.org/web/20071114073314/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/11/071112-peru-temple.html). *National Geographic*. Archived from [the original](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/11/071112-peru-temple.html) on November 14, 2007. Retrieved 2010-02-09. 1. ["Ancient Peruvian Temple Hints at Lost Civilization"](https://www.foxnews.com/story/ancient-peruvian-temple-hints-at-lost-civilization). *FOX News*. November 13, 2007. Retrieved 2010-02-09. 1. ["Archaeologists find pre-Columbian tomb"](https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna25568914). NBC News. July 7, 2008. Retrieved February 19, 2009. 1. ["2015 Dr Walter Alva Alva (in Spanish)"](https://www.udep.edu.pe/campodonico/premiados/actividad-profesional-destacada/2015-dr-walter-alva-alva/). *Premio Campodonico*. Universidad de Piura. Retrieved 14 October 2024. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Walter Alva](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Alva) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Alva?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.