Peru archaeologists find 5,000yo temple

Ancient temple: Peruvaian archaeologists estimate the temple at the El Parison site is 5,000 years old.

A temple believed to be about 5,000 years old has been discovered at the ancient El Paraiso archaeological site in a valley just north of Lima in Peru.

If the date is confirmed, it would be among the oldest sites in the world, comparable to the ancient city of Caral, a coastal city 200 kilometres to the north.

The discovery, dubbed the Temple of Fire, was found in one of the wings of El Paraiso's main pyramid.

It includes a hearth that experts believe was used to burn ceremonial offerings.

"The smoke allowed the priests to connect with the gods," said Marco Guillen, who led the team of researchers who made the find.

Archaeologists found the hearth in mid-January as they were carrying out conservation work at a set of 4,000-year-old ruins known as El Paraiso, located 40 kilometres north-east of Lima in the Chillon River Valley.

Deputy culture minister Rafael Varon told reporters the discovery shows "that the Lima region was a focus of civilisations in the Andean territory".

Archaeologists believe the ancient coastal civilisations raised crops including cotton, which they traded with coastal fishermen for food.

El Paraiso, spread across 50 hectares, has 10 buildings and is one of the largest ancient sites in central Peru.

AFP