Legends and stories were composed about the famous Incas' gold. Spanish conquistadors and sea pirates were searching for it, and only today we have a chance to see the treasure of mythical El Dorado in all its glory. Thanks to the former Prime Minister of Peru and collector Miguel Mujica Gallo, the Inca Empire rich legacy has found its permanent home in the Archaeological Museum in Lima founded in 1968. 

More than twenty-five thousand showpieces are the items of household and culture of the ancient civilizations, most of which were brought from the excavations of the  huge necropolis of Chimú peoples in the Lambayeque region. Ceramics of pre-Columbian civilizations Chavín and Mochica, unique colorful fabrics and, of course, a great number of items made of pure gold and silver. You can see death masks and diadems, earrings and pectorals, items of clothes covered with hundreds of golden disks, and even the palanquin of the lords, decorated with silver and golden details. 

Thanks to these valuable artifacts, we can learn a lot about the lifestyle, customs, and beliefs of the Peruvian peoples. They used technics of forging, filigreeing, and polishing and all the time combined two precious metals, referring to the duality of this world. A part of the exhibition is decorated with gemstones: crowns and necklaces, wine goblets and vases, and the main highlight of the exhibition is a human skull with rock crystal teeth of rare lilac color. 

There is a separate exhibition that complements the unique collection. It’s a display of ancient and modern weapons from all over the world that includes ritual axes of Tumi dating back to 1300 BC, the sword of the Spanish King Fernando VII and the saber of the Russian Emperor Alexander I. 

One more significant item of the Museum is a mummy of one of the rulers of the Inca Empire very well preserved until today, and a few ancient trepanned skulls, whose holes are covered with golden and silver disks.