Site · Peru
Chan Chan
900–1470 CE
Chan Chan is the adobe capital of the Chimú kingdom near Trujillo, the largest earthen city in the Americas with ten walled palace compounds, occupied from about 900 until the Inca conquest around 1470. Erosion from rain threatens it.
| Country | Peru |
|---|---|
| State / province | La Libertad |
| Dates | 900–1470 CE |
| Status | Archaeological zone and UNESCO World Heritage Site (in danger) |
| Managed by | Ministerio de Cultura del Perú |
| Access | Open to the public; the Tschudi (Nik An) palace is the restored sector |
| Coordinates | -8.106, -79.075 (public site) |
What was found
Excavations recovered Chimú blackware, textiles, wooden figures, Spondylus and metalwork from the palace burial platforms, most of which were looted in colonial times. Adobe friezes of fish, birds and nets decorate the walls.
Rules
Nothing may be collected, dug, moved or removed at Chan Chan; it is a protected archaeological site managed by Ministerio de Cultura del Perú, and taking artifacts, stones or samples is an offence. Peruvian law declares all pre-Hispanic remains national patrimony and prohibits removal or export. This article is for study and context only and is not a collecting locality.
Elsewhere
Cite this article
Stratum Strata. "Chan Chan" (Site). Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/strata/sites/chan-chan. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-chan-chan,
title = {Chan Chan},
author = {{Stratum Strata}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/strata/sites/chan-chan}},
year = {2026},
note = {Site article, Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21; sources: stratum, wikidata, commons. Accessed 2026-09-21.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.