LAMBAYEQUE, PERU (Reuters ) - Seventeen tombs belonging to the late Chimu-Incan civilisation have been uncovered in Peru. The tombs date back 1,000 years.

One adult tomb was flanked by those of two children whose feet were amputated.

Archaeologists believe they belonged to a high social class and may have been sacrificed because they were mutilated and decapitated.

Experts will continue their excavations until December hoping to shed light on burial patterns of the Chimu-Inca. The Chimu lived in the north coast of Peru, and were conquered by the Incas around 1470 A.D.