Remains of 16th-century hospital that treated sailors discovered in Peru

Archealogists in Peru have discovered the remains of a colonial-era hospital dating back to the 16th century that treated sick sailors who stopped at Pacific ports when Peru was a Spanish colony.

Six human skeletons that had been buried, likely belonging to patients, were uncovered in rectangular structures. A ceramic oil lamp, used to provide light in the dark with candles, was found at hand level of one of the skeletons.

The hospital was likely founded in the 1570s by a Greek sailor named Miguel de Acosta and had a capacity of up to 70 beds, according to Spanish Jesuit priest Bernabé Cobo and his chronicle The History of the Founding of Lima.

Sailors had deductions from their wages to cover the upkeep of the hospital.

The experts also located the entrance to an adjacent church, the Church del Espíritu Santo, where mass was held for the sick. The existence of the church had been documented by Spanish chroniclers who wrote about the founding of Lima in 1535.

Placing a hospital next to a church was a common practice at the time, Ernesto Olazo, the archaeologist coordinating the excavations explained, as it allowed sick patients to attend mass.

The hospital operated until shortly before 1821, when Peru’s independence was proclaimed. The reasons for its closure are unknown.

The archealogists also discovered other artefacts, including two side walls made of stone, brick and abode, bound together with lime, sand and water and clay tiles coated with opaque white glaze and decorated with mineral pigments.

"In my view, the most significant aspect is the architecture itself, which preserves traditional materials and techniques, which we have restored, including an 18th-century Valencian tiled floor and an area containing some very interesting pre-Hispanic remains, Olazo explained.

The hospital and the church were found near the sanctuary of Santa Rosa de Lima, the first Catholic saint born in the Americas.