Restaurant chain Crepes & Waffles announced the discovery of 14 pre-Hispanic tombs over 2,000 years old during the construction of the La Leona Educational Institution in Cajamarca, Tolima, in Colombia, according to Semana [https://www.semana.com/economia/empresas/articulo/crepes-waffles-hizo-un-descubrimiento-milenario-en-cajamarca-tolima-como-llego-a-eso/202557/]. The restaurant chain stumbled upon the archaeological finds while developing a project.
Thirteen of the tombs were constructed with large stone slabs known as de cancel, forming a kind of coffin used in pre-Hispanic cultures. Among the remains, two tombs stood out due to the uniqueness of their typology and the complexity of their construction, not previously identified in Colombian territory.
In these two special tombs, a funerary outfit was found, composed of pieces such as small decorated ceramic vessels, as well as bone remains belonging to a pre-Hispanic indigenous community possibly related to the Pijaos, El Tiempo reported. "The arrangement of the slabs around the tomb suggests that not only the family of the person but several families were involved in the celebration that marked the death of this person, an important leader of the region," explained Víctor González, an anthropologist at the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History (ICANH). He noted that the main tombs of this cemetery are unique and very rare.
Crepes & Waffles revealed that "in one tomb, for example, 1,800 snails were found that were buried alive as an offering, and in others, a textile made of palm that served as a mat on which the deceased was placed." Some of the stone slabs used in the tombs are more than 2,000 years old, indicating the ancient origins of the site.
The project was supported by ICANH, whose personnel accompanied the company's team to evaluate the origin and age of the found pieces, El Colombiano noted. The tombs were reburied in the same place of their discovery, ensuring their conservation and allowing for future studies.
The archaeological finding occurred during the construction of the La Leona Educational Institution, built by Crepes & Waffles and delivered to the community in 2023, benefiting more than 400 students, according to Semana. La Leona was the first school built in Cajamarca in the last 50 years and is designed to honor the ancestral history of the region.
Crepes & Waffles decided to apply the mechanism of works for taxes, created in the 2016 tax reform in Colombia, to finance the construction of the public school in Cajamarca, El Tiempo reported. The works for taxes mechanism allows companies to allocate part of their income tax payment to finance infrastructure and social development projects in areas affected by poverty, violence, or with unmet basic needs, as explained by Semana.
The company invested 9 billion pesos in the project to build the La Leona Educational Institution in Cajamarca, Tolima, according to El Tiempo.